A Novel Selenium- and Copper-Containing Peptide with Both Superoxide Dismutase and Glutathione Peroxidase Activities

Xian Feng Zou,Yue Tong Ji,Gui Gao,Xue Jun Zhu,Shao Wu Lv,Fei Yan,Si Ping Han,Xing Chen,Chang Cheng Gao,Jun Qiu Liu,Gui Min Luo 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2010 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.20 No.1

Isolation and identification of a canine coronavirus strain from giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Feng-Shan Gao,Xian-zhu Xia,Yu-Wei Gao,Ya-Duo Bai,Xiao-Huan Zou,Gui-Xue Hu 대한수의학회 2009 Journal of Veterinary Science Vol.10 No.3

Two giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) died of unknown causes in a Chinese zoo. The clinical disease profile suggested that the pandas may have suffered a viral infection. Therefore, a series of detection including virus isolation, electron microscopy, cytobiological assay, serum neutralization and RT-PCR were used to identify the virus. It was determined that the isolated virus was a canine coronavirus (CCV), on the basis of coronavirus, neutralization by canine anti-CCV serum, and 84.3% to 100% amino acid sequence similarity with CCV. The results suggest that the affected pandas had been infected with CCV.

Effects of a traditional Chinese medicine formula and its extraction on muscle fiber characteristics in finishing pigs, porcine cell proliferation and isoforms of myosin heavy chain gene expression in myocytes

Yu, Qin Ping,Feng, Ding Yuan,He, Xiao Jun,Wu, Fan,Xia, Min Hao,Dong, Tao,Liu, Yi Hua,Tan, Hui Ze,Zou, Shi Geng,Zheng, Tao,Ou, Xian Hua,Zuo, Jian Jun Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2017 Animal Bioscience Vol.30 No.11

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of a traditional Chinese medicine formula (TCMF) on muscle fiber characteristics in finishing pigs and the effects of the formula's extract (distilled water, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether extraction) on porcine cell proliferation and isoforms of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) gene expression in myocytes. Methods: In a completely randomized design, ninety pigs were assigned to three diets with five replications per treatment and six pigs per pen. The diets included the basal diet (control group), TCMF1 (basal diet+2.5 g/kg TCMF) and TCMF2 (basal diet+5 g/kg TCMF). The psoas major muscle was obtained from pigs at the end of the experiment. Muscle fiber characteristics in the psoas major muscle were analyzed using myosin ATPase staining. Cell proliferation was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) dye and cytometry. Isoforms of MyHC gene expression were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: The final body weight and carcass weight of finishing pigs were increased by TCMF1 (p<0.05), while the psoas major muscle cross-sectional area was increased by TCMF (p<0.05). The cross-sectional area and diameter of psoas major muscle fiber Ι, IIA, and IIB were increased by TCMF2 (p<0.05). The cross-sectional area and fiber diameter of psoas major muscle fiber IIA and IIB were increased by diet supplementation with TCMF1 (p<0.05). Psoas major muscle fiber IIA and IIB fiber density from the pigs fed the TCMF1 diet and the type IIB fiber density from the pigs fed the TCMF2 diet were lower compared to pigs fed the control diet (p<0.05). Pigs fed TCMF2 had a higher composition of type Ι fiber and a lower percentage of type IIB fiber in the psoas major muscle (p<0.05). The expression levels of MyHC Ι, MyHC IIa, and MyHC IIx mRNA increased and the amount of MyHC IIb mRNA decreased in the psoas major muscle from TCMF2, whereas MyHC Ι and MyHC IIx mRNA increased in the psoas major muscle from TCMF1 (p<0.05). Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ $coactivator-1{\alpha}$ and CaN mRNA expression in the psoas major muscle were up-regulated by TCMF (p<0.05). Porcine skeletal muscle satellite cell proliferation was promoted by $4{\mu}g/mL$ and $20{\mu}g/mL$ TCMF water extraction (p<0.05). Both $1{\mu}g/mL$ and $5{\mu}g/mL$ of TCMF water extraction increased MyHC IIa, MyHC IIb, and MyHC IIx mRNA expression in porcine myocytes (p<0.05), while MyHC Ι mRNA expression in porcine myocytes was decreased by $5{\mu}g/mL$ TCMF water extraction (p<0.05). Porcine myocyte MyHC Ι and MyHC IIx mRNA expression were increased, and MyHC IIa and MyHC IIb mRNA expression were down-regulated by $5{\mu}g/mL$ TCMF ethyl acetate extraction (p<0.05). MyHC Ι and MyHC IIa mRNA expression in porcine myocytes were increased, and the MyHC IIb mRNA expression was decreased by $1{\mu}g/mL$ TCMF ethyl acetate extraction (p<0.05). Four isoforms of MyHC mRNA expression in porcine myocytes were reduced by $5{\mu}g/mL$ TCMF petroleum ether extraction (p<0.05). MyHC IIa mRNA expression in porcine myocytes increased and MyHC IIb mRNA expression decreased by $1{\mu}g/mL$ in a TCMF petroleum ether extraction (p<0.05). Conclusion: These results indicated that TCMF amplified the psoas major muscle cross-sectional area through changing muscle fiber characteristics in finishing pigs. This effect was confirmed as TCMF extraction promoted porcine cell proliferation and affected isoforms of MyHC gene expression in myocytes.

Studies on meat color, myoglobin content, enzyme activities, and genes associated with oxidative potential of pigs slaughtered at different growth stages

Qin Ping Yu,Ding Yuan Feng,Juan Xiao,Fan Wu,Xiao Jun He,Min Hao Xia,Tao Dong,Yi Hua Liu,Hui Ze Tan,Shi Geng Zou,Tao Zheng,Xian Hua Ou,Jian Jun Zuo 아세아·태평양축산학회 2017 Animal Bioscience Vol.30 No.12

Objective: This experiment investigated meat color, myoglobin content, enzyme activities, and expression of genes associated with oxidative potential of pigs slaughtered at different growth stages. Methods: Sixty 4-week-old Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire pigs were assigned to 6 replicate groups, each containing 10 pigs. One pig from each group was sacrificed at day 35, 63, 98, and 161 to isolate longissimus dorsi and triceps muscles. Results: Meat color scores were higher in pigs at 35 d than those at 63 d and 98 d (p<0.05), and those at 98 d were lower than those at 161 d (p<0.05). The total myoglobin was higher on 161 d compared with those at 63 d and 98 d (p<0.05). Increase in the proportions of metmyoglobin and deoxymyoglobin and a decrease in oxymyoglobin were observed between days 35 and 161 (p<0.05). Meat color scores were correlated to the proportion of oxymyoglobin (r = 0.59, p<0.01), and negatively correlated with deoxymyoglobin and metmyoglobin content (r = –0.48 and –0.62, p<0.05). Malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activity at 35 d and 98 d was higher than that at 161 d (p<0.05). The highest lactate dehydrogenase/MDH ratio was achieved at 161 d (p<0.05). Calcineurin mRNA expression decreased at 35 d compared to that at 63 d and 98 d (p<0.05). Myocyte enhancer factor 2 mRNA results indicated a higher expression at 161 d than that at 63 d and 98 d (p<0.05). Conclusion: Porcine meat color, myoglobin content, enzyme activities, and genes associated with oxidative potential varied at different stages.

Curcumin Induces Apoptosis in SGC-7901 Gastric Adenocarcinoma Cells via Regulation of Mitochondrial Signaling Pathways

Xue, Xia,Yu, Jin-Long,Sun, De-Qing,Kong, Feng,Qu, Xian-Jun,Zou, Wen,Wu, Jing,Wang, Rong-Mei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.9

Curcumin, a polyphenol compound derived from the rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa L. has been verified as an anticancer compound against several types of cancer. However, understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which it induces apoptosis is limited. In this study, the anticancer efficacy of curcumin was investigated in human gastric adenocarcinoma SGC-7901 cells. The results demonstrated that curcumin induced morphological changes and decreased cell viability. Apoptosis triggered by curcumin was visualized using Annexin V-FITC/7-AAD staining. Curcumin-induced apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells was associated with the dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol. Furthermore, the down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax that led to the cleavage of caspase-3 and increased cleaved PARP was observed in SGC-7901 cells treated with curcumin. Therefore, curcumin-induced apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells might be mediated through the mitochondria pathway, which gives the rationale for in vivo studies on the utilization of curcumin as a potential cancer therapeutic compound.

Improving the Microbial Production of Amino Acids: From Conventional Approaches to Recent Trends

Guoqing Zhang,Xueni Ren,Xiuhong Liang,Yaqun Wang,Dexin Feng,Yujun Zhang,Mo Xian,Huibin Zou 한국생물공학회 2021 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.26 No.5

Variable industrial strains have been applied in the fermentation of bulk amino acids. Strain discovery and evolution, process optimization are traditional approaches to improve the yield and efficiency of the bio-production process, hence to compete with chemical or enzymatic process in amino acids production. With the fast development of bioengineering and synthetic biology, the strains can be rationally engineered to achieve better performance and gain the capacity in the fermentation of broader range of amino acids, especially for value-added amino acids. This proposed review aims to summarize traditional and recent strains in the microbial production of amino acids, characterize their metabolic pathways and present potential objectives for rational evolution. In addition, this proposed review prospect the recent opportunities and challenges in the microbial production of value-added amino acids (rare amino acids, non-canonical amino acids, and unnatural amino acids).

MRI Findings of Primary CNS Lymphoma in 26 Immunocompetent Patients

Dong Zhang,Liang-Bo Hu,Tobias D Henning,Elisabeth M Ravarani,Li-Guang Zou,Xiao-Yuan Feng,Wen-Xian Wang,Li Wen 대한영상의학회 2010 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.11 No.3

Objective: To record the MR imaging features of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) and compare these features in monofocal and multifocal disease. Materials and Methods: Twenty-one cases of monofocal disease were compared to five cases of multifocal disease. All patients were examined by nonenhanced and contrast-enhanced MRI. Tumor location, tumor size, signal intensity, enhancement characteristics, age distribution, peritumoral edema, cystic changes, and the presence of calcifications were assessed. The MRI features were compared between the monofocal and multifocal disease cases. Results: The 26 cases, including both the monofocal and multifocal cases, exhibited 37 lesions. Contrast-enhanced images showed variable enhancement patterns: homogeneous enhancement (33 lesions), ring-like enhancement (2), and ‘open-ring-like’ enhancement (2). The ‘notch sign’ was noted in four of 33 homogeneously enhancing lesions. One case of hemorrhage and three cases of cystic formation were observed. Intra-tumoral calcification was not found. The frontal lobe, the corpus callosum and the basal ganglia were commonly affected in both the monofocal and multifocal groups. Tumor size differed significantly between the two groups (t = 3.129, p < 0.01) and mildly or moderately enhanced lesions were more frequently found in the monofocal group (p < 0.05). There was no statistical difference between perifocal edema (p > 0.05) and the signal characteristics (p > 0.05) between the two groups. Conclusion: Our data show that PCNSL has a variable enhancement pattern on MR images. We first reported two lesions with an ‘open-ring’ enhancement as well as four cases with a ‘notch sign’. Monofocal PCNSL cases typically have larger sized tumors with mild or moderate enhancement. Objective: To record the MR imaging features of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) and compare these features in monofocal and multifocal disease. Materials and Methods: Twenty-one cases of monofocal disease were compared to five cases of multifocal disease. All patients were examined by nonenhanced and contrast-enhanced MRI. Tumor location, tumor size, signal intensity, enhancement characteristics, age distribution, peritumoral edema, cystic changes, and the presence of calcifications were assessed. The MRI features were compared between the monofocal and multifocal disease cases. Results: The 26 cases, including both the monofocal and multifocal cases, exhibited 37 lesions. Contrast-enhanced images showed variable enhancement patterns: homogeneous enhancement (33 lesions), ring-like enhancement (2), and ‘open-ring-like’ enhancement (2). The ‘notch sign’ was noted in four of 33 homogeneously enhancing lesions. One case of hemorrhage and three cases of cystic formation were observed. Intra-tumoral calcification was not found. The frontal lobe, the corpus callosum and the basal ganglia were commonly affected in both the monofocal and multifocal groups. Tumor size differed significantly between the two groups (t = 3.129, p < 0.01) and mildly or moderately enhanced lesions were more frequently found in the monofocal group (p < 0.05). There was no statistical difference between perifocal edema (p > 0.05) and the signal characteristics (p > 0.05) between the two groups. Conclusion: Our data show that PCNSL has a variable enhancement pattern on MR images. We first reported two lesions with an ‘open-ring’ enhancement as well as four cases with a ‘notch sign’. Monofocal PCNSL cases typically have larger sized tumors with mild or moderate enhancement.