Objective To investigate the effects of intestinal ischemia-reperfusion(I/R)on cerebral microglial activation in rats.Methods One hundred and twenty-eight healthy male SD rats weighing 250-300 g were randomly allocated to one of two groups(n =64 each):group sham operation(group S)and intestinal I/R group.Intestinal I/R was produced by occlusion of superior mesenteric stery for 90 main followed by reperfusion.Sixteen animals were sacrificed at each of the 4 time points:2,6,24 and 48 h of reperfusion in each group.Their intestines were obtained for microscopic examination.Their brains were harvested for detection of microglial activation (by immuno-histochemistry).The reactive oxygen species(ROS),MDA and NO contents and SOD,nitric oxide synthase(NOS)and inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)activities in the brain were measured.Results The microglia were in quiescent condition.Ibal staining was negative or light in group S.Intestinal I/R significantly increased intestinal Chiu score,cerebral microglial activation at 6,24 and 48 h of repeffusion which peaked at 24 h of reperfusion in group I/R as compared with group S.Cerebral ROS,MDA,NO levels and NOS,iNOS activities were significantly higher while SOD activity was significantly lower in group I/R than in group S.Concluslon Intestinal I/R can activate microglia and induce the release of nitrogen and oxygen free radicals resulting in cerebral injury.

The endophytic fungus named FSN006 was isolated from the inner bark of Juglans mandshurica. It grew quickly and formed circular colony on PDA plate. The upper side of the colony was white, while the lower side of the colony and the conditioned medium were light yellow as a result of significant yellow pigment substances were produced and secreted by the fungi. Green elliptic conidia appeared when cultured on CMX plate. Based on the morphology identification and ITS sequence, it was clear that this fungus belonged to the Deuteromycotina, HyPhomycetes, Moniliales, Trichoderma longibrachiatum. The conditioned medium of FSN006 showed a high anti-tumor ability against liver cancer cell-HepG2, and reached its IC50 concentration after being diluted 20 times, while the IC50 concentration of curcumine was(11.49 +/- 0.12) mg x L(-1). In addition, there was preeminent selective inhibiting effect against the normal liver cell strain HL-7702 and its caner counter strain HepG2. The inhibiting effect against strain HL-7702 was only one quarter of that against HepG2 at the concentration of IC50. Therefore, the fermentation of FSN006 may provide a possible way to produce anticancer drug with higher efficiency and lower toxicity.
Antineoplastic Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Biological Factors ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Juglans ; microbiology ; Plant Bark ; microbiology ; Trichoderma ; chemistry ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the relative expression of the genes involved in artemisinin biosynthesis in different tissues including roots, stems, leaves and flowers of Artemisia annua, and establish the relationship between gene expression and artemisinin accumulation, eventually leading to discover the mainly effective genes involved in artemisinin biosynthesis.

METHODThe 7 functional genes involved in artemisinin biosynthesis were detected at the level of expression by using qRT-PCR, and simultaneously the content of artemisinin in the 4 investigated tissues was detected in parallel.

RESULTThe 3 genes including HMGR, DXR and FPS which were involved in the upstream pathway of artemisinin biosynthesis showed the highest expression levels in flowers, and the 4 functional genes including ADS, CYP71AV1, CPR and AAR which were involved in the artemisinin-specific biosynthetic pathway were found to be expressed in all the 4 detected tissues. The highest expression level of ADS was found in leaves, then followed by flowers, and the lowest expression level of ADS was found in roots and stems. CYP71AV1 had highest expression level in flowers and lowest in leaves. CPR showed highest expression level in flowers, and AAR had lower expression levels in the other 3 artemisinin-specific pathway genes in all the tissues. The highest content of artemisinin was found in leaves (0.343 mg x g(-1)), then followed by flowers (0.152 mg x g(-1)), roots (0.062 mg x g(-1)) and stems (0.060 mg x g(-1)).

CONCLUSIONIn the biosynthesis of artemisinin, the upstream genes including HMGR from the MVA pathway, DXR from the MEP pathway and the checkpoint gene FPS were much more active in flowers, and this suggested that flowers might be the tissues of artemisinin precursor biosynthesis, and further DXR contributed more to artemisinin biosynthesis. The positive correlation of ADS expression and artemisinin content in tissues demonstrated that ADS played a very important role in artemisinin biosynthesis, which was the ideal target for engineering the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway. In summary, the functional genes involved in artemisinin biosynthesis do not express at the same level but synergistically.

Artemisia annua ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Artemisinins ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

Catharanthine content and agronomic traits in major Catharanthus roseus varieties were analyzed. It was found that there existed great difference in catharanthine content and agronomic traits among the varieties. Catharanthine content was the highest in variety Pacifica Polka Dot (PPD), reaching 3.79 mg g(-1) dry leaf weight, and the lowest in variety Cooler Pink (CP) with only 0.9 mg g(-1) dry leaf weight. Correlation existed in certain extent between catharanthine content and agronomic traits in C. roseus. Path analysis showed that among all the agronomic traits analyzed, internodal distance positively affected catharanthine content at significant level (P<0.05), with the path coefficient being 1.473. This study provides useful information for high-catharanthine content C. roseus introduction and breeding.
Catharanthus ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Plant Leaves ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Vinca Alkaloids ; analysis ; metabolism

Secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi FSN002 from Juglans mandshurica Maxim have excellent liver cancer resistance. Preparation of mutant strains is an important means to study the biosynthesis mechanism of catalitaxol. Fungal spores germinating young hyphae with 4 to 6 cells after culturing for 13 hours were used as starting materials of ultraviolet (UV) mutagenesis. UV light intensity and irradiation time have a linear relationship with fungal mortality. The two factors had no obvious interactions. When UV light was 90 000 μJ/cm2 and irradiation time for 6 s, the mortality of fungi was around 95%. Under the optimization mutation condition, two mutant strains were obtained, of which one lost the synthesis ability of catalitaxol completely, and the another synthetized only 16% catalitaxol of the wild strain. Our findings may serve basis for further study on the biosynthesis mechanism and efficient production of catalitaxol.

Artemisia annua is the main natural source of artemisinin production. In A. annua, extended drought stress severely reduces its biomass and artemisinin production while short-term water-withholding or abscisic acid (ABA) treatment can increase artemisinin biosynthesis. ABA-responsive transcription factor AabZIP1 and JA signaling AaMYC2 have been shown in separate studies to promote artemisinin production by targeting several artemisinin biosynthesis genes. Here, we found AabZIP1 promote the expression of multiple artemisinin biosynthesis genes including AaDBR2 and AaALDH1, which AabZIP1 does not directly activate. Subsequently, it was found that AabZIP1 up-regulates AaMYC2 expression through direct binding to its promoter, and that AaMYC2 binds to the promoter of AaALDH1 to activate its transcription. In addition, AabZIP1 directly transactivates wax biosynthesis genes AaCER1 and AaCYP86A1. The biosynthesis of artemisinin and cuticular wax and the tolerance of drought stress were significantly increased by AabZIP1 overexpression, whereas they were significantly decreased in RNAi-AabZIP1 plants. Collectively, we have uncovered the AabZIP1-AaMYC2 transcriptional module as a point of cross-talk between ABA and JA signaling in artemisinin biosynthesis, which may have general implications. We have also identified AabZIP1 as a promising candidate gene for the development of A. annua plants with high artemisinin content and drought tolerance in metabolic engineering breeding.