Genetic Loss of Faah Compromises Male Fertility in Mice1
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug. Although there is some indication that reproductive functions in males are impaired in chronic marijuana users, the genetic evidence and underlying causes remain largely unknown. Herein we show that genetic loss of Faah, which encodes fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), results in elevated levels of anandamide, an endocannabinoid, in the male reproductive system, leading to compromised fertilizing capacity of sperm. This defect is rescued by superimposing deletion of cannabinoid receptor 1 (Cnr1). Retention of Faah−/− sperm on the egg zona pellucida provides evidence that the capacity of sperm to penetrate the zona barrier is hampered by elevated anandamide levels. Collectively, the results show that aberrant endocannabinoid signaling via CNR1 impairs normal sperm function. Besides unveiling a new regulatory mechanism of sperm function, this study has clinical significance in male fertility.

title: Cannabinoid/Endocannabinoid signaling impact on early pregnancy events.
abstract: It has been known for decades that marijuana and its major psychoactive component Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alter both male and female reproductive functions in humans and laboratory animals. The discovery of cannabinoid-like molecules (endocannabinoids), anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2AG), as well as G-protein-coupled cannabinoid/endocannabinoid receptors CB₁ and CB₂, created an opportunity to study the adverse and beneficial effects of cannabinoids/endocannabinoids on fertility using molecular, physiological and genetic approaches. In fact, studies to explore the significance of cannabinoid/endocannabinoid signaling in reproduction have revealed some intriguing physiological roles in early pregnant events. This review summarizes some aspects of these signaling molecules in preimplantation and implantation biology utilizing genetically engineered mouse models.

title: [Isolation of a metsulfuron-methyl-resistant bacteria and cloning and expression of the acetohydroxyacid synthase genes ilvlH].
abstract: Acetohydroxyacid synthase (EC 4.1.3.18) is the enzyme that catalyses the first step in the synthesis of the branched-chain amino acids valine, leucine and isoleucine in plant, fungi and bacteria, and also is target of the sulfonylurea, imidazolinone, triazolopyrimidine and other acetohydroxyacid synthase inhibitor herbicides.



The purpose of this study is to get the resistant gene, prepare a functional bacteria with acetohydroxyacid synthase, and investigate the relationship between the mutation sites of the acetohydroxyacid synthase and the herbicides-resistant.



A metsulfuron-methyl-resistant bacterium Lm10 was isolated from metsulfuron-methyl contaminated soil. Acetohydroxyacid synthase genes ilvIH was amplified from the genome DNA of strains Lm10 by PCR. The ilvI and ilvH were cloned into the bacterial expression vector pET29a(+) respectively.



Strain Lm10 was identified preliminarily as Pseudomonas sp.. It can endure 14000 micromol/L metsulfuron-methyl and showed cross resistance to diffenent acetohydroxyacid synthase inhibitor herbicids, such as chlorsulfuron, imazethapyr, flumetsulam and penoxsulam. The alignment result of the ilvIH amino acid sequence showed that ilvI of strains Lm10 differed from that of strain KT2440 by 6 sites, While the ilvH of the two strains were the same. The gene ilvI and ilvH were functional expressed in the Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) respectively. The expressed production pET-I displayed acetohydroxyacid synthase activity and showed resistance to high concentration of metsulfuron-methyl.



The ilvI displayed acetohydroxyacid synthase activity. The 6 different sites in ilvI of strains Lml0 probably led to herbicids resistance.

title: Uterine deletion of Gp130 or Stat3 shows implantation failure with increased estrogenic responses.
abstract: Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a downstream target of estrogen, is essential for implantation in mice. LIF function is thought to be mediated by its binding to LIF receptor (LIFR) and recruitment of coreceptor GP130 (glycoprotein 130), and this receptor complex then activates signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)1/3. However, the importance of LIFR and GP130 acting via STAT3 in implantation remains uncertain, because constitutive inactivation of Lifr, Gp130, or Stat3 shows embryonic lethality in mice. To address this issue, we generated mice with conditional deletion of uterine Gp130 or Stat3 and show that both GP130 and STAT3 are critical for uterine receptivity and implantation. Implantation failure in these deleted mice is associated with higher uterine estrogenic responses prior to the time of implantation. These heightened estrogenic responses are not due to changes in ovarian hormone levels or expression of their nuclear receptors. In the deleted mice, estrogen-responsive gene, Lactoferrin (Ltf), and Mucin 1 protein, were up-regulated in the uterus. In addition, progesterone-responsive genes, Hoxa10 and Indian hedgehog (Ihh), were markedly down-regulated in STAT3-inactivated uteri. These changes in uteri of deleted mice were reflected by the failure of differentiation of the luminal epithelium, which is essential for blastocyst attachment.

title: Palladium-catalyzed C-N cross coupling of sulfinamides and aryl halides.
abstract: The palladium-catalyzed C-N cross coupling of sulfinamides and aryl halides is reported. In the presence of Pd(2)(dba)(3), tBuXPhos, NaOH, and a small amount of water, the C-N cross coupling of chiral tert-butanesulfinamide and aryl halides was accomplished to give N-aryl tert-butanesulfinamide without racemization, and the coupling of racemic p-toluenesulfinamide smoothly afforded N-aryl p-toluenesulfinamides. 2-Bromopyridine was also suitable for the coupling. Addition of a small amount of water to the catalytic system was of importance to obtain high yields.

title: Preparation and evaluation of Zr-beta-FeOOH for efficient arsenic removal.
abstract: A Zr-beta-FeOOH adsorbent for both As(V) and As(III) removal was prepared by a chemical co-precipitation method. Compared with beta-FeOOH, the addition of Zr enhanced the adsorption capacities for As(V) and As(III), especially As(III). The maximum adsorption capacities for As(III) and As(V) were 120 and 60 mg/g respectively at pH 7.0, much higher than for many reported adsorbents. The adsorption data accorded with Freundlich isotherms. At neutral pH, for As(V), adsorption equilibrium was approached after 3 hr, while for As(III), adsorption equilibrium was approached after 5 hr. Kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo second-order reaction model. As(V) elimination was favored at acidic pH, whereas the adsorption of As(III) by Zr-beta-FeOOH was found to be effective over a wide pH range of 4-10. Competitive anions hindered the adsorption according to the sequence: phosphate > silicate > bicarbonate > sulfate > nitrate, while Ca2+ and Mg2+ increased the removal of As(III) and As(V) slightly. The high adsorption capability and good performance in other aspects make Zr-beta-FeOOH a potentially attractive adsorbent for the removal of both As(III) and As(V) from water.

title: N-terminal domains of DELLA proteins are intrinsically unstructured in the absence of interaction with GID1/gibberellic acid receptors.
abstract: The plant growth-repressing DELLA proteins (DELLAs) are known to represent a convergence point in integration of multiple developmental and environmental signals in planta, one of which is hormone gibberellic acid (GA). Binding of the liganded GA receptor (GID1/GA) to the N-terminal domain of DELLAs is required for GA-induced degradation of DELLAs via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, thus derepressing plant growth. However, the conformational changes of DELLAs upon binding to GID1/GA, which are the key to understanding the precise mechanism of GID1/GA-mediated degradation of DELLAs, remain unclear. Using biophysical, biochemical, and bioinformatics approaches, we demonstrated for the first time that the unbound N-terminal domains of DELLAs are intrinsically unstructured proteins under physiological conditions. Within the intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain of DELLAs, we have identified several molecular recognition features, sequences known to undergo disorder-to-order transitions upon binding to interacting proteins in intrinsically unstructured proteins. In accordance with the molecular recognition feature analyses, we have observed the binding-induced folding of N-terminal domains of DELLAs upon interaction with AtGID1/GA. Our results also indicate that DELLA proteins can be divided into two subgroups in terms of their molecular compactness and their interactions with monoclonal antibodies.

title: Expression of uncoupling protein 3 is upregulated in skeletal muscle during sepsis.
abstract: Uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) is a member of the mitochondrial transporter superfamily that is expressed primarily in skeletal muscle. UCP3 is upregulated in various conditions characterized by skeletal muscle atrophy, including hyperthyroidism, fasting, denervation, diabetes, cancer, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and treatment with glucocorticoids (GCs). The influence of sepsis, another condition characterized by muscle cachexia, on UCP3 expression and activity is not known. We examined UCP3 gene and protein expression in skeletal muscles from rats after cecal ligation and puncture and from sham-operated control rats. Sepsis resulted in a two- to threefold increase in both mRNA and protein levels of UCP3 in skeletal muscle. Treatment of rats with the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU-38486 prevented the sepsis-induced increase in gene and protein expression of UCP3. The UCP3 mRNA and protein levels were increased 2.4- to 3.6-fold when incubated muscles from normal rats were treated with dexamethasone (DEX) and/or free fatty acids (FFA) ex vivo. In addition, UCP3 mRNA and protein levels were significantly increased in normal rat muscles in vivo with treatment of either DEX or FFA. The results suggest that sepsis upregulates the gene and protein expression of UCP3 in skeletal muscle, which may at least in part be mediated by GCs and FFA.

title: Preparation of phenylboronic acid functionalized cation-exchange monolithic columns for protein separation and refolding.
abstract: In this study, we described a simple and effective modification procedure to prepare poly (methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) monolithic columns functionalized with 3-aminophenylboronic acid. The column morphology, pore size and specific surface area of the fabricated monolith were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and mercury intrusion porosimeter, respectively. The frontal analysis was carried out for dynamic loading capacity of the model protein on the modified column. The chromatographic performance of the cation-exchange monolith was evaluated through separating a mixture of five proteins such as lysozyme, cytochrome c, ribonuclease A, trypsin and bovine serum albumin and one-step purification of lysozyme from egg whites, and the expected results were obtained. In addition, the functionalized column was used to refold ribonuclease A and cytochrome c, and this procedure was monitored by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy. Compared with the conventional dilution refolding method, the ion-exchange chromatography refolding method developed here is more effective for specific bioactivity recovery.

title: Sonographic evaluation of para- and perirenal fat thickness is an independent predictor of early kidney damage in obese patients
abstract: PurposeTo determine whether para- and perirenal fat ultrasonographic thickness (PFUT) is related to increased urinary albumin excretion and whether PFUT is an independent indicator of early kidney damage in obese subjects.MethodSixty-seven nonhypertensive, nondiabetic obese patients and 34 age- and sex-matched normal healthy volunteers were involved in this study. Clinical characteristics, blood biochemistry, PFUT, and urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) of the subjects were measured. The intraoperator and interoperator coefficient of variation was 5.6 and 3.2 %, respectively.ResultsACR and PFUT were significantly higher in obese patients than those of normal healthy volunteers. PFUT was higher in obese patients with microalbuminuria than those with normoalbuminuria. Correlation analysis showed PFUT had a positive correlation with body mass index (BMI, r = 0.677, P < 0.01), waist circumference (WC, r = 0.686, P < 0.01), plasma free fatty acids (FFAs, r = 0.589, P < 0.01), and ACR (r = 0.610, P < 0.01). ACR had a positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.444, P < 0.01), WC (r = 0.440, P < 0.01), and plasma FFAs (r = 0.496, P < 0.01). Multivariate regression analyses showed that ACR could be predicted by PFUT.ConclusionsPFUT may be an independent predictor of early kidney damage in nonhypertensive, nondiabetic obese patients, and PFUT could be a useful tool for the assessment of visceral fat and early kidney damage in obese patients.

title: Methodological issues in cost-effectiveness studies: a brief overview.
abstract: This article discussed two methodological issues around cost-effectiveness studies, including validity and transferability of results. In an economic analysis study, methods to costing, health utility measurement, and economic modeling represent three important sources that may threaten the validity. Variations in health systems and clinical practice, and differential resource use and unit prices across regions and countries may have potentially large influence on transferability. The limitations of piggybacked design may also have implications for transferability. Caution is warranted in the design, conduct, and interpretation of cost-effectiveness studies regarding their validity and transferability.