EPS364, a Novel Deep-Sea Bacterial Exopolysaccharide,Inhibits Liver Cancer Cell Growth and Adhesion

The prognosis of liver cancer was inferior among tumors. New medicine treatments are urgently needed. In this study, a novel exopolysaccharide EPS364 was purified from Vibrio alginolyticus 364, which was isolated from a deep-sea cold seep of the South China Sea. Further research showed that EPS364 consisted of mannose, glucosamine, gluconic acid, galactosamine and arabinose with a molar ratio of 5:9:3.4:0.5:0.8. The relative molecular weight of EPS364 was 14.8 kDa. Our results further revealed that EPS364 was a β-linked and phosphorylated polysaccharide. Notably, EPS364 exhibited a significant antitumor activity, with inducing apoptosis, dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Huh7.5 liver cancer cells. Proteomic and quantitative real-time PCR analyses indicated that EPS364 inhibited cancer cell growth and adhesion via targeting the FGF19-FGFR4 signaling pathway. These findings suggest that EPS364 is a promising antitumor agent for pharmacotherapy.     

野猪粪便中乳酸菌的分离鉴定及特性研究

【目的】筛选安全的、具有优良特性的乳酸菌菌株,进一步研发益生制剂,为饲料添加剂等动物相关产品提供资源。【方法】从我国黑龙江省大兴安岭地区采集野猪粪便样品13份,编号后置于4℃保温箱迅速运回实验室,利用MRS培养基分离纯化乳酸菌。使用细菌基因组DNA提取试剂盒提取分离菌株的基因组DNA,利用细菌16S rDNA通用引物进行PCR鉴定,将扩增得到的序列测序后在NCBI上使用BLAST与GenBank数据库中序列进行对比分析,确定各菌株的分类学地位。将鉴定后的乳酸菌菌株分别接种于酸性（pH 3.0）和含胆盐（0.3%）的MRS培养基,在不同条件下评价乳酸菌菌株的耐酸、耐胆盐特性。将过夜培养的乳酸菌于室温条件下静置,在不同时间测定其OD_600nm,进行自凝集能力评价;过夜培养的菌株分别与致病性埃希氏大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌和鼠伤寒沙门氏菌3种致病菌混合后于室温静置,进行共凝集能力检测。在体外,分别进行乳酸菌菌株对Caco-2细胞和IPEC-J2细胞的黏附能力测定,评价不同菌株的黏附能力。通过测定乳酸菌菌株对致病性埃希氏大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌和鼠伤寒沙门氏菌3种致病菌的抑菌环直径,评价分离菌株的抑菌活性。通过体内外试验评价乳酸菌菌株的安全性。在体外,分别以模式菌株嗜酸乳杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌作为阴性对照和阳性对照,将3株乳酸菌菌株和对照菌株在血平板上划线,37℃厌氧孵育18—24 h,观察细菌菌落周围是否形成溶菌环,评价分离菌株的溶血特性。使用文献中已报道的毒力因子引物对分离的乳酸菌菌株进行PCR扩增,检测是否存在毒力因子的编码基因,评估分离菌株的安全性。在体内,将过夜培养的乳酸菌连续饲喂7周龄的BALB/c小鼠21 d,分别测定小鼠的初始体重和最终体重,观察计算体重变化情况;饲喂21 d后,解剖获取小鼠的脾脏、肝脏和肾脏计算器官指数,评价分离乳酸菌菌株的体内安全性。【结果】从野猪粪便中分离得到3株对酸和胆盐具备一定耐受力的乳酸菌,经鉴定分别为蒙氏肠球菌（Enterococcus mundtii）、耐久肠球菌（Enterococcus durans）和黏膜乳杆菌（Lactobacillus mucosae）。3株乳酸菌菌株均表现出较强的自凝集能力和对致病菌的共凝集能力,同时对Caco-2细胞和IPEC-J2细胞均表现出较强的黏附能力,抑菌试验结果显示黏膜乳杆菌对3种致病菌均具备较强的抑菌活性。经体内外安全性评价,3株乳酸菌菌株无溶血性,且均未检测到毒力基因,经其连续饲喂的小鼠行为表现正常、状态良好,其中,与对照组相比,黏膜乳杆菌饲喂后小鼠增重显著。【结论】从大兴安岭野猪粪便中分离的3株乳酸菌（特别是黏膜乳杆菌）具有良好的特性和安全性,具备进一步开发益生菌制剂的潜力。     

益生菌防治畜禽细菌性肠炎作用机制的研究进展

益生菌是一类对宿主机体有益、安全无害的活微生物,代替抗生素和疫苗广泛用于畜禽细菌性肠炎的防治。益生菌主要通过与病原菌竞争黏附位点、分泌抑菌物质、加固肠道黏膜屏障、调节肠道免疫应答等抑制病原菌增殖,缓解肠道炎症,防治细菌性肠炎的发生。本文对益生菌的作用机制进行了详细阐述,为益生菌的研究和应用提供参考。     

Maltoporin (LamB protein) contributes to the virulence and adhesion of Aeromonas veronii TH0426

Aeromonas veronii is one of the main pathogens causing freshwater fish sepsis and ulcer syndrome. More and more cases have shown that it has become an important zoonotic and aquatic agent. In this study, a A. veronii TH0426 mutant strain (ΔlamB) with an in‐frame deletion removed nucleotides 10–1,296 of the lamB gene was firstly constructed to investigate its functions. The results showed that the LD₅₀ value of the mutant ΔlamB to zebrafish and mice was 13.7‐fold and 5.6‐fold higher than those of the wild‐type strain, respectively. The toxicity of wild‐type strain to EPC cells was 2.1‐fold and threefold higher than those of ?lamB when infected for 1 and 2 hr. Furthermore, the ability of biofilm formation and the adhesion and invasion to EPC cells of ?lamB significantly decreased for 5.6‐fold and 1.8‐fold separately. In addition, motility detection result indicated that ?lamB lost the swimming ability. The results of flagellar staining and TEM demonstrated that the flagella of ?lamB were shed. In general, the deletion of lamB gene caused a significant decrease in the virulence and adhesion of A. veronii TH0426, and it can be known that the lamB gene of A. veronii plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis.     

益生菌大肠杆菌Nissle 1917抗逆性能、猪肠上皮细胞黏附率及抑菌效果研究

本试验旨在研究益生菌大肠杆菌Nissle 1917(Ec N)抗逆性能、猪肠上皮细胞黏附率及抑菌效果。采用体外法对Ec N进行生长曲线绘制和耐酸、耐胆盐、耐热性能的测定;以猪肠上皮细胞IPEC-J2细胞为体外细胞模型,考察了Ec N对该细胞的黏附率以及对致病菌大肠杆菌K88的黏附抑制率;同时通过蛋白质印迹法检测了Ec N对IPEC-J2细胞β-防御素-2和Toll样受体4的水平的影响。结果表明:1)Ec N对高酸、高胆盐和高温环境具有一定耐受能力。2)Ec N对IPEC-J2细胞的黏附作用以对数期最佳,黏附率达33.96%,显著高于迟缓期、稳定期和衰亡期(P0.05)。3)Ec N对致病菌大肠杆菌K88具有良好的抑制效果,黏附抑制率达87.84%。4)Ec N还能上调IPEC-J2细胞β-防御素-2和Toll样受体4水平。结果提示,益生菌Ec N具有较好的抗逆性能,能够良好地黏附猪肠上皮细胞,对致病菌大肠杆菌K88具有良好的抑制作用。     

Interaction of NR2D subunit of NMDA receptor with MOCA

AIM: To identify the potential proteins interacting with NR2D subunit of NMDA receptor by yeast two-hybrid screening and to investigate the role of NR2D in excitotoxicity of the retina.METHODS: The Clontech GAL4 yeast two-hybrid system was used to screen the mouse brain cDNA library, and the bait plasmid containing C-terminus of NR2D was constructed. Physical interaction between 2 proteins was verified by co-immunoprecipitation assay. The subcellular localization of 2 proteins in the mouse retina was observed under microscope with immunofluorescence.RESULTS: Modifier of cell adhesion (MOCA) was identified as a new protein interacting with NR2D. MOCA and NR2D were co-expressed in the mouse retina. CONCLUSION: MOCA specifically interacts with NR2D, which provides the experimental basis for identifying the role of glutamate excitotoxicity in the retina neurodegeneration.     

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli MT78 invades chicken fibroblasts

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) are responsible for extraintestinal diseases, called colibacillosis, in avian species. The most severe manifestation of the disease is colisepticemia that usually starts at the respiratory tract and may result in bird death. However, it is not yet clear how APEC cross the respiratory epithelium and get into the bloodstream. In this work, we studied the interaction between 8 APEC strains (UEL31, UEL17, UEL13, UEL29, MT78, IMT5155, IMT2470, A2363) and a chicken non-phagocytic cell, the fibroblast CEC-32 cell line. We investigated the association profile, the invasion capability, the cytotoxicity effect and the induction of caspase-3/7 activation in an attempt to understand the way the pathogen gains access to the host bloodstream. Association to cells was determined after 1 h of infection, while cell invasion was determined after 4 and 24 h of infection. The cytotoxic effect of bacterial infection was measured by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and the activation of the apoptotic program was verified by caspase-3/7 activation. Also, the presence of genes for adhesins, invasins and other related virulence-associated factors was verified by PCR. All bacterial strains showed similarity in relation to adhesion, LDH release and caspase-3/7 activation. However, one APEC strain, MT78, showed high invasion capability, comparable to the invasive Salmonella typhimurium strain SL1344. Since an APEC strain was capable of invading non-phagocytic cells in vitro, the same may be happening with the epithelial cells of the avian respiratory tract in vivo. CEC-32 monolayers can also provide a useful experimental model to study the molecular mechanisms used by APEC to invade non-phagocytic cells.     

Purification of a lectin-like antifungal protein from the medicinal herb, Withania somnifera

A 30 KDa monomeric acidic lectin-like protein was purified from the leaves of an important medicinal herb, Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (Solanaceae), by a series of gel filtration and affinity chromatography methods. The inhibitory concentration of the protein ranged from 7 microg to 11 microg against major phytopathogens under in vitro conditions. The peptide sequence showed similarity to concanavalin A like lectin from Canavalia ensiformis and caused distinct cell wall adhesion of the protein treated hyphae under SEM. Further, the antifungal activity of the protein was compared with standard lectins like concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin and wheat germ agglutinin.     

波纹形非光滑推土板减粘降阻的简化力学模型

针对粘性土壤提出了一个简化力学模型，数值模拟了具有一定粘性的土壤与波纹型推土板之间的作用力。数值计算结果显示，在通常的力学条件下波纹板与土壤的接触面积小于相应的平板面积，可以达到减粘降阻的目的。计算了波纹板表面的压力分布，并指出在土壤与农机具粘附系统中波纹形表面摩擦力最大的位置。