Celastrol induces apoptosis of multiple myeloma H929 cells

AIM: To investigate the effect of celastrol on the apoptosis of human multiple myeloma H929 cells and its molecular mechanism. METHODS: The H929 cells were cultured in vitro and treated with celastrol at different concentrations (0.5, 1, 5 and 10 mg/L). The viability of H929 cells was analyzed by CCK8 assay. Annexin V-PE/7-AAD staining was used to analyzed the effect of celastrol on apoptosis of H929 cells, and mitochondrial membrane potential was observed by flow cytometry. The effect of celastrol on DNA damage was detected by comet assay. The protein levels of apoptosis-related molecules P53, XIAP, cleaved PARP-1 and cleaved caspase-3, and the release of mitochondrial cytochrome C in the H929 cells treated with celastrol were determined by Western blot. RESULTS: The viability of H929 cells was significantly inhibited by different concentrations of celastrol in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner. Apoptosis and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential of H929 cells in a concentration-dependent manner were observed after treatment with celastrol (P<0.05). The results of comet assay showed that celastrol induced DNA damage in the H929 cells. The protein levels of apoptotic molecules P53, cleaved PARP-1 and cleaved caspase-3 were significantly increased and the expression level of anti-apoptotic protein XIAP was significantly decreased in the H929 cells treated with celastrol (P<0.05). Celastrol promoted the release of cytochrome C in mitochondria, and activated caspase-3 in dependence on caspase-9. CONCLUSION: Celastrol has an apoptosis-inducing effect on multiple myeloma H929 cells. Its mechamism may be related to activation of mitochondrial apoptosis pathway by inducing DNA damage.     

Growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effects of andrographolide on acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

AIM To explore the effect of andrographolide (AND) on the growth and apoptosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia （ALL） cells. METHODS CCK-8 assay was used to assess the viability of human acute lymphoblastic leukemia CEM-C1 cells treated with AND for 12 h, 24 h and 48 h. The cell morphological changes were observed by Wright-Giemsa staining. The cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry with annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide (PI) staining, and the cell cycle was examined by flow cytometry with PI staining. The expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins were examined by Western blot. The mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of the cells was determined by JC-1 assay. RESULTS The results of CCK-8 assay indicated that AND inhibited the viability of CEM-C1 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. After administration of AND for 24 h, CEM-C1 cells shrank, the cytoplasm turned red and the cell numbers were significantly reduced. Incubation of AND for 24 h resulted in G₂-phase arrest and apoptosis. Treatment with AND for 24 h increased the protein levels of cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-7 and Bax, and down-regulated Bcl-2 in the CEM-C1 cells (P<0.05). The ratios of cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3, cleaved caspase-7/caspase-7 and Bax/Bcl-2 were elevated with the increase in the concentration of AND. Collapsed MMP in CEM-C1 cells was observed after AND administration for 24 h. Treatment with AND in vivo suppressed the growth of the xenograft tumor and increased the protein level of cleaved caspase-3. CONCLUSION Andrographolide exerts growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effects on ALL cells both in vitro and in vivo.     

贵州威宁红花油茶的叶绿体基因组特征分析

对威宁红花油茶（Camellia weiningensis）的叶片高通量测序数据进行叶绿体全基因组的组装和注释分析。其叶绿体全基因组长为156 490 bp,包含典型的四分体结构,序列已登录GenBank（MK820035）。叶绿体全基因组比较分析表明,与其他山茶属物种一样,其结构与基因排序均保守,但在基因组的反向重复区边界处表现出明显区别。简单重复序列（SSR）分析表明,全基因组仅包含51个单核苷酸重复的SSR,且仅为A/T重复类型。系统发育分析表明,威宁红花油茶与腾冲红花油茶亲缘关系最近,但其所处分支包含的4个山茶属物种的分组与传统分类不一致。     

Role of Drp1 in high glucose-induced rat cardiomyocyte hypertrophy

AIM: To investigate the effect of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) on high glucose-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. METHODS: The primarily cultured rat cardiomyocytes were divided into normal glucose group, mannitol group, DMSO group, high glucose group and high glucose+mitochondrial division inhibitor-1 (Mdivi-1) group. The area of single cardiomyocyte was calculated by wheat germ agglutinin staining. The mitochondrial membrane potential of the cardiomyocytes was detected by JC-1 staining, and the expression levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), the marker of cardiac hypertrophy, Drp1 and its phosphorylated proteins p-Drp1 (Ser616) and p-Drp1 (Ser637) were determined by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with normal glucose group and mannitol group, the cell area was increased significantly and the mitochondrial membrane potential was decreased significantly in high glucose group. The protein levels of ANP and p-Drp1 (Ser616) were significantly increased, the protein level of p-Drp1 (Ser637) was decreased, and no significant difference of total Drp1 level among groups was observed. In high glucose+Mdivi-1 group, ANP expression and the protein level of p-Drp1 (Ser616) were significantly decreased, and the protein level of p-Drp1 (Ser637) was increased as compared with high glucose group. CONCLUSION: High glucose induces hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes, and the mechanism is associated with increased mitochondrial fission due to changes of Drp1 phosphorylation levels.     

Functional Identification of Cotton U3 and U6 Promoters in the CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing System

[Objective] The function of U3 and U6 promoters that were cloned from sea-island cotton were identified in order to provide more available U3 and U6 promoters for the construction of cotton CRISPR/Cas9 multi-sites gene editing system. [Method] Two CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing vectors were constructed, in which sgRNA were driven by GbU6-7P and GbU3-2P, respectively, and GGB, a negative regulator in drought tolerance, was used as target gene. The function of the vector were identified in cotton leaf protoplast of Xinhai 16. The core fragment of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing vector were enriched by Polymerase chain reaction method and were delivered into protoplast through PEG transient transformation. Then genomic DNA were extracted from protoplast. Gene mutations were analyzed using Enzyme digest/Polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. Finaly the mutation efficiencies of the CRISPR/Cas9 system were calculated and the frequency distribution of the mutation in target site were drawn in order to confirm the authenticity of the mutation. [Result] All type of mutation in target loci were base substitution. [Conclusion]Both CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing systems based on GbU3-2P and GbU6-7P promoters could successfully edit the sequence of cotton GGB gene and cause gene mutation.     

Genome‐wide association mapping and candidate gene analysis for saturated fatty acid content in soybean seed

Saturated fatty acids (FA), an important component of soybean oil, plays a crucial role in the nutritional value of soybean oil through different concentration and relative proportions. In this study, an association population of 185 diverse soybean accessions was used to identify quantitative trait nucleotide (QTN) and scan candidate genes via genome‐wide association analysis (GWAS), which was based on high throughout single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) developed via the Specific Locus Amplified Fragment Sequencing (SLAF‐seq) approach. A total of 33,149 SNPs were identified with minor allele frequencies (MAF) >4%, which covered 97% of the soybean whole genome. For the two saturated FA concentration, including palmitic acid (PA) and stearic acid (SA), up to 65 SNPs were verified via GWAS. Among them, 35 and 16 SNPs loci were the novel loci for PA and SA, respectively. There were other six loci for PA and eight loci for SA overlapped or located in the linked genomic regions reported by the previous study. Furthermore, many loci were repeated in more than two environments, and four pair of pleiotropic loci (PA‐3‐2 and SA‐3‐2, PA‐11‐2 and SA‐11‐1, PA‐12‐2 and SA‐12‐1, and PA‐17‐1 and SA‐17‐2) had similar genomic regions, which might control both PA and SA simultaneously. A total of 49 genes, which could participate in lipid biosynthesis pathway or hormone metabolism, were identified as the potential candidate genes associated with saturated FA. The identified loci with beneficial alleles and the candidate genes would be valuable for studying the molecular mechanisms of saturated FA and further for improving nutritional value of soybean oil.     

木贼镰孢菌D25-1全基因组序列的测定及结构分析

 木贼镰孢菌是多种植物的病原菌,也具有益生作用,功能复杂多样。本研究基于Illumina Hiseq 4000和PacBio平台对木贼镰孢菌D25-1全基因组序列进行了测定及组装,共组装出16个基因组片段,GC含量48.01%,总长40 776 005个碱基,Gap数为0。对内含子、外显子、基因长度、非编码RNA、重复序列等基因组信息均进行分类统计,外显子40 110个,总长19 787 286 bp,内含子26 281个,总长2 290 434 bp,多数基因长度为500~1 499 bp,tRNA 333个,rRNA 71个,sRNA 69个,snRNA 31个,miRNA 108个,共预测的重复序列1 713 918 bp,占基因组4.2033%。比较基因组学分析发现木贼镰孢菌组装结果较好,特有基因3 483个和共有基因1 805个,并对共有基因进行了COG分类注释。基因家族分析发现2 500多个单拷贝同源基因。构建进化树发现木贼镰孢菌和假禾谷镰孢菌的遗传距离最近,在全基因组水平上确定了其进化地位。本研究为基因表达的调控机制、基因功能演化分析、病害防控等研究提供基础的数据。     

Total flavonoids of onion attenuate hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative damage in retinal pigment epithelial cells

AIM: To investigate the effects of total flavonoids of onion (FO) on hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced oxidative damage in retinal pigment epithelial cells. METHODS: The retinal pigment epithelium ARPE-19 cells were divided into 5 groups:control group, H₂O₂ group (treated with H₂O₂), FO-L+H₂O₂ group (treated with H₂O₂ and low concentration of FO), FO-M+H₂O₂ group (treated with H₂O₂ and medium concentration of FO) and FO-H+H₂O₂ group (treated with H₂O₂ and high concentration of FO). The cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. DCFH-DA staining was used to detect reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in the cells. WST assay was used to detect superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The content of malonaldehyde (MDA) was measured by TBA method. Mitochondrial membrane potential was analyzed by JC-1 staining. The protein levels of cytochrome C (Cyt C) in the cytoplasm, and cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 in the cells were determined by Western blot. RESULTS: Treatment with H₂O₂ decreased ARPE-19 cell viability, increased the apoptotic rate and the level of ROS in the cells, decreased SOD activity, increased the content of MDA, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, and increased the protein levels of Cyt C in the cytoplasm and cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 in the cells (P<0.05). Compared with H₂O₂ group, the cell viability in FO-L+H₂O₂ group, FO-M+H₂O₂ group and FO-H+H₂O₂ group was increased, the apoptotic rates were decreased, the levels of ROS were decreased, SOD activity was increased, the content of MDA was decreased, mitochondrial membrane potential was increased, the protein level of Cyt C was decreased in the cytoplasm, and the protein levels of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 protein in the cells were decreased gradually (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Total flavonoids of onion reduce H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage in retinal pigment epithelial cells.