Mitochondrial DNA deletion of the brain tissue of aged rats with learning and memory deficit

AIM and METHODS: The ratio of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletion was measured to find the relationship between mtDNA deletion and aged learning and memory deficit. The aged rats were divided into two groups, aged learning and memory deficit group and aged learning and memory normal group. The ratio of mtDNA deletion was measured by dilution polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: There are deleted mtDNA (about 4834 bp) in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of both young and aged rats. The ratios of deleted mtDNA were similar in the cerebral cortex,hippocampus and cerebellum of young rats (about 0.00018%). The ratio mtDNA of aged learning and memory normal rats had increased by five-fold in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, or one-fold in the cerebellum over young rats. The ratio of aged learning and memory dificit rats had increased by one-fold in the cerebral cortex or 0.8-fold in the hippocampus or two-fold in the cerebellum over aged learning and memory normal rats.CONCLUSIONS: There was really the increase of mtDNA in aging rat brain. And this increase was double in amount in aged learning and memory deficit rats compared to the normal learning and memory aged rats. It is suggested that the mtDNA deletions in the brain regions associated with learning and memory may be contributed to the cellular and molecular mechanism of learning and memory deicit with aged rats.     

The activation effect of maize pollen polysaccharides on human thoracic cavity macrophages

AIM: To study the activation effects of maize pollen polysaccharides(PPM) on human thoracic cavity macrophage (hTMΦ). METHODS: Activities of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) and acid phosphatase (ACP) in the hTMΦ were detected by automatic biochemical analyzer, and the level of tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α) and interleukin-6(IL-6) in the hTMΦ was analyzed by radioimmunoassay, after hTMΦ were cultured with 0.312, 0.625, 1.250, 2.500, 5.000 mg/mL PPM-RPMI 1640 for 24 and 48 hours in vitro. RESULTS: The activities of LDH and ACP increased in the hTMΦ induced by PPM, and the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in the hTMΦ induced by PPM increased markedly too. And the induced expression effect of TNF-α and IL-6 is associated with the concentration of PPM, and time for PPM inducing. CONCLUSION: PPM can induce cytokines secretion in hTMΦ, and activate hTMΦ in vitro.     

Relationship between apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and sporadic Alzheimer's disease

AIM: To evaluate the association between apolipoprotein E(apoE) gene polymorphism and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHOD: A case-control study was undertaken detecting the polymorphism of apoE by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).RESULTS:(1)The frequencies of 3/4 genotype and 4 al ele in AD were significant ly higher than that in age-matched controls(P<0.05).(2)The frequency of G/G genotype for apoE IE1 in AD was significantly higher than that in age-mat ched control(P<0.05).(3)The apoE 4 al ele was associated with a tripling of the risk for AD compared with no 4 allele(odd ratio 2.932, 95%CI 1.379~6.226);Homozygosity of the G allele in IE1 was associated with adoubling of the risk for AD compared with the G/C and C/C genotypes(odd rat io 2.223, 95%CI 1.075~4.599).However, the IE1 G al ele is also closely associated with apoE 4.When the sample was split on the basis of apo Egenotype, the associat ion between IE1 G/G genotype and AD was no longer statistically significant.CONCLUSION: ApoE ε4 was a risk factor of AD, and the apparent association between IE1 G/G and AD is a consequence of the association between the ε4 and IE1 G/G genotype.     

Dihydroartemisinin enhances radiotherapy efficiency in H22 cell tumor-bearing mice by regulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

AIM To study the effect of dihydroartemisinin （DHA） on the radiotherapy efficiency in hepatocellular carcinoma H22 cell tumor-bearing mice and the role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （AKT） signaling pathway in this process. METHODS A model of H22 cell tumor-bearing mice was established. The mice was divided into model group, single radiotherapy group, 5-fluorouracil （5-FU） group, and low-, medium- and high-dose DHA groups. The body weight and tumor volume in each group were measured every other day. At the end of administration, blood was collected from the tail of the mice and the animals were killed by neck removal immediately. The synergistic effect of DHA on radiotherapy was determined, and tumor growth inhibitory rate was calculated. The degree of lymphocyte transformation and natural killer （NK） cell activity were measured by MTT, the serum levels of interleukin-2 （IL-2） and IL-4 were measured by ELISA, and the protein levels of PI3K, AKT and p-AKT were determined by Western blot. RESULTS The H22 cell tumor-bearing mouse model was successfully constructed. Compared with model group, the TGT₃ （tumor growth time to reach 3 times of volume） of single radiotherapy group was remarkably increased （P<0.05）, while tumor weight, lymphocyte transformation degree, NK cell activity, IL-2 and IL-4 levels, PI3K protein level and AKT phosphorylation level were remarkably decreased （P<0.05）. Compared with single radiotherapy group, TGT₃, EF （enhancement factor）, tumor inhibitory rate, lymphocyte transformation degree, NK cell activity, IL-2 level and IL-4 level were increased with the increase in DHA dose （P<0.05）, and the PI3K protein level and AKT phosphorylation level were decreased （P<0.05）. CONCLUSION DHA may enhance the immunity of tumor-bearing mice by inhibiting the activity of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, thereby enhancing the efficacy of radiotherapy.     

Curcumin attenuates rat lung ischemia/reperfusion injury by interfering with autophagy

AIM To investigate the role of curcumin （CUR） in lung ischemia/reperfusion （I/R） injury （LIRI） and its relationship with autophagy. METHODS 40 SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation （sham） group, I/R group, solvent （DMSO） group, CUR group and CUR+rapamycin （CUR-Rap） group. The rats were intraperitoneally injected with normal saline, DMSO, CUR or CUR+Rap before operation. After the rat LIRI model was established, the lung tissues were taken to measure W/D, TLW, IAR, and the contents of SOD and MDA were also measured to indicate the oxidative stress level. Light and electron microscopes were used to observed the morphology and ultrastrucure of lung tissues. The expression levels of autophagy-related proteins were determined by Western blot to evaluate autophagy levels. RESULTS Compared with sham group, wet weight/dry weight （W/D）, total lung water （TLW）, injured alveoli rate（IAR） and malondialdehyde （MDA） content in all other groups were increased, superoxide dismutase （SOD） activity was decreased, the levels of autophagy were increased （P<0.05）, and lung tissue injury and cell ultrastructural damage were aggravated in CUR group. Compared with DMSO group, W/D, TLW and IAR and MDA content were decreased, SOD activity was decreased, autophagy levels were also decreased （P<0.05）, and lung tissue and cell ultrastructural damage were attenuated. Compared with CUR group, W/D, TLW, IAR and MDA content were increased, SOD activity declined, the autophagy levels were increased （P<0.05）, and damage of lung tissues and cells were more serious in CUR-Rap group. CONCLUSION Curcumin attenuates the lung I/R injury in rats, and its mechanism may be related to the reduction of oxidative stress and the inhibition of autophagy.     

剑麻种质资源表型多样性分析与倍性鉴定

利用常规方法结合流式细胞仪对25份剑麻种质资源叶色、叶缘刺有无、叶缘刺类型、叶顶刺类型、叶长、叶宽、叶长/宽比、叶基厚度、顶刺长、顶刺基部宽等10个农艺性状以及倍性进行了分析和鉴定,结果表明:同一种质资源内叶长、叶宽、叶长/宽比、叶基厚度、顶刺基部宽和顶刺长等变异系数分别在0.9%~13.33%、1.69%~9.13%、1.77%~7.61%、3.99%~11.62%、7.82%~14.31%、9.08%~14.84%之间,不同种质资源间变异系数分别为21.60%、13.95%、15.9%、21.48%、36.59%和30.77%。同一种质资源内叶长、叶宽、叶长/宽比、叶基厚度、顶刺基部宽和顶刺长差异不明显,不同种质资源间存在极显著差异(α=0.05)。基于10个表型性状将25份剑麻种质资源聚为3类,第一类主要包括番麻、广西76416、南亚1号、东368、蓝剑麻、普通剑麻、粤西75等7份种质;第二类主要包括桂辐4号、H.11648、东74、东27、东26和东16等6份种质;第三类主要包括东18、东2、肯3等12份种质。多变量的主成分分析显示4个主成分的特征值总和为5.84,累计贡献率达97.29%。流式细胞仪分析表明,25份剑麻种质资源中,H.11648、东2等14份种质为二倍体,东16和广西76416两份种质为三倍体,粤西75、粤西114等5份种质为四倍体,肯3和普通剑麻2份种质为五倍体,东74为六倍体,番麻为五倍体和六倍体的混倍体。以上结果为剑麻种质资源的鉴定评价提供理论依据。     

木薯叶片厚度、蜡质含量和气孔密度与抗朱砂叶螨的关系

为明确不同木薯品种的叶片组织结构与抗朱砂叶螨的关系,通过对木薯田间螨害情况的调查,计算出感、抗性稳定的感螨品种华南101、华南124和抗螨品种华南7号、华南13号的螨害指数,同时对叶片的相关物理性状进行测定,分析了叶片厚度、蜡质含量和气孔密度与木薯抗朱砂叶螨的关系。结果表明:4份木薯种质华南101、华南124、华南7号和华南13号的螨害指数依次为89.2%、65.8%、38.3%和0.8%;木薯叶片厚度与螨害指数呈显著负相关;气孔密度与螨害指数呈显著正相关;蜡质含量与螨害指数无显著相关性。上述结果为深入探究木薯抗螨机制提供了初步的理论基础。     

普洱茶渥堆发酵中可降解咖啡碱真菌菌株的筛选和鉴定

为了在普洱茶渥堆发酵中筛选出可降解咖啡碱的菌株,采用咖啡碱液体筛选培养基从不同阶段普洱茶发酵样中筛选目标菌株,结合菌落特征、分生孢子结构以及18 S r DNA序列对目标菌株进行鉴定。并将目标菌株接种至茶叶内进行单菌种发酵,通过高效液相色谱法(HPLC)测定咖啡碱、茶碱、可可碱、3-甲基黄嘌呤等嘌呤碱含量。结果表明,在普洱茶发酵样中筛选出一株有效降解咖啡碱的菌株,此菌株在48 h内对咖啡碱的降解率为87.7%。经鉴定为聚多曲霉(Aspergillus sydowii),序列相似性为99.8%。在聚多曲霉茶叶单菌种发酵中,咖啡碱含量急剧下降,在发酵结束时仅占干物质重的(0.414±0.077)%;茶碱质量分数大幅度上升,由最初的不足0.1%上升至(2.129±0.246)%,成为主要的嘌呤碱;可可碱含量无显著变化(P0.05);3-甲基黄嘌呤有大幅度增加,增幅达130%。本文首次从发酵茶叶中筛选出可降解咖啡碱的菌株,探究了微生物发酵中咖啡碱的转化产物,为低咖啡碱普洱茶的开发提供了菌种。     

TFDG对IL-1β体外诱导大鼠软骨细胞炎性损伤的保护作用研究

体外分离培养SD雄性大鼠膝关节软骨细胞,经甲苯胺蓝及Ⅱ型胶原(Col Ⅱ)免疫荧光染色鉴定后,加入白介素-1β(IL-1β)诱导建立骨关节炎(OA)细胞模型,探讨茶黄素双没食子酸酯(TFDG)对OA软骨细胞的保护作用。细胞形态观察发现TFDG能明显改善OA软骨细胞形态。实时荧光定量PCR(Real-time PCR)结果显示,TFDG不仅可以上调软骨细胞分子标志物Col Ⅱ mRNA的表达,还可以下调炎症因子IL-1β、IL-6mRNA的表达。酶联免疫吸附实验(ELISA)检测结果进一步表明TFDG可明显降低炎症因子的分泌。免疫印迹(Western blot)检测结果证明,TFDG预干扰可降低炎症诱导酶环氧化酶COX-2蛋白表达量。这些结果说明TFDG通过减弱炎症反应,从而对IL-1β体外诱导大鼠软骨细胞炎性损伤起到保护作用。     

有效防治甜菜夜蛾的Bt毒素种类及其应用前景

甜菜夜蛾对不同种类Bt毒素的敏感性存在差异。归纳总结了可有效防治甜菜夜蛾的Bt毒素种类、作用效果,并简述其应用前景,以期为提高Bt毒素对甜菜夜蛾控制力度提供依据。