Regulation of myostatin expression is associated with growth and muscle development in commercial broiler and DMC muscle

Myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. Muscle tissue is the largest tissue in the body and influences body growth. Commercial Avian broiler chickens are selected for high growth rate and muscularity. Daweishan mini chickens are a slow growing small-sized chicken breed. We investigated the relations between muscle (breast and leg) myostatin mRNA expression and body and muscle growth. Twenty chickens per breed were slaughtered at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days of age. Body and muscle weights were higher at all times in Avian chickens. Breast muscle myostatin expression was higher in Avian chickens than in Daweishan mini chickens at day 30. Myostatin expression peaked at day 60 in Daweishan mini chickens and expression remained higher in breast muscle. Daweishan mini chickens myostatin expression correlated positively with carcass weight, breast and leg muscle weight from day 0 to 60, and correlated negatively with body weight from day 90 to 150, while myostatin expression in Avian chickens was negatively correlated with carcass and muscle weight from day 90 to 150. The results suggest that myostatin expression is related to regulation of body growth and muscle development, with two different regulatory mechanisms that switch between days 30 and 60.     

姜黄素对过度训练致大鼠脾脏细胞凋亡的调控作用及其机制*

目的:研究姜黄素调控Keap1-Nrf2-ARE信号通路缓解大鼠过度训练所致脾脏氧化应激及细胞凋亡机制。方法:7周龄SPF级雄性Wistar大鼠分为对照组(C组,n=12)、过度训练组(OM组,n=11)、姜黄素+过度训练组(COM组,n=14)。C组不进行任何运动干预,OM组、COM组大鼠进行8周递增负荷游泳训练。训练期间,COM组以200 mg/(kg·d)、5 ml/kg姜黄素进行灌胃,其他组灌胃等体积0.5 %羧甲基纤维素纳助溶剂。末次训练后24 h,称重计算脾脏指数,光镜观察脾脏组织病理学改变,取血液、脾脏组织检测相关生化指标。结果:C组大鼠脾脏组织结构正常;OM组较C组脾脏指数极显著降低(P＜0.01),并出现明显病理学改变;COM组较OM组脾脏指数显著升高(P＜0.05),且组织形态学改变有所改善。与C组比较,OM组血清皮质酮(Cor)浓度和脾脏细胞凋亡水平、丙二醛(MDA)浓度均升高,促凋亡蛋白Bcl-2相关X蛋白(Bax)表达增强(P＜0.05或P＜0.01);体重、血清睾酮(T)水平及脾脏超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性降低,脾脏血红素氧合酶1(HO-1)、抗凋亡蛋白B淋巴细胞瘤因子-2(Bcl-2)表达减弱(P＜0.05或P＜0.01);脾脏核因子E2相关因子2(Nrf2)表达水平无显著变化(P＞0.05)。与OM组比较,COM组体重无显著变化(P＞0.05);血清T浓度升高,脾脏SOD活性升高,Bcl-2、Nrf2和HO-1表达增强(P＜0.05或P＜0.01);血清Cor浓度及脾脏MDA浓度、细胞凋亡水平、Bax表达均降低或减弱(P＜0.05或P＜0.01);组间T/Cor比值变化趋势与T变化相一致,Bcl-2/Bax比值变化趋势与Bcl-2变化相一致。结论:8周递增负荷过度游泳训练引发脾脏细胞凋亡加剧,脾脏组织发生病理改变及功能异常。姜黄素通过上调Nrf2、HO-1蛋白表达,在一定程度上缓解过度训练引发的氧化应激,增强抑凋亡蛋白Bcl-2表达,减弱促凋亡蛋白Bax表达,改善大鼠脾脏细胞过度凋亡,保护脾脏组织结构和功能正常。     

Apoptin induces pyroptosis of colorectal cancer cells via the GSDME-dependent pathway

Apoptin is a small molecular weight protein encoded by the VP3 gene of chicken anemia virus (CAV). It can induce apoptosis of tumor cells and play anti-tumorigenic functions. In this study, we identified a time-dependent inhibitory role of apoptin on the viability of HCT116 cells. We also demonstrated that apoptin induces pyroptosis through cleaved caspase 3, and with a concomitant cleavage of gasdermin E (GSDME) rather than GSDMD. GSDME knockdown switched the apoptin-induced cell death from pyroptosis to apoptosis in vitro. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the effect of apoptin on GSDME-dependent pyroptosis could be mitigated by caspase-3 and caspase-9 siRNA knockdown. Additionally, apoptin enhanced the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing aggregation of the mitochondrial membrane protein Tom20. Moreover, bax and cytochrome c were released to the activating caspase-9, eventually triggering pyroptosis. Therefore, GSDME mediates the apoptin-induced pyroptosis through the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Finally, using nude mice xenografted with HCT116 cells, we found that apoptin induces pyroptosis and significantly inhibits tumor growth. Based on this mechanism, apoptin may provide a new strategy for colorectal cancer therapy.     

Oligomerization and regulated proteolytic processing of angiopoietin-like protein 4

Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (Angptl4) is a recently identified circulating protein expressed primarily in adipose tissue and liver. Also known as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma angiopoietin-related, fasting induced adipose factor, and hepatic fibrinogen/angiopoietin-related protein, recombinant Angptl4 causes increase of plasma very low density lipoprotein levels by inhibition of lipoprotein lipase activity. Similar to angiopoietins and other angiopoietin-like proteins, Angptl4 contains an amino-terminal coiled-coil domain and a carboxyl-terminal fibrinogen-like domain. We report here that Angptl4 is evolutionarily conserved among several mammalian species and that full-length Angptl4 protein is an oligomer containing intermolecular disulfide bonds. Oligomerized Angptl4 undergoes proteolytic processing to release its carboxyl fibrinogen-like domain, which circulates as a monomer. Angptl4's N-terminal coiled-coil domain mediates its oligomerization, which by itself is sufficient to form higher order oligomeric structure. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of Angptl4 in 293 cells shows that conversion of full-length, oligomerized Angptl4 is mediated by a cell-associated protease activity induced by serum. These findings demonstrate a novel property of angiopoietin-like proteins and suggest that oligomerization and proteolytic processing of Angptl4 may regulate its biological activities in vivo.     

Mutational meltdown or controlled chain reaction: The dynamics of rapid plastome evolution in the hyperdiversity of Poaceae

The study of genomic structural evolution associated with accelerated evolutionary rates that result in avoidance of meltdown and increase biodiversity is becoming ever more possible as the number of available plastomes increases. To more comprehensively analyze rate heterogeneity among monocots and within Poaceae, we sequenced plastomes from four Poaceae species, combined them with publicly available data from ~200 plastomes, and conducted comparative analyses to quantify the pattern of rate heterogeneity between different lineages, functional groups, and periods of evolutionary time. We compared structural differences across the Poaceae to quantify how changes in plastome size correspond to different genomic subunits and the evolution of IR–SC junction boundaries. The substitution rates among ancestral Poaceae were inferred to be exceptionally rapid compared to other monocots but slowed after divergence into extant lineages, which could not be sufficiently explained by positive selection. As such, rapid rates in the ancestral lineage leading to Poaceae might be more closely linked to large-scale structural changes like the loss of ycf1 and ycf2. The total increase in plastome size across Poaceae was positively correlated with the total length of intergenic spacers, tandem repeats, and dispersed repeats as well as large single copy, and inverted repeats (IRs). The continuous evolution of IR–SC junction boundaries was asynchronous with sizes of total genome and subunits across Poaceae. Future work is needed to better understand what factors in ancestral Poaceae evolved to harness such rapid rates of plastome evolution, avoid a mutational meltdown, and escape the stagnation of strong purifying selection as well as if these factors could be utilized to synthetically control rates.     

耐力训练和急性力竭运行对大鼠组织金属硫蛋白含量的不同…

为探讨金属硫蛋白（ＭＴ）在运动提高机体自我贩作用,本文实验观察了游泳运动对大鼠心、肝、肺、脑、血管、因浆和骨骼肌等组织金属硫蛋白含量的影响。结果表明耐力训练组大鼠心、肝、肺和骨骼组织金属硫蛋白含量较政党对照组明显降低１３－３４％（Ｐ〈０．０５）;急性力竭运动组大鼠心、肝、脑、肺和骨骼肌组织其含量较正常对照则明显或高２１－７５％（Ｐ〈０．０５）;但两组大鼠血管和血浆ＭＴ含量变化与对照组大鼠要比无统计     

猪圆环病毒2型流行株的分离及其感染性克隆的构建

【目的】通过分离一株猪圆环病毒2型(PCV2)流行毒株,并构建其感染性克隆,为研究PCV2基因功能提供操作平台。【方法】通过PCR方法,从疑似患断奶仔猪多系统衰竭综合症(PMWS)的仔猪淋巴结中鉴定为猪圆环病毒(Porcine circovirus,PCV)2型阳性。把阳性病料接种PK-15细胞传代培养,在培养物中扩增出PCV2的全基因序列。对扩增出的全序列进行序列测定,并与GenBank中公布的5株广东PCV2分离株(GD-pz、GD-gj、GD-jm、GD-ss和GD-sz)进行同源性分析。通过EcoRⅠ和SalⅠ将PCV2全基因组序列克隆进pUC18载体中,获得含PCV2 GD-zq株全基因组单拷贝的重组质粒pPCV2-GD-zq,再通过SalⅠ和HindⅢ把另一个全长拷贝克隆进pPCV2-GD-zq质粒中,使PCV2 GD-zq株基因组DNA以头尾相接的双重复方式克隆进pUC18载体中,获得重组质粒pPCV2-2GD-zq。将pPCV2-2GD-zq DNA纯化和定量后转染PK-15细胞,拯救PCV2 GD-zq病毒。【结果】从PMWS感染的猪淋巴结中分离到了一株PCV2,命名为GD-zq株;序列分析结果显示,GD-zq株全基因组为1 767 bp,与GenBank中公布的5株广东PCV2分离株ORF1核苷酸一致性为97.1%-99.7%,编码氨基酸一致性为98.7%-100%;ORF2核苷酸一致性为93.2%-99.6%,编码氨基酸一致性为92.3%-99.1%;全基因一致性为96.0%-99.6%。pPCV2-2GD-zq质粒转染PK-15细胞后,其通过间接免疫荧光实验(IFA)能从转染细胞及其传代细胞中,检测到拯救出的病毒。【结论】分离了一株PCV2广东株GD-zq,成功构建了PCV2 GD-zq株的感染性克隆。     

一株芝麻香型白酒高温大曲的施莱格尔氏菌的分离与鉴定

从芝麻香型白酒高温大曲中分离到一株革兰氏阴性高温细菌Zm91,并对其进行形态学、生理生化代谢特征以及细胞代谢酶活性和药物敏感性分析,结合16S rRNA基因序列分析结果,Zm91鉴定为水生施莱格尔氏菌(Schlegelella aquatica).该菌株是首次从我国芝麻香型白酒高温大曲中分离得到的施莱格尔氏菌,其G+C mol％含量为67.5％,具有碱性磷酸盐酶、酯酶(C4)、脂酯酶(C8)、白氨酸芳胺酶、颉氨酸芳胺酶、胰凝乳蛋白酶、萘酚-AS-BI-磷酸水解酶及α葡萄糖苷酶活性,对青霉素、氨苄西林、链霉素、利福平敏感.