Autism candidate gene DIP2A regulates spine morphogenesis via acetylation of cortactin.

Dendritic spine development is crucial for the establishment of excitatory synaptic connectivity and functional neural circuits. Alterations in spine morphology and density have been associated with multiple neurological disorders. Autism candidate gene disconnected-interacting protein homolog 2 A (DIP2A) is known to be involved in acetylated coenzyme A (Ac-CoA) synthesis and is primarily expressed in the brain regions with abundant pyramidal neurons. However, the role of DIP2A in the brain remains largely unknown. In this study, we found that deletion of Dip2a in mice induced defects in spine morphogenesis along with thin postsynaptic density (PSD), and reduced synaptic transmission of pyramidal neurons. We further identified that DIP2A interacted with cortactin, an activity-dependent spine remodeling protein. The binding activity of DIP2A-PXXP motifs (P, proline; X, any residue) with the cortactin-Src homology 3 (SH3) domain was critical for maintaining the level of acetylated cortactin. Furthermore, Dip2a knockout (KO) mice exhibited autism-like behaviors, including excessive repetitive behaviors and defects in social novelty. Importantly, acetylation mimetic cortactin restored the impaired synaptic transmission and ameliorated repetitive behaviors in these mice. Altogether, our findings establish an initial link between DIP2A gene variations in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and highlight the contribution of synaptic protein acetylation to synaptic processing.

CPT1A as a potential therapeutic target for lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice.

Acute lung injury (ALI) remains a high mortality rate with dramatic lung inflammation and alveolar epithelial cell death. Although fatty acid ß-oxidation (FAO) impairment has been implicated in the pathogenesis of ALI, whether Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A), the rate-limiting enzyme for FAO, plays roles in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI remains unclear. Accordingly, we focused on exploring the effect of CPT1A in the context of ALI and the underlying mechanisms. We found that overexpression of CPT1A (AAV-CPT1A) effectively alleviated lung injury by reduction of lung wet-to-dry ratio, inflammatory cell infiltration, and protein levels in the BALF of ALI mice. Meanwhile, AAV-CPT1A significantly lessened histopathological changes and several cytokines' secretions. In contrast, blocking CPT1A with etomoxir augmented inflammatory responses and lung injury in ALI mice. Furthermore, we found that overexpression of CPT1A with lentivirus reduced the apoptosis rates of alveolar epithelial cells and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins induced by LPS in MLE12 cells, while etomoxir increased the apoptosis of MLE12 cells. Overexpression of CPT1A prevented the drop in bioenergetics, palmitate oxidation, and ATP levels. In conclusion, the results rendered CPT1A worthy of further development into a pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of ALI.

[Study on artificial neural network combined with near infrared spectroscopy for wood species identification].

In the present article, near infrared spectra of 89 wood samples of different geographical provenances and species were measured, and back propagation artificial neural networks(BPANN) and generalized regression neural network (GRNN) were used for modeling of wood species NIRS identifying. Parameters for two neural networks were chosen via analysis of variance, respectively; and networks were trained with optimum parameters. Considering the difference between spectra, spectra with different levels of white noise and different levels of bias were simulated and predicted by using the models built. It was found that both the two models had satisfactory prediction results, identification correct rates obtained by BPANN model applied to spectra with bias level no higher than 2% and noise level no higher than 4% were above 97%; correct rates obtained by GRNN model applied to spectra with bias level no higher than 2% and noise level no higher than 4% were above 99%.

Characterization of the multiple absorbed constituents in rats after oral administration of Chai-Huang decoction by liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry.

A rapid, sensitive, and specific method by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to diode-array detection (DAD) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS) techniques was developed for the identification of absorbed constituents and their metabolites in rats after the oral administration of a Chai-Huang decoction (CHD), which consists of Bupleurum chinense and Scutellaria baicalensis in the proportion 1 : 1 (w/w). By comparing their retention times and MS data with those of authentic compounds and published data, a total of 14 compounds were identified in the CHD samples. In addition, eleven and seven compounds were characterized in the urine and serum samples of the rats, respectively. The results indicated that the main absorbed constituents were chrysin-6-C-arabinosyl-8-C-glucoside, chrysin-6-C-glucosyl-8-C-arabinoside, baicalin, wogonin-5-O-glucoside, oroxylin A-7-O-glucuronide, wogonoside, saikosaponin A, saikosaponin C, saikosaponin D, baicalein, and wogonin. These compounds might be responsible for the curative effects of the CHD. The findings demonstrated that the proposed method could be used to rapidly and simultaneously analyze and screen the multiple absorbed bioactive constituents in a formula of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM). This is very important not only for the pharmaceutical discovery process and the quality control of crude drugs but also to explain the mechanisms of action of TCM.

Anti-tumor Effect of Ginkgo biloba Exocarp Extracts on B16 Melanoma Bearing Mice Involving P I3K/Akt/HIF-1α/VEGF Signaling Pathways.

The objective of this study is to investigate the anti-tumor effect of Ginkgo biloba exocarp extracts (GBEE) on B16 melanoma bearing mice and its related molecular mechanisms. The B16-F10 melanoma solid tumor model was established in C57BL/6J mice. The tumor-bearing mice were treated with GBEE (50, 100, 200 mg/kg), taking cis-Dichlorodiamineplatinum (Ⅱ) (DDP, 3 mg/kg) as positive control and normal saline (NS) as model control. After 17 days of administration, the transplanted tumors was stripped and weighed, and the inhibition rate was calculated. Quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western Blot and immunohistochemistry were applied to detect mRNA and protein levels of related factors in B16 transplanted tumor tissues. The results indicated that GBEE (50, 100, 200 mg/kg) inhibited the growth of B16 transplanted solid tumor in C57BL/6J mice. Meanwhile, it inhibited the expression of CD34 and reduced microvessel density (MVD) in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, GBEE dose-dependently down-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2). The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt) proteins were not changed obviously, but the protein levels of p-PI3K and p-Akt were down-regulated. Overall, the inhibitory effect of GBEE on the growth of B16 melanoma transplant tumor in mice is related to inhibiting angiogenesis, and the mechanism involves the regulation of PI3K/Akt/ HIF-lα/VEGF signaling pathway.

[Stable expression of human basic fibroblast growth factor gene in retinal pigment epithelial cells by gene transfer procedures].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to explore whether gene transferred retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) can constantly express human basic fibroblast growth factor gene (hbFGF) and to study the feasibility of using this procedure for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa. METHODS: Plasmid carrying hbFGF [using green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter gene] was constructed and transferred into the RPE cells by lipofectamine. The positively expressed cell clones were selected with G418 and cultured for 4 weeks. Expression of GFP gene was identified by the fluorescence microscope. Expression of hbFGF in the RPE cells was determined by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical methods. RESULTS: Reconstruction enzyme digestion demonstrated that the eukaryotic expression pcFG was constructed correctly. Expression of GFP protein in the gene transferred RPE was detected under the fluorescence microscope. Enzyme digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis analysis showed that the gene transferred RPE expressed the hbFGF gene. CONCLUSIONS: RPE cells are able to express hbFGF gene stably by gene transfer procedures.

[Effect of Mycobacterium phlei F.U.36 suspended liquor on culture and proliferation of dendritic cells derived from human umbilical cord blood in vitro].

To investigate the effect of mycobacterium phlei F.U.36 suspended liquor (Utilin"s", U) on the culture and proliferation of dendritic cells (DCs) derived from human umbilical cord blood in vitro, the mononuclear cells (MNCs) were isolated from human umbilical cord blood and cultured with RPMI 1640 in the control group. Test groups consisted of Utilin"s" group (only Utilin"s"), GTI group (GM-CSF, TNF-alpha, IL-4) and GTIU group (GM-CSF, TNF-alpha, IL-4 and Utilin"s"). MNCs in all test groups were cultured with RPMI-1640. The growth of DCs was observed by the light microscopy, the phenotypes of DCs were determined by flow cytometry on the 10th day of culture, and some harvest cells were stained with Wright-Giemsa, then observed and photographed under the oil immersion objective. The results showed that the test groups all displayed some number of typical DCs; both CD1a positive cell rate and HLA-DR positive cell rate of the Utilin"s" group were higher than those of the control; HLA-DR positive cell rate of GTIU group increased most significantly and much higher than that of the GTI group. It is concluded that mycobacterium phlei F.U.36 not only promotes the proliferation of DCs derived from human umbilical cord blood in vitro, but also co-operates with rhGM-CSF, rhTNF-alpha and rhIL-4 in promoting the maturity of DCs.

[Mitochondrial membrane potential at HL-60 cell apoptosis induced by cytarabine].

This study was aimed to investigate the changes of mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsim) of HL-60 cells induced by cytarabine and the correlation between mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis of HL-60 cells. HL-60 cells were stained with Rhodamine 123; change of mitochondrial membrane potential of HL-60 cells was detected by flow cytometry. AO/EB staining and flow cytometry were used to examine the apoptosis of HL-60 cells. The results showed that the levels of HL-60 cell DeltaPsim in experimental groups decreased after cultured for 6 hours. In Ara-C 0.05 mg/ml group, rhodamine 123 fluorescence intensity in mitochondria of HL-60 cells at 6, 12, 24 hours were 117.9+/-7.6, 100.9+/-7.7, 87.6+/-10.7, respectively, there was significant difference between the different culture groups (p<0.05). In Ara-C 0.1 mg/ml group, rhodamine 123 fluorescence intensity in mitochondria of HL-60 cells at 6, 12, 24 hours were 111.9+/-10.1, 86.6+/-9.2, 68.4+/-12.2, respectively, there was significant difference between the different culture groups (p<0.05); rhodamine 123 fluorescence intensity was significantly different between the two groups at 12, 24 hours (p<0.05). In Ara-C 0.05 mg/ml group, the apoptosis rate of HL-60 cells at 6, 12, 24 hours were (41.2+/-3.0)%, (53.7+/-5.1)%, (65.8+/-2.6)% respectively, there was significant difference between the different culture groups (p<0.01); In Ara-C 0.1 mg/ml group, the apoptosis rate of HL-60 cells at 6, 12, 24 hours were (45.7+/-4.1)%, (58.2+/-4.3)%, (70.1+/-2.3)% respectively, there was significant difference between the different culture groups (p<0.01); the apoptosis rates showed no significantly difference between the two groups at same time. The changes of mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis rate of HL-60 cells were significantly negatively correlated. In Ara-C 0.05 mg/ml group, r was -0.89, p<0.01, while in Ara-C 0.1 mg/ml group, r was -0.76, p<0.01. It is concluded that the mitochondrial membrane potential on HL-60 cells decrease at HL-60 cells apoptosis induced by Ara-C, therefore the reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential may be one of the important mechanisms at the induced apoptosis.

Production of hybrid phage displaying secreted aspartyl proteinase epitope of Candida albicans and its application for the diagnosis of disseminated candidiasis.

The secreted aspartyl proteinases (Saps) of Candida albicans have been implicated as immunodominant antigens and virulence factors associated with adherence and tissue invasion. A hybrid phage displaying the Sap epitope VKYTS was constructed by cloning the corresponding DNA fragments into the pfd88 vector. Similar to native Sap, the phage-displayed epitope showed reactivity to sera from mice and patients with systemic C. albicans infection but not from those with oropharyngeal candidiasis and healthy individuals on Western blot. Furthermore, a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to detect the anti-Sap antibody with hybrid phage displaying Sap epitope VKYTS that can be recognised by anti-Sap antibodies. Sequential sera were tested from patients and mice with systemic candidiasis and oropharyngeal candidiasis, and serum samples from healthy individuals were also included. The sensitivity and specificity were 77% and 88.3% for experimental mice, respectively. These values reached 60% and 85%, respectively, for human patients. These data indicate this phage-displayed epitope as an effective and less expensive reagent would be a valuable probe for the detection of specific Sap antibody in the sera of patients and mice with systemic C. albicans infection.