Xuzhou Medical University

6 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Chemistry

Methionine Functionalized Biocompatible Block Copolymers for Targeted Plasmid DNA Delivery

Yang Wu^*1, Wei Zhang^*2, Jian Zhang², Zhi-Xiang Mao³, Li Ding², Hao Li³, Rong Ma¹, Jin-Hai Tang²

¹Research Center of Clinical Oncology, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital & Jiangsu Institute of Cancer Research & Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, ²Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, ³School of Clinical Medicine, Xuzhou Medical University

This work presents the preparation of methionine functionalized biocompatible block copolymers (mBG) via the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) method. The plasmid DNA complexing ability of the obtained mBG and their transfection efficiency were also investigated. The RAFT method is very beneficial for polymerizing monomers containing special functional groups.

Neuroscience

Detecting Amyloid-β Accumulation via Immunofluorescent Staining in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Zijian Song^*1, Miao Zheng^*1, Jiahui Ding¹, Yidi Xu¹, Miao-Jin Ji¹, Chao Liu¹

¹Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology and NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University

In the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease, one of the most crucial characteristics is the deposition of amyloid-β. In this protocol, we describe the method of immunofluorescent staining in 5×FAD transgenic mouse to detect amyloid-β accumulation in plaques. The process of perfusion, cryosectioning, staining and quantification will be described in detail.

Biology

A Non-Degradative Extraction Method for Molecular Structure Characterization of Bacterial Glycogen Particles

Jun-Jiao Wang^*1, Meng-Meng Wang^*2,3, You-Wei He⁴, Zhang-Wen Ma^2,3, Zi-Yi Wang^5,6,7, Rui Qiao^2,3, Xin-Le Tan^5,6, Qing-Hua Liu⁸, Liang Wang^1,2

¹Department of Bioinformatics, School of Medical Informatics and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, ²Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Drug Research and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xuzhou Medical University, ³Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Xuzhou Medical University, ⁴Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Xuzhou Medical University, ⁵School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, ⁶Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, ⁷Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, ⁸State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines, Macau University of Science and Technology

Bacterial glycogen structure is greatly impacted by extraction methods which may result in molecular degradation and/or biased sampling. It is essential to develop methods to minimize these problems. Here, four extraction methods have been compared using size distribution and chain length distribution as key criteria for minimizing extraction artifacts.

Biochemistry

The Extraction of Liver Glycogen Molecules for Glycogen Structure Determination

Ziyi Wang^1,2, Qinghua Liu^3,4, Liang Wang^3,5, Robert G. Gilbert^1,2,6, Mitchell A. Sullivan⁷

¹School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, ²Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, ³Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Research and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xuzhou Medical University, ⁴Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Xuzhou Medical University, ⁵Department of Bioinformatics, School of Medical Informatics and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, ⁶Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, ⁷Glycation and Diabetes Group, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute

An optimal sucrose concentration was determined for the extraction of liver glycogen using sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The addition of a 10 min boiling step to inhibit glycogen-degrading enzymes proved beneficial.

Biology

Structure-Based Simulation and Sampling of Transcription Factor Protein Movements along DNA from Atomic-Scale Stepping to Coarse-Grained Diffusion

Chao E^*1, Liqiang Dai^*1,2, Jiaqi Tian^3,4, Lin-Tai Da⁴, Jin Yu^5,6,7

¹Beijing Computational Science Research Center, ²Shenzhen JL Computational Science and Applied Research Institute, ³School of Medical Informatics and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, ⁴Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ⁵Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, ⁶Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, ⁷NSF-Simons Center for Multiscale Cell Fate Research, University of California, Irvine

The goal of this protocol is to reveal structural dynamics of one-dimensional diffusion of protein along DNA, using a plant transcription factor WRKY domain protein as an exemplary system. To do this, both atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations along with extensive computational samplings have been implemented.

Bioengineering

Prospective, Randomized, and Controlled Study of a Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Injection for Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Jingyu Zhang^*1,2, Bingkun Zhao^*1, Wuhan Wei^*1,2, Dan Wang^3,4,5, Haoyu Wang^1,2, Aijun Zhang¹, Changbo Tao¹, Xueyang Li¹, Qiang Li¹, Peisheng Jin¹

¹Department of Plastic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, ²Graduate School, Xuzhou Medical University, ³Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, ⁴School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, ⁵Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine, Hong Kong Science Park

The present protocol describes a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical study that evaluates a human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell injection for the treatment of chronic diabetic foot ulcers.