Effect of prostaglandin F2alpha on ovarian, adrenal, and pituitary hormones and on luteal blood flow in mares

The effect of a single injection of prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF) during mid-diestrus on systemic concentrations of progesterone, LH, FSH, estradiol, and cortisol and on blood flow to the corpus luteum was studied in 10 controls and 10 PGF-treated mares. Blood flow was assessed by estimating the percentage of corpus luteum with color-Doppler signals of blood flow during real-time scanning of the entire structure and by the diameter of the vascular pedicle near its attachment to the ovary. Treatment was done 8 days after ovulation and 0 h was immediately before the treatment. Examinations and collection of blood samples were done at 0 h, every 5 min until 1h, and then at 1.5, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h. The concentrations of estradiol did not change, but progesterone, LH, FSH, and cortisol increased significantly within 5 min. Concentrations of LH and FSH in the PGF group remained elevated until a temporarily lower concentration at 8 or 4h, respectively, rebounded to 12h, and then slowly decreased. Cortisol remained elevated, until a decrease between 1 and 4h. Progesterone in the PGF group increased significantly until 10 min after 0 h and then decreased by 40 min to below the concentrations in controls. Within the PGF group, progesterone decreased significantly by 45 min to below the concentrations at 0 h. The values for each of the two indicators of blood flow did not differ significantly between the PGF and control groups until a decrease at 24h in the PGF group. Results did not support the hypothesis that the immediate transient post-PGF increase in progesterone was associated with an increase in luteal blood flow. Luteolysis, as indicated by decreasing progesterone, began well before the beginning of a decrease in luteal blood flow.     

The Exploitation of Nematode-Responsive Plant Genes in Novel Nematode Control Methods

The molecular interactions between plants and sedentary nematodes are undergoing intense study, not only for reasons of fundamental research but also for the potential benefits to agriculture. The present technology allows the transformation of an increasing number of crop plants, providing new ways to introduce resistance against plant-parasitic nematodes. The ability of sedentary nematodes to induce specialized feeding sites in plant roots is one of the most fascinating aspects of this host–parasite interaction. Molecular approaches have been initiated to identify and characterize plant genes altered in expression after infection by sedentary nematodes. The results obtained indicate that many genes indeed become up-regulated upon nematode infection. Surprisingly, several so-called constitutive promoters that are normally used to achieve high expression in plant cells are completely ‘silenced’ in the feeding sites within days after nematode infection. Generally, there are two options available for the genetic engineering of nematode resistance: the synthesis of anti-nematode proteins or the localized production of a cytotoxic protein that interferes with the development of feeding cells. Nematode-induced promoters are very useful for the production by plants of sufficiently high levels of anti-nematode proteins at feeding sites. Alternatively, interfering with feeding-cell development is somewhat similar to the hypersensitive response evoked by nematodes in a naturally resistant plant. Here, destruction of specific plant cells can be achieved by the localized expression of a cytotoxin such as barnase, a potent ribonuclease. This approach, however, calls for a highly specific ‘non-leaky’ promoter, which is active only in the feeding cells. Another possibility is to use a two-component system, where the leakiness of the promoter in other tissues is counterbalanced by the constitutive expression of a neutralizing gene.     

GM1 gangliosidosis in a Japanese domestic cat: a new variant identified in Hokkaido,Japan

A male Japanese domestic cat with retarded growth in Hokkaido, Japan, showed progressive motor dysfunction, such as ataxia starting at 3 months of age and tremors, visual disorder and seizure after 4 months of age. Finally, the cat died of neurological deterioration at 9 months of age. Approximately half of the peripheral blood lymphocytes had multiple abnormal vacuoles. Magnetic resonance imaging showed bisymmetrical hyperintensity in the white matter of the parietal and occipital lobes in the forebrain on T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images, and mild encephalatrophy of the olfactory bulbs and temporal lobes. The activity of lysosomal acid β-galactosidase in leukocytes was negligible, resulting in the biochemical diagnosis of GM1 gangliosidosis. Histologically, swollen neurons characterized by accumulation of pale, slightly granular cytoplasmic materials were observed throughout the central nervous system. Dysmyelination or demyelination and gemistocytic astrocytosis were observed in the white matter. Ultrastructually, membranous cytoplasmic bodies were detected in the lysosomes of neurons. However, genetic analysis did not identify the c.1448G>C mutation, which is the single known mutation of feline GM1 gangliosidosis, suggesting that the cat was affected with a new variant of the feline disease.     

Bioprospecting of Less-Polar Fractions of Ericaria crinita and Ericaria amentacea: Developmental Toxicity and Antioxidant Activity

Ericaria crinita and Ericaria amentacea from the Adriatic Sea (Croatia) were investigated with respect to the presence of less-polar compounds for the first time after fractionation by solid-phase extraction (SPE). The composition of less-polar fractions of freeze-dried E. crinita (FdEc) and E. amentacea (FdEa) were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (UHPLC-ESI-HRMS). The major identified compounds were: amides of higher aliphatic acids (palmitoleamide, linoleamide, palmitamide, oleamide and erucamide) and related compounds, carotenoid (fucoxanthin), chlorophyll derivatives (pheophytin a and b and their derivatives) and higher terpenes (loliolide, isoamijiol with its oxidation product), β-stigmasterol and (3β,6α)-14-methylergosta-8,24(28)-diene-3,6-diol). The toxic effects observed on the less-polar fractions obtained from Ericaria species on zebrafish Danio rerio embryos could be associated with the high abundance of all five detected amides. The antioxidant activity of the fractions was evaluated by means of five independent assays, including the reduction of the radical cation (ABTS), the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assay and the Folin–Ciocalteu method. A higher antioxidant activity of E. amentacea in comparison to that of the E. crinita fractions was found with IC₅₀ concentrations of 0.072 and 1.177 mg/mL, respectively. The correlation between the activity and the chemical composition revealed that the synergistic effect of different compounds impacted their antioxidant response.     

叶甲科部分种类 Cyt b基因序列及系统发育关系初探

测定分析了叶甲科(Chrysomelidae)15种昆虫mtDNA_Cyt b基因部分序列,结果显示,在获得的390 bp序列中,198个核苷酸位点为多态性位点(约占50.8%),序列间碱基差异平均值为18.9%,A T含量为72.7%,碱基转换呈现明显的TC偏向性,颠换主要以TA为主,转换/颠换(R)值为0.8。依据分子数据建立了该15种昆虫的系统发育关系,结果表明:跳甲亚科(Alticinae)和叶甲亚科(Chrysomelinae)的亲缘关系较近,萤叶甲亚科(Galerucinae)与前两者的关系较远。萤叶甲亚科中瓢萤叶甲为最早分化的类群,长跗萤叶甲属(Monolepta)、凹翅萤叶甲属(Paleosepharia)、长刺萤叶甲属(Atrachya)能形成姊妹群。克萤叶甲属(Cneorane)和守瓜属(Aulacophora)的亲缘关系较近。基于蛋白质序列构建的系统树的置信值高于核苷酸序列建立的系统发育树。     

植物多肽激素PA1b的纯化鉴定及功能研究

通过稀醋酸低温浸提、海藻酸吸附、盐析、SephadexG25凝胶过滤、Sephacel离子交换层析和高效液相色谱等方法,从豌豆种子中分离纯化出PA1b及其多种异构体,并通过质谱和氨基酸测序进行了鉴定,结果表明:PA1b能抗胃蛋白酶(pepsin)水解,其高度的酶稳定性是由于分子内具有胱氨酸结构模体。此外,PA1b能明显延长体外培养的胰岛β细胞的存活时间,并影响胰岛β细胞的功能。     

伐地那非增加EGCG-β-乳球蛋白纳米粒对肝癌细胞的抑制作用

较高浓度的EGCG才能抑制癌细胞的增殖,通过纳米化和EGCG与其他药物的联合使用是提高EGCG生物活性的重要策略。本研究将EGCG和伐地那非（VD）同时包埋于β-乳球蛋白（β-Lg）纳米载体中,制备出EGCG-VD-β-Lg纳米粒（EVβ-NPs）,体外试验证实,EVβ-NPs能提高人肝癌细胞（HepG2细胞）中Caspase-3活性,使HepG2细胞在S期产生明显的阻滞,诱发细胞核分裂,从而导致HepG2细胞凋亡。研究结果表明,将EGCG与微量的VD联合使用,并通过纳米化包埋可以显著提高EGCG的抗癌活性。这一方法在EGCG抗癌制品的开发方面具有潜在的价值。