Highly reactive oxygen species: detection, formation, and possible functions

The so-called reactive oxygen species (ROS) are defined as oxygen-containing species that are more reactive than O(2) itself, which include hydrogen peroxide and superoxide. Although these are quite stable, they may be converted in the presence of transition metal ions, such as Fe(II), to the highly reactive oxygen species (hROS). hROS may exist as free hydroxyl radicals (HO·), as bound ("crypto") radicals or as Fe(IV)-oxo (ferryl) species and the somewhat less reactive, non-radical species, singlet oxygen. This review outlines the processes by which hROS may be formed, their damaging potential, and the evidence that they might have signaling functions. Since our understanding of the formation and actions of hROS depends on reliable procedures for their detection, particular attention is given to procedures for hROS detection and quantitation and their applicability to in vivo studies.     

Our impasse in developing a malaria vaccine

Malaria presents a challenge to world health that to date has been beyond the abilities of researchers to conquer. This critique presents some of the strategies employed by the parasite to overcome immunity and the immunological challenges that we face to develop vaccines. A conclusion is that a vaccine must identify novel antigens or epitopes that are not normally immunogenic and which are therefore not under immune pressure and most likely to be conserved between different strains. Such antigens are most likely to be targets of cellular immunity. The case for a whole parasite blood stage vaccine is presented based on these premises.     

啤酒花中异葎草酮体外抗肿瘤作用及机制研究

研究啤酒花(Humulus Lupulus L.)中成分异葎草酮(tetrahydro-iso-α-acid)对人胃腺癌细胞SGC-7901和人肝癌细胞HepG-2的体外抑制作用,并初步揭示其抗肿瘤的作用机制.以MTT法进行细胞毒测定;采用流式细胞仪观察异葎草酮对肿瘤细胞凋亡的影响;细胞线粒体跨膜电位(MMP)测定用罗丹明123(Rhodamine l23,Rh123)标记,以流式细胞仪检测.异葎草酮对SGC-7901和HepG-2的IC50分别为13.4μg/mL和11.58μg/mL.异葎草酮作用于SGC-7901和HepG-2细胞48 h后,肿瘤细胞均有明显凋亡峰出现.异葎草酮可以导致SGC-7901和HepG-2细胞内线粒体膜电位明显下降,并呈剂量依赖关系.结果表明,异葎草酮对肿瘤细胞SGC-7901及HepG-2均有较强抑制作用,这一作用是通过诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡实现的.异葎草酮是通过线粒体路径启动细胞凋亡的,而且诱导线粒体功能异常可能是其引起细胞凋亡发生的主要作用机理.     

The DNA sequence and analysis of human chromosome 13

Chromosome 13 is the largest acrocentric human chromosome. It carries genes involved in cancer including the breast cancer type 2 (BRCA2) and retinoblastoma (RB1) genes, is frequently rearranged in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, and contains the DAOA locus associated with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. We describe completion and analysis of 95.5 megabases (Mb) of sequence from chromosome 13, which contains 633 genes and 296 pseudogenes. We estimate that more than 95.4% of the protein-coding genes of this chromosome have been identified, on the basis of comparison with other vertebrate genome sequences. Additionally, 105 putative non-coding RNA genes were found. Chromosome 13 has one of the lowest gene densities (6.5 genes per Mb) among human chromosomes, and contains a central region of 38 Mb where the gene density drops to only 3.1 genes per Mb.     

苏州高岭土在不同温度煅烧时的产物

采用XRF,SEM,XRD,IR,NMR等测试手段对苏州高岭土及其在550～850℃的煅烧产物进行了研究.实验结果表明:煅烧后产物由煅烧前的晶态转变成了非晶态;煅烧温度对高岭土煅烧产物形貌和结构有一定影响,温度越高,产物中棒状,块状小颗粒越少,Al的四配位量越多.     

Change in the sedimentary environment of Wanquan River Estuary,Hainan Island,China

Pb geochronology and sediment core profiles of organic carbon, total sulfur and organic carbon isotope (d 13C) values were used to reconstruct the local environ-mental history of the Shamei Lagoon, located in the Wan-quan River Estuary, eastern Hainan Island, China. Totalsulfur and d 13C values decreased upwards in the top 30 cm of a sediment core that spanned the last 200 years of deposi-tion. Total sulfur concentration and d 13C values respectively decreased upward from 1.92% to 0.36%, and -20.63?to -23.64? The C/S ratio in the 19th century and earlier was relatively stable in the range of 0.47—0.80, and there was a positive correlation between organic carbon and total sulfur. Since around 1900 AD, the C/S ratio increased rapidly to a maximum of 3.94, but no simple correlation was found be-tween organic carbon and total sulfur during this more re-cent period. These results indicated that before 1800 AD, the lagoon had a fully marine character, and the location of to-day抯 Wanquan River Estuary was an open embayment.From 1800 to 1900, the salinity of Shamei Lagoon decreased noticeably. The amount of seawater which could enter thelagoon decreased gradually as the Yudai spit grew. Today,seawater scarcely affects the lagoon; it is essentially a fresh-water basin.     

Fringe is a glycosyltransferase that modifies Notch

Notch receptors function in highly conserved intercellular signalling pathways that direct cell-fate decisions, proliferation and apoptosis in metazoans. Fringe proteins can positively and negatively modulate the ability of Notch ligands to activate the Notch receptor. Here we establish the biochemical mechanism of Fringe action. Drosophila and mammalian Fringe proteins possess a fucose-specific beta1,3 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase activity that initiates elongation of O-linked fucose residues attached to epidermal growth factor-like sequence repeats of Notch. We obtained biological evidence that Fringe-dependent elongation of O-linked fucose on Notch modulates Notch signalling by using co-culture assays in mammalian cells and by expression of an enzymatically inactive Fringe mutant in Drosophila. The post-translational modification of Notch by Fringe represents a striking example of modulation of a signalling event by differential receptor glycosylation and identifies a mechanism that is likely to be relevant to other signalling pathways.