长链二元酸菌种酶活诱导剂的改良

针对生物发酵法生产长链二元酸的过程中,采用重蜡油作为种子培养基的菌体酶活诱导剂,生产出的产品纯度达不到质量要求的现状,经过试验筛选后将菌体酶活诱导剂由重蜡油改为蔗糖,缩短了菌种的培养周期,提高了产品的单酸含量,大幅提升了产品质量,同时也降低了产品的生产成本。

酒酒球菌31MBR的β-D-葡萄糖苷酶活性

以对-硝苯-β-葡萄糖苷为底物,采用分光光度法对酒酒球菌31MBR的β-D-葡萄糖苷酶活性进行了初步研究。结果表明:酒酒球菌31MBR具有很高的β-D-葡萄糖苷酶活性,该酶为胞内酶,且主要为可溶性酶,酶活在对数生长中期最高且随着生长时间的延长呈下降趋势。β-D-葡萄糖苷酶为结构酶,但在纤维二糖和熊果苷的诱导下酶活均有不同程度的提高。酒酒球菌31MBR具有β-D-葡萄糖苷酶活性对增加葡萄酒香气和提高葡萄酒品质具有重要意义。

酒酒球菌SD-2a的β-D-葡萄糖苷酶活性研究

以对-硝苯-β-葡萄糖苷为底物,采用分光光度法对酒酒球菌SD-2a的β-D-葡萄糖苷酶活性进行了初步研究。结果表明:酒酒球菌SD-2a具有β-D-葡萄糖苷酶活性,该酶主要为胞内酶,且酶活在不同生长时期较为稳定;β-D-葡萄糖苷酶为组成型酶,但在纤维二糖和熊果苷的诱导下酶活发生不同的变化,在纤维二糖的诱导下,完整细胞和破碎液的酶活都有显著提高,在熊果苷的诱导下完整细胞的酶活显著提高,而破碎液的酶活显著下降;酒酒球菌SD-2a完整细胞也具有很高β-D-葡萄糖苷酶活性,这对葡萄酒酿造具有重要意义。

The Effect of Active Oxygen on the Activity of ACC Synthase Induced by Exogenous IAA

During the course of mungbean (Phaseolus radiatus L.) germination, the rate of ethylene production and the activity of ACC synthase (1_aminocyclopropane_1_carboxylic acid synthase, EC4.4.1.4) began to increase in the 5th day of germination, and reached its peak in the 10th day and then decreased. The ethylene production and the activity of ACC synthase were obviously promoted by 10 μmol/L exogenous IAA (indole_3_acetic acid). The production of superoxide radical (O -· 2) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) were also promoted by exogenous IAA, suggesting that there was some relationship between active oxygen production and the activity of ACC synthase induced by exogenous IAA. The production of ethylene and the activity of ACC synthase increased dramatically when the seedlings were treated with exogenous O -· 2, whereas the exogenous H 2O 2 had no effects on the production of ethylene and the activity of ACC synthase. Exogenous SOD (superoxide dismutase, one scavenger of O -· 2) could inhibit the production of ethylene and the activity of ACC synthase, but exogenous CAT (catalase) could not. So it was possible that IAA would stimulate the activity of ACC synthase by inducing the production of O -· 2 in germinating mungbean seedlings, and this might be one of the regulating mechanism of ethylene synthesis in higher plants; the production of H 2O 2 induced by IAA was not the cause of the increase of the activity of ACC synthase and the production of ethylene.

Characterization of Endopeptidases in Wheat Leaves During Dark-induced Senescence

The characterization of senescence-associated endopeptidase (EP) isoenzymes in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Yangmai 158) leaves during dark-induced senescence was performed. It was found that there was much higher endoproteolytic activity in dark-induced wheat leaves than in control. Six endopeptidase isoenzymes (EP1-EP6) were identified by natural gradient-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) co-polymerized gelatin in the gel, five of which (EP1, EP2, EP4, EP5 and EP6) were only detected in senescing leaves. Treatment with 6-benzyl aminopurine (6-BA) delayed the expression of these EP isoenzymes and abscisic acid (ABA) accelerated it. The activity of EP3 could be detected at a wider range of pH and temperature levels while EP4, EP5 and EP 6 could be only detected at pH 4-5 and 30 -45 degreesC, EP1 and EP2 at pH 3-5 and 30-45 degreesC. All of the EP isoenzymes showed high thermal stability, especially EP3, EP5 and EP6 which still had activitiy even by incubation at 55 degreesC for 1 h. By using different class-specific inhibitors, EP1 and EP2 were characterized as metal-dependent cysteine-proteases, EP4 as a serine-protease.

Enhancement of Laccase Activity by Marine-derived Deuteromycete Pestalotiopsis sp. J63 with Agricultural Residues and Inducers

Pestalotiopsis sp. J63, producing a high activity of laccase, is a new marine-derived fungus isolated from the oceanic sediment of the East China Sea. Since the marine environment is oligotrophic nutrient, marine derived fungi may use small amount of nutrients to grow and produce laccases. Agricultural residues that are mainly composed of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose are difficult to be degraded and few microbes can take them as substrates, so they are considered as oligotrophic nutrient and have the potential to be used to produce value added products. In this study, the ability of Pestalotiopsis sp. J63 to use agricultural residues to produce laccases was tested in the submerged fermentation. The combination of 3 g·L 1maltose and 20 g·L 1rice straw was the best carbon sources and 8 g·L 1ammonium sulfate was the best nitrogen source under the condition without inducers. The effects of five inducers, the feeding time and concentration of inducer on laccase production were investigated.Adding 0.09 mmol·L 1phenol after 24 h of incubation led to high laccase activity(5089 U·L 1), while with 0.09mmol·L 1phenol in the medium and wheat bran as the nitrogen source, the laccase activity could reach 5791.7U·L 1. Native-PAGE results showed that two laccase isozymes were present in the cultures. One existed in both induced and non-induced culture filtrates, while the other was only found in the fermentation with the addition of phenol, guaiacol and veratryl alcohol.

An electron microscopic-cytochemical localization of plasma membrane Ca^(2+)-ATPase activity in poplar apical bud cells during the induction of dormancy by short-day photoperiods

Plasma membrane （PM） Ca2+-ATPase activity in poplar apical bud meristematic cells during short-day （SD）-induced dormancy development was examined by a cerium precipitation EM-cytochemical method. Ca2+-ATPase activity, indicated by the status of cerium phosphate precipitated grains, was localized mainly on the interior face （cytoplasmic side） of the PM when plants were grown under long days and reached a deep dormancy. A few reaction products were also observed on the nuclear envelope.When plant buds were developing dormancy after 28 to 42 d of SD exposure, almost no reaction products were present on the interior face of the PM. In contrast, a large number of cerium phosphate precipitated grains were distributed on the exterior face of the PM. After 70 d of SD exposure, when buds had developed a deep dormancy, the reaction products of Ca2+-ATPase activity again appeared on the interior face of the PM. The results seemed suggesting that two kinds of Ca2+-ATPases may be present on the PM during the SD-induced dormancy in poplar.One is the Ca2+-punlping ATPase, which is located on the interior face of the PM, for maintaining and restoring the Ca2+homeostasis. The other might be an ecto-Ca2+-ATPase, which is located on the exterior face of the PM, for the exocytosis of cell wall materials as suggested by the fact of the cell wall thickening during the dormancy developlnent in poplar.

Lipopolysaccharide induces and activates the Nalp3 inflammasome in the liver

AIM:To examine the activation of the Nalp3 inflammasome and its downstream targets following lipopolysaccharide(LPS) -induced stimulation in the liver. METHODS:Six-to-eight-week-old C57BL/6 chow fed mice were injected intraperitoneally with 0.5μg/g bodyweight LPS and sacrificed 2,4,6,18 or 24 h later. LPS-induced liver damage was confirmed by a biochemical assay to detect alanine aminotransferase(ALT) levels.To determine if LPS stimulation in the liver led to activation of the inflammasome,real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to evaluate the mRNA expression of components of the Nalp3 inflammasome.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to determine the protein expression levels of several downstream targets of the Nalp3 inflammasome,including caspase-1 and two cytokine targets of caspase-1,interleukin(IL) -1βand IL-18. RESULTS:We found that LPS injection resulted in liver damage as indicated by elevated ALT levels.This was associated with a significant increase in both mRNA and protein levels of the proinflammatory cy-tokine tumor necrosis factor(TNF) -αin the liver,as well as increased levels of TNFs in serum.We showed that LPS stimulation led to upregulation of mRNA levels in the liver for all the receptor components of the inflammasome,including Nalp3,Nalp1,pannexin-1 and the adaptor molecule apoptosis-associated specklike,caspase recruitment domain-domain containing protein.We also found increased levels of mRNA and protein for caspase-1,a downstream target of the inflammasome.In addition,LPS challenge led to increased levels of both mRNA and protein in the liver for two cytokine targets of caspase-1,IL-1βand IL-18. Interestingly,substantial baseline expression of pre-IL1βand pre-IL-18 was found in the liver.Inflammasome and caspase-1 activation was indicated by the significant increase in the active forms of IL-1βand IL-18 after LPS stimulation. CONCLUSION:Our results show that the Nalp3 inflammasome is upregulated and activated in the liver in response to LPS stimulation.

The roles of serine protease, intracellular and extracellular phenoloxidase in activation of prophenoloxidase system, and characterization of phenoloxidase from shrimp haemocytes induced by lipopolysaccharide or dopamine

We investigated the effects of lipopolysaccharide （LPS） and dopamine （DA） on the activation of the prophenoloxidase （proPO） system of Litopenaeus vannamei. LPS and DA were shown with a negative dose-dependent effect on hyalne cells （HC）, semi-granular cells （SGC）, large granular cells （LGC）, and total haemocyte count （THC）. When haemocytes were treated with LPS or DA, serine proteinase activity and intracellular phenoloxidase （PO） activity were significantly reduced, but extracellular PO activity increased significantly. These findings indicated that the reduction in haemocyte counts was mainly because of the degranulation and activation of the proPO system from semi-granule and large granule cells. The PKC inhibitor, chelerythrine, and the TPK inhibitor, genistein, had an inhibitory effect on extracellular PO activity, while serine proteinase and intracellular PO activity increased. This suggests that the LPS and DA induce the activation of proPO in haemocytes via PKC and TPK-related signaling pathways, but serine proteinase may be activated only by PKC, as the genistein effects were not statistically significant. Electrophoresis analysis revealed that POs induced by LPS or DA have the same molecular mass and high diphenolase activity. Two PO bands at 526 kDa and 272 kDa were observed in PAGE, while in the haemocyte lysate supematant （HLS）, only a 272-kDa band was observed. This band was resolved after SDS-PAGE under non-reducing and reducing conditions into two groups of POs, 166 kDa and 126 kDa, and 78.1 kDa and 73.6 kDa, respectively, suggesting that PO in L. vannamei is an oligomer, which may have different compositions intra- and extracellularly.

Oridonin induces apoptosis in gastric cancer through Apaf-1,cytochrome c and caspase-3 signaling pathway

AIM:To investigate the effect and mechanism of oridonin on the gastric cancer cell line HGC-27 in vitro.METHODS:The inhibitory effect of oridonin on HGC-27 cells was detected using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay.After treatment with 10 μg/mL oridonin for 24 h and 48 h,the cells were stained with acridine orange/ethidium bromide.The morphologic changes were observed under an inverted fluorescence microscope.DNA fragmen-tation(a hallmark of apoptosis) and lactate dehydrogenase activity were examined using DNA ladder assay and lactate dehydrogenase-release assay.After treated with oridonin(0,1.25,2.5,5 and 10 μg/mL),HGC-27 cells were collected for anexin V-phycoerythrin and 7-amino-actinomycin D double staining and tested by flow cytometric analysis,and oridonin-induced apoptosis in HGC-27 cells was detected.After treatment with oridonin for 24 h,the effects of oridonin on expression of Apaf-1,Bcl-2,Bax,caspase-3 and cytochrome c were also analyzed using reverse-transcript polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blotting.RESULTS:Oridonin significantly inhibited the proliferation of HGC-27 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner.The inhibition rates of HGC-27 treated with four different concentrations of oridonin for 24 h(1.25,2.5,5 and 10 μg/mL) were 1.78% ± 0.36%,4.96% ± 1.59%,10.35% ± 2.76% and 41.6% ± 4.29%,respectively,which showed a significant difference(P < 0.05).The inhibition rates of HGC-27 treated with oridonin at the four concentrations for 48 h were 14.77% ± 4.21%,21.57% ± 3.75%,30.31% ± 4.91% and 61.19% ± 5.81%,with a significant difference(P < 0.05).The inhibition rates of HGC-27 treated with oridonin for 72 h at the four concentrations were 25.77% ± 4.85%,31.86% ± 3.86%,48.30% ± 4.16% and 81.80% ± 6.72%,with a significant difference(P < 0.05).Cells treated with oridonin showed typical apoptotic features with acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining.After treatment with oridonin,the cells became round,shrank,and developed small buds around the nuclear membrane while forming apoptotic bodies.Lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) release assay showed that after treated with 1.25 μg/mL and 20 μg/mL oridonin for 24 h,LDH release of HGC-27 caused by apoptosis increased from 22.94% ± 3.8% to 52.68% ± 2.4%(P < 0.001).However,the change in the release of LDH caused by necrosis was insignificant,suggesting thatthe major cause of oridonin-induced HGC-27 cell death was apoptosis.Flow cytometric analysis also revealed that oridonin induced significant apoptosis compared with the controls(P < 0.05).And the apoptosis rates of HGC-27 induced by the four different concentrations of oridonin were 5.3% ± 1.02%,12.8% ± 2.53%,28.5% ± 4.23% and 49.6% ± 3.76%,which were in a dose-dependent manner(P < 0.05).After treatment for 24 h,DNA ladder showed that oridonin induced a significant increase in DNA fragmentation in a dosedependent manner.RT-PCR revealed that mRNA expression levels were up-regulated compared with the controls in caspase-3(0.917 ± 0.103 vs 0.357 ± 0.019,P < 0.05),cytochrome c(1.429 ± 0.111 vs 1.002 ± 0.014,P < 0.05),Apaf-1(0.688 ± 0.101 vs 0.242 ± 0.037,P < 0.05) and Bax(0.856 ± 0.101 vs 0.278 ± 0.027,P < 0.05)(P < 0.05),whereas down-regulated in Bcl-2(0.085 ± 0.012 vs 0.175 ± 0.030,P < 0.05).Western blotting analysis also confirmed this result.CONCLUSION:Apoptosis of HGC-27 induced by oridonin may be associated with differential expression of Apaf-1,caspase-3 and cytochrome c,which are highly dependent upon the mitochondrial pathway.

Cobra phospholipase A2 protect cerebellar granule neurons from apoptosis with mechanism independent of enzymatic activity

A fraction of cobra （Naja naja atra） venom has been discovered to have protective effect on rat cultural cerebellar granule neurons （CGNs） from apoptosis induced by removing serum and reducing the extracellular potassium concentration from 25 to 5 mM. This component has been purified and identified as secreted phospholipase A2 （cobra sPLA2）. In order to study the relationship between the protection on CGNs and enzymatic activity of phospholipase A2, CGNs stained by Hoechst 33258 were quantified to determine survival rate under the fluorescence microscopy; the protective potencies on apoptosis of cultural CGNs were compared among cobra sPLA2, the cobra sPLA2 modified in carboxylate groups with water soluble carbodiimide and semicarbazide, and the heated cobra sPLA2 at 80℃ for 30 rain. The results showed that the CGN survival rate was unaffected significantly both in modified cobra sPLAz whose enzymatic activity of PLA2 had decreased by 80%, and in cobra sPLA2 adding 7, 7-Dimethyleicosadienoic acid, an inhibitor of sPLA2 at concentration of 10-fold IC50; contrary, the neuronal survival rate fell about 60% in heated cobra sPLA2, although its PLA2 activity only decreased by 10%. The protection on CGNs were also found in some of sPLA2s derived from venoms of bee, Naja naja mossambica, Crotalus atroxalso and Vipera Ammodytes Ammodytes but could not be found in other sPLA2s from bovine pancreas and Streptomyces violaceoruber. Above results suggest that the protection on CGNs of cobra sPLA2 is independent of its enzymatic activity.

Cellular processing determinants for the activation of damage signals in response to topoisomerase I-linked DNA breakage

Recent studies have suggested an involvement of processing pathways for the initiation of cellular responses induced by topoisomerase-targeting drugs. Here, we showed that cellular exposure to camptothecin （CPT） induced formation of topoisomerase I cleavable complex （TOPlcc）, degradation of TOP1 and activation of DNA damage responses （DDR）. Transcription and proteasome-dependent proteolysis, but not replication, were involved in CPTo indneed TOPl degradation, while none of above three processing activities affected TOPlcc formation. Replication- and transcription-initiated proeessing （RIP and TIP） of TOPlee were identified as two independent pathways, which contribute distinctly to various CPT-activated DDR. Specifically, in cycling cells, RIP-processed TOPlec triggered the CPT-induced RPA pbosphorylation. At higher CPT dosages, the TIP pathway is required for other DDR activation, including ATM, p53 and Chkl/2 phosphorylation. The TIP pathway was further demonstrated to be S-phase independent by using three nonreplicating cell models. Furthermore, the effect of proteasome inhibitors mimicked that of transcription inhibition on the CPT-induced activation of DDR, suggesting the involvement of proteasome in the TIP pathway. Interestingly, the TIP pathway was important for TOPlcc-activated, but not ionization radiationactivated ATM, p53 and Chk2 phosphorylation. We have also found that pharmacological interferences of TIP and RIP pathways distinctively modulated the CPT-induced cell killing with treatments at low and high dosages, respec- tively. Together, our results support that both RIP and TIP pathways of TOPlcc are required for the activation of CPT-induced DDR and cytotoxicity.

Chemical constituents from Portulaca oleracea and their bioactivities

In the present study, we aimed to intensively study the chemical constituents, especially organic acids from a medicinal plant Portulaca oleracea L., and screen their anti-inflammatory and quinone reductase （QR, a phase II detoxyfication enzyme） inductive activity. A total of 20 compounds were isolated and identified based on spectroscopic methods, as succinic acid （1）, mono-methyl succinate （2）, L-malic acid （3）, L-l-methyl malate （4）, L-4-methyl malate （5）, L-dimethyl malate （6）, L-6-ethyl citrate （7）, L-1-methyl citrate （8）, L-1,5-dimethyl citrate （9）, 4-hydroxy-5-methylfuran-3-carboxylic acid （10）, 5-hydroxymethyl-furoic acid （11）, stearic acid （12）, L-pyroglutamic acid （13）, cyclo-（tyrosine-leucine） （14）, L-isoleucine （15）, （-）-dehydrovomifoliol （16）, （-）-epiloliolide （17）, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol （18）, succinimide （19）, and uracil （20）. Among them, 14 compounds （2, 4-8, 10, 11, 13-18） were isolated from P. oleracea for the first time. Compotmd 18 （12.5 μM） exhibited potent anti-inflammatory effect in lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced macrophage cells （RAW264.7） by reducing NO production, and it also increased QR activity in Hepa lclc7 cells. Compound 16 （50 μM） showed weak QR inductive activity. None of other compounds showed anti-inflammatory or QR inductive activities.

Isoflurane induces expression of vascular endothelial growth factor through activating protein kinase C in myocardial cells

Objective： Vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） plays important roles in establishing collateral circulation of ischemic myocardium. This study aimed to investigate the effect of isoflurane on VEGF expression and the potential intracellular signal transduction pathway in cultured rat myocardial cells in order to further reveal the molecular mechanism of myocardial preservation of isoflurane. Methods： Primary myocardial cells of Sprague-Dawley rats were isolated and cultured. They were divided randomly into control group, isoflurane group, protein kinase C （PKC） inhibitor group and PKC inhibitor＋isoflurane group where cells were respectively incubated without any treatment, treated by 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 minimum alveolar concentration （MAC） of isoflurane for 6 hours, by PKC inhibitor calphostin C at a final concentration of 50 nmol/L and by 50 nmol/L calphosfin C＋ 1.0 MAC isoflurane for 6 hours. VEGF expression was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and the expression levels of PKC isoforms were determined by Western immunoblotting method. Results： Isoflurane increased the VEGF expression in myocardial cells in a dose-dependent way. VEGF levels were significantly higher in 1.0 and 1.5 MAC isoflurane groups than in the control group （both P〈0.01）. The effect of isoflurane on upregulating VEGF expression was blocked by PKC inhibitor calphostin C （P〈0.01）, but calphostin C did not alter VEGF expression （P〉0.05）. Isoflurane induced the activation and translocation of PKC Immunoblotting analysis revealed that the immunoreactivity of PKC ε increased significantly in the membrane fractions and deceased significantly in the kytoplasm fractions for cells treated with 1.0 MAC isoflurane as compared with the untreated cells, but not of PKC a, PKCα and PKCζ （P〈0.01）. Conclusion： Isoflurane induces myocardial cells to release VEGF through activating PKCε from the endochylema to the cytomembrane, suggesting a possible novel mechanism of isoflurane protecting myocardial cells.