Bilayer-dependent inhibition of mechanosensitive channels by neuroactive peptide enantiomers

The peptide GsMTx4, isolated from the venom of the tarantula Grammostola spatulata, is a selective inhibitor of stretch-activated cation channels (SACs). The mechanism of inhibition remains unknown; but both GsMTx4 and its enantiomer, enGsMTx4, modify the gating of SACs, thus violating a trademark of the traditional lock-and-key model of ligand-protein interactions. Suspecting a bilayer-dependent mechanism, we examined the effect of GsMTx4 and enGsMTx4 on gramicidin A (gA) channel gating. Both peptides are active, and the effect increases with the degree of hydrophobic mismatch between bilayer thickness and channel length, meaning that GsMTx4 decreases the energy required to deform the boundary lipids adjacent to the channel. GsMTx4 decreases inward SAC single-channel currents but has no effect on outward currents, suggesting it is located within a Debye length of the outer vestibule of the SACs, but significantly farther from the inner vestibule. Likewise, GsMTx4 decreases gA single-channel currents. Our results suggest that modulation of membrane proteins by amphipathic peptides--mechanopharmacology--involves not only the protein itself but also the surrounding lipids. The surprising efficacy of the d form of GsMTx4 peptide has important therapeutic implications, because d peptides are not hydrolysed by endogenous proteases and may be administered orally.     

Spatial patterns in species distributions reveal biodiversity change

Interpretation of global biodiversity change is hampered by a lack of information on the historical status of most species in most parts of the world. Here we show that declines and increases can be deduced from current species distributions alone, using spatial patterns of occupancy combined with distribution size. Declining species show sparse, fragmented distributions for their distribution size, reflecting the extinction process; expanding species show denser, more aggregated distributions, reflecting colonization. Past distribution size changes for British butterflies were deduced successfully from current distributions, and former distributions had some power to predict future change. What is more, the relationship between distribution pattern and change in British butterflies independently predicted distribution change for butterfly species in Flanders, Belgium, and distribution change in British rare plant species is similarly related to spatial distribution pattern. This link between current distribution patterns and processes of distribution change could be used to assess relative levels of threat facing different species, even for regions and taxa lacking detailed historical and ecological information.     

Monoenergetic beams of relativistic electrons from intense laser-plasma interactions

High-power lasers that fit into a university-scale laboratory can now reach focused intensities of more than 10(19) W cm(-2) at high repetition rates. Such lasers are capable of producing beams of energetic electrons, protons and gamma-rays. Relativistic electrons are generated through the breaking of large-amplitude relativistic plasma waves created in the wake of the laser pulse as it propagates through a plasma, or through a direct interaction between the laser field and the electrons in the plasma. However, the electron beams produced from previous laser-plasma experiments have a large energy spread, limiting their use for potential applications. Here we report high-resolution energy measurements of the electron beams produced from intense laser-plasma interactions, showing that--under particular plasma conditions--it is possible to generate beams of relativistic electrons with low divergence and a small energy spread (less than three per cent). The monoenergetic features were observed in the electron energy spectrum for plasma densities just above a threshold required for breaking of the plasma wave. These features were observed consistently in the electron spectrum, although the energy of the beam was observed to vary from shot to shot. If the issue of energy reproducibility can be addressed, it should be possible to generate ultrashort monoenergetic electron bunches of tunable energy, holding great promise for the future development of 'table-top' particle accelerators.     

Sortilin is essential for proNGF-induced neuronal cell death

Sortilin (approximately 95 kDa) is a member of the recently discovered family of Vps10p-domain receptors, and is expressed in a variety of tissues, notably brain, spinal cord and muscle. It acts as a receptor for neurotensin, but predominates in regions of the nervous system that neither synthesize nor respond to this neuropeptide, suggesting that sortilin has additional roles. Sortilin is expressed during embryogenesis in areas where nerve growth factor (NGF) and its precursor, proNGF, have well-characterized effects. These neurotrophins can be released by neuronal tissues, and they regulate neuronal development through cell survival and cell death signalling. NGF regulates cell survival and cell death via binding to two different receptors, TrkA and p75NTR (ref. 10). In contrast, proNGF selectively induces apoptosis through p75NTR but not TrkA. However, not all p75NTR-expressing cells respond to proNGF, suggesting that additional membrane proteins are required for the induction of cell death. Here we report that proNGF creates a signalling complex by simultaneously binding to p75NTR and sortilin. Thus sortilin acts as a co-receptor and molecular switch governing the p75NTR-mediated pro-apoptotic signal induced by proNGF.     

闪光法测量半透明材料热扩散率的理论研究

建立了闪光法测量半透明材料热扩散率的一维瞬态导热-辐射耦合换热数学模型,采用基于控制容积的离散坐标法分析求解激光脉冲在半透明材料内的温度响应,并与由热四端网络法得到的半解析解进行了对比和验证.研究结果表明:两种计算方法在各种计算条件下得到的结果吻合很好.数值方法更灵活,可以处理物性非线性问题,但计算时间较长;半解析法的计算速度非常快,但只能处理常物性问题.此外,本文对试样吸收系数、辐射边界、厚度及试样表面的热损失等因素对温度响应的影响进行了对比分析.     

甚大望远镜干涉仪——挑战未来

20世纪最后的25年里，光学干涉及综合技术日益成熟，主要成功体现在从直接检测恒星脉动到有测试台系统的光学成图，目前的进展已经到设备对天文团体开放。这一领域灵活的活动性和快速进展表明，地面和空间干涉仪将成为主要观测工具。     

Efficient and stable generation of transgenic silkworm, Bombyx mori with the lepidopteran derived transposon piggyBac

Transposable elements, such as P element, have be-come important tools in the study of gene function in Drosophila melanogaster. Their applications are manifold, serving as mutagens and molecular tags for identification and isolation of new genes, and as vehicles for introducing custom-made gene sequences into organism’s genome[1]. However, the use of P elements appears to be only re-stricted to Drosophila[2,3]. Recently, foreign genes have been successfully introduced into several other gr…