Preoperative inhalation of milrinone attenuates inflammation in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of preoperative inhalation of milrinone on cardiopulmonary bypass [CPB]-related inflammation. A total of 30 patients undergoing cardiac surgery were recruited and randomized for preoperative inhalation of milrinone [Mil group] or normal saline [NS group], respectively. Each group had 15 patients. Their hemodynamic parameters were measured and blood samples were obtained longitudinally. The levels of serum interleukin [IL-6], tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha], and matrix metalloproteinase [MMP]-9 were determined by ELISA. The levels of serum IL-6, TNF-alpha, and MMP-9 significantly increased at the end of cardiac surgery and remained high for 24 h in both groups of patients. However, the levels of proinflammatory cytokines at the end of cardiac surgery in the Mil group of patients were significantly lower than those of the NS group of patients. Our data indicated that preoperative inhalation of milrinone significantly mitigated CPB-related inflammation

The gene wxcA of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris 8004 strain involved in EPS yield / 生物工程学报

Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), the pathogenic agent of black rot disease in cruciferous plants, produces large amount of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS), which has found wide applications in industry. For the great commercial value of the xanthan gum, many of the genes involved in EPS biosynthesis have been cloned and the mechanism of EPS biosynthesis also has been studied. In order to clone genes involved in EPS biosynthesis, Xcc wild-type strain 8004 was mutagenized with transposon Tn5 gusA5, and a number of EPS-defective mutants were isolated in our previous work. The Tn5 gusA5 inserted sites of these mutants were located by using thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR, and results showed that two EPS-defective mutants were insertion mutants of the gene wxcA which involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis. The gene wxcA involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis but dose not extracellular polysaccharide in others' report. wxcA::Tn5 gusA5 mutant 021C12, the polar mutant, was complemented with recombinant plasmid pLATC8570 harboring an intact wxcA gene in this work, but the yield of EPS of the wxcA::Tn5 gusA5 mutant was not restored. In order to identify the function of wxcA gene of Xcc 8004 strain, the gene wxcA was deleted by gene replacement strategy, and the no-polar mutant of wxcA was obtained. DeltawxcA mutant strain, named Xcc 8570, was confirmed by using both PCR and southern analysis. Beside the LPS biosynthesis of deltawxcA mutant was affected, The EPS yield of deltawxcA mutant strain reduced by 50% as compared with the wild-type strain 8004. DeltawxcA mutant could be complemented in trans with the intact wxcA gene, and the EPS yield of the mutant was restored. The combined data showed that wxcA gene not only involved in LPS biosynthesis but also EPS yield in Xcc 8004 strain.

Identification and cloning of a novel gene involved in EPS biosynthesis of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris / 生物工程学报

Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris ( Xcc), causative agent of the black rot disease of cruciferous crops worldwide, produces large amount of extracellular polysaccharide( EPS), which has found wide applications in industry. In order to clone genes involved in EPS biosynthesis, Xcc wild-type strain 8004 was mutagenized with transposon Tn5gus A5, and a number of EPS-defective mutants were isolated. The Tn5gusA5 insertion sites in the mutants were analyzed by using thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR(TAIL-PCR), and the corresponding genes were identified by homology blast to the completely sequenced genome of Xcc 8004 strain. A novel gene, waxE, identified from the EPS-defective mutant 151D09, was found to be disrupted by the insertion of Tn5gusA5 in the open reading frame(ORF) with genome coordinates 4478998bp to 4479819bp.This gene showed 52% similarity to the kdtX gene of Serratia marcescens and 50% to the waaE of Klebsiella pneumoniae at amino acid level, with characteristics of glycostransferase 2 family domain. In order to identify the function of waxE gene, waxE gene deletion mutant of Xcc 8004 was constructed by gene replacement strategy in which waxE gene of genome was replaced by kanamycin resistant gene kan. The waxE gene deletion mutant strain, named Xcc 8570, was confirmed by both PCR and southern analysis. The growth rate of the deletion mutant 8570 in rich medium was not affected, but the EPS yield reduced by 35% as compared with the wildtype strain 8004. The deletion mutant could be completmented in trans with plasmid pLATC8976 harboring an intact waxE gene, and the EPS yield of the mutant was restored. The combined data showed that waxE gene involved in EPS biosynthesis in Xcc.