Lithocarpus litseifolius is rich in the chalcones phloridzin and trilobatin, the biosynthesis pathways of which have not been fully demonstrated. Chalcone synthase(CHS) is the first key rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of flavonoids in plants. To explore the functions of CHS gene family in chalcone synthesis of L. litseifolius, this study screened out two CHS genes(LlCHS1 and LlCHS2) from the transcriptome data of this plant, and then bioinformatics analysis and functional characterization were performed for the two genes. The bioinformatics analysis showed that LlCHS1 and LlCHS2 were acidic hydrophilic stable proteins with no transmembrane domain, composed of 395 and 390 amino acid residues, respectively. Both of them contained the characteristic amino acid sequence "WGVLFGFGPGL" and highly conserved active sites(Cys-164, Phe-215, His-303, and Asn-336) of the CHS family. The phylogenetic tree showed that LlCHS1 shared the same clade with similar genes in Aquilaria sinensis, and LlCHS2 was closely related to similar genes in Malus domestica. Under exogenous addition of phloretic acid, co-expression of LlCHS1 or LlCHS2 with Aa4CL from Aromatoleum aromaticum in Escherichia coli catalyzed the production of phloretin from phloretic acid. This study laid a theoretical foundation for revealing the functions of CHS in plants and provided new enzymatic modules for producing phloretin by synthetic biology.
Acyltransferases/chemistry* ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins/chemistry* ; Cloning, Molecular ; Amino Acid Sequence

Altitude ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Endothelial Progenitor Cells ; Glycated Hemoglobin A ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: To develop a method for the simultaneous and rapid detection of five mushroom toxins (α-amanitin, phallacidin, muscimol, muscarine and psilocin) in blood by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS). METHODS: The blood samples were precipitated with acetonitrile-water solution(V_acetonitril∶V_water=3∶1) and PAX powder, then separated on ACQUITY Premier C₁₈ column, eluted gradient. Five kinds of mushroom toxins were monitored by FullMS-ddMS²/positive ion scanning mode, and qualitative and quantitative analysis was conducted according to the accurate mass numbers of primary and secondary fragment ions. RESULTS: All the five mushroom toxins had good linearity in their linear range, with a determination coefficient (R²)≥0.99. The detection limit was 0.2-20 ng/mL. The ration limit was 0.5-50 ng/mL. The recoveries of low, medium and high additive levels were 89.6%-101.4%, the relative standard deviation was 1.7%-6.7%, the accuracy was 90.4%-101.3%, the intra-day precision was 0.6%-9.0%, the daytime precision was 1.7%-6.3%, and the matrix effect was 42.2%-129.8%. CONCLUSIONS The method is simple, rapid, high recovery rate, and could be used for rapid and accurate qualitative screening and quantitative analysis of various mushroom toxins in biological samples at the same time, so as to provide basis for the identification of mushroom poisoning events.
Agaricales ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Humans ; Mushroom Poisoning/diagnosis* ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry/methods*

Purpose To analyze the effects of full length and N-terminal fragment of serum response factor (SRF-Full and SRF-N) on TGF-β1-induced differentiation in c-Kit + cardiac stem cells (CSC).Methods Rat SRF-Full and SRF-N (1-254 aa) coding sequences were obtained from cDNA library and cloned into the linearized lentviral vector GV358 (Ubi-MCS3FLAG-SV40-EGFP-IRES-puromycin) to generate the recombinant vectors,and then positive clones were selected and sequenced after transducing the competent cells with recombinant vectors.The recombinant lentvirus were packaged through transfecting the HEK293T cells with SRF-Full,SRF-N overexpressing plasmids and viral packaging plasmids.Neonatal SD rat cKit + CSCs were isolated via magnetic activated cell sorting,and TGF-β1-induced differentiation in SRF-Full and SRF-N overexpression virus-infected CSCs was assessed by quantitative PCR.Results SRF-Full and SRF-N coding sequences were successfully obtained and properly cloned into the linearized GV358.The positive clones were selected and further confirmed by sequencing.With the help of packaging plasmids,the SRFFull and SRF-N overexpressing plasmids-transfected HEK293T cells successfully produced the lentiviral particles with the titer of 2 × 108 TU/mL,and the SRF-Full-Flag and SRF-N-Flag fusion protein were detected by Western blot in virus-infected HEK293T cells.Addition of TGF-β1 significantly induced upregulated mRNAs in cardiomyocyte markers (Nkx2.5,Gata4,cTnI) and smooth muscle cell marker (SM22α) but not the epithelia cell marker (vWF) in CSCs.Overexpression of SRF-Full facilitated TGF-β1-triggered cardiomyocyte differentiation.However,SRF-N exerted anti-differentiation effects in TGF-β1-treated cells.Conclusion The SRF-Full and SRF-N overexpressing recombinant lentiviral vectors are successfully constructed.SRF-Full facilitates while SRF-N suppresses TGF-β1-induced cardiomyocyte differentiation in c-Kit + CSCs.

Adverse reactions like weight gain and lipid metabolism disorders are often observed in the treatment of atypical antipsychotic drugs,which have shown great individual differences,but the mechanism is still uncertain.Research on pharmacogenomics indicate that gene polymorphism may play an important role.The drugs could increase food intake by acting on some related central receptors,or effect lipid metabolism in the adipose cell and hepatocyte.In this review,genes and polymorphisms related to lipid metabolic adverse drug reactions of atypical antipsychotic drugs were analyzed in these two aspects,so as to provide references for individualized medication and research.

OBJECTIVETo study the role of pathogenic microorganisms commonly associated with chronic eye disease, including Chlamydia psittaci, Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and type 2, and adenovirus type 8 and type 19, in the development of primary ocular adnexal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma in Chinese patients.

METHODSSixty-eight archival cases of primary ocular adnexal lymphoproliferative lesions, including 38 cases of MALT lymphoma, 3 cases of non-MALT lymphoma and 27 cases of chronic inflammation, were enrolled into the study. DNA was extracted from the paraffin-embedded tissue samples. The presence of DNA of C. psittaci, C. trachomatis, C. pneumoniae, HSV type 1, HSV type 2, adenovirus type 8 and adenovirus type 19 were analyzed by multiplex touchdown enzyme time-release polymerase chain reaction (TETR-PCR).

RESULTSAll of the specimens yielded PCR products of over 100 base pairs and were thus suitable for TETR-PCR screening of infectious agents. The prevalence of DNA of C. psittaci, C. trachomatis and adenovirus type 19 were 0 in MALT lymphoma, non-MALT lymphoma and chronic inflammation. There were 2 cases positive for C. pneumoniae DNA, amongst the 38 cases of MALT lymphoma studied (5.3%, 2/38). HSV type 1, HSV type 2 and adenovirus type 8 DNA was found in each of the 3 patients with chronic inflammation.

CONCLUSIONThe study indicates that C. psittaci, C. trachomatis, C. pneumoniae, HSV type 1, HSV type 2, adenovirus type 8 and adenovirus type 19 probably play little role in the pathogenesis of ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma in Chinese patients.

Adenovirus Infections, Human ; virology ; Adenoviruses, Human ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Chlamydia Infections ; microbiology ; Chlamydia trachomatis ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Chlamydophila Infections ; microbiology ; Chlamydophila pneumoniae ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Chlamydophila psittaci ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; DNA, Bacterial ; analysis ; DNA, Viral ; analysis ; Eye Infections ; microbiology ; virology ; Eye Neoplasms ; microbiology ; virology ; Herpes Simplex ; virology ; Herpesvirus 1, Human ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Herpesvirus 2, Human ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone ; microbiology ; virology ; Psittacosis ; microbiology