Copper overload induces apoptosis and impaired proliferation of T cell in zebrafish.

Copper is an essential biometal for cell development and function, however, unbalanced copper homeostasis in T cell development and the underlying mechanisms are largely unexplored. Here, we use a zebrafish model to investigate the effect of copper overload in T cell development. We show that copper stressed zebrafish larvae exhibit a significant reduction in T cells with increased cell apoptosis and impaired cell proliferation.

Chloride converts lead slag into a bifunctional material to remove heavy metals.

Efficient and safe removal of arsenic and lead from industrial wastewater is essential for ecological protection. In this study, we developed a novel method using lead slag as a purifying agent and sodium chloride as a reinforcing agent to remove arsenic and lead from industrial wastewater. Through a combination of experiments and simulations, we elucidated the mechanisms involved in this reaction.

[The quantitative classification and survey of sanitation of urban secondary water supply in Haidian district of Beijing].

Objective: To investigate the sanitary status of urban secondary water supply facilities in Haidian district of Beijing.

Methods: Adopting the quantitative classification table drafted by the Bureau for Sanitation Inspection and Supervision of Haidian district, we carried quantitative classification (A, B, C grade) on all 1725 secondary water supply facilities in Haidian district for two times. At the same time, we collected 20 residential areas with stratified random sampling method.

B22 Glu des-B30 insulin: a novel monomeric insulin.

Studies on monomeric insulin with reduced self-association are important in the development of insulin pharmaceutical preparations with rapid hypoglycemic action on patients with diabetes. Here we report a novel monomeric insulin, B22 Glu des-B30 insulin, prepared from a single chain insulin precursor with B22 Arg mutated to Glu, which was expressed in Pichia pastoris and converted to B22 Glu des-B30 insulin by tryptic digestion. It still retains 50% of the in vivo biological activity of porcine insulin and does not form a dimer even at a concentration of 10 mg/ml, showing that B22 Glu plays a key role in reducing the self-association of the insulin molecule without greatly reducing its biological activity.

Acceleration of alpha-synuclein aggregation by homologous peptides.

alpha-Synuclein (alpha-Syn), amyloid beta-protein and prion protein are among the amyloidogenic proteins that are associated with the neurodegenerative diseases. These three proteins share a homologous region with a consensus sequence mainly consisting of glycine, alanine and valine residues (accordingly named as the GAV motif), which was proposed to be the critical core for the fibrillization and cytotoxicity. To understand the role of the GAV motif in protein amyloidogenesis, we studied the effects of the homologous peptides corresponding to the sequence of GAV motif region (residues 66-74) on alpha-Syn aggregation.

Mice with genetically altered GABA transporter subtype I (GAT1) expression show altered behavioral responses to ethanol.

It is widely accepted that the GABAergic system plays an important role in the action of ethanol in vivo. GABA transporter subtype 1 (GAT1) constructs high affinity reuptake sites in the CNS and regulates GABAergic transmissions. In this study, mice lacking the GAT1 were developed by homologous recombination.

[An improved solid phase synthesis of human proinsulin C-peptide].

Human proinsulin C-peptide with C-terminal glutamine amide could be prepared through solid phase method by combining the gamma-carboxyl group of glutamic acid with the amino group of MBHA resin. The protecting groups were cleaved by HF. MBHA resin is relatively inexpensive.