Distinct effects of different concentrations of sodium selenite on apoptosis, cell cycle, and gene expression profile in acute promyeloytic leukemia-derived NB4 cells.

Selenium at a low concentration has a chemopreventive role against cancer, while at a high concentration, it exerts a direct antitumor effect. However, the mechanisms remain elusive. In this article, we discovered that Na(2)SeO(3) at 20 micromol/l concentration could significantly inhibit the proliferation of NB4 cells, affect the cell cycle distribution of cell population, and induce cellular changes characteristic of apoptotic cells, while this same compound at 2 micromol/l concentration had no such effects. The mechanisms underlying these overt differences caused by treatment of different concentrations of selenium were further investigated. cDNA microarray analysis showed that after treatment by 20 micromol/l Na(2)SeO(3), 34 genes were changed in expression, while treatment by 2 micromol/l Na(2)SeO(3) resulted in the changes of 29 genes. Nine genes were regulated in both groups, among which three showed opposite changes caused by 2 and 20 micromol/l Na(2)SeO(3). The majority of regulated genes did not coincide between the two experiment groups. In conclusion, 2 and 20 micromol/l Na(2)SeO(3) could have different effects on NB4 cells, and some genes might be involved in the underlying mechanisms. Our findings could provide basis for further uncovering the molecular mechanisms of the chemopreventive and antitumor effects of selenium and, in turn, for probing the rationality of treating leukemia with selenium.

Characteristics of trapping copper ions with scrolled ferritin reactor in the flowing seawater.

Native liver ferritin of Dasyatis akajei (DALF), apoDALF, and reconstituted DALF were employed to construct a ferritin reactor, respectively. An apparatus consisting of a mixer, a ferritin reactor, and a magnetic stirrer was constructed to study capacity and feasibility of trapping Cu2+ in the flowing seawater. The experimental results showed that the numbers of trapping Cu2+ with DALF reactor were higher than these with the reactors of apoDALF and reconstituted DALF, respectively, giving the maximal numbers of 98 +/- 5 Cu2+ per molecular DALF in 120 h. We found that the iron layer with a high ratio of phosphate to ion on the surface of the ferritin core played an important role in increasing numbers of trapping Cu2+. In addition, we found two positive relations of dependence of trapping Cu2+ numbers with the reactor on the incubation time and on the Cu2+ concentration in the flowing seawater. Another apparatus consisting of a buoyage, an isolation basket equipped with griddling, and a scrolled ferritin reactor was constructed to study the feasibility of trapping Cu2+ in the sea area. Moreover, the present studies indicated that this apparatus had been used to not only analyze and evaluate the concentration variety of various heavy metal ions such as Cu2+ and Pb2+ diluting by the seawater but also monitor the formation of pollution degree by various small organic molecules during the climax and the neap.

Purification, electrophoretic behavior, and kinetics of iron release of liver ferritin of Dasyatis akajei.

From the liver of fish Dasyatis akajei, ferritin has been isolated by thermal denaturation and ammonium sulfate fractionation and then further purified by anion exchange chromatography and gel exclusion chromatography. The molecular weight of the liver ferritin of D. akajei (DALF) was measured to be 400 kDa by PAGE. Moreover, SDS-PAGE experimentation indicates that protein shell of DALF consists of the H and L subunits with molecular weight of 18 and 13 kDa, respectively. Using isoelectric focusing with pH ranging from 5.0 to 6.0, the ferritin purified by the PAGE exhibited three bands with different pI values in the gel slab. Diameters of the protein shell and iron core were also investigated by transmission electron microscope and determined to be 10-12 nm and 5-8 nm, respectively. A kinetic study of DALF reveals that the rate of self-regulation of the protein shell rather than the complex surface of the iron core plays an important role in forming a process for iron release with mixed orders.