The conventional perception of astrocytes as mere supportive cells within the brain has recently been called into question by empirical evidence, which has revealed their active involvement in regulating brain functio...The conventional perception of astrocytes as mere supportive cells within the brain has recently been called into question by empirical evidence, which has revealed their active involvement in regulating brain function and encoding behaviors associated with emotions.Specifically, astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala have been found to play a role in the modulation of anxiety-like behaviors triggered by chronic stress. Nevertheless, the precise molecular mechanisms by which basolateral amygdala astrocytes regulate chronic stress–induced anxiety-like behaviors remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we found that in a mouse model of anxiety triggered by unpredictable chronic mild stress, the expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 was upregulated in the basolateral amygdala. Interestingly, our findings indicate that the targeted knockdown of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 specifically within the basolateral amygdala astrocytes was able to rescue the anxiety-like behavior in mice subjected to stress. Furthermore, we found that the overexpression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala, whether achieved through intracranial administration of excitatory amino acid transporter 2agonists or through injection of excitatory amino acid transporter 2-overexpressing viruses with GfaABC1D promoters, evoked anxiety-like behavior in mice. Our single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis further confirmed that chronic stress induced an upregulation of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 specifically in astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala. Moreover, through in vivo calcium signal recordings, we found that the frequency of calcium activity in the basolateral amygdala of mice subjected to chronic stress was higher compared with normal mice.After knocking down the expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala, the frequency of calcium activity was not significantly increased, and anxiety-like behavior was obviously mitigated. Additionally, administration of an excitatory amino acid transporter 2 inhibitor in the basolateral amygdala yielded a notable reduction in anxiety level among mice subjected to stress. These results suggest that basolateral amygdala astrocytic excitatory amino acid transporter 2 plays a role in in the regulation of unpredictable chronic mild stress-induced anxiety-like behavior by impacting the activity of local glutamatergic neurons, and targeting excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala holds therapeutic promise for addressing anxiety disorders.展开更多
BACKGROUND The lack of specific predictors for type-2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)severely impacts early intervention/prevention efforts.Elevated branched-chain amino acids(BCAAs:Isoleucine,leucine,valine)and aromatic amin...BACKGROUND The lack of specific predictors for type-2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)severely impacts early intervention/prevention efforts.Elevated branched-chain amino acids(BCAAs:Isoleucine,leucine,valine)and aromatic amino acids(AAAs:Tyrosine,tryptophan,phenylalanine)show high sensitivity and specificity in predicting diabetes in animals and predict T2DM 10-19 years before T2DM onset in clinical studies.However,improvement is needed to support its clinical utility.AIM To evaluate the effects of body mass index(BMI)and sex on BCAAs/AAAs in new-onset T2DM individuals with varying body weight.METHODS Ninety-seven new-onset T2DM patients(<12 mo)differing in BMI[normal weight(NW),n=33,BMI=22.23±1.60;overweight,n=42,BMI=25.9±1.07;obesity(OB),n=22,BMI=31.23±2.31]from the First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province,Kunming,China,were studied.One-way and 2-way ANOVAs were conducted to determine the effects of BMI and sex on BCAAs/AAAs.RESULTS Fasting serum AAAs,BCAAs,glutamate,and alanine were greater and high-density lipoprotein(HDL)was lower(P<0.05,each)in OB-T2DM patients than in NW-T2DM patients,especially in male OB-T2DM patients.Arginine,histidine,leucine,methionine,and lysine were greater in male patients than in female patients.Moreover,histidine,alanine,glutamate,lysine,valine,methionine,leucine,isoleucine,tyrosine,phenylalanine,and tryptophan were significantly correlated with abdominal adiposity,body weight and BMI,whereas isoleucine,leucine and phenylalanine were negatively correlated with HDL.CONCLUSION Heterogeneously elevated amino acids,especially BCAAs/AAAs,across new-onset T2DM patients in differing BMI categories revealed a potentially skewed prediction of T2DM development.The higher BCAA/AAA levels in obese T2DM patients would support T2DM prediction in obese individuals,whereas the lower levels of BCAAs/AAAs in NW-T2DM individuals may underestimate T2DM risk in NW individuals.This potentially skewed T2DM prediction should be considered when BCAAs/AAAs are to be used as the T2DM predictor.展开更多
The acid gas absorption in four potassium based amino acid salt solutions was predicted using artificial neural network(ANN). Two hundred fifty-five experimental data points for CO_2 absorption in the four potassium b...The acid gas absorption in four potassium based amino acid salt solutions was predicted using artificial neural network(ANN). Two hundred fifty-five experimental data points for CO_2 absorption in the four potassium based amino acid salt solutions containing potassium lysinate, potassium prolinate, potassium glycinate, and potassium taurate were used in this modeling. Amine salt solution's type, temperature, equilibrium partial pressure of acid gas, the molar concentration of the solution, molecular weight, and the boiling point were considered as inputs to ANN to prognosticate the capacity of amino acid salt solution to absorb acid gas. Regression analysis was employed to assess the performance of the network. Levenberg–Marquardt back-propagation algorithm was used to train the optimal ANN with 5:12:1 architecture. The model findings indicated that the proposed ANN has the capability to predict precisely the absorption of acid gases in various amino acid salt solutions with Mean Square Error(MSE) value of 0.0011, the Average Absolute Relative Deviation(AARD) percent of 5.54%,and the correlation coefficient(R^2) of 0.9828.展开更多
Objective： We have continued previous work in which we demonstrated that #117 and #372 amino acids contributed to the high activities of human CYP2A13 in catalyzing 4-methylnitrosamino-1-（3-pyridyl）-1-butanone（NNK...Objective： We have continued previous work in which we demonstrated that #117 and #372 amino acids contributed to the high activities of human CYP2A13 in catalyzing 4-methylnitrosamino-1-（3-pyridyl）-1-butanone（NNK） and aflatoxin BI（AFB1） carcinogenic activation. The present study was designed to identify other potential amino acid residues that contribute to the different catalytic characteristics of two CYP2A enzymes, CYP2A6 and CYP2A13, in nicotine metabolism and provide insights of the substrate and related amino acid residues interactions. Methods： A series of reciprocally substituted mutants of CYP2A6lle^300→ Phe, CYP2A6Gly^301aAla, CYP2A6Ser^369 → Gly, CYP2A13Phe^300→ Ile, CYP2A13Ala^301 → Gly and CYP2A13Gly^369 → Set were generated by site-directed mutagenesis/baculovirus-Sf9 insect cells expression. Comparative kinetic analysis of nicotine 5＇hydroxylatin by wild type and mutant CYP2A proteins was performed. Results：All amino acid residue substitutions at 300, 301 and 369 caused significant kinetic property changes in nicotine metabolism. While CYP2A6Ile^300→ Phe and CYP2A6Gly^301→Ala mutations had notable catalytic efficiency increases compared to that for the wild type CYP2A6, CYP2A13Phe^300→Ile and CYP2A13Ala^301→Gly replacement introduced remarkable catalytic efficiency decreases. In addition, all these catalytic efficiency alterations were caused by Vmax variations rather than Km changes. Substitution of #369 residue significantly affected both Km and Vmax values. CYP2A6Ser^369 → Gly increase the catalytic efficiency via a significant Km decrease versus Vmax enhancement, while the opposite effects were seen with CYP2A13Gly^369 → Ser. Conclusion：#300, #301 and #369 residues in human CYP2A6/13 play important roles in nicotine 5＇ -oxidation. Switching #300 or #301 residues did not affect the CYP2A protein affinities toward nicotine, although these amino acids are located in the active center. Set369 to Gly substitution indirectly affected nicotine binding by creating more space and conformational flexibility for the nearby residues, such as Leu^370 which is crucial for many hydroxylations.展开更多
Low pathogenic Avian Influenza (AI) virus has the ability to evolve to high pathogenic viruses resulting in significant economic losses in the poultry sector. This study aims at assessing the impact of H9N2 viral pass...Low pathogenic Avian Influenza (AI) virus has the ability to evolve to high pathogenic viruses resulting in significant economic losses in the poultry sector. This study aims at assessing the impact of H9N2 viral passaging in broilers and its relatedness to pathogenicity and amino acid (a.a) sequences of the hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage site and neuraminidase (NA) stalk. The original H9N2 AI virus (P0) was used to challenge ten-21 days old broilers. Individual recovery of H9N2 virus from homogenates of trachea, lungs and airsacs was attempted in 9 days old chicken embryos, as a conclusion of the first passage (P1). Tracheal isolates of H9N2 were passaged for a second (P2) and a third (P3) time in broilers, followed by a similar embryonic recovery procedure. The a.a. sequence of a part of HA1 cleavage site and Neuraminidase stalk were compared among the differently passaged viruses;an assessement of the relatedness of the determined a.a. sequences to the pathogenicity in broilers, based on frequency of mortality, morbidity signs, gross and microscopic lesions at 3 days post challenge with the P1, P2, and P3-H9N2, is concluded. An increase in certain morbidity signs and specific lesions was observed in P2- and P3-H9N2 challenged broilers compared to birds challenged with P1-H9N2. A conserved R-S-S-R amino acid sequence at the HA1 cleavage site was observed in the differently passaged H9N2, associated with a variability in the NA stalk-a.a sequences. The passaging of the low pathogenic H9N2 virus in broilers leads to a trend of increase in pathogenicity, manifested in higher frequency of morbidity signs, and of specific gross and microscopic lesions of the examined organs. This passaging was associated with a conserved a.a. sequence of the hemaglutinin cleavage site and a variability in the sequence of the neuraminidase stalk. A detailed study of the potential of the detected variability in the neuraminidase stalk of H9N2 in induction of a higher pathogenicity in broilers will be the subject of future investigations.展开更多
The discovery of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in December 2019 raised global health warnings. Quickly, in 2020, the virus crossed borders and infected i...The discovery of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in December 2019 raised global health warnings. Quickly, in 2020, the virus crossed borders and infected individuals across the world, evolving into the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, early signs of the virus’s existence were observed in various countries before the initial outbreak in Wuhan. As of 12<sup>th</sup> of April, the respiratory disease had infected over 762 million people worldwide, with over 6.8 million deaths recorded. This has led scientists to focus their efforts on understanding the virus to develop effective means to diagnose, treat, prevent, and control this pandemic. One of the areas of focus is the isolation of this virus, which plays a crucial role in understanding the viral dynamics in the laboratory. In this study, we report the isolation and detection of locally circulating SARS-CoV-2 in Kenya. The isolates were cultured on Vero Cercopithecus cell line (CCL-81) cells, RNA extraction was conducted from the supernatants, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Genome sequencing was done to profile the strains phylogenetically and identify novel and previously reported mutations. Vero CCL-81 cells were able to support the growth of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, and mutations were detected from the two isolates sequenced (001 and 002). Genome sequencing revealed the circulation of two isolates that share a close relationship with the Benin isolate with the D614G common mutation identified along the S protein. These virus isolates will be expanded and made available to the Kenya Ministry of Health and other research institutions to advance SARS-CoV-2 research in Kenya and the region.展开更多
Aim Prenatal stress （PS） can lead to abnormal behavior of offspring and increase the incidence of mental illness. Previous researches have shown that levels of glutamate and its receptor expression are closely relat...Aim Prenatal stress （PS） can lead to abnormal behavior of offspring and increase the incidence of mental illness. Previous researches have shown that levels of glutamate and its receptor expression are closely relat- ed to the occurrence of this phenomenon. Furthermore, recent study has demonstrated that the expression levels of excitatory amino acid transporters 2 （EAAT2） in different brain regions of 1 month PS offspring rats have changed. Methods The SD pregnant rats were used restraint stress to imitate PS from gestation 14 -~ 19 days. Offspring rats were weaned 21 days after birth. The expression of EAAT2 of hippocampus was observed by Western blot. Results The expression of EAAT2 of 1 month PS offspring rats was significantly decreased in comparison to control group. However, the expression of EAAT2 of 2 month PS offspring rats was significantly increased in comparison to 1 month PS offspring rats. Conclusion These phenomena have illustrated that the expression of EAAT2 of PS off- spring rats could show time dependence or reversibility. The expression of EAAT2 may play an important role in the development of mental illness of offspring rats influenced by PS.展开更多
In legume plants, uricase gene （Nodulin-35） plays a positive role in metabolism of ureide and amide compounds in symbiotic nitrogen-fixing in the nodules. In this study, a pot experiment was performed to examine the...In legume plants, uricase gene （Nodulin-35） plays a positive role in metabolism of ureide and amide compounds in symbiotic nitrogen-fixing in the nodules. In this study, a pot experiment was performed to examine the effects of ammonium application on the transcription of MsU2 gene and distribution of major nitrogen compounds in alfalfa Medicago sativa. Data showed that alfalfa plant has a significant difference in contents of nitrogen compounds in xylem saps compared with soybean plant, and belongs to typical amide type legume plants with little ureide accumulation, and the accumulation of asparagines and ureide in the tissues of alfalfa is mainly gathered in the nodules. Northern blotting showed that excessive ammonium significantly inhibited the transcription of MsU2 gene in the nodules and roots, and mRNA accumulation of MsU2 gene in the plants exposed to excessive ammonium decreased gradually with culture time extension, indicating that application of ammonium significantly inhibited the transcription of MsU2 gene in the alfalfa plants. Although the application of exces- sive ammonium increased the contents of amino acids in various tissues of alfalfa, the accumulation of allantoin reflecting the strength of uricase activity is remarkably reduced in the xylem saps, stems and nodules when alfalfa plants exposed to excessive ammonium, suggesting that application of excessive ammonium generated a negative effect on symbiosis fixing-nitrogen system due to inhibition of ammonium ion on uricase activity in the nodules of alfalfa. This result seems to imply that application of excessive ammonium in legume plants should not be proposed to avoid affecting the ability of fixing nitrogen in the nodules of legume plants, and reasonable dose of ammonium should be recommended to effectively utilize the fixed N from atmosphere in legume plant production.展开更多
4,4-Dialkyl-2-oxazolin-5-ones are prepared by one step reaction of 2-oxazolin-5-one with the magnesium methyl carbonate(MMC)and alkyIhalides.It is a novel and convenient method for synthesis of α, Υ-disubstitutcd α...4,4-Dialkyl-2-oxazolin-5-ones are prepared by one step reaction of 2-oxazolin-5-one with the magnesium methyl carbonate(MMC)and alkyIhalides.It is a novel and convenient method for synthesis of α, Υ-disubstitutcd α-amino acid by hydrolysis of 4,4-dialkyl-2-oxazolin-5-ones.展开更多
The title compounds were prepared by the enzymatic resolution of the corresponding N-acetylated DL-amino acids methyl esters, which were obtained from t-butyl chloride via an 8-step synthesis.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,Nos.32371070 (to JT),31761163005 (to JT),32100824 (to QX)the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program,Nos.RCBS20210609104606024 (to QX),JCY20210324101813035 (to DL)+4 种基金the Guangdong Provincial Key S&T Program,No.2018B030336001 (to JT)the Key Basic Research Program of Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission,Nos.JCYJ20200109115405930 (to JT),JCYJ20220818101615033 (to DL),JCYJ20210324115811031 (to QX),JCYJ20200109150717745 (to QX)Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Neuroimmunomodulation for Neurological Diseases,No.ZDSYS20220304163558001 (to JT)Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior,No.2023B1212060055 (to JT)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation,No.2021M693298 (to QX)。
文摘The conventional perception of astrocytes as mere supportive cells within the brain has recently been called into question by empirical evidence, which has revealed their active involvement in regulating brain function and encoding behaviors associated with emotions.Specifically, astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala have been found to play a role in the modulation of anxiety-like behaviors triggered by chronic stress. Nevertheless, the precise molecular mechanisms by which basolateral amygdala astrocytes regulate chronic stress–induced anxiety-like behaviors remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we found that in a mouse model of anxiety triggered by unpredictable chronic mild stress, the expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 was upregulated in the basolateral amygdala. Interestingly, our findings indicate that the targeted knockdown of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 specifically within the basolateral amygdala astrocytes was able to rescue the anxiety-like behavior in mice subjected to stress. Furthermore, we found that the overexpression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala, whether achieved through intracranial administration of excitatory amino acid transporter 2agonists or through injection of excitatory amino acid transporter 2-overexpressing viruses with GfaABC1D promoters, evoked anxiety-like behavior in mice. Our single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis further confirmed that chronic stress induced an upregulation of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 specifically in astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala. Moreover, through in vivo calcium signal recordings, we found that the frequency of calcium activity in the basolateral amygdala of mice subjected to chronic stress was higher compared with normal mice.After knocking down the expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala, the frequency of calcium activity was not significantly increased, and anxiety-like behavior was obviously mitigated. Additionally, administration of an excitatory amino acid transporter 2 inhibitor in the basolateral amygdala yielded a notable reduction in anxiety level among mice subjected to stress. These results suggest that basolateral amygdala astrocytic excitatory amino acid transporter 2 plays a role in in the regulation of unpredictable chronic mild stress-induced anxiety-like behavior by impacting the activity of local glutamatergic neurons, and targeting excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the basolateral amygdala holds therapeutic promise for addressing anxiety disorders.
基金Supported by the Open Project Grant for Clinical Medical Center of Yunnan Province,No.2019LCZXKF-NM03Medical Leader Training Grant,No.L-201624and Yunnan Province Ten Thousand Talents:“Medical Expert”grant,No.YNWR-MY-2019-020.
文摘BACKGROUND The lack of specific predictors for type-2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)severely impacts early intervention/prevention efforts.Elevated branched-chain amino acids(BCAAs:Isoleucine,leucine,valine)and aromatic amino acids(AAAs:Tyrosine,tryptophan,phenylalanine)show high sensitivity and specificity in predicting diabetes in animals and predict T2DM 10-19 years before T2DM onset in clinical studies.However,improvement is needed to support its clinical utility.AIM To evaluate the effects of body mass index(BMI)and sex on BCAAs/AAAs in new-onset T2DM individuals with varying body weight.METHODS Ninety-seven new-onset T2DM patients(<12 mo)differing in BMI[normal weight(NW),n=33,BMI=22.23±1.60;overweight,n=42,BMI=25.9±1.07;obesity(OB),n=22,BMI=31.23±2.31]from the First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province,Kunming,China,were studied.One-way and 2-way ANOVAs were conducted to determine the effects of BMI and sex on BCAAs/AAAs.RESULTS Fasting serum AAAs,BCAAs,glutamate,and alanine were greater and high-density lipoprotein(HDL)was lower(P<0.05,each)in OB-T2DM patients than in NW-T2DM patients,especially in male OB-T2DM patients.Arginine,histidine,leucine,methionine,and lysine were greater in male patients than in female patients.Moreover,histidine,alanine,glutamate,lysine,valine,methionine,leucine,isoleucine,tyrosine,phenylalanine,and tryptophan were significantly correlated with abdominal adiposity,body weight and BMI,whereas isoleucine,leucine and phenylalanine were negatively correlated with HDL.CONCLUSION Heterogeneously elevated amino acids,especially BCAAs/AAAs,across new-onset T2DM patients in differing BMI categories revealed a potentially skewed prediction of T2DM development.The higher BCAA/AAA levels in obese T2DM patients would support T2DM prediction in obese individuals,whereas the lower levels of BCAAs/AAAs in NW-T2DM individuals may underestimate T2DM risk in NW individuals.This potentially skewed T2DM prediction should be considered when BCAAs/AAAs are to be used as the T2DM predictor.
文摘The acid gas absorption in four potassium based amino acid salt solutions was predicted using artificial neural network(ANN). Two hundred fifty-five experimental data points for CO_2 absorption in the four potassium based amino acid salt solutions containing potassium lysinate, potassium prolinate, potassium glycinate, and potassium taurate were used in this modeling. Amine salt solution's type, temperature, equilibrium partial pressure of acid gas, the molar concentration of the solution, molecular weight, and the boiling point were considered as inputs to ANN to prognosticate the capacity of amino acid salt solution to absorb acid gas. Regression analysis was employed to assess the performance of the network. Levenberg–Marquardt back-propagation algorithm was used to train the optimal ANN with 5:12:1 architecture. The model findings indicated that the proposed ANN has the capability to predict precisely the absorption of acid gases in various amino acid salt solutions with Mean Square Error(MSE) value of 0.0011, the Average Absolute Relative Deviation(AARD) percent of 5.54%,and the correlation coefficient(R^2) of 0.9828.
文摘Objective： We have continued previous work in which we demonstrated that #117 and #372 amino acids contributed to the high activities of human CYP2A13 in catalyzing 4-methylnitrosamino-1-（3-pyridyl）-1-butanone（NNK） and aflatoxin BI（AFB1） carcinogenic activation. The present study was designed to identify other potential amino acid residues that contribute to the different catalytic characteristics of two CYP2A enzymes, CYP2A6 and CYP2A13, in nicotine metabolism and provide insights of the substrate and related amino acid residues interactions. Methods： A series of reciprocally substituted mutants of CYP2A6lle^300→ Phe, CYP2A6Gly^301aAla, CYP2A6Ser^369 → Gly, CYP2A13Phe^300→ Ile, CYP2A13Ala^301 → Gly and CYP2A13Gly^369 → Set were generated by site-directed mutagenesis/baculovirus-Sf9 insect cells expression. Comparative kinetic analysis of nicotine 5＇hydroxylatin by wild type and mutant CYP2A proteins was performed. Results：All amino acid residue substitutions at 300, 301 and 369 caused significant kinetic property changes in nicotine metabolism. While CYP2A6Ile^300→ Phe and CYP2A6Gly^301→Ala mutations had notable catalytic efficiency increases compared to that for the wild type CYP2A6, CYP2A13Phe^300→Ile and CYP2A13Ala^301→Gly replacement introduced remarkable catalytic efficiency decreases. In addition, all these catalytic efficiency alterations were caused by Vmax variations rather than Km changes. Substitution of #369 residue significantly affected both Km and Vmax values. CYP2A6Ser^369 → Gly increase the catalytic efficiency via a significant Km decrease versus Vmax enhancement, while the opposite effects were seen with CYP2A13Gly^369 → Ser. Conclusion：#300, #301 and #369 residues in human CYP2A6/13 play important roles in nicotine 5＇ -oxidation. Switching #300 or #301 residues did not affect the CYP2A protein affinities toward nicotine, although these amino acids are located in the active center. Set369 to Gly substitution indirectly affected nicotine binding by creating more space and conformational flexibility for the nearby residues, such as Leu^370 which is crucial for many hydroxylations.
文摘Low pathogenic Avian Influenza (AI) virus has the ability to evolve to high pathogenic viruses resulting in significant economic losses in the poultry sector. This study aims at assessing the impact of H9N2 viral passaging in broilers and its relatedness to pathogenicity and amino acid (a.a) sequences of the hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage site and neuraminidase (NA) stalk. The original H9N2 AI virus (P0) was used to challenge ten-21 days old broilers. Individual recovery of H9N2 virus from homogenates of trachea, lungs and airsacs was attempted in 9 days old chicken embryos, as a conclusion of the first passage (P1). Tracheal isolates of H9N2 were passaged for a second (P2) and a third (P3) time in broilers, followed by a similar embryonic recovery procedure. The a.a. sequence of a part of HA1 cleavage site and Neuraminidase stalk were compared among the differently passaged viruses;an assessement of the relatedness of the determined a.a. sequences to the pathogenicity in broilers, based on frequency of mortality, morbidity signs, gross and microscopic lesions at 3 days post challenge with the P1, P2, and P3-H9N2, is concluded. An increase in certain morbidity signs and specific lesions was observed in P2- and P3-H9N2 challenged broilers compared to birds challenged with P1-H9N2. A conserved R-S-S-R amino acid sequence at the HA1 cleavage site was observed in the differently passaged H9N2, associated with a variability in the NA stalk-a.a sequences. The passaging of the low pathogenic H9N2 virus in broilers leads to a trend of increase in pathogenicity, manifested in higher frequency of morbidity signs, and of specific gross and microscopic lesions of the examined organs. This passaging was associated with a conserved a.a. sequence of the hemaglutinin cleavage site and a variability in the sequence of the neuraminidase stalk. A detailed study of the potential of the detected variability in the neuraminidase stalk of H9N2 in induction of a higher pathogenicity in broilers will be the subject of future investigations.
文摘The discovery of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in December 2019 raised global health warnings. Quickly, in 2020, the virus crossed borders and infected individuals across the world, evolving into the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, early signs of the virus’s existence were observed in various countries before the initial outbreak in Wuhan. As of 12<sup>th</sup> of April, the respiratory disease had infected over 762 million people worldwide, with over 6.8 million deaths recorded. This has led scientists to focus their efforts on understanding the virus to develop effective means to diagnose, treat, prevent, and control this pandemic. One of the areas of focus is the isolation of this virus, which plays a crucial role in understanding the viral dynamics in the laboratory. In this study, we report the isolation and detection of locally circulating SARS-CoV-2 in Kenya. The isolates were cultured on Vero Cercopithecus cell line (CCL-81) cells, RNA extraction was conducted from the supernatants, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Genome sequencing was done to profile the strains phylogenetically and identify novel and previously reported mutations. Vero CCL-81 cells were able to support the growth of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, and mutations were detected from the two isolates sequenced (001 and 002). Genome sequencing revealed the circulation of two isolates that share a close relationship with the Benin isolate with the D614G common mutation identified along the S protein. These virus isolates will be expanded and made available to the Kenya Ministry of Health and other research institutions to advance SARS-CoV-2 research in Kenya and the region.
文摘Aim Prenatal stress （PS） can lead to abnormal behavior of offspring and increase the incidence of mental illness. Previous researches have shown that levels of glutamate and its receptor expression are closely relat- ed to the occurrence of this phenomenon. Furthermore, recent study has demonstrated that the expression levels of excitatory amino acid transporters 2 （EAAT2） in different brain regions of 1 month PS offspring rats have changed. Methods The SD pregnant rats were used restraint stress to imitate PS from gestation 14 -~ 19 days. Offspring rats were weaned 21 days after birth. The expression of EAAT2 of hippocampus was observed by Western blot. Results The expression of EAAT2 of 1 month PS offspring rats was significantly decreased in comparison to control group. However, the expression of EAAT2 of 2 month PS offspring rats was significantly increased in comparison to 1 month PS offspring rats. Conclusion These phenomena have illustrated that the expression of EAAT2 of PS off- spring rats could show time dependence or reversibility. The expression of EAAT2 may play an important role in the development of mental illness of offspring rats influenced by PS.
基金supported by the Specific Grant of Excellent Talent Introduction in Shanxi, China (SXSGETI-2010)the National Nonprofit Institute Research Grant of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China (IARRP-2014-403-15)
文摘In legume plants, uricase gene （Nodulin-35） plays a positive role in metabolism of ureide and amide compounds in symbiotic nitrogen-fixing in the nodules. In this study, a pot experiment was performed to examine the effects of ammonium application on the transcription of MsU2 gene and distribution of major nitrogen compounds in alfalfa Medicago sativa. Data showed that alfalfa plant has a significant difference in contents of nitrogen compounds in xylem saps compared with soybean plant, and belongs to typical amide type legume plants with little ureide accumulation, and the accumulation of asparagines and ureide in the tissues of alfalfa is mainly gathered in the nodules. Northern blotting showed that excessive ammonium significantly inhibited the transcription of MsU2 gene in the nodules and roots, and mRNA accumulation of MsU2 gene in the plants exposed to excessive ammonium decreased gradually with culture time extension, indicating that application of ammonium significantly inhibited the transcription of MsU2 gene in the alfalfa plants. Although the application of exces- sive ammonium increased the contents of amino acids in various tissues of alfalfa, the accumulation of allantoin reflecting the strength of uricase activity is remarkably reduced in the xylem saps, stems and nodules when alfalfa plants exposed to excessive ammonium, suggesting that application of excessive ammonium generated a negative effect on symbiosis fixing-nitrogen system due to inhibition of ammonium ion on uricase activity in the nodules of alfalfa. This result seems to imply that application of excessive ammonium in legume plants should not be proposed to avoid affecting the ability of fixing nitrogen in the nodules of legume plants, and reasonable dose of ammonium should be recommended to effectively utilize the fixed N from atmosphere in legume plant production.
文摘4,4-Dialkyl-2-oxazolin-5-ones are prepared by one step reaction of 2-oxazolin-5-one with the magnesium methyl carbonate(MMC)and alkyIhalides.It is a novel and convenient method for synthesis of α, Υ-disubstitutcd α-amino acid by hydrolysis of 4,4-dialkyl-2-oxazolin-5-ones.
基金This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province.
文摘The title compounds were prepared by the enzymatic resolution of the corresponding N-acetylated DL-amino acids methyl esters, which were obtained from t-butyl chloride via an 8-step synthesis.
