功能核酸概念的内涵与外延

对功能核酸概念的分析需要建立在对功能核酸研究的基础上,从内涵和外延两个方面来进行探析。从内涵来看,它是对具有特殊结构、执行特定生物功能的核酸分子的统称;从外延来看,它包括适体、核酸核酶、核糖开关、发光核酸、修饰核酸、功能核酸裁剪、核酸自组装、功能核酸纳米材料、核酸纳米酶、核酸药物、核酸补充剂以及DNA存储技术等。目前功能核酸已成功地应用于生物传感、生物成像、生物医学等诸多领域。对功能核酸这一概念进行了探讨,并尝试对其范畴、特点进行归纳总结,以期梳理和完善功能核酸的基本概念,促进该领域的进一步发展。     

Regenerating Eye Tissues to Preserve and Restore Vision

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Nanosecond pulsed electric fields prime mesenchymal stem cells to peptide ghrelin and enhance chondrogenesis and osteochondral defect repair in vivo

Science China Life Sciences - Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are important cell sources in cartilage tissue development and homeostasis, and multiple strategies have been developed to improve MSCs...     

Potentiating CD8+ T cell antitumor activity by inhibiting PCSK9 to promote LDLR-mediated TCR recycling and signaling

Metabolic regulation has been proven to play a critical role in T cell antitumor immunity.However,cholesterol metabolism as a key component of this regulation remains largely unexplored.Herein,we found that the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR),which has been previously identified as a transporter for cholesterol,plays a pivotal role in regulating CD8+ T cell antitumor activity.Besides the involvement of cholesterol uptake which is mediated by LDLR in T cell priming and clonal expansion,we also found a non-canonical function of LDLR in CD8+ T cells: LDLR interacts with the T-cell receptor (TCR) complex and regulates TCR recycling and signaling,thus facilitating the effector function of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs).Furthermore,we found that the tumor microenvironment (TME) downregulates CD8+ T cell LDLR level and TCR signaling via tumor cell-derived proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) which binds to LDLR and prevents the recycling of LDLR and TCR to the plasma membrane thus inhibits the effector function of CTLs.Moreover,genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of PCSK9 in tumor cells can enhance the antitumor activity of CD8+ T cells by alleviating the suppressive effect on CD8+ T cells and consequently inhibit tumor progression.While previously established as a hypercholesterolemia target,this study highlights PCSK9/LDLR as a potential target for cancer immunotherapy as well.     

Substance P immunoreactive nerve fibres are related to gastric cancer differentiation status and could promote proliferation and migration of gastric cancer cells

Tachykinins such as SP (substance P) may be involved in the progression of gastric adenocarcinoma through binding to NK-1 receptor. However, the existence and relationship between SP and gastric cancer progression and differentiation remained unknown. We have studied the NK-1 receptor in human gastric cancer tissue and MKN45 cell line and found SP-containing nerve fibres in human gastric cancer and found that the amounts of SP-positive nerves were related to gastric cancer differentiation. SP could promote proliferation, adhesion, migration and invasion of MKN45 cells in vitro. In addition, the intracellular calcium level of MKN45 cells was elevated after SP stimulation, and administration of CRACs (calcium release-activated calcium channels) inhibitor SKF-96365 could partially abolish these effects induced by SP. These results demonstrated that NK-1 receptor and SP-containing nerves existed in human gastric cancer; SP positive nerves may play an important role in human gastric cancer progression, and calcium is critically significant among SP-induced biological effects.     

Single Base-Resolution Methylome of the Dizygotic Sheep

Sheep is an important livestock in the world for meat, dairy and wool production. The third version of sheep reference genome has been recently assembled, but sheep DNA methylome has not been profiled yet. In this study, we report the comprehensive sheep methylome with 94.38% cytosine coverage at single base resolution by sequencing DNA samples from Longissimus dorsi of dizygotic Sunit sheep, which were bred in different habitats. We also compared methylomes between the twin sheep. DNA methylation status at genome-scale differentially methylated regions (DMRs), functional genomic regions and 248 DMR-containing genes were identified between the twin sheep. Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG annotations of these genes were performed to discover computationally predicted function. Lipid metabolism, sexual maturity and tumor-associated categories were observed to significantly enrich DMR-containing genes. These findings could be used to illustrate the relationship between phenotypic variations and gene methylation patterns.     

OP9-DL1 cell co-culture enhances anti-tumour immunity of mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells

DCs (dendritic cells) are the strongest professional APCs (antigen-presenting cells) to initiate immune responses against pathogens, but they are usually incompetent in initiating efficient immune responses in the progress of solid tumours. We have shown that Notch signalling plays a pivotal role in DC-dependent anti-tumour immunity. Compared with the control DCs, OP9-DL1 (Delta-like1) cell co-cultured DCs gained increased tumour suppression activity when inoculated together with tumour cells. This was probably due to the activation of Notch signalling in DCs enhancing their ability to evoke anti-tumour immune responses in solid tumours. Indeed, the OP9-DL1 cell co-cultured DCs expressed higher levels of MHC I, MHC II, CXCR4 (CXC chemokine receptor 4), CCR7 (CC chemokine receptor 7), IL-6 (interleukin 6), IL-12 and TNFα (tumour necrosis factor α), and a lower level of IL-10 than control DCs, resulting in more efficient DC migration and T-cell activation in vivo and in vitro. T-cells stimulated by OP9-DL1 cells co-cultured DCs more efficiently; and were cytotoxic against tumour cells, in contrast with control DCs. These results indicated that up-regulation of Notch signalling in DCs by co-culturing with OP9-DL1 cells enhances DC-dependent anti-tumour immune reactions, making the Notch signalling pathway a target for the establishment of the DC-based anti-tumour immunotherapies.     

拟南芥agl16突变体的创制及功能鉴定

AGL16是调控拟南芥气孔密度和ABA含量的重要负调控转录因子,在拟南芥抗旱反应过程中发挥重要的作用。为了获取拟南芥agl16突变体材料,采用棉花叶皱缩病毒(CLCrV)介导的VIGE系统筛选靶向敲除拟南芥AGL16的sgRNA,同时利用农杆菌介导的浸花法将完整编辑载体转化野生型拟南芥,创制了拟南芥agl16突变体并进行抗旱性鉴定。结果表明：(1)利用CLCrV介导的VIGE系统筛选获得2个能靶向敲除AGL16基因的sgRNA,同时构建AtU6 26∷AtAGL16 sgRNA1 35S∷Cas9 Ter p1300编辑载体转化野生型拟南芥Col 0,筛选获得靶位点缺失4 bp的agl16纯合突变体(AGL16: 4)。(2)抗旱表型性鉴定结果显示,干旱处理18 d后,大部分野生型植株干枯死亡,而突变体植株受胁迫的表型相对较轻;复水后,野生型和突变体植株的存活率分别为34.5%(10/29)和75%(27/36)。(3)与野生型相比,干旱胁迫下AGL16: 4纯合突变体植株叶片单位面积气孔数量减少、离体叶片失水率显著降低,但二者的单株种子量并没有发生明显的改变。研究认为,AGL16: 4纯合突变体的抗旱性较野生型明显增强,且种子量与野生型基本一致,表明AGL16基因可作为作物抗旱育种理想的候选靶基因;所获得的agl16突变体为后期从农作物中克隆的AGL16同源基因进行功能回补验证提供了有利的转基因受体材料。     

孔雀石绿适配体生物传感器的研究进展

荧光适配体作为一种无需标记的荧光探针,具有许多潜在的优势,并被应用于多种靶物质(如ATP、RNA)的检测,是目前适配体研究领域的热点。孔雀石绿适配体(malachite green aptamer,MGA)属于荧光适配体,其能通过配体诱导折叠形成结合口袋,进而促进孔雀石绿(malachite green,MG)的发光。目前,已经筛选得到的MGA的种类较少,主要介绍了已知的MG RNA适配体及其变构体和MG DNA适配体的特性,以及影响MG-MGA复合物荧光强度的因素。同时,还对主要的MG衍生物和共聚物进行了总结。最后,综述了MGA在生物传感、荧光成像等方面的应用,并对MGA的发展方向进行了展望,以期为MGA在生物检测、生物成像等方面的应用提供指导。