A cross-talk between epithelium and endothelium mediates human alveolar–capillary injury during SARS-CoV-2 infection

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is an acute and rapidly developing pandemic, which leads to a global health crisis. SARS-CoV-2 primarily attacks human alveoli and causes severe lung infection and damage. To better understand the molecular basis of this disease, we sought to characterize the responses of alveolar epithelium and its adjacent microvascular endothelium to viral infection under a co-culture system. SARS-CoV-2 infection caused massive virus replication and dramatic organelles remodeling in alveolar epithelial cells, alone. While, viral infection affected endothelial cells in an indirect manner, which was mediated by infected alveolar epithelium. Proteomics analysis and TEM examinations showed viral infection caused global proteomic modulations and marked ultrastructural changes in both epithelial cells and endothelial cells under the co-culture system. In particular, viral infection elicited global protein changes and structural reorganizations across many sub-cellular compartments in epithelial cells. Among the affected organelles, mitochondrion seems to be a primary target organelle. Besides, according to EM and proteomic results, we identified Daurisoline, a potent autophagy inhibitor, could inhibit virus replication effectively in host cells. Collectively, our study revealed an unrecognized cross-talk between epithelium and endothelium, which contributed to alveolar–capillary injury during SARS-CoV-2 infection. These new findings will expand our understanding of COVID-19 and may also be helpful for targeted drug development.Subject terms: Mechanisms of disease, Viral infection     

新疆绿蟾蜍的染色体组型初步研究

近年来,有关两栖类的染色体组型已有不少报道。无尾两栖类中蜍蟾属(Bufo)的染色体数目分为两类:2n=22和2n=20(Blain,1972)。我们对采自新疆4个地区的绿蟾蜍进行了染色体组型分析,发现其二倍体细胞染色体数均为44,是四倍体。现将我们的初步研究报道如下。     

人体单臂间歇运动对发汗调定点的影响

本工作系在微小气候相对恒定条件下,对10名健康男青年每人进行四项实验。实验 Ⅰ 为测定双侧腿足浸入43℃水中,诱发左前臂屈侧显现定量汗点时的口腔温度(舌下)阈值,作为发汗调定点参考值(ToSSP);实验 Ⅱ 为 Ⅰ 附加右臂间歇轻负荷运动(77W)时测定 ToSSP,部分对象还记录了皮肤电反应;实验 Ⅲ、Ⅳ 为 Ⅰ、Ⅱ 均附加4.5m/s 气流(22—25℃)直吹头面部,再分别测定 ToSSP。实验 Ⅰ 与 Ⅱ 同体对照22人次,Ⅲ 与 Ⅳ 同体对照24人次。结果表明,实验 Ⅱ、Ⅳ 的 ToSSP 均值及其潜伏期均值分别较 Ⅰ、Ⅲ 者降低(P<0.01)或缩短(P<0.001);Ⅰ、Ⅱ间的 ToSSP 均值差、潜伏期均值差,分别与 Ⅲ、Ⅳ 之间者无显著差异(P>0.2);Ⅱ、Ⅳ 的ToSSP 均值各与其实验开始前的口温均值亦无明显差异(P>0.5)。此结果支持运动时体温调定点下降的论点,并提示在研究体温调定点活动时,以 ToSSP 为指标较用发汗速率为优越,因 ToSSP 不为许多干扰因素所影响。     

Lysophosphatidate acyltransferase activities in the microsomes from palm endosperm, maize scutellum, and rapeseed cotyledon of maturing seeds

Lysophosphatidate (LPA) acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.51) in the microsomes from palm endosperm (Syagrus cocoides Martius), maize scutellum (Zea mays L.), and rapeseed cotyledon (Brassica napus L.) of maturing seeds were studied for their specificities toward the acyl moiety of the substrates lysophosphatidate and acyl coenzyme A (CoA). The LPA acceptor greatly influenced the acyl CoA specificity of the enzyme and vice versa. With 1-oleoyl-lysophosphatidate (LPA-18:1), the palm enzyme was equally active on oleoyl CoA and lauroyl CoA, whereas the maize and rapeseed enzymes were more active on oleoyl CoA than on lauroyl CoA. With 1-lauroyl-lysophosphatidate (LPA-12), which generated less activity than LPA-18:1, the palm enzyme was three times more active on lauroyl CoA than on oleoyl CoA. LPA-12 was an inactive substrate for the maize and rapeseed enzymes. The selectivity of the enzymes was also studied using a mixture of LPA-18:1 and LPA-12, as well as lauroyl CoA and oleoyl CoA. Under this selectivity condition and compared to the specificity condition, the enzymes from all the three seeds exerted stronger preference for oleoyl moiety in either the LPA or acyl CoA, and again, only the palm enzyme could act on LPA-12. Similar studies, although in lesser detail, showed that the enzymes from soybean and castor bean were similar to the maize and rapeseed enzymes in having little activity on substrates containing lauroyl moiety. The results demonstrate the importance of the acyl group in the sn-1 position of LPA in determining the acyl preference in the sn-2 position in phosphatidate synthesis. The palm enzyme appears to be the only one capable of synthesizing phosphatidates containing high amounts of lauric moieties.     

Search for the optimal sequence of the ribosome binding site by random oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis.

Synthetic DNA duplexes corresponding to the ribosome binding site (RBS) were synthesized through the phosphite method on solid support. The synthetic RBS DNA with partial random sequences was inserted into an appropriate site between the lpp-lac promoter and the beta-galactosidase structural gene in plasmid pMKT2. The level of beta-galactosidase expression was correlated with the color intensity of the recombinant colonies on X-gal plates. The bluest colonies were isolated and characterized with respect to beta-galactosidase enzyme activity and RBS sequence. There was good correlation between color intensity and the level of the enzyme activity, and this provided a reliable phenotypic screening method in the search for the optimal regulatory sequences. Novel RBS sequences obtained here show not only the unique nucleotide distribution, but also strong complemetarity to the 3' end region of 16S rRNA, from which could be deduced a generalized RBS sequence, the position of the SD region, and the 16S rRNA position mediated during translation initiation.