Antibacterial sorbicillin and diketopiperazines from the endogenous fungus Penicillium sp. GD6 associated Chinese mangrove Bruguiera gymnorrhiza / 中国天然药物

One new sorbicillin derivative, 2-deoxy-sohirnone C (1), one new diketopiperazine alkaloid, 5S-hydroxynorvaline-S-Ile (2), and two naturally occurring diketopiperazines, 3S-hydroxylcyclo(S-Pro-S-Phe) (3) and cyclo(S-Phe-S-Gln) (4), together with three known compounds were isolated from the Chinese mangrove endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. GD6. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses and by comparison with literature data. The absolute configuration of 3-hydroxyl moiety in 3 was determined by Mosher's method, while the absolute stereochemistry of 2 and 4 was established by comparison with the CD spectra of natural and synthesized diketopiperazines. Compound 1 showed moderate antibacterial activity against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with a MIC value of 80 μg·mL.

Antibacterial sorbicillin and diketopiperazines from the endogenous fungus Penicillium sp. GD6 associated Chinese mangrove Bruguiera gymnorrhiza / 中国天然药物

One new sorbicillin derivative, 2-deoxy-sohirnone C (1), one new diketopiperazine alkaloid, 5S-hydroxynorvaline-S-Ile (2), and two naturally occurring diketopiperazines, 3S-hydroxylcyclo(S-Pro-S-Phe) (3) and cyclo(S-Phe-S-Gln) (4), together with three known compounds were isolated from the Chinese mangrove endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. GD6. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses and by comparison with literature data. The absolute configuration of 3-hydroxyl moiety in 3 was determined by Mosher's method, while the absolute stereochemistry of 2 and 4 was established by comparison with the CD spectra of natural and synthesized diketopiperazines. Compound 1 showed moderate antibacterial activity against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with a MIC value of 80 μg·mL.

Cranberry extract supplementation exerts preventive effects through alleviating Aβ toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans model of Alzheimer's disease / 中国天然药物

Cranberry extract (CBE) rich in polyphenols are potent to delay paralysis induced by alleviating β-amyloid (Aβ) toxicity in C. elegans model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In order to better apply CBE as an anti-AD agent efficiently, we sought to deterrmine whether preventive or therapeutic effect contributes more prominently toward CBE's anti-AD activity. As the level of Aβ toxicity and memory health are two major pathological parameters in AD, in the present study, we compared the effects of CBE on Aβ toxicity and memory health in the C. elegans AD model treated with preventive and therapeutic protocols. Our results revealed that CBE prominently showed the preventive efficacy, providing a basis for further investigation of these effects in mammals.

Phenotypic and behavioral defects induced by iron exposure can be transferred to progeny in Caenorhabditis elegans / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Previous work has showed that excess iron accumulation is harmful to reproduction and even promotes death; however, whether the multiple biological toxicity of iron (Fe) exposure could be transferred to progeny remains unknown. The present study used Caenorhabditis elegans to analyze the multiple toxicities of iron exposure and their possible transferable properties.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Three concentrations of iron sulfate solution (2.5 micromol/L, 75 micromol/L, and 200 micromol/L) were used. The endpoints of lifespan, body size, generation time, brood size, head thrash and body bend frequencies, and chemotaxis plasticity were selected to investigate Fe toxicity and its effect on progeny in Caenorhabditis elegans.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The Fe toxicity could cause multiple biological defects in a dose-dependent manner by affecting different endpoints in nematodes. Most of the multiple biological defects and behavior toxicities could be transferred from Fe-exposed Caenorhabditis elegans to their progeny. Compared to the parents, no recovery phenotypes were observed for some of the defects in the progeny, such as body bend frequency and life span. We further summarized the defects caused by Fe exposure into 2 groups according to their transferable properties.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our results suggest that Fe exposure could cause multiple biological defects, and most of these severe defects could be transferred from Fe exposed nematodes to their progeny.</p>

Chemical constituents in the leave of Rhizophora stylosa L and their biological activities / 药学学报

Ten compounds were isolated from the leaves of Rhizophora stylosa, one kind of mangrove plants distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Their structures were identified as taraxerone (1), taraxerol (2), beta-sitosterol (3), careaborin (4), cis-careaborin (5), beta-daucosterol (6), isovanillic acid (7), protocatechuic acid (8), astilbin (9) and rutin (10), among which compound 9 and 10 were reported in this plant for the first time. Of these compounds, Compound 2 has been confirmed to have the abilities to inhibit the growth of Hela and BGC-823 with IC50 of 73.4 micromol x L(-1) and 73.3 micromol x L(-1), respectively. Compound 5 could inhibit the growth of BGC-823 and MCF-7 with IC50 of 45.9 micromol x L(-1) and 116.0 micromol x L(-1), respectively. Compound 9 and 10 were firstly reported to stimulate the proliferation of mice splenic lymphocytes markedly in a dose-dependent manner.

Molecular actions guiding neural regeneration in planarian / 神经科学通报·英文版

Planarian is among the simplest animals that possess a centralized nervous system (CNS), and its neural regeneration involves the replacement of cells lost to normal 'wear and tear' (cell turnover), and/or injury. In this review, we state and discuss the recent studies on molecular control of neural regeneration in planarians. The spatial and temporal expression patterns of genes in intact and regenerating planarian CNS have already been described relatively clearly. The bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and Wnt signaling pathways are identified to regulate neural regeneration. During neural regeneration, conserved axon guidance mechanisms are necessary for proper wiring of the nervous system. In addition, apoptosis may play an important role in controlling cell numbers, eliminating unnecessary tissues or cells and remodeling the old tissues for regenerating CNS. The bilateral symmetry is established by determination of anterior-posterior (A-P) and dorsal-ventral (D-V) patterns. Moreover, neurons positive to dopamine, serotonin (5-HT), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) have been detected in planarians. Therefore, planarians present us with new, experimentally accessible contexts to study the molecular actions guiding neural regeneration.

A Penicillium sp. XGH2321 Isolated from the Rhizospheric Soil of Rhizophora stylosa Griff and Its Antibacterial Activity / 微生物学通报

The isolate XGH2321,which isolated from the rhizospheric soil of Rhizophora stylosa Griff in Dongzhaigang Mangrove Nature Reserve in China,was identified as a fungus in the genera of Penicillium based on its morphological characteristics and internal transcribed spacer(ITS) sequence analysis.After in-oculated in the modified CzapeK-DoX medium(consisted of 4% corn steep,0.3% NaNO3,0.05% KCl,0.1% K2HPO4,0.05% MgSO4,pH 7.4,9% salinity),and cultured under the condition of 28?C in a rotary shaker at 160 r/min for 7 days,the extracts of ethyl acetate and water-soluble from the fermentation broth showed the apparent antibacterial activities against the growth of Staphylococcus aureus,Sarcina lutea,and Bacillus subtilis with the minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) of 800 ?g/mL and 400 ?g/mL,respectively.While at the same time,these two extracts could also suppress the growth of the plant pathogen,Rhizoctonia solani with MIC of 400 ?g/mL and 200 ?g/mL,respectively.

Effects of Salinity and pH on the Growth and Active Products-secreting of Aspergillus sp. F3 from the Mangrove Rhizosphere / 微生物学通报

An Aspergillus sp. strain F3 was isolated and identified from the rhizosphere soil of mangrove plant, Rhizophora stylosa Griff in Dongzhai harbor mangrove forest conservation in China. In this study, the effects of media salinity and pH on the mycelial biomass and the ability of producing antibacterial metabo- lites from this isolate were carefully analyzed. Results showed that this isolate can grow well on the SDA medium with higher salinity (3%~9%) and higher pH (8~10). Under the modified culturing conditions, this isolate can secret the antibacterial and antitumor metabolites. The extracts of acetic ether were about 448 mg/L of the fermentation broth. The antibacterial activities of the acetic ether extract were analyzed with bacteria and fungus. Results showed this extract can suppress the growth of Staphylococcus aureus、S. epi-dermidis、Sarcina lutea、Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli with MIC of 31.3 ?g/mL, 31.3 ?g/mL, 7.8 ?g/mL, 7.8 ?g/mL and 125.0 ?g/mL, respectively. It can also suppress the growth of Candida albicans with MIC of 125.0 ?g/mL. Further studies uncovered the cytotoxicity of this extract against the tumor cells, such as ECV304, Lovo and HepG2 with IC50 of 3.45 ?g/mL, 4.88 ?g/mL and 14.31 ?g/mL respectively.

Comparison of Rhizospheric Soil DNA Isolation and Purification Methods from the Root of Fritillaria thunbergii Miq / 微生物学通报

Six DNA extraction methods and four DNA purification methods were compared and analyzed in this study to get higher quality DNA from the rhizospheric soil of Fritillaria thunbergii Miq.Results showed that higher purity DNA were harvested by pretreating the soil with 20 mmol/L EDTA(pH 7.5),then isolating soil DNA with CTAB-SDS-frozen-thawing,and further purified by agarose method.The recovery rate of this soil DNA was about 44.00 ?g/g ? 2.65 ?g/g soil,and they were qualified for the microbial diversity analysis in the rhizospheric soil of F.thunbergii Miq based on the 16S rDNA sequence.

Computational analysis of genetic loci required for amphid structure and functions and their possibly corresponding microRNAs in C. elegans / 神经科学通报·英文版

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the important roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating amphid structure and function, we performed a computational analysis for the genetic loci required for the sensory perception and their possibly corresponding miRNAs in C. elegans.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Total 55 genetic loci required for the amphid structure and function were selected. Sequence alignment was combined with E value evaluation to investigate and identify the possible corresponding miRNAs.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Total 30 genes among the 55 genetic loci selected have their possible corresponding regulatory miRNA (s), and identified genes participate in the regulation of almost all aspects of amphid structure and function. In addition, our data suggest that both the amphid structure and the amphid functions might be regulated by a series of network signaling pathways. Moreover, the distribution of miRNAs along the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of these 30 genes exhibits different patterns.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>We present the possible miRNA-mediated signaling pathways involved in the regulation of chemosensation and thermosensation by controlling the corresponding sensory neuron and interneuron functions. Our work will be useful for better understanding of the miRNA-mediated control of the chemotaxis and thermotaxis in C. elegans.</p>

Learning and learning choice in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans / 神经科学通报·英文版

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is an attractive model organism to study the behavioral plasticity for its simple system and ability to respond to diverse environmental stimuli, such as touch, smell, taste and temperature. Learning in C. elegans encompasses both non-associative learning and associative learning. Till now, themotaxis and chemotaxis are two major paradigms for associative learning and there are at least 6 forms of chemotaxis-mediated associative learning. Three research systems have also been explored to study the mechanism of learning choice in worms. This review will discuss the forms, research models, genetic and molecular regulation of learning and learning choice in C. elegans.

Protective effects of shark hepatic stimulator substance against acute hepatic injury induced by acetaminophen in mice / 药学学报

<p><b>AIM</b>To investigate the protective effects of shark hepatic stimulator substance (sHSS) against acute hepatic injury induced by acetaminophen (AAP) in mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Acute hepatic injury model of Balb/c mice was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of AAP (200 mg.kg-1, i.p.). Serum ALT and AST activities were analyzed. The changes of microstructure and ultrastructure of hepatocyte were observed under optical and electronic microscope. The hepatocyte apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometer and the expression level of Fas mRNA was determined by RT-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The activities of serum ALT and AST were significantly decreased and both necrosis and inflammatory infiltration were improved in the mice treated with sHSS 3.0 and 1.5 mg.kg-1. sHSS (3.0 mg.kg-1) prevented the ultrastructural changes of hepatocytes caused by AAP, decreased the percentage of apoptotic cells, and downregulated the expression level of Fas mRNA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>sHSS protected hepatocytes from AAP-induced injury, which might be associated with its protection of the mitochondria and inhibition of apoptosis and expression of Fas mRNA in hepatocytes.</p>