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The Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) late expression factor gene lef-10 has been identified to be required for viral late gene expression by transient expression assay. Our previous work has shown that the gene product LEF-10 can form very stable high-molecular-weight complexes, but the structure and function of the protein remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that LEF-10 was essential for the replication of AcMNPV, and its truncated fragment containing amino acid residues 1 to 48 were sufficient to support the virus survival. Our data also suggested that the LEF-10 could spontaneously aggregate to form punctate spots in virus infected Sf9 cells at low frequency, and the aggregation of the protein could be induced by LEF-10 over-expression. When the protein aggregated to form punctate spots, soluble LEF-10 proteins were depleted and this could result in the down-regulation of viral late gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Euphorbia helioscopia L. is a traditional Chinese medicine; recently research found that its ethyl acetate extract (EAE) plays an important role on tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and metastasis in vitro. But the effect of EAE for tumor cells in vivo has not been reported. To explore the inhibitory effect of EAE and molecular mechanism on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) SMMC-7721 cells in vivo, we utilized the nude mouse xenograft model of HCC. Treated with EAE (50, 100, and 200 μg/mL), the volume of xenograft was measured during the entire process of EAE treatment. In EAE treatment group, the volume of xenograft was significantly reduced compared with the control group (P<0.05) and the protein expressions of CyclinD1, bcl-2, and MMP-9 were reduced, while those of bax, caspase-3, and nm23-H1 were increased. A significant change trend with increasing EAE concentrations has presented, compared with controls. Moreover, the ultrastructural morphology of xenografts showed significant changes, including nuclear pyknosis and chromatin condensation, We found that EAE could effectively inhibit tumor growth, induce apoptosis, and inhibit tumor invasion and metastasis in vivo; it is suggested that EAE is a potential candidate for as a new anticancer agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extraordinary variation has been found in mitochondrial (mt) genome inheritance, gene content and arrangement among bivalves. However, only few bivalve mt genomes have been comparatively analyzed to infer their evolutionary scenarios. In this study, the complete mt genome of the venerid Paphia euglypta (Bivalvia: Veneridae) was firstly studied and, secondly, it was comparatively analyzed with other venerids (e.g., Venerupis philippinarum and Meretrix petechialis) to better understand the mt genome evolution within a family. Though several common features such as the AT content, codon usage of protein-coding genes, and AT/GC skew are shared by the three venerids, a high level of variability is observed in genome size, gene content, gene order, arrangements and primary sequence of nucleotides or amino acids. Most of the gene rearrangement can be explained by the 'tandem duplication and random loss' model. From the observed rearrangement patterns, we speculate that block interchange between adjacent genes may be common in the evolution of mt genomes in venerids. Furthermore, this study presents several new findings in mt genome annotation of V. philippinarum and M. petechialis, and hence we have reannotated the genome of these two species as: (1) the ORF of the formerly annotated cox2 gene in V. philippinarum is deduced by using a truncated 'T' codon and a second cox2 gene is identified; (2) the trnS-AGN gene is identified and marked in the mt genome of both venerids. Thus, this study demonstrated a high variability of mt genomes in the Veneridae, and showed the importance of comparative mt genome analysis to interpret the evolution of the bivalve mt genome. Une variation extraordinaire a été observée en ce qui a trait à la transmission, au contenu génique et à l'arrangement du génome mitochondrial (mt) chez les bivalves. Cependant, seuls quelques génomes mt ont été comparés chez les bivalves pour en comprendre l'évolution. Dans ce travail, le génome mt complet du Vénéridé Paphia euglypta (Bivalvia : Veneridae) a été étudié et ensuite comparé à ceux d'autres Vénéridés (e.g., Venerupis philippinarum et Meretrix petechialis) afin de mieux comprendre l'évolution du génome mt au sein d'une famille. Bien que plusieurs caractéristiques étaient semblables chez les trois Vénéridés, comme le contenu en AT, l'usage des codons au sein des régions codant pour des protéines et le biais AT/GC, une grande variabilité a été observée en ce qui a trait à la taille du génome, le contenu et l'ordre génique, l'arrangement et la séquence primaire des nucléotides ou des acides aminés. La plupart des réarrangements géniques pouvaient s'expliquer via le modèle de « duplication en tandem suivie d'une perte aléatoire ». À partir des réarrangements observés, les auteurs proposent que l'échange de blocs entre gènes adjacents pourrait être un phénomène répandu dans l'évolution des génomes mt chez les Vénéridés. De plus, cette étude présente plusieurs nouvelles trouvailles en matière d'annotation des génomes mt chez le V. philippinarum et le M. petechialis. Les auteurs ont ainsi produit une nouvelle annotation du génome mt de ces deux espèces avec les modifications suivantes : 1) l'ORF du gène précédemment annoté comme étant cox2 chez le V. philippinarum a été déduit en utilisant un codon « T » tronqué et un second gène cox2 a été identifié ; 2) et le gène trnS-AGN a été identifié et annoté dans les génomes mt des deux espèces. Ainsi, cette étude a montré la grande variabilité des génomes mt chez les Vénéridés et l'importance de l'analyse comparée des génomes mt pour déduire l'évolution du génome mt chez les bivalves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]