Impact of a Glyphosate-Tolerant Soybean Line on the Rhizobacteria, Revealed by Illumina MiSeq

( Gui-hua Lu ),( Yin-ling Zhu ),( Ling-ru Kong ),( Jing Cheng ),( Cheng-yi Tang ),( Xiao-mei Hua ),( Fan-fan Meng ),( Yan-jun Pang ),( Rong-wu Yang ),( Jin-liang Qi ),( Yong-hua Yang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2017 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.27 No.3

The global commercial cultivation of transgenic crops, including glyphosate-tolerant soybean, has increased widely in recent decades with potential impact on the environment. The bulk of previous studies showed different results on the effects of the release of transgenic plants on the soil microbial community, especially rhizosphere bacteria. In this study, comparative analyses of the bacterial communities in the rhizosphere soils and surrounding soils were performed between the glyphosate-tolerant soybean line NZL06-698 (or simply N698), containing a glyphosate-insensitive EPSPS gene, and its control cultivar Mengdou12 (or simply MD12), by a 16S ribosomal RNA gene (16S rDNA) amplicon sequencing-based Illumina MiSeq platform. No statistically significant difference was found in the overall alpha diversity of the rhizosphere bacterial communities, although the species richness and evenness of the bacteria increased in the rhizosphere of N698 compared with that of MD12. Some influence on phylogenetic diversity of the rhizosphere bacterial communities was found between N698 and MD12 by beta diversity analysis based on weighted UniFrac distance. Furthermore, the relative abundances of part rhizosphere bacterial phyla and genera, which included some nitrogen-fixing bacteria, were significantly different between N698 and MD12. Our present results indicate some impact of the glyphosate-tolerant soybean line N698 on the phylogenetic diversity of rhizosphere bacterial communities together with a significant difference in the relative abundances of part rhizosphere bacteria at different classification levels as compared with its control cultivar MD12, when a comparative analysis of surrounding soils between N698 and MD12 was used as a systematic contrast study.

Expression and Characterization of a Single-Chain Variable Fragment against Human LOX-1 in Escherichia coli and Brevibacillus choshinensis

( Wei Hu ),( Jun-yan Xiang ),( Ping Kong ),( Ling Liu ),( Qiuhong Xie ),( Hongyu Xiang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2017 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.27 No.5

The single-chain variable fragment (scFv) against lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) is a promising molecule for its potential use in the diagnosis and immunotherapy of atherosclerosis. Producing this scFv in several milligram amounts could be the starting point for further engineering and application of the scFv. In this study, the abundant expression of the anti-LOX-1 scFv was attempted using Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Brevibacillus choshinensis (B. choshinensis). The scFv had limited soluble yield in E. coli, but it was efficiently secreted by B. choshinensis. The optimized fermentation was determined using the Plackett-Burman screening design and response surface methodology, under which the yield reached up to 1.5 g/l in a 5-L fermentor. Moreover, the properties of the scFvs obtained from the two expression systems were different. The antigen affinity, transition temperature, and particle diameter size were 1.01E-07 M, 55.2 ± 0.3℃, and 9.388 nm for the scFv expressed by B. choshinensis, and 4.53E-07 M, 52.5 ± 0.3℃, and 13.54 nm for the scFv expressed by E. coli. This study established an efficient scale-up production methodology for the anti-LOX-1 scFv, which will boost its use in LOX-1-based therapy.

Cell surface vimentin-targeted monoclonal antibody 86C increases sensitivity to temozolomide in glioma stem cells

Noh, Hyangsoon,Zhao, Qingnan,Yan, Jun,Kong, Ling-Yuan,Gabrusiewicz, Konrad,Hong, Sungguan,Xia, Xueqing,Heimberger, Amy B.,Li, Shulin Elsevier 2018 Cancer letters Vol.433 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most prevalent and aggressive brain tumor. The current standard therapy, which includes radiation and chemotherapy, is frequently ineffective partially because of drug resistance and poor penetration of the blood-brain barrier. Reducing resistance and increasing sensitivity to chemotherapy may improve outcomes. Glioma stem cells (GSCs) are a source of relapse and chemoresistance in GBM; sensitization of GSCs to temozoliomide (TMZ), the primary chemotherapeutic agent used to treat GBM, is therefore integral for therapeutic efficacy. We previously discovered a unique tumor-specific target, cell surface vimentin (CSV), on patient-derived GSCs. In this study, we found that the anti-CSV monoclonal antibody 86C efficiently increased GSC sensitivity to TMZ. The combination TMZ+86C induced significantly greater antitumor effects than TMZ alone in eight of 12 GSC lines. TMZ+86C–sensitive GSCs had higher CSV expression overall and faster CSV resurfacing among CSV<SUP>−</SUP> GSCs compared with TMZ+86C–resistant GSCs. Finally, TMZ+86C increased apoptosis of tumor cells and prolonged survival compared with either drug alone in GBM mouse models. The combination of TMZ+86C represents a promising strategy to reverse GSC chemoresistance.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Anti-CSV monoclonal antibody 86C sensitize GSCs to TMZ treatment. </LI> <LI> GSCs with higher CSV expression are more sensitive to TMZ+86C. </LI> <LI> GSCs with higher CSV resurfacing rate among CSV<SUP>−</SUP> cells are more sensitive to TMZ+86C. </LI> <LI> TMZ+86C increased apoptosis and prolonged survival in GBM models. </LI> <LI> Tumor-specific CSV antibody 86C can efficiently target human GSCs to increase their sensitivity to TMZ. </LI> </UL> </P>

Simple Synthesis of Multi-Halogen Pyrazino[1,2-a]indole-1,8(2H,5aH)-diones

Rui-Xia Yang,Yu-Cheng Zhao,Ling-Bin Kong,Sheng-jiao Yan,Jun Lin 대한화학회 2016 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.37 No.10

A concise and efficient one-pot synthesis of multi-halogen pyrazino[1,2-a]indole-1,8(2H,5aH)-dione (MHPID) derivatives by the reaction of an enamino ester with multi-halogen benzoquinone derivatives is described. MHPIDs 3a–3d were obtained with good yields (78–83%) by refluxing enamino esters 1a and 1b and tetrahalogen-1,4-benzoquinones 2a and 2b for 24 h without the use of catalysts. Compounds 3e–3p were also obtained with excellent yields (69–92%) via the reaction of the phenyl-substituted enamino esters 1c–1h with tetrahalogen-1,4-benzoquinones 2a and 2b in CH3CN catalyzed by Cs2CO3. These two protocols are efficient and effective for the synthesis of MHPIDs.

A Whole-Tumor Histogram Analysis of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Maps for Differentiating Thymic Carcinoma from Lymphoma

Wei Zhang,Yue Zhou,Xiao-Quan Xu,Ling-Yan Kong,Hai Xu,Tong-Fu Yu,Hai-Bin Shi,Qing Feng 대한영상의학회 2018 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.19 No.2

Objective: To assess the performance of a whole-tumor histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps in differentiating thymic carcinoma from lymphoma, and compare it with that of a commonly used hot-spot region-of-interest (ROI)-based ADC measurement. Materials and Methods: Diffusion weighted imaging data of 15 patients with thymic carcinoma and 13 patients with lymphoma were retrospectively collected and processed with a mono-exponential model. ADC measurements were performed by using a histogram-based and hot-spot-ROI-based approach. In the histogram-based approach, the following parameters were generated: mean ADC (ADCmean), median ADC (ADCmedian), 10th and 90th percentile of ADC (ADC10 and ADC90), kurtosis, and skewness. The difference in ADCs between thymic carcinoma and lymphoma was compared using a t test. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to determine and compare the differentiating performance of ADCs. Results: Lymphoma demonstrated significantly lower ADCmean, ADCmedian, ADC10, ADC90, and hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC than those found in thymic carcinoma (all p values < 0.05). There were no differences found in the kurtosis (p = 0.412) and skewness (p = 0.273). The ADC10 demonstrated optimal differentiating performance (cut-off value, 0.403 x 10-3 mm2/s; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], 0.977; sensitivity, 92.3%; specificity, 93.3%), followed by the ADCmean, ADCmedian, ADC90, and hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC. The AUC of ADC10 was significantly higher than that of the hot spot ROI based ADC (0.977 vs. 0.797, p = 0.036). Conclusion: Compared with the commonly used hot spot ROI based ADC measurement, a histogram analysis of ADC maps can improve the differentiating performance between thymic carcinoma and lymphoma.

A Critical Role of OsMADS1 in the Development of the Body of the Palea in Rice

Jianmin Wan,Wenwei Zhang,Jie Zhang,Yue Cai,Haigang Yan,Jie Jin,Xiaoman You,Liang Wang,Fei Kong,Ming Zheng,Guoxiang Wang,Ling Jiang 한국식물학회 2018 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.61 No.1

OsMADS1 plays crucial roles in the specification of floral organ identity and the determinacy of floral meristem in rice (Oryza sativa). Here we isolated a rice mutant cy15 with defective spikelets. Map-based cloning identified cy15 as a novel mutation in the C terminus of OsMADS1. Severe cy15 spikelets contained normal inner whorl organs but defective paleas, opposite to four abnormal whorls of Osmads1 flowers reported previously. In the cy15 spikelets, the size of the body was remarkably reduced in paleas, indicating a critical role of OsMADS1 in its differentiation. Moreover, the development of palea was impaired in the early stage of the cy15 spikelets. The sub-subcellular location of the mutant OsMADS1 was also affected in cy15. On the other hand, the truncated C terminus of the mutant OsMADS1 from cy15 still showed a significant transcriptional activator function. Meanwhile, though the mutant OsMADS1 retained intact M, I and K domains, its interactions with two highly homologous A-class proteins, OsMADS15 or OsMADS14, were weakened or abolished. Our data suggested that the C-terminal sequence of OsMADS1 might be required for maintaining normal morphology of spikelets in rice.

Associations of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in miR-146a, miR-196a, miR-149 and miR-499 with Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility

Du, Wei,Ma, Xue-Lei,Zhao, Chong,Liu, Tao,Du, Yu-Liang,Kong, Wei-Qi,Wei, Ben-Ling,Yu, Jia-Yun,Li, Yan-Yan,Huang, Jing-Wen,Li, Zi-Kang,Liu, Lei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.2

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of endogenous small non-coding RNAs of 20-25 nucleotides in length that function as negative gene regulators. MiRNAs play roles in most biological processes, as well as diverse human diseases including cancer. Recently, many studies investigated the association between SNPs in miR-146a rs2910164, miR-196a2 rs11614913, miR-149 rs229283, miR-499 rs3746444 and colorectal cancer (CRC), which results have been inconclusive. Methodology/Principal Findings: PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI databases were searched with the last search updated on November 5, 2013. For miR-196a2 rs11614913, a significantly decreased risk of CRC development was observed under three genetic models (dominant model: OR = 0.848, 95%CI: 0.735-0.979, P = 0.025; recessive model: OR = 0.838, 95%CI: 0.721-0.974, P = 0.021; homozygous model: OR = 0.754, 95%CI: 0.627-0.907, P = 0.003). In the subgroup analyses, miR-$196a2^*T$ variant was associated with a significantly decreased susceptibility of CRC (allele model: OR = 0.839, 95%CI: 0.749-0.940, P = 0.000; dominant model: OR = 0.770, 95%CI: 0.653-0.980, P = 0.002; recessive model: OR = 0.802, 95%CI: 0.685-0.939, P = 0.006; homozygous model: OR = 0.695, 95%CI: 0.570-0.847, P = 0.000). As for miR-149 rs2292832, the two genetic models (recessive model: OR = 1.199, 95% CI 1.028-1.398, P = 0.021; heterozygous model: OR = 1.226, 95% CI 1.039-1.447, P = 0.013) demonstrated increased susceptibility to CRC. On subgroup analysis, significantly increased susceptibility of CRC was found in the genetic models (recessive model: OR = 1.180, 95% CI 1.008-1.382, P = 0.040; heterozygous model: OR = 1.202, 95% CI 1.013-1.425, P = 0.013) in the Asian group. Conclusions: These findings supported that the miR-196a2 rs11614913 and miR-149 rs2292832 polymorphisms may contribute to susceptibility to CRC.

In Vivo Protein Transduction: Delivery of PEP-1-SOD1 Fusion Protein into Myocardium Efficiently Protects against Ischemic Insult

You-en Zhang,Jia-ning Wang,Jun-ming Tang,Ling-yun Guo,Jian-ye Yang,Yong-zhang Huang,Yan Tan,Shou-zhi Fu,Xia Kong,Fei Zheng 한국분자세포생물학회 2009 Molecules and cells Vol.27 No.2

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury is a medical problem occurring as damage to the myocardium following blood flow restoration after a critical period of coronary occlusion. Oxygen free radicals (OFR) are implicated in reperfusion injury after myocardial ischemia. The antioxidant enzyme, Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu, Zn-SOD, also called SOD1) is one of the major means by which cells counteract the deleterious effects of OFR after ischemia. Recently, we reported that a PEP-1-SOD1 fusion protein was efficiently delivered into cultured cells and isolated rat hearts with ischemia-reperfusion injury. In the present study, we investigated the protective effects of the PEP-1-SOD1 fusion protein after ischemic insult. Immunofluorescecnce analysis revealed that the expressed and purified PEP-1-SOD1 fusion protein injected into rat tail veins was efficiently transduced into the myocardium with its native protein structure intact. When injected into Sprague-Dawley rat tail veins, the PEP-1-SOD1 fusion protein significantly attenuated myocardial ischemia-reperfusion damage; characterized by improving cardiac function of the left ventricle, decreasing infarct size, reducing the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), decreasing the release of creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and relieving cardiomyocyte apoptosis. These results suggest that the biologically active intact forms of PEP-1-SOD1 fusion protein will provide an efficient strategy for therapeutic delivery in various diseases related to SOD1 or to OFR.

Traditional Chinese medicine for COVID-19 pandemic and emerging challenges: An online cross-sectional survey in China

Chun-Li Lu,Ruo-Xiang Zheng,Xue Xue,Xiao-Wen Zhang,Xue-Han Liu,Xin-Yan Jin,Feng-Lan Pu,Hui-Di Lan,Min Fang,Ling-Yao Kong,Merlin Willcox,Bertrand Graz,Joelle Houriet,Xiao-Yang Hu,Jian-ping Liu 한국한의학연구원 2021 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.10 No.-

Background We aimed to investigate use of infection control behaviours, preventative and therapeutic interventions, and outcomes among respondents to an online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods The survey was designed by an international team, translated and adapted to simplified Chinese, including 132 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation recommended by guidelines. It was distributed and collected from February to May 2021, with data analysed by WPS spreadsheet and wjx.cn. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographics and clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatments, preventative behaviours and interventions, and their associated outcomes. Results The survey was accessed 503 times with 341 (67.8%) completions covering 23 provinces and four municipalities in China. Most (282/341, 82.7%) respondents reported no symptoms during the pandemic and the majority (290/341, 85.0%) reported having a SARS-CoV-2 PCR test at some point. Forty-five (13.2%) reported having a respiratory infection, among which 19 (42.2%) took one or more categories of modern medicine, e.g. painkillers, antibiotics; 16 (35.6%) used TCM interventions(s); while seven respondents combined TCM with modern medicine. All respondents reported using at least one behavioural or medical approach to prevention, with 22.3% taking TCM and 5.3% taking modern medicines. No respondents reported having a critical condition related to COVID-19. Conclusion We found evidence of widespread use of infection control behaviours, modern medicines and TCM for treatment and prevention of COVID-19 and other respiratory symptoms. Larger scale studies are warranted, including a more representative sample exploring TCM preparations recommended in clinical guidelines. Background We aimed to investigate use of infection control behaviours, preventative and therapeutic interventions, and outcomes among respondents to an online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods The survey was designed by an international team, translated and adapted to simplified Chinese, including 132 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation recommended by guidelines. It was distributed and collected from February to May 2021, with data analysed by WPS spreadsheet and wjx.cn. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographics and clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatments, preventative behaviours and interventions, and their associated outcomes. Results The survey was accessed 503 times with 341 (67.8%) completions covering 23 provinces and four municipalities in China. Most (282/341, 82.7%) respondents reported no symptoms during the pandemic and the majority (290/341, 85.0%) reported having a SARS-CoV-2 PCR test at some point. Forty-five (13.2%) reported having a respiratory infection, among which 19 (42.2%) took one or more categories of modern medicine, e.g. painkillers, antibiotics; 16 (35.6%) used TCM interventions(s); while seven respondents combined TCM with modern medicine. All respondents reported using at least one behavioural or medical approach to prevention, with 22.3% taking TCM and 5.3% taking modern medicines. No respondents reported having a critical condition related to COVID-19. Conclusion We found evidence of widespread use of infection control behaviours, modern medicines and TCM for treatment and prevention of COVID-19 and other respiratory symptoms. Larger scale studies are warranted, including a more representative sample exploring TCM preparations recommended in clinical guidelines.