AIM:To investigate M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase(PKM2) expression in gastric cancers and evaluate its potential as a prognostic biomarker and an anticancer target.METHODS:All tissue samples were derived from gastric c...AIM:To investigate M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase(PKM2) expression in gastric cancers and evaluate its potential as a prognostic biomarker and an anticancer target.METHODS:All tissue samples were derived from gastric cancer patients underwent curative gastrectomy as a primary treatment.Clinical and pathological information were obtained from the medical records.Gene expression microarray data from 60 cancer and 19 noncancer gastric tissues were analyzed to evaluate the expression level of PKM2 mRNA.Tissue microarrays were constructed from 368 gastric cancer patients.Immunohistochemistry was used to measure PKM2 expression and PKM2 positivity of cancer was determined by proportion of PKM2-positive tumor cells and staining intensity.Association between PKM2 expression and the clinicopathological factors was evaluated and the correlation between PKM2 and cancer prognosis was evaluated.RESULTS:PKM2 mRNA levels were increased more than 2-fold in primary gastric cancers compared to adjacent normal tissues from the same patients(log transformed expression level:7.6 ± 0.65 vs 6.3 ± 0.51,P < 0.001).Moreover,differentiated type cancers had significantly higher PKM2 mRNA compared to undifferentiated type cancers(log transformed expression level:7.8 ± 0.70 vs 6.7 ± 0.71,P < 0.001).PKM2 protein was mainly localized in the cytoplasm of primary cancer cells and detected in 144 of 368(39.1%) human gastric cancer cases.PKM2 expression was not related with stage(P = 0.811),but strongly correlated with gastric cancer differentiation(P < 0.001).Differentiated type cancers expressed more PKM2 protein than did the undifferentiated ones.Well differentiated adenocarcinoma showed 63.6% PKM2-positive cells;in contrast,signet-ring cell cancers showed only 17.7% PKM2-positive cells.Importantly,PKM2 expression was correlated with shorter overall survival(P < 0.05) independent of stage only in signet-ring cell cancers.CONCLUSION:PKM2 expression might be an adverse prognostic factor for signet-ring cell carcinomas.Its function and potential as a prognostic marker should be further verified in gastric cancer.展开更多
A reliable chronology is essentially critical for correlating loess records with other paleoenvironmental time series, as well as for continuing improvements in the reconstruction of paleoenvironment and paleoclimate ...A reliable chronology is essentially critical for correlating loess records with other paleoenvironmental time series, as well as for continuing improvements in the reconstruction of paleoenvironment and paleoclimate changes. It is exactly that the scarcity of chronologies across the Sea of Azov has limited the interpretation of climatic and environmental information in the East European Plain. In view of this, this paper conducted an exploratory study to investigate whether the optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) dating of medium-grained quartz could be used to obtain a set of chronologies and the age models could be used to establish an independent time scale since the Late Pleistocene for the Sea of Azov loess. The results showed that an internally consistent set of optical ages for the Azov loess deposited up to ~76 ka. In addition, the ages developed based on magnetic susceptibility and grain size ages models showed good comparability with independent OSL ages at an acceptable range, suggesting that it might be practicable to establish an independent time scale using age models at the Sea of Azov loess, at least for the uppermost part of the Chumbur-Kosa section. Comparison with the ages based on two age models,the grain size ages using fine-grain fractions may provide a more reliable chronological sequence at the Azov loess since the Late Pleistocene. With the help of absolute ages and climate proxies(magnetic susceptibility and grain size), paleoclimatic change in the Sea of Azov have been traced for the Late Pleistocene.展开更多
Pseudomonas stutzeri caused an outbreak of freshwater fish in Luwuk Banggai （tilapia and catfish）, Bali （tilapia）, Jambi （tilapia and catfish） and Tanjung Pinang （catfish）. The study was purposed to comprehens...Pseudomonas stutzeri caused an outbreak of freshwater fish in Luwuk Banggai （tilapia and catfish）, Bali （tilapia）, Jambi （tilapia and catfish） and Tanjung Pinang （catfish）. The study was purposed to comprehensively identify special phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of P. stutzeri isolated from several areas in Indonesia, including its morphometric and biochemical characteristics and molecular variation. Bacteria were isolated from internal organs （kidney, ulcer and eye） of fish. They were then identified using morphology and biochemical test. DNA isolates were entirely extracted, amplified and reversed on 16S rRNA region, and further then were sequenced. Phylogenetic trees of bacteria were constructed using neighbor-joining and maximum-parsimony methods. The colony were similar, such as rod shape （Jambi, Tanjung Pinang, Bali）, bacil shape （Luwuk Banggai）, transparant in tryptic soy agar （TSA） （Luwuk Banggai）, creamy beige in glutamate starch phenol red （GSP） （Bali）, gram negative, motile, no reaction in the oxidative-fermentative test, positive result in catalase and oxidase test, negative in lysine decarboxylase and ornithine decarboxylase test and positive result in indole test; gelatin was degraded （only Bali）, urea was not degraded, no color change in Methyl-red and Voges-proskaeur （MR-VP） test; acid not produce from glucose, inositol or sucrose. Citrate was utilized by some isolates： positive （Jambi, Tanjung Pinang） and negative （Bali, Luwuk Banggai）. Results showed us that isolates of Jambi, Bali and Tanjung Pinang were monophyletic species with P. stutzeri $8 and ZH-1 comparing to gen bank. However, merely phenotypic analysis among Pseudomonas sp. was confused compared to each other.展开更多
A comparative study on the phenotypic and genetic characteristics among Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans （AF2）, a typic strain ATCC23270 and a previously isolated strain AF3 was performed. AF2 can use ferrous ion （F...A comparative study on the phenotypic and genetic characteristics among Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans （AF2）, a typic strain ATCC23270 and a previously isolated strain AF3 was performed. AF2 can use ferrous ion （Fe^2＋） or elemental sulfur （S^0） as sole energy source, but oxidizes So more effectively than Fe^2＋, which is different from ATCC23270 and AF3. The G＋C content of AF2 is 51.8% （molar fraction）, however, ATCC23270 and AF3 strains have G＋C content of 63.7% and 64.8% （molar fraction）, respectively. The DNA-DNA hybridization results show that AF2 has 41.53% and 52.38% genome similarity to ATCC 23270 and AF3, respectively, but AF3 has a high genome similarity of 89.86% to ATCC 23270 strain. Rusticyanin （rus） and subunit III of aa3-type cytochrome oxidase （coxC） genes are not detected in AF2, but Fe^2＋ oxidase （iro） gene can be detected. To understand the genomic organization of iro gene, a cosmid library of AF2 genome was constructed and iro gene-containing clone was screened. The sequencing result shows that although the nucleotide sequence of iro gene in AF2 is completely identical to that of ATCC 23270 strain, its genomic organization is different from that of ATCC 23270. In AF2, iro is located at downstream ofpurA gene, while it is located at downstream ofpetC-2 gene in ATCC 23270 strain. These results indicate that AF2 is a novel strain ofA. ferrooxidans, and that phenotypic differences among the strains ofA. ferrooxidans are closely correlated with their genetic polymorphisms.展开更多
The endangered medicinal herb, Changium smyrnioides can only be found in deciduous forest gaps within the middle to northern subtropical broad-leaved evergreen forest zone of China. The considerable plasticity of its ...The endangered medicinal herb, Changium smyrnioides can only be found in deciduous forest gaps within the middle to northern subtropical broad-leaved evergreen forest zone of China. The considerable plasticity of its shoot and root structure helps it to capture light more effectively in winter and early spring, and to adapt to the soil moisture conditions in its narrow habitat. Another medicinal plant, Anthriscus sylvestris, is of similar economic importance but commonly distributed widely. In contrast to C. smyrnioides, it has low structural plasticity. It is also specialized to adapt to the moist and sunny environment, where habitat, such as the banks of creeks and rivers, is abundant.展开更多
Symbiotic and phenotypic characteristics of thirty rhiobial isolates obtained from root nodules of two cowpea （Vigna unguiculata L. Walp） cultivars that grown in different sites of Fezzan （Southern part of Libya） ...Symbiotic and phenotypic characteristics of thirty rhiobial isolates obtained from root nodules of two cowpea （Vigna unguiculata L. Walp） cultivars that grown in different sites of Fezzan （Southern part of Libya） were studied. Cultural characteristics and cross-nodulation with Arachis hypogega and Faidherbia albida showed that they were slow-growing rhizobia. Each isolate was found to coexist with non-symbiotic bacteria similar in their cultural characteristics to fast-growing rhizobia. All isolates formed symbiosis with the test plants, but different in their nitrogen-fixation efficiency. Numerical analysis of phenotypic characteristics showed that at boundary level of 70% average similarity, the isolates formed four distinguished groups and two isolates remained separate. Most isolates exhibited wide tolerance to acidity, alkalinity and extreme temperatures. They also resistant to some heavy metals such as mercury, copper, zinc, lead, cadmium and aluminum at low concentrations and antibiotics like polymyxin, colistin, bacitracin and nalidixic acid. Isolates displayed different response to salinity ranging from sensitive, which unable to grow in 1% NaCI to resistant and grow at 2% NaCl or above. Urea was hydrolyzed by most of them and carbohydrates utilizations were different. Sucrose and maltose were metabolized by most of the test isolates, whereas, monosaccharide and sugar alcohols were poorly utilized.展开更多
The transformer-2(tra-2) gene plays a key role in the regulatory hierarchy of sexual differentiation in somatic tissues and in the germline of Drosophila melanogaster.In this study,sequences and expression profiles of...The transformer-2(tra-2) gene plays a key role in the regulatory hierarchy of sexual differentiation in somatic tissues and in the germline of Drosophila melanogaster.In this study,sequences and expression profiles of tra-2 in the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis were characterized.Four tra-2 isoforms,designated as Estra-2a,Estra-2b,Estra-2c,and Estra-2d,were isolated.They all contained an RNA-recognition motif(RRM) and a linker region,which shared high similarity with other reported tra-2s.Sequence analysis revealed that Estra-2a,Estra-2b and Estra-2c are encoded by the same genomic locus and are generated by alternative splicing of the pre-mRNA.Compared with the other three isoforms,Estra-2d lacks the RS2 domain.Quantitative real-time PCR showed that all four isoforms were highly expressed in the fertilized egg,and in the 2-4 cell and blastula stages compared with larval stages(P<0.01),suggesting their maternal origin in early embryonic developmental stages.Notably,Estra-2a was highly expressed in male somatic tissues,while Estra-2c was significantly highly expressed in the ovary.These results suggest that Estra-2c is involved in sexual differentiation of the Chinese mitten crab.Our findings provide basic information for further functional studies of the tra-2 gene/protein in this species.展开更多
基金Supported by Faculty Research Grant of Yonsei University College of Medicine for 2011,6-2011-0113,6-2011-0146A Faculty Research Grant of Department of Internal Medicine,Yonsei University College of Medicine for 2010Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education,Science and Technology,No. 2010-0024248
文摘AIM:To investigate M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase(PKM2) expression in gastric cancers and evaluate its potential as a prognostic biomarker and an anticancer target.METHODS:All tissue samples were derived from gastric cancer patients underwent curative gastrectomy as a primary treatment.Clinical and pathological information were obtained from the medical records.Gene expression microarray data from 60 cancer and 19 noncancer gastric tissues were analyzed to evaluate the expression level of PKM2 mRNA.Tissue microarrays were constructed from 368 gastric cancer patients.Immunohistochemistry was used to measure PKM2 expression and PKM2 positivity of cancer was determined by proportion of PKM2-positive tumor cells and staining intensity.Association between PKM2 expression and the clinicopathological factors was evaluated and the correlation between PKM2 and cancer prognosis was evaluated.RESULTS:PKM2 mRNA levels were increased more than 2-fold in primary gastric cancers compared to adjacent normal tissues from the same patients(log transformed expression level:7.6 ± 0.65 vs 6.3 ± 0.51,P < 0.001).Moreover,differentiated type cancers had significantly higher PKM2 mRNA compared to undifferentiated type cancers(log transformed expression level:7.8 ± 0.70 vs 6.7 ± 0.71,P < 0.001).PKM2 protein was mainly localized in the cytoplasm of primary cancer cells and detected in 144 of 368(39.1%) human gastric cancer cases.PKM2 expression was not related with stage(P = 0.811),but strongly correlated with gastric cancer differentiation(P < 0.001).Differentiated type cancers expressed more PKM2 protein than did the undifferentiated ones.Well differentiated adenocarcinoma showed 63.6% PKM2-positive cells;in contrast,signet-ring cell cancers showed only 17.7% PKM2-positive cells.Importantly,PKM2 expression was correlated with shorter overall survival(P < 0.05) independent of stage only in signet-ring cell cancers.CONCLUSION:PKM2 expression might be an adverse prognostic factor for signet-ring cell carcinomas.Its function and potential as a prognostic marker should be further verified in gastric cancer.
基金auspices of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41271024)the International Cooperation and Exchange Project (Grant No. 41411130204)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. lzujbky-2016-270)
文摘A reliable chronology is essentially critical for correlating loess records with other paleoenvironmental time series, as well as for continuing improvements in the reconstruction of paleoenvironment and paleoclimate changes. It is exactly that the scarcity of chronologies across the Sea of Azov has limited the interpretation of climatic and environmental information in the East European Plain. In view of this, this paper conducted an exploratory study to investigate whether the optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) dating of medium-grained quartz could be used to obtain a set of chronologies and the age models could be used to establish an independent time scale since the Late Pleistocene for the Sea of Azov loess. The results showed that an internally consistent set of optical ages for the Azov loess deposited up to ~76 ka. In addition, the ages developed based on magnetic susceptibility and grain size ages models showed good comparability with independent OSL ages at an acceptable range, suggesting that it might be practicable to establish an independent time scale using age models at the Sea of Azov loess, at least for the uppermost part of the Chumbur-Kosa section. Comparison with the ages based on two age models,the grain size ages using fine-grain fractions may provide a more reliable chronological sequence at the Azov loess since the Late Pleistocene. With the help of absolute ages and climate proxies(magnetic susceptibility and grain size), paleoclimatic change in the Sea of Azov have been traced for the Late Pleistocene.
文摘Pseudomonas stutzeri caused an outbreak of freshwater fish in Luwuk Banggai （tilapia and catfish）, Bali （tilapia）, Jambi （tilapia and catfish） and Tanjung Pinang （catfish）. The study was purposed to comprehensively identify special phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of P. stutzeri isolated from several areas in Indonesia, including its morphometric and biochemical characteristics and molecular variation. Bacteria were isolated from internal organs （kidney, ulcer and eye） of fish. They were then identified using morphology and biochemical test. DNA isolates were entirely extracted, amplified and reversed on 16S rRNA region, and further then were sequenced. Phylogenetic trees of bacteria were constructed using neighbor-joining and maximum-parsimony methods. The colony were similar, such as rod shape （Jambi, Tanjung Pinang, Bali）, bacil shape （Luwuk Banggai）, transparant in tryptic soy agar （TSA） （Luwuk Banggai）, creamy beige in glutamate starch phenol red （GSP） （Bali）, gram negative, motile, no reaction in the oxidative-fermentative test, positive result in catalase and oxidase test, negative in lysine decarboxylase and ornithine decarboxylase test and positive result in indole test; gelatin was degraded （only Bali）, urea was not degraded, no color change in Methyl-red and Voges-proskaeur （MR-VP） test; acid not produce from glucose, inositol or sucrose. Citrate was utilized by some isolates： positive （Jambi, Tanjung Pinang） and negative （Bali, Luwuk Banggai）. Results showed us that isolates of Jambi, Bali and Tanjung Pinang were monophyletic species with P. stutzeri $8 and ZH-1 comparing to gen bank. However, merely phenotypic analysis among Pseudomonas sp. was confused compared to each other.
基金Project(200805032) supported by the Scientific Research Program of Marine Public Welfare Industry of China
文摘A comparative study on the phenotypic and genetic characteristics among Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans （AF2）, a typic strain ATCC23270 and a previously isolated strain AF3 was performed. AF2 can use ferrous ion （Fe^2＋） or elemental sulfur （S^0） as sole energy source, but oxidizes So more effectively than Fe^2＋, which is different from ATCC23270 and AF3. The G＋C content of AF2 is 51.8% （molar fraction）, however, ATCC23270 and AF3 strains have G＋C content of 63.7% and 64.8% （molar fraction）, respectively. The DNA-DNA hybridization results show that AF2 has 41.53% and 52.38% genome similarity to ATCC 23270 and AF3, respectively, but AF3 has a high genome similarity of 89.86% to ATCC 23270 strain. Rusticyanin （rus） and subunit III of aa3-type cytochrome oxidase （coxC） genes are not detected in AF2, but Fe^2＋ oxidase （iro） gene can be detected. To understand the genomic organization of iro gene, a cosmid library of AF2 genome was constructed and iro gene-containing clone was screened. The sequencing result shows that although the nucleotide sequence of iro gene in AF2 is completely identical to that of ATCC 23270 strain, its genomic organization is different from that of ATCC 23270. In AF2, iro is located at downstream ofpurA gene, while it is located at downstream ofpetC-2 gene in ATCC 23270 strain. These results indicate that AF2 is a novel strain ofA. ferrooxidans, and that phenotypic differences among the strains ofA. ferrooxidans are closely correlated with their genetic polymorphisms.
文摘The endangered medicinal herb, Changium smyrnioides can only be found in deciduous forest gaps within the middle to northern subtropical broad-leaved evergreen forest zone of China. The considerable plasticity of its shoot and root structure helps it to capture light more effectively in winter and early spring, and to adapt to the soil moisture conditions in its narrow habitat. Another medicinal plant, Anthriscus sylvestris, is of similar economic importance but commonly distributed widely. In contrast to C. smyrnioides, it has low structural plasticity. It is also specialized to adapt to the moist and sunny environment, where habitat, such as the banks of creeks and rivers, is abundant.
文摘Symbiotic and phenotypic characteristics of thirty rhiobial isolates obtained from root nodules of two cowpea （Vigna unguiculata L. Walp） cultivars that grown in different sites of Fezzan （Southern part of Libya） were studied. Cultural characteristics and cross-nodulation with Arachis hypogega and Faidherbia albida showed that they were slow-growing rhizobia. Each isolate was found to coexist with non-symbiotic bacteria similar in their cultural characteristics to fast-growing rhizobia. All isolates formed symbiosis with the test plants, but different in their nitrogen-fixation efficiency. Numerical analysis of phenotypic characteristics showed that at boundary level of 70% average similarity, the isolates formed four distinguished groups and two isolates remained separate. Most isolates exhibited wide tolerance to acidity, alkalinity and extreme temperatures. They also resistant to some heavy metals such as mercury, copper, zinc, lead, cadmium and aluminum at low concentrations and antibiotics like polymyxin, colistin, bacitracin and nalidixic acid. Isolates displayed different response to salinity ranging from sensitive, which unable to grow in 1% NaCI to resistant and grow at 2% NaCl or above. Urea was hydrolyzed by most of them and carbohydrates utilizations were different. Sucrose and maltose were metabolized by most of the test isolates, whereas, monosaccharide and sugar alcohols were poorly utilized.
基金Supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China(863 Program)(No.2012AA10A409)the Scientific and Technological Innovation Project of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology(No.2015ASKJ02)
文摘The transformer-2(tra-2) gene plays a key role in the regulatory hierarchy of sexual differentiation in somatic tissues and in the germline of Drosophila melanogaster.In this study,sequences and expression profiles of tra-2 in the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis were characterized.Four tra-2 isoforms,designated as Estra-2a,Estra-2b,Estra-2c,and Estra-2d,were isolated.They all contained an RNA-recognition motif(RRM) and a linker region,which shared high similarity with other reported tra-2s.Sequence analysis revealed that Estra-2a,Estra-2b and Estra-2c are encoded by the same genomic locus and are generated by alternative splicing of the pre-mRNA.Compared with the other three isoforms,Estra-2d lacks the RS2 domain.Quantitative real-time PCR showed that all four isoforms were highly expressed in the fertilized egg,and in the 2-4 cell and blastula stages compared with larval stages(P<0.01),suggesting their maternal origin in early embryonic developmental stages.Notably,Estra-2a was highly expressed in male somatic tissues,while Estra-2c was significantly highly expressed in the ovary.These results suggest that Estra-2c is involved in sexual differentiation of the Chinese mitten crab.Our findings provide basic information for further functional studies of the tra-2 gene/protein in this species.
