OBJECTIVEIn order to get the method for improving the salt resistance of Lycium ruthenium seeds and seedlings under NaCl stress, the seed germination and physiological characteristics of L. ruthenium seedlings was studied.

METHODSeveral physiological indexes of L. ruthenium seeds under NaCl stress, such as the germination rate (Gr), germination vigor (Gv), germination index (Gi), vigor index (Vi), and relative salt damage rate were measured. Other indexes of the seedlings like relative water contents (RWC) , chlorophyll contents, soluble protein contents, electrolyte leakage, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), and peroxidase (POD) were also measured.

RESULTNaCl at lower concentration could promote the seed germination but inhibit the seed germination at higher concentration. After the treatment by CaCl2 at the different concentrations, all germination indexes were increased. With the increase of salt concentration, the relative water contents and the contents of chlorophyll were decreased, the content of MDA and electrolyte leakage were increased. The change trend of POD activity showed the first increase and then decrease with the increase of salt concentration, which was similar to that of the soluble protein. After the treatment by CaCl2, relative water contents, chlorophyll and POD activities were decreased more slowly, and also electrolyte leakage and MDA contents increased slowly.

CONCLUSIONThe CaCl2 could significantly alleviate the damages to the seeds and seedlings of L. ruthenium under NaCl stress, and promote the salt resistance to the seeds and seedlings of L. ruthenium.

Calcium ; pharmacology ; Germination ; drug effects ; Lycium ; drug effects ; metabolism ; physiology ; Seedlings ; drug effects ; metabolism ; physiology ; Seeds ; drug effects ; metabolism ; physiology ; Sodium Chloride ; metabolism

The nucleotide sequence and N-, C-terminal amino acid sequences of alpha,beta-subunit of glutaryl 7-ACA acylase C130 from Pseudomonas sp. 130 were determined. The alignment of the acylase C130 with the other acylases shows that it has high homology with the acylases from Pseudomonas sp. GK16 and C427, but low homology with the others. There is large difference in the N-terminal of alpha-subunit, while the N-terminal of beta-subunit has significant conservation.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; DNA, Bacterial ; analysis ; Genes, Bacterial ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Penicillin Amidase ; genetics ; Pseudomonas ; enzymology ; genetics ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid

OBJECTIVESalt-sensitivity plays an important role in essential hypertension and is associated with more severe target organ injury and higher mortality in patients with essential hypertension. However, the pathologic mechanism of salt-sensitivity is poorly understood and endothelial dysfunction might be involved in salt-sensitive hypertension. We, therefore, observed the endothelial function changes by measuring plasma and urine nitric oxide (NO) concentrations in salt-sensitive (SS) normotensive and mild hypertensive subjects underwent various salt loading protocols and the effects of potassium supplement.

METHODSThirty-nine normotensive and mild hypertensive subjects (< 160/100 mm Hg), aged 16-60, were enrolled and the study protocol is as follows: 3 days baseline investigation, 1 week low-salt loading (3 g/day), 1 week. high-salt loading (18 g/day) and 1 week high-salt loading plus potassium chloride (4.5 g/day).

RESULTSPlasma and urine NO levels were significantly lower in SS (n = 8) subjects at baseline, low-salt and high-salt loading phases compared with salt-resistant subjects (SR, n = 31) and oral potassium supplement to SS subjects with high salt loading significantly increased plasma and urine NO levels.

CONCLUSIONEndothelial function is impaired in normotensive and mild hypertensive SS subjects. Oral potassium supplement could improve endothelial function in normotensive and mild hypertensive SS subjects.

Adult ; Antihypertensive Agents ; Blood Pressure ; Endothelium ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Male ; Nitric Oxide ; blood ; urine ; Potassium, Dietary ; administration & dosage

ObjectiveTo investigate the role of bile acid receptor TGR5 activation in renal fibrosis induced by unilateral ischemia reperfusion injury and contralateral nephrectomy （uIRIx） model. MethodsIn vivo： C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into Sham group， uIRIx group and uIRIx+ lithcholic acid （LCA） group with 6 mice in each group. Kidney fibrosis was induced by uIRIx model， kidney function was evaluated by blood and urine biochemical indexes， and the degree of kidney injury was evaluated by HE staining. Masson staining and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the degree of renal fibrosis， and Western Blotting was used to detect the expression of related index proteins of renal cortical fibrosis. Sham group and uIRIx group were set in TGR5^+/+ mice and TGR5^-/- mice respectively， with 6 mice in each group. The degree of renal fibrosis in each group was detected by Western Blotting. In vitro： TGF-β1 was administered to induce pro-fibrosis response in human renal tubular epithelial cell line （HK2 cells）， LCA was used for drug intervention， cytoskeleton was labeled with phalloidin-FITC staining and the expression of fibrosis related indicator protein in HK2 cells was detected by Western Blotting. ResultsIn vivo： Compared with the Sham group， plasma creatinine level （P=0.007） and urinary albumin/creatinine ratio （P=0.041） in uIRIx group were significantly increased， renal cortical protein TGR5 expression （P=0.002） was decreased， Fibronectin expression （P=0.020） and COL1A1 expression （P<0.001） were increased. At the same time， the kidney structure was damaged and collagen deposition was aggravated. LCA intervention effectively improved the kidney function and alleviated the degree of kidney injury and fibrosis. TGR5 gene knockout increased uIRIx-induced Fibronectin expression （P<0.001） and COL1A1 expression （P=0.001） compared with TGR5^+/+ mice. In vitro： TGF-β1 induced morphological changes of HK2 cells， cytoskeletal depolymerization and recombination， and promoted the up-regulation of fibrosis index protein. LCA effectively inhibited the morphological changes and skeletal depolymerization induced by TGF-β1， and down-regulated the expression of fibrosis related indicator proteins. ConclusionsLCA alleviated renal fibrosis induced by uIRIx model， and knockout of TGR5 gene aggravated uIRIx induced renal fibrosis； In HK2 cells， LCA alleviated fibrogenic reaction induced by TGF-β1. This indicates that activation of TGR5 alleviates renal fibrosis induced by uIRIx.

COVID-19 is caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Current systemic vaccines generally provide limited protection against viral replication and shedding within the airway. Recombinant VSV (rVSV) is an effective vector which inducing potent and comprehensive immunities. Currently, there are two clinical trials investigating COVID-19 vaccines based on VSV vectors. These vaccines were developed with spike protein of WA1 which administrated intramuscularly. Although intranasal route is ideal for activating mucosal immunity with VSV vector, safety is of concern. Thus, a highly attenuated rVSV with three amino acids mutations in matrix protein (VSV_MT) was developed to construct safe mucosal vaccines against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. It demonstrated that spike protein mutant lacking 21 amino acids in its cytoplasmic domain could rescue rVSV efficiently. VSV_MT indicated improved safeness compared with wild-type VSV as the vector encoding SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. With a single-dosed intranasal inoculation of rVSV_ΔGMT-S_Δ21, potent SARS-CoV-2 specific neutralization antibodies could be stimulated in animals, particularly in term of mucosal and cellular immunity. Strikingly, the chimeric VSV encoding S_Δ21 of Delta-variant can induce more potent immune responses compared with those encoding S_Δ21 of Omicron- or WA1-strain. VSV_MT is a promising platform to develop a mucosal vaccine for countering COVID-19.