Chinoketides A and B, Two New Antimicrobial Polyketides from the Endophytes of Distylium chinense with the "Black-Box" Co-culture Method

Meng-Meng Lv,Ming-Hui Tan,Li-Wen Lu,Rong-Hua Zhang,Zhi-Yong Guo,Cheng-Xiong Liu,Jin Yang,Kun Zou,Peter Proksch 한국생약학회 2018 Natural Product Sciences Vol.24 No.3

Two new polyketides, chinoketides A and B (1 - 2) with a known compound xylarphthalide A (3), were isolated from the solid medium of the endophytes from the leaves of the relic plant Distylium chinense with the "black-box" co-culture method, and the structures of two new compounds were elucidated by NMR, MS and CD spectra. And the absolute configurations of chinoketides A (1) and B (2) were determined as 2R,3R,8S and 5R,6S by calculating their ECD spectra to compare with the experimental CD spectra. Finally, the antimicrobial activities were evaluated to Erwinia carotovora sub sp. Carotovora (Jones) Bersey et al, and the results showed that compounds 1 - 3 displayed the antimicrobial activities with MIC value at 20.5, 30.4 and 10.2 mg/mL.

Potential Therapeutic Targets for the Primary Gallbladder Carcinoma: Estrogen Receptors

Zhang, Ling-Qiang,Zhang, Xiu-De,Xu, Jia,Wan, Yong,Qu, Kai,Zhang, Jing-Yao,Wang, Zhi-Xin,Wei, Ji-Chao,Meng, Fan-Di,Tai, Ming-Hui,Zhou, Lei,Liu, Chang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.4

Gallbladder carcinoma, the most frequent malignant neoplasm of the biliary tract system, has always been considered to feature late clinical presentation and diagnosis, limited treatment options and an extremely poor prognosis. In recent years, while the incidence of gallbladder cancer has appeared to be on the increase, the available treatment methods have not greatly improved survival of the affected patients. Thus, exploring new therapeutic targets for this devastating disease is an urgent matter at present. Epidemical studies have demonstrated that the incidence of gallbladder carcinoma exhibits a distinct gender bias, affecting females two to three times more than males, pointing to crucial roles of estrogen. It is well known that estrogen acts on target tissues by binding to estrogen receptors (ERs), which are mainly divided into three subtypes, $ER{\alpha}$, $ER{\beta}$ and $ER{\gamma}$. $ER{\alpha}$ and $ER{\beta}$ appear to have overlapping but also unique even opposite biological effects. As important pathogenic mediators, ERs have been considered to relate to several kinds of tumors. In gallbladder carcinoma tissue, ERs have been shown to be positively expressed, and ERs expression levels are associated with differentiation and prognosis of this cancer. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms of estrogen inducing growth of gallbladder carcinoma remain poorly understood. On the base of the current investigations, we deduce that estrogen participates in promotion of gallbladder carcinoma by influencing the formation of gallstones, stimulating angiogenesis, and promoting abnormal proliferation. Since ERs mediate the carcinogenic actions of estrogen in gallbladder, and therapy targeting ERs may provide new directions for gallbladder carcinoma. Therefore, it should be stressed that ERs are potential therapeutic targets for gallbladder carcinoma.

Deformation analyses during subway shield excavation considering stiffness influences of underground structures

Zhang, Zhi-guo,Zhao, Qi-hua,Zhang, Meng-xi Techno-Press 2016 Geomechanics & engineering Vol.11 No.1

Previous studies for soil movements induced by tunneling have primarily focused on the free soil displacements. However, the stiffness of existing structures is expected to alter tunneling-induced ground movements, the sheltering influences for underground structures should be included. Furthermore, minimal attention has been given to the settings for the shield machine's operation parameters during the process of tunnels crossing above and below existing tunnels. Based on the Shanghai railway project, the soil movements induced by an earth pressure balance (EPB) shield considering the sheltering effects of existing tunnels are presented by the simplified theoretical method, the three-dimensional finite element (3D FE) simulation method, and the in-situ monitoring method. The deformation prediction of existing tunnels during complex traversing process is also presented. In addition, the deformation controlling safety measurements are carried out simultaneously to obtain the settings for the shield propulsion parameters, including earth pressure for cutting open, synchronized grouting, propulsion speed, and cutter head torque. It appears that the sheltering effects of underground structures have a great influence on ground movements caused by tunneling. The error obtained by the previous simplified methods based on the free soil displacements cannot be dismissed when encountering many existing structures.

Gene cloning and expression analysis of trehalose-6-phosphate synthase, glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase reveal the glycometabolism in the diapause process of Aphidius gifuensis

Hong Zhi Zhang,Meng Qing Wang,Ying Qiang Xie,Mei Xiang,Ping Li,Yu Yan Li,Li Sheng Zhang 한국응용곤충학회 2020 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.23 No.3

Aphidius gifuensis is an important biological control agent of aphid. It stores sugar as energy reserves before the onset of diapause, a form of dormancy that occurs when environmental conditions become unfavorable for development. In this study, cDNA of three relevant enzymes, trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS), glycogen synthase (GYS) and glycogen phosphorylase (GP) were cloned, and their expression profiles in the preparation and maintenance of diapause, and post-diapause development were analyzed. The results showed that AgTPS, AgGYS and AgGP encoded proteins consisting of 807, 690 and 844 amino acids respectively. The expression profiles of three genes were significantly affected by diapause-inducing condition. The increase of transcription of AgGYS and AgGP were followed by the up-regulate of AgTPS expression in the preparation of diapause, expression of all three genes were inhibited while diapause is maintained, and expression of AgGYS was upregulated when diapause was terminated. These results suggested that trehalose is accumulated before initiation of diapause and glycogen may play an important role in post-diapause development.

A Potent Brucella abortus 2308 Δery Live Vaccine Allows for the Differentiation between Natural and Vaccinated Infection

Junbo Zhang,Shuanghong Yin,Fei Guo,Ren Meng,Chuangfu Chen,Hui Zhang,Zhi-qiang Li,Qiang Fu,Huijun Shi,Shengwei Hu,Wei Ni,Tiansen Li,Ke Zhang 한국미생물학회 2014 The journal of microbiology Vol.52 No.8

Brucellosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease that causes animal and human diseases. However, the current Brucella abortus vaccines (S19 and RB51) are deficient; they can cause abortion in pregnant animals. Moreover, when the vaccine S19 is used, tests cannot differentiate natural from vaccinated infection. Therefore, a safer and more potent vaccine is needed. A Brucella abortus 2308 ery promoter mutant (Δery) was constructed to overcome these drawbacks. The growth of the Δery mutant was significantly attenuated in macrophages and mice and induced high protective immunity in mice. Moreover, Δery induced an anti-Brucellaspecific IgG (immunoglobulin G) response and stimulated the expression of interferon-gamma (INF-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4). Furthermore, the expression of EryA antigen allowed for the serological differentiation between natural and vaccinated infection in mice. These results indicate that the Δery mutant is a potential attenuated live vaccine candidate against virulent Brucella abortus 2308 (S2308) infection.

Genetic Variations in TERT-CLPTM1L Genes and Risk of Lung Cancer in a Chinese Population

Zhao, Meng-Meng,Zhang, Yue,Shen, Li,Ren, Yang-Wu,Li, Xue-Lian,Yin, Zhi-Hua,Zhou, Bao-Sen Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.6

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and cleft lip and palate transmembrane1-like (CLPTM1L) and lung cancer risk in a Chinese population. Methods: We performed a hospital-based case-control study, including 980 lung cancer cases and 1000 cancer-free controls matched for age and sex. Each case and control was interviewed to collect information by well-trained interviewers. A total of 5 ml of venous blood was collected for genotype testing of TERT rs2736098 and CLPTM1L rs401681 using TaqMan methodology. Results: The results revealed that the variant homozygote TERT rs2736098TT was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer (OR=2.017, 95%CI=1.518-2.681), especially lung adenocarcinoma (OR=2.117, 95%CI=1.557-3.043) and small cell carcinoma (OR=1.979, 95%CI: 1.174-3.334), compared with the TERT rs2736098CC genotype. Similar results were observed in non-smokers. Conclusion: The TERT rs2736098 polymorphism might affect the susceptibility to lung cancer in Chinese populations. The associations need to be verified in larger and different populations.

Identification and sex expression profiles of olfactory-related genes in Mythimna loreyi based on antennal transcriptome analysis

Zhang Yun-Ying,Guo Jin-Meng,Wei Zhi-Qiang,Zhang Xiao-Tong,Liu Si-Ruo,Guo Hui-Fang,Dong Shuanglin 한국응용곤충학회 2022 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.25 No.2

To better understand the olfactory mechanism of Mythimna loreyi, a worldwide migratory pest, we for the first time conducted a large scale identification of olfactory-related genes and investigation of their sex expression profiles by transcriptomic analysis. A total of 42,832 unigenes were obtained by transcriptome sequencing, as sembly and annotation, with an average length of 1,229 bp and N50 of 2,086 bp. In particular, 138 olfactoryrelated genes were identified by homologous blasting, including 33 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 16 che mosensory proteins (CSPs), 63 odorant receptors (ORs), 24 ionotropic receptors (IRs) and two sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). Further, by using differential gene expression (DGE) and fragments per kilobase per million fragments (FPKM) values to compare the transcript levels between female and male antennae, we found that 22 olfactory-related genes (9 OBPs, one CSP and 12 ORs) were sex biased, with 10 genes being male biased and 12 genes female biased. In addition, sex and tissue expression profiles determined by qPCR of 15 selected genes confirmed the reliability of sex expression profiles obtained by the transcriptomic analysis, and demonstrated that most olfactory-related genes were specifically or primarily expressed in antennae, suggesting their roles in olfaction, while a few genes were highly expressed in other tissues, implying their non-olfaction functions. This study provides an important basis for further functional study of olfactory genes in M. loreyi.

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) Q192R Gene Polymorphism and Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis Based on 30 Publications

Zhang, Meng,Xiong, Hu,Fang, Lu,Lu, Wei,Wu, Xun,Huang, Zhan-Sen,Wang, Yong-Qiang,Cai, Zhi-Ming,Wu, Song Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.10

Common genetic variation Q192R in the paraoxonase 1 (PON1) gene has been considered to be implicated in the development of many cancers. Nevertheless, results from the related studies were inconsistent. To elucidate the association, we performed a meta-analysis for 8,112 cases and 10,037 controls from 32 published case-control studies. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the association by STATA 12.0 software. Overall, we revealed that the PON1-192R allele was associated with a reduced risk of the overall cancers. Moreover, in the stratified analysis by cancer types (breast cancer, prostate cancer, brain cancer etc.), the results showed that PON1-192R allele was associated with a decreased risk in breast cancer (R vs Q: OR=0.605, 95% CI=0.378-0.967, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.000$; RR vs QQ: OR=0.494, 95% CI=0.275-0.888, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.002$; RQ vs QQ: OR=0.465, 95% CI=0.259-0.835, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.000$; and RR+RQ vs QQ: OR=0.485, 95% CI=0.274-0.857, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.000$), and associated with prostate cancer in homozygote (RR vs QQ: OR=0.475, 95% CI=0.251-0.897, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.001$) and recessive models (RR vs RQ+QQ: OR=0.379, 95% CI=0.169-0.853, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.000$), while an increased risk was identified in lymphoma (R vs Q: OR=1.537, 95% CI=1.246-1.896, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.944$; RR vs QQ: OR=2.987, 95% CI=1.861-4.795, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.350$; RR+RQ vs QQ: OR=1.354, 95% CI=1.021-1.796, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.824$; and RR vs RQ+QQ: OR=2.934, 95% CI=1.869-4.605, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.433$), and an increased risk in prostate cancer under heterozygote comparison (RQ vs QQ: OR=1.782, 95% CI=1.077-2.950, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.000$) and dominant models (RR+RQ vs QQ: OR=1.281, 95% CI=1.044-1.573, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.056$). When subgroup analysis that performed by the control source (hospital based or population based), a decreased risk of the overall cancers was revealed by homozygote (RR vs QQ: OR=0.601, 95% CI=0.366-0.987, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.000$) and dominant models (RR vs RQ+QQ: OR= 0.611, 95% CI=0.384-0.973, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.000$) in hospital based group. Stratifying by ethnicity, a significantly reduced risk of the overall cancers under allele contrast model (R vs Q: OR=0.788, 95% CI=0.626-0.993, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.000$) was uncovered in Caucasian. In summary, these findings suggested that PON1 Q192R polymorphism was associated with a reduced risk of the overall cancers, nevertheless, it might increase cancer susceptibility of prostate and lymphoma risk. Large well-designed epidemiological studies will be continued on this issue of interest.

Identification and sex expression profiles of olfactory-related genes in Mythimna loreyi based on antennal transcriptome analysis

Zhang Yun-Ying,Guo Jin-Meng,Wei Zhi-Qiang,Zhang Xiao-Tong,Liu Si-Ruo,Guo Hui-Fang,Dong Shuanglin 한국응용곤충학회 2022 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.25 No.3

To better understand the olfactory mechanism of Mythimna loreyi, a worldwide migratory pest, we for the first time conducted a large scale identification of olfactory-related genes and investigation of their sex expression profiles by transcriptomic analysis. A total of 42,832 unigenes were obtained by transcriptome sequencing, as sembly and annotation, with an average length of 1,229 bp and N50 of 2,086 bp. In particular, 138 olfactoryrelated genes were identified by homologous blasting, including 33 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 16 che mosensory proteins (CSPs), 63 odorant receptors (ORs), 24 ionotropic receptors (IRs) and two sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). Further, by using differential gene expression (DGE) and fragments per kilobase per million fragments (FPKM) values to compare the transcript levels between female and male antennae, we found that 22 olfactory-related genes (9 OBPs, one CSP and 12 ORs) were sex biased, with 10 genes being male biased and 12 genes female biased. In addition, sex and tissue expression profiles determined by qPCR of 15 selected genes confirmed the reliability of sex expression profiles obtained by the transcriptomic analysis, and demonstrated that most olfactory-related genes were specifically or primarily expressed in antennae, suggesting their roles in olfaction, while a few genes were highly expressed in other tissues, implying their non-olfaction functions. This study provides an important basis for further functional study of olfactory genes in M. loreyi.

Meta-Analysis of the Association between H63D and C282Y Polymorphisms in HFE and Cancer Risk

Zhang, Meng,Xiong, Hu,Fang, Lu,Lu, Wei,Wu, Xun,Wang, Yong-Qiang,Cai, Zhi-Ming,Wu, Song Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.11

Background: Previous studies suggested that the H63D and C282Y polymorphisms in the HFE genes were susceptible to many cancer types, nevertheless, the present results were inconclusive. Thus, the present study was aimed to evaluate the association between the HFE polymorphisms (H63D and C282Y) and cancer risk via meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: We retrieved PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase and Web of Science databases for all eligible studies up to April 1, 2015. All the statistical analysis was conducted by STATA 12.0. Results: Finally, a total of 20 publications including 24 case-control studies, comprising 6,524 cases and 31,080 controls for HFE-C282Y polymorphism and 19 publications including 21 case control studies, comprising 5,648 cases and 14,257 controls for HFE-H63D polymorphism were enrolled in our analysis. An increased risk for overall cancer risk was identified in HFE-H63D polymorphism under allele contrast (D vs H: OR=1.153; 95%CI=1.031-1.289, Pheterogeneity=0.002), homozygotes vs wide type (DD vs HH: OR=1.449; 95%CI=1.182-1.777, Pheterogeneity=0.391), dominant model (DD+HD vs HH: OR=1.145; 95%CI=1.007-1.301, Pheterogeneity=0.002) and recessive model (DD vs HD+HH: OR=1.416 ; 95%CI=1.156-1.735, Pheterogeneity=0.549), as well as HFE-C282Y under homozygotes vs wide type (YY vs CC: OR=1.428, 95%CI=1.017-2.006, Pheterogeneity=0.220). In addition, in the stratified analysis by cancer type, an increased risk was identified in hepatocellular carcinoma and breast cancer in C282Y polymorphism, as well as pancreatic cancer in H63D polymorphism, whereas a decreased risk of colorectal cancer was identified in C282Y polymorphism. Conclusions: Present study suggested that H63D and C282Y polymorphisms associated with an increased risk of overall cancer. Nevertheless, well-designed study with large sample size will be continued on this issue of interest.