Rapid development of tolerance to the behavioural actions of cholecystokinin

Cholecystokinin (CCK) acts acutely to inhibit food consumption in fasted rats, mice, sheep, pigs, monkeys and humans. CCK has been proposed as a satiety signal, inducing the behavioural sequence of satiety, or as an aversive internal stimulus, which inhibits food intake by inducing malaise. Reductions in food intake and related exploratory behaviours are initiated by CCK at its peripheral receptor in the gut, which appears to transmit sensory feedback via the vagus nerve to brain regions mediating appetitive behaviours. The therapeutic potential of CCK as an appetite suppressant in obesity syndromes rests on the demonstration of significant, long-lasting body weight reduction. Chronic CCK administration by repeated injections is problematic, since this peptide is rapidly degraded in vivo. We chose the Alzet constant infusion osmotic minipump to investigate possible alterations in body weight and food intake during continuous infusion of CCK. We now report that no change was detected in either body weight or total daily food consumption at any time point during 2 weeks of intraperitoneally (i.p.) infused CCK. The mechanism underlying the lack of chronic CCK effects appears to be a rapid development of behavioural tolerance. Acute challenge doses of CCK which induced satiety-related behaviours in saline-infused rats were ineffective in CCK-infused rats. The behavioural tolerance was apparent within a few hours of minipump implantation. These results provide the first evidence that rapid and reversible tolerance develops to the actions of a gut peptide.     

美施康定对癌症的镇痛效果

疼痛是癌症患者一个常见的、主要的症状，目前仍是治疗过程中棘手的问题。据ＷＨＯ统计，全世界每年新发癌症患者７００万例，其中至少有４００万例忍受着癌症疼痛的折磨。为此，ＷＨＯ将癌症疼痛控制列为癌症综合规划的四个重点之一，并提出到２０００年达到在全世界范围...     

An RNA gene expressed during cortical development evolved rapidly in humans

The developmental and evolutionary mechanisms behind the emergence of human-specific brain features remain largely unknown. However, the recent ability to compare our genome to that of our closest relative, the chimpanzee, provides new avenues to link genetic and phenotypic changes in the evolution of the human brain. We devised a ranking of regions in the human genome that show significant evolutionary acceleration. Here we report that the most dramatic of these 'human accelerated regions', HAR1, is part of a novel RNA gene (HAR1F) that is expressed specifically in Cajal-Retzius neurons in the developing human neocortex from 7 to 19 gestational weeks, a crucial period for cortical neuron specification and migration. HAR1F is co-expressed with reelin, a product of Cajal-Retzius neurons that is of fundamental importance in specifying the six-layer structure of the human cortex. HAR1 and the other human accelerated regions provide new candidates in the search for uniquely human biology.     

重组人血清白蛋白在毕赤酵母表达中的降解控制

在利用转基因毕赤酵母发酵表达重组人血清白蛋白时,遇到了较为严重的蛋白降解;为了抑制蛋白的降解,分别研究了温度、pH值和氮源的加入对降解的影响。结果表明,pH值和氮源的加入对白蛋白的降解控制有显著的正面影响,而温度的变化对降解的影响不大。当控制pH为7.0,添加酵母提取物和蛋白胨体积分数分别为0.5%和1%时,白蛋白的降解得到了有效的控制,可得到质量分数为58%的完整白蛋白。     

The ribosome uses two active mechanisms to unwind messenger RNA during translation

The ribosome translates the genetic information encoded in messenger RNA into protein. Folded structures in the coding region of an mRNA represent a kinetic barrier that lowers the peptide elongation rate, as the ribosome must disrupt structures it encounters in the mRNA at its entry site to allow translocation to the next codon. Such structures are exploited by the cell to create diverse strategies for translation regulation, such as programmed frameshifting, the modulation of protein expression levels, ribosome localization and co-translational protein folding. Although strand separation activity is inherent to the ribosome, requiring no exogenous helicases, its mechanism is still unknown. Here, using a single-molecule optical tweezers assay on mRNA hairpins, we find that the translation rate of identical codons at the decoding centre is greatly influenced by the GC content of folded structures at the mRNA entry site. Furthermore, force applied to the ends of the hairpin to favour its unfolding significantly speeds translation. Quantitative analysis of the force dependence of its helicase activity reveals that the ribosome, unlike previously studied helicases, uses two distinct active mechanisms to unwind mRNA structure: it destabilizes the helical junction at the mRNA entry site by biasing its thermal fluctuations towards the open state, increasing the probability of the ribosome translocating unhindered; and it mechanically pulls apart the mRNA single strands of the closed junction during the conformational changes that accompany ribosome translocation. The second of these mechanisms ensures a minimal basal rate of translation in the cell; specialized, mechanically stable structures are required to stall the ribosome temporarily. Our results establish a quantitative mechanical basis for understanding the mechanism of regulation of the elongation rate of translation by structured mRNAs.     

Wigner分布干扰项抑制及其算法

Wigner分布是一种真正意义上的时频分析方法,但存在其固有缺陷即虚假时频谱（干扰项）问题。将实信号转化成所对应的解析信号,并采用Choi-Williams方法对Wigner分布进行修正、实现了对干扰项的有效抑制,获得了满意的信号时频谱,给出了用解析信号计算信号Wigner分布及Choi-Williams分布算法,通过几个典型信号（分段多分量信号,调频信号等）。对所研制的软件进行仿真实验,结果与理论相符,表明了软件算法的正确性。