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The occurence and development of tumors is a complicated process, which not only depends on the mutation or deletion of genes, but also is affected by epigenetic regulation. Accumulating evidences have shown that epigenetic modifications play fundamental roles in transcriptional regulation, heterochromatin formation, X chromosome inactivation, DNA damage response and tumor development. SET domain containing lysine methyltransferase 7 (SETD7) was initially identified as an important lysine methyltransferase, which methylated histone and non-histone proteins. These modifications play fundamental roles. Once this modification disorders, it can directly lead to cell abnormalities and cause many diseases. Studies have shown that SETD7 is related to the occurence and development of various tumors, but the methylation sites of SETD7 and its regulatory mechanism have not been fully elucidated. Tis article summarizes the research progress of the role of SETD7 on histone and non-histone methylation modification in tumors and the molecular mechanism, in order to provide new therapeutic targets for tumor pathogenesis and diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L-lysine is an essential amino acid with broad applications in the animal feed, human food, and pharmaceutical industries. The fermentation production of L-lysine by Escherichia coli has limitations such as poor substrate utilization efficiency and low saccharide conversion rates. We deleted the global regulatory factor gene mlc and introduced heterologous genes, including the maltose phosphotransferase genes ( malAP ) from Bacillus subtilis , to enhance the use efficiency of disaccharides and trisaccharides. The engineered strain E . coli XC3 demonstrated improved L-lysine production, yield, and productivity, which reached 160.00 g/L, 63.78%, and 4.44 g/(L‧h), respectively. Furthermore, we overexpressed the glutamate dehydrogenase gene ( gdhA ) and assimilated nitrate reductase genes ( BsnasBC ) from B . subtilis , along with nitrite reductase genes ( EcnirBD ) from E . coli , in strain E . coli XC3. This allowed the construction of E . coli XC4 with a nitrate assimilation pathway. The L-lysine production, yield, and productivity of E . coli XC4 were elevated to 188.00 g/L, 69.44%, and 5.22 g/(L‧h), respectively. After optimization of the residual sugar concentration and carbon to nitrogen ratio, the L-lysine production, yield, and productivity were increased to 204.00 g/L, 72.32%, and 5.67 g/(L‧h), respectively, in a 5 L fermenter. These values represented the increases of 40.69%, 20.03%, and 40.69%, respectively, compared with those of the starting strain XC1. By engineering the substrate utilization pathway, we successfully constructed a high-yield L-lysine producing strain, laying a solid foundation for the industrial production of L-lysine.

With the continuous development of identification technologies such as mass spectrometry,omics,and antibody technology,post-translational modification (PTM) has demonstrated increasing potential in medical research.PTM as a novel chemical modification method provides new perspectives for the research on diseases.Succinylation as a novel modification has aroused the interest of more and more researchers.The available studies about succinylation mainly focus on a desuccinylase named sirtuin 5.This enzyme plays a key role in modification and has been preliminarily explored in cardiovascular studies.This paper summarizes the influencing factors and regulatory roles of succinylation and the links between succinylation and other PTMs and reviews the research progress of PTMs in the cardiovascular field,aiming to deepen the understanding about the role of this modification and give new insights to the research in this field.

Objectives: Flotillin-2 (FLOT2) is a prototypical oncogenic and a potential target for cancer therapy. However, strategies for targeting FLOT2 remain undefined. Post-translational modifications are crucial for regulating protein stability, function, and localization. Understanding the mechanisms and roles of post-translational modifications is key to developing targeted therapies. This study aims to investigate the regulation and function of lysine acetylation of FLOT2 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, providing new insights for targeting FLOT2 in cancer intervention., Methods: The PhosphoSitePlus database was used to analyze the lysine acetylation sites of FLOT2, and a lysine acetylation site mutation of FLOT2 [FLOT2 (K211R)] was constructed. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells were treated with histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) and Sirt family deacetylase inhibitor nicotinamide (NAM). TSA-treated human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293T were transfected with FLOT2 mutant plasmids. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) was used to detect total acetylation levels of FLOT2 and the effects of specific lysine (K) site mutations on FLOT2 acetylation. Western blotting was used to detect FLOT2/FLAG-FLOT2 protein expression in TSA-treated nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells transfected with FLOT mutant plasmids, and real-time reverse transcription PCR (real-time RT-PCR) was used to detect FLOT2 mRNA expression. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells were treated with TSA combined with MG132 or chloroquine (CQ) to analyze FLOT2 protein expression. Cycloheximide (CHX) was used to treat HEK-293T cells transfected with FLAG-FLOT2 (WT) or FLAG-FLOT2(K211R) plasmids to assess protein degradation rates. The BioGrid database was used to identify potential interactions between FLOT2 and HDAC6, which were validated by Co-IP. HEK-293T cells were co-transfected with FLAG-FLOT2 (WT)/FLAG-FLOT2 (K211R) and Vector/HDAC6 plasmids, and grouped into FLAG-FLOT2 (WT)+Vector, FLAG-FLOT2 (WT)+HDAC6, FLAG-FLOT2 (K211R)+Vector, and FLAG-FLOT2 (K211R)+HDAC6 to analyze the impact of K211R mutation on total lysine acetylation levels. In 6-0B cells, overexpression of FLOT2 (WT) and FLOT2 (K211R) was performed, and the biological functions of FLOT2 acetylation site mutants were assessed using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, and Transwell invasion assays., Results: The PhosphoSitePlus database indicated that FLOT2 has an acetylation modification at the K211 site. Co-IP confirmed significant acetylation of FLOT2, with TSA significantly increasing overall FLOT2 acetylation levels, while NAM had no effect. Mutation at the K211 site significantly reduced overall FLOT2 acetylation, unaffected by TSA. TSA decreased FLOT2 protein expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells without affecting FLOT2 mRNA levels or FLOT2 (K211R) protein expression in transfected cells. The degradation rate of FLOT2 (K211R) protein was significantly slower than that of FLOT2 (WT). The proteasome inhibitor MG132 prevented TSA-induced FLOT2 degradation, while the lysosome inhibitor CQ did not. BioGrid data suggested a potential interaction between FLOT2 and HDAC6, confirmed by Co-IP. Knockdown of HDAC6 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells significantly increased FLOT2 acetylation; co-transfection of HDAC6 and FLAG-FLOT2 (WT) significantly decreased total lysine acetylation levels, whereas co-transfection of HDAC6 and FLAG-FLOT2 (K211R) had no effect. Knockdown of HDAC6 significantly reduced FLOT2 protein levels without affecting mRNA levels. MG132 prevented HDAC6 -knockdown-induced FLOT2 degradation. Knockdown of HDAC6 significantly accelerated FLOT2 degradation. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells transfected with FLOT2 (K211R) showed significantly higher proliferation and invasion than those transfected with FLOT2 (WT)., Conclusions: The K211 site of FLOT2 undergoes acetylation modification, and HDAC6 mediates deacetylation at this site, inhibiting proteasomal degradation of FLOT2 and maintaining its stability and tumor-promoting function in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

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5-aminovalanoic acid (5AVA) can be used as the precursor of new plastics nylon 5 and nylon 56, and is a promising platform compound for the synthesis of polyimides. At present, the biosynthesis of 5-aminovalanoic acid generally is of low yield, complex synthesis process and high cost, which hampers large-scale industrial production. In order to achieve efficient biosynthesis of 5AVA, we developed a new pathway mediated by 2-keto-6-aminohexanoate. By combinatory expression of L-lysine α-oxidase from Scomber japonicus , α-ketoacid decarcarboxylase from Lactococcus lactis and aldehyde dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli , the synthesis of 5AVA from L-lysine in Escherichia coli was achieved. Under the initial conditions of glucose concentration of 55 g/L and lysine hydrochloride of 40 g/L, the final consumption of 158 g/L glucose and 144 g/L lysine hydrochloride, feeding batch fermentation to produce 57.52 g/L of 5AVA, and the molar yield is 0.62 mol/mol. The new 5AVA biosynthetic pathway does not require ethanol and H 2 O 2 , and achieved a higher production efficiency as compared to the previously reported Bio-Chem hybrid pathway mediated by 2-keto-6-aminohexanoate.

Objective: To investigate the expression of glycolytic genes in immune cells and the changes of related immune cells in experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN), and deepen the understanding of pathogenesis of EAN. Methods: Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice (6-8 weeks old, 18-20 g) were divided into four groups according to the random number table method: control group (P0 180-199 was replaced by PBS during modeling and mice were sacrificed on the 16th day), EAN mice were sacrificed on the 8th day after the end of modeling (EAN 8 d), EAN mice were sacrificed on the 16th day after the end of modeling (EAN 16 d), and EAN mice received drug intervention and were sacrificed on the 16 th day after the end of modeling (2-DG was intraperitoneally injected since the day of the first immunization, 550 mg/kg; EAN 16 d+2-DG), with 6 rats in each group. The clinical symptoms and clinical scores were observed and recorded daily. At the end of the experiment, the mice were sacrificed under chloral hydrate anesthesia, and the serum, spleen, sciatic nerve and other tissues of each group were collected. The degree of inflammatory cell infiltration and demyelination of sciatic nerve were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and luxol fast blue (LFB) staining. Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of M1 macrophages, Th17 cells and Tregs cells. The mRNA expression levels of glycolysis-related genes (mTORC1, HIF1α, GLUT1 and LDHA) were detected by RT-PCR. Western blotting was used to detect the level of pan-lysine lactate in macrophages and sciatic nerve tissue. Results: The expression of glycolysis-related genes (mTORC1, HIF1α, GLUT1 and LDHA) in spleen M1 macrophages and sciatic nerve was significantly up-regulated in EAN 16 d group, compared with control, EAN 8 d and EAN 16 d+2-DG groups (all P <0.05). The relative pan-lysine lactate (pankla) expression level of spleen M1 macrophages (1.25±0.02) and sciatic nerve tissue (1.23±0.26) significantly increased in EAN 16 d group, compared with control, EAN 8 d and EAN 16 d+2-DG groups (M1 macrophages: 0.12±0.10, 1.07±0.12 and 0.42±0.07; sciatic nerve: 0.10±0.12, 0.87±0.20 and 0.36±0.05) (all P <0.05). The expression of glycolytic genes in splenic CD4+T cells showed an increasing trend, but there were no statistically significant differences among the groups, and the expression of glycolytic genes did not decrease significantly after 2-DG treatment (all P >0.05). The proportion of spleen M1 macrophages in the control group, EAN 8 d group, EAN 16 d group and EAN 16 d+2-DG group was 4.28±0.13, 7.54±0.25, 13.16±0.33 and 4.13±0.38 respectively, which was significantly higher in the EAN 16 d group (all P <0.05). The proportion of spleen Th17 cells in the four groups was 3.78±0.03, 8.24±0.55, 12.30±1.34 and 4.83±0.01, respectively, which was significantly higher in the EAN 16 d group (all P <0.05). The proportion of spleen Tregs cells in the four groups was 10.01±1.05, 7.54±0.70, 3.82±0.47 and 8.22±1.21, respectively, which was significantly lower in the EAN 16 d group (all P <0.05). Conclusions: The expression of glycolytic genes in splenic macrophages significantly increases during EAN, but not in CD4+T cells. The proportion of M1 macrophages and Th17 cells in spleen gradually increases, while the proportion of Tregs cells gradually decreases.

Objective: To investigate the effect of ubiquitin mutation at position 331 of tumor necrosis factor receptor related factor 6 (TRAF6) on the biological characteristics of colorectal cancer cells and its mechanism. Methods: lentivirus wild type (pCDH-3×FLAG-TRAF6) and mutation (pCDH-3×FLAG-TRAF6-331mut) of TRAF6 gene expression plasmid with green fluorescent protein tag were used to infect colorectal cancer cells SW480 and HCT116, respectively. The infection was observed by fluorescence microscope, and the expressions of TRAF6 and TRAF6-331mut in cells was detected by western blot. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and plate cloning test were used to detect the proliferation ability of colorectal cancer cells in TRAF6 group and TRAF6-331mut group, cell scratch test to detect cell migration, Transwell chamber test to detect cell migration and invasion, immunoprecipitation to detect the ubiquitination of TRAF6 and TRAF6-331mut with ubiquitinof lysine binding sites K48 and K63. Western blot was used to detect the effects of TRAF6 and TRAF6-331mut over expression on the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) and mitogen activated protein kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/activating protein-1(AP-1) signal pathway. Results: The successful infection of colorectal cancer cells was observed under fluorescence microscope. Western blot detection showed that TRAF6 and TRAF6-331mut were successfully expressed in colorectal cancer cells. The results of CCK-8 assay showed that on the fourth day, the absorbance values of HCT116 and SW480 cells in TRAF6-331mut group were 1.89±0.39 and 1.88±0.24 respectively, which were lower than those in TRAF6 group (2.09±0.12 and 2.17±0.45, P =0.036 and P =0.011, respectively). The results of plate colony formation assay showed that the number of clones of HCT116 and SW480 cells in TRAF6-331mut group was 120±14 and 85±14 respectively, which was lower than those in TRAF6 group (190±21 and 125±13, P =0.001 and P =0.002, respectively). The results of cell scratch test showed that after 48 hours, the percentage of wound healing distance of HCT116 and SW480 cells in TRAF6-331mut group was (31±12)% and (33±14)%, respectively, which was lower than those in TRAF6 group [(43±13)% and (43±7)%, P =0.005 and 0.009, respectively]. The results of Transwell migration assay showed that the migration numbers of HCT116 and SW480 cells in TRAF6-331mut group were significantly lower than those in TRAF6 group ( P <0.001 and P <0.002, respectively). The results of Transwell invasion assay showed that the number of membrane penetration of HCT116 and SW480 cells in TRAF6-331mut group was significantly lower than those in TRAF6 group ( P =0.008 and P =0.009, respectively). The results of immunoprecipitation detection showed that the ubiquitin protein of K48 chain pulled by TRAF6-331mut was lower than that of wild type TRAF6 in 293T cells co-transfected with K48 (0.57±0.19), and the ubiquitin protein of K63 chain pulled down by TRAF6-331mut in 293T cells co-transfected with K63 was lower than that of wild type TRAF6 (0.89±0.08, P <0.001). Western blot assay showed that the protein expression levels of NF-κB, p-NF-κB and p-AP-1 in TRAF6-331mut-HCT116 cells were 0.63±0.08, 0.42±0.08 and 0.60±0.07 respectively, which were lower than those in TRAF6-HCT116 cells ( P =0.002, P <0.001 and P <0.001, respectively). The expression level of AP-1 protein in TRAF6-HCT116 cells was 0.89±0.06, compared with that in TRAF6-HCT116 cells. The difference was not statistically significant ( P >0.05). The protein expression levels of NF-κB, p-NF-κB and p-AP-1 in TRAF6-331mut-SW480 cells were 0.50±0.06, 0.51±0.04, 0.48±0.02, respectively, which were lower than those in TRAF6-SW480 cells (all P <0.001). There was no significant difference in AP-1 protein expression between TRAF6-331mut-SW480 cells and TRAF6-SW480 cells. Conclusion: The ubiquitin site mutation of TRAF6 gene at 331 may prevent the binding of TRAF6 and ubiquitin lysine sites K48 and K63, and then affect the expressions of proteins related to downstream NF-κB and MAPK/AP-1 signal pathways, and inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells.

The occurence and development of tumors is a complicated process, which not only depends on the mutation or deletion of genes, but also is affected by epigenetic regulation. Accumulating evidences have shown that epigenetic modifications play fundamental roles in transcriptional regulation, heterochromatin formation, X chromosome inactivation, DNA damage response and tumor development. SET domain containing lysine methyltransferase 7 (SETD7) was initially identified as an important lysine methyltransferase, which methylated histone and non-histone proteins. These modifications play fundamental roles. Once this modification disorders, it can directly lead to cell abnormalities and cause many diseases. Studies have shown that SETD7 is related to the occurence and development of various tumors, but the methylation sites of SETD7 and its regulatory mechanism have not been fully elucidated. This article summarizes the research progress of the role of SETD7 on histone and non-histone methylation modification in tumors and the molecular mechanism, in order to provide new therapeutic targets for tumor pathogenesis and diagnosis.
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Objective To obtain the proteome and acetylome profiles of livers in mice during normal aging.Methods We applied tandem mass tag labeling and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and achieved proteome and acetylome data in C57BL/6J male mice aged 2 and 18 months under physiological conditions.Results A total of 4712 proteins were quantified by proteome profiling,and 4818 acetylated sites in 1367 proteins by acetylome profiling.The proteome and acetylome revealed moderate differences in the livers of young and old mice.There were 195 differentially expressed proteins in the proteome and 113 differentially expressed acetylated sites corresponding to 76 proteins in the acetylome.Functional enrichment analysis for the proteome showed that aging-associated upregulated proteins were mainly involved in fatty acid metabolism,epoxygenase P450 pathway,drug catabolic process,organic hydroxy compound metabolic process,and arachidonic acid metabolic process,while the downregulated proteins were related to regulation of gene silencing,nucleosome assembly,protein heterotetramerization,response to interferon,protein-DNA complex assembly and other processes.For the acetylome,the proteins with aging-associated upregulated acetylated sites mainly participated in cofactor metabolism,small molecule catabolic process,ribose phosphate metabolic process,ribonucleotide metabolic process,and purine-containing compound metabolic process,while the proteins with downregulated acetylated sites were associated with sulfur compound metabolic process,response to unfolded protein,and amino acid metabolic process.Conclusion We profiled the proteome and acetylome of livers in mice during normal aging and generated datasets for further research on aging.

Nano-LC MS/MS was used to analyze trypsin digested deer-hide gelatin(DHG) samples, hydroxylation and O-glycosylation on lysine sites of DHG were comprehensive identified by using PEAKS Studio software. The sites, sorts and amounts of hydroxylation and O-glycosylation on Type Ⅰ collagen α1 chain(COL1 A1) and α2 chain(COL1 A2) of DHG were revealed. As a result, 5 284 peptides were identified from DHG samples, which were mainly from COL1 A1 and COL1 A2. Among these peptides, there were 449 peptides with hydroxylysine, 442 with galactosyl-hydroxylysine, 449 with glucosyl-galactosyl-hydroxylysine. The major modified sites of hydroxylation and O-glycosylation in DHG were shown as follow: α1-9 N and α2-5 N in N-telopeptides, α1-87, α1-174, α1-930, α2-87, α2-174, α2-933 in triple helix domain, and α1-16 C in C-telopeptides. These hydroxylation and O-glycosylation were correlated with the formation and stability of collagen molecules and collagen fibrils. It is feasible for the collagens and peptides dissolving from deer skin collagen fibrils under high temperature and pressure decocting, high temperature and pressure also might destroy inter-molecular covalent cross-linking and help those glycol-peptides formations. The present study provided ideas and strategies for the in-depth investigation on DHG chemical constituents, and showed good theoretical significance and application value.

Objective To clarify the interaction between CCAAT enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) and small ubiquitin-related modification (SUMO) in human alveolar type II epithelial cells (AECII), and further identify its modification sites. Methods The expression of C/EBPα and SUMO1 in human AECII was detected by immunofluorescence double labeling. Co-IP was used to detect the interaction of C/EBPα and SUMO1 in AEC II. The SUMO site of C/EBPα was predicted to be the 161st lysine (K161) by the SUMOsp software. The wild-type GFP-C/EBPα plasmids and mutant GFP-K161R plasmids were constructed and transfected into AECII. The SUMO site of C/EBPα was identified by Co-IP. Results Immunofluorescence double staining found that SUMO1 and C/EBPα were co-located in the nucleus. C/EBPα-SUMO band could be marked by Co-IP, which suggested that C/EBPα could interact with SUMO1.When AECII was transfected by wild-type GFP-C/EBPα plasmids. C/EBPα-SUMO1 band could be detected by immunoprecipitation (IP), but could not be detected when transfected by mutant GFP-C/EBPα plasmids. These suggested that the SUMO site of C/EBPα was the 161st lysine. Conclusion C/EBPα can be modified by SUMO1 and the site of its modification is the 161st lysine in human AECII.

Objective To explore the regulatory role of lysine acetyltransferase 6B (KAT6B) in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-triggered interleukin 6 (IL-6) production in macrophages and the mechanism. Methods Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect and quantitate KAT6B mRNA level in mouse peritoneal macrophages and RAW264.7 cells under LPS stimulation for 0, 2, 4, 6 hours. RNA interference technology was used to knock down the expression of KAT6B in peritoneal macrophages, the expression of IL-6 in LPS-stimulated murine macrophages was detected by qRT-PCR at the mRNA level and ELISA at the protein level; meanwhile, the levels of IL-6 mRNA and protein were tested by the same means in RAW264.7 cells with over-expressed KAT6B. The transfection efficiency and signal pathway activation were examined by Western blot analysis. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to investigate the role of KAT6B in IL-6 transcription. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was done to evaluate the effect of KAT6B on the recruitment of acetylation of histone 3 lysine 23 (H3K23ac) within IL-6 promoter region. Results LPS stimulation up-regulated KAT6B expression in both peritoneal macrophages and RAW264.7 cells. Silence of KAT6B suppressed LPS-induced IL-6 production in murine peritoneal macrophages, overexpression of V5-KAT6B promoted the production of LPS-triggered IL-6 in RAW264.7 cells. The change of KAT6B level did not affect the activity of NF-κBp65 and MAPK induced by LPS. KAT6B increased the recruitment of H3K23ac on IL-6 gene DNA promoter. Conclusion KAT6B can enhance LPS-triggered IL-6 production by promoting the recruitment of H3K23ac to IL-6 gene promoter region.

Objective To investigate the levels of trimethylated histone 3 at lysine residue 27 (H3K27me3) and its modification enzymes Zeste gene enhancer homolog 2 (EZH2), lysine-specific demethylase 6B (Kdm6B/JMJD3) and lysine-specific demethylase 6A (Kdm6A/UTX) in tissues and organs of 7-day and 2-month postnatal mice. Methods Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of H3K27me3 and its modification enzymes EZH2, JMJD3 and UTX in the brain, salivary glands, back fat, thymus, lung, heart, stomach, intestines, liver, testes, and skin of 7-day and 2-month mice. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to confirm the results. The relationships between H3K27me3 and its modification enzymes were analyzed statistically. Results Immunohistochemistry showed H3K27me3 persistently present in all examined tissues of 7-day and 2-month mice. EZH2 was persistently expressed in the brain, heart, liver, and skin of 7-day and 2-month mice, but only expressed in the salivary glands, adipose tissues, thymus, lung, intestines, and testes of 2-month mice. JMJD3 was expressed in the brain, salivary glands, adipose tissues, lung, heart, stomach, intestines, testes, skin of 7-day mice, but was not expressed in the lung, adipose tissues and stomach of 2-month mice. UTX was expressed in the brain, salivary glands, adipose tissues, lung, heart, testes, skin of 7-day mice, but only expressed in the testes of 2-month mice. Most mRNA of H3K27 modification enzymes were moderately or highly expressed as their immunohistochemical results were positive. Conclusion There was H3K27me3 persistently present in the all examined tissues at different stages. EZH2 was mostly expressed in the brain, salivary glands, adipose tissues, thymus, lung, heart, intestines, liver, testes and skin of 2-month-old mice. JMJD3 and UTX were mostly expressed in the brain, salivary glands, adipose tissues, lung, heart, skin and testes of 7-day-old mice. No significant association was found between the distribution of H3K27me3 and the expression of EZH2. There was also no obvious inverse distribution relationship between H3K27me3 and JMJD3 or UTX. Moreover, there was no negative relationship between the distribution of EZH2, JMJD3 and UTX. These results suggest that EZH2, JMJD3 and UTX may play important roles in many tissues of mice after birth. The levels of H3K27me3 and its modified enzymes may be controlled by multiple factors in vivo to fulfill complex physiological functions.

Objective: To investigate the effect of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) gene silencing and accumulation of lysine metabolites on the viability of hepatocytes., Methods: BRL cells were divided into normal control group, negative control group, and GCDH silencing group. The shRNA lentiviral vector for silencing GCDH gene was constructed, and the BRL hepatocytes in the GCDH silencing group and the negative control group were infected with this lentivirus and negative control virus respectively, and then cultured in a medium containing 5 mmol/L lysine. Immunofluorescence assay was used to measure the infection efficiency of lentivirus. Western blot was used to measure the expression of GCDH protein. MTT assay was used to evaluate cell viability. Hoechest33342 staining was used to measure cell apoptosis. Western blot was used to measure the expression of Caspase-3, an index of cell apoptosis., Results: The lentivirus constructed effectively silenced the GCDH gene in hepatocytes (P<0.01). MTT assay and Hoechest 33342 staining showed no significant differences in cell viability and apoptosis between groups (P>0.05). There was also no significant difference in the expression of Caspase-3 protein between groups (P>0.05)., Conclusions: GCDH gene silencing and accumulation of lysine metabolites may not cause marked hepatocyte injury.

Objectives: To explore the metabolic characteristics of lethal bradycardia induced by myocardial ischemia in rat's serum., Methods: A rat myocardial ischemia-bradycardia-sudden cardiac death （MI-B-SCD） model was established, which was compared with the sham-operation group. The metabolic profile of postmortem serum was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS）, coupled with the analysis of serum metabolic characteristics using metabolomics strategies., Results: The serum metabolic profiles were significantly different between the MI-B-SCD rats and the control rats. Compared to the control rats, the MI-B-SCD rats had significantly higher levels of lysine, ornithine, purine, serine, alanine, urea and lactic acid; and significantly lower levels of succinate, hexadecanoic acid, 2-ketoadipic acid, glyceraldehyde, hexendioic acid and octanedioic acid in the serum. There were some correlations among different metabolites., Conclusions: There is obvious metabolic alterations in the serum of MI-B-SCD rat. Both lysine and purine have a high value in diagnosing MI-B-SCD. The results are expected to provide references for forensic and clinical applications of prevention and control of sudden cardiac death., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Forensic Medicine)

Objective: Huperzine A (HupA) was approved as a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The HupA biosynthetic pathway was started from lysine decarboxylase (LDC), which catalyzes lysine to cadaverine. In this study, we cloned and expressed an LDC gene from a HupA-producing endophytic fungus, and tested LDC activities., Methods: An endophytic fungus Shiraia sp. Slf14 from Huperzia serrata was used. LDC gene was obtained by RT-PCR, and cloned into pET-22b(+) and pET-32a(+) vectors to construct recombinant plasmids pET- 22b-LDC and pET-32a-LDC. These two recombinant plasmids were transformed into E. coli BL21, cultured for 8 h at 24 °C, 200 r/min with 1×10–3 mol/L IPTG into medium to express the LDC proteins, respectively. LDC proteins were purified by Ni2+ affinity chromatography. Catalytic activities were measured by Thin Layer Chromatography. At last, the physicochemical properties and structures of these two LDCs were obtained by bioinformatics software., Results: LDC and Trx-LDC were expressed in E. coli BL21 successfully. SDS-PAGE analysis shows that the molecular weight of LDC and Trx-LDC were 24.4 kDa and 42.7 kDa respectively, which are consistent with bioinformatics analysis. In addition, TLC analysis reveals that both LDC and Trx-LDC had catalytic abilities., Conclusion: This work can provide fundamental data for enriching LDC molecular information and reveal the HupA biosynthetic pathway in endophytic fungi.

Objective: To understand which lysine (K) residue in ubiquitin (Ub) is used to form a poly-Ubs chain on discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2)., Methods: The constructs encoding human DDR2 and Cbl-b were transiently transfected into HEK293T cells together with the Ub mutants with lysine mutation at different sites, and the transfected cells were stimulated with collagens in order to induce the activation of DDR2. Immunoprecipitation was performed to isolate DDR2, and the immunoprecipitates were then subjected to immunoblot analysis for the conjugation of DDR2 with Ub., Results: Ub K27-only mutant displayed the strongest poly-Ub chain formation on DDR2, while Ub K33-only mutant exhibited weak ability to be conjugated with DDR2. These findings were further confirmed by Ub K27R and K33R mutants, which reduced DDR2 polyubiquitination., Conclusion: DDR2 is linked to a polyUb chain predominantly through K27 conjugation and slightly through K33.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the binding activity of Lactococcus lactis peptidoglycan protein anchor (PA) with different number of motifs., Methods: L. lactis PA gene sequences with 2 and 3 lysin motifs (LysM) were obtained by PCR amplification. Then, the recombinant plasmid of pET-32a(+) containing PA gene was constructed and transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) , and induced to express the fusion protein PA2 and PA3. The purified and refolded PA2 and PA3 were incubated with gram positive enhancer matrix (GEM). The binding activities of PA2 and PA3 were identified and compared by Western blot, TEM and SDS-PAGE., Results: The PA2 and PA3 could bind to GEM. The anchoring activity of PA3 was obviously superior to the PA2., Conclusion: The data indicated that PA with 3 LysMs had a better binding capacity compared with 2 LysMs. The results provided foundations to further improve the design of GEM-PA display system.

Huperzine A is a promising drug to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). To date, its biosynthetic pathway is still unknown. Lysine decarboxylase (LDC) has been proposed to catalyze the first-step of the biosynthesis of huperzine A. To identify and characterize LDCs from Huperzia serrata, we isolated two LDC fragments (LDC1 and LDC2) from leaves of H. serrata by RT-PCR and then cloned them into pMD 19-T vector. Sequence analysis showed that LDC1 and LDC2 genes shared 95.3% identity and encoded the protein of 212 and 202 amino acid residues respectively. Thus, we ligated LDC genes into pET-32a(+) to obtain recombinant expressing vectors pET-32a(+)/LDC1 and pET-32a(+)/LDC2 respectively. We further introduced two expression vectors into Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) and cultured positive colonies of E. coli in liquid LB medium. After inducing for 4 hours with 260 μg/mL IPTG at 30 degrees C, soluble recombinant Trx-LDC1 and Trx-LDC2 were obtained and isolated for purification using a Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. We incubated purified recombinant proteins with L-lysine in the enzyme reaction buffer at 37 degrees C and then derived the reaction products using dansyl chloride. It was found that both Trx-LDC1 and Trx-LDC2 had decarboxylase activity, could convert L-lysine into cadaverine by way of thin layer chromatography assay. Further, bioinformatics analysis indicated that deduced LDC1 and LDC2 had different physicochemical properties, but similar secondary and three-dimensional structures.

Histone modification is one important sort of the epigenetic modifications, including acetylation, formylation, methylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination and SUMOylation. By forming a complicated network, these modifications control the expression of genes. Histone methylation occurs mainly on the lysine residues, and plays a key role during flowering and stress response of plants, through changing the methylation status of lysine residues and the ratio of methylation. Triple-methylation of H3K4 promotes FLC expression but triple-methylation of H3K27 inhibits its expression. H3K4me3 activates the expression of PtdIns5P gene to initiate lipid synthesis signal pathway in response to drought stress. On the contrary, the low levels of H3K27me3 induce the expression of COR15A and ATGOLS3, which encode for low temperature protective proteins of chloroplast (Cor15am) and Galactional Synthase (GOLS), in order to resist cold stress. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanisms of histone lysine methylation involved in DNA methylation, plant flowering and stress response.

In recent years, the role of epigenetic modifications in tumorigenesis drawn more and more attention. The aberrant changes of histone modifications have been found in leukemias, whereby loss of balance in H3K9 methylation is associated closely with leukemogenesis. SUV39H1, the first described histone H3 lysine 9 methyltransferase takes part in heterochromatin formation and gene transcription regulation. It could be a new target for leukemia therapy by correcting the aberrance of H3K9 methylation, inducing the reexpression of tumor suppressor genes. This review discusses how H3K9 methylation regulating gene transcription, silencing gene expression and its association with leukemia.

Objective: To investigate the aberrance of histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN)., Methods: In 15 patients with IgAN and 15 healthy volunteers, H3K4me3 variations in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed using chromatin immunoprecipitation and microarray analysis (ChIP-chip). ChIP real-time PCR was used to validate the microarray results. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was carried out to examine the correlations between the mRNA expression profiles and H3K4me3 levels., Results: We identified 83 genes that displayed significant H3K4me3 differences in IgAN patients compared with healthy subjects. Among them, 39 genes showed increased H3K4me3 and 44 genes had decreased H3K4me3 levels. The results of ChIP real-time PCR were well consistent with the microarray data. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed the correlations between the mRNA expressions and the methylation levels of H3K4me3., Conclusion: IgAN patients have significant alterations in H3K4me3, and the genes with aberrant H3K4me3 may provide insights into the pathogenesis of IgAN.

Histone modification is an important component of epigenetic regulation, which can regulate eukaryotic gene expression by changing the structure of chromatin and interacting with other regulatory proteins. Abnormal histone modifications may lead to a variety of diseases, while the reversibility of histone modification provides a new way of thinking for treatment of these diseases. In this paper, we discussed the mechanism of histone lysine methylation related to congenital heart defect in order to provide a useful reference for researchers working in this area.

Objective: To study the digestibility of protein and amino acids in lysine-rich genetically modified (GM) rice and its parental rice., Methods: Eight Wuzhishan Mini-pig Inbred-line as the experimental animals, T-cannulas were equipped at their terminal ileums by surgical operation. Six of them, which were well-healed and with good appetite, were fed with lysine-rich genetically modified rice and its parental rice, and digesta of each pig was collected and analyzed respectively for comparing their apparent digestibility (AD) and true digestibility (TD). The endogenous amino acids losses were determined by casein diet method., Results: The AD and TD of protein are very similar in the two types of rice. There are no statistical differences in the AD of all amino acids except for Cysteine, and there are no statistical differences in the TD of all 18 amino acids., Conclusion: The lysine-rich GM rice has no statistical difference with its parental rice in terms of protein and amino acid digestion and absorption in Wuzhishan mini-pigs.

Objective: To screen and breed high lysine-producing strains by genome shuffling., Methods: Corynebacterium pekinense 1 was used as the starting strain in this study. High lysine-producing strains were screened by genome shuffling., Results: Five hereditarily stable strains with high lysine production were obtained by four cycles of genome shuffling. A high lysine producing strain, F4-36, was obtained, which produced 16.95 g/dL lysine, 37.1% higher than that of the starting strain., Conclusion: Genome shuffling can be an efficient tool to screen and breed high lysine production strains.

Using immunofluorescence staining, the patterns of histone H3 K4m2 of metaphase X chromosomes were measured in cloned cattle derived from FFB and FOV donor cells. The results demonstrated that the modification pattern of H3 K4m2 in the ear tissue of all clones was largely consistent with that of the donor cell line FFB and conventionally produced cattle, but different from that of the donor cell line FOV.

Objective: To investigate the effect of DNA methyltransferases inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR) on the histone H3-lysine 9 methylation status and gene expression of RUNX3 in human bladder tumor cells., Methods: Human bladder tumor cells of the line EJ were cultured and treated with 5-Aza-CdR for 24 h. MTT test was used to observe the proliferation and growth of the EJ cells. Other EJ cells were cultured and treated with 5-Aza-CdR and then chromatin immunoprecipitation assay was used to analyze the histone H3-lysine 9 methylation status of RUNX3 promoter and the second exon. The expression of RUNX3 was measured by RT-PCR., Results: The survival rate of the EJ cells treated with 5-Aza-CdR of the concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, and 10.0 micromol/L were 98.1%, 95.3%, 75.9%, 52.3%, 16.2%, and 7.7% respectively. And the survival rates of the EJ cells treated with 5-Aza-CdR for 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, and 96 hours were 89.4%, 85.2%, 78.6%, 37.1%, 8.9%, and 7.1% respectively. The survival rates of the 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, and 10.0 micromol/L group were significantly lower than that of the control group (all P < 0.05). Before the intervention, the amplified bands of the histone H3-lysine 9 methylation status of RUNX3 gene promoter and the second exon zone were obvious, but both disappeared after the treatment with 2.0 and 5.0 micromol/L 5-Aza-CdR. Before the intervention, RUNX3 gene was not expressed, and was expressed after treatment with 2.0 micromol/L 5-Aza-CdR., Conclusion: 5-Aza-CdR not only obviously inhibits the proliferation of human bladder cancer cells but also reactivates RUNX3 gene through demethylation of histone H3-lysine9 at RUNX3 promoter and the second exon. H3-lysine 9 trimethylation may be one of the most important reasons for gene inactivation of the RUNX3 gene.

Epigenetics is the study of processes that establish metastable (that is, somatically heritable) state of gene expression without altering the sequence. Epigenetic information includes nucleosome remodelingû genomic imprintingû X chromosome inactivationû DNA methylationû chromosome protein changes, including histone modification [acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, poly(ADP-ribosylation), lysine (K) residue biotinylation, and so on], histone variants exchange, non-histone changesû and uncoding RNA-regulating transcription. Carcinogenesis springs from the combined forces of both genetic and epigenetic events. Although the importance of genetic mutations in cancer has long been recognized, the role of epigenetic modification has been suggested more recently. Nutrients play essential roles in human health, and may modify cancer risk. This article sumed up recent researches on histone modification mechanism, approached the molecular mechanism during cancer initiation and development and the application in cancer prevention and treatment in histone modification level respectively, and summarized the relationship between diet nutrition and cancer epigenetic mechanism in histone modification level.

Histone lysine methylation plays a key role in epigenetic regulation.There are five lysines within histone H3(K4, K9, K27, K36, K79). Besides, one lysine within histone H4(K20) has been shown to be methylated by specific histone lysine methyltransferase. Methylation at H3-K9 is associated with transcriptional repression, while methylation at H3-K4 and H3-K36 is associated with transcriptional activation. The methylation of histone H3-K27 was proved to be linked to several silencing phenomena including homeotic-gene silencing, X inactivation and genomic imprinting. H3-K79 methylation plays a role in DNA repair and transcriptional activation, and the extent and biological significance of histone de-methylation will surely attract great attention.

The types of histone methyltransferases, the relationship between methylation of Lysine 9 of H3 and the formation of heterochromatin, gene regulation in euchromatin, and that with DNA methylation, were mainly introduced. The interrelation between histone methylation and histone acetylation/phosphorylation was summarized. It is showed that histone methylation plays a very important role in maintaining the balance state of cell. The future research tendency of histone methylation was fantastic.

Eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF-5A) contains an unusual amino acid, hypusine, which is formed post-translationally. Although eIF-5A and its hypusine modification are essential for eukaryotic cell viability, the precise physiological function of it has remained elusive. The aim of the study is to investigate how hypusine formation modulate the proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis in leukaemia cells. The effects of 1,7-diaminoheptane (DAH), a potent inhibitor of deoxyhypusine synthase, on proliferation and cell viability of leukemia cell lines (Mo7e, TF-1 and THP-1) and MCF-7 cells, were investigated. eIF-5A expression level was detected after cell synchronization. The results showed that inhibition of cell proliferation by DAH was in a concentration-dependent manner while apoptosis was also induced at the same time. Upon treatment of the cell lines with DAH, cell growth was inhibited. Cell cycle analysis showed that DAH induced cell growth arrest at the G(1)-S boundary of the cell cycle. In synchronized MCF-7 cells, the expression level of eIF-5A peaked at G(1) phase but very low at S and G(2)/M phases. It is concluded that hypusine formation of eIF-5A exits in the regulation of cell cycle and the results suggest that eIF-5A is involved in the expression of proteins regulating transition of G(1)-S phase of cell cycle.