Keshan disease (KD) is a potentially fatal form of cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle) endemic in certain areas of China. From 1984 to 1986, a national comprehensive scientific investigation on KD in Chuxiong region of Yunnan Province in the southwest China was conducted. The investigation team was composed of epidemiologists, clinic doctors, pathologists, biochemists, biophysicists and specialists in ecological environment. Results of pathological, biochemical and biophysical as well as clinical studies showed: an obvious increase of enlarged and swollen mito- chondria with distended crista membranes in myocardium from patients with KD; significant reduc- tions in the activity of oxidative phosphorylation (succinate dehydrogenase, cytochrome oxidase, succinate oxidase, H+-ATPase) of affected mitochondria; decrease in CoQ, cardiolipin, Se and GSHPx activity, while obvious increase in the Ca2+ content. So, it was suggested that mitochondria are the predominant target of the pathogenic factors of KD. Before Chuxiong KD survey only a few cases of mitochondrial cardiomyopathy were studied. During the multidisciplinary scientific investiga- tion on KD in Chuxiong a large amount of samples from KD cases and the positive controls were examined. On the basis of the results obtained it was suggested that KD might be classified as a “Mitochondrial Cardiomyopathy” endemic in China. This is one of the achievements in the three years’ survey in Chuxiong and is valuable not only to the deeper understanding of pathogenic mechanism of KD but also to the study of mitochondrial cardiomyopathy in general. Keshan disease is not a genetic disease, but is closely related to the malnutrition (especially mi- croelement Se deficiency). KD occurs along a low Se belt, and Se supplementation has been effective in prevention of such disease. The incidence of KD has sharply decreased along with the steady raise of living standard and realization of preventive measures. At present, patients of KD are very sparse. In recent years
本文综述了线粒体解偶联蛋白2(uncoupling protein 2,UCP2)研究方面的进展。UCP2定位于线粒体内膜上,通过消散线粒体内膜的质子梯度调节线粒体的功能,包括线粒体内膜电位、ATP合成、呼吸链ROS产生、线粒体钙库的存储和释放等。目前,UCP2的质子漏机理并不清楚,但体内实验表明UCP2活性可被过氧化物激活。特别是近年来UCP2调控胰岛素分泌方面的研究取得了重要进展。
Insulin-responsive GLUT4(glucose transporter 4) translocation plays a major role in regulating glucose uptake in adipose tissue and muscle.Whether or not there is a specialized secretory GSV(GLUT4 storage vesicle) pool,and more importantly how GSVs are translocated to the PM(plasma membrane) under insulin stimulation is still under debate.In the present study,we systematically analyzed the dynamics of a large number of single GLUT4-containing vesicles in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by TIRFM(total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy).We found that GLUT4-containing vesicles can be classified into three groups according to their mobility,namely vertical,stable,and lateral GLUT4-containing vesicles.Among these groups,vertical GLUT4-containing vesicles exclude transferrin receptors and move towards the PM specifically in response to insulin stimulation,while stable and lateral GLUT4-containing vesicles contain transferrin receptors and show no insulin responsiveness.These data demonstrate that vertical GLUT4-containing vesicles correspond to specialized secretory GSVs,which approach the PM directly and bypass the constitutive recycling pathway.
WANG Yan1,2,ZHANG JinZhong1,2,CHEN Yu1,2,JIANG Li1,2,JI Wei1,2 & XU Tao1 1 National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules,Institute of Biophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100101,China
