Hyperthermia-induced apoptosis and the inhibition of DNA laddering by zinc supplementation and withdrawal of calcium and magnesium in suspension culture of tobacco cells

In the present paper we report examination of stereotypic hallmarks of apoptosis in heat-treated tobacco cells. Hyperthermia (44 °C, 4 h) caused apoptosis in 53.6% of cells when assayed 24 h after heat treatment. The induction of apoptosis by heat treatment was confirmed by flow cytometric assay. Cytological observations revealed condensation of the cytoplasm and nucleus, as well as nuclear collapse. DNA ladders were observed in DNA extracted from heat-treated cells, whereas DNA from control cells remained undegraded. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay revealed that 51.8% of the heat-treated cells (44 °C, 4 h) show positive reaction after a 24-h recovery. When cells were cultured in a medium supplemented with 0.4–5.0 mM ZnSO₄, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation induced by heat shock was completely negated. Strikingly, when cells were cultured in Ca²⁺ and/or Mg²⁺ free medium for 44 h followed by heat treatment, DNA laddering was not observed. The results suggest hyperthermia-induced apoptosis and a correlation between the regula tion of endonucleases and heat shock signal in apoptotic tobacco cells. Received 17 September 1998; received after revision 4 January 1999; accepted 4 January 1999     

Central IL-1 differentially regulates peripheral IL-6 and TNF synthesis

Centrally given interleukin (IL)-1 is known to induce a rapid rises in blood IL-6. To extend this and to examine the mechanism by which this occurs, the effects of intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of human recombinant IL-1β on mRNA expression of IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) in the spleen and liver were examined in rats. Icv injection of IL-1 produced a rapid rise of the tissue mRNA levels of IL-6 and TNF in both organs, prior to and/or in parallel with an increase in their serum levels. Pretreatment with chlorisondamine, a ganglionic blocking agent, inhibited the IL-6 responses, while it had little influence on the TNF responses. The results suggest that brain IL-1 induces peripheral production of IL-6, but not of TNF, through autonomic nervous system activation. Received 27 October 1997; received after revision 15 December 1997; accepted 12 January 1998     

Selective antiproliferative effects of thymidine

A substance with antiproliferative bioactivity in an aqueous extract ofCordyline terminalis was purified and identified by mass spectrometry to be the natural nucleoside, thymidine. 10^–5M Thymidine inhibited EL4 cell replication and decreased cell viability after 12–24 h. The effect was highly specific for this nucleoside. Treated cell cultures showed a significant increase in S phase cells and a corresponding decrease in G₁ phase cells. Nitrobenzylthioinosine (which prevented facilitated entry of thymidine) protected cells from the antiproliferative action of thymidine. A human breast cancer cell line (MCF7) was also growth-inhibited by 10^–5M thymidine but a murine lymphoma cell line (K36) was not. Thus, submillimolar thymidine has effects on cell proliferation which are selective both with respect to specificity for the compound and for different tumour cell lines.     

流域非点源氮磷污染负荷分布模拟

为揭示流域非点源氮磷流失时空分布规律,基于实测水文水质数据,采用SWAT模型与SUFI2算法,以滦河潘家口水库流域为研究对象,模拟了不同水平年下流域非点源氮磷流失变化情况。结果表明:丰水年的TN负荷是平水年的1.68倍,是枯水年的2.12倍;TP负荷是平水年的1.52倍,是枯水年的2.21倍。从空间上看,TN、TP负荷量从大到小排序依次为耕地、林地、草地、荒地。相关性分析发现,泥沙产出量是非点源污染负荷空间分布的重要驱动因子。     

香石竹(康乃馨)红花色素稳定性研究

对香石竹(DianthuscaryophyllusL.)红花色素的性能作了测试与分析,研究了其稳定性.结果表明,pH值对香石竹红花色素的影响明显,在酸性条件下该色素较稳定.金属离子Ca2 、Cu2 对色素有增色作用.色素耐光性良好,耐热性较差,只能在50℃以下受热.H2O2、Na2SO3、苯甲酸钠对其有严重的破坏作用,食品中常有的NaCl、蔗糖对其也有一定影响:低浓度(<1%)有增色作用,高浓度(>1%)则有明显的降解作用.     

Spectroscopic mapping of voltage sensor movement in the Shaker potassium channel

Voltage-gated ion channels underlie the generation of action potentials and trigger neurosecretion and muscle contraction. These channels consist of an inner pore-forming domain, which contains the ion permeation pathway and elements of its gates, together with four voltage-sensing domains, which regulate the gates. To understand the mechanism of voltage sensing it is necessary to define the structure and motion of the S4 segment, the portion of each voltage-sensing domain that moves charged residues across the membrane in response to voltage change. We have addressed this problem by using fluorescence resonance energy transfer as a spectroscopic ruler to determine distances between S4s in the Shaker K+ channel in different gating states. Here we provide evidence consistent with S4 being a tilted helix that twists during activation. We propose that helical twist contributes to the movement of charged side chains across the membrane electric field and that it is involved in coupling voltage sensing to gating.     

Acinus is a caspase-3-activated protein required for apoptotic chromatin condensation.

Apoptosis is defined by several unique morphological nuclear changes, such as chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation. These changes are triggered by the activation of a family of cysteine proteases called caspases, and caspase-activated DNase (CAD/DFF40) and lamin protease (caspase-6) have been implicated in some of these changes. CAD/DFF40 induces chromatin condensation in purified nuclei, but distinct caspase-activated factor(s) may be responsible for chromatin condensation. Here we use an in vitro system to identify a new nuclear factor, designated Acinus, which induces apoptotic chromatin condensation after cleavage by caspase-3 without inducing DNA fragmentation. Immunodepletion experiments showed that Acinus is essential for apoptotic chromatin condensation in vitro, and an antisense study revealed that Acinus is also important in the induction of apoptotic chromatin condensation in cells.     

Far-infrared Absorption Spectra and Properties of SnO2 Nanorods

Nanostructured materials have drawn considerable attention because they are promising candidates for nextgeneration electronic and photonic devices with low power consumption[1-5]. A number of methods, such as laser ablation[6], template-induced growth[7], arc discharge [8], vapor transport [9], and molecular-beam epitaxy[10] have been developed to synthesize Si, Ge, MgO,SnO2, GaN, and Ga2O3 nanowires or nanorods[11-15].……     

华北等中国主要地块早古生代早期古地理位置探讨

在总结近年来在华北等中国主要地块上所取得的早古生代早期古地磁数据的基础上,结合岩相古地理和古生物地理等资料,探讨华北、华南和塔里木地块早古生代早期（寒武－奥陶纪）在全球古地理重建中的位置。早寒武世,华北、华南和塔里木地块均位于南半球低纬度地区,且分别毗邻于冈瓦纳古大陆;旱、中奥陶世,华南和塔里木地块仍“滞留”在南半球中、低纬度地区,与冈瓦纳古大陆相邻,而这一时期华北地块很可能已从冈瓦纳古大陆上裂离