Biomethylation and biotransformation of arsenic in a freshwater food chain: Green alga (chlorella vulgaris)→shrimp (neocaridina denticulata)→killifish (oryzias iatipes)

Tolerance, bioaccumulation, biotransformation and excretion of arsenic compounds by the fresh–water shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata) and the killifish (Oryzias latipes) (collected from the natural environment) were investigated. Tolerances (LC₅₀) of the shrimp against disodium arsenate [abbreviated as As(V)], methylarsonic acid (MAA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA), and arsenobetaine (AB) were 1.5, 10, 40, and 150μg As ml^?1, respectively. N. denticulata accumulated arsenic from an aqueous phase containing 1 μg As ml^?1 of As(V), 10 μg As ml^?1 of MAA, 30 μg As ml^?1 of DMAA or 150 μg As ml^?1 of AB, and biotransformed and excreted part of these species. Both methylation and demethylation of the arsenicals were observed in vivo. When living N. denticulata accumulating arsenic was transferred into an arsenic–free medium, a part of the accumulated arsenic was excreted. The concentration of methylated arsenicals relative to total arsenic was higher in the excrement than in the organism. Total arsenic accumulation in each species via food in the food chain Green algae (Chlorella vulgaris) → shrimp (N. denticulata) → killifish (O. latipes) decreased by one order of magnitude or more, and the concentration of methylated arsenic relative to total arsenic accumulated increased successively with elevation in the trophic level. Only trace amounts of monomethylarsenic species were detected in the shrimp and fish tested. Dimethylarsenic species in alga and shrimp, and trimethylarsenic species in killifish, were the predominant methylated arsenic species, respectively.     

DNA甲基转移酶抑制剂DAC对AcMNPV感染的影响

通过DNA甲基转移酶抑制剂DAC(地西他滨,decitabine)改变DNA甲基化水平,研究杆状病毒苜蓿银纹夜蛾核型多角体病毒(Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus,AcMNPV)DNA的甲基化与病毒复制和基因表达调控的关系。通过流式细胞术和病毒mRNA的Real-time PCR检测发现,低浓度DAC(30nmol/L)处理细胞后会使报告基因绿色荧光蛋白基因(Green fluorescent protein gene,gfp)的表达提前,且表达水平明显上升。对低浓度DAC处理组和对照组产生的病毒效价监控表明,低浓度DAC的存在可以提高病毒的效价。经连续DAC处理,在第六代细胞中生产的AcMNPV多角体感染甜菜夜蛾后,幼虫死亡率明显高于对照组。这些结果表明,DAC对杆状病毒DNA复制和基因表达具有一定作用。     

Chemical agents for binding post-translationally methylated lysines and arginines

Post-translational methylation, discovered more than half a century ago, encodes information in the form of a structural modification on a peptide or protein. The addition of a CH₃ group is one of the most subtle covalent modifications that exist in biology. In spite of this, recent years have revealed the many profound functional effects that arise from protein methylation in the cell. In an effort to open the doors to new assays and detection methods that would enable new basic and applied research into methylation pathways, chemical agents that can recognise and bind to methylated sites are now being pursued. In this review, we describe the supramolecular approaches to the recognition of methylated amino acids, peptides and proteins that have arisen in the last few years.     

Methylation of Arenols through Ni‐catalyzed C—O Activation with Methyl Magnesium Bromide

Direct alkylation of arenols with alkyl organometallic reagents has never been approached. Herein we reported the first successful example of nickel‐catalyzed methylation of arenols with methyl Grignard reagents to construct C(sp²)‐C(sp³) bond under mild conditions. The transformation was compatible with broad substrate scope of 2‐naphthol derivatives. Benzyl alcohol and biphenols were also suitable substrates for this methylation.     

Quantitative Detection of Gene Methylated Level of Stool Samples Based on Invader Assay Coupled with Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction and Its Application in Non-invasive Screening of Colorectal Cancer

Methylation of bone morphogenetic protein 3 (BMP3) in stool DNA is an effective biomarker for non-invasive screening of colorectal cancer. However, a highly sensitive and specific detection method is required. Here, a quantification method for BMP3 methylation was developed by combining real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with invader assay using Beta-actin (ACTB) as a reference. Amplification efficiencies of BMP3 and ACTB were close to 100% after optimizing the concentration of detection probes, FEN1 enzyme and Taq polymerase, and the relative quantification of BMP3 methylation was achieved accurately by ΔCT algorithms. Ten copies and 0.01% of BMP3 methylation level could be successfully detected and non-specific signal was generated from non-methylated template, indicating that the method was highly sensitive and specific. The method was successfully applied to detect BMP3 methylation in fecal DNA from 16 colorectal cancer patients, 7 adenoma patients and 19 healthy volunteers. The results indicated that BMP3 methylation occurred in 5 of 16 cancer patients and 2 of 7 adenoma patients, but was not observed in 19 of healthy volunteers. Therefore, this method could be used to quantify methylation of gene in stool samples, providing an effective technique for non-invasive screening of colorectal cancer.     

一种新的肉桂酸类化合物的脱羧/甲基化反应

近年来,脱羧反应得到了广泛而深入的研究.肉桂酸类化合物的脱羧串联反应也得到了较多的关注.这类反应一般包括两个过程,自由基加成和羧基的脱去,从而在苯环的侧链引入各种各样的官能团.我们在研究过程中发现,在碳酸钾作为碱,过氧叔丁醇作为氧化剂,以二甲基亚砜（DMSO）/水作为混合溶剂条件下（体积比为1：1）,肉桂酸类衍生物能够转化成苯丙酮类化合物.通过对反应机理的研究,产物中的甲基来自于过氧叔丁醇,反应经过自由基加成和进一步脱羧得到产物.该反应特点是没有用过渡金属盐作为催化剂,并且是在水相中反应,因此符合绿色化学的发展要求.     

面向DNA甲基化修饰分析的质谱技术

DNA甲基化作为表观遗传修饰中一种重要的调控方式,通过调控基因的表达,从而影响机体内一系列的生物学过程。色谱-质谱法是研究DNA甲基化修饰的重要研究手段。随着对哺乳动物DNA甲基化的生物学功能的深入研究,应用于研究表观遗传修饰的手段与仪器设备越来越先进。为了对DNA修饰进行定性与定量的分析检测,除了高效液相色谱整合不同种类质量分析器的质谱联用（HPLC-MS）技术外,目前还开发应用了基质辅助激光解析质谱技术（MALDI-ToF-MS）和气相色谱-质谱联用技术（GC-MS）,从而极大拓展了DNA甲基化修饰研究的手段。本文对分析表观遗传DNA甲基化修饰的质谱技术发展进行综述,希望为DNA甲基化修饰分析提供有价值的研究策略。