Ultrastructural impairment of islet microvascular endothelial cells in STZ-induced type 1 diabetic mice

AIM: To investigate the ultrastructural changes of islet microvascular endothelial cells in STZ-induced type 1 diabetic mice. METHODS: BALB/c mice were randomly divided into diabetic group and control group. The expression of insulin and platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31) in islet microvessels was detected by immunohistochemical staining. The ultrastructural changes of islet β cells and islet microvessels were observed under transmission electron microscope. RESULTS: Compared with control group, the number of islet β cells, ratio of β cells/α cells, average number of secretory granules in β cells and insulin expression area per islet in diabetic group were significantly decreased (P<0.01). Besides, diabetic group had fewer microvessels with lower expression of CD31 (P<0.01). Mitochondria in islet microvascular endothelial cells and pericytes in diabetic group were swelling. The basement membrane of islet microvessels became thicker in diabetic group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Islet microvascular endothelial cells were impaired in type 1 diabetic mice.     

Cloning and Sequence Analysis of Buffalo Keap1 Gene and Investigation of Its Expression Pattern in Different Tissues

In this study,the CDS sequence of buffalo Keap1 gene was cloned and analyzed,then its expression pattern in different tissues was also investigated.A pair of primers of buffalo Keap1 gene was designed based on the nucleotide sequence of Bos taurus Keap1 gene from GenBank,and then the buffalo Keap1 gene was amplified.Using the bioinformation techniques,the gene sequence and the protein structure were analyzed.The expression level of Keap1 gene in different tissues were detected with Real-time quantitative PCR.The results showed that the length of buffalo Keap1 gene coding sequence was 1 875 bp and encoded 624 amino acids.The multiple sequence alignment results showed that buffalo Keap1 gene shared 99%,96%,92% and 90% of similar nucleotide sequence with that of Bos taurus,Ovis aries,Sus scrofa and Homo sapiens,respectively.And the phyogenetic tree also showed the conservatism between several different species.The second structure of buffalo Keap1 protein was predicted as 24 alpha regions,40 beta regions,38 turn regions and 27 coil regions.In addition,the results of Real-time quantitative PCR showed that Keap1 mRNA exists in all seven tissues,but the most abundant expression was in heart and the minimal expression was in liver and spleen.The results provided an foundation for further study of Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signal pathway,for enhancing the ability of antioxidant of buffalo embryo in vitro culture.     

江汉平原棉花合理施氮量研究

采用田间小区试验研究了江汉平原棉花合理施氮量。结果表明,在施用90 kg/hm~2 P2O5、180 kg/hm~2K2O和3 kg/hm~2持力硼基础上,利用线性+平台模型得到棉花中高产量水平下的合理施氮量为280 kg/hm~2。在不明显减产的条件下,从提高氮肥当季利用率、尽量降低氮肥投入的角度,可以将氮肥用量降低到240kg/hm~2左右,在此施氮水平下仍然可能通过改进田间管理措施获得高产。因此,江汉平原棉花氮肥减量空间为20~60 kg/hm~2。     

传染性法氏囊病病毒主要结构蛋白VP2、VP1和VP2-VP1串联基因的原核表达及其初步应用

为获得传染性法氏囊病病毒(IBDV)特异性抗体检测用抗原VP2、VP1及VP2-VP1蛋白,分别设计引物扩增IBDV野毒株NN1172的VP2和VP1基因,并扩增VP2和VP1基因中抗原性和亲水性较好的重要区域,通过PCR扩增基因串联方法对截短的VP2和截短的VP1基因进行串联,首次获得VP2-VP1串联基因,并对VP2、VP1和VP2-VP1串联基因进行了原核表达和鉴定。结果成功构建了原核表达载体pET-VP2、pET-VP1和pET-VP2-VP1;诱导表达条件显示,3个重组质粒分别转入BL21菌株后经0.05 mmol/L IPTG诱导表达,分别得到分子量为69、114和63 kDa的VP2、VP1和VP2-VP1重组蛋白,且均以包涵体形式表达,3个重组蛋白分别于诱导后5、3和6 h时表达量最多。Western blot结果显示,表达的VP2、VP1和VP2-VP1蛋白与鸡抗IBDV阳性血清均具有良好的反应原性。以纯化的VP2、VP1和VP2-VP1蛋白作为包被抗原对传染性支气管炎病毒(IBV)、呼肠孤病毒(ReoV)、禽白血病病毒(ALV)和新城疫病毒(NDV)4种阳性血清检测均为阴性,表明所获得的纯化蛋白具有高度的特异性;对免疫了IBD灭活疫苗,IBD基因工程疫苗和IBD弱毒疫苗的商业鸡群进行抗体检测,结果均能显示疫苗免疫后机体抗体水平的变化趋势。本研究表明利用该原核表达系统所表达的3个蛋白均具有良好的免疫反应活性,为IBDV特异性抗体的检测和新型亚单位疫苗的研发奠定基础。     

Periplaneta americana peptide decreases apoptosis of pig-ovary granulosa cells induced by H2O2 through FoxO1

Oxidative stress can induce apoptosis of granulosa cells and lead to follicular atresia, thereby reducing the number of pigs giving birth. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of Periplaneta americana peptide (PAP) on the apoptosis of the granulosa cells of pig ovaries (PGCs) induced by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) via FoxO1. PGCs were treated with H₂O₂ to establish a cell apoptosis model. Cell viability was measured using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, and cell apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry. The malondialdehyde (MDA) level and nitric oxide (NO) content were detected to reflect the oxidative stress. Western blotting, qRT-PCR and overexpression were undertaken to determine the expression of FoxO1 and caspase-3, and immunofluorescence was used to detect FoxO1 in the nucleus and cytoplasm. PGCs were treated with 100 μM H₂O₂ for 6 hr, which resulted in oxidative damage and apoptosis and an apoptosis rate for PGCs of 32.95%. Next, PGCs were treated with 400 μg/ml PAP for 24 hr to repair the apoptosis induced by H₂O₂. PAP improved cell viability in H₂O₂-stimulated PGCs, the increased MDA level and NO content caused by H₂O₂ stimulation were reversed and the apoptotic rate of PGCs was reduced. The qRT-PCR and Western blotting results indicated that PAP decreased the H₂O₂-induced apoptosis and the expression of FoxO1 and caspase-3 in PGCs. The effect of PAP was the same following FoxO1 overexpression. FoxO1 was expressed in the nucleus when stimulated by H₂O₂ or overexpression; however, it migrated to the cytoplasm following PAP treatment. PAP decreased the apoptosis of PGCs induced by H₂O₂ by regulating FoxO1 expression and nuclear translocation.     

膜联蛋白B1在猪囊尾蚴免疫逃避作用的研究进展

膜联蛋白是一类有效的内源性调节蛋白,在Ca²⁺存在的条件下与膜磷脂结合,参与细胞活动的多种功能,其与肿瘤发生、自身免疫性疾病、病毒和寄生虫感染等密切相关。作为膜联蛋白家族成员Annexin B1具有独特的氨基酸残基结构,与不同种属的寄生虫入侵特异性宿主密切相关。本文主要阐述了膜联蛋白的种类及膜联蛋白B1在猪囊尾蚴感染宿主机体过程中免疫逃避的作用,旨在探索其猪囊尾蚴感染的免疫逃避机制。深入对膜联蛋白B1和囊尾蚴之间相互关系的进一步了解,以及膜联蛋白B1在寄生虫免疫中更深入的研究,对寄生虫免疫逃避的生物学意义和寄生虫病诊断治疗提供了相关的策略。     

Anthropogenically disturbed potentially toxic elements in roadside topsoils of a suburban region of Bishkek,Central Asia

The ecological environment in Central Asia is vulnerable to pressure from human activity due to the physical geography and climatic fragility of this region. A set of indicators suitable for the future assessment of this pressure needs to be proposed. Thirty‐six topsoil samples (0–5 cm) were collected from roadsides in a suburban region of Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia, and a risk assessment of anthropogenically disturbed potentially toxic elements (PTEs) was systematically conducted with classic statistical methods. The results of detrended correspondence analysis and principal component analysis clearly showed that topsoil samples with high contents of PTEs (Pb, Zn and Cu) were strongly affected by traffic within a distance threshold of 200 m and that anthropogenic effects decreased significantly with increasing distance from the highway. The enrichment factor and anthropogenic contribution for Pb were the highest among the three PTEs, with average values of 2.0% and 47.4%, respectively, suggesting enrichment. However, the results of the human health risk assessment also indicated that noncarcinogenic risks did not occur for any of the anthropogenic PTEs. The reported method provides a new systematic pathway to reveal anthropogenic influences on the geochemical composition of soil. The conclusions of this work will be highly valuable as important guidelines for agriculture, and the results of the PTE contents will provide a scientific basis for soil collection in future studies.     

Ss-Bi1 encodes a putative BAX inhibitor-1 protein that is required for full virulence of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a destructive necrotrophic plant pathogen with global distribution. Although S. sclerotiorum has been studied extensively, substantial research on aspects of the pathogen's ability to cause disease is still needed. Bax inhibitor-1 protein functions as a suppressor of programmed cell death and is involved in the response to biotic and abiotic stress in animals, plants and yeast. In this study, we functionally characterized a putative Bax inhibitor-1 protein, Ss-Bi1, from S. sclerotiorum. Ss-Bi1 is predicted to contain a BAX inhibitor-1-like super family domain and shows significant homology with many BAX inhibitor-1 proteins. High expression levels of Ss-Bi1 were observed in hyphae under various stresses. Targeted silencing of Ss-Bi1 resulted in reduced virulence in host plants. Ss-Bi1 gene-silenced strains were more sensitive to heat stress and ER stress than the wild-type strain. The results suggest that Ss-Bi1 encodes a putative BAX inhibitor-1 protein that is required for full virulence of S. sclerotiorum.