Chitinase-3-like protein 1 plays a role in lumbar facet joint degeneration / 中华骨科杂志

Objective:To investigate the effect of CHI3L1 on the biological function of chondrocytes and its role in lumbar facet joint degeneration.Methods:The human lumbar facet joint articular cartilage were collected, and the relative mRNA expression of CHI3L1 gene detected by quantitative fluorescence PCR. Then explored the correlation between joint degeneration and gender, age and relative mRNA expression of CHI3L1. Human chondrocytes were cultured in vitro. The effects of CHI3L1 on chondrocyte proliferation, cycling, and apoptosis, as well as expression of related inflammatory factors, were investigated. The mechanism by which CHI3L1 regulates the degeneration of articular cartilage was investigated using the signal transduction pathway protein chip.Results:There was a positive correlation between the grade of degeneration in lumbar facet joint and the relative expression of CHI3L1 gene mRNA ( r=0.76, P<0.001). There was no correlation with the patient's gender ( r=-0.12, P=0.500). A positive correlation between the age of patients and the relative expression of CHI3L1 gene mRNA was found ( r=0.47, P=0.005). Compared with the non-degenerative group, the expression of CHI3L1 gene mRNA significantly increased in the degenerative group, and the expression of CHI3L1 gradually increased with the aggravation in the grade of degeneration ( F=18.90, P<0.001). Compared with the non-degenerative group, the chondrocytes in the CHI3L1 group had significantly lower proliferation at 48 h (OD 490/fold=7.132), 72 h (OD 490/fold=4.803), 96 h (OD 490/fold=2.431) and 120 h (OD 490/fold=0.009). The ratio of chondrocytes in G1 phase, S phase and G2/M phase were 85.03%±3.05%, 12.78%±2.29% and 0.90%±0.76% in the CHI3L1 group, and 73.93%±2.73%, 22.81%±1.93% and 0.99%±0.87% in control group, respectively. There were significant differences in the percentage of chondrocytes in G1 phase ( t=4.70, P<0.001) and S phase ( t=5.80, P<0.001) between the two groups. The percentages of apoptosis in chondrocyte in CHI3L1 group and control group were 8.64%±0.76% and 5.68%±1.13%, which has a statistically difference ( t=4.47, P<0.001). The expression of IL-6 in chondrocytes of CHI3L1 group was 49.60±0.01 pg/ml, which was higher than that of 47.88±0.01 pg/ml in the control group ( t=132.70, P<0.001). The expression of TNF-α was 95.93±0.02 pg/ml, which was higher than 90.69±0.02 pg/ml in the control group ( t=376.10, P<0.001). There was significant difference in expression of IL-6 in chondrocytes between the CHI3L1 group and the control group ( t=132.72, P<0.001). The expression of TNF-α ( t=376.10, P<0.001) was statistically difference. Protein chip detected 53 proteins with significant differences in expression and 43 proteins with significant differences in protein phosphorylation levels. Bioinformatics analysis was used to identify 16 signaling pathways in which the above different proteins might be involved, including ErbB, PI3K, Akt, Ras, JAK, STAT3, MAPK pathway. In the MAPK pathway, the expression of MAPK1 and RAF1 proteins was higher in the chondrocytes of the CHI3L1 group than in the control group (1.094±0.00 vs. 0.814±0.00, 0.988±0.00 vs. 0.786±0.00; t=103.16, P<0.001; t=54.32, P<0.001). Compared with the control group, the expression of MAPK1 and RAF1 proteins was significantly increased in the chondrocytes of the CHI3L1 group. Conclusion:The expression of CHI3L1 is corrected to articular cartilage degeneration. CHI3L1 is able to inhibit the proliferation of articular chondrocytes, which regulated the cycling of chondrocytes from G1 phase to S phase, promote the apoptosis of chondrocytes, and promote the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α in chondrocytes. Regulation of chondrocytes biological function through the MAPK pathway, which is a potential biomarker for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of lumbar joint degeneration.

Site-specific integration and stable expression of exogenous protein at a novel site on CHO cell chromosome / 中国药科大学学报

@#Finding stable expression sites on the chromosomes of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells is an effective method to solve the problem of unstable expression of CHO cells in long-term culture. Our group used lentiviral transfection to integrate the tracer gene (Zsgreen1) into the chromosome of CHO cells and found multiple potential stable expression sites. This study verified the ability of one of the sites located in the 148052-148157 bp region on chromosome NW_003614241.1 to stably express exogenous proteins.The expression of Zsgreen1 gene was first observed, and CRISPR/Cas9 technology was then used to integrate the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene into this site. Three strains of EGFP gene integrated cells were obtained. After 60 generations of suspension culture, the fluorescence intensity of the cells had no significant changes, which proved that this site can stably express the EGFP gene. The same method was used to construct recombinant CHO cell lines expressing the human serum albumin (HSA) gene, and was verified by Western blot that this site could express and secrete HSA. It shows that the above-mentioned sites can be integrated and can stably express exogenous proteins.

Engineering the C4 pathway of Corynebacterium glutamicum for efficient production of 5-aminolevulinic acid / 生物工程学报

5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) plays an important role in the fields of medicine and agriculture. 5-ALA can be produced by engineered Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum. We systematically engineered the C4 metabolic pathway of C. glutamicum to further improve its ability to produce 5-ALA. Firstly, the hemA gene encoding 5-ALA synthase (ALAS) from Rhodobacter capsulatus and Rhodopseudomonas palustris were heterologously expressed in C. glutamicum, respectively. The RphemA gene of R. palustris which showed relatively high enzyme activity was selected. Screening of the optimal ribosome binding site sequence RBS5 significantly increased the activity of RphemA. The ALAS activity of the recombinant strain reached (221.87±3.10) U/mg and 5-ALA production increased by 14.3%. Subsequently, knocking out genes encoding α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase inhibitor protein (odhI) and succinate dehydrogenase (sdhA) increased the flux of succinyl CoA towards the production of 5-ALA. Moreover, inhibiting the expression of hemB by means of sRNA reduced the degradation of 5-ALA, while overexpressing the cysteine/O-acetylserine transporter eamA increased the output efficiency of intracellular 5-ALA. Shake flask fermentation using the engineered strain C. glutamicum 13032/∆odhI/∆sdhA-sRNAhemB- RBS5RphemA-eamA resulted in a yield of 11.90 g/L, which was 57% higher than that of the original strain. Fed-batch fermentation using the engineered strain in a 5 L fermenter produced 25.05 g/L of 5-ALA within 48 h, which is the highest reported-to-date yield of 5-ALA from glucose.

Rational design of the C-terminal Loop region of leucine dehydrogenase and cascade biosynthesis L-2-aminobutyric acid / 生物工程学报

Leucine dehydrogenase (LDH) is the key rate-limiting enzyme in the production of L-2-aminobutyric acid (L-2-ABA). In this study, we modified the C-terminal Loop region of this enzyme to improve the specific enzyme activity and stability for efficient synthesis of L-2-ABA. Using molecular dynamics simulation of LDH, we analyzed the change of root mean square fluctuation (RMSF), rationally designed the Loop region with greatly fluctuated RMSF, and obtained a mutant EsLDHD2 with a specific enzyme activity 23.2% higher than that of the wild type. Since the rate of the threonine deaminase-catalyzed reaction converting L-threonine into 2-ketobutyrate was so fast, the multi-enzyme cascade catalysis system became unbalanced. Therefore, the LDH and the formate dehydrogenase were double copied in a new construct E. coli BL21/pACYCDuet-RM. Compared with E. coli BL21/pACYCDuet-RO, the molar conversion rate of L-2-ABA increased by 74.6%. The whole cell biotransformation conditions were optimized and the optimal pH, temperature and substrate concentration were 7.5, 35 °C and 80 g/L, respectively. Under these conditions, the molar conversion rate was higher than 99%. Finally, 80 g and 40 g L-threonine were consecutively fed into a 1 L reaction mixture under the optimal conversion conditions, producing 97.9 g L-2-ABA. Thus, this strategy provides a green and efficient synthesis of L-2-ABA, and has great industrial application potential.

Heterologous expression of Streptomyces coelicolor trehalose synthase and whole-cell biocatalyst production of trehalose in Escherichia coli / 生物工程学报

The trehalose synthase (ScTreS) gene from Streptomyces coelicolor was successfully cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The protein purified by Ni-NTA affinity column showed an apparent molecular weight (MW) of 62.3 kDa analyzed by SDS-PAGE. The optimum temperature of the enzyme was 35 °C and the optimum pH was 7.0; the enzyme was sensitive to acidic conditions. By homologous modeling and sequence alignment, the enzyme was modified by site-directed mutagenesis. The relative activities of the mutant enzymes K246A and A165T were 1.43 and 1.39 times that of the wild type, an increased conversion rate of 14% and 10% respectively. To optimize the synthesis conditions of trehalose, the mutant strain K246A was cultivated in a 5-L fermentor and used for whole-cell transformation. The results showed that with the substrate maltose concentration of 300 g/L at 35 °C and pH 7.0, the highest conversion rate reached 71.3%, and the yield of trehalose was 213.93 g/L. However, when maltose concentration was increased to 700 g/L, the yield of trehalose can reach 465.98 g/L with a conversion rate of 66%.

Anti-liver fibrosis activities of human insulin-like growth factor-1 in vitro / 中国药科大学学报

This study was focus on investigating the anti-liver fibrosis effects of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in vitro.The effects of IGF-1 on human liver L-02 cell viability and cell cycle were observed.CC14-induced L-02 cell injury was set up to detect the anti-apoptotic activity of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).Transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) induced hepatic stellate cell line (HSC-T6) were used as a liver fibrosis model in vitro to analyze the effects of IGF-1 on the expression of liver fibrosis proteins and intracellular TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway in HSC-T6 cells.The results showed that IGF-1 could relieve the growth inhibition effects of TGF-β1 on L-02 cells,increase the viability of L-02 cells injured by CCl4,decrease the expression of liver fibrosis proteins,and inhibit the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway by inhibiting the phosphorylation of Smad3.Our study suggested that IGF-1 exerted anti-liver fibrosis effects by stimulating L-02 cells proliferation,reducing cell damage and inhibiting ECM accumulation via interfering TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway.

Research advances of recombinant coagulation factor VII expression and synthesizing mechanism / 中国药科大学学报

Haemophilia is caused by lack of coagulation factor VIII or IX in patients′blood with inadequate hemostasis.Currently recombinant coagulation factor VII(rFVII)produced in different cells is used against clini-cal bleeding of haemophilia patients.To enhance the production and activity of rFVII;some eukaryotic cells such as baby hamster kidney(BHK);Chinese hamster ovary(CHO);insect cell and fish embryo;were used to express rFVII.Meanwhile;the effect of functional gene on the activity of rFVII and the limitation of rFVII production caused by post-translational modification were investigated by different methods.The role of rFVII in hemostasis;synthesis of rFVII in different eukaryotic cells and impact on production of post-translational modification are reviewed in this article.

Impact on prevalence of schitosomiasis after runs of Three Gorges Reservoir Project in the section of Anhui province / 中华预防医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the changes of water level and the distribution of snails in Anhui province before and after runs of the Three Gorges Reservoir Project, and to determine the relationship between the two factors and schistosomiasis transmission.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The hydrologic data of Datong hydrologic station and the data of snail status and schistosomiasis morbidity in Anhui Province were collected. The data from 1991 to 2002 and 2003 to 2012 were considered as before and after the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Project. Based on the prevalence of schistosomiasis, the cases of people and cattle were speculated, and the average infection rate of people and cattle were calculated. The t-test was used to compare the difference of snail area and the density of living snails before and after the impoundment of the Three Gorges Project. The pearson method was used to analyze the relationship between water level and snail area. The spearman method was used to analyze the relationship between the water level and the distribution of snails.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>From 1991 to 2012, the range of the highest water level, the lowest water level, the difference between the highest and lowest water level, the mean in the abundant water seasons, the mean in the dry water seasons, and the difference between the abundant water seasons and the dry water seasons was 11.40-16.30, 3.68-5.20, 6.70-12.12, 9.92-14.40, 4.77-7.64 and 4.13-8.93 m, respectively. The snail areas was (28 613 ± 362) hm² and (29 477 ± 918) hm² (t = -3.00, P = 0.007), the density of living snails was 1.51 (1.15-2.43) and 0.43 (0.29-1.10) snails/0.11 m² (H = 4.28, P < 0.001) before and after the impoundment of the Three Gorges Project, respectively. The average infection rate of people and cattle was 1.68% (99 482/5 935 147) and 4.62% (13 923/3 011 33), and the average number of acute schistosomiasis cases was 328, before the impoundment of the Three Gorges Project; 0.60% (39 747/6 649 380), 1.65% (1 291/783 224) and 71 after the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Project, respectively. The snail areas had negative correlation with the highest water level, the difference between the highest and lowest water level, the mean in the abundant water seasons (r value was -0.514, -0.509 and -0.477; P value was 0.014, 0.015 and 0.025, respectively). The infection rate of people had positive correlation with the highest water level, the difference between the highest and lowest water level, the mean in the abundant water seasons (r value was 0.532, 0.587 and 0.446; P value was 0.011, 0.004 and 0.038, respectively). The infection rate of cattle had positive correlation with the highest water level, the difference between the highest and lowest water level (r value was 0.507 and 0.553; P value was 0.016 and 0.008, respectively). The number of acute schistosomiasis cases had positive correlation with the highest water level, the difference between the highest and lowest water level (r value was 0.481 and 0.486; P value was 0.023 and 0.022, respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Following the runs of the Three Gorges Reservoir Project, the change of water level in the section of Anhui Province affected the distribution of snails and the infection of people and cattle to some extent. The snail areas showed an upward trend, and the density of living snails, the infection rate of people and cattle showed a downward trend. The runs of Three Gorges Reservoir Project has certain role to reduce flood and helpful for schistosomiasis control.</p>

Effect of different levels of positive pressure during one-lung ventilation on blood gas and hemodynamics in patients with thoracoscopic lung bullae resection surgery / 中国医师进修杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of different levels of positive pressure (PEEP) during one-lung ventilation on blood gas and hemodynamics in patients with thoracoscopic lung bullae resection surgery.Methods Seventy-eight patients undergoing thoracoscopic lung bullae resection surgery were divided into three groups by random number table method,26 cases in each:group Ⅰ was only given one-lung intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) after two-lung ventilation,group Ⅱ was given one-lung IPPV and PEEP 5 cmH2O (1 cmH2O =0.098 kPa) after two-lung ventilation,group Ⅲ was given one-lung IPPV and PEEP 10 cmH2O after two-lung ventilation.Blood gas and hemodynamics were recorded and compared in the supine position and lateral position two-lung ventilation,one lung ventilation 10 and 30 min among three groups.Results Oxygen saturation was maintained at 0.99-1.00 in three groups.pH value,base excess,arterial carbondioxide partial pressure (PaCO2) and HCO3-at each time point in three groups had no statistical significance (P ＞ 0.05).Arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2) in group Ⅱ and group Ⅲ at one-lung ventilation 10,30 min was significantly higher than that in group Ⅰ [(336.2 ± 113.2),(348.5 ± 109.7) mmHg (1 mmHg =0.133 kPa) vs.(285.0 ± 103.5) mmHg,(357.6 ± 104.0),(358.9 ±103.2) mmHg vs.(276.0 ± 107.2) mmHg] (P ＜0.05),but were within the normal range,there was no statistical difference between group Ⅱ and group Ⅲ (p ＞ 0.05).Heart rate,mean arterial pressure,left ventricular ejection time,systemic vascular resistance at each time point in three groups had no statistical significance (P ＞0.05).Stroke volume,cardiac output in group Ⅱ and group Ⅲ at one-lung ventilation 10,30 min were lower than those in supine position and lateral position two-lung ventilation and the same period in group Ⅰ (P ＜ 0.05),but were within the normal range,there were no statistical differences between group Ⅱ and group Ⅲ (p ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Two-lung ventilation after one-lung IPPV and PEEP 5 cmH2O in thoracoscopic lung bullae resection surgery can maintain satisfactory PaO2 and PaCO2,hemodynamic change is not obvious; PEEP 5 cmH2O compares with only IPPV can further improve PaO2,but PEEP 10 cmH20 can't further improve PaO2.

A new sandwich ELISA method for quantitative analysis of fusion protein IL-2-HSA / 中国药科大学学报

A double antibody sandwich ELISA for quantitative analysis of recombinant fusion protein IL-2-HSA was constructed using a polyclonal antibody to human IL-2 for capture and a monoclonal antibody to HSA with HRP-labeled conjugate for detection.The optimal concentration of the first coating antibody and detection antibody were 2 μg/mL and 0.5 μg/mL,respectively.Regression equation of the linear calibration curve was:y = 0.442 9 x-1.143 3 with a correlation coefficient of 0.996 6,and the linear detection ranged from 39.06 ng/mL to 1 250 ng/mL.Recovery from the supernatant of fermentation broth was 98.13% to 102.94%.The specificity assay indicated that it had little cross-reactions with IL-2 and HSA.The soundness analysis suggested that fermentation broth,mouse serum and dilution had no influence on the method.The present method can be used in the studies on fermentation,purification and clinical diagnosis.

Assessment report on infection control of schistosomiasis in China, 2008 / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

According to the requirement of the national assessment for achieving the infection control criteria, 42 villages (among them,25 villages belonged to the first stratum, and 17 villages belonged to the second stratum) in 14 counties from 5 provinces, including Hunnan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui and Yunnan, were selected as sampling villages for the assessment.The results from the field assessment showed that 154 out of 9 067 people were found infected with Sckistosoma japonicum, with an average infection rate of 1.7% ranged from 0.31 % to 4.10% , and only Yongping Village from Weishan County and Tenglong Village from Eryuan County were not found any case. A total of 46 out of 3 323 head of cattle were infected with S. japonicum, with an average infection rate of 1.38% ranged from 0.26% to 3.79% , and no any infected individual detected in Nanling County. No outbreak occurred in those sampling villages. Therefore, it is indicated that the five sampling provinces have reached the national criteria on infection control of schistosomiasis.

Analysis on the diagnosis and report of malaria cases in China during 2005-2008 / 中华疾病控制杂志

Objective To identify the problem in the diagnosis and report of different types of malaria in China and provide evidence for making malaria control and elimination strategy and measurement. Methods All data are obtained from Disease Reporting Information System of China CDC, and the percentages, diagnosis methods and onset-diagnosis duration are described and compared among different malaria types and various report institutions. Results The overall number of reported cases declined by 71.77% during 2005-2008, with a relatively high percent for type-unconfirmed malaria. The percentages of laboratory diagnosis for falciparum malaria and vivax malaria were 91.44% and 71.14%, respectively. 28.22% of vivax malaria were diagnosed by using clinical diagnosis method, and 22.45% of type-unconfirmed malaria by using laboratory diagnosis method. 37.54% of falciparum malaria and 71.79% of vivax malaria were reported by hospitals in villages and towns, and 33.41% of falciparum malaria by general hospitals. The onset-diagnosis durations for falciparum malaria, vivax malaria and type-unconfirmed malaria were 72 h, 96 h and 72 h, respectively. Conclusions The laboratory diagnosis level is not good enough, though it is the main method for malaria diagnosis in China. The ability of laboratory diagnosis for malaria should be further strengthened in gross root medical institutions to reach the goal of malaria elimination.

Expression, characterization and application of thermostable beta-glucuronidase from Thermotoga maritima / 生物工程学报

The gene of beta-glucuronidase from Thermotoga maritima was cloned into the plasmid pHsh, and expressed in Escherichia coli JM109. The recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity by a simple step, heat treatment. The recombinant enzyme had a molecular mass of 65.9 kD. The optimal activity of beta-glucuronidase was found at pH 5.0 and 80 degrees C. The purified enzyme was stable over a pH range from 5.8 to 8.2 and had a half life of 2 h at 80 degrees C. The kinetic experiments at 80 degrees C with p-nitrophenyl-beta- glucuronide as substrate gave a K(m) and V(max) of 0.18 mmol/L and 312 u per mg of protein. The purified enzyme could transform glycyrrhizin to glycyrrhetinic acid.

Long Term Toxicity of Anti-EB Virus Liquid on Beagle Dogs / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term toxicity of Anti-EB-virus oral liquid on beagle dogs, and to provide safety evidences for clinical experiment. METHODS: Of the total beagle dogs, three groups totaled 18 were assigned to receive Anti-EB-virus oral liquid at high (76.41 g/kg), medium (25.47 g/kg) and low dosage (8.49 g/kg), and 6 (blank control group) to receive placebo. The ratio of male to female in each group was 1∶1. The beagle dogs were administered intragastrically with drugs qd, 6 days in a week for up to 26 weeks. All the indicators were monitored and the recovery of the beagle dogs was observed. RESULTS: Dogs in high dose group vomited obviously. Gastrointestinal irritation was also noted in medium dose subgroup, but was less severe than the high dose subgroup. During the recovery stage, one dog in high dose group was strong positive in urinary protein test and one in medium dose group was strong positive in urinary occult blood test. No significant drug associated toxic reactions were noted from beagle dogs' body weight, temperature, appetite, ECG, hematology test, blood biochemical analysis, ophthalmology test, marrow test, routine urianlysis, histopathologic examination, etc. CONCLUSION: The non-toxic dose of Anti-EB-Virus Liquid on beagle dogs was 8.49 g/kg in crude drug.

Inhibition of Anti-EB Virus Liquor on EB virus antigen expression and its cytotoxicity / 中草药

Object To study the inhibitory effect of Anti-EB Virus Liquor (AEVL) on EB (Epstein-Barr) virus antigen expression and its cytotoxicity. Methods The effect of AEVL on Raji cell early antigen (EA) expression and B 95-8 cell virus capsid antigen (VCA) expression was assayed by indirect fluorescent technique; the cytotoxicity on nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE 2 cells was determined by MTT method. Results At the non-toxic concentration, AEVL had markedly inhibitory effect on Raji cell EB-virus, IC 50 was 0.667 mg/mL and showed powerfully inhibitory effect on B 95-8 cell EB-virus VCA expression, IC 50 was 0.89 mg/mL; and it had strongly inhibitory effect on B 95-8 cell EB virus VCA expression stimulated by sodium n-butyric acid, IC 50 was 1.4 mg/mL. The IC 50 of AEVL on human nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE 2 cell was 7.57 mg/mL. Conclusion AEVL could inhibit EB virus antigen expression and have cytotoxicity on nasopharyngel carcinoma cells at high concentration.