近20多年以来，随着分子生物学的不断发展，植物基因工程取得了很多突破，本文介绍了转基因植物在生物药品、食品、工业用酶和农业四方面的发展现状。

Furostanol glycoside 26-O-b-glucosidase (F26G) is a specific b-glucosidase converting a furostanol glycoside (FG) to its corresponding spirostanol glycoside (SG). A cDNA encoding F26G from Costus speciosus was introduced into a heterologous plant, Nicotiana tabacum via Agrobacterium tumefaciens using a binary vector method. Successful integration of the cDNA into tobacco chromosomal DNA was confirmed by PCR analysis. F26G activity was also detected in cell-free extracts of the transgenic plantlets.

Our previous study showed that oridonin isolated from Rabdosia rubescens enhanced phagocytosis of apoptotic cells by macrophage-like U937 cells through tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α and interleukin (IL)-1β release. In this study, we further investigated signaling events involved in oridonin-augmented phagocytosis. Phagocytic stimulation was significantly suppressed by inhibitors, including a phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) inhibitor (wortmannin), a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor (stauroporine), and a phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor (U73122). Exposure of U937 cells to oridonin caused an increase in PKC activity timedependently, which was prevented by pretreatment with inhibitors of PI3K and PLC. Simultaneously, the activation of protein kinase B (PKB /Akt) and the increased expression of PLCγ2 were also blocked by wortmannin. In addition, an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) MAPK inhibitor, PD98059, suppressed oridonin-augmented phagocytosis, whereas the p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB203580) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) MAPK inhibitor (SP98059) had no inhibitory effect. Furthermore, pretreatment of U937 cells with anti-TNFα and anti-IL-1β antibodies blocked oridonin-induced phagocytic stimulation as well as phosphorylation of ERK, but did not block the activation of PKC, indicating that these signaling events are triggered by oridonin, whereas secreted TNFα or IL-1β only activate the ERK-dependent pathway. Taken together, oridonin is suggested to enhance phagocytosis of apoptotic bodies by activating PI3K, PKC, and ERK-dependent pathways.

主要介绍了酿酒酵母和移动单孢中丙酮酸脱羧酶的结构、性质及其在手性合成中的应用，包括反应的机理、底物范围和影响反应的因素。

We previously reported that oridonin, a major component isolated from the plant Rabdosia rubescens HEMSL, induced apoptosis in human melanoma A375-S2 and cervical cancer HeLa cells. In the present study, oridonin was first evaluated for its effect on phagocytosis of apoptotic cells by macrophages. Preincubation of human histocytic lymphoma U937 cell-derived macrophages with 2.7mM oridonin significantly augmented phagocytosis of UV-irradiated (2.4 J/cm2, 4 min) U937 cells undergoing apoptosis in a dose-and time-dependent manner. However, less effect on synthetic fluoresbrite microspheres indicated that enhancement of apoptotic U937 cell uptake by oridonin was a selective effect. The oridonin-augmented phagocytosis was attenuated by anti-human TNFa and IL-1b antisera, suggesting that TNFa and IL-1b participate in the phagocytosis by oridonin-treated U937 cell-derived macrophages. In addition, the similar effect of phagocytosis was observed in oridonin-treated human monocyte-derived macrophages at 4 d maturation. Taken together, oridonin facilitates the phagocytic activity against apoptotic cells through TNFa and IL-1b release, which may be contribute to its antitumor activities.