AREL1 resists the apoptosis induced by TGF-β by inhibiting SMAC in vascular endothelial cells

Abnormal apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells is an important feature of arteriosclerosis (AS). Here, we induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) using transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and investigated the role of antiapoptotic E3 ubiquitin ligase (AREL1) in the apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells. We proved that AREL1 is downregulated in TGF-β treated HUVECs. The overexpression of AREL1 inhibits the activation of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 and attenuates cell apoptosis induced by TGF-β. According to the result of coimmunoprecipitation, AREL1 interacts with the proapoptotic proteins the second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases (SMAC) in TGF-β treated HUVECs. In addition, miR-320b inhibits the expression of AREL1, and the overexpression of AREL1 attenuates the apoptosis induced by miR-320b mimics in HUVECs. In conclusion, AREL1 is downregulated by miR-320b. AREL1 overexpression inhibits TGF-β induced apoptosis through downregulating SMAC in vascular endothelial cells. Our study explores pathogenesis regulation mechanism and new biological therapeutic targets for vascular disease.     

In vitro development and transfer of resistance to chlortetracycline in Bacillus subtilis

The present criteria and rules controlling the approval of the use of probiotics are limited to antibiotic resistance patterns and the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in bacteria. There is little information available in the literature regarding the risk of the usage of probiotics in the presence of antibiotic pressure. In this study we investigated the development and transfer of antibiotic resistance in Bacillus subtilis selected in vitro by chlortetracycline in a stepwise manner. Bacillus subtilis was exposed to increasing concentrations of chlortetracyclineto induce in vitro resistance to chlortetracycline, and the minimal inhibitory concentrations were determinedfor the mutants. Resistant B. subtilis were conjugated with Escherichia coli NK5449 and Enterococcus faecalis JH2-2 using the filter mating. Three B. subtilis tetracycline resistant mutants (namely, BS-1, BS-2, and BS-3) were derived in vitro. A tetracycline resistant gene, tet (K), was found in the plasmids of BS-1 and BS-2. Three conjugates (BS-1N, BS-2N, and BS-3N) were obtained when the resistant B. subtilis was conjugated with E. coli NK5449. The conjugation frequencies for the BS-1N, BS-2N, and BS-3N conjugates were 4.57×10^?7, 1.4×10^?7, and 1.3×10^?8, respectively. The tet(K) gene was found only in the plasmids of BS-1N. These results indicate that long-term use of probiotics under antibiotic selection pressure could cause antibiotic resistance, and the resistance gene could be transferred to other bacteria. The risk arising from the use of probiotics under antibiotic pressure should be considered in the criteria and rules for the safety assessment of probiotics.     

模拟冻融环境下亚高山森林凋落物分解速率及有机碳动态

森林凋落物分解是森林生态系统物质循环的重要环节,季节性冻融交替是影响凋落物分解的重要环境因素之一,但不同林型的凋落物对冻融响应的差异性很少被量化。为了解冻融环境对森林凋落物分解进程的影响,以川西亚高山森林地区阔叶林、针叶林和针阔混交林3种典型林型的凋落物为实验材料,从凋落物基质质量、冻融环境等影响凋落分解的因素着手,采用模拟冻融循环过程（-5-5℃）,研究了冻融循环中3种林型凋落物分解速率和有机碳含量的动态变化。结果发现,3中典型林型凋落物经过不同冻融处理后,其质量损失、质量损失速率均存在显著差异（P<0.05）。混交林凋落物和针叶林凋落物的分解速率呈慢-快-慢的趋势,而阔叶林凋落物的分解速率逐渐减小。在冻融循环处理下,3种林型的凋落物碳绝对含量呈波动下降的趋势,说明微生物固定外源碳和凋落物释放碳间存在动态平衡。相同林型的凋落物在不同冻融处理下,有机碳释放有显著差异（P<0.05）。其中,冻融环境显著（P<0.05）促进了混交林凋落物和针叶林凋落物有机碳的释放,但是对阔叶林凋落物有机碳的释放没有起到促进作用。这表明全球气候变暖情景下,亚高山森林土壤冻融事件频发将加快凋落物的分解,但变化程度受到凋落物质量控制。     

Seasonal dynamics of soil fauna in the subalpine and alpine forests of west Sichuan at different altitudes

The climate (especially temperature) often plays an important role in the structure, function as well as composition of soil organisms in different latitudes and altitudes. As one of the essential components of soil ecosystem, soil faunal community not only lays their roles as soil engineer in material cycling and energy flow, but also acts as the sensitive bio-indicator to environmental change. However, little information has been available on the responses of soil faunal community to the changed environment at different altitudes and seasons. In order to understand the seasonal dynamics of soil faunal diversity under different forests with varying altitudes, three fir (Abies faxoniana) forests were selected covering a 600 m vertical transition zone. The primary fir forest at 3600 m (A1) of altitude, mixed fir and birch forest at 3300 m (A2) of altitude, and secondary fir forest at 3000 m (A3) of altitude are representative forests in the subalpine and alpine region of west Sichuan. A 2 years study was conducted in the three subalpine and alpine forests from May in 2009 until October in 2010. Soil samples were collected in both the soil organic layer and mineral soil layer. Soil macro-fauna were picked up by hand in the fields. Meso/micro-fauna and damp living fauna were separated and collected from the soil samples by Baermann and Tullgren methods in laboratory, respectively. A total of 74,827 individuals were collected in the 2 years, belonging to seven phyla, 16 classes, 31 orders and 125 families by preliminary identification. Similar dominant groups were detected in different forests at different altitudes, consisting of Spirostreptida, Formicidae, Staphylinidae, Hesperinidae, Onychiuridae, Isotomidae, Oribatuloidae, Alicoragiidae, Secernentea, and Adenophorea. In contrast, the ordinary species of macro-fauna and the ratios of Acarina to Collembolan were obviously different. For instance, the ordinary species were dominated by Cydmaenidae and Mycetophilidae at the A1, Scaphidiidae and Helicinidae at the A2, and Lumbricida and Agelenidae at the A3, respectively. Both the individual density and the number of soil faunal groups were significantly higher in soil organic layer than those in mineral soil layer. The density and group of macro-, meso- and micro-fauna in different forests showed the order as A2 > A1 > A3, but the density of damp living fauna showed the order as A1 > A2 > A3. The functional groups of macro-fauna were mainly dominated by saprozoic. The highest density and group of macro-fauna was observed in August, while the highest value of meso/micro-fauna was detected in October. In addition, the Jacard similarity indices showed that the composition and structure of soil fauna were similar in the different forests varied with altitudes, but the Shannon–Wiener indices were significantly different. The highest values of Shannon–Wiener indices were observed in October at both the A1 and A3, and in August at the A2. The results suggested that soil faunal community kept a high diversity in the subalpine and alpine forests of west Sichuan, and their structures were significantly affected by the variation of altitudes, which provided important scientific evidences for understanding the ecological processes in the subalpine and alpine coniferous forests.     

Effects of Modifiers on the Growth,Photosynthesis, and Antioxidant Enzymes of Cotton Under Cadmium Toxicity

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - The effects of four liquid modifiers (organic–inorganic composite modifier, inorganic polymer compound modifier, polyacrylate compound modifier, and...     

Development of an enzyme-linked-receptor assay based on Syrian hamster β2-adrenergic receptor for detection of β-agonists

β-Adrenergic agonists (β-agonists) are illegally used in animal husbandry, threatening the health of consumers. To realize multianalyte detection of β-agonists, a β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) was cloned from Syrian hamster lung and heterogeneously expressed by Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells. The recombinant β2-AR was purified from intracellular soluble proteins of infected Sf9 cells, and was utilized to establish an enzyme-linked-receptor assay (ELRA) to detect a group of β-agonists simultaneously. This assay was based on direct competitive inhibition of binding of horseradish peroxidase-labeled ractopamine to the immobilized β2-AR proteins by β-agonists. The IC₅₀ and limit of detection values for ractopamine were 30.38 μg L⁻¹ and 5.20 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Clenbuterol and salbutamol showed 87.7% and 58.5% cross-reactivities with ractopamine, respectively. This assay is simple, rapid, and environmentally friendly, showing a potential application in the screening of β-agonists in animal feeds.     

Mouse ephrinB3 augments T-cell signaling and responses to T-cell receptor ligation

Ephrins (EFN) are cell-surface ligands of Ephs, the largest family of cell-surface receptor tyrosine kinases. The function of EFNs in the immune system has not been well studied, although some EFNs and Ephs are expressed at high levels on certain leukocytes. We report here that EFNB3 and its receptors (collectively called EFNB3Rs, as EFNB3 binds to multiple EphBs) were expressed in peripheral T cells and monocytes/macrophages, with T cells being the dominant EFNB3+ and EFNB3R+ cell type. Solid-phase EFNB3-Fc in the presence of suboptimal anti-CD3 crosslinking enhanced T-cell responses in terms of proliferation, activation marker expression, interferon-gamma but not interleukin-2 production, and cytotoxic T-cell activity. EFNB3R costimulation in the presence of phorbol 12-myristate 13- acetate was insensitive to cyclosporin A, similar to CD28 costimulation, suggesting they might share a part of the signaling pathway. After crosslinking, T-cell receptor and EFNB3R congregated into aggregated rafts, and this provided a morphological basis for signaling pathways of T-cell receptor and EFNB3R to interact. Solid-phase EFNB3-Fc augmented p38 and p44/42 MAPK activation further downstream of the signaling pathway. These data suggest that EFNB3 is important in T-cell/T-cell and T-cell/antigen-presenting cell collaboration to enhance T-cell activation and function.     

CYC类基因在被子植物花发育中的研究进展

CYCLOIDEA(CYC)类基因属于TCP基因家族成员,在花发育过程中具有重要作用。CYC类基因在被子植物进化过程中发生基因复制事件,形成CYC1、CYC2和CYC3三大分支,其中CYC2分支成员在花对称性形成方面具有主要调控作用。CYC1和CYC3分支成员开展研究较少。综述了国内外CYC类基因的研究现状及其存在问题,并对CYC类基因的研究前景做了展望。