Identification of a Methyltransferase Encoded by Gene ste16 and Its Function in Ebosin Biosynthesis of Streptomyces sp. 139

Hong-Guan Xie,Yong-Gang Bao,Li-ping Bai,Jun-Jie Shan,Rong Jiang,Yang Zhang,Lian-Hong Guo,Ren Zhang,Yuan Li 한국미생물학회 2009 The journal of microbiology Vol.47 No.2

Streptomyces sp. 139 generates a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS) designated as Ebosin, which exerts an antagonistic effect on IL-1R in vitro and anti-rheumatic arthritis activity in vivo. A ste gene cluster for Ebosin biosynthesis consisting of 27 ORFs was previously identified in our laboratory. In this paper, ste16 was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and the recombinant protein was purified, which has the ability to catalyze the transfer of the methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) to dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucos, which was thus identified as a methyltransferase. In order to determine the function of ste16 in Ebosin biosynthesis, the gene was disrupted with a double crossover via homologous recombination. The monosaccharide composition of EPS-m generated by the mutant strain Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste16-) was found to differ from that of Ebosin. The IL-1R antagonist activity of EPS-m was markedly lower than that of Ebosin. These experimental results have shown that the ste16 gene codes for a methyltransferase which is involved in Ebosin biosynthesis.

Ginsenoside Re Increases Fertile and Asthenozoospermic Infertile Human Sperm Motility by Induction of Nitric Oxide Synthase

Hong Zhang,Qing-Ming Zhou,Xiao-Da Li,Yi Xie,Xin Duan,Feng-Ling Min,Bing Liu,Zhi-Gang Yuan 대한약학회 2006 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.29 No.2

We investigated the effects of Ginsenoside Re on human sperm motility in fertile and asthenozoospermic infertile individuals in vitro and the mechanism by which the Ginsenosides play their roles. The semen samples were obtained from 10 fertile volunteers and 10 asthenozoospermic infertile patients. Spermatozoa were separated by Percoll and incubated with 0, 1, 10 or 100 µM of Ginsenoside Re. Total sperm motility and progressive motility were measured by computer-aided sperm analyzer (CASA). Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity was determined by the 3H-arginine to 3H-citrulline conversion assay, and the NOS protein was examined by the Western blot analysis. The production of sperm nitric oxide (NO) was detected using the Griess reaction. The results showed that Ginsenoside Re significantly enhanced both fertile and infertile sperm motility, NOS activity and NO production in a concentration-dependent manner. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 100 nM), a NO donor, mimicked the effects of Ginsenoside Re. And pretreatment with a NOS inhibitor Nω-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 100 µM) or a NO scavenger N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (LNAC, 1 mM) completely blocked the effects of Ginsenoside Re. Data suggested that Ginsenoside Re is beneficial to sperm motility, and that induction of NOS to increase NO production may be involved in this benefit.

PARTICULATE MATTER AND PARTICLE-BOUND PAHS EMISSIONS FROM GASOLINE DIRECT INJECTION (GDI) ENGINE WITH METHANOL-GASOLINE BLENDED FUEL DURING START

Wei Hong,Chao Yuan,Fangxi Xie,Yan Su,Jing Chen 한국자동차공학회 2018 International journal of automotive technology Vol.19 No.4

The effects of coolant’s temperature on emissions of particulate matters (PM) and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine were studied during the start process using gasoline (M0) and gasoline mixed with methanol in 15 % volume (M15). The engine worked at a certain idle speed automatically under different coolant’s temperature conditions after successful start. The experimental data was recorded from 0 to 40 seconds during the start. Results indicated that, there are significant differences in PM and particle-bound PAHs emissions between cold and warm start conditions. Particulate size distribution was measured with the Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer (EEPS) 3090. Compared with M0 fuel, the PM emission of M15 fuel decreased significantly, especially nucleation-mode particulate emission. The mass emission of PM was measured using the Gravimetric method. A same variation trend in PM mass emissions can be inferred for both fuels, i.e. it decreases while the coolant’s temperature increases. Compared with M0 fuel, the PM mass with M15 fuel reduces by 80 % at 20 oC coolant’s temperature. Agilent 7000B GC-QQQ was used to provide both qualitative and quantitative analysis on PAHs. The application of M15 fuel reduces the concentrations of most PAH species compared with M0 fuel, except those with smaller aromatic rings. In addition, Benzo(a)pyrene equivalent toxicity (BEQ) is calculated to evaluate the toxicity of PAHs emissions. The toxicity decreases when the GDI engine starts with higher coolant’s temperature or with M15 fuel.

Ginsenoside $R_e$ Increases Fertile and Asthenozoospermic Infertile Human Sperm Motility by Induction of Nitric Oxide Synthase

Zhang Hong,Zhou Qing-Ming,Li Xiao-Da,Xie Yi,Duan Xin,Min Feng-Ling,Liu Bing,Yuan Zhi-Gang The Pharmaceutical Society of Korea 2006 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.29 No.2

We investigated the effects of Ginsenoside $R_e$ on human sperm motility in fertile and asthenozoospermic infertile individuals in vitro and the mechanism by which the Ginsenosides play their roles. The semen samples were obtained from 10 fertile volunteers and 10 asthenozoospermic infertile patients. Spermatozoa were separated by Percoll and incubated with 0, 1, 10 or $100\;{\mu}M$ of Ginsenoside $R_e$. Total sperm motility and progressive motility were measured by computer-aided sperm analyzer (CASA). Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity was determined by the $^{3}H$-arginine to $^{3}H$-citrulline conversion assay, and the NOS protein was examined by the Western blot analysis. The production of sperm nitric oxide (NO) was detected using the Griess reaction. The results showed that Ginsenoside $R_e$ significantly enhanced both fertile and infertile sperm motility, NOS activity and NO production in a concentration-dependent manner. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 100 nM), a NO donor, mimicked the effects of Ginsenoside $R_e$. And pretreatment with a NOS inhibitor $N^{w}$-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, $100\;{\mu}M$) or a NO scavenger N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (LNAC, 1 mM) completely blocked the effects of Ginsenoside $R_e$. Data suggested that Ginsenoside $R_e$ is beneficial to sperm motility, and that induction of NOS to increase NO production may be involved in this benefit.

DAX-1 acts as a novel corepressor of orphan nuclear receptor HNF4alpha and negatively regulates gluconeogenic enzyme gene expression.

Nedumaran, Balachandar,Hong, Sungpyo,Xie, Yuan-Bin,Kim, Yong-Hoon,Seo, Woo-Young,Lee, Min-Woo,Lee, Chul Ho,Koo, Seung-Hoi,Choi, Hueng-Sik American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Bi 2009 The Journal of biological chemistry Vol.284 No.40

<P>DAX-1 (dosage-sensitive sex reversal adrenal hypoplasia congenital critical region on X chromosome, gene 1) is an atypical member of the nuclear receptor family and acts as a corepressor of a number of nuclear receptors. HNF4alpha (hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha) is a liver-enriched transcription factor that controls the expression of a variety of genes involved in cholesterol, fatty acid, and glucose metabolism. Here we show that DAX-1 inhibits transcriptional activity of HNF4alpha and modulates hepatic gluconeogenic gene expression. Hepatic DAX-1 expression is increased by insulin and SIK1 (salt-inducible kinase 1), whereas it is decreased in high fat diet-fed and diabetic mice. Coimmunoprecipitation assay from mouse liver samples depicts that endogenous DAX-1 interacts with HNF4alpha in vivo. In vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation assay affirms that the recruitment of DAX-1 on the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene promoter is inversely correlated with the recruitment of PGC-1alpha and HNF4alpha under fasting and refeeding, showing that DAX-1 could compete with the coactivator PGC-1alpha for binding to HNF4alpha. Adenovirus-mediated expression of DAX-1 decreased both HNF4alpha- and forskolin-mediated gluconeogenic gene expressions. In addition, knockdown of DAX-1 partially reverses the insulin-mediated inhibition of gluconeogenic gene expression in primary hepatocytes. Finally, DAX-1 inhibits PEPCK and glucose-6-phosphatase gene expression and significantly lowers fasting blood glucose level in high fat diet-fed mice, suggesting that DAX-1 can modulate hepatic gluconeogenesis in vivo. Overall, this study demonstrates that DAX-1 acts as a corepressor of HNF4alpha to negatively regulate hepatic gluconeogenic gene expression in liver.</P>

Lane-Change Collision Avoidance Control for Automated Vehicles with Control Barrier Functions

Ding Yang,Zhong Hong,Qian Yahui,Wang Liangmo,Xie Yuan 한국자동차공학회 2023 International journal of automotive technology Vol.24 No.3

In congested street or highway scenarios, such as lane-change in dynamically changing traffic flow situations, the planning and tracking of trajectories for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) represent some of the most challenging tasks. As an introduction to automated lane-change in CAVs, this paper presents a control Lyapunov function (CLF) approach that follows an optimal desired trajectory while observing the constraints imposed by the control barrier function (CBF) in order to avoid collision with surrounding vehicles. By combining CLF and CBF within the framework of quadratic programs (QP), it allows the implementation to simultaneously track the control objective (represented by the CLF) and satisfy the constraints of the desired state of the system (represented by the CBF). Therefore, it provides the possibility of tracking simultaneously the path of the unmanned vehicle, within the constraints of the surrounding vehicles as well as the surrounding environment. From simulations and comparison results, the controller presented here can perform collision avoidance well and can be used on a real traffic system, which has the advantage of providing faster and more precise lane-change results than another work.

New Dioscin-Glycosidase Hydrolyzing Multi-Glycosides of Dioscin from Absidia Strain

( Yao Yao Fu ),( Hong Shan Yu ),( Si Hui Tang ),( Xiang Chun Hu ),( Yuan Hao Wang ),( Bing Liu ),( Chen Xu Yu ),( Feng Xie Jin ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2010 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.20 No.6

Meta-analysis of Outcomes Compared between Robotic and Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer

Liao, Gui-Xiang,Xie, Guo-Zhu,Li, Rong,Zhao, Zhi-Hong,Sun, Quan-Quan,Du, Sha-Sha,Ren, Chen,Li, Guo-Xing,Deng, Hai-Jun,Yuan, Ya-Wei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.8

This meta-analysis was performed to evaluate and compare the outcomes of robotic gastrectomy (RG) and laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) for treating gastric cancer. A systematic literature search was carried out using the PubMed database, Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library database to obtain comparative studies assessing the safety and efficiency between RG and LG in May, 2013. Data of interest were analyzed by using of Review Manager version 5.2 software (Cochrane Collaboration). A fixed effects model or random effects model was applied according to heterogeneity. Seven papers reporting results that compared robotic gastrectomy with laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer were selected for this meta-analysis. Our metaanalysis included 2,235 patients with gastric cancer, of which 1,473 had undergone laparoscopic gastrectomy, and 762 had received robotic gastrectomy. Compared with laparoscopic gastrectomy, robotic gastrectomy was associated with longer operative time but less blood loss. There were no significant difference in terms of hospital stay, total postoperative complication rate, proximal margin, distal margin, numbers of harvested lymph nodes and mortality rate between robotic gastrectomy and laparoscopic gastrectomy. Our meta-analysis showed that robotic gastrectomy is a safe technique for treating gastric cancer that compares favorably with laparoscopic gastrectomy in short term outcomes. However, the long term outcomes between the two techniques need to be further examined.

siRNA-Mediated Suppression of Synuclein γ Inhibits MDA-MB-231 Cell Migration and Proliferation by Downregulating the Phosphorylation of AKT and ERK

Jingsong He,Ni Xie,Jianbo Yang,Hong Guan,Weicai Chen,Huisheng Wu,Zishan Yuan,Kun Wang,Guojin Li,Jie Sun,Limin Yu 한국유방암학회 2014 Journal of breast cancer Vol.17 No.3

Purpose: Synuclein-γ (SNCG), which was initially identified asbreast cancer specific gene 1, is highly expressed in advancedbreast cancers, but not in normal or benign breast tissue. Thisstudy aimed to evaluate the effects of SNCG siRNA-treatmenton breast cancer cells and elucidate the associated mechanisms. Methods: Vectors containing SNCG and negative control(NC) siRNAs were transfected into MDA-MB-231 cells; mRNAlevels were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cell proliferation was evaluated using the MTT assay, cell migrationwas assessed by the Transwell assay, apoptosis and cellcycle analyses were conducted with the flow cytometer, andWestern blot analysis was performed to determine the relativelevels of AKT, ERK, p-AKT, and p-ERK expression. Results:SNCG mRNA levels were significantly reduced in MDA-MB-231cells transfected with SNCG siRNA. Our results indicate that inSNCG siRNA-treated cells, cell migration and proliferation decreasedsignificantly, apoptosis was induced, and the cell cyclewas arrested. Western blot analysis indicated that the proteinlevels of p-AKT and p-ERK were much lower in the SNCG siRNA-treated groups, than in the control and NC groups. Conclusion:SNCG siRNA could decrease the migration and proliferationof breast cancer cells by downregulating the phosphorylationof AKT and ERK.

Elevated FBXL6 expression in hepatocytes activates VRK2-transketolase-ROS-mTOR-mediated immune evasion and liver cancer metastasis in mice

Zhang Jie,Lin Xiao-Tong,Yu Hong-Qiang,Fang Lei,Wu Di,Luo Yuan-Deng,Zhang Yu-Jun,Xie Chuan-Ming 생화학분자생물학회 2023 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.55 No.-

Metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most lethal malignancy and lacks effective treatment. FBXL6 is overexpressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but whether this change drives liver tumorigenesis and lung metastasis in vivo remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to identify FBXL6 (F-Box and Leucine Rich Repeat Protein 6) as a key driver of HCC metastasis and to provide a new paradigm for HCC therapy. We found that elevated FBXL6 expression in hepatocytes drove HCC lung metastasis and was a much stronger driver than Kras mutation (KrasG12D/+;Alb-Cre), p53 haploinsufficiency (p53+/-) or Tsc1 loss (Tsc1fl/fl;Alb-Cre). Mechanistically, VRK2 promoted Thr287 phosphorylation of TKT and then recruited FBXL6 to promote TKT ubiquitination and activation. Activated TKT further increased PD-L1 and VRK2 expression via the ROS-mTOR axis, leading to immune evasion and HCC metastasis. Targeting or knockdown of TKT significantly blocked FBXL6-driven immune evasion and HCC metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Notably, the level of active TKT (p-Thr287 TKT) was increased and was positively correlated with the FBXL6 and VRK2 expression levels in HCC patients. Our work provides novel mechanistic insights into FBXL6-driven HCC metastasis and suggests that targeting the TKT-ROS-mTOR-PD-L1/VRK2 axis is a new paradigm for treating patients with metastatic HCC with high FBXL6 expression.