Effects of 11, 12-EET and ischemic preconditioning on phosphorylated ERK and p38 MAPK during ischemia and reperfusion in rat myocardium

AIM: In order to study the relationship between the ERK and p38 MAPK activation and the protection of 11, 12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (11, 12-EET) and ischemia preconditioning (IP), the effects of 11, 12-EET and ischemic preconditioning on phosphorylated ERK and p38 MAPK during ischemia and reperfusion in rat myocardium were examined. METHODS: The rat heart was subjected to ischemia for 5 min by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery followed by reperfusion for 5 min (two times) to undergo ischemia preconditioning. The rats were divided into 5 groups: (1) control; (2) sham group; (3) ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) group, in which the rat heart suffered from 60 min ischemia followed by 30 min reperfusion; (4) IP plus I/R group; (5) EET plus I/R group, in which 6.28×10^-8 mol/L 11, 12-EET was injected intravenously 20 min before I/R. The heart function was examined, and phosphorylated ERK and p38 MAPK were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: At 30 min reperfusion, +dp/dt_max, -dp/dt_max and LVDP decreased significantly in I/R group compared with sham group, IP plus I/R group and EET plus I/R group; Phosphorylated ERK1/2 level was higher in I/R group than sham group, but was lower in I/R group than IP plus I/R group and EET plus I/R group; Phosphorylated p38 MAPK level was lower in control, sham, IP plus I/R and EET plus I/R group than I/R group. CONCLUSION: 11,12-EET protects rat heart against ischemia/reperfusion injury, the mechanism may be related to activation of ERK1/2 and inhibition of p38 MAPK.     

Ascorbic acid level of Belgian apple genetic resources

With the help of the public, a wide collection of old apple cultivars (cvs) was established progressively at our Department from 1975 onwards. Currently, more than 1400 apple accessions are being maintained and three quarters of them are subjected to field evaluation for disease resistance and agronomic characters. This paper presents results of the ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) contents of old cvs combining interesting disease resistance and agronomic features in order to promote them as cvs adapted to production systems which are more environmentally friendly or to be used as parents in breeding programmes. First, a methodological study shows the importance of the variability of ascorbic acid content depending on fruit position in the trees, fruit size, fruit skin colour and maturity stage. Statistical analyses show that the sample size of six fruits per cv is sufficient to detect a difference of 20% between cvs. Old apple cvs such as Grenadier^RGF, Transparente de Croncels, Bramley’s Seedling, Reinette des Capucins, Reinette Libotte and Reinette de Waleffe contain three and seven times more ascorbic acid than the commercial cvs Gala and Elstar, respectively. The paper highlights the need to evaluate the rich potential in our genetic resources.     

鸡新城疫云南分离株HN基因序列测定和分析

用RT—PCR法对分离自云南省的2株鸡新城疫病毒(编号YN—C1、YN—C2)进行HN基因的扩增和克隆．并对其进行核苷酸序列测定和分析。结果表明：2毒株HN基因开放性阅读框架(ORF)均为l716nt；二者之间的核苷酸同源性为95．3％，氨基酸同源性为95．8％；YN—C1毒株与参考毒株GD／1／98／Go核苷酸、氨基酸同源性均最高，分别为97．9％和97．6％；YN—C2毒株与参考毒株JS／5／01／Go核苷酸同源性最高为98．5％，而与参考毒株JS／3／98／Go氨基酸同源性最高为98．1%。     

Contribution of insulin to the ascorbate recycling system in the chicken liver

The effect of insulin on the ascorbate recycling system in the chicken liver was examined. First, insulin was injected subcutaneously into the chicken, and liver glutathione‐dependent dehydroascorbate reductase (GSH‐DHAR) activity was determined. Insulin increased liver GSH‐DHAR activity, but did not affect plasma and liver ascorbate concentration. Dehydroascorbate increased plasma and liver ascorbate levels, and liver GSH‐DHAR activity. However, distinct changes in plasma insulin level were not observed by dehydroascorbate injection. In addition, reduction of external dehydroascorbate in cultured chicken hepatocytes could not be observed in an insulin‐deprived culture, although the cells reduced external dehydroascorbate in a serum‐free culture with insulin. We concluded that insulin affects the ascorbate recycling system as an essential factor in the chicken liver.     

Expression of the tobacco β-1,3-glucanase gene, PR-2d, following induction of SAR with Peronospora tabacina

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is induced following inoculation of Peronospora tabacina sporangia into the stems of Nicotiana tabacum plants highly susceptible to the pathogen. Previous results have shown that accumulation of acidic β-1,3-glucanases (PR-2's) following induction of SAR by P. tabacina may contribute to resistance to P. tabacina. We showed that up-regulation of the PR-2 gene, PR-2d, following stem inoculation with P. tabacina, is associated with SAR. Studies using plants transformed with GUS constructs containing the full length promoter from PR-2d or promoter deletions, provided evidence that a previously characterized regulatory element that is involved in response to salicylic acid (SA), may be involved in regulation of PR-2d following induction of SAR with P. tabacina. This work provides evidence that regulation of PR-2 genes during P. tabacina-induced SAR may be similar to regulation of these genes during infection of N-gene tobacco by TMV or following exogenous application of SA, and provides further support for the role of SA in regulation of genes during P. tabacina-induced SAR.     

靖远滩羊体脂脂肪酸与肉品质关系的研究

肉羊体脂脂肪酸是影响肉品风味和膻味的重要因素之一。研究利用HP6890型气相色谱仪 ,选择了 5 0日龄、2 0 0日龄和 5岁3个年龄阶段的靖远滩羊 ,比较了不同年龄阶段肉羊体脂肪中短链脂肪酸和硬脂酸的变化趋势。结果显示 :短链脂肪酸和硬脂酸从5 0日龄、2 0 0日龄到 5岁有显著的增加。肾脏脂肪中 (公 /母 )短链脂肪酸的相对含量 (% ) 5 0日龄时为 0 5 2 /0 3 4,而在 2 0 0日龄时已达到 0 79/0 5 4,5岁时其含量为 0 91/0 75。 3个年龄组之间表现出显著性的差异 (P <0 0 5 ) ,增加的趋势非常明显。C18脂肪酸也显示同样的变化特性 ,在 5 0日龄的羔羊 (公 /母 )中含量仅为 17 2 /3 6 2 5 ,2 0 0日龄增加到 2 7 3 4/4 5 3 5 ,5岁时达到 3 6 0 3 /5 4 65 ,3个年龄组之间表现出显著性的差异 (P <0 0 5 ) ,增加的幅度也很显著。背膘脂肪中短链脂肪酸和C18(公 /母 )随年龄增大分别为 0 2 3 /0 11、0 62 /0 42、0 71/0 63 ,16 0 7/18 17、2 4 45 /2 6 66、3 3 5 2 /3 6 13。尾部脂肪中短链脂肪酸和C18(公 /母 )随年龄增大分别为 0 13 /0 10、0 2 3 /0 19、0 3 5 /0 3 3 ,11 76/13 79、19 78/2 0 89、2 0 89/2 2 65。     

HBV/HAV复合抗原基因在CHO细胞中的表达

为探讨HBV／HAV复合疫苗的可行性，利用DNA重组技术将HBsAg与HAW复合多表位抗原基因VPX进行融合，插入到真核表达质粒pVAX1多克隆位点，构建成核酸表达疫苗pVAX1／SVPX，将其转染CHO细胞。转染细胞培养48h后，进行RTPCR、Western-blot、ELISA分析，结果表明HBV／HAV复合抗原基因SVPX能够在CHO细胞内转录、表达，融合蛋白具有HBV和HAV抗原的特性。     

0～3周龄北京鸭氨基酸理想模式的研究

依据扣除法原理，根据现有氨基酸需要量标准和目前的研究结果规划出一种氨基酸模式，依次将模式中赖氨酸、蛋氨酸、色氨酸、苏氨酸、异亮氨酸扣除20％，而非扣除的氨基酸量保持不变，来确定扣除某一种氨基酸后对育雏期北京鸭生产性能和血液生化指标的影响，确定出理想的氨基酸比例。试验共设6个处理组，为6种氨基酸模式，每个处理设4个重复。结果表明：北京鸭育雏期氨基酸理想模式为赖氨酸：蛋氨酸：色氨酸：苏氨酸：异亮氨酸=100：42：22：38：48。     

核酸疫苗研究进展(下)

Sato等报道，在质粒载体上引入大肠杆菌Amp^ 抗性基因(内含有6核苷酸片段的ISS免疫增强序列)，真皮免疫小鼠后ISS增强CTL和Th1细胞的免疫反应。有人提出利用含有病毒免疫原性基因的基因大片段进行基因免疫，以弥补单基因免疫活性的不足。将协同因子如IL-2、IL-12、TCA等的表达质粒与抗原表达质粒混合注射可使Th1型细胞免疫增强，而GMcsf能明显加强体液免疫，