The transient and constitutive inflammatory signaling in tumorigenesis

Comment on: Rokavec M, et al. Mol Cell 2012; 45:777-89.     

GPR35 is a novel lysophosphatidic acid receptor

GPR35 is a rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptor identified in 1998. It has been reported that kynurenic acid, a tryptophan metabolite, may act as an endogenous ligand for GPR35. However, the concentrations of kynurenic acid required to elicit the cellular responses are usually high, raising the possibility that another endogenous ligand may exist. In this study, we searched for another endogenous ligand for GPR35. Finally, we found that the magnitude of the Ca²⁺ response induced by 2-acyl lysophosphatidic acid in the GPR35-expressing HEK293 cells was markedly greater than that in the vector-transfected control cells. Such a difference was not apparent in the case of 1-acyl lysophosphatidic acid. 2-Acyl lysophosphatidic acid also caused the sustained activation of RhoA and the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and triggered the internalization of the GPR35 molecule. These results strongly suggest that 2-acyl lysophosphatidic acid is an endogenous ligand for GPR35.     

Research Progress on Anti-Inflammatory Mechanisms of Black Ginseng

In recent years, black ginseng, a new type of processed ginseng product, has attracted the attention of scholars globally. Ginsenoside and ginseng polysaccharide, the main active substances of black ginseng, have been shown to carry curative effects for many diseases. This article focuses on the mechanism of their action in anti-inflammatory response, which is mainly divided into three aspects: activation of immune cells to exert immune regulatory response; participation in inflammatory response-related pathways and regulation of the expression level of inflammatory factors; effect on the metabolic activity of intestinal flora. This study identifies active anti-inflammatory components and an action mechanism of black ginseng showing multi-component, multi-target, and multi-channel characteristics, providing ideas and a basis for a follow-up in-depth study of its specific mechanism.     

Inositol trisphosphate activates pyruvate dehydrogenase in isolated fat cells

Inositol trisphosphate, when added to permeabilized rat fat cells, led to a several-fold increase of pyruvate dehydrogenase activity due to conversion of the inactive phospho form (PDHb) to the active, dephospho form (PDHa). It is suggested that inositol trisphosphate, probably through intracellular Ca2+-mobilisation, acts as a physiological mediator of insulin for activation of the mitochondrial PDH-complex.     

Quantitative Metaproteomics and Activity-based Protein Profiling of Patient Fecal Microbiome Identifies Host and Microbial Serine-type Endopeptidase Activity Associated With Ulcerative Colitis

The gut microbiota plays an important yet incompletely understood role in the induction and propagation of ulcerative colitis (UC). Organism-level efforts to identify UC-associated microbes have revealed the importance of community structure, but less is known about the molecular effectors of disease. We performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing in parallel with label-free data-dependent LC-MS/MS proteomics to characterize the stool microbiomes of healthy (n = 8) and UC (n = 10) patients. Comparisons of taxonomic composition between techniques revealed major differences in community structure partially attributable to the additional detection of host, fungal, viral, and food peptides by metaproteomics. Differential expression analysis of metaproteomic data identified 176 significantly enriched protein groups between healthy and UC patients. Gene ontology analysis revealed several enriched functions with serine-type endopeptidase activity overrepresented in UC patients. Using a biotinylated fluorophosphonate probe and streptavidin-based enrichment, we show that serine endopeptidases are active in patient fecal samples and that additional putative serine hydrolases are detectable by this approach compared with unenriched profiling. Finally, as metaproteomic databases expand, they are expected to asymptotically approach completeness. Using ComPIL and de novo peptide sequencing, we estimate the size of the probable peptide space unidentified (“dark peptidome”) by our large database approach to establish a rough benchmark for database sufficiency. Despite high variability inherent in patient samples, our analysis yielded a catalog of differentially enriched proteins between healthy and UC fecal proteomes. This catalog provides a clinically relevant jumping-off point for further molecular-level studies aimed at identifying the microbial underpinnings of UC.     

HMGB1在自身免疫和炎症疾病中的作用及研究进展

高迁移率族蛋白1 (High Mobility Group Box-1 Protein,HMGB1)是一种细胞核内的非组蛋白,其作为促炎介质或预警蛋白可以诱导自身免疫和炎症疾病的发生.HMGB1通常位于细胞核内,在细胞活化和死亡时,可以转运到细胞质或胞外基质中.细胞活化过程中,HMGB1经历了翻译后修饰,活性会随着半胱氨酸残基的氧化态变化而变化.HMGB1能直接作用于细胞,也能与细胞因子或其他内外源性因子形成免疫调控复合物间接作用于细胞.对于风湿性关节炎,关节滑液中胞核外的HMGB1表达上升,对HMGB1进行阻断可以减轻疾病的症状.对于牙周炎,牙龈组织中HMGB1呈高表达,并与炎症因子的释放相关.总之,HMGB1可能作为一种重要的促炎介质或预警蛋白出现在自身免疫和炎症疾病中,有望成为新的治疗靶点.     

Identification and Growth Characteristics of α-Galactosidase-producing Microorganisms

Two kinds of α-galactosidase-producing microorganisms, strain No. 31–2 and strain No. 7–5, have been isolated from soil and subjected to a determinative study. On the basis of the morphological and physiological characters, the strain No. 31–2 was identified to be belonged to genus Micrococcus and the strain No. 7–5 to genus Bacillus. The former strain, Micrococcus sp. No. 31–2, produced exclusively an intracellular α-galactosidase, and the latter one, Bacillus sp. No. 7–5, secreted the enzyme into culture medium. The cell growth and enzyme production of both strains were observed to reach the maximum under an alkaline culture condition. The intracellular α-galactosidase of Micrococcus sp. No. 31–2 was inducible by galactose, melibiose, and raffinose, while the α-galactosidase of Bacillus sp. No. 7–5 was produced constitutively.     

A bioelectrochemical study of a suspension of Escherichia coli cells metabolizing glucose and lactose

The metabolism of glucose and lactose in Escherichia coli K-12 cells has been studied using a bioelectrochemical (BEC) approach. The magnitude and the duration of the response of a BEC anode were found to be functions of the composition of nutrient media and the concentration of bacterial cells. The amount of electricity that is generated enzymatically during the metabolism of a particular substrate depends on the activity of the relevant enzymes. This suggests that the BEC approach can be used for evaluating the activity of particular enzyme systems.     

核酸药物及其给药系统用于炎症性肠病治疗的研究进展

炎症性肠病是一种常见的免疫功能紊乱所致慢性顽固性胃肠道炎性疾病,现有的治疗手段难以根治。随着炎症性肠病分子机制研究的不断深入,在基因水平上应用核酸药物及其给药系统,对炎症性肠病发挥的独特治疗作用,已受到越来越多的关注, 并取得一定进展。本文简介炎症性肠病的发病机制,综述近年来核酸药物及其给药系统用于炎症性肠病治疗的研究进展。