The effect of different dietary iron levels on growth and hepatic iron concentration in juvenile gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio)

P>An 83-day growth trial was conducted using a flow-through system to examine the effects of different dietary iron levels on growth and hepatic iron concentration in juvenile gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). Six purified diets supplemented with different levels of iron (0, 10, 30, 60, 100 and 200 mg kg(-1)) (as ferrous sulfate) were fed to triplicate groups of fish (initial weight 2.12 +/- 0.00 g per fish). The results showed that the addition of iron to the basal diet did not significantly affect the specific growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency (FE), survival, red blood cell amount (RBC), hemoglobin content (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) or mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Hepatic iron concentration and hematocrit (Hct) were significantly influenced by dietary iron level (P < 0.05). On the basis of the iron concentration for the maintenance of optimum hepatic iron concentration and Hct, it was concluded that the dietary iron concentration of juvenile gibel carp should be not less than 202 mg Fe kg(-1) diet.

C1q-like inhibits p53-mediated apoptosis and controls normal hernatopoiesis during zebrafish embryogenesis

Except for the complement C1q, the immunological functions of other C1q family members have remained unclear. Here we describe zebrafish C1q-like, whose transcription and translation display a uniform distribution in early embryos, and are restricted to mid-hind brain and eye in later embryos. In vitro studies showed that C1q-like could inhibit the apoptosis induced by ActD and CHX in EPC cells, through repressing caspase 3/9 activities. Moreover, its physiological roles were studied by morpholino-mediated knockdown in zebrafish embryogenesis. In comparison with control embryos, the C1q-like knockdown embryos display obvious defects in the head and cramofacial development mediated through p53-induced apoptosis, which was confirmed by the in vitro transcribed C1q-like mRNA or p53 MO co-injection. TUNEL assays revealed extensive cell death, and caspase 3/9 activity measurement also revealed about two folds increase in C1q-like morphant embryos, which was inhibited by p53 MO co-injection. Real-time quantitative PCR showed the up-regulation expression of several apoptosis regulators such as p53, mdm2, p21, Box and caspase 3, and down-regulation expression of hbae1 in the C1q-like morphant embryos. Knockdown of C1q-like in zebrafish embryos decreased hemoglobin production and impaired the organization of mesencephalic vein and other brain blood vessels. Interestingly, exposure of zebrafish embryos to UV resulted in an increase in mRNA expression of C1q-like, whereas over-expression of C1q-like was not enough resist to the damage. Furthermore, C1q-like transcription was up-regulated in response to pathogen Aeromonas hydrophila, and embryo survival significantly decreased in the C1q-like morphants after exposure to the bacteria. The data suggested that C1q-like might play an antiapoptotic and protective role in inhibiting p53-dependent and caspase 3/9-mediated apoptosis during embryogenesis, especially in the brain development, and C1q-like should be a novel regulator of cell survival during zebrafish embryogenesis. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hematological and plasma biochemical responses of crucian carp (Carassius auratus) to intraperitoneal injection of extracted microcystins with the possible mechanisms of anemia

Alterations in hematological indices such as decreases in blood cell counts (RBC), hematocrit (Ht) and hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations are key symptoms of anemia. However, few experiments were conducted to examine changes in hematological indices of fish exposed to microcystins that are believed to be fatal to circulatory systems of vertebrates. An acute toxicological experiment was designed to study hematological changes of crucian carp injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with extracted microcystins at two doses, 50 and 200 mu g MC-LReqkg(-1) body weight. After being i.p. injected with microcystins, the fish exhibited behavioral abnormity. There were significant decreases in RBC in the high-dose group, and in Ht and Hb concentrations in both dose groups, while erythrocte sedimentation rate (ESR) significantly increased, indicating the appearance of normocytic anemia. There were no prominent changes in the three red cell indices, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH,), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Increases in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CR) in both dose groups suggest the occurrence of kidney impairment. Alteration in blood indices was reversible at the low dose group. Conclusively, anemia induced by kidney impairment was a key factor to cause abnormity of swimming behaviors and high mortality of crucian carp. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

生物活性有机锗及HPCPC双水相分离生物大分子的研究

本论文内容主要分为4个部分：“有机锗化合物抑制Maillard反应的研究”、“Ge-132对体外培养幼鼠胰岛细胞的作用研究”、“PEG／磷酸盐双水相体系中生物大分子分配的研究”和“HPCPC（High Performance Centrifugal Partition Chromatography，高效离心分配色谱）双水相体系对生物大分子分离的研究”。前两部分主要从有机锗化合物防治糖尿病及其并发症的代谢机理和细胞学角度进行研究，本文引入HPCPC和双水相体系分离生物大分子的技术，为进一步阐明有机锗化合物在Maillard反应过程中的作用机理：对双水相体系中生物大分子的分配及HPCPC在双水相体系中分离生物大分子也做了大量的基础性研究，为开发HPCPC的应用作出了有价值的探索工作。本论文的主要创新点归纳如下：一、有机锗化合物对Maillard反应的抑制作用：针对国际上有机锗发展的前沿课题，在国内首先开展了有机锗化合物对Maillard反应抑制作用的研究，取得了有价值的研究结果。1、在模拟体内的生理条件下，研究了不同浓度Ge-132对精氨酸、组氨酸、甘氨酸和缬氨酸对Maillard反应荧光峰强度的影响：不同类型的氨基酸Maillard反应产物结构上的差异和不同浓度有机锗对组氨酸糖化反应420nm处特征吸光度的影响。2、苯丙氨酸是侧链带有苯环的芳香族氨基酸，是一种具有弱的天然荧光的生物小分子，其荧光最大发射位置在281.6nm。由于aillard反应是葡萄糖和氨基酸的-NHR基发生的反应，其反应产物的特征荧光在440nm附近。这两类荧光的发射位置相差较远，相互之间没有影响，因此利用荧光法观察Phe在反应过程中自身的荧光变化和Ge-132对Phe的Maillard反应荧光产物的抑制情况。3、血清白蛋白是哺乳动物体内的重要蛋白质，可作为多种内源性、外源性物质的存储和转运蛋白，其Maillard反应已经被广泛重视，但较复杂的实验条件限制了它的研究。通过观测蛋白质Maillard反应产物特征荧光的变化是一有效的研究方法。BSA的内源性荧光是由肽链色氨酸和酪氨酸残基贡献的，其最大发射位置340nm左右。其Maillard反应产物的特征荧光在440nm附近，这两类荧光发射位置相差较远，基本上没有影响，因此能够通过荧光光谱研究BSA的Maillard反应荧光产物的情况。本文观测了Ge-132对BSA的Maillard反应荧光产物的抑制作用，同时还通过荧光法确定了一个文献中没有的新的反应位点。4、本文研究了具有更高水溶性的一类双有机锗化合物(HO)_2Ge(CHR_1CHR_2COOH)_2．2H_20抑制Maillard反应的特性，结果证明它比Ge-132具有更高的抑制作用，我们通过化合物的构效关系解释了上述作用的机制。5、本文研究了Tb(Ge-132)_3和Eu(Ge-132)_3两种含稀土的配合物对氨基酸、蛋白质Maillard反应的影响，观察了稀土离子对Maillard反应体系的影响，对实验现象作出了合理的解释。二、Ge-132对体外培养幼鼠胰岛细胞的作用为进一步考察有机锗对糖尿病的防治作用，我们与白求恩医大合作，首次观察了Ge-132对体外培养的幼鼠胰岛细胞结构和功能的影响，研究了不同剂量的含锗化合物对幼鼠胰岛细胞分泌胰岛素的作用，认为低浓度的Ge-132对胰岛细胞分泌胰岛素具有明显的促进作用。该部分内容为首次报导。三、PEG／磷酸盐双水相体系中生物大分子分配的研究双水相萃取TPE(Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction)具有下述优点：生物相容性好、界面张力低、能量低、易于工业规模的放大、可以进行连续操作等。本论文系统地研究了各种蛋白质在PEG／磷酸盐体系中的分离情况，如在各种pH条件下，从6.8到9.2，各种分子量的PEG，包括PEGl000，2000，5000，6000，10000，和20000和磷酸盐双水相体系的物化性质，以及对lysozyme（溶菌酶），BSA（牛血清白蛋白），HSA（人血清白蛋白），Hemoglobin（血红蛋白）在各种体系中的分配系数，探讨了各种因素对生物大分子分配的影响。四、HPCPC在双水相体系对生物大分子分离的研究由于荧光光谱法证实了Ge-132对牛血清白蛋白Maillard反应的抑制作用。但对于如何能够分离出糖化产物，达到进行定量表征的目的是我们研究的一个重要内容。九十年代初，由日本研制出一种色谱中新技术HPCPC。HPCPC与传统的液相色谱(LC)和高效液相色谱(HPLC)不同，不需要固体作为支持体。流动相和固定相分别为两种不相混溶的液体，通过离心力的作用使其中一相作为固定相保持在类似多级萃取器的微小分配槽中，另一相作为流动相流经固定相。HPCPC在双水相体系的应用是一种利用多级连续萃取从双水相中分离生物物质的方法它具有运行时间快、高效高选择性，流动相与固定相之间比例可以任意改变，并在任何pH值均可进行正向和反向操作并且实验室规模可一步直接放大到生产规模。它不仅可以作为一种分离的工具，而且也是一种研究生物萃取反应动力学机理，反映热力学与动力学之间相关性的重要方法。本论文中研究了常用的两种双水相体系，利用PEG6000／Dex20000／H_20对BSA和Maillard反应产生的糖化BSA进行了初步分离，取得了一些阶段性结论。另外，通过对各种条件的筛选，选择了具有代表性的lysozyme和BSA，BSA和血红蛋白(Hb)进行HPCPC色谱仪上的分离，研究了色谱分离条件如：转数、流速、pH等对分离效率及理论塔板数的影响，取得了一系列重要的结论。为工业上大规模的生物样品分离提供了重要的参数。

Study of urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine as a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage in diabetic nephropathy patients

Increased oxidative stress induced by hyperglycemia may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. Urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) has been reported to serve as a sensitive biomarker of oxidative DNA damage and also of oxidative stress. This article studied oxidative DNA damage in patients with diabetic nephropathy and in healthy control subjects by urinary 8-OHdG evaluations. Contents of 8-OHdG in urine were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis with end-column amperometric detection (CE-AD) after a single-step solid-phase extraction (SPE). Levels of urinary 8-OHdG in diabetic nephropathy patients with macroalbuminuria was significant higher than in control subjects (5.72 +/- 6.89 mumol/mol creatinine versus 2.33 +/- 2.83 mumol/mol creatinine, P = 0.018). A significant difference of 24 h urinary 8-OHdG excretions exists between the patients with macroalbuminuria and the patients with nonnoalbuminuria (19.2 +/- 16.8 mug/24 h versus 8.1 +/- 1.7 mug/24 h, P = 0.015). There was a positive correlation between urinary excretion of 8-OHdG and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1)c) (r = 0.287, P = 0.022). A weak correlation exists between the levels of 8-OHdG and triglyceride (r = 0.230, P = 0.074). However, the urinary 8-OHdG contents are not correlated with blood pressure and total cholesterol. The increased excretion of urinary 8-OHdG is seen as indicating an increased systemic level of oxidative DNA damage in diabetic nephropathy patients. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On-line hyphenation of capillary isoelectric focusing and capillary gel electrophoresis by a dialysis interface

An on-line two-dimensional (2D) capillary electrophoresis (CE) system consisting of capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) and capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) was introduced. To validate this 2D system, a dialysis interface was developed by mounting a hollow fiber on a methacrylate resin plate to hyphenate the two CE modes. The two dimensions of capillary shared a cathode fixated into a reservoir in the methacrylate plate; thus, with three electrodes and only one high-voltage source, a 2D CE framework was successfully established. A practical 2D CIEF-CGE experiment was carried out to deal with a target protein, hemoglobin (Hb). After the Hb variants with different isoelectric points (pIs) were focused in various bands in the first-dimension capillary, they were chemically mobilized one after another and fed to the second-dimension capillary for further separation in polyacrylamide gel. During this procedure, a single CIEF band was separated into several peaks due to different molecular weights. The resulting electrophoregrarn is quite different from that of either CIEF or CGE; therefore, more information about the studied Hb sample can be obtained.

Sensing H2O2 with layer-by-layer assembled Fe3O4-PDDA nanocomposite film

It was found that Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) possess intrinsic enzyme mimetic activity similar to that found in natural peroxidase. Here, we applied Fe3O4 NPs to the construction of efficient electrochemical sensor to detect the concentration of hydrogen peroxide. The sensor was fabricated with layer-by-layer assembly of Fe3O4 NPs and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) through the electrostatic interaction, and the multilayer film was characterized with UV-vis absorption spectra, atomic force microscopy, and cyclic voltammetry.

Sensitive, Label-Free Protein Assay Using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Tetrafluoroborate Supported Microchip Electrophoresis with Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection

Based on the dimer-monomer equilibrium movement of the fluorescent dye Pyronin Y (PY), a rapid, simple, highly sensitive, label-free method for protein detection was developed by microchip electrophoresis with LIF detection. PY formed a nonfluorescent dimer induced by the premicellar aggregation of an anionic surfactant, SDS, however, the fluorescence intensity of the system increased dramatically when proteins such as BSA, bovine hemoglobin, cytochrome c, and trypsin were added to the solution due to the transition of dimer to fluorescent monomer. Furthermore, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMImBF(4)) instead of PBS was applied as running buffers in microchip electrophoresis.

Electrochemical and electrochemiluminescence study of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-doped silica nanoparticles with covalently grafted biomacromolecules

Spherical Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-doped silica (RuSi) nanoparticles were prepared via a water-in-oil microemulsion approach. The electrochemical and electrochemiluminescent properties of the RuSi nanoparticles immobilized on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode were investigated. Further, electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of the RuSi nanoparticles with covalently coated biomacromolecules was studied. By covalent cross-linking with glutaraldehyde, gamma-(aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES)-pretreated RuSi nanoparticles were coupled with different concentrations of bovine serum albumin (BSA), hemoglobin, and myoglobin, respectively.

One-step immobilization of tris(2,2 '-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) via vapor-surface sol-gel deposition towards solid-state electrochemiluminescence detection

A novel method for immobilization of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2) on electrode surfaces based on the vapor-surface sol-gel deposition strategy is first demonstrated in this paper. Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2 immobilized sol-gel (Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2/sol-gel) films were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy and field-emitted scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). These results showed that Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2 was successfully incorporated into the silica sol-gel film. it was found that many irregular Ru(bpy)(3)Cl-2/sol-gel clusters were formed on surfaces through one deposition and thick sol-gel films were observed after further deposition.

Direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase and biosensing for glucose based on carbon nanotubes@SnO2-Au composite

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes@SnO2-Au (MWCNTs@SnO2-Au) composite was synthesized by a chemical route. The structure and composition of the MWCNTs@SnO2-Au composite were confirmed by means of transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy. Due to the good electrocatalytic property of MWCNTs@SnO2-Au composite, a glucose biosensor was constructed by absorbing glucose oxidase (GOD) on the hybrid material. A direct electron transfer process is observed at the MWCNTs@SnO2-Au/GOD-modified glassy carbon electrode. The glucose biosensor has a linear range from 4.0 to 24.0 mM, which is suitable for glucose determination by real samples. It should be worthwhile noting that, from 4.0 to 12.0 mM, the cathodic peak currents of the biosensor decrease linearly with increasing the glucose concentrations in human blood. Meanwhile, the resulting biosensor can also prevent the effects of interfering species.

Electrochemistry of glucose oxidase immobilized on the carbon nanotube wrapped by polyelectrolyte

A more stably dispersing of multi-wall carbon nanotube composite (noted as PDDA-MWNT), which was obtained by wrapping the MWNT with poly (diallydimethylammonium) chloride (PDDA), was used for the immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOD) and its bioelectrochemical studies. The morphologies and structures of the PDDA-MWNT composite were characterized by environment-canning electron microscopy (ESEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry were used to feature the GOD adsorbed onto the electrode modified by PDDA-MWNT composite. The immobilized GOD at the PDDA-MWNT films exhibited a pair of well-defined nearly reversible redox peaks and a fast heterogeneous electron transfer rate with the rate constant (k(s)) of 2.76 s(-1). In addition, GOD immobilized in this way retained its bioelectrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of glucose. The method of immobilizing GOD without any additional cross-linking agents presented here is easy and facile, which provides a model for other redox enzymes and proteins.

Direct electrochemistry and bioelectrocatalysis of horseradish peroxidase immobilized on active carbon

For the first time horseradish peroxidase (HRP) immobilized on the surface of active carbon powder modified at the surface of a glassy carbon electrode has been shown to undergo a direct quasi-reversible electrochemical reaction. Its formal potential, E-o/, is -0.363 V in phosphate buffer solution (pH 6.8) at a scan rate of 100 mV/s and is almost independent of the scan rate in the range of 50-700 mV/s. The dependence of E-o/ on the pH of the buffer solution indicated that the conversion of HRP-Fe(III)/HRP-Fe(II) is a one-electron-transfer reaction process coupled with one-proton-transfer. The experimental results also demonstrated that the immobilized HRP retained its bioelectrocatalytic activity to the reduction of H2O2. Furthermore, the HRP adsorbed oil the surface of the active carbon powder can be stored at 4 degreesC for several months without any loss of the enzyme activity. The method presented for immobilizing HRP can be easily extended to immobilize and obtain the direct electrochemistry of other enzymes.

Protein structural characterization by scanning tunneling microscopy with electrochemistry

The structure characterization of proteins or enzymes by STM on electrochemically prepared HOPG surface studied in this laboratory is reviewed. The serial structures of Hb were observed. The differences between the denaturation and inactivation of HRP were investigated by in situ and ex situ STM. The structural variation of Hb in an organic solvent was imaged while protein denaturation was easily observed in a polar solvent.

Detection of specific noncovalent protein-fullerenols complexes by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry is difficult for the characterization of noncovalent complexes hitherto because of the limitations in acidic matrix, sample preparation, laser-induced polymerization and adduct formation with matrix. Under our experimental conditions, sinapinic acid is used as a matrix, the specific noncovalent interactions of protein with fullerenols were observed by MALDI mass spectrometry. Some mass spectrometric features, such as mass shifts, broad adduct peaks and stoichiometries, showed that the specific non-covalent complexes between protein and fullerenols have been formed at a ratio of 1 : 4 for hemoglobin-fullerenols or 1 : 1 for myoglobin-fullerenols. The results implied that fullereneols could be used to protect partly hemoglobin from decomposition in acidic media, and therefore, it is possible to realize the molecular weight determination of a quaternary protein by MALDI mass spectrometry via the addition of specific organic compound in the matrix.