Function of Global Regulator CodY in Bacillus thuringiensis BMB171 by Comparative Proteomic Analysis

( Ming Xia Qi ),( Fei Mei ),( Hui Wang ),( Ming Sun ),( Ge Jiao Wang ),( Ziniu Yu ),( Yeon Ho Je ),( Ming Shun Li ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.2

CodY is a highly conserved protein in low G+C gram-positive bacteria that regulates genes involved in sporulation and stationary-phase adaptation. Bacillus thuringiensis is a grampositive bacterium that forms spores and parasporal crystals during the stationary phase. To our knowledge, the regulatory mechanism of CodY in B. thuringiensis is unknown. To study the function of CodY protein in B. thuringiensis, BMB171codY- was constructed in a BMB171 strain. A shuttle vector containing the ORF of cry1Ac10 was transformed into BMB171 and BMB171codY-, named BMB171cry1Ac and BMB171codY-cry1Ac, respectively. Some morphological and physiological changes of codY mutant BMB171codY-cry1Ac were observed. A comparative proteomic analysis was conducted for both BMB171codY-cry1Ac and BMB171cry1Ac through two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF-MS/MS analysis. The results showed that the proteins regulated by CodY are involved in microbial metabolism, including branched-chain amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and energy metabolism. Furthermore, we found CodY to be involved in sporulation, biosynthesis of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate, growth, genetic competence, and translation. According to the analysis of differentially expressed proteins, and physiological characterization of the codY mutant, we performed bacterial one-hybrid and electrophoretic mobility shift assay experiments and confirmed the direct regulation of genes by CodY, specifically those involved in metabolism of branched-chain amino acids, ribosomal recycling factor FRR, and the late competence protein ComER. Our data establish the foundation for in-depth study of the regulation of CodY in B. thuringiensis, and also offer a potential biocatalyst for functions of CodY in other bacteria.

Memory Event-triggered Sliding Mode Control for UAV Formation Under Communication Delay and Wake Interferences

Ming-Fei Ji,Tao Li,Shu-Min Fei,Xian-Lin Zhao 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2024 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.22 No.3

This paper studies the formation control for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) under communicationdelay and wake disturbances, in which the inner-loop and outer-loop control strategy is adopted. Firstly, as for thedynamical models of follower UAVs, the wake interferences are considered and their influences are respectivelyestimated by using the sliding model disturbance observers (SMDOs). Secondly, since the outer-loop informationin the UAVs exchanges via communication network, by adding an internal dynamic variable, an adaptive memorybased event-triggered mechanism (METM) is proposed to alleviate transmission burden with maintaining idealcontrol performance. Thirdly, by using the designed METM and an intermediate vector, a sliding mode controller isderived to accomplish the desired control target, which can compensate the communication delay in control input. Fourthly, as for the overall closed-loop system, a sufficient condition on asymptotical stability is established and aco-design method of checking the triggering parameters and controller gains is expressed in term of linear matrixinequalities (LMIs). Moreover, in order to tackle the wake interferences of the inner-loop, an adaptive attitudetracking controller is put forward to ensure the bounded stability of tracking errors by solving the reference signal. Finally, a simulated example is exploited to illustrate the validity of the proposed scheme.

An Iris Localization Algorithm based on Geometric Features of the Circle

Ming Fei Wang,RuiYun Xie,BenZhai Hai 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Signal Processing, Image Vol.8 No.7

An iris localization algorithm with the fast speed is proposed based on geometric features of the circle combing coarse localization with fine localization to avoid the problem of the slow speed of the classical iris localization algorithm. First, the row and column scanning method is employed to find four strings in the pupil. Four couples of tangency points are located by using the perpendicular bisector of strings and the threshold of the pupil boundary. The mean value of the coordinate parameters of the tangency points is regarded as the parameters for inner edge rough localization parameters. Then the calculus method is used for precise localization of the inner edge. The priori knowledge of the close distance between inner and outer edge centers of the circle is used to narrow the search range of the calculus method localizing outside edge, to significantly improving the speed of iris localization. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the speed of iris localization with the high localizing accuracy.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease in a Chinese Population-Based Sample

Fei Han,Fei-Fei Zhai,Quan Wang,Li-Xin Zhou,Jun Ni,Ming Yao,Ming-Li Li,Shu-Yang Zhang,Li-Ying Cui,Zheng-Yu Jin,Yi-Cheng Zhu 대한뇌졸중학회 2018 Journal of stroke Vol.20 No.2

Background and Purpose Epidemiological data of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) in the general population of China are lacking. We report on the prevalence of lacunes, white matter hyperintensity (WMH), and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in a community-based sample in China and compare the results with those of other studies. Methods This was a cross-sectional analysis of the population-based Shunyi Study in China. A total of 1,211 stroke-free participants (mean age, 55.6±9.3 years; 37.4% men) with available 3 Tesla (3T) magnetic resonance images were included in this analysis. Demographic information and risk factor data were assessed. The overall and age-specific prevalence of lacunes, WMH, and CMBs was evaluated. Associations between cardiovascular risk factors and the presence of these lesions were analyzed by multiple logistic regression. Results Our study showed a prevalence of 14.5% for lacunes, 72.1% for periventricular hyperintensity (PVH), 65.4% for deep white matter hyperintensity (DWMH), and 10.6% for CMBs. When compared with other community-based samples, individuals in the same age group showed a higher burden of lacunes and a relatively lower prevalence of CMBs. Advanced age was independently associated with the prevalence of these CSVD markers, while the presence of hypertension increased the risk of lacunes, PVH/DWMH, and CMBs in deep or infratentorial locations. Conclusions A higher burden of lacunes but a relatively lower prevalence of CMBs was observed in this Chinese population. This notable result highlights the challenge of CSVD prevention in China. Chinese have a risk factor profile for CSVD similar to those in other populations.

Genetic variations in the bitter taste receptor gene TAS2R38 are related to cigarette smoking behavior in Han Chinese smokers

Qi Fei-Yan,Zhu Zhou-Hai,Li Meng,Guan Ying,Peng Qi-Yuan,Lu She-Ming,Liu Zhi-Hua,Wang Ming-Feng,Miao Ming-Ming,Chen Zhang-Yu,Li Xue-Mei,Bai Jie,Yao Jian-Hua 한국유전학회 2022 Genes & Genomics Vol.44 No.11

Background: Smoking behavior is influenced by multiple genes, including the bitter taste gene TAS2R38. It has been reported that the correlation between TAS2R38 and smoking behavior has ethnicity-based differences. However, the TAS2R38 status in Chinese smokers is still unclear. Objective: This study aims to investigate the possible relationship between genetic variations in TAS2R38 (A49P, V262A and I296V) and smoking behaviors in the Han Chinese population. Methods: The haplotype analyses were performed and smoking behavior questionnaire was completed by 1271 individuals. Genetic association analyses for smoking behavior were analyzed using chi-square test. Further, for investigating the molecular mechanism of TAS2R38 variants effect on smoking behavior, we conducted TAS2R38-PAV and TAS2R38-AVI expression plasmids and tested the cellular calcium assay by cigarette smoke compounds stimulus in HEK293. Results: Significant associations of genetic variants within TAS2R38 were identified with smoking behavior. We found a higher PAV/PAV frequency than AVI/AVI in moderate and high nicotine dependence (FTND ≥ 4; X2 = 4.611, 1 df, p = 0.032) and strong cigarette smoke flavor intensity preference (X2 = 4.5383, 1 df, p = 0.033) in participants. Furthermore, in the in vitro cellular calcium assay, total particle matter (TPM), N-formylnornicotine and cotinine, existing in cigarette smoke, activated TAS2R38-PAV but not TAS2R38-AVI-transfected cells. Conclusion: Our data highlights that genetic variations in TAS2R38 are related to smoking behavior, especially nicotine dependence and cigarette smoke flavor intensity preference. Our findings may encourage further consideration of the taste process to identify individuals susceptible to nicotine dependence, particularly Han Chinese smokers.

Low Expression of the FoxO4 Gene may Contribute to the Phenomenon of EMT in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Xu, Ming-Ming,Mao, Guo-Xin,Liu, Jian,Li, Jian-Chao,Huang, Hua,Liu, Yi-Fei,Liu, Jun-Hua Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.9

Because of its importance in tumor invasion and metastasis, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has become a research focus in the field of cancer. Recently, evidence has been presented that FoxO4 might be involved in EMT. Our study aimed to detect the expression of FoxO4, E-cadherin and vimentin in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). We also investigated clinical features and their correlations with the markers. In our study, FoxO4, E-cadherin and vimentin were assessed by immunohistochemistry in a tissue microarray (TMA) containing 150 cases of NSCLC. In addition, the expression level of FoxO4 protein was determined by Western blotting. The percentages of FoxO4, E-cadherin and vimentin positive expression in NSCLCs were 42.7%, 38.7% and 55.3%, respectively. Immunoreactivity of FoxO4 was low in NSCLC when compared with paired normal lung tissues. There were significant correlations between FoxO4 and TNM stage (P<0.001), histological differentiation (P=0.004) and lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), but no significant links with age (P=0.323), gender (P=0.410), tumor size (P=0.084), smoking status (P=0.721) and histological type (P=0.281). Our study showed that low expression of FoxO4 correlated with decreased expression of E-cadherin and elevated expression of vimentin. Cox regression analysis indicated FoxO4 to be an independent prognostic factor in NSCLC (P=0.046). These data suggested that FoxO4 might inhibit the process of EMT in NSCLC, and might therefore be a target for therapy.

Inhibition of Transient Receptor Potential Melastain 7 Enhances Apoptosis Induced by TRAIL in PC-3 cells

Lin, Chang-Ming,Ma, Ji-Min,Zhang, Li,Hao, Zong-Yao,Zhou, Jun,Zhou, Zhen-Yu,Shi, Hao-Qiang,Zhang, Yi-Fei,Shao, En-Ming,Liang, Chao-Zhao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.10

Transient receptor potential melastain 7 (TRPM7) is a bifunctional protein with dual structure of both ion channel and protein kinase, participating in a wide variety of diseases including cancer. Recent researches have reported the mechanism of TRPM7 in human cancers. However, the correlation between TRPM7 and prostate cancer (PCa) has not been well studied. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential the role of TRPM7 in the apoptosis of PC-3 cells, which is the key cell of advanced metastatic PCa. In this study, we demonstrated the influence and potential function of TRPM7 on the PC-3 cells apoptosis induced by TNF-related apoptosis inducing-ligand (TRAIL). The study also found a novel up-regulated expression of TRPM7 in PC-3 cells after treating with TRAIL. Suppression of TRPM7 by TRPM7 non-specific inhibitors ($Gd^{3+}$ or 2-aminoethoxy diphenylborate (2-APB) ) not only markedly eliminated TRPM7 expression level, but also increased the apoptosis of TRAIL-treated PC-3 cells, which may be regulated by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway accompany with up-regulated expression of cleaved Caspase-3, (TRAIL-receptor 1, death receptors 4) DR4, and (TRAIL-receptor 2, death receptors 5) DR5. Taken together, our findings strongly suggested that TRPM7 was involved in the apoptosis of PC-3 cells induced by TRAIL, indicating that TRPM7 may be applied as a therapeutic target for PCa.

Identification of novel rheumatoid arthritis-associated MiRNA-204-5p from plasma exosomes

Wu Long-Fei,Zhang Qin,Mo Xing-Bo,Lin Jun,Wu Yang-Lin,Lu Xin,He Pei,Wu Jian,Guo Yu-Fan,Wang Ming-Jun,Ren Wen-Yan,Deng Hong-Wen,Lei Shu-Feng,Deng Fei-Yan 생화학분자생물학회 2022 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.54 No.-

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by infiltration of immune cells in the synovium. However, the crosstalk of immune cells and synovial fibroblasts is still largely unknown. Here, global miRNA screening in plasma exosomes was carried out with a custom microarray (RA patients vs. healthy controls = 9:9). A total of 14 exosomal miRNAs were abnormally expressed in the RA patients. Then, downregulated expression of exosomal miR-204-5p was confirmed in both the replication (RA patients vs. healthy controls = 30:30) and validation groups (RA patients vs. healthy controls = 56:60). Similar to the findings obtained in humans, a decreased abundance of exosomal miR-204-5p was observed in mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Furthermore, Spearman correlation analysis indicated that plasma exosomal miR-204-5p expression was inversely correlated with disease parameters of RA patients, such as rheumatoid factor, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein. In vitro, our data showed that human T lymphocytes released exosomes containing large amounts of miR-204-5p, which can be transferred into synovial fibroblasts, inhibiting cell proliferation. Overexpression of miR-204-5p in synovial fibroblasts suppressed synovial fibroblast activation by targeting genes related to cell proliferation and invasion. In vivo assays found that administration of lentiviruses expressing miR-204-5p markedly alleviated the disease progression of the mice with CIA. Collectively, this study identified a novel RA-associated plasma exosomal miRNA-204-5p that mediates the communication between immune cells and synovial fibroblasts and can be used as a potential biomarker for RA diagnosis and treatment.

Macrophages Promote Coal Tar Pitch Extract-induced Tumorigenesis of BEAS-2B Cells and Tumor Metastasis in Nude Mice Mediated by AP-1

Zhang, Peng,Jin, Yue-Fei,Zhang, Qiao,Wu, Yi-Ming,Wu, Wei-Dong,Yao, Wu,Wu, Yong-Jun,Li, Zhi-Tao,Zhao, Yong,Liu, Yu,Feng, Fei-Fei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.12

Background: We sought to evaluate the role of tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) on the promotion of coal tar pitch extract (CTPE)-induced tumorigenesis of human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and tumor metastasis in nude mice, and related mechanisms. Materials and Methods: BEAS-2B cells were first treated with 2.4 mg/mL CTPE for 72 hours. After removal of CTPE, the cells were continuously cultured and passaged using trypsin-EDTA. THP-1 cells were used as macrophage-like cells. BEAS-2B cells under different conditions (n=6/group) were injected into the back necks of nude mice, and alterations of tumor xenograft growth, indicative of tumorigenicity, and tumor metastasis were determined. Pathological changes (tumor nests and microvascular lesions) of HE-stained tumor tissues were also evaluated. The expression of AP-1(c-Jun) in xenografts and metastatic tumors was determined using immunohistochemistry. Results: Tumor size and weight in nude mice transplanted with the mixture of CTPE-induced passage 30 BEAS-2B and THP-1 cells (2:1) were increased compared to those from the CTPE-treated BEAS-2B cells at passage 30 alone at different observation time points. Tumor metastasis to lymph nodes and liver was only detected after transplantation of a mixture the two kinds of cells. The numbers of tumor nests and microvascular lesions, and the expression levels of AP-1 (c-Jun) in tumors from the mixture of two kinds of cells were increased apparently in contrast to those in tumor from the CTPE-treated BEAS-2B cells of passage 30 alone. In addition, there was positive correlation between AP-1 (c-Jun) expression level and the number of microvascular lesions, or between AP-1 (c-Jun) expression level and tumor metastasis in these two groups. Conclusions: TAMs not only facilitate tumorigenesis transformation of CTPE-induced BEAS-2B cells, but also promote tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis in nude mice in vivo, which may be mediated by AP-1.

Influence of vacuum annealing on structures and mechanical properties of AleTieN films deposited by multi-arc ion plating

Ming Xi Li,Fei Cai,Shi Hong Zhang 한국물리학회 2013 Current Applied Physics Vol.13 No.7

The AleTieN films deposited by multi-arc ion plating have been annealed in vacuum within the range of 700-1100 ℃. X-ray diffraction results showed that the structure of the films underwent the formation of coherent c-TiN and c-AlN for the annealing temperatures were up to 900 ℃. A new phase AlTix (x = 0.50,0.56, 3) was observed after annealing. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed the intensity of TieAl bonds decreased as annealing temperatures increased, indicating the decomposition of (Al, Ti)N into c-TiN and c-AlN were at the expense of TieAl bonds. Differential scanning calorimetry experiments were used to investigate the dynamic behavior of the films during annealing process and the results showed that the N2 formed as a consequence of the phase transformation process. The release of the N2resulted in the peeling of the films from the substrates. The film exhibited a maximum hardness of 39 GPa after 900 ℃ annealing due to the formation of coherent c-TiN and c-AlN phases. In addition, we also investigated the influence of vacuum annealing on adhesive strength.