Effect of streptozotocin diabetes on some urea cycle enzymes

Streptozotocin induced diabetes in rats increased the activities of the three mitochondrial enzymes, carbamylphosphate synthetase, ornithine transcarbamylase and N-acetylglutamate synthetase, but not of the cytosolic N-acetylglutamate deacylase. Levels of both N-acetylglutamate and arginine, which are activators of carbamylphosphate synthetase and N-acetylglutamate synthetase respectively, increased in diabetes. These results serve to explain the increase both of mitochondrial citrulline and urea formation in hepatocytes and the increased urea excretion in diabetes.     

CO2浓度倍增、高氮沉降和高降雨对南亚热带人工模拟森林生态系统土壤呼吸的影响

 土壤呼吸响应全球气候变化对全球C循环具有重要作用。应用大型开顶箱(Open-top chamber, OTC)人工控制手段, 研究了大气CO₂浓度倍增、高氮沉降和高降雨处理对南亚热带人工森林生态系统土壤呼吸的影响。结果表明: 对照箱、CO₂浓度倍增处理以及高氮沉降处理下土壤呼吸速率都具有明显的季节变化, 雨季(4~9月)的土壤呼吸速率显著高于旱季(10月至次年3月) (p<0.001); 但高降雨处理下无明显的季节差异(p>0.05)。CO₂浓度倍增能显著提高土壤呼吸速率(p<0.05), 其他处理则变化不大。大气CO₂浓度倍增、高氮沉降、高降雨处理和对照箱的土壤呼吸年通量分别为4 241.7、3 400.8、3 432.0和3 308.4 g CO₂·m^–2·a^–1。但在不同季节, 各种处理对土壤呼吸的影响是不同的。在雨季, 大气CO₂浓度倍增和高氮沉降的土壤呼吸速率显著提高(p<0.05), 其他处理无显著变化; 而在旱季, 高降雨的土壤呼吸速率显著高于对照箱(p<0.05), 氮沉降处理则抑制土壤呼吸作用(p<0.05)。各处理的土壤呼吸速率与地下5 cm土壤温度之间具有显著的指数关系(p<0.001); 当土壤湿度低于15%时, 各处理的土壤呼吸速率与地下5 cm土壤湿度具有显著的线性关系(p<0.001)。     

History of gene therapy

Two decades after the initial gene therapy trials and more than 1700 approved clinical trials worldwide we not only have gained much new information and knowledge regarding gene therapy in general, but also learned to understand the concern that has persisted in society. Despite the setbacks gene therapy has faced, success stories have increasingly emerged. Examples for these are the positive recommendation for a gene therapy product (Glybera) by the EMA for approval in the European Union and the positive trials for the treatment of ADA deficiency, SCID-X1 and adrenoleukodystrophy. Nevertheless, our knowledge continues to grow and during the course of time more safety data has become available that helps us to develop better gene therapy approaches. Also, with the increased understanding of molecular medicine, we have been able to develop more specific and efficient gene transfer vectors which are now producing clinical results.     

ATP and other purine nucleotides stimulate the inactivation of ornithine transcarbamylase by broken lysosomes

Calpain II, a high Ca2+-requiring form of Ca2+-dependent cysteine proteinase (EC 3.4.22.17), isolated from bovine lens was found to cleave actin and vimentin, two major cytoskeletal elements of the lens. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that actin (Mr 43 000) was broken down through intermediary products of approximate Mr 42 000 and 40 000, while vimentin (Mr 57 000) was rapidly cleaved into several fragments ranging from Mr 44 000 to 20 000. The cleavage was dependent on Ca2+ and could be blocked by calpastatin , a calpain-specific inhibitor. These findings suggest that calpain might play a role in age-related degradation of the lens cytoskeleton.     

A case with combined rare inborn metabolic disorders: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia and ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency is a common autosomal recessive disorder. Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is the most common urea cycle disorder and demonstrates X-linked inheritance. In female OTC deficiency, phenotypes are variable according to X-inactivation patterns. These disorders develop separately, and their co-morbidity is extremely rare. We report one girl with CAH showing recurrent hyperammonemia and hepatitis after 2 years-of-age due to additional OTC deficiency.     

Regulation of ornithine transcarbamylase in Rhodotorula glutinis

The regulation of ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) of Rhodotorula glutinis has been studied, by growing the yeasts in different carbon and nitrogen sources and estimating the enzyme level in crude yeasts extracts.The results show a nutritional repression of OTC by arginine, when added to the culture media as carbon, nitrogen or carbon and nitrogen sources. On the other hand ornithine does not exert any effect in the same experimental conditions.     

青藏高原高寒草甸3种植物对模拟增温的生理生化响应

采用国际冻原计划(ITEX)模拟增温对植物影响的研究方法,将开项式生长室(OTC)按不同直径设置5个增温梯度,并按其直径从小到大的顺序依次标记为A、B、C、D、E 5个处理,研究了增温效应对青藏高原高寒草甸3种植物生理生化特性的影响。研究表明:（1） A~E 5个增温处理使OTC内部气温依次比对照升高了2.68 ℃、1.57 ℃、1.20 ℃、1.07 ℃ 和0.69 ℃,土壤温度依次比对照升高了1.74 ℃、1.06 ℃、0.80 ℃、0.60 ℃和0.30 ℃。（2）增温对3种植物的叶绿素含量、可溶性糖含量、可溶性蛋白含量、SOD活性、谷胱甘肽等生理生化特性产生了一系列的影响,3种植物对增温效应的响应也不尽相同。（3）增温对青藏高原3种植物生理生化特性的影响明显且复杂,适度增温0.69 ℃~1.07 ℃（D、E处理）对3种植物生理生化特性在总体上表现为正效应。     

The effect of feeding rate on growth of pectoral fin spine of juvenile great sturgeon Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1758)

The effect of two feeding rates (0.5 and 1.5% of total body weight) was assessed on the growth of pectoral fin spines of captive juvenile great sturgeon, Huso huso, after second year of life. The fish received Oxytetracycline (OTC) twice in the first and second years of their lives under basic diet. During the 5‐month experimental period, juveniles (mean 1,187.4 g, 0.1 standard deviation [SD]), n = 50) were reared with two feeding rates under similar conditions in 10 fiberglass tanks (1.5 m³). The fish were fed manually with a commercial diet twice a day (35% Biomar, Nersac, France) throughout the experiment. The OTC marks were distinguished in all pectoral fin spine sections under ultraviolet light. The means of the first and second annular radii were 806.6 µm (27.2 SD) and 2,246.5 µm (50.2 SD), respectively. The marginal increment analysis beyond the second OTC mark revealed a significantly smaller marginal increment for low feeding rate treatment (143.9, 11.2 SD) as compared to the high feeding rate one (269.0, 14.6 SD). The results indicate the slower growth rate in the fish fed the low feeding treatments seen in the pectoral fin spine formation, which can be used as an indicator of recent feeding history in sturgeon juveniles. The best daily feeding rate for great sturgeon of 2,460 g was determined to be 1.5% body weight/day in this study.     

Sphagnum-dwelling testate amoebae in subarctic bogs are more sensitive to soil warming in the growing season than in winter: the results of eight-year field climate manipulations

Sphagnum-dwelling testate amoebae are widely used in paleoclimate reconstructions as a proxy for climate-induced changes in bogs. However, the sensitivity of proxies to seasonal climate components is an important issue when interpreting proxy records. Here, we studied the effects of summer warming, winter snow addition solely and winter snow addition together with spring warming on testate amoeba assemblages after eight years of experimental field climate manipulations. All manipulations were accomplished using open top chambers in a dry blanket bog located in the sub-Arctic (Abisko, Sweden). We estimated sensitivity of abundance, diversity and assemblage structure of living and empty shell assemblages of testate amoebae in the living and decaying layers of Sphagnum. Our results show that, in a sub-arctic climate, testate amoebae are more sensitive to climate changes in the growing season than in winter. Summer warming reduced species richness and shifted assemblage composition towards predominance of xerophilous species for the living and empty shell assemblages in both layers. The higher soil temperatures during the growing season also decreased abundance of empty shells in both layers hinting at a possible increase in their decomposition rates. Thus, although possible effects of climate changes on preservation of empty shells should always be taken into account, species diversity and structure of testate amoeba assemblages in dry subarctic bogs are sensitive proxies for climatic changes during the growing season.