Manumycin inhibits the activity of breast cancer cell line SK-BR-3 via inducing apoptosis

AIM: To investigate the anticancer effect of manumycin on abdominal metastatic breast cancer cell line - SK-BR-3 and its relationship with p38 MAPK. METHODS: The test of anticancer effect was performed by the method of MTT, apoptosis induced by manumycin and affected by SB203580, a specific p38 MAPK inhibitor, were examined by caspase-3 activity assay kit, and the protein expression was detected by immunoblotting assay. RESULTS: The inhibition rates at 24 h after treatment with manumycin of 6 μmol/L, 18 μmol/L, 54 μmol/L were (7.4±3.9)%, (21.0±4.4)% and (64.7±4.1)%, respectively and showed dosage-effect relationship. Compared with the control group, the survival rates of the last two treatment groups were decreased significantly (P<0.01). The value of IC₅₀ 24 h after treatment with manumycin was 42.5 μmol/L. Manumycin simultaneously activated caspase-3 protein, which was partly blocked by p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580. The results of immunoblotting showed that manumycin increased p38 MAPK protein phosphorylation. CONCLUSION: Manumycin exerts anticancer effect on SK-BR-3 cell line via inducing cell apoptosis, which is partly regulated by p38 MAPK.     

Soil salinity in Aceh after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami inundated about 37,500 ha of coastal farmland in Aceh, and crops planted after the tsunami were severely affected by soil salinity. This paper describes the changes of soil salinity over time on tsunami affected farms and the implications for resuming crop production after natural disasters.Soil salinity and salt leaching processes were assessed across the tsunami affected region by measuring soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) using an electromagnetic induction soil conductivity instrument (EM38) combined with limited soil analysis. The ECa was measured 5 times between August 2005 and December 2007 in both the vertical (EMv) and horizontal (EMh) dipole orientations at 23 sites across Aceh. The level of salinity and direction of salt movement were assessed by comparing changes in mean profile ECa and relative changes in EMv and EMh.Eight months after the tsunami the average soil salinity in the 0-1.2 m soil depth varied from ECe 22.6 to 1.6 dS m⁻¹ across sites in the affected region and three years after the tsunami it varied from 13.0 to 1.4 dS m⁻¹. Soil salinity tended to be higher in rice paddy areas that trapped saline tsunami sediments and held seawater for longer periods. Leaching of salts occurred slowly by both vertical displacement and horizontal movement in surface waters. Hence, soil salinity persisted at a level which could reduce crop production for several years after the 2004 tsunami. High soil salinity persisted three years after the tsunami even though there had been more than 3000-7000 mm of accumulated rainfall to leach salts. The slow leaching is likely to have been due to the loss of functional drainage systems and general low relief of the affected areas.Monitoring of soil salinity with EM38 assisted local agricultural extension agencies to identify sites that were too saline for crops and determine when they were suitable for cropping again. The methodology used in this study could be used after similar disasters where coastal agriculture areas become inundated by seawater from storm surges or future tsunamis.     

Erianin induces apoptosis of human lung cancer A549 cells via ROS/p38 MAPK pathway

AIM:To investigate the effect of erianin on the viability and apoptosis of human lung cancer A549 cells and its possible mechanism. METHODS:A549 cells and BEAS-2B cells were cultured in vitro and treated with erianin at 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 nmol/L for 48 h. The cell viability was measured by CCK-8 assay. The apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were analyzed by flow cytometry. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was detected by WST-8 method, and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was detected by barbituric acid method. The protein levels of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), p38 MAPK, p-p38 MAPK, caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 were determined by Western blot.RESULTS:Erianin remarkably reduced the viability of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05) with IC₅₀ at 52.64 nmol/L. Erianin also induced apoptosis (P<0.05), increased ROS level and MDA content (P<0.05), diminished SOD activity (P<0.05), and down-regulated the protein levels of Nrf2, NQO1 and HO-1 (P<0.05), in a dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, erianin up-regulated the levels of p-p38 MAPK and cleaved caspase-3 (P<0.05), and these effects were inhibited by N-acetyl-L-cysteine and SB203580 (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Erianin may induce apoptosis of human lung cancer A549 cells most likely via inhibiting SOD activity and down-regulating the protein levels of Nrf2, NQO1 and HO-1, thus resulting in an increase in ROS and activation of p38 MAPK.     

Effects of miR-155 over-expression on expression of inflammatory factors and indolamine 2, 3-dioxygenase in microglial BV-2 cells

AIM:To explore the effect of microRNA-155(miR-155)over-expression on the expression of inflammatory factors and indolamine 2, 3- dioxygenase (IDO) in the microglial BV-2 cells. METHODS:For over-expression of miR-155, the BV-2 cells were transfected with lentiviral vector carrying mmu-miR-155. The expression of inflammatory factors was detected by cytometric bead array system (CBA). The mRNA expression of inflammatory factors and IDO was analyzed by real-time PCR. The protein levels of suppressor of cytokine signalling 1 (SOCS1), p-p38 MAPK and IDO were determined by Western blot. RESULTS:The expression of miR-155 was up-regulated in the BV-2 cells transfected with lentiviral vector carrying mmu-miR-155 compared with LPS treatment group (P<0.01). The miR-155 over-expression promoted the secretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and IL-10, and inhibited the secretion of IL-12. The miR-155 over-expression increased the mRNA expression of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10 and IDO, also increased the protein levels of IDO and p-p38 MAPK, but decreased the protein expression of SOCS1 (P<0.01). LPS promoted the secretion of IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1 and IL-12, also increased the mRNA expression of IL-6, TNF-α and IDO, meanwhile, increased the protein levels of IDO, p-p38 MAPK and SOCS1 (P<0.01). CONCLUSION:Over-expression of miR-155 promotes the secretion of related imflammatory factors and protein expression of IDO in microglial BV-2 cells mediated with SOCS1 and p38 MAPK signaling pathway.     

京单38不同播期子粒灌浆特性研究

以郑单958为对照,设置春播（5月14日）和夏播（6月13日）两个播期处理,研究玉米品种京单38在不同生态条件下的子粒灌浆特性。结果表明,京单38的百粒干物重高于对照品种郑单958,春、夏播条件下增幅分别为14.74%和20.26%,春播百粒干物重较夏播高1.87%。京单38的子粒灌浆速率高于郑单958,春、夏播最大灌浆速率分别较对照高42.27%和49.50%,夏播最大灌浆速率较春播高9.42%。相关和通径分析表明,最大灌浆速率与粒重呈极显著正相关,与郑单958相比,京单38子粒灌浆速率高且灌浆速度快,春、夏播条件下均可获得较高的粒重。     

捻转血矛线虫Hc38基因的克隆及其RNAi载体的构建

根据RNAi目标序列的选取原则和捻转血矛线虫Hc38基因(登录号AY749124)产物的保守结构域所在核苷酸序列设计引物,采用RT-PCR方法从绵羊捻转血矛线虫雌性成虫中扩增出约400bp cDNA序列,与AY749124序列同源性为99%.将目的序列亚克隆到RNAi载体L4440中,经PCR和酶切鉴定证明,成功构建了捻转血矛线虫对应于Hc38基因的RNAi载体L4440-Hc38.     

早熟春玉米杂交种同单38的选育及应用

同单38是山西省农业科学院高寒区作物研究所玉米研究中心以自交系母本1262与父本同71杂交而成玉米单交种,该品种属早熟春玉米品种,2001-2005年在各级各类试验及生产中表现出高产、优质、抗病和适应性好等特点,产量在8500～9500kg/hm2。适宜在早熟春玉米区种植,种植密度以6万株/hm2为宜。     

哈密瓜新品种新密38号的选育

新密38号是新疆生产建设兵团农6师农科所育成的早熟、优质、抗病哈密瓜新品种。全生育期85～90d,果实发育期45d。易坐果,皮色转黄早。对白粉病抗性强。果实长卵圆形,果皮金黄,网纹密;肉色橘红,肉质松脆,中心可溶性固形物含量14/以上;单果重3～4kg,667m2产量2500kg。2006年2月通过新疆维吾尔自治区农作物品种审定委员会审定。     

牛多形核白细胞(PMN)中P38 MAPK,PKC和PI3-K介导的NADPH氧化酶激活和吞噬作用(英文)

用血清调理的酵母聚糖（ｓｅｒｕｍ－ｏｐｓｏｎｉｚｅｄ　ｚｙｍｏｓａｎ　,ｓＯＺ）刺激多性核白细胞（ＰＭＮ）引起的Ｏ２－产生受到ｐ３８ＭＡＰＫ抑制物（ＳＢ２０３５８０）,ＰＩ３－Ｋ抑制物（ｗｏｒｔｍａｎｎｉｎ）和ＰＫＣ抑制物（ＧＦ１０９２０３Ｘ）的明显抑制,这些抑制物也明显引起ｓＯＺ诱导的一种ＮＡＤＰＨ氧化酶的胞浆成分 ｐ４７ｐｈｏｘ的磷酸化。可是流式细胞分析表明,ＳＢ２０３５８０和 ｗｏｒｔｍａｎｎｉｎ使吞噬作用减弱,而 ＧＦＩＯ９２０３Ｘ使吞噬作用增强。这些结果表明,虽然ＰＩ３－Ｋ和ｐ３８ ＭＡＰＫ都参与ＮＡＤＰＨ氧化酶激活和吞噬作用的信号传导,但ＮＡＤＰＨ氧化酶激活的信号传导途径与吞噬作用的信号传导途径不同。     

Expression and Activation of Mitogen-activated Protein Kinases in Matured Porcine Oocytes under Thermal Stress

In this study, we determined the expression and activation of p38 MAPK in matured porcine oocytes subjected to heat shock (HS). When MII oocytes were heated, only the phosphorylated p38 levels relative to the total p38 levels decreased (P < 0.01) after HS, but no clear relationship with HS treatments was observed in the ERK, JNK and p90^rsk expressions of matured oocytes. To confirm p38 activation in matured oocytes, immunocytochemical staining was performed to localize its expression and distribution in the ooplasm, and the results were largely consistent with previous Western blot analyses. Moreover, when matured oocytes were co-cultured with a P38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580, for 4 h at 41.5 C, the activation of its immediate downstream substrate MAPKAPK-2 was not inhibited within any of the treatment groups. It appears that the MAPKAPK2 levels increased only under prolonged culture (HS4h and C4h) compared with the control group. In conclusion, p38 activity in porcine oocytes was decreased after exposure to HS and prolonged culture. These alterations of p38 and activation of MAPKAPK2 may be associated with porcine oocyte viability under HS conditions, and a potential cross-talk between p38 MAPK and other signaling cascades may exist, which warrants additional investigation.