Spirulina platensis aqueous extracts ameliorate colonic mucosal damage and modulate gut microbiota disorder in mice with ulcerative colitis by inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that has become a major gastroenterologic problem during recent decades. Numerous complicating factors are involved in UC development such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and microbiota disorder. These factors exacerbate damage to the intestinal mucosal barrier. Spirulina platensis is a commercial alga with various biological activity that is widely used as a functional ingredient in food and beverage products. However, there have been few studies on the treatment of UC using S. platensis aqueous extracts (SP), and the underlying mechanism of action of SP against UC has not yet been elucidated. Herein, we aimed to investigate the modulatory effect of SP on microbiota disorders in UC mice and clarify the underlying mechanisms by which SP alleviates damage to the intestinal mucosal barrier. Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) was used to establish a normal human colonic epithelial cell (NCM460) injury model and UC animal model. The mitochondrial membrane potential assay 3-‍‍(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,‍5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and staining with Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI) and Hoechst 33258 were carried out to determine the effects of SP on the NCM460 cell injury model. Moreover, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), western blot, and 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing were used to explore the effects and underlying mechanisms of action of SP on UC in C57BL/6 mice. In vitro studies showed that SP alleviated DSS-induced NCM460 cell injury. SP also significantly reduced the excessive generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and prevented mitochondrial membrane potential reduction after DSS challenge. In vivo studies indicated that SP administration could alleviate the severity of DSS-induced colonic mucosal damage compared with the control group. Inhibition of inflammation and oxidative stress was associated with increases in the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the expression of tight junction proteins (TJs) post-SP treatment. SP improved gut microbiota disorder mainly by increasing antioxidant enzyme activity and the expression of TJs in the colon. Our findings demonstrate that the protective effect of SP against UC is based on its inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine overproduction, inhibition of DSS-induced ROS production, and enhanced expression of antioxidant enzymes and TJs in the colonic mucosal barrier.

Inflammatory state and autism-like behavioral phenotype of offspring induced by maternal exposure to low-dose chemical mixtures during pregnancy in mice / 浙江大学学报·医学版

To investigate the effects of maternal exposure to 13 chemicals mixture (CM) during pregnancy on pregnancy outcome and health status of maternal/offspring mice. C57BL/6 pregnant mice were given drinking water containing carbaryl dimethoate glyphosate methomyl methyl parathion triadimefon aspartame sodium benzoate calcium disodium ethylene diamine tetra-acetate ethylparaben butylparaben bisphenol A and acacia gum The effects of CM exposure on pregnancy outcome, health status of dams/offspring, levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines in dams/offspring and emotional related behaviors of offspring were evaluated. CM exposure during pregnancy had no significant effect on pregnancy outcome, liver function, body weight of the dams in late pregnancy and uterine/ovarian weight after delivery, however, it led to an increase in maternal serum IFN-γ level （<0.05）. CM exposure during pregnancy had no significant effect on the liver function of offspring, but increased the serum IFN-γ, prefrontal cortex IFN-γ, and TNF-α and hippocampus IFN-γ levels in the offspring（all <0.01）. In addition, the offspring of CM group showed significant abnormal emotion-related (autism-like) behaviors in adulthood, especially in male offspring. Low dose CM exposure during pregnancy may induce inflammation status in dams/offspring, and lead to autism-like behaviors in offspring, indicating the potential effects of low dose CM exposure on human maternal and infant health.

Research on hepatitis C virus entry inhibitor / 病毒学报

Hepatitis c virus (HCV) infection has become one of the global public health problem,while there is no vaccine to prevent HCV infection, the so-called "cocktail" therapy that use a combination of drugs targeting multiple steps in the HCV infection cycle could achieve better curative effect. the process of HCV entering into host cell is the important step of drug intervention, in which HCV envelope protein El and E2, Host cell factors including Heparan sulfate(HS), CD81, scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), Occludin (OCLD), Claudin (CLDN), low densitity lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN), Liver/lymph node specific ICAM-3-grabbing integrin(L-SIGN), trans- ferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) and so on play a important role. The virus and the host factors can be used as targets of hcv entry inhibitors many studies have shown that as novel and promising compounds, HCV entry inhibitors combinating with other drugs can be more effective in the treatment of HCV, this paper have re- viewed targets and inhibitors of HCV enterring into host cell since 1990s.

Effect of IFN-CSP on gene of JAK-STAT signaling pathway in HBV transgenic mice / 中国生化药物杂志

Objective To investigate the anti-HBV molecular mechanisms of liver targeting interferon ( IFN-CSP ) in Balb/c-HBV transgenic mice.Methods Balb/c-HBV transgenic mice were randomly divided into 3 groups.Control group (treated with physiological saline), IFN α2b group (treated with 103 U/g IFN α2b), IFN-CSP group (treated with 102 U/g IFN-CSP).Another group of the non-transgenic mice were used as the Normal group.Each mouse was intramuscular injected with 50 μL dose once a day for 4 weeks.Total RNA of mice liver were extracted, and STAT1, STAT2, IRF-9, OAS1 gene expression of JAK-STAT signaling pathway were analyzed by real-time PCR.Results IFN α2b and IFN-CSP can significantly up regulate the expression of STAT1, STAT2, IRF-9, OAS1 gene of JAK-STAT signaling pathway (P<0.01).The induce effects of IFN-CSP on STAT1, STAT2, IRF-9, OAS1 were significantly better than that of IFN α2b (P<0.05).Conclusion The anti-HBV molecular mechanisms of liver targeting interferon (IFN-CSP) in Balb/c-HBV transgenic mice maybe related to regulate the expression of STAT1, STAT2, IRF-9, OAS1 gene of JAK-STAT signaling pathway.These results will lay a basis for the application of recombinant liver-targeting interferon.

Preliminary study of liver targeting interferon on the immune toxicity of mice / 中国生化药物杂志

Objective To evaluate the immunotoxicity effect of Liver targeting interferon (IFN -CSP) on mice.Methods Mice were randomly divided into five groups:low, middle and high dose of IFN-CSP, solvent control group(saline) and Positive control group (cyclophosphamide).They were injected subcutaneously for 2 weeks.Delayed hypersensitivity test was used to determine the cell immunefunction and plaque forming cell assay was used to determine the humoral immune function.Results There was no significant difference of the the index of immune organ and the ear swelling degree between IFN-CSP groups and control group.There was also no significant difference on hemolytic plaque test between them.Conclusion IFN-CSP has no significant effect on both cellular immunity function and humoral immune function of mice, this results will provides the basis for further safety evaluation.

Optimization of expression conditions of an induction strategy for improving liver targeted interferon (IFN-CSP) production in E. coli / 生物医学工程学杂志

Expression conditions of induction strategies for the cytoplasmic inclusion bodies (IBs) production of liver targeted interferon IFN-CSP by recombinant Escherichia coli (E. coli) BL21 (DE3) were optimized in shake-flask cultures in this study. The factors of the optimized protocol included in the present study were pH, inducer IPTG (isopropyl beta-D-thiogalactoside) concentration, culture growth temperature, incubation time and induction point. The effects of those factors were investigated by 'single variable at a time' method, aimed to analyze characterization of the recombinant strain. Orthogonal experimental design was further used to optimize the above critical factors for IFN-CSP production. According to the expression optimization result, it was confirmed that the main influence factors were cell density and induction temperature. The IFN-CSP gene expression optimized conditions were: pH value of the culture medium was 6.0, culture temperature 37 degrees C, adding IPTG to final concentration 0.4 mmol/L when the recombinant strain growth density OD600 achieved 0.8 and induction time 4 h. At this point, the IBs represented 74.3% of the total cellular protein. Compared with the non-optimized condition, IFN-CSP production obtained in optimized induction strategies were increased by approx. 1.2-fold. The optimized induction strategy yielded 688.8 mg/L of IFN-CSP, providing experimental data to study the biology activity and productive technology of IFN-CSP.

Gleevec induces apoptosis in K562 cells through activating caspase-3 / 药学学报

The present study is to elucidate the mechanisms underlying Gleevec-induced apoptosis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) K562 cells in vitro. The apoptotic cell death and cell cycle distribution after Gleevec treatment and the effect of PDCD4 siRNA on Gleevec-induced apoptosis of K562 cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. The effect of Gleevec on p-Crkl, caspase-3, PARP and PDCD4 protein levels, and the knockdown efficacy of PDCD4 siRNA were detected by Western blotting. The results showed that Gleevec dramatically suppressed the phosphorylation level of Crkl in a dose-dependent manner and induced significant apoptosis and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest of K562 cells in time- and dose-dependent manners. In addition, Gleevec activated caspase-3 and its downstream substrates PARP, and the caspase pan inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK (50 micromol x L(-1)) markedly reduced Gleevec-induced apoptosis from 47.97% +/- 10.56% to 31.05% +/- 9.206% (P < 0.05). Moreover, Gleevec significantly increased the protein expression of programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4). PDCD4 knockdown by siRNA reduced Gleevec-induced apoptosis from 46.97% +/- 14.32% to 42.8% +/- 11.43%. In summary, Gleevec induced apoptosis in K562 cells via caspase-3 activation.

Effects of shuixianzi extracts on lipid regulation and liver protection in hyperlipidemic rats / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective To investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of shuixianzi extracts on hyperlipidemia rats, and on fatty liver pathology. Methods Shuixianzi was homogenized and filtered. Then the filtrate was freeze-dried after centrifugation. The powder was just the extracts of shuixianzi. During the establishment of rat hyperlipidemic model, the extract was given at the same time. At the end of this experiment, the changes of blood lipid and liver pathology were observed. In therapeutic experiments, after the hyperlipidemia model was established, optimal dose of extract was given, then the changes of blood lipid and liver pathology were also observed and the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MIA) were tested. Results In preventive experiments, high dose of extracts of shuixianzi versus negative control could inhlbit both the increase of TC, TG, LDL-C and the drop of HDL-C. [TC: (3.23±0.01) vs. (6.56±0.01) mmol/L; TG:(2.33±0.01) vs. (4.12±0.02) mmol/L; LDL-C: (2.02±0.01) vs. (3.91±0.02) mmol/L; HDL-C: (0.98±0.01) vs. (0.76±0.01) mmol/L, all P＜0.01]. At the same time, the extracts could inhibit the pathological changes of fatty liver. In therapeutic experiments, extracts versus control could regulate the serum lipid levels [TC: ( 3.67 ± 0.31 ) vs. ( 6.33 ± 0.52 ) mmol/L; TG: ( 1.99 ±0.11) vs. (4.08±0.24) mmol/L; LDL-C: (1.57±0.12) vs. (3.78±0.14) mmol/L; HDL-C:(1.10±0.03) vs. (0.77±0.02) mmol/L, all P＜0.01] and could reverse fatty changes of liver in hyperlipidemic rats. At the same time the extracts versus control could also increase the activity of SOD [(276.3±26.8) vs. (165.4±16.7) U/mg, P＜0.01] and decrease the level of MDA [(3.67±1.23) vs. (7.45±2.33) nmol/mg, P＜0.01]. Conclusions The extracts of shuixianzi could prevent and treat the hyperlipidemia, inhibit the fatty pathological change of liver, and also have the antioxidant function.

Chk1 gene scijencing potentiates human hepatoma Huh7 cells to curcumin-induced apoptosis / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose: Checkpoint kinase 1 and 2 have been proposed to be potential therapeutic targets to sensitize cancers to radio- or chemo-therapeutics. However, little is known about whether Chk1/2 is also a suitable target for sensitizing cancers to curcumin. In the present study, we investigated effects of Chk1/2 siRNA on curcumin-induced apopotosis in hepatoma cell line Huh7 and evaluated the effectiveness of Chkl/2as a therapeutic target to potentiate human hepatoma to curcumin. Methods: Effect of curcumin on the cell cycle checkpoint-associated proteins was detected by Westem blot. The knockdown efficacy of Chk1/2 siRNA was measured by RT-PCR and Westem blot. Effect of Chk1/2 siRNA on curcumin-induced apoptosis in Huh7 cells was evaluated by DAPI staining. Effect of Chk1/2 siRNA on cell cycle distribution in curcumin-treated Huh7 cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: Curcumin significantly inhibited phosphorylation of cell cycle checkpoint-associtaed proteins Chk1(S317), Cdc25C(S216) and Cdk1(Y15). Chk1 siRNA decreased Chk1 mRNA and protein by 95% and 92% and Chk2 siRNA decreased Chk2 mRNA and protein by 60% and 55% respectively as compared with negative control siRNA (P<0.01). Inhibition of Chk1, but not Chk2, increased apoptotic rate from (21.3±1.8)% to (29.5±2.6)% (P<0.05). Neither Chk1 nor Cbk2 siRNA had any impact on cell cycle distribution in Huh7 cells induced by curcumin. Conclusion: Chk1 siRNA sensitized Huh7 cells to curcumin-induced apoptosis, suggesting that Chk1 is a potential therapeutic target to sensitize human hepatoma to curcumin.

Secretion expression of BPI23-haFGF fusion gene in Pichia pastoris X-33 and identification of its biological activity / 生物医学工程学杂志

The BPI23-haFGF fusion gene was subcloned to the yeast expression vector pPICZaA and the recombinant plasmid pPICZaA-BPI23-haFGF was constructed. After linearization by sac I, the construct was introduced into X-33 yeast cells. The efficient engineering strain was obtained by the resistance and phenotype selection and identified by specific PCR. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis indicated that a 43 KD protein band coincident with the anticipated fusion protein size expressed in the culture supernatant of the transformed yeast cells, which accounted for above 50% of the total proteins of the culture supernatant. About 90% purity of recombinant BPI23-haFGF fusion protein was obtained by affinity chromatography. The in vitro bioactivity testing showed that the purified fusion protein killed E. coli and promoted proliferation of NIH3T3 cells, suggesting that the recombinant BPI23-haFGF fusion protein possessed both of BPI and FGF functions.

Application of microarrays in screening the antibacterial peptide associated genes of Musca domestica / 生物工程学报

To screen the candidate genes associated with Musca domestica antibacterial peptides using DNA microarray technique, the hybrid probes were designed from the conservative domains of the encoded area of the insect antibacterial peptide genes in GenBank with biology software Designer 2.0, and were synthesized by a chemical process, with the assistance of the automated Gen III Microarray Spotter, those oligo probes were printed on a special ready-made glass, and a cDNA microarray was constructed. The total RNA was extracted from the fat body of Musca domestic third-instar larve induced after 24 hours by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, the strands of cDNA were labled with fluoresceine Cy3 using the method of reverse transcription PCR, after prehybridization, hybridization and washing procedure, the results of hybridization were scanned using computer system, and the data were analyzed using the software of MIDAS, fifteen valid hybridization signals were detected through two times of hybridization and scanning (the positive samples as a control were excluded). DNA microarray technique can be successfully applied screen the candidate genes associated with Musca domestica antibacterial peptides, and further provide significant evidence to discover its antibacterial peptide new genes.

Cloning of the antibacterial peptide cecropin gene of Musca domestica larvae and its fusion expression in Escherichia coli / 中国人兽共患病学报

In the present study, the total RNA was extracted from three instar larvae of Musca domestica, the cDNA sequence encoding the ORF of cecropins was amplified by RT-PCR, and the target fragment was further sequenced after being cloned into T vector pUCm-T. Then, the cDNA sequence of the mature cecropins was amplified by PCR with recombinant plasmid pUCm-T/cecropin as template, the N-terminal rare codon GGA of E. coli was changed to the favorable codon GGC,and a Asn codon AAC was added in front of the stop coden TAA in the C- terminus. This mutant gene designated as mCecropin was then ligated with the fusion expression vector pGEX-4T-1. After restriction analysis and DNA sequencing, the positive recombinant plasmid pGEX-4T-1/mCecropin was transformed to different strains of E. coli cells and the fusion protein was expressed after IPTG induction. The fusion protein was assayed by SDS-PAGE and the E. coli BL21(DE3) cell was chosen as the host cell for the expression of the fusion protein. The expressed fusion protein GST-mCecropin was purified by GSTrap affinity coloum and the GST marker was then cleaved by thrombin. In this way, the fusion protein mCecropin with antibacterial activity was obtained after purification with HiTrap benzamidine column.

Chk1 gene scilencing potentiates human hepatoma Huh7 cells to curcumin-induced apoptosis / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose:Checkpoint kinase 1 and 2 have been proposed to be potential therapeutic targets to sensitize cancers to radioor chemo-therapeutics. However, little is known about whether Chk1/2 is also a suitable target for sensitizing cancers to curcumin. In the present study, we investigated effects of Chk1/2 siRNA on curcumin-induced apopotosis in hepatoma cell line Huh7 and evaluated the effectiveness of Chk1/2 as a therapeutic target to potentiate human hepatoma to curcumin. Methods:Effect of curcumin on the cell cycle checkpoint-associated proteins was detected by Western blot. The knockdown efficacy of Chk1/2 siRNA was measured by RT-PCR and Western blot. Effect of Chk1/2 siRNA on curcumin-induced apoptosis in Huh7 cells was evaluated by DAPI staining. Effect of Chk1/2 siRNA on cell cycle distribution in curcumin-treated Huh7 cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. Results:Curcumin significantly inhibited phosphorylation of cell cycle checkpoint-associtaed proteins Chk1(S317), Cdc25C(S216) and Cdk1(Y15). Chk1 siRNA decreased Chk1 mRNA and protein by 95% and 92% and Chk2 siRNA decreased Chk2 mRNA and protein by 60% and 55% respectively as compared with negative control siRNA (P