Anti-HIV-1 Activity of Lignans from the Fruits of Schisandra rubriflora

Wei-Lie Xiao,Rui-Rui Wang,Wei Zhao,Ren-Rong Tian,Shan-Zhai Shang,Liu-Meng Yang,Jian-Hong Yang,Jian-Xin Pu,Yong-Tang Zheng,Han-Dong Sun 대한약학회 2010 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.33 No.5

This study investigated the 70% aqueous acetone extract of the fruits of Schisandra rubriflora which led to the isolation of eight lignans, including a new isolate, rubrisandrin C (1), and seven known lignans (2-8) . The structure of 1 was established by extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and its absolute stereochemistry was determined by CD spectrum. Compounds 1-5 and 7-8 were evaluated for their anti-HIV-1 activity that showed inhibitory activity on HIV-1IIIB induced syncytium formation with EC50 values in the range of 2.26~20.4 μg/mL. Compounds 1 and 7 exerted their obvious protection of HIV-1IIIB inducted MT-4 host cells lytic effects with a selectivity index of 15.4 and 24.6, respectively.

Gene microarray analysis revealed a potential crucial gene RACK1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)

Jian-Wei Zheng,Yinshen Yang,Shujuan Yang,Wei Zhou,Hongtian Qiu,Xiaoping Li,Qiuyun Cai,Ting Li,Gang Luo 한국통합생물학회 2018 Animal cells and systems Vol.22 No.2

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, which appears as a consequence of multiple molecular genetic events in various chromosomes and genes. In order to unveil the possible mechanisms underlying OSCC tumorigenesis, the OSCC-related gene expression variance and the gene interaction network should be further investigated. Herein, we conducted the NimbleGen Human Gene Expression Microarray to analyze expression heterogeneity between OSCC primary tumor tissue and its adjacent normal tissue from two patients. A total number of 7872 out of 32,448 detected genes are differentially expressed in OSCC. Gene ontology (GO) analysis demonstrated that these differentially expressed transcripts were critical in a series of metabolic processes, cancer-related signal pathways, and biological regulations. KEGG signaling pathway enrichment suggested a number of pathways (metabolic process and immune response) which are frequently enrolled during cancer progression. 15 most differential regulated genes between OSCC tumor and non-tumor were confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Furthermore, the interaction network analysis of these confirmed genes by STRING database showed the two subunits of RACK1 had direct interaction with 14 differential proteins. This bioinformatics research lends support about the critical role of RACK1 which functions as a key node protein driving OSCC development.

The Phytotoxic Effects of Selenium–Mercury Interactions on Root Growth in Brassica rapa (LvLing)

Zhi-Wei Bian,Jian Chen,Hui Li,Dan-Dan Liu,Li-Fei Yang,Yue-Lin Zhu,Wen-Li Zhu,Wei Liu,Zheng-Zheng Ying 한국원예학회 2016 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.57 No.3

Rapid industrial and agricultural development has dramatically increased the emission of selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) into the environment. Combined soil pollution by Se and Hg poses a potential threat to crop production. However, no toxic effects of Hg–Se interactions on plants have been reported previously. In this study, we investigated the effects of Hg–Se interactions on biochemical and physiological indices in the roots of Brassica rapa (LvLing). Seedlings were treated hydroponically with solutions of mercury chloride (1 μM), sodium selenite (4 μM), or a combination of the two. Combined Hg+Se treatment significantly inhibited root growth, reduced root biomass, and enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde accumulation and led to a loss of plasma membrane integrity. The combined treatment increased glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, and peroxidase activity, reduced superoxide dismutase activity, and had no effect on catalase activity. In addition, we detected increased glutathione concentrations in root tips and reduced ascorbic acid concentrations in the presence of Hg+Se relative to individual treatments with these elements. Thus, Hg–Se interactions enhanced oxidative injury, cell death, and phytotoxicity in B. rapa roots.

Aberrant Expression of HOXA5 and HOXA9 in AML

Zhao, Peng,Tan, Li,Ruan, Jian,Wei, Xiao-Ping,Zheng, Yi,Zheng, Li-Xia,Jiang, Wei-Qin,Fang, Wei-Jia Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.9

Background: Aberrant expression of HOX gene expression has been observed in cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the alteration of HOXA5 and HOXA9 expression and their clinical significance in acute meloid leukemia (AML). Materials and Methods: The expression of HOXA5 and HOXA9 genes of bone marrow samples from 75 newly diagnosed AML patients and 22 healthy controls for comparison were examined by Real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) assay. Statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate HOXA5 and HOXA9 expression as possible biomarkers for AML. Results: The results showed that the complete remission rate (52.6%) of the patients who highly expressed HOXA5 and HOXA9 was significantly lower than that (88.9%) in patients who lowly express the genes (P=0.015). Spearmann correlation coefficients indicated that the expression levels for HOXA5 and HOXA9 genes were highly interrelated (r=0.657, P<0.001). Meanwhile, we detected significant correlations between HOXA9 expression and age in this limited set of patients (P=0.009). Conclusions: The results suggest a prognostic impact of increased expression of HOXA5 and HOXA9 in AML patients.

Genetic Organization of ascB-dapE Internalin Cluster Serves as a Potential Marker for Listeria monocytogenes Sublineages IIA, IIB, and IIC

( Jian Shun Chen ),( Chun Fang ),( Ning Yu Zhu ),( Yong Hui Lv ),( Chang Yong Cheng ),( Yi Jiang Bei ),( Tianlun Zheng ),( Wei Huan Fang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2012 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.22 No.5

Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen that comprises four genetic lineages: I, II, III, and IV. Of these, lineage II is frequently recovered from foods and environments and responsible for the increasing incidence of human listeriosis. In this study, the phylogenetic structure of lineage II was determined through sequencing analysis of the ascB-dapE internalin cluster. Fifteen sequence types proposed by multilocus sequence typing based on nine housekeeping genes were grouped into three distinct sublineages, IIA, IIB, and IIC. Organization of the ascBdapE internalin cluster could serve as a molecular marker for these sublineages, with inlGHE, inlGC2DE, and inlC2DE for IIA, IIB, and IIC, respectively. These sublineages displayed specific genetic and phenotypic characteristics. IIA and IIC showed a higher frequency of recombination (ρ/θ). However, recombination events had greater effect (r/m) on IIB, leading to its high nucleotide diversity. Moreover, IIA and IIB harbored a wider range of internalin and stress-response genes, and possessed higher nisin tolerance, whereas IIC contained the largest portion of low-virulent strains owing to premature stop codons in inlA. The results of this study indicate that IIA, IIB, and IIC might occupy different ecological niches, and IIB might have a better adaptation to a broad range of environmental niches.

Seismic Behavior of Low-rise Concrete Shear Wall with Single Layer of Web Reinforcement and Inclined Rebars: Restoring Force Model

Jian-Wei Zhang,Wen-Bin Zheng,Wan-Lin Cao,Hong-Ying Dong,Wan-Di Li 대한토목학회 2019 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.23 No.3

In order to study the restoring force model of low-rise concrete shear wall with single layer of web reinforcement and inclined rebars, a series of specimens were investigated by quasi-static tests. Based on the fitting of experimental data and theoretical analysis, the restoring force model considering four characteristic points (crack point, yield point, peak point and failure point) and degradation of unloading stiffness was established. The hysteretic rule of restoring force model was determined by analyzing characteristic of hysteresis curve for cyclic loading tests. The results show that skeleton curves and hysteresis curves calculated by the restoring force model are in good agreement with the test curves, which can provide reference for the elastic-plastic dynamic analysis of low-rise concrete shear walls with single layer of web reinforcements and inclined rebars. Shaking table tests of two low-rise concrete shear walls were also conducted to investigate dynamic performance and the seismic damage mechanism of low-rise concrete shear wall with single layer of web reinforcement and inclined rebars. Research on dynamic nonlinear simplified model of SAP2000 shows thatthe proposed restoring force model can be used to analyze the elastic and elastic-plastic dynamic response for the low-rise concrete shear wall with single layer of web reinforcement and inclined rebars.

Complete Mitochondrial Genome of a Tongue Worm Armillifer agkistrodontis

Jian Li,Fu-Nan He,Hong-Xiang Zheng,Rui-Xiang Zhang,Yi-Jing Ren,Wei Hu 대한기생충학열대의학회 2016 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.54 No.6

Armillifer agkistrodontis (Ichthyostraca: Pantastomida) is a parasitic pathogen, only reported in China, which can cause a zoonotic disease, pentastomiasis. A complete mitochondrial (mt) genome was 16,521 bp comprising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 1 non-coding region (NCR). A phylogenetic tree drawn with the concatenated amino acid sequences of the 6 conserved PCGs (atp6, cox1-3, and nad2) showed that A. agkistrodontis and Armillifer armillatus constituted a clade Pentastomida which was a sister group of the Branchiura. The complete mt genome sequence of A. agkistrodontis provides important genetic markers for both phylogenetic and epidemiological studies of pentastomids.

Molecular characterization and comparative analysis of two waxy alleles in barley

Jian Ma,Qian-Tao Jiang,Laroche Andre,Zhen-Xiang Lu,Guo-Yue Chen,Ya-Xi Liu,You-Liang Zheng,Yu-Ming Wei 한국유전학회 2010 Genes & Genomics Vol.32 No.6

Two alleles of the barley waxy locus were characterized from non-waxy cultivar Bowman and waxy cultivar CDC Candle,respectively. Their nucleotide and protein sequences were compared with other known waxy genes. The comparison results indicated that there were 100 polymorphic sites, among which 69 were in the non-coding region and 31 were in the coding region. Out of 100 polymorphic sites, 45 were transversion,35 were transition and 20 were indels. A 397 bp deletion and a 193 bp insertion in the promoter region and a 15bp insertion in the coding region were found in CDC Candle,but not in Bowman. A deletion (11 bp) was detected in Bowman, which exhibited no effects on normal waxy expression. In summary, the 397 bp deletion was supposed to account for the reduction of GBSS I, resulting in the low amylose in CDC Candle; whereas other polymorphic sites might be not correlated with amylose synthesis.

Adsorption of Co(2), Ni(2), Pb(2) and U(7) from Aqueous Solutions using Polyaniline/Graphene Oxide Composites

( Zheng Jie Liu ),( Jian Wei Yang ),( Chang Zhen Li ),( Jia Xing Li ),( Ya Juan Jiang ),( Yun Hui Dong ),( Yue Yun Li ) 한국화학공학회 2014 Korean Chemical Engineering Research(HWAHAK KONGHA Vol.52 No.6

Polyaniline modified graphene oxide (PANI/GO) composites were synthesized by dilute polymerization technique and were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The characterization results indicated that polyaniline molecules were successfully grafted on GO surfaces. The application of PANI/GO composites to the adsorption of heavy metals from aqueous solutions was investigated under ambient conditions. The maximum adsorption capacities of Co(II), Ni(II), Pb(II) and U(VI) ions on PANI/GO composites calculated from Langmuir models are 22.28, 25.67, 65.40 and 1552.31 mg/g, respectively. The excellent adsorption capacity suggests that PANI/GO composites can be applied as a promising adsorbent in heavy metal pollution cleanup in environmental pollution management.

Comparison Study of the Band-gap Structure of a 1D-Photonic Crystal by Using TMM and FDTD Analyses

Jian-Bo Chen,Yan Shen,Wei-Xi Zhou,Yu-Xiang Zheng,Hai-Bin Zhao,Liang-Yao Chen 한국물리학회 2011 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.58 No.42

A variety of numerical methods has been developed to demonstrate the nature of photons propagating in an artificially-composed periodic structure. Differences will be generated by different kinds of numerical approaches. In this work, we carry out two types of numerical calculations, TMM (transfer matrix method) and FDTD (finite different time domain) calculations. In terms of the 1D-photonic crystal structures with two different structures, we illustrate the energy band spectra, and the results show dispersive characteristics for the optical transmission and reflection of the crystal material. Through a discussion of the mechanism, detailed comparison studies are preformed based on the different physical conditions. The results given in the work will help in better understanding the ways in which photons propagate in an artificially-composed periodic structure.