揭示皮肤类器官培养的奥秘

随着生活水平的提高,人们对于外表关注不断加强,脱发已经成为越来越多的老年人和中青年人,尤其是许多脑力劳动者的新困扰。据统计,目前全球有20亿人,正在饱受脱发的困扰、衰老、雄性激素、遗传、分娩、癌症治疗、烧伤以及压力等都有可能导致脱发。

Promoter variations in DBR2-like affect artemisinin production in different chemotypes of Artemisia annua

Artemisia annua is the only known plant source of the potent antimalarial artemisinin,which occurs as the low-and high-artemisinin producing(LAP and HAP)chemotypes.Nevertheless,the different mechanisms of artemisinin producing between these two chemotypes were still not fully understood.Here,we performed a comprehensive analysis of genome resequencing,metabolome,and transcriptome data to systematically compare the difference in the LAP chemotype JL and HAP chemotype HAN.Metabolites analysis revealed that 72.18%of sesquiterpenes was highly accumulated in HAN compared to JL.Integrated omics analysis found a DBR2-Like(DBR2L)gene may be involved in artemisinin biosynthesis.DBR2L was highly homologous with DBR2,belonged to ORR3 family,and had the DBR2 activity of catalyzing artemisinic aldehyde to dihydroartemisinic aldehyde.Genome resequencing and promoter cloning revealed that complicated variations existed in DBR2L promoters among different varieties of A.annua and were clustered into three variation types.The promoter activity of diverse variant types showed obvious differences.Furthermore,the core region(-625 to 0)of the DBR2L promoter was identified and candidate transcription factors involved in DBR2L regulation were screened.Thus,the result indicates that DBR2L is another key enzyme involved in artemisinin biosynthesis.The promoter variation in DBR2L affects its expression level,and thereby may result in the different yield of artemisinin in varieties of A.annua.It provides a novel insight into the mechanism of artemisinin-producing difference in LAP and HAP chemotypes of A.annua,and will assist in a high yield of artemisinin in A.annua.

Neural substrates for regulating self-grooming behavior in rodents

Grooming,as an evolutionarily conserved repetitive behavior,is common in various animals,including humans,and serves essential functions including,but not limited to,hygiene maintenance,thermoregulation,de-arousal,stress reduction,and social behaviors.In rodents,grooming involves a patterned and sequenced structure,known as the syntactic chain with four phases that comprise repeated stereotyped movements happening in a cephalocaudal progression style,beginning from the nose to the face,to the head,and finally ending with body licking.The context-dependent occurrence of grooming behavior indicates its adaptive significance.This review briefly summarizes the neural substrates responsible for rodent grooming behavior and explores its relevance in rodent models of neuropsychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases with aberrant grooming phenotypes.We further emphasize the utility of rodent grooming as a reliable measure of repetitive behavior in neuropsychiatric models,holding promise for translational psychiatry.Herein,we mainly focus on rodent self-grooming.Allogrooming(grooming being applied on one animal by its conspecifics via licking or carefully nibbling)and heterogrooming(a form of grooming behavior directing towards another animal,which occurs in other contexts,such as maternal,sexual,aggressive,or social behaviors)are not covered due to space constraints.

货币金属纳米团簇的配体工程:杯芳烃-货币金属纳米团簇的合成与性质

自胶体金的理性合成起,货币金属团簇/颗粒的功能配体一直以膦配体和硫醇配体为主.近10年间,碳配体——炔烃配体及卡宾配体才被用于系统研究.随后,大批配位原子的同族元素被开发,用于团簇的合成;同时,对特殊骨架进行化学修饰也成为拓宽配体库的现实方法.聚焦新型配体的研究加深了对团簇构效关系的理解,启发了纳米团簇的配体工程.如今,从配体角度探究金属团簇已然成为重要的研究方法.同时,配体的发展也拓展了金属纳米材料的性质,深刻影响着此类材料的现实应用.功能配体的引入是将团簇发展为多功能材料的一个重要途径,因此也获得了日渐深入的研究.由于结构的多样性、化学可修饰性及诸多特殊的物化性质(主客体作用、刺激响应能力、手性、光学性质等),杯芳烃一直是广受关注的功能配体骨架.本文首先概述了配体对团簇性质的普遍影响,随后从杯芳烃修饰团簇的合成、稳定性及功能性方面进行了总结,展望了通过引入功能配体以获取多功能金属纳米团簇的前景.

The inhibitory activities of Urtica fissa to BPH

In the present study, the BPH inhibitory activities of Urtica fissa were systematically investigated. Firstly, inhibitory activities of 5α reductase of the alcoholic extracts from different parts(root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit) were evaluated. The results indicated that the root possessed the most significant action. Subsequently, U. fissa root(UFR) was subjected to further pharmacological evaluation using the benign prostate hyperplasia(BPH) model rats induced by testosterone propionate. The results revealed that UFR could significantly decrease the prostate index, alter the hyperplasia tissue morphology, suppress the prostatic growth factors of VEGF, EGF, bF GF and KGF, decrease the inflammation factor levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6, improve the activities of GSH-Px, CAT and SOD and decrease the MDA level in the prostate of the model rats. Moreover, UFR also significantly suppressed the hormone levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. These results indicated that the possible BPH inhibitory mechanisms of UFR were growth factor suppression, hormone level modulation, anti-inflammation, and anti-oxidative stress.

Reading-related Brain Function Restored to Normal After Articulation Training in Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate:An fMRI Study

Cleft lip and/or palate(CLP)are the most common craniofacial malformations in humans.Speech problems often persist even after cleft repair,such that follow-up articulation training is usually required.However,the neural mechanism behind effective articulation training remains largely unknown.We used fMRI to investigate the differences in brain activation,functional connectivity,and effective connectivity across CLP patients with and without articulation training and matched normal participants.We found that training promoted task-related brain activation among the articulation-related brain networks,as well as the global attributes and nodal efficiency in the functional-connectivity-based graph of the network.Our results reveal the neural correlates of effective articulation training in CLP patients,and this could contribute to the future improvement of the post-repair articulation training program.

Advances in the Immunotherapeutic Potential of Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Mutations in Glioma

Isocitrate dehydrogenase(IDH)is an essential metabolic enzyme in the tricarboxylic acid cycle(TAC).The high mutation frequency of the IDH gene plays a complicated role in gliomas.In addition to affecting gliomas directly,mutations in IDH can also alter their immune microenvironment and can change immune-cell function in direct and indirect ways.IDH mutations mediate immune-cell infiltration and function by modulating immune-checkpoint gene expression and chemokine secretion.In addition,IDH mutation-derived D2-hydroxyglutarate can be absorbed by surrounding immune cells,also affecting their functioning.In this review,we summarize current knowledge about the effects of IDH mutations as well as other gene mutations on the immune microenvironment of gliomas.We also describe recent preclinical and clinical data related to IDH-mutant inhibitors for the treatment of gliomas.Finally,we discuss different types of immunotherapy and the immunotherapeutic potential of IDH mutations in gliomas.

Analgesic alkaloids from Urticae Fissae Herba

Objective:To investigate the analgesic substances in the aerial part of Urtica fissa(Urticae Fissae Herba),commonly used for rheumatoid and rheumatism arthritis.Methods:The analgesic constituents were isolated with the active guidance of hot plate and acetic acid writhing models,and identified by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis.Results:Thirteen alkaloids(1–13),two lignans(14,15),and three amides(16–18)were isolated from the active fractions.Among them,compound 1 was a new alkaloid,and compound 6 was a new natural product.The activity evaluation in vivo indicated that various pyrrole alkaloids(1,3,6,and 12)possessed significant analgesic activities,they could significantly inhibit the mice pain response induced by acetic acid and hot plate at the dosage of 2 mg/kg BW.Conclusion:The study revealed that the pyrrole alkaloids played important roles in the analgesic activities of Urticae Fissae Herba.

三种禽病毒抗原的串联表达、纯化及活性鉴定

为实现多个基因在同一菌株中均一可溶性表达,简化基因工程亚单位多联多价疫苗中抗原生产的工艺步骤,本研究选用Ⅰ群4型禽腺病毒(FAdV-4)Fiber-2蛋白、鸡传染性法氏囊病病毒(IBDV)VP2蛋白和减蛋综合征病毒(EDSV)Fiber蛋白3种来自不同禽病毒的抗原为研究对象,利用原核表达系统,通过密码子优化、载体启动子改造和基因串联顺序优化,获得单一载体/多重转录单元的共表达重组质粒。将共表达重组质粒转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)菌株,进行3个基因的共表达。纯化后的蛋白进行Western blotting和蛋白活性检测。结果表明,目的基因经过密码子优化、载体启动子改造和基因串联顺序的优化后,获得均一可溶性共表达的3种蛋白,纯化后蛋白纯度大于80%,Western blotting分析和琼脂扩散试验表明串联表达的3种蛋白具有免疫反应性和抗原活性。文中通过目的基因密码子优化、表达载体启动子改造和基因串联等关键技术的突破,首次实现了3种不同禽病毒抗原的高效、均一、可溶性串联表达和纯化,为基因工程亚单位多联多价疫苗的研制奠定了基础。

The naturally occurring secolignans

Naturally occurring secolignans have drawn the considerable attention because of their novel structures and diverse biological activities.In recent years,various natural secolignans with extensive bioactivities have been reported in the literatures.In the present review,we summarized all the available information regarding the biosynthesis,distributions,separation methods,chemical structures,spectral characteristics,and biological activities of natural secolignans,and provided some valuable new insights for the further study.