The Role of Circulating Biomarkers in Peripheral Arterial Disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the lower extremities is a chronic illness predominantly of atherosclerotic aetiology, associated to traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. It is one of the most prevalent CV conditions worldwide in subjects >65 years, estimated to increase greatly with the aging of the population, becoming a severe socioeconomic problem in the future. The narrowing and thrombotic occlusion of the lower limb arteries impairs the walking function as the disease progresses, increasing the risk of CV events (myocardial infarction and stroke), amputation and death. Despite its poor prognosis, PAD patients are scarcely identified until the disease is advanced, highlighting the need for reliable biomarkers for PAD patient stratification, that might also contribute to define more personalized medical treatments. In this review, we will discuss the usefulness of inflammatory molecules, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and cardiac damage markers, as well as novel components of the liquid biopsy, extracellular vesicles (EVs), and non-coding RNAs for lower limb PAD identification, stratification, and outcome assessment. We will also explore the potential of machine learning methods to build prediction models to refine PAD assessment. In this line, the usefulness of multimarker approaches to evaluate this complex multifactorial disease will be also discussed.     

An active single-chain antibody containing a cellulase linker domain is secreted by Escherichia coli

Single-chain antibodies consist of the variable, antigen-bindingdomains of antibodies joined to a continuous polypeptide bygenetically engineered peptide linkers. We have used the flexibleinterdomain linker region of a fungal cellulase to link togetherthe variable domains of an anti-2-phenyloxazolone IgGl and showhere that the resulting single-chain antibody is efficientlysecreted and released to the culture medium of Escherichia coli.The yield of affinity-purified single-chain antibody is 1 -2mg/1 of culture medium and its affinity and stability are comparableto those of the corresponding native IgG.     

FGFR3胞外区在酵母中的表达

对酵母中FGFR3胞外区蛋白表达进行研究.从pCDNA3.1-myc-His-FGFR3N中酶切得到带有myc/His标签的FGFR3胞外区DNA片段,将其克隆到pYES2中;采用醋酸锂转化法,将重组质粒转入酵母INVSc1;转化子经半乳糖诱导后,提取总蛋白进行Western-blot分析.测序结果表明:pYES2-myc-His-FGFR3N载体构建成功,Western-blot分析证实重组转化子在酵母中表达了与预期分子量大小吻合的FGFR3胞外区蛋白.     

HIF-1α and Pro-Inflammatory Signaling Improves the Immunomodulatory Activity of MSC-Derived Extracellular Vesicles

Despite the strong evidence for the immunomodulatory activity of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), clinical trials have so far failed to clearly show benefit, likely reflecting methodological shortcomings and lack of standardization. MSC-mediated tissue repair is commonly believed to occur in a paracrine manner, and it has been stated that extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by MSCs (EVMSC) are able to recapitulate the immunosuppressive properties of parental cells. As a next step, clinical trials to corroborate preclinical studies should be performed. However, effective dose in large mammals, including humans, is quite high and EVs industrial production is hindered by the proliferative senescence that affects MSCs during massive cell expansion. We generated a genetically modified MSC cell line overexpressing hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha and telomerase to increase the therapeutic potency of EVMSC and facilitate their large-scale production. We also developed a cytokine-based preconditioning culture medium to prime the immunomodulatory response of secreted EVs (EV_MSC-T-HIF^c). We tested the efficacy of this system in vitro and in a delayed-type hypersensitivity mouse model. MSC-T with an HIF-1α-GFP lentiviral vector (MSC-T-HIF) can be effectively expanded to obtain large amounts of EVs without major changes in cell phenotype and EVs composition. EV_MSC-T-HIF^c suppressed the proliferation of activated T-cells more effectively than did EVs from unmodified MSC in vitro, and significantly blunted the ear-swelling response in vivo by inhibiting cell infiltration and improving tissue integrity. We have developed a long-lived EV source that secretes high quantities of immunosuppressive EVs, facilitating a more standard and cost-effective therapeutic product.     

Gene expression within cell-sized lipid vesicles

Functional protein synthesis was observed in cell-sized lipid vesicles following encapsulation of a gene-expression system. Expression of rsGFP (red-shifted green fluorescent protein) within individual vesicles was observed by fluorescence microscopy. Interestingly, at the early stage of the reaction, the expression efficiency inside the vesicle was remarkably higher than that in the solution outside. The synthesized rsGFP in individual vesicles is safe from attack by proteinase K added to the external aqueous solution. Studies on cell-sized vesicles expressing protein should contribute to a fundamental understanding of certain aspects of living systems and will be useful for practical applications, such as the construction of microreactors.     

好氧颗粒污泥胞外聚合物提取方法研究

采用4种方法(热、超声、高压、碱处理)分别研究在不同的作用时间和方式下对好氧颗粒污泥EPS的提取效果。综合考虑各提取方法的提取效果及对于污泥细胞的破坏程度后,确定热处理(80℃,30min)和超声波提取(320W,40s)法均是可行的,其中热处理提取产物中多糖、蛋白质分别为30.3、8.1mg/gVSS,而超声波则分别为24.3、10.8mg/gVSS。好氧颗粒污泥EPS中多糖含量高于蛋白质,在热处理及超声波提取的产物中,多糖与蛋白质之比分别为3.7与2.3。     

天麻和苦荞复配液对灰树花胞外多糖合成的影响及其发酵动力学研究

通过向灰树花发酵体系中单一添加天麻醇提物、苦荞醇提物及两种提取物的复配液,研究其对灰树花菌体生长和胞外多糖合成的影响,同时对添加复配液后发酵体系中的残糖(还原糖)含量、pH值的动态变化进行研究。结果表明:当复配液中天麻醇提物添加量为7 g/L、苦荞醇提物添加量为5 g/L时效果较佳,相比空白组(未添加提取物)和单一添加组(天麻、苦荞),胞外多糖产量分别增加了49.08%、13.76%、33.88%,菌丝体生物量分别增加了51.10%、11.35%、26.69%,均显著地高于空白组(P<0.01)和单一添加组(P<0.05)。发酵动力学研究表明,灰树花菌体生长和胞外多糖产量在第7天达到峰值,复配组相对于空白组能消耗更多的碳源物质促进胞外多糖的合成。因此,天麻和苦荞中的有效成分能够显著促进灰树花菌体生长与胞外多糖的合成。     

蛹虫草高产胞外虫草素和虫草多糖的诱变育种

通过诱变获得高产胞外虫草素和虫草多糖的蛹虫草菌株.采用紫外线诱变(UV)、化学诱变(LiCl)、复合诱变(UV-LiCl) 3种方式对蛹虫草孢子进行诱变;发酵检测存活菌株的胞外虫草素和虫草多糖的含量.结果:以胞外虫草素为指标,3种诱变方式的最大正突变率分别为化学突变(29.2％)＞紫外突变(28.6％)＞复合诱变(26.5％);以胞外多糖为指标,最大正突变率分别为紫外诱变(35.7％)＞复合诱变(33.3％)＞化学诱变(27.0％).紫外诱变突变株Z-5-1胞外虫草素产量达0.842g/L,比出发菌株高311％;紫外诱变突变株Z-4-7胞外虫草多糖产量达5.250g/L,比出发菌株高148％.在连续培养5代后,仍具有较好的遗传稳定性.紫外诱变能获得较高的蛹虫草正突变率,同时能获得高产虫草素、虫草多糖的突变株.     

Water transport in cellular tissues during thermal processing

Accurate modeling of water transport in food materials requires knowledge of how transport properties depend on the material structure. Water transport in a cellular tissue depends on its pathway (intracellular versus extracellular), which in turn depends on temperature. Using a combination of permeability measurement, pore‐size distribution analysis and bioimpedance analysis, it is shown that water in a cellular tissue (e.g., potatoes) is mostly intracellular at lower temperatures at which cell membranes are intact. During drying at high‐temperatures, cell membranes in potatoes are damaged, and the moisture transport pathway is primarily extracellular (through intercellular spaces and the lacunae created by the killed cells), with a much lower resistance to water transport. The difference in moisture diffusivity in potatoes for the two pathways has been estimated to be three orders of magnitude. Therefore, transport properties measured or predicted at low temperatures cannot be used for high temperatures because they correspond to different moisture migration pathways. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011     

Overexpression of Shox2 Leads to Congenital Dysplasia of the Temporomandibular Joint in Mice

Our previous study reported that inactivation of Shox2 led to dysplasia and ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), and that replacing Shox2 with human Shox partially rescued the phenotype with a prematurely worn out articular disc. However, the mechanisms of Shox2 activity in TMJ development remain to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the molecular and cellular basis for the congenital dysplasia of TMJ in Wnt1-Cre; pMes-stop Shox2 mice. We found that condyle and glenoid fossa dysplasia occurs primarily in the second week after the birth. The dysplastic TMJ of Wnt1-Cre; pMes-stop Shox2 mice exhibits a loss of Collagen type I, Collagen type II, Ihh and Gli2. In situ zymography and immunohistochemistry further demonstrate an up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), MMP9 and MMP13, accompanied by a significantly increased cell apoptosis. In addition, the cell proliferation and expressions of Sox9, Runx2 and Ihh are no different in the embryonic TMJ between the wild type and mutant mice. Our results show that overexpression of Shox2 leads to the loss of extracellular matrix and the increase of cell apoptosis in TMJ dysplasia by up-regulating MMPs and down-regulating the Ihh signaling pathway.