Matrix control of scarring

Repair of wounds usually results in restoration of organ function, even if suboptimal. However, in a minority of situations, the healing process leads to significant scarring that hampers homeostasis and leaves the tissue compromised. This scar is characterized by an excess of matrix deposition that remains poorly organized and weakened. While we know much of the early stages of the repair process, the transition to wound resolution that limits scar formation is poorly understood. This is particularly true of the inducers of scar formation. Here, we present a hypothesis that it is the matrix itself that is a primary driver of scar, rather than being simply the result of other cellular dysregulations.     

Positional cloning of the combined hyperlipidemia gene Hyplip1.

Familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL, MIM-144250) is a common, multifactorial and heterogeneous dyslipidemia predisposing to premature coronary artery disease and characterized by elevated plasma triglycerides, cholesterol, or both. We identified a mutant mouse strain, HcB-19/Dem (HcB-19), that shares features with FCHL, including hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, elevated plasma apolipoprotein B and increased secretion of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. The hyperlipidemia results from spontaneous mutation at a locus, Hyplip1, on distal mouse chromosome 3 in a region syntenic with a 1q21-q23 FCHL locus identified in Finnish, German, Chinese and US families. We fine-mapped Hyplip1 to roughly 160 kb, constructed a BAC contig and sequenced overlapping BACs to identify 13 candidate genes. We found substantially decreased mRNA expression for thioredoxin interacting protein (Txnip). Sequencing of the critical region revealed a Txnip nonsense mutation in HcB-19 that is absent in its normolipidemic parental strains. Txnip encodes a cytoplasmic protein that binds and inhibits thioredoxin, a major regulator of cellular redox state. The mutant mice have decreased CO2 production but increased ketone body synthesis, suggesting that altered redox status down-regulates the citric-acid cycle, sparing fatty acids for triglyceride and ketone body production. These results reveal a new pathway of potential clinical significance that contributes to plasma lipid metabolism.     

长白山地区幔源捕虏体的硫化物相及其演化

长白山地区新生代玄武岩的一些层位广布地幔岩捕虏体,在其橄榄石、辉石等矿物内发现有较多的硫化物相,按产出特征可鉴别出3种类型,即早期硫化物颗粒、硫化物包裹体和裂隙中硫化物。硫化物包裹体可以单相硫化物、硫化物－硅酸盐熔体、CO2－硫化物－硅酸盐熔体形式存在。早期硫化物颗粒以磁黄铁矿为主,并发现有方黄铜矿;硫化物包裹体以镍黄铁矿为主,并有黄铜矿、硫铜铁矿出现;裂隙中硫化物均为镍黄铁矿,并具有比硫化物包裹体高的Ni/Fe和（Fe Ni)／S值。地幔岩中存在自早期硫化物颗粒、硫化物包裹体至裂隙硫化物,Ni/Fe和（Fe Ni)/S比值逐渐增加的规律。这种演化不仅受温度和压力制约,而且受Ni,Fe,Cu的地球化学特性和硫逸度的控制。     

Jarosite as an indicator of water-limited chemical weathering on Mars

The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity identified the ferric sulphate mineral jarosite and possible relicts of gypsum at the Meridiani Planum landing site. On Earth, jarosite has been found to form in acid mine drainage environments, during the oxidation of sulphide minerals, and during alteration of volcanic rocks by acidic, sulphur-rich fluids near volcanic vents. Jarosite formation is thus thought to require a wet, oxidizing and acidic environment. But jarosite on Earth only persists over geologically relevant time periods in arid environments because it rapidly decomposes to produce ferric oxyhydroxides in more humid climates. Here we present equilibrium thermodynamic reaction-path simulations that constrain the range of possible conditions under which such aqueous alteration phases are likely to have formed on Mars. These calculations simulate the chemical weathering of basalt at relevant martian conditions. We conclude that the presence of jarosite combined with residual basalt at Meridiani Planum indicates that the alteration process did not proceed to completion, and that following jarosite formation, arid conditions must have prevailed.