Assessment of a model for intron RNA secondary structure relevant to RNA self-splicing--a review

A widespread class of introns is characterized by a particular RNA secondary structure, based upon four conserved nucleotide sequences. Among such "class I" introns are found the majority of introns in fungal mitochondrial genes and the self-splicing intron of the large ribosomal RNA of several species of Tetrahymena. A model of the RNA secondary structure, which must underlie the self-splicing activity, is here evaluated in the light of data on 16 further introns. The main body or "core structure" of the intron always consists of the base-paired regions P3 to P9 with the associated single-stranded loops, with P2 present also in most cases. Two minority sub-classes of core structure occur, one of which is typical of introns in fungal ribosomal RNA. Introns in which the core structure is close to the 5' splice site all have an internal guide sequence (IGS) which can pair with exon sequences adjacent to the 5' and 3' splice sites to align them precisely, as proposed by Davies et al. [Nature 300 (1982) 719-724]. In these cases, the internal guide model allows us to predict correctly the exact location of splice sites. All other introns probably use other mechanisms of alignment. This analysis provides strong support for the RNA splicing model which we have developed.     

Odor, taste, and flavor perception of some flavoring agents

Psychophysical functions for the odor, taste, and flavor offive common flavorings were obtained by the method of magnitudeestimation. The stimuli included three simple compounds (vanillin,piperonal, and benzaldehyde) and two complex ones (natural vanillaextract and artificial almond essence). The odor intensity ofall the flavorings grew much less rapidly with concentrationthan did taste intensity. The growth of flavor for the complexsubstances and piperonal behaved very much like taste. For vanillinand benzaldehyde, the flavor functions resembled taste functionsat high concentrations but showed a tendency to flatten at lowerconcentrations. These findings implied that, at least for someflavorings, the growth of flavor reflects the most salient featureon the particular concentration range studied. At low concentrationsodor seems to be the most important feature and so flavor functionsare generally flat, but at high concentrations taste becomesthe salient feature and so flavor functions steepen.     

Identification and characterization of FHL3 as a novel angiogenin-binding partner

Angiogenin (Ang) is known to induce cell proliferation and inhibit apoptosis by cellular signaling pathways and by direct nuclear functions of Ang, but the mechanism of action for Ang is not yet clear. The aim of present study was to identify novel binding partner of Ang and to explore the underlying mechanism. With the use of yeast two-hybrid screening system, Ang was used as the bait to screen human fetal hepatic cDNA library for interacting proteins. Four and a half LIM domains 3 (FHL3) was identified as a novel Ang binding partner. The interaction between Ang and the full length FHL3 was further confirmed by yeast two-hybrid assay, co-immunoprecipitation and GST pull-down assays. Furthermore, FHL3 was required for Ang-mediated HeLa cell proliferation and nuclear translocation of Ang. These findings suggest that the interaction between Ang and FHL3 may provide some clues to the mechanisms of Ang-regulated cell growth and apoptosis.     

双歧杆菌对PHN保护作用的研究

被动型Ｈｅｙｍａｎｎ肾炎（ＰａｓｉｖｅＨｅｙｍａｎｎＮｅｐｈｒｉｔｉｓ,ＰＨＮ）是一种在临床生化及病理学改变方面均酷似人类膜性肾病的实验动物模型,是研究人类膜性肾病的理想模型。本文在成功复制ＰＨＮ模型的基础上,应用双歧杆菌经口饲喂和腹腔内注射两种途径治疗ＰＨＮ大鼠,同时以生理盐水作为治疗对照。结果表明腹腔内注射双歧杆菌可以明显降低２４小时尿蛋白（与经口饲喂和治疗对照组相比Ｐ＜００５）,而经口饲喂双歧杆菌组,作用不明显,推测双歧杆菌全身应用可以通过提高机体细胞免疫能力降低该病的发生     

Ab initio prediction of the three-dimensional structure of a de novo designed protein: a double-blind case study

Ab initio structure prediction and de novo protein design are two problems at the forefront of research in the fields of structural biology and chemistry. The goal of ab initio structure prediction of proteins is to correctly characterize the 3D structure of a protein using only the amino acid sequence as input. De novo protein design involves the production of novel protein sequences that adopt a desired fold. In this work, the results of a double-blind study are presented in which a new ab initio method was successfully used to predict the 3D structure of a protein designed through an experimental approach using binary patterned combinatorial libraries of de novo sequences. The predicted structure, which was produced before the experimental structure was known and without consideration of the design goals, and the final NMR analysis both characterize this protein as a 4-helix bundle. The similarity of these structures is evidenced by both small RMSD values between the coordinates of the two structures and a detailed analysis of the helical packing.     

Comparative proteome analysis of Aspergillus oryzae 3.042 and A. oryzae 100-8 strains: Towards the production of different soy sauce flavors

Aspergillus oryzae plays a central role in soybean fermentation, particularly in its contribution to the flavor of soy sauce. We present a comparative assessment of the intracellular differences between wild-type strain 3.042 and mutant strain A100-8, at the proteome level. 522 different protein spots were identified by MALDI-TOF MS, with 134 spots being confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS/MS. Of these, 451 were differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). There was at least a two-fold increase for 288 spots, and at least a two-fold decrease for 163 spots, in strain A100-8 when compared to 3.042. Further analysis showed that 63 of the more abundant proteins were involved in glycolysis and the citrate cycle; 43 more abundant proteins and 10 less abundant proteins were related to amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism; two of the more abundant proteins were involved in vitamin biosynthesis; and five of the more abundant proteins and four of the less abundant proteins were related to secondary metabolites. Moreover, quantitative real time PCR showed that the mRNA expression levels of six typical genes we selected were consistent with changes in protein expression. We postulate that there may be a relationship between DEPs and the flavor formation mechanism in A. oryzae.     

构建高产谷胱甘肽啤酒酵母基因工程菌提高啤酒抗老化能力的研究

根据同源重组的原理,将来源于啤酒酵母工业菌株G03的γ-谷氨酰半胱氨酸合成酶基因(GSH1)和筛选标记Kan取代质粒pRJ-5中18S rDNA内部约340bp的DNA片段,构建重组质粒pRKG。以pRKG为模版,PCR得到以18S rDNA为整合位点包含GSH1和Kan的基因片段18S rDNA::(Kan-GSH1)。用此片段转化啤酒酵母工业菌株G03,通过G418抗性筛选得到啤酒酵母工程菌。实验室小试表明,工程菌的谷胱甘肽含量比受体菌株提高16.6%,啤酒的抗老化能力得到了显著提高,而常规指标没有发生显著变化。连续传代5次后胞内GSH含量基本不变遗传稳定性良好。由于表达γ-谷氨酰半胱氨酸合成酶的基因来源于受体菌株自身,是通过自克隆技术改造工业啤酒酵母的一次有益的尝试。     

银杏内酯注射液联合胞磷胆碱钠片对脑梗死恢复期患者脑血流动力学、氧化应激和血清MCP-1、Lp-PLA2的影响

摘要 目的：研究银杏内酯注射液联合胞磷胆碱钠片对脑梗死恢复期患者脑血流动力学、氧化应激和血清单核细胞趋化蛋白-1（MCP-1）、脂蛋白相关磷脂酶A2（Lp-PLA2）的影响。方法：按照随机数字表法,将安徽中医药大学第一附属医院146例脑梗死恢复期患者分为对照组（n=73,采用常规治疗和胞磷胆碱钠片治疗）和研究组（n=73,对照组基础上结合银杏内酯注射液）。对比两组临床疗效、Barthel指数（BI）评分、美国国立卫生研究院卒中量表（NIHSS）评分、脑血流动力学指标、血清氧化应激指标、MCP-1、Lp-PLA2和用药安全性。结果：与对照组的82.19%临床总有效率对比,研究组的97.26%更高（P<0.05）。治疗后,研究组BI评分、平均血流速度（Vm）、血清超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）较对照组更高,NIHSS评分、搏动指数（PI）、阻力指数（RI）、血清活性氧（ROS）、血清MCP-1、Lp-PLA2较对照组更低（P<0.05）。两组不良反应发生率组间对比未见差异（P>0.05）。结论：银杏内酯注射液联合胞磷胆碱钠片可减轻脑梗死恢复期患者的神经功能损伤,改善患者的脑血流动力学,减轻氧化应激,调节血清MCP-1、Lp-PLA2水平,且用药安全性良好。     

Transient Receptor Potential Channel 6 (TRPC6) Protects Podocytes during Complement-mediated Glomerular Disease

Gain-of-function mutations in the calcium channel TRPC6 lead to autosomal dominant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and podocyte expression of TRPC6 is increased in some acquired human glomerular diseases, particularly in membranous nephropathy. These observations led to the hypothesis that TRPC6 overactivation is deleterious to podocytes through pathological calcium signaling, both in genetic and acquired diseases. Here, we show that the effects of TRPC6 on podocyte function are context-dependent. Overexpression of TRPC6 alone did not directly affect podocyte morphology and cytoskeletal structure. Unexpectedly, however, overexpression of TRPC6 protected podocytes from complement-mediated injury, whereas genetic or pharmacological TRPC6 inactivation increased podocyte susceptibility to complement. Mechanistically, this effect was mediated by Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) activation. Podocyte-specific TRPC6 transgenic mice showed stronger CaMKII activation, reduced podocyte foot process effacement and reduced levels of proteinuria during nephrotoxic serum nephritis, whereas TRPC6 null mice exhibited reduced CaMKII activation and higher levels of proteinuria compared with wild type littermates. Human membranous nephropathy biopsy samples showed podocyte staining for active CaMKII, which correlated with the degree of TRPC6 expression. Together, these data suggest a dual and context dependent role of TRPC6 in podocytes where acute activation protects from complement-mediated damage, but chronic overactivation leads to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.