Catabolite Control Protein A of Streptococcus suis Type 2 Contributes to Sugar Metabolism and Virulence

Yulong Tang,Wei Wu,Xiaoyan Zhang,Zhongyan Lu,Jianshun Chen,Weihuan Fang 한국미생물학회 2012 The journal of microbiology Vol.50 No.6

Catabolite control protein A (CcpA) is the major transcriptional regulator in carbon catabolite repression in several Gram-positive bacteria. We attempted to characterize the role of a CcpA homologue of Streptococcus suis type 2 in sugar metabolism and virulence. Addition of glucose or sucrose to the defined medium significantly reduced the activity of raffinose-inducible α-galactosidase, cellobiose-inducible β-glucosidase, and maltose-inducible α-glucosidase of the wildtype strain by about 9, 4, and 2-3 fold, respectively. Deletion of ccpA substantially derepressed the effects of repressing sugars on α-galactosidase or β-glucosidase activity. The ccpA deletion mutant showed reduced expression of virulence genes sly and eno (P<0.05), decreased adhesion to and invasion into endothelial cells (P<0.05), and attenuated virulence to mice with significant reduction of death rate and bacterial burden in organs, as compared to the wild-type strain. Both the in vitro and in vivo defect phenotypes were reversible by ccpA complementation. Thus, this study shows that CcpA of S. suis type 2 plays an important role in carbon catabolite repression and virulence.

Environment-dependent Broadband Perfect Absorption of Metal-insulator-metal Metamaterial Systems

Feng Li,Yulong Tang,Qingsong Peng,Guosheng Hu 한국광학회 2023 Current Optics and Photonics Vol.7 No.2

Based on calculations using the macroscopic Maxwell’s equations with mesoscopic boundary conditions, light absorption by a layered metal-insulator-metal (MIM) metamaterial system embedded in three different environments is investigated. Increasing the top metal thickness shifts the broad absorption band to lower dielectric-constant regions and longer wavelengths, for either TM or TE waves. Boosting the dielectric-layer thickness redshifts the broadband absorption to regions of larger dielectric constant. In air, for the dielectric-constant range of 0.86–3.40, the absorption of the system exceeds 98% across680–1,033 nm. In seawater with optimized dielectric constant, ≥94% light absorption over 400–1,200nm can be achieved; particularly in the wavelength range of 480–960 nm and dielectric-constant range of 0.82–3.50, the absorption is greater than 98%. In an environment with even higher refractive index(1.74), ≥98% light absorption over 400–1,200 nm can be achieved, giving better performance. Theinfluence of angle of incidence on light absorption of the MIM system is also analyzed, and the angle tolerance for ≥90% broadband absorption of a TM wave is up to 40° in an environment with large re-fractive index. While the incident-angle dependence of the absorption of a TE wave is nearly the same for different circumstances, the situation is different for a TM wave.

Hair Growth Promoting Effects of 650 nm Red Light Stimulation on Human Hair Follicles and Study of Its Mechanisms via RNA Sequencing Transcriptome Analysis

( Kai Yang ),( Yulong Tang ),( Yanyun Ma ),( Qingmei Liu ),( Yan Huang ),( Yuting Zhang ),( Xiangguang Shi ),( Li Zhang ),( Yue Zhang ),( Ji’an Wang ),( Yifei Zhu ),( Wei Liu ),( Yimei Tan ),( Jinran 대한피부과학회 2021 Annals of Dermatology Vol.33 No.6

Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) leads to thinning of scalp hair and affects 60%~70% of the adult population worldwide. Developing more effective treatments and studying its mechanism are of great significance. Previous clinical studies have revealed that hair growth is stimulated by 650-nm red light. Objective: This study aimed to explore the effect and mechanism of 650-nm red light on the treatment of AGA by using ex vivo hair follicle culture. Methods: Human hair follicles were obtained from hair transplant patients with AGA. Hair follicles were cultured in Williams E medium and treated with or without 650-nm red light. Real-time RT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining were used to detect the expression level of genes and proteins in hair follicles, respectively. RNA-sequencing analysis was carried out to reveal the distinct gene signatures upon 650 nm treatment. Results: Low-level 650 nm red light promoted the proliferation of human hair follicles in the experimental cultured-tissue model. Consistently, 650 nm red light significantly delayed the transition of hair cycle from anagen to catagen in vitro. RNA-seq analysis and gene clustering for the differentially expressed genes suggests that leukocyte transendothelial migration, metabolism, adherens junction and other biological process maybe involved in stimulation of hair follicles by 650-nm red light treatment. Conclusion: The effect of 650-nm red light on ex vivo hair follicles and the transcriptome set which implicates the role of red light in promoting hair growth and reversing of miniaturization process of AGA were identified.

Rh-doped carbon nanotubes as a superior media for the adsorption of O2 and O3 molecules: a density functional theory study

Hao Cui,Xiaoxing Zhang,Qiang Yao,Yulong Miao,Ju Tang 한국탄소학회 2018 Carbon Letters Vol.28 No.-

Transition-metal-embedded carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been accepted as a novel type of sensing material due to the combined advantage of the transition metal, which possesses good catalytic behavior for gas interaction, and CNTs, with large effective surface areas that present good adsorption ability towards gas molecules. In this work, we simulate the adsorption of O2 and O3 onto Rh-doped CNT in an effort to understand the adsorbing behavior of such a surface. Results indicate that the proposed material presents good adsorbing ability and capacities for these two gases, especially O3 molecules, as a result of the relatively large conductivity changes. The frontier molecular orbital theory reveals that the conductivity of Rh-CNT would undergo a decrease after the adsorption of two such oxidizing gases due to the lower electron activity and density of this media. Our calculations are meaningful as they can supply experimentalists with potential sensing material prospects with which to exploit chemical sensors.

300-W-class Side-pumped Solar Laser

Hongfei Qi,Lanling Lan,Yan Liu,Pengfei Xiang,Yulong Tang 한국광학회 2022 Current Optics and Photonics Vol.6 No.6

To realize uniform side pumping of solar lasers and improve their output power, a solar concentrating system based on off-axis parabolic mirrors is proposed. Four identical off-axis parabolic mirrors with focal length of 1,000 mm are toroidally arranged as the primary concentrator. Four two-dimensional compound parabolic concentrators (2D-CPCs) are designed as a secondary concentrator to further compress the focused spot induced by the parabolic mirrors, and the focused light is then homogenized by four rectangular diffusers and provides uniform pumping for a laser-crystal rod to achieve solar laser emission. Simulation results show that the solar power received by the laser rod, uniformity of the light spot, and output power of the solar laser are 7,872.7 W, 98%, and 351.8 W respectively. This uniform pumping configuration and concentrator design thus provide a new means for developing high-power side-pumped solid-state solar lasers.

Thioredoxin A of Streptococcus suis Serotype 2 Contributes to Virulence by Inhibiting the Expression of Pentraxin 3 to Promote Survival Within Macrophages

Zhao Chijun,Jia Xinglin,Pan Yanying,Liao Simeng,Zhang Shuo,Ji Chunxiao,Kuang Guangwei,Wu Xin,Liu Quan,Tang Yulong,Fang Lihua 한국미생물학회 2023 The journal of microbiology Vol.61 No.4

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (SS2) is an important zoonotic pathogen that can infect humans in contact with infected pigs or their byproducts. It can employ different types of genes to defend against oxidative stress and ensure its survival. The thioredoxin (Trx) system is a key antioxidant system that contributes adversity adaptation and pathogenicity. SS2 has been shown to encode putative thioredoxin genes, but the biological roles, coding sequence, and underlying mechanisms remains uncharacterized. Here, we demonstrated that SSU05_0237-ORF, from a clinical SS2 strain, ZJ081101, encodes a protein of 104 amino acids with a canonical CGPC active motif and an identity 70–85% similar to the thioredoxin A (TrxA) in other microorganisms. Recombinant TrxA efficiently catalyzed the thiol-disulfide oxidoreduction of insulin. The deletion of TrxA led to a significantly slow growth and markedly compromised tolerance of the pathogen to temperature stress, as well as impaired adhesion ability to pig intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2). However, it was not involved in H2O2 and paraquat-induced oxidative stress. Compared with the wild-type strain, the ΔTrxA strain was more susceptible to killing by macrophages through increasing NO production. Treatment with TrxA mutant strain also significantly attenuated cytotoxic effects on RAW 264.7 cells by inhibiting inflammatory response and apoptosis. Knockdown of pentraxin 3 in RAW 264.7 cells was more vulnerable to phagocytic activity, and TrxA promoted SS2 survival in phagocytic cells depending on pentraxin 3 activity compared with the wild-type strain. Moreover, a co-inoculation experiment in mice revealed that TrxA mutant strain is far more easily cleared from the body than the wild type strain in the period from 8–24 h, and exhibits significantly attenuated oxidative stress and liver injury. In summary, we reveal the important role of TrxA in the pathogenesis of SS2.