Elevated STAT3 Signaling-Mediated Upregulation of MMP-2/9 Confers Enhanced Invasion Ability in Multidrug-Resistant Breast Cancer Cells

The development of multidrug resistance greatly impedes effective cancer therapy. Recent advances in cancer research have demonstrated that acquisition of multidrug resistance by cancer cells is usually accompanied by enhanced cell invasiveness. Several lines of evidence indicated that cross activation of other signaling pathways during development of drug resistance may increase invasive potential of multidrug-resistant (MDR) cancer cells. However, the accurate mechanism of this process is largely undefined. In this study, to better understand the associated molecular pathways responsible for cancer progression induced by drug resistance, a MDR human breast cancer cell line SK-BR-3/EPR with P-glycoprotein overexpression was established using stepwise long-term exposure to increasing concentration of epirubicin. The SK-BR-3/EPR cell line exhibited decreased cell proliferative activity, but enhanced cell invasive capacity. We showed that the expression of metastasis-related matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2/9 was elevated in SK-BR-3/EPR cells. Moreover, SK-BR-3/EPR cells showed elevated activation of STAT3. Activation of STAT3 signaling is responsible for enhanced invasiveness of SK-BR-3/EPR cells through upregulation of MMP-2/9. STAT3 is a well-known oncogene and is frequently implicated in tumorigenesis and chemotherapeutic resistance. Our findings augment insight into the mechanism underlying the functional association between MDR and cancer invasiveness.     

丁香酚对多重耐药大肠杆菌的抑菌活性及其作用机制研究

为研究丁香酚对多重耐药大肠杆菌(Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli,MDR E.coli)的抑菌活性,利用微量二倍稀释法和琼脂扩散法确定丁香酚对多重耐药大肠杆菌的最低抑菌浓度(Minimum inhibitory concentration,MIC)和最低杀菌浓度(Minimum bactericidal concentration,MBC),并利用紫外分光光度法、考马斯亮蓝法等方法初步分析其作用机制。结果表明,丁香酚对MDR E.coli的MIC和MBC分别为2.50 mg/mL和5.00 mg/mL;丁香酚可延长MDR E.coli迟缓期进入对数生长期的进程,改变菌体结构,增加菌株可溶性蛋白的含量和胞外核酸的量,增大菌体培养液中的电导率,对MDR E.coli具有较强的抑菌作用,这些作用可能归因于丁香酚对其细胞结构的破坏。本研究为临床有效缓解或解决多重耐药大肠杆菌的耐药、感染和致死率等问题提供新的思路、新途径,并为其在医药和食品开发领域的应用奠定理论基础。     

豆腐果苷对人孕烷X 受体介导的CYP3A4 和MDR1 的转录调节作用

目的 建立和验证人孕烷X 受体(humanpregnant X receptor, hPXR) 介导的CYP3A4 、MDR1药物诱导剂的体外筛选体系, 考察豆腐果苷对hPXR 介导的CYP3A4 、MDR1 的转录调节作用。方法 利用构建的双荧光素酶报告基因系统, 将表达载体和报告载体共转染HepG2 细胞, 以10 μmol/L 利福平为阳性对照, 用不同浓度(0.004 、0.04 、0.4 μmol/L) 豆腐果苷处理48 h 后裂解细胞进行双荧光素酶活性检测。结果 不同浓度的豆腐果苷均不能通过激活hPXR 来介导CYP3A4 和MDR1 表达上调, 各浓度处理组的双荧光素酶比活性值与DMSO 溶媒组差异无统计学意义(P >0.05)。结论 成功构建了hPXR 介导的CYP3A4 和MDR1 药物诱导剂的体外筛选体系, 并发现豆腐果苷不能通过激活hPXR 介导CYP3A4和MDR1 的表达上调。     

RAB10 Interacts with ABCB4 and Regulates Its Intracellular Traffic

ABCB4 (ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 4) is an ABC transporter expressed at the canalicular membrane of hepatocytes where it ensures phosphatidylcholine secretion into bile. Genetic variations of ABCB4 are associated with several rare cholestatic diseases. The available treatments are not efficient for a significant proportion of patients with ABCB4-related diseases and liver transplantation is often required. The development of novel therapies requires a deep understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating ABCB4 expression, intracellular traffic, and function. Using an immunoprecipitation approach combined with mass spectrometry analyses, we have identified the small GTPase RAB10 as a novel molecular partner of ABCB4. Our results indicate that the overexpression of wild type RAB10 or its dominant-active mutant significantly increases the amount of ABCB4 at the plasma membrane expression and its phosphatidylcholine floppase function. Contrariwise, RAB10 silencing induces the intracellular retention of ABCB4 and then indirectly diminishes its secretory function. Taken together, our findings suggest that RAB10 regulates the plasma membrane targeting of ABCB4 and consequently its capacity to mediate phosphatidylcholine secretion.     

导入以腺病毒为载体多药耐药基因的脐血有核细胞对化疗药物的耐受性

通过腺病毒载体介导使多药耐药基因转染入脐血有核细胞,提高其对化疗药物的耐受性.结果表明,与未转染的脐血有核细胞相比,转染MDR1基因的脐血有核细胞对化疗药物有明显的抵抗性(P<0.01).通过腺病毒介导的MDR1基因转染脐血有核细胞能有效的抵抗化疗药物对其损伤,从而有望对临床肿瘤的大剂量化疗提供一种有效防护细胞损伤的方法,提高化疗效果.     

Web信息抽取技术综述*

快速高效地获取网页主题信息的需求使得Web信息抽取技术成为信息技术领域的研究热点。现有的Web信息抽取技术大致可以归纳为基于统计理论的、基于视觉特征的、基于DOM树结构的和基于模板的几类。由于网页文本本身具有树结构并且具有一定的相似性,基于DOM树结构和基于模板的抽取技术发展很快而且已经得到了广泛的应用。分别论述了上述几类技术在近几年来的研究进展,从自动化程度、适用范围和复杂性三个角度分析对比了几类技术的优缺点。     

Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activities of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides against Multidrug-Resistant Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli

Post-weaning diarrhea due to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a common disease of piglets and causes great economic loss for the swine industry. Over the past few decades, decreasing effectiveness of conventional antibiotics has caused serious problems because of the growing emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. Various studies have indicated that antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have potential to serve as an alternative to antibiotics owing to rapid killing action and highly selective toxicity. Our previous studies have shown that AMP GW-Q4 and its derivatives possess effective antibacterial activities against the Gram-negative bacteria. Hence, in the current study, we evaluated the antibacterial efficacy of GW-Q4 and its derivatives against MDR ETEC and their minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) values were determined to be around 2~32 μg/mL. Among them, AMP Q4-15a-1 with the second lowest MIC (4 μg/mL) and the highest minimal hemolysis concentration (MHC, 256 μg/mL), thus showing the greatest selectivity (MHC/MIC = 64) was selected for further investigations. Moreover, Q4-15a-1 showed dose-dependent bactericidal activity against MDR ETEC in time–kill curve assays. According to the cellular localization and membrane integrity analyses using confocal microscopy, Q4-15a-1 can rapidly interact with the bacterial surface, disrupt the membrane and enter cytosol in less than 30 min. Minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) of Q4-15a-1 is 4× MIC (16 μg/mL), indicating that Q4-15a-1 is effective against MDR ETEC biofilm. Besides, we established an MDR ETEC infection model with intestinal porcine epithelial cell-1 (IPEC-1). In this infection model, 32 μg/mL Q4-15a-1 can completely inhibit ETEC adhesion onto IPEC-1. Overall, these results suggested that Q4-15a-1 may be a promising antibacterial candidate for treatment of weaned piglets infected by MDR ETEC.     

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolated from an integrated broiler chicken supply chain in Qingdao,China

The present study analyzed the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella along an integrated broiler chicken supply chain. A total of 172 Salmonella isolates were recovered from 1148 samples collected from four sample sources (breeder farms, broiler farms, abattoir, and retail markets), representing nine production stages. These Salmonella isolates were examined for antimicrobial susceptibility to 12 different antimicrobial agents using a disk diffusion assay. Among them, 168 were identified as six different serotypes of Salmonella enterica. The predominant serotype was S. Enteritidis (n = 116), followed by S. Infantis (n = 18), S. Gueuletapee (n = 16), S. Derby (n = 12), S. Meleagridis (n = 4), and S. London (n = 2). The remaining four isolates were serogroup-untypeable. A majority of the 172 isolates (96.51%) was resistant to one or more antibiotics and 61.05% of the Salmonella isolates showed a multidrug resistance phenotype. Statistical analysis indicated the one risk product stage for Salmonella contamination occurred in the sample source at the abattoir, specifically the stage of Carcasses after chilling. The majority of S. Enteritidis isolates shared the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) cluster, suggesting that the S. Enteritidis strain might spread along the broiler chicken supply chain. The prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in different production stages suggest the importance of controlling Salmonella in the broiler chicken supply chain for public health, underlying the need for improved measures of reducing carcass contamination in abattoirs and the appropriate use of antimicrobials in broiler flocks.     

Ganciclovir and Its Hemocompatible More Lipophilic Derivative Can Enhance the Apoptotic Effects of Methotrexate by Inhibiting Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (BCRP)

Efflux transporters, namely ATP-binding cassette (ABC), are one of the primary reasons for cancer chemoresistance and the clinical failure of chemotherapy. Ganciclovir (GCV) is an antiviral agent used in herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) gene therapy. In this therapy, HSV-TK gene is delivered together with GCV into cancer cells to activate the phosphorylation process of GCV to active GCV-triphosphate, a DNA polymerase inhibitor. However, GCV interacts with efflux transporters that are responsible for the resistance of HSV-TK/GCV therapy. In the present study, it was explored whether GCV and its more lipophilic derivative (1) could inhibit effluxing of another chemotherapeutic, methotrexate (MTX), out of the human breast cancer cells. Firstly, it was found that the combination of GCV and MTX was more hemocompatible than the corresponding combination with compound 1. Secondly, both GCV and compound 1 enhanced the cellular accumulation of MTX in MCF-7 cells, the MTX exposure being 13–21 times greater compared to the MTX uptake alone. Subsequently, this also reduced the number of viable cells (41–56%) and increased the number of late apoptotic cells (46–55%). Moreover, both GCV and compound 1 were found to interact with breast cancer resistant protein (BCRP) more effectively than multidrug-resistant proteins (MRPs) in these cells. Since the expression of BCRP was higher in MCF-7 cells than in MDA-MB-231 cells, and the cellular uptake of GCV and compound 1 was smaller but increased in the presence of BCRP-selective inhibitor (Fumitremorgin C) in MCF-7 cells, we concluded that the improved apoptotic effects of higher MTX exposure were raised mainly from the inhibition of BCRP-mediated efflux of MTX. However, the effects of GCV and its derivatives on MTX metabolism and the quantitative expression of MTX metabolizing enzymes in various cancer cells need to be studied more thoroughly in the future.     

使用ASME VIII-2规范进行容器建造的基本原则

针对使用ASME VIII-2规范进行容器建造的实际需要,介绍了ASME VIII-2规范的基本原理,分析了ASME VIII-2规范的基本要素,总结了按照ASME VIII-2规范进行设计、建造的一些基本要点。