Attenuation of Experimental Autoimmune Hepatitis in Mice with Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Carrying MicroRNA-223-3p

Lu, Feng-Bin,Chen, Da-Zhi,Chen, Lu,Hu, En-De,Wu, Jin-Lu,Li, Hui,Gong, Yue-Wen,Lin, Zhuo,Wang, Xiao-Dong,Li, Ji,Jin, Xiao-Ya,Xu, Lan-Man,Chen, Yong-Ping Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2019 Molecules and cells Vol.42 No.12

MicroRNA-223-3p (miR-223-3p) is one of the potential microRNAs that have been shown to alleviate inflammatory responses in pre-clinical investigations and is highly encased in exosomes derived from bone mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-exosomes). MSC-exosomes are able to function as carriers to deliver microRNAs into cells. Autoimmune hepatitis is one of the challenging liver diseases with no effective treatment other than steroid hormones. Here, we examined whether MSC-exosomes can transfer miR-223-3p to treat autoimmune hepatitis in an experimental model. We found that MSC-exosomes were successfully incorporated with miR-223-3p and delivered miR-223-3p into macrophages. Moreover, there was no toxic effect of exosomes on the macrophages. Furthermore, treatments of either exosomes or exosomes with miR-223-3p successfully attenuated inflammatory responses in the liver of autoimmune hepatitis and inflammatory cytokine release in both the liver and macrophages. The mechanism may be related to the regulation of miR-223-3p level and STAT3 expression in the liver and macrophages. These results suggest that MSC-exosomes can be used to deliver miR-223-3p for the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis.

Identification and tissue distribution of carboxylesterase (CXE) genes in Athetis lepigone (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) by RNA-seq

Ya-Nan Zhang,Zhao-Qun Li,Xiu-Yun Zhu,Jia-Li Qian,Zhi-Ping Dong,Lu Xue,Peng He 한국응용곤충학회 2017 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.20 No.4

Some of the metabolic enzyme carboxylesterases (CXEs) belong to the odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs) family in insect species, and these play a key role in the degradation of acetate sex pheromones and host plant volatiles. Athetis lepigone is one of the most important agricultural insect pests in the world, can damage> 30 species of host plants, and has caused serious declines in the yield of summer corn in North China since 2011. According to our previous studies, the sex pheromone component of the pest is a binary blend of Z7–12:OAc and Z9–14:OAc at a ratio of 3:7. However, there are no reports regarding the degradation mechanism for these two sex pheromones. Herein, we firstly identified 20 candidate CXE genes in A. lepigone using our previous adult antennal RNA-seq data. Then, we constructed a phylogenetic tree and further conducted tissue distribution analyses to determine the possible functions of these genes. Our results showed that some AlepCXEs displayed adult antennae- predominant, male antennae-biased, or leg/wing-biased expression, indicating these AlepCXEs may have distinct physiological functions and play distinct roles in the degradation of sex pheromones, host plant volatiles, and/or other xenobiotics. These findings will help us to elucidate the exact functions of these genes in the future, and also provide possible target genes for the prevention and control of A. lepigone.

Profiles of Bacillus spp. Isolated from the Rhizosphere of Suaeda glauca and Their Potential to Promote Plant Growth and Suppress Fungal Phytopathogens

( Ping Lu ),( Ke Jiang ),( Ya-qiao Hao ),( Wan-ying Chu ),( Yu-dong Xu ),( Jia-yao Yang ),( Jia-le Chen ),( Guo-hong Zeng ),( Zhou-hang Gu ),( Hong-xin Zhao ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2021 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.31 No.9

Members of the genus Bacillus are known to play an important role in promoting plant growth and protecting plants against phytopathogenic microorganisms. In this study, 21 isolates of Bacillus spp. were obtained from the root micro-ecosystem of Suaeda glauca. Analysis of the 16S rRNA genes indicated that the isolates belong to the species Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus velezensis, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus aryabhattai and Brevibacterium frigoritolerans. One of the interesting findings of this study is that the four strains B1, B5, B16 and B21 are dominant in rhizosphere soil. Based on gyrA, gyrB, and rpoB gene analyses, B1, B5, and B21 were identified as B. amyloliquefaciens and B16 was identified as B. velezensis. Estimation of antifungal activity showed that the isolate B1 had a significant inhibitory effect on Fusarium verticillioides, B5 and B16 on Colletotrichum capsici (syd.) Butl, and B21 on Rhizoctonia cerealis van der Hoeven. The four strains grew well in medium with 1-10% NaCl, a pH value of 5-8, and promoted the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana. Our results indicate that these strains may be promising agents for the biocontrol and promotion of plant growth and further study of the relevant bacteria will provide a useful reference for the development of microbial resources.

Isolation and Preliminary Identification of a Novel Microorganism Producing Aspartame from Soil Samples

Jian Dong Cui,Ya Nan Zhang,Gui Xia Zhao,Shi Ru Jia,Guo Qun Zhao,Si Zhang,Jun Lu 한국식품과학회 2010 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.19 No.2

To develop a new method for producing aspartame (APM), a simple and efficient strategy for the isolation of certain microorganisms producing APM from soil samples was designed. A newly strain with secreting certain specific dipeptidase to directly synthesize APM from the substrates of L-aspartic acid (L-Asp) and Lphenylalanine methyl ester (L-PM) without protection for amino acid side chains was screened from soil samples. APM concentration in reaction mixture was quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), yield reached 0.015 g/L. Examination of the general morphological characteristics and data from the sequence analysis of the rDNA-ITS gene led to identification of the isolate as a strain of fungal endophyte spp. The newly isolated strain had a high potential for application in industrial processes for APM production. In particular, this new method was low cost for synthesis of APM during the reaction due to avoiding protection for amino acid side chains and optical resolution of the mixtures. As we known it, this is first report that a newly strain with a high potential for selective synthesis of the APM was isolated from soil.

Effect of Tea on Resistance to Type 2 Diabetes

Peng Lu,Kai Fan,Ya-Ting Lu,Yuan-Xu Shi,Dong-Mei Fan,Xiao-Chang Wang 한국차학회 2015 한국차학회지 Vol.- No.S

Insulinotropic hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) degrades rapidly under the catalytic of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV). Consequently, DPP-IV which is widely expressed in small intestine takes a key role in the prevention and treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. To identify the capability of anti-type 2 diabetes by tea, the inhibition of different types of Chinese teas on DPP-IV was tested. The inhibitory ratio of Buddha Longjing is 31.74%, Tangji Gaoshan Tea is 62.08% (p < 0.01), Yunnan black tea is 66.29% (p < 0.01), Lapsang souchon is 76.40% (p <0.01), Dahongpao is 62.08% (p < 0.01), Tieguanyin is 66.85% (p < 0.01), Moganhuangya is 65.45% (p < 0.01),Huoshanhuangya is 50.56% (p < 0.05).

Preliminary Research on the Expression, Purification and Function of the Apoptotic Fusion Protein, Sival

Zhang, Ya-Han,Yu, Lu-Gang,Zhu, Wan-Zhan,Wang, Sheng-Li,Wang, Dian-Dong,Yang, Yan-Xin,Yu, Xia Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.20

The objective of the present study was to investigate cloning, expression, and functions of the recombinant protein, Siva1. Siva1 gene was synthesized by RT-PCR from HCT116 cells. Plasmids were cleaved with the restriction endonuclease, BamH1/Sal1 and products were connected to pQE30, which underwent cleavage by BamH1/Sal1. The recombinant plasmid, pQE30-Siva1, was identified after digestion with restriction endonucleases followed by transformation into E. coli M15. Expression of Siva1 was induced by IPTG and identified by SDS-PAGE following purification with affinity chromatography. The results showed that size of Siva1 was 12 kDa, consistent with the molecular weight of the His-Siva1 fusion protein. Functional test demonstrated that Siva1 significantly inhibited the invasion and migration of HCT116 cells. It may thus find clinical application for control of cancers.

Comparison of Microbial Diversity and Composition in the Jejunum and Colon of Alcohol-Dependent Rats

( Yang Fan ),( Zhao Ya-e ),( Wei Ji-dong ),( Lu Yu-fan ),( Zhang Ying ),( Sun Ya-lun ),( Ma Meng-yu ),( Zhang Rui-ling ) 한국미생물생명공학회(구 한국산업미생물학회) 2018 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.28 No.11

Alcohol dependence is a global public health problem, yet the mechanisms of alcohol dependence are incompletely understood. The traditional view has been that ethanol alters various neurotransmitters and their receptors in the brain and causes the addiction. However, an increasing amount of experimental evidence suggests that gut microbiota also influence brain functions via gut-to-brain interactions, and may therefore induce the development of alcohol use disorders. In this study, a rat model of alcohol dependence and withdrawal was employed, the gut microbiota composition was analyzed by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and the metagenome function was predicted by PICRUSt software. The results suggested that chronic alcohol consumption did not significantly alter the diversity and richness of gut microbiota in the jejunum and colon, but rather markedly changed the microbiota composition structure in the colon. The phyla Bacteroidetes and eight genera including Bacteroidales S24-7, Ruminococcaceae, Parabacteroides, Butyricimonas, et al were drastically increased, however the genus Lactobacillus and gauvreauii in the colon were significantly decreased in the alcohol dependence group compared with the withdrawal and control groups. The microbial functional prediction analysis revealed that the proportions of amino acid metabolism, polyketide sugar unit biosynthesis and peroxisome were significantly increased in the AD group. This study demonstrated that chronic alcohol consumption has a dramatic effect on the microbiota composition structure in the colon but few effects on the jejunum. Inducement of colonic microbiota dysbiosis due to alcohol abuse seems to be a factor of alcohol dependence, which suggests that modulating colonic microbiota composition might be a potentially new target for treating alcohol addiction.

Novel Hydrophilic Taxane Analogues inhibit Growth of Cancer Cells

Fauzee, Nilufer Jasmine Selimah,Wang, Ya-Lan,Dong, Zhi,Li, Qian-Ge,Wang, Tao,Mandarry, Muhammad Tasleem,Lu, Xu,Juan, Pan Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.2

In our era there has been several anti-cancer drugs which have undergone both experimental and clinical trials; however, due to their poor solubilities, numerous side effects, insufficient bioavailability and poor compliance, many have resulted into poor outcomes. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the effects of novel hydrophilic taxanes analogues CQMU-0517 and CQMU-0519 on growth of A549 lung, SKVO3 ovary and MCF7 breast carcinoma cell lines. Different concentrations of original paclitaxel, CQMU-0517, original docetaxel and CQMU-0519 were utilized on three cell lines, where cell growth was assessed using cell culture kit-8 and flow cytometry analysis. The results unveiled that CQMU-0517 and CQMU-0519 suppressed cell growth in the three particular cell lines, cell cycle arrest being evident in the G2/M phase. Hence, the results showed that these new taxane analogues have potential and warrant future clinical trials.

Heavy concrete shielding properties for carbon therapy

Jin-Long Wang,Jiade J Lu,Da-Jun Ding,Wen-Hua Jiang,Ya-Dong Li,Rui Qiu,Hui Zhang,Xiao-Zhong Wang,Huo-Sheng Ruan,Yan-Bing Teng,Xiao-Guang Wu,Yun Zheng,Zi-Hao Zhao,Kai-Zhong Liao,Huan-Cheng Mai,Xiao-Dong Korean Nuclear Society 2023 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.55 No.6

As medical facilities are usually built at urban areas, special concrete aggregates and evaluation methods are needed to optimize the design of concrete walls by balancing density, thickness, material composition, cost, and other factors. Carbon treatment rooms require a high radiation shielding requirement, as the neutron yield from carbon therapy is much higher than the neutron yield of protons. In this case study, the maximum carbon energy is 430 MeV/u and the maximum current is 0.27 nA from a hybrid particle therapy system. Hospital or facility construction should consider this requirement to design a special heavy concrete. In this work, magnetite is adopted as the major aggregate. Density is determined mainly by the major aggregate content of magnetite, and a heavy concrete test block was constructed for structural tests. The compressive strength is 35.7 MPa. The density ranges from 3.65 g/cm³ to 4.14 g/cm³, and the iron mass content ranges from 53.78% to 60.38% from the 12 cored sample measurements. It was found that there is a linear relationship between density and iron content, and mixing impurities should be the major reason leading to the nonuniform element and density distribution. The effect of this nonuniformity on radiation shielding properties for a carbon treatment room is investigated by three groups of Monte Carlo simulations. Higher density dominates to reduce shielding thickness. However, a higher content of high-Z elements will weaken the shielding strength, especially at a lower dose rate threshold and vice versa. The weakened side effect of a high iron content on the shielding property is obvious at 2.5 µSv=h. Therefore, we should not blindly pursue high Z content in engineering. If the thickness is constrained to 2 m, then the density can be reduced to 3.3 g/cm³, which will save cost by reducing the magnetite composition with 50.44% iron content. If a higher density of 3.9 g/cm³ with 57.65% iron content is selected for construction, then the thickness of the wall can be reduced to 174.2 cm, which will save space for equipment installation.

Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of a Novel Intracellular Low-Temperature-Active Xylanase

( Jun Pei Zhou,),( Yan Yan Dong ),( Xiang Hua Tang ),( Jun Jun Li ),( Bo Xu ),( Qian Wu ),( Ya Jie Gao ),( Lu Pan ),( Zun Xi Huang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2012 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.22 No.4

A 990 bp full-length gene (xynAHJ2) encoding a 329- residue polypeptide (XynAHJ2) with a calculated mass of 38.4 kDa was cloned from Bacillus sp. HJ2 harbored in a saline soil. XynAHJ2 showed no signal peptide, distinct amino acid stretches of glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 10 intracellular endoxylanases, and the highest amino acid sequence identity of 65.3% with the identified GH 10 intracellular mesophilic endoxylanase iM-KRICT PX1-Ps from Paenibacillus sp. HPL-001 (ACJ06666). The recombinant enzyme (rXynAHJ2) was expressed in Escherichia coli and displayed the typical characteristics of low-temperatureactive enzyme (exhibiting optimum activity at 35 o C, 62% at 20 o C, and 38% at 10 o C; thermolability at ≥45 o C). Compared with the reported GH 10 low-temperature-active endoxylanases, which are all extracellular, rXynAHJ2 showed low amino acid sequence identities (<45%), low homology (different phylogenetic cluster), and difference of structure (decreased amount of total accessible surface area and exposed nonpolar accessible surface area). Compared with the reported GH 10 intracellular endoxylanases, which are all mesophilic and thermophilic, rXynAHJ2 has decreased numbers of arginine residues and salt bridges, and showed resistance to Ni 2+ , Ca 2+ , or EDTA at 10 mM final concentration. The above mechanism of structural adaptation for low-temperature activity of intracellular endoxylanase rXynAHJ2 is different from that of GH 10 extracellular low-temperature-active endoxylanases. This is the first report of the molecular and biochemical characterizations of a novel intracellular low-temperatureactive xylanase.