Sodium dichloroacetate improves radiosensitivity of U251 cells

AIM: To study the change of radiosensitivity of U251 cells after treated with sodium dichloroacetate (DCA) and further to explore the possible mechanism.METHODS: The U251 cells were divided into 4 groups: control group, DCA group, X-ray irradiation without DCA pretreatment (IR) group and X-ray irradiation with DCA pretreatment (DIR) group. MTT assay was applied to determine the cell viability. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by DHE fluorescence. The expression level of Bcl-2 was assessed by Western blot. The percentage of apoptosis of cells was determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: No difference between control group and DCA group in cell viability (P>0.05) was observed. However, the cell viability of both IR group and DIR group was markedly reduced compared with control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, the viability of DIR group was significantly decreased compared with IR group (P<0.05). The percentage of ROS positive cells was obviously increased in DIR group compared with IR group (P<0.05). The expression level of Bcl-2 was sharply decreased in DIR group (P<0.05) and the percentage of apoptosis of cells was significantly elevated (P<0.05) in DIR group compared with IR group.CONCLUSION: The better antitumor effect was obtained by improving the radiosensitivity through pretreating the cells with DCA, and the possible mechanism was down-regulation of the Bcl-2 expression by developing the intracellular ROS.     

Allelochemical ethyl 2-methyl acetoacetate (EMA) induces oxidative damage and antioxidant responses in Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Ethyl 2-methyl acetoacetate (EMA) is a novel allelochemical exhibiting inhibitory effects on the growth of marine unicellular alga Phaeodactylum tricornutum (P. tricornutum). Oxidative damage and antioxidant responses in P. tricornutum were investigated to elucidate the mechanism involved in EMA inhibition on algal growth. The increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents following exposure to EMA suggested that alga was suffered from oxidative stress and severely damaged. The decrease in cell activity and cellular inclusions suggested that cell growth was greatly inhibited. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxide (GSH-PX) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) increased with the exposure concentration and decreased with the prolongation of exposure time. Cellular ascorbic acid (AsA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) systems were also involved in resisting oxidative stress of EMA by altering the composition of AsA and GSH pools. EMA exposure increased the contents of AsA, GSH, dehydroascorbate (DAsA) and glutathione (GSSG). However, the regeneration rate of AsA/DAsA did not change obviously between treatments and the control, while that of GSH/GSSG decreased significantly under 14 mmol/L EMA exposure on the 3rd day. These results showed that EMA-induced oxidative damage might be responsible for EMA inhibition on P. tricornutum growth and cellular antioxidant enzymes and non-enzymatic antioxidants were improved to counteract the oxidative stress.     

Hepatoprotective activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, captopril and enalapril, against paraquat toxicity

Paraquat is a highly toxic herbicide that is used in most countries without restriction. The cytotoxic action of paraquat is mediated by reactive radicals that are products of its metabolic reduction in cells. It has already been hypothesized that some angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (e.g., captopril and enalapril) could show antioxidant and radical scavenging activity through their structural thiol groups, increasing antioxidant enzymes production or nitric oxide synthesis. In this study the hepatoprotective effect of captopril and enalapril against paraquat induced oxidative stress cytotoxicity was evaluated in isolated rat hepatocyte. Subtoxic concentrations of captopril (0.2 mM) and enalapril (0.2 mM) significantly (p < 0.05) protected the hepatocytes against paraquat (2 mM) induced oxidative stress cytotoxicity markers including: cell lysis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, lipid peroxidation, glutathione depletion, mitochondrial membrane potential decrease, lysosomal membrane oxidative damage and cellular proteolysis. Moreover, we showed that non-thiol enalapril acts as well as thiol containing captopril at inhibiting oxidative stress cytotoxicity markers. Finally, our results support the hypothesis that it is the increase in nitric oxide synthesis and not the presence of the thiol group that accounts for the antioxidant activity of ACE inhibitors.     

Biochemical and histopathological studies to assess chronic toxicity of triazophos in blood, liver and brain tissue of rats

Triazophos, O,O-diethyl-1-H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl phosphorothioate, (TZ) is an organophosphorus pesticide which is extensively used in agriculture for controlling insect pests. Except a FAO/WHO report no study has investigated its short-term toxicity with respect to its potential to cause biochemical and histopathological alterations. The present study was designed to identify the effect of TZ at different doses (1.64, 3.2 and 8.2 mg/kg) on the oxidative stress parameters in blood as well as organs involved in xenobiotic metabolism (liver and brain) following chronic exposure for 90 days. Moreover, the study also delineates the effect of TZ on the histo-architecture of these organs. The results indicated a dose dependent induction (p < 0.001) of oxidative stress, as evident by increased malondialdehyde (MDA) level and compromised antioxidant defense including glutathione S transferase (GST) activity, glutathione (GSH) content and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) in blood, and increased MDA level with concomitantly decreased GSH content in tissues, following chronic exposure to TZ. The ratio of MDA: FRAP in blood was found to be increased following chronic exposure to TZ and may serve as a suitable indicator of severity of oxidative damage. Onset of such biochemical alterations is one of the early adaptive responses to TZ exposure which leads to histopathological alterations in terms of diffuse fatty changes expanding from mid-zonal area to whole lobule in liver. However, increased oxidative stress did not bring any morphological alteration in brain. The present study concludes that induction of oxidative stress, leading to subsequent histopathological alterations in liver, is an important mechanism underlying the TZ induced chronic toxicity.     

溶氧因素对冬虫夏草摇瓶培养的影响

对冬虫夏草菌丝体摇瓶培养中影响溶氧的主要因素进行分析。通过测定不同摇床转速、装液量、封口方式下摇瓶培养后的菌丝得率,并对其进行单因素分析,选择单因素较优水平,然后进行3因素正交试验。结果表明,最适宜溶氧条件为摇床转速140r/min、装液量50%、封口采用无菌培养容器封口膜;各因素影响培养的显著性依次为摇床转速、装液量、封口方式;不同摇床转速下对有效成分含量测定显示,摇床转速对虫草多糖及虫草酸含量影响不显著。     

Assessment of sugar maple tree growth in relation to the partitioning of elements in xylem along a soil acidity gradient

Partitioning of elements in tree xylem is being increasingly studied, as it suggests that elements are potentially mobile within the xylem long after their uptake. A recent study revealed that only the most mobile xylem fraction (water-soluble) of base cations (calcium [Ca], magnesium [Mg], and potassium [K]) increased at higher soil acidity, while the two mobile fractions (water- and acid-soluble) of acidic metals—potentially phytotoxic aluminium (Al), cadmium (Cd) and manganese (Mn)—were significantly enhanced on very acid soils. The current paper presents an investigation of soil-wood chemistry relationships with basal area tree growth. It was hypothesized that the growth of sugar maple would be reduced by low base cation and high acidic metal concentrations in the xylem mobile fractions. Sugar maple trees (n = 55) from six watersheds in southern Quebec, Canada were analysed by sequential chemical extractions for the water-soluble, acid-soluble and residual fractions of base cations (Ca, K, Mg) and acidic metals (Al, Cd, Mn) in xylem. Generally, tree growth was positively correlated to concentrations of base cations in wood (ρ = 0.27-0.50) and soil (ρ = 0.41-0.67), and negatively correlated to concentrations of acidic metals in wood (ρ = −0.33 to −0.52) and soil (ρ = −0.67). However, these relations differed depending on the element fraction considered. Water- and acid-soluble xylem concentrations of base cations and Al were among the best predictors of growth trends (R² = 0.46-0.51). The relationship between acidic metals and tree growth is further discussed.     

果蔬采后高O2处理研究进展

综述了高O2处理对果蔬采后呼吸强度、乙烯释放量、色泽、品质、褐变及病原微生物的影响,分析了高O2处理在果蔬保鲜中的可行性与应用前景.     

低浓度Na2CO3胁迫下星星草幼苗保护酶活性与活性氧之间的关系

对低浓度(0.2%)Na2CO3胁迫和无胁迫正常生长的星星草幼苗的相对电导率、可溶性蛋白质含量、SOD活性、POD活性、CAT活性、MDA含量、H2O2含量和产生O2-·速率的研究结果表明,星星草幼苗各保护酶、活性氧及相对电导率之间存在一定的变化关系,这种变化关系在0.2% Na2CO3胁迫和无胁迫正常生长的星星草幼苗间存在差异.在一定程度上揭示了抗盐碱植物在正常生长情况下与碱胁迫下的活性氧(H2O2和O2-·)代谢可能存在不同的调节机制.     

热处理降低哈密瓜果实活性氧代谢减轻冷害

为探讨热处理能否激发哈密瓜果实抗冷性,减轻冷害。该文以"西州密25号"哈密瓜为原料,在已有研究的基础上,将哈密瓜在55℃热水中浸泡3 min,以室温(22±2)℃清水浸泡3 min为对照,待其表面水分完全晾干以后,放置于3~5℃机械冷库中贮藏,测定贮藏期间哈密瓜品质及生理指标。结果表明,与对照相比,热处理诱导哈密瓜果肉过氧化氢H_2O_2和超氧阴离子O_2~-含量短暂增加,但明显减少贮藏中后期(14~35 d)H_2O_2,O_2~-的积累(P0.05),提高活性氧清除酶过氧化物酶和超氧化物歧化酶的活性(P0.05),抑制细胞膜相对渗透率和丙二醛含量上升,降低贮藏后期的冷害发生率(P0.05),缓解果实可溶性固形物和抗坏血酸含量下降(P0.05),保持果实较好的品质。热处理主要通过诱导活性氧信号分子,提高活性氧清除酶活性、减少膜脂过氧化作用,从而减轻果实的冷害。研究结果为哈密瓜采后贮藏技术提供理论参考。     

基于光谱技术的畜禽污水化学需氧量快速测定方法的研究

化学需氧量(COD)是评价水体污染程度的一项重要综合性指标。随着环境污染问题的日益严重，传统的测量方法由于存在分析成本高、时间长，并且还会造成二次污染等问题，已经不能够满足污水检测的需求，提出了采用光谱技术进行畜禽污水COD快速测定的方法。采用ASD公司的便携式光谱仪，选用容积分别为1000 mL和2000 mL的烧杯作为盛样容器，对18个不同COD浓度水平的污水样本进行了测量。通过吸光度与水样COD值的相关性分析表明，水样的光谱特性与COD值之间存在较好的相关性，以此建立偏最小二乘回归模型。结果表明，两种不同盛样容器(1000 mL、2000 mL)下的预测决定系数达到0.9895和0.9985，校正样本标准偏差为14.2和11.5，预测样本标准偏差为22和32，预测相对偏差均在10％以下，能够满足农业工程应用的要求。说明可以利用光谱技术对畜禽污水的COD含量进行定量分析，COD预测模型的建立也将为开发水质在线检测仪器提供技术基础。