Functional role of aspartic proteinase cathepsin D in insect metamorphosis

BACKGROUND: Metamorphosis is a complex, highly conserved and strictly regulated development process that involves the programmed cell death of obsolete larval organs. Here we show a novel functional role for the aspartic proteinase cathepsin D during insect metamorphosis. RESULTS: Cathepsin D of the silkworm Bombyx mori (BmCatD) was ecdysone-induced, differentially and spatially expressed in the larval fat body of the final instar and in the larval gut of pupal stage, and its expression led to programmed cell death. Furthermore, BmCatD was highly induced in the fat body of baculovirus-infected B. mori larvae, suggesting that this gene is involved in the induction of metamorphosis of host insects infected with baculovirus. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated BmCatD knock-down inhibited programmed cell death of the larval fat body, resulting in the arrest of larval-pupal transformation. BmCatD RNAi also inhibited the programmed cell death of larval gut during pupal stage. CONCLUSION: Based on these results, we concluded that BmCatD is critically involved in the programmed cell death of the larval fat body and larval gut in silkworm metamorphosis

Phosphatized Polar Lobe-Forming Embryos from the Precambrian of Southwest China

In developing embryos of some extant spiralian animals, polar lobe formation is one of the symmetry-breaking mechanisms for segregation of maternal cytoplasmic substances to certain blastomeres and not others. Polar lobe formation leads to unique early cleavage morphologies that include trilobed, J-shaped, and five-lobed structures. Fossil embryos similar to modern lobeforming embryos are recognized from the Precambrian Doushantuo Formation phosphates, Weng'an, Guizhou Province, China. These embryos are abundant and form a developmental sequence comparable to different developing stages observed in lobe-forming embryos of extant spiralians. These data imply that lobe formation is an evolutionarily ancient process of embryonic specification

Aberrant Expression of Proteins Involved in Signal Transduction and DNA Repair Pathways in Lung Cancer and Their Association with Clinical Parameters

Because cell signaling and cell metabolic pathways are executed through proteins, protein signatures in primary tumors are useful for identifying key nodes in signaling networks whose alteration is associated with malignancy and/or clinical outcomes. This study aimed to determine protein signatures in primary lung cancer tissues.We analyzed 126 proteins and/or protein phosphorylation sites in case-matched normal and tumor samples from 101 lung cancer patients with reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) assay. The results showed that 18 molecules were significantly different (p<0.05) by at least 30% between normal and tumor tissues. Most of those molecules play roles in cell proliferation, DNA repair, signal transduction and lipid metabolism, or function as cell surface/matrix proteins. We also validated RPPA results by Western blot and/or immunohistochemical analyses for some of those molecules. Statistical analyses showed that Ku80 levels were significantly higher in tumors of nonsmokers than in those of smokers. Cyclin B1 levels were significantly overexpressed in poorly differentiated tumors while Cox2 levels were significantly overexpressed in neuroendocrinal tumors. A high level of Stat5 is associated with favorable survival outcome for patients treated with surgery.Our results revealed that some molecules involved in DNA damage/repair, signal transductions, lipid metabolism, and cell proliferation were drastically aberrant in lung cancer tissues, and Stat5 may serve a molecular marker for prognosis of lung cancers

Polymorphisms of XRCC1 genes and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the Cantonese population

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common cancers in southern China. In addition to environmental factors such as Epstein-Barr virus infection and diet, genetic susceptibility has been reported to play a key role in the development of this disease. The x-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) gene is important in DNA base excision repair. We hypothesized that two common single nucleotide polymorphisms of XRCC1 (codons 194 Arg→Trp and 399 Arg→Gln) are related to the risk of NPC and interact with tobacco smoking. METHODS: We sought to determine whether these genetic variants of the XRCC1 gene were associated with the risk of NPC among the Cantonese population in a hospital-based case control study using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. We conducted this study in 462 NPC patients and 511 healthy controls. RESULTS: After adjustment for sex and age, we found a reduced risk of developing NPC in individuals with the Trp194Trp genotype (OR = 0.48; 95% CI, 0.27–0.86) and the Arg194Trp genotype (OR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.60–1.05) compared with those with the Arg194Arg genotype. Compared with those with the Arg399Arg genotype, the risk for NPC was not significantly different in individuals with the Arg399Gln genotype (OR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.62–1.08) and the Gln399Gln genotype (OR = 1.20; 95% CI, 0.69–2.06). Further analyses stratified by gender and smoking status revealed a significantly reduced risk of NPC among males (OR = 0.32; 95% CI, 0.14–0.70) and smokers (OR = 0.34; 95% CI, 0.14–0.82) carrying the XRCC1 194Trp/Trp genotype compared with those carrying the Arg/Arg genotype. No association was observed between Arg399Gln variant genotypes and the risk of NPC combined with smoking and gender. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the XRCC1 Trp194Trp variant genotype is associated with a reduced risk of developing NPC in Cantonese population, particularly in males and smokers. Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings and unravel the underlying mechanisms

Вихретоковый анизотропный термоэлектрический первичный преобразователь лучистого потока

Представлена оригинальная конструкция первичного преобразователя лучистого потока, который может служить основой для создания приемника неселективного излучения с повышенной чувствительностью

Depth Profiling Photoelectron-Spectroscopic Study of an Organic Spin Valve with a Plasma-Modified Pentacene Spacer

[[abstract]]We report an enhanced magnetoresistance (MR) in an organic spin valve with an oxygen plasma-treated pentacene (PC) spacer. The spin valve containing PC without the treatment shows no MR effect, whereas those with moderately plasma-treated PC exhibit MR ratios up to 1.64% at room temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with depth profiling is utilized to characterize the interfacial electronic properties of the plasma-treated PC spacer which shows the formation of a derivative oxide layer. The results suggest an alternative approach to improve the interface quality and in turn to enhance the MR performance in organic spin valves.[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]電子

Magnetic Particle-Based Hybrid Platforms for Bioanalytical Sensors

Biomagnetic nano and microparticles platforms have attracted considerable interest in the field of biological sensors due to their interesting physico-chemical properties, high specific surface area, good mechanical stability and opportunities for generating magneto-switchable devices. This review discusses recent advances in the development and characterization of active biomagnetic nanoassemblies, their interaction with biological molecules and their use in bioanalytical sensors

Association analyses of East Asian individuals and trans-ancestry analyses with European individuals reveal new loci associated with cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified >175 loci associated with fasting cholesterol levels, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG). With differences in linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure and allele frequencies between ancestry groups, studies in additional large samples may detect new associations. We conducted staged GWAS meta-analyses in up to 69,414 East Asian individuals from 24 studies with participants from Japan, the Philippines, Korea, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. These meta-analyses identified (P < 5 × 10-8) three novel loci associated with HDL-C near CD163-APOBEC1 (P = 7.4 × 10-9), NCOA2 (P = 1.6 × 10-8), and NID2-PTGDR (P = 4.2 × 10-8), and one novel locus associated with TG near WDR11-FGFR2 (P = 2.7 × 10-10). Conditional analyses identified a second signal near CD163-APOBEC1. We then combined results from the East Asian meta-analysis with association results from up to 187,365 European individuals from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium in a trans-ancestry meta-analysis. This analysis identified (log10Bayes Factor ≥6.1) eight additional novel lipid loci. Among the twelve total loci identified, the index variants at eight loci have demonstrated at least nominal significance with other metabolic traits in prior studies, and two loci exhibited coincident eQTLs (P < 1 × 10-5) in subcutaneous adipose tissue for BPTF and PDGFC. Taken together, these analyses identified multiple novel lipid loci, providing new potential therapeutic targets