The Effects of All-Trans Retinoic Acid on Vasculogenic Mimicry Formation Ability in CD133+ Glioma Stem Cells and Its Mechanisms

Objective: to investigate the effects of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on vasculogenic mimicry formation in glioma stem cells. Methods: U87 stem cells were harvested through a suspension culture assay from the U87 cells, identified by CD133 and nestin, and counted by a flow cytometry. To investigate the VM formation ability of U87 stem cells with the treatment of various concentrations of ATRA, a Matrigel-based tube formation assay was used in the present study in vitro and tube-like structure (typical tube, TT;atypical tube AT) was observed and counted. Then the expressions of VEGF, VEGFR-2 and CD133 were measured throughout real time q-PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescence techniques. The data, presented as the mean ± standard deviation, were analyzed using SPSS software. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare groups and Fisher’s least significant difference tests were performed for subsequent comparisons between groups. P Results: Most of the harvested spheroid cells were positive for nestin and 88.4% were positive forCD133. The CD133+ U87 cells were cultured into tube like structure loaded on the top of Matrigel and the quantity of tubes was decreased under the treatment of ATRA. In addition, the expressions of VEGF, VEGFR-2 and CD133 were significantly reduced under the treatment of ATRA, particularly in the higher concentration groups (20 and 40 μmol, P Conclusions: ATRA may inhibit the establishment of VM differing from stem cells in glioma, and these effects may attribute to the effects of ATRA’s promotion of the differentiation of stem cells and/or down regulation of the expressions of proangiogenic factors VEGF and its receptor VEGFR-2. Thus, the results of the present study indicated a novel idea for the treatment of GBM and enriched the anti-glioma mechanisms of ARTA.

Biocompatibility of a collagen-heparin sulfate scaffold implanted into porcine brain

BACKGROUND： Collagen-heparin sulfate scaffolds have been widely used to repair nerve injury and promote nerve regeneration. Previous research has evaluated scaffold biocompatibility by measuring gliocyte proliferation but not neuronal apoptosis. OBJECTIVE： To explore the biocompatibility of collagen-heparin sulfate scaffold in porcine brain by detecting peripheral neural apoptosis and protein expression. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： A randomized, controlled animal experiment was performed at the Laboratory of Neurology, Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, between March and June, 2008. MATERIALS： Rabbit anti-human Bax, Caspase-3 polyclonal antibody, rat anti-human Bcl-2 polyclonal antibody, streptavidin biotin-peroxidase complex （SABC） immunohistochemical kit, and TUNEL kit （Roche, USA） were used in this study. METHODS： Twenty adult piglets were randomly evenly divided into implantation and control groups A collagen-heparin sulfate scaffold was implanted from the anterior fontanelle into the brain in the implantation group. The same puncture but no scaffold implantation was made in the control group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Cell apoptosis was detected using TUNEL; Bax, Bcl-2, and Caspase-3 expressions were measured using the SABC method. RESULTS： At days 1,3, 7, and 14 after scaffold implantation, a few apoptotic cells were observed in the brain tissues near the puncture site, with more apoptotic cells in the implantation group （P 〈 0.05）. However, both groups showed similar apoptosis levels by day 30 after implantation. Implantation increased Bax, Bcl-2, and Caspase-3 expressions on days 3 and 7 after implantation （P 〈 0.05） but decreased the ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax in the implantation group was significantly lower on days 3 and 7 （P 〈 0.05）, with no significant difference by day 30 after implantation （P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION： The collagen-heparin sulfate scaffold has good biocompatibility to porcine brain tissues.

Effect of Gibberellin,Light and Genotype on Somatic Embryogenesis and Plantlet Regeneration of Peanut

[ Objective] Peanut in vitro regeneration system was optimized to provide technical support for its genetic transformation and mutagenesis. [ Method ] The effect of gibberellin, light and genotype on somatic embryogenesis and plantiet regeneration of peanut was studied using Guihua peanut cuhivar as materials, leallets as explants, MS ＋ 10 mg/L 2, 4-D as somatic embryo induction medium, and MS ＋3 mg/L 6-BA ＋0. 8 mg/L NAA ＋ （0 - 15 mg/L） GA3 as plantlet induction me- dium. [Result]The somatic embryo induction rate of five peanut varieties under light condition of light： dark = 14 h： 10 h was significantly higher compared with that under dark condition by 7, 5 - 37.5 percent points. Among different peanut varieties, Guihua 26 represented the highest somatic embryo induction rate of 62. 8%, while Guihua 833 represented the lowest somatic embryo induction rate of 21.7%. Adding 5 - 15 mg/LGA3 in plantlet induction medium was conducive to improving the induction rate of plandets derived from somatic embryos. With addition of 5 mg/L GA3, Guihua 26 and Guihna 771 represented the highest plantlet induction rate of 42.8% and 35.3%, respectively; with addition of 15 mg/L GA3, Guihua 836, Guihua 1026 and Guihna 833 represented the highest plantlet in- duction rate of 38.7%, 33.3% and 26.4L%, respectively. Among different combinations of peanut variety and GA3 concentration, plantlet induction rate reached the highest in the combination Guihua 26 ＋ 5 mg/L CA.3 arid reached the lowest in the combination Guihua 836 ＋ 15 mg/L GA3. [ Conclusion] Appropriate light conditions are conducive to peanut somatic embryogenesis in vitro. Adding GA3 in plantlet induction medium is conducive to promoting plantlet regeneration. Guihua 26 and Guihua 836 are the best peanut varieties among the experimental genotypes for somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration.

Molecular Marker Techniques Using Single Primers and Their Advances

Molecular marker techniques have been widely applied in the fields of genetic diversity analysis,germplasm resources identification,molecular fingerprint and genetic linkage map construction,QTL mapping and molecular assisted breeding.On the basis of stating the concept of molecular marker techniques based on single primer amplification reactions,this study focused on the sorting and induction of single-primer molecular marker techniques,and expounded their derivative development.Finally,the application prospect and future expectation of single-primer molecular marker techniques were described in detail.The purpose of this study was to clarify the types of molecular marker techniques based on single primer amplification reactions,so that researchers can quickly and conveniently select molecular marker techniques according to their own specific scientific research conditions.

A Non-toxic and Efficient Method for Extracting DNA and RNA from Peanut

[Objectives]To establish a non-toxic and efficient method for extracting DNA and total RNA from peanuts and laying a solid foundation for the molecular biology study of peanuts.[Methods]Based on the principle and method of purifying nucleic acids by silica gel adsorption at high salt and low pH condition,a non-toxic and efficient method to extract peanut DNA and total RNA using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide(CTAB)extraction solution was designed.The quality and purity of nucleic acids were detected by agarose gel electrophoresis and nucleic acids protein analyzer,respectively.The quality of DNA was further verified by enzyme digestion and PCR amplification using molecular marker techniques.The quality of total RNA was further verified by reverse transcription(RT)-PCR of actin gene and cDNA-SCoT gene differential display technique.[Results]The agarose gel electrophoresis test showed that the peanut DNA extracted by a low-toxic and effective method is free of contamination and degradation.Through the detection by the nucleic acid protein analyzer,the DNA concentration,yield,A260/A280 and A260/A230 of 5 peanut varieties were 419.6-498.2 ng/μL,20.98-24.91μg/g,1.89-1.96 and 2.03-2.28,respectively.The DNA was of high quality and can be completely digested by EcoRI restriction enzymes,and also can be used for SCoT and SRAP molecular marker technology analysis.The RNA extracted from different tissues of peanuts showed no visible DNA bands by non-denaturing agarose gel electrophoresis.The separated 28S bands were brighter than 18S.The ratio of A260/A280 and A260/A230 showed that the RNA quality was good and can be used for reverse transcription,RT-PCR of actin gene and amplification of cDNA-SCoT gene differential display technique.[Conclusions]This experiment established a low-toxic and effective method for extracting DNA and total RNA from peanuts.Compared with traditional methods,this method is more time-saving and cheaper than commercial kits.The most important point is that this method does not use toxic reagents such as phenol,chloroform and isopropanol.Thus,it is expected to be widely applied in molecular biology research.

Rho-Associated Kinase Inhibitors Promote Microglial Uptake Via the ERK Signaling Pathway

Microglia are immunocompetent cells in the cen- tral nervous system that take up tissue debris and pathogens. Rho-associated kinase （ROCK） has been identified as an important regulator of uptake, proliferation, secretion, and differentiation in a number of cell types. Although ROCK plays critical roles in the microglial secretion of inflammatory factors, naigration, and morphology, its effects on microglial uptake activity have not been well characterized. In the present study, we found that treatment of BV2 microglia and primary microglia with the ROCK inhibitors Y27632 and fasudil increased uptake activity and was associated with morpholog- ical changes. Furthermore, western blots showed that this increase in uptake activity was mediated through the extracel- lular-signal-regulated kinase （ERK） signaling cascade, indi- cating the importance of ROCK in regulating microglial uptake activity.