Use Chou's 5-steps rule to study how Baicalin suppresses the malignant phenotypes and induces the apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells.

Baicalin is a traditional Chinese herb purified from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. In this study, we further analyzed the molecular mechanism behind the anti-tumor activity of Baicalin in colorectal cancer (CRC). The establishment of circular RNA (circRNA)/microRNA (miRNA)/messenger RNA (mRNA) axis was predicted by bioinformatic databases and verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. Baicalin dose-dependently reduced the expression of circRNA myosin heavy chain 9 (circMYH9) in CRC cells. Baicalin exposure suppressed the malignant phenotypes of CRC cells, which were largely reversed by the overexpression of circMYH9. CircMYH9 functioned as a molecular sponge for miR-761. CircMYH9 overexpression protected CRC cells from Baicalin-induced injury partly through down-regulating miR-761. MiR-761 interacted with the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) mRNA. CircMYH9 up-regulated HDGF expression partly through sponging miR-761 in CRC cells. MiR-761 silencing counteracted the anti-tumor activity of Baicalin partly through up-regulating HDGF in CRC cells. Baicalin suppresses xenograft tumor growth in vivo, and this suppressive effect was partly reversed by the overexpression of circMYH9. In conclusion, Baicalin exhibited an anti-tumor activity in CRC cells partly through down-regulating circMYH9 and HDGF and up-regulating miR-761.

Dietary Astragalus polysaccharide alleviated immunological stress in broilers exposed to lipopolysaccharide.

This study was conducted to investigate whether dietary Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) could alleviate immunological stress response of chickens after challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A total of 360 one-day-old commercial Arbor Acres broilers were randomly assigned in a 2 × 2 factorial design. The main factors were immunological stress (LPS or saline) and dietary APS (0 or 3g APS/kg feed). At 12, 14, 33 and 35 days of age, chickens were injected intramuscularly with either 500 µg/kg body weight of LPS or sterile saline. The results showed that the decreased daily feed intake and daily weight gain caused by immunological stress were dramatically attenuated by APS supplementation. The LPS challenge led to an increased mRNA abundance of TLR4, NF-κB, IL-1ß, IL-6, avian uncoupling protein, α1-acid glycoprotein, hemopexin and y(+)LAT2. However, these negative effects of the LPS administration were ameliorated by APS supplementation. Moreover, dietary APS inhibited the LPS-induced depression of amino acid digestibilities. In conclusion, APS is able to alleviate LPS-induced immunological stress response in chickens. The beneficial effect may be attributed to suppressing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines through reducing the TLR4 and NF-κB genes transcription, and therewith improving energy and protein metabolism.

[Screening of optimal signal peptide for heterologous xylanase secretion by Bacillus subtilis].

OBJECTIVE: We searched optimal signal peptide for heterologous and exogenous secretion of xylanase in Bacillus subtilis. METHODS: We constructed a screening vector for signal peptides from B. subtilis. The Alkali resistance xylanase gene (xynA) from Bacillus pumilus was chosen as reporter gene and cloned into E. coli and B. subtilis shuttle vector pGJ148 which has maltose-inducible promoter Pglv and spectinomycin resistant gene. 24 Sec-type signal peptides (SPs) was amplified from B. Subtilis 1A747 and cloned into the screening vector for the expression of xynA in B. Subtilis WB700. The xylanase activity of the culture supernatant were detected after 24h incubation. RESULTS: The screening of these signal peptides revealed differences in xylanase activity of the culture supernatants, The recombinant strain containing YnfF signal peptide showed the highest xylanase acitivity (37.2 IU/mL). CONCLUSION: Experiment proved screening of signal peptides is effective way for optimization of the export of heterologous protein in B. subtilis.

An alkali-tolerant xylanase produced by the newly isolated alkaliphilic Bacillus pumilus from paper mill effluent.

An alkaline active xylanase, XynBYG, was purified from an alkaliphilic Bacillus pumilus BYG, which was newly isolated from paper mill effluent. It had an optimum pH of 8.0-9.0, and showed good stability after incubated at pH 9.0 for 120 min. The optimum temperature for the activity was 50°C, and the enzyme retained below 55% of its original activity for 30 min at 55°C. The gene coding for XynBYG consists of 687 bp and encodes 229 amino acids. Similarity analysis indicated that XynBYG belong to family 11 glycosyl hydrolases. Site-directed mutagenesis was performed to replace five sites (Tyr/Ser) to Arg/Glu and the results demonstrated that the optimum temperature of the mutant Y7 (S39R-T146E) increased 5°C and the half-life of inactivation (T1/2) at 60 and 65°C was 1 h and 25 min, respectively. Thus, it provides a potential xylanase that can meet the harsh conditions in the industrial applications.

Characterization of two temperature-inducible promoters newly isolated from B. subtilis.

Here, two temperature sensitive promoters, P2 and P7, isolated from Bacillus subtilis, were characterized. The production of beta-galactosidase driven by these promoters was much higher at 45 degrees C than that at 37 degrees C both in Escherichia coli and B. subtilis and that the P2 promoter showed higher expression strength in B. subtilis at 45 degrees C. Thereby, an efficient temperature-inducible expression system was constructed by using P2 promoter in B. subtilis. Thus, we isolated and characterized a newly temperature inducible promoter and exploited it as a potential expression element in B. subtilis.

Assay and characterization of a strong promoter element from B. subtilis.

A new strong promoter fragment isolated from Bacillus subtilis was identified and characterized. Using the heat stable beta-galactosidase as reporter, the promoter fragment exhibited high expression strength both in Escherichia coli and B. subtilis. The typical prokaryotic promoter conservation regions were found in the promoter fragment and the putative promoter was identified as the control element of yxiE gene via sequencing assay and predication of promoter. To further verify and characterize the cloned strong promoter, the putative promoter was sub-cloned and the beta-Gal directed by the promoters was high-level expressed both in E. coli and B. subtilis. By means of the isolated promoter, an efficient expression system was developed in B. subtilis and the benefit and usefulness was demonstrated through expression of three heterologous and homogenous proteins. Thus, we identified a newly strong promoter of B. subtilis and provided a robust expression system for genetic engineering of B. subtilis.