Association between Single Nucleotide Polymorphism rs1044925 and the Risk of Coronary Artery Disease and Ischemic Stroke

The present study was performed to clarify the association between the acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase-1 (ACAT-1) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1044925 and the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and ischemic stroke (IS) in the Guangxi Han population. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism was performed to determine the genotypes of the ACAT-1 SNP rs1044925 in 1730 unrelated subjects (CAD, 587; IS, 555; and healthy controls; 588). The genotypic and allelic frequencies of rs1044925 were significantly different between the CAD patients and controls (p = 0.015) and borderline different between the IS patients and controls (p = 0.05). The AC/CC genotypes and C allele were associated with a decreased risk of CAD and IS (CAD: p = 0.014 for AC/CC vs. AA, p = 0.022 for C vs. A; IS: p = 0.014 for AC/CC vs. AA; p = 0.017 for C vs. A). The AC/CC genotypes in the healthy controls, but not in CAD or IS patients, were associated with an increased serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration. The present study shows that the C allele carriers of ACAT-1 rs1044925 were associated with an increased serum HDL-C level in the healthy controls and decreased risk in CAD and IS patients.     

Mucin 1 Gene (MUC1) and Gastric-Cancer Susceptibility

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the major malignant diseases worldwide, especially in Asia. It is classified into intestinal and diffuse types. While the intestinal-type GC (IGC) is almost certainly caused by Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, its role in the diffuse-type GC (DGC) appears limited. Recently, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on Japanese and Chinese populations identified chromosome 1q22 as a GC susceptibility locus which harbors mucin 1 gene (MUC1) encoding a cell membrane-bound mucin protein. MUC1 has been known as an oncogene with an anti-apoptotic function in cancer cells; however, in normal gastric mucosa, it is anticipated that the mucin 1 protein has a role in protecting gastric epithelial cells from a variety of external insults which cause inflammation and carcinogenesis. HP infection is the most definite insult leading to GC, and a protective function of mucin 1 protein has been suggested by studies on Muc1 knocked-out mice.     

Effects of supplemental progesterone after artificial insemination on expression of interferon-stimulated genes and fertility in dairy cows

The objectives of the current study were to evaluate the effects of supplemental progesterone after artificial insemination (AI) on expression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISG) in blood leukocytes and fertility in lactating dairy cows. Weekly cohorts of Holstein cows were blocked by parity (575 primiparous and 923 multiparous) and method of insemination (timed AI or AI on estrus) and allocated randomly within each block to untreated controls, a controlled internal drug release (CIDR) containing 1.38 g of progesterone from d 4 to 18 after AI (CIDR4), or a CIDR on d 4 and another on d 7 after AI and both removed on d 18 (CIDR4+7). Blood was sampled to quantify progesterone concentrations in plasma and mRNA expression in leukocytes for the ubiquitin-like IFN-stimulated gene 15-kDa protein (ISG15) and receptor transporter protein-4 (RTP4) genes. Pregnancy was diagnosed on d 34 ± 3 and 62 ± 3 after AI. Treatment increased progesterone concentrations between d 5 and 18 after AI in a dose-dependent manner (control = 3.42, CIDR4 = 4.97, and CIDR4+7 = 5.46 ng/mL). Cows supplemented with progesterone tended to have increased luteolysis by d 19 after AI (control = 17.2; CIDR4 = 29.1; CIDR4+7 = 30.2%), which resulted in a shorter AI interval for those reinseminated after study d 18. Pregnancy upregulated expression of ISG in leukocytes on d 19 of gestation, but supplementing progesterone did not increase mRNA abundance for ISG15 and RTP4 on d 16 after insemination and tended to reduce mRNA expression on d 19 after AI. For RTP4 on d 19, the negative effect of supplemental progesterone was observed only in the nonpregnant cows. No overall effect of treatment was observed on pregnancy per AI on d 62 after insemination and averaged 28.6, 32.7, and 29.5% for control, CIDR4, and CIDR4+7, respectively. Interestingly, an interaction between level of supplemental progesterone and method of AI was observed for pregnancy per AI. For cows receiving exogenous progesterone, the lower supplementation with CIDR4 increased pregnancy per AI on d 62 in cows inseminated following timed AI (CIDR4 = 39.2; CIDR4+7 = 27.5%); in those inseminated following detection of estrus, however, the use of a second insert on d 7 resulted in greater pregnancy per AI (CIDR4 = 26.9; CIDR4+7 = 31.5%). Pregnancy loss did not differ among treatments. Supplemental progesterone post-AI using a single intravaginal insert on d 4 was beneficial to pregnancy in cows inseminated following timed AI, but incremental progesterone with a second insert on d 7 did not improve fertility of dairy cows.     

化妆品生产中抗性环境菌株的研究

对化妆品生产中的环境菌株进行菌种分离,得到了一株伯克霍尔德属类的环境菌。通过抑菌圈和挑战实验证明,该菌对以双咪唑烷基脲为主要功能成分的防腐体系具有抗性;另外通过去活性物挑战实验,证明活性物对抗性环境菌在产品中爆发性生长起关键作用。通过以上数据,更深入的了解产品微生物污染的来源和机制,对有效预防化妆品生产微生物污染,同时设计更有效的防腐体系提供依据。     

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Growth Hormone Gene and Their Association with Growth Traits in Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky)

Growth hormone (GH) has been considered as a candidate gene for growth traits in fish. In this study, polymorphisms of the GH gene were evaluated for associations with growth traits in 282 Siniperca chuatsi individuals. Using directly sequencing, four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in GH gene, with two mutations in intron 4 (g.4940A>C, g.4948A>T), one mutation in exon 5 (g.5045T>C) and one in intron 5 (g.5234T>G). Notably, three of them were significantly associated with growth performance, particularly for g.4940A>C which was highly correlated with all the four growth traits. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that these SNPs in GH gene could influence growth performance of S.chuatsi and could be used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) in this species.     

次氯酸钠对德尔卑沙门氏菌生物被膜的抑制作用及机制

目的：为控制德尔卑沙门氏菌（Salmonella Derby）在食品加工过程中的污染，研究不同体积分数次氯酸钠对S. Derby生物被膜的抑制作用及其机制。方法：采用结晶紫染色法和平板菌落计数法观察次氯酸钠对生物被膜的抑制和清除效果，进一步观察不同体积分数次氯酸钠作用下沙门氏菌泳动能力和生物被膜内细胞的代谢活性、胞外聚合物含量和微观形态的变化规律。结果：次氯酸钠的最小抑菌浓度（minimum inhibitory concentration，MIC）为0.08%（体积分数，下同），亚MIC（0.04%、0.02%、0.01%）的次氯酸钠可以抑制S. Derby生物被膜的形成，对成熟生物被膜也有一定的清除效果，且不同亚MIC次氯酸钠的作用效果差异显著（P＜0.05）；不同体积分数次氯酸钠处理能降低生物被膜内细胞代谢活性，抑制胞外多糖的合成，且不同体积分数次氯酸钠的作用效果差异显著（P＜0.05）。激光共聚焦扫描显微镜结果显示，与对照组相比，次氯酸钠处理使得生物被膜厚度减小、活菌数减少、死菌数增多、细菌由聚集状态变为分散状态。结论：不同体积分数次氯酸钠对S. Derby生物被膜的形成有明显的抑制作用，这一作用与干扰细菌生长、生物被膜内细胞代谢活性和胞外多糖的合成有关。     

Low molecular weight PEI-grafted carboxyl-modified soybean protein as gene carriers with reduced cytotoxicity and greatly improved transfection in vitro

SA-SP-PEI were synthesized via acylation reaction between carboxyl-modified soybean protein (SA-SP) and branched polyethylenimine (PEI) with molecular weight of 600, 1200, and 1800?Da, and designed as SA-SP-PEI600, SA-SP-PEI1200, and SA-SP-PEI1800, respectively. SA-SP-PEI could effectively condense plasmid DNA into nanoscale polyplexes and protect them from enzymatic digestion. MTT assay revealed that SA-SP-PEI exhibited reduced cytotoxicity on 293?T and SH-SY5Y cells. SA-SP-PEI1800/DNA complexes hold highest transfection efficiency on 293?T and SH-SY5Y cells with or without 10% serum, which was owing to its better serum stable and improved biocompatibility. Such polycationic soybean proteins have great potentials as gene carriers by further optimization.