High - Temperature Materials : EXPLORATION OF HOT - SALT STRESS - CORROSION OF Ti811 ALLOY

Zhao Yongqing,Zhu Kangying,Li Zuochen,Wu Qingzhi 대한금속재료학회 ( 구 대한금속학회 ) 1995 Advanced Material and Processing Vol.3 No.-

The RCAN1.4-calcineurin/NFAT signaling pathway is essential for hypoxic adaption of intervertebral discs

Huang Bao,He Yongqing,Li Shengwen,Wei Xiaoan,Liu Junhui,Shan Zhi,Huang Yue,Chen Jiang,Zhao Fengdong 생화학분자생물학회 2020 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.52 No.-

Calcipressin-1, also known as regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1), can specifically bind calcineurin at or near the calcineurin A catalytic domain and downregulate calcineurin activity. However, whether RCAN1 affects the hypoxic intervertebral disc (IVD) phenotype through the calcineurin/NFAT signaling pathway remains unclear. First, we confirmed the characteristics of the degenerative nucleus pulposus (NP) by H&E, safranin O/fast green and Alcian blue staining, and detected increased RCAN1 levels in the degenerative NP by immunohistochemistry. Then, we demonstrated that the protein level of RCAN1.4 was higher than that of RCAN1.1 and progressively elevated from the control group to the Pfirrmann grade V group. In vitro, both hypoxia (1% O2) and overexpression of HIF-1α reduced the protein level of RCAN1.4 in rat NP cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. We further found that miRNA-124, through a nondegradative pathway (without the proteasome or lysosome), suppressed the expression of RCAN1.4. As expected, calcineurin in NP cells was activated and primarily promoted nuclear translocation of NFATc1 under hypoxia or RCAN1.4 siRNA transfection. Furthermore, SOX9, type II collagen and MMP13 were elevated under hypoxia, RCAN1.4 siRNA transfection or NFATc1 overexpression. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and a luciferase reporter assay (with mutation), we clarified that NFATc1 increasingly bound the SOX9 promotor region (bp −367~−357). Interaction of HIF-1α and NFATc1 promoted MMP13 transcription. Finally, we found that FK506 reversed hypoxia-induced activation of the calcineurin/NFAT signaling pathway in NP cells and an ex vivo model. Together, these findings show that the RCAN1.4-calcineurin/ NFAT signaling pathway has a vital role in the hypoxic phenotype of NP cells. RCAN1.4 might be a therapeutic target for degenerative disc diseases.

A Novel Human BTB-kelch Protein KLHL31, Strongly Expressed in Muscle and Heart, Inhibits Transcriptional Activities of TRE and SRE

Weishi Yu,Yuequn Wang,Yongqing Li,Yun Deng,Zequn Wang,Wuzhou Yuan,Dali Li,Chuanbing Zhu,Xueying Zhao,Xiaoyang Mo,Wen Huang,Na Luo,Yan Yan,Karen Ocorr,Rolf Bodmer,Xiushan Wu 한국분자세포생물학회 2008 Molecules and cells Vol.26 No.5

The Bric-a-brac, Tramtrack, Broad-complex (BTB) domain is a protein-protein interaction domain that is found in many zinc finger transcription factors. BTB containing proteins play important roles in a variety of cellular functions including regulation of transcription, regulation of the cytoskeleton, protein ubiquitination, angiogenesis, and apoptosis. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of a novel human gene, KLHL31, from a human embryonic heart cDNA library. The cDNA of KLHL31 is 5743 bp long, encoding a protein product of 634 amino acids containing a BTB domain. The protein is highly conserved across different species. Western blot analysis indicates that the KLHL31 protein is abundantly expressed in both embryonic skeletal and heart tissue. In COS-7 cells, KLHL31 proteins are localized to both the nucleus and the cytoplasm. In primary cultures of nascent mouse cardiomyocytes, the majority of endogenous KLHL31 proteins are localized to the cytoplasm. KLHL31 acts as a transcription repressor when fused to GAL4 DNA-binding domain and deletion analysis indicates that the BTB domain is the main region responsible for this repression. Overexpression of KLHL31 in COS-7 cells inhibits the transcriptional activities of both the TPA-response element (TRE) and serum response element (SRE). KLHL31 also significantly reduces JNK activation leading to decreased phosphorylation and protein levels of the JNK target c-Jun in both COS-7 and Hela cells. These results suggest that KLHL31 protein may act as a new transcriptional repressor in MAPK/JNK signaling pathway to regulate cellular functions.

Performance of Homologous and Heterologous Prime-Boost Immunization Regimens of Recombinant Adenovirus and Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara Expressing an Ag85B-TB10.4 Fusion Protein against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

( Yiming Kou ),( Mingming Wan ),( Wei Shi ),( Jie Liu ),( Zhilei Zhao ),( Yongqing Xu ),( Wei Wei ),( Bo Sun ),( Feng Gao ),( Linjun Cai ),( Chunlai Jiang ) 한국미생물생명공학회(구 한국산업미생물학회) 2018 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.28 No.6

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a serious health issue around the word. Adenovirus (Ad)-based vaccine and modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA)-based vaccine have emerged as two of the most promising immunization candidates over the past few years. However, the performance of the homologous and heterologous prime-boost immunization regimens of these two viral vector-based vaccines remains unclear. In the present study, we constructed recombinant Ad and MVA expressing an Ag85B-TB10.4 fusion protein (AdH4 and MVAH4) and evaluated the impact of their different immunization regimens on the humoral and cellular immune responses. We found that the viral vector-based vaccines could generate significantly higher levels of antigen-specific antibodies, IFN-γ-producing splenocytes, CD69⁺CD8⁺ T cells, and IFN-γ secretion when compared with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) in a mouse model. AdH4-containing immunization regimens (AdH4-AdH4, AdH4-MVAH4, and MVAH4-AdH4) induced significantly stronger antibody responses, much more IFN-γ-producing splenocytes and CD69⁺CD8⁺ T cells, and higher levels of IFN-γ secretion when compared with the MVAH4-MVAH4 immunization regimen. The number of IFN-γ-producing splenocytes sensitive to CD8⁺ T-cell restricted peptides of Ag85B (9-1p and 9-2p) and Th1-related cytokines (IFN-γ and TNF-α) in the AdH4-MVAH4 heterologous prime-boost regimen immunization group was significantly higher than that in the other viral vector-based vaccine- and BCG-immunized groups, respectively. These results indicate that an immunization regimen involving AdH4 may have a higher capacity to induce humoral and cellular immune responses against TB in mice than that by regimens containing BCG or MVAH4 alone, and the AdH4-MVAH4 prime-boost regimen may generate an ideal protective effect.

Adaptive Approaches to Identify the Interface in Low Frequency Vibration-Assisted Drilling of CFRP/Ti6Al4V Stacks

Chaoren Yan,Yan Chen,Ning Qian,Nan Guo,Yongqing Wang,Haojun Yang,Biao Zhao 한국정밀공학회 2022 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.23 No.8

Low frequency vibration-assisted drilling (LFVAD) of CFRP/Ti stacks is a promising method of one-shot drilling to increase efficiency and extend tool life while adaptive approaches are applied to adjust the cutting parameters in each layer. Thus, the interfacial recognition method is significant to automatically change the cutting parameters. In this paper, two recognition methods are proposed based on the analysis of the features of cutting forces under the LFVAD process in both time and frequency domains. With the recorded thrust force signals at different wear stages, both the proposed methods identify the transition point when the drill bit starts to contact the Ti layer within allowable time delay. Compared with the traditional threshold method, the time domain method and the frequency domain method respectively increase the identifying speed by 19.8% and 46.7%, besides the reduction of implementation cost. In contrast, the time domain method reduces the programming and calculation time, while the frequency domain method improves the average recognition speed. Furthermore, an adaptive drilling system embedded with the established time-domain method is designed and the accuracy of the method is proved of 100% in a drilling test of all 20 CFRP/Ti stack holes. Moreover, the effect of the adaptive LFVAD process in improving tool wear and increasing machining efficiency is verified by reducing the force growth rate by 11.7% and time decrease of 37% in a hole-making cycle compared with the traditional LFVAD process.

Transcriptome and proteome analysis of pregnancy and postpartum anoestrus ovaries in yak

Zhou Chen,Jine Wang,Junyuan Ma,Shuyuan Li,Shengdong Huo,Yanmei Yang,Yingpai Zhaxi,Yongqing Zhao,Derong Zhang 대한수의학회 2022 Journal of Veterinary Science Vol.23 No.1

Background: Domestic yaks are the most important livestock species on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Adult female yaks normally breed in the warm season (July to September) and enter anestrous in the cold season (November to April). Nevertheless, it is unclear how ovarian activity is regulated at the molecular level. Objectives: The peculiarities of yak reproduction were assessed to explore the molecular mechanism of postpartum anestrus ovaries in yaks after pregnancy and parturition. Methods: Sixty female yaks with calves were observed under natural grazing in Haiyan County, Qinghai Province. Three yak ovaries in pregnancy and postpartum anestrus were collected. RNA sequencing and quantitative proteomics were employed to analyze the pregnancy and postpartum ovaries after hypothermia to identify the genes and proteins related to the postpartum ovarian cycle. Results: The results revealed 841 differentially expressed genes during the postpartum hypoestrus cycle; 347 were up-regulated and 494 genes were down-regulated. Fifty-seven differential proteins were screened: 38 were up-regulated and 19 were down-regulated. The differential genes and proteins were related to the yak reproduction process, rhythm process, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway categories. Conclusions: Transcriptome and proteomic sequencing approaches were used to investigate postpartum anestrus and pregnancy ovaries in yaks. The results confirmed that BHLHE40, SF1IX1, FBPX1, HSPCA, LHCGR, BMP15, and ET-1R could affect postpartum hypoestrus and control the state of estrus.