Lanthanum chloride suppresses hydrogen peroxide-enhanced calcification in rat calcifying vascular cells

Lanthanum chloride (LaCl₃) has been shown to retard the progression of established atherosclerotic lesions in animal models, and used as a calcium channel blocker in various cellular experiments. In this study, we assessed the role of lanthanum chloride (LaCl₃) in H₂O₂-enhanced calcification in rat calcifying vascular cells (CVCs) and examined the involvement of MAPK signaling pathways. H₂O₂ induced growth inhibition of CVCs, as well as increases in intracellular levels of calcium and reactive oxygen species, ALP activity, apoptosis and calcium deposition. These effects of H₂O₂ were suppressed by pretreatment of the cells with 1 μM of LaCl₃ for 2 h. In addition, H₂O₂ activated the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, JNK and p38 MAPK, but only the last two were associated with the ALP activity. Our findings demonstrate that H₂O₂-enhanced osteoblastic differentiation and apoptosis are responsible for the increased calcification in rat CVCs, and LaCl₃ can counteract these effects by suppressing the activation of JNK (JNK2, but not JNK1) and p38 MAPK signaling pathway.     

An inference of the wading depths of the cranes in wintering wetlands through photographic sampling: a case study of black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis) in Caohai Wetland,China

Wetlands Ecology and Management - Several overwintering crane species like Black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis) mainly depends on wetlands for foraging or roosting, preferring stable water...     

Identification and expression analysis of phospholipase C family genes between different male fertility accessions in pepper

Protoplasma - Phospholipase C (PLC) is one of the major lipid-hydrolyzing enzymes, involved in lipid-mediating signal pathway. PLCs have been found to play a significant role in the growth and...     

真菌群落构建机制研究进展

真菌是真核生物中生物多样性最丰富的类群之一,广泛分布于自然界,在生物多样性的分布与维持、群落构建以及物质与能量循环过程中发挥着重要的生态功能。近年来随着DNA高通量测序技术和生物信息学的发展,极大推动了真菌多样性分布格局与群落构建机制的研究进展。本文概述了基于生态位理论(niche theory)和中性理论(neutral theory)的选择(selection)、扩散(dispersal)、成种(speciation)和漂变(drift)等过程与生态模型的定量分析确定性过程和随机性过程对群落构建贡献的机制,及其在真菌群落构建中应用的最新研究进展。