Gene silencing of HPV16 E6/E7 induced by promoter-targeting siRNA in SiHa cells

Background:

Recently, transcriptional gene silencing induced by small interfering RNA (siRNA) was found in mammalian and human cells. However, previous studies focused on endogenous genes.

Methods:

In this study, we designed siRNA targeting the promoter of human papillomavirus 16 E6/E7 and transfected it into the cervical cancer cell line, SiHa. E6 and E7 mRNA and protein expression were detected in cells treated by promoter-targeting siRNA. Futhermore, cellular growth, proliferation, apoptosis and senescence were detected. Thereafter, we investigated promoter DNA methylation and histone methylation status in cells treated with promoter-targeting siRNA.

Results:

We found that E6/E7 mRNA and protein were simultaneously reduced, cell growth and proliferation were inhibited and cell death, especially senescence, was remarkably increased. Meanwhile, we also found a significantly increasing histone H3-Lys9 methylation on the promoter when E6/E7 gene expression was inhibited.

Interpretation:

Our findings suggest that promoter-targeting siRNA effectively and simultaneously knocks down both extraneous HPV 16 E6 and E7 at the transcriptional level, and consequently inhibits proliferation and induces death in HPV 16-infected cells. This transcriptional repression is probably induced by histone modification rather than by alteration of DNA methylation.

A new strategy to apply Bacillus subtilis MA139 for the production of solid-state fermentation feed

AIM

The study investigated the potential of using Bacillus subtilis MA139 in combination with Lactobacillus fermentum and Saccharomyces cerevisae to produce solid-state fermentation feed.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In a pure fermentation, B. subtilis MA139 was able to grow and synthesize antimicrobial substances at temperatures from 25 to 37 degrees C and at a pH from 5.0 to 9.0. Subsequently, B. subtilis MA139, Lact. fermentum and S. cerevisae were used as starter strains co-inoculated in unsterilized substrate (feed-grade soybean meal and wheat bran). Following 10 days of fermentation in a newly developed plastic bag equipped with a one-way valve, lactic acid bacteria and Bacillus became the predominant strains while S. cerevisae cells decreased slightly. Enterobacteriaceae (Escherichia coli K88 and Salmonella typhimurium) were not detected.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of B. subtilis MA139 as a starter strain co-inoculated with S. cerevisae and Lact. fermentum successfully controlled the growth of enterobacteriaceae.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study provided a facile and low-cost way to produce solid-state fermentation feed.

Toward ultrafast time-resolved Debye-Scherrer x-ray diffraction using a laser-plasma source

An elliptical glass capillary has been used to focus ultrashort Cu K alpha x-ray pulses emitted from a femtosecond laser-produced plasma. Due to its high magnification (7x), the optic transforms the divergent x-ray emission of the plasma into a quasicollimated x-ray beam with a divergence of only 0.18 degrees. As an application we demonstrate the possibility to perform Debye-Scherrer diffraction experiments with the simultaneous detection of several diffraction orders. This will allow one to extend time-resolved x-ray diffraction with femtosecond laser-plasma x-ray sources to a much wider range of materials, which are not easily available as single crystals.

Optimized Kalpha x-ray flashes from femtosecond-laser-irradiated foils

We investigate the generation of ultrashort Kalpha pulses from plasmas produced by intense femtosecond p-polarized laser pulses on Copper and Titanium targets. Particular attention is given to the interplay between the angle of incidence of the laser beam on the target and a controlled prepulse. It is observed experimentally that the Kalpha yield can be optimized for correspondingly different prepulse and plasma scale-length conditions. For steep electron-density gradients, maximum yields can be achieved at larger angles. For somewhat expanded plasmas expected in the case of laser pulses with a relatively poor contrast, the Kalpha yield can be enhanced by using a near-normal-incidence geometry. For a certain scale-length range (between 0.1 and 1 times a laser wavelength) the optimized yield is scale-length independent. Physically this situation arises because of the strong dependence of collisionless absorption mechanisms-in particular resonance absorption-on the angle of incidence and the plasma scale length, giving scope to optimize absorption and hence the Kalpha yield. This qualitative description is supported by calculations based on the classical resonance absorption mechanism and by particle-in-cell simulations. Finally, the latter simulations also show that even for initially steep gradients, a rapid profile expansion occurs at oblique angles in which ions are pulled back toward the laser by hot electrons circulating at the front of the target. The corresponding enhancement in Kalpha yield under these conditions seen in the present experiment represents strong evidence for this suprathermal shelf formation effect.

Toxic effects of two acid sulfate soils from the Dabaoshan Mine on Corymbia citriodora var.variegata and Daphnia carinata

Acidic, metal-stressed conditions encountered in the acid sulfate soils significantly inhibited the growth of Corymbia citriodora var.variegata, possibly due to the reduced rate of photosynthesis and plant root activity. However, the plant's self-protection mechanism to counteract stress-induced cellular damage by reactive oxygen species still functioned well even at a soil pH as low as 2.81. This may explain the high tolerance of this plant species to the extremely acidic environments. The observed phytotoxicity symptoms were not accompanied by elevated concentrations of heavy metals in the plant tissues, suggesting that heavy metal levels in plant tissue alone are not valid indications of phytotoxicity to the tested plant species. Leachates from the acid sulfate soils had strong toxicity to Daphnia carinata. Median lethal dilution factor (LDF50) was much higher for the leachate from the highly acidic acid sulfate soils (ASS) than that from the mildly acidic ASS. Although the concentration of various metals markedly decreased with increasing number of leaching cycle, leachate toxicity to Daphnia carinata did not decrease accordingly. This suggests that levels of heavy metals and Al in the leachate are not good indicators of the mine water biotoxicity.