重组小鼠IL-33成熟蛋白的原核表达、纯化及活性检测

目的为了在大肠埃希菌中表达具有生物学活性的小鼠IL-33成熟蛋白。方法利用PCR技术从pc DNA3.1-IL-33质粒中扩增小鼠IL-33成熟蛋白的基因,将其插入原核表达载体p ET21a(+),构建成p ET21a-m IL-33质粒,转化至大肠埃希菌BL21,筛选出可表达m IL-33的大肠埃希菌工程菌株。经IPTG诱导表达,用镍柱亲和层析法纯化。结果经SDS-PAGE分析获得纯度高达95%的m IL-33蛋白,相对分子质量18 000。ELISA试验显示m IL-33可以有效的促进肠系膜淋巴细胞产生Th2型细胞因子(IL-5),与未处理组的差异具有显著的统计学意义。结论利用大肠埃希菌表达系统表达了具有生物活性的m IL-33蛋白,为继续开展IL-33在炎症性肠病的免疫治疗研究奠定了基础。     

人乳头瘤病毒18型L1蛋白在大肠埃希菌中的可溶性表达及病毒样颗粒的形成

目的利用大肠埃希菌系统可溶性表达人乳头瘤病毒18型(HPV18)L1蛋白,纯化和重组装获得HPV18病毒样颗粒(VLPs),为进一步研制HPV18基因工程疫苗奠定基础。方法首先按大肠埃希菌密码子偏好进行HPV18L1全基因合成,经PCR扩增出截短的HPV18L1基因,构建重组表达载体PET30a-L1,通过优化表达在大肠埃希菌BL21中可溶性表达L1蛋白,其次采用硫酸铵沉淀、离子交换层析、疏水层析后,获得高纯度的的L1蛋白,再通过解聚和重聚获得VLPs。结果全基因优化并截短的HPV18L1蛋白在大肠埃希菌系统中以可溶形式表达,纯化后的蛋白纯度达到90%以上,电镜下观察到直径为60 nm的VLPs颗粒。结论利用大肠埃希菌系统可溶性表达非融合HPV18L1蛋白,并获得均一的VLPs颗粒,为疫苗的开发奠定基础。     

大肠埃希菌热不稳定肠毒素B亚单位在婴儿双歧杆菌中的表达

目的将大肠埃希菌热不稳定肠毒素B亚单位（LTB）克隆到表达载体pBV220,使LTB基因在大肠埃希菌和双歧杆菌中稳定表达。方法将LTB基因克隆到表达载体pBV220中,再分别转化大肠埃希菌DH5a和婴儿双歧杆菌,使之表达,表达产物用SDS—PAGE鉴定。并通过家兔肠袢实验验证表达蛋白的安全性。结果LTB基因在大肠埃希菌和双歧杆菌中均可稳定表达,毒性实验证明LTB保留轻微的毒性。结论稳定表达LTB的双歧杆菌为今后的口服疫苗佐剂奠定了基础。     

人白细胞介素12(hIL\|12)基因在杆状病毒表达载体系统中的表达

人白细胞介素12(hIL-12)是细胞介导免疫发生的关键调节因子,也是目前发现的唯一的异源二聚体细胞因子,由P35和P40两个亚基经二硫键连接而成.利用DNA重组技术,分别构建了含hIL-12p35基因和p40基因的重组转移载体质粒pAcAB3-p35和pAcAB3-p40.将两个重组转移载体分别与致死缺陷型线性化苜蓿丫纹液蛾核型多角体病毒(AcNPVBaculoGold LinearizedBaculovirus)基因DNA共转染昆虫细胞,构建出遗传稳定的重组病毒AcNPV-OCC-hIL-12(p35)与AcNPV-OCC——hIL-12(p40).将两种病毒分别感染Sf9细胞,取细胞培养物上清和细胞裂解物上清进行SDS-PAGE和Western blot检测,结果显示hIL-12p35和p40两基因均在昆虫细胞中获得表达,且能分泌至胞外.表达产物具有免疫原性.     

人白细胞介素12(hIL\|12)基因在杆状病毒表达载体系统中的表达

人白细胞介素12(hIL\|12)是细胞介导免疫发生的关键调节因子,也是目前发现的唯一的异源二聚体细胞因子,由P35和P40两个亚基经二硫键连接而成。利用DNA重组技术,分别构建了含hIL\|12 p35基因和p40基因的重组转移载体质粒pAcAB3\|p35和pAcAB3\|p40。将两个重组转移载体分别与致死缺陷型线性化苜蓿丫纹液蛾核型多角体病毒(AcNPV BaculoGold Linearized Baculovirus)基因DNA共转染昆虫细胞,构建出遗传稳定的重组病毒AcNPV\|OCC\|hIL\|12(p35)与AcNPV\|OCC-\|hIL\|12(p40)。将两种病毒分别感染Sf9细胞,取细胞培养物上清和细胞裂解物上清进行SDSPAGE和Western blot检测,结果显示hIL\|12 p35和p40两基因均在昆虫细胞中获得表达,且能分泌至胞外。表达产物具有免疫原性。     

人重组白细胞介素12在CHO细胞中的表达

将人白细胞介素12（interleukin 12, IL-12）两条链p35及p40全长cDNA分别亚克隆至真核表达载体pcDNA3中,构建了pcDNA3/p35a,pcDNA3/p40a,pcDNA3/p35b,pcDNA3/p40b四种真核细胞重组表达质粒,利用磷酸钙共沉淀法转染中国苍鼠卵巢(CHO)细胞. 通过对阳性克隆的筛选鉴定,获得了稳定表达人IL-12的CHO细胞株,活性最高的一株表达量为105 U/ml.此细胞株经半年的传代培养,能够稳定地分泌IL-12.结果显示：IL-12在CHO细胞中的稳定表达受到重组质粒结构、DNA整合、mRNA转录、蛋白质翻译等多因素的影响,IL-12两个亚基在CHO细胞中的共同表达是产生有生物活性IL-12的基础.     

CTX-M-14型超广谱β-内酰胺酶的序列分析与原核表达

目的对大肠埃希菌所产CTX-M-14型超广谱β-内酰胺酶（ESBLs）进行基因克隆和重组表达,探讨其特性。方法以产CTX-M-14型超广谱β-内酰胺酶大肠埃希菌12号菌总基因组DNA为模板,PCR扩增CTX-M-14,将其克隆入pUCm-T Vector载体后测定该核苷酸序列;再将基因编码区克隆到原核表达载体pET-28α,构建含CTX-M-14基因的重组表达质粒,转化到大肠埃希菌BL21中进行IPTG诱导表达。SDS-PAGE电泳鉴定表达的酶蛋白后再过Ni-NTA柱纯化。结果PCR扩增出大小为876bp的基因片段,与GenBank上同类酶的基因序列同源性为100％。大肠埃希菌BL21转化pET-28a／CTX-M-14重组质粒后,ESBLs试验为阳性。此基因能在大肠埃希菌中大量表达,SDS-PAGE电泳显示蛋白分子质量大约为30KD。结论成功表达重组的CTX-M-14型酶,为进一步做酶动力学及酶的其他分子生物学特性研究奠定基础。     

重组腺伴随病毒载体表达人白细胞介素12的研究

白细胞介素12(IL-12)具有广谱抗肿瘤、抗感染的作用,是由两个亚单位40kD(p40)和35kD(p35)通过二硫键构成的杂合体,有可能通过分别表达亚单位的方式来表达有功能活性的IL-12.该实验尝试利用重组腺伴随病毒(rAAV)载体进行人IL-12(hIL-12)双亚基共表达,将hIL-12的两个亚基分别克隆到AAV载体质粒pSNAV中,构建成pSNAV-IL12-p35和pSNAV-IL12-p40质粒,经转染、G418筛选后建立了rAAV载体细胞株.采用先前建立的rAAV的生产方法,获得了rAAV-IL12-p35和rAAV-IL12-p40,在体外将两种rAAV共同感染BHK-21细胞,48h后收集细胞培养上清进行免疫学和生物学活性检测.经ELISA检测,产生的hIL-12 p70的含量为10.185pg/ml;在体外促进IFN-γ分泌实验中,加入hIL-12的PBMC分泌的IFN-γ含量为37.2mg/ml.实验结果说明:采用两个AAV载体分别表达亚单位的方法可以表达具有功能活性的hIL-12,为IL-12的基因治疗提供了一条新的途径.     

木糖异构酶基因xylA表达载体构建

以大肠埃希菌MG1655的基因组为模板,通过PCR扩增获得木糖异构酶基因xylA。利用敲除编码对基因转录起负调控作用的lacIq基因的大肠埃希菌/谷氨酸棒杆菌穿梭质粒pEC-XK99E,酶连后转化大肠埃希菌BL21和谷氨酸棒杆菌ATCC 13032。成功构建出了具有大肠埃希菌BL21表达活性的木糖异构酶表达载体pEC(lacI-)-xylA。     

His-FemA融合蛋白表达载体的构建及其在原核细胞中的表达

目的 构建His标签的金黄色葡萄球菌甲氧西林耐药相关蛋白FemA的融合蛋白表达载体,并在大肠埃希菌中表达,为进一步研究femA基因的生物学功能和临床应用奠定基础.方法 根据GenBank中金黄色葡萄球菌femA基因序列,利用Primer Premier 5.0设计PCR引物,并在引物的5'加入BamHI及SalI酶切位点;以金黄色葡萄球菌基因组DNA为模版,PCR扩增出femA基因片段.将目的DNA片段及质粒pQE30分别进行双酶切、连接并转化大肠埃希菌DH5α;阳性克隆以PCR、双酶切及测序进行鉴定.将鉴定正确的pQE30-femA重组质粒转化大肠埃希菌JM109,异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷(IPTG)诱导表达His-femA融合蛋白;采用SDS-PAGE及Western blot分析对表达蛋白进行验证.结果 经PCR、双酶切签定及序列测定,证实重组质粒pQE30-femA构建成功;重组质粒pQE30-femA转化大肠埃希菌JM109经IPTG诱导后,SDS-PAGE和Western blot分析显示表达出53 kD目的蛋白;经Bandscan软件分析,目的蛋白质在4h的表达量占细胞总蛋白的27.5％.结论 成功构建了His-FemA原核表达载体(pQE30-femA),并在大肠埃希菌中高效表达.     

Protein disulfide isomerase-mediated cell-free assembly of recombinant interleukin-12 p40 homodimers.

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a heterodimeric cytokine composed of two subunits, p35 and p40. The disulfide-linked homodimer (p40)2 has been shown to be a potent IL-12 antagonist. In the present study, the p40 subunit was refolded from Escherichia coli inclusion bodies. Formation of (p40)2 was greatly increased in a redox buffer containing reduced and oxidized glutathione, but was not significantly affected by the cosolvents urea, GdnHCl or Chaps. While protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), GroEL/ES or DnaK/J/GrpE suppressed aggregation during refolding of p40, only DnaK/J/GrpE and PDI enhanced p40 dimerization. Oxidative assembly of p40 into (p40)2 by PDI, but not suppression of aggregation, was strongly dependent on inclusion of BSA in the refolding buffer. It is concluded that both chaperone-like and disulfide isomerase effects are essential for correct folding of p40 into dimers.     

The Expression of Cdk5, p35, p39, and Cdk5 Kinase Activity in Developing, Adult, and Aged Rat Brains

The expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) and its regulatory subunits, p35 and p39, was investigated in rat brain from embryonic day 12 (E12) to postnatal 18 months (18M). The Cdk5 protein levels increased from E12 to postnatal day 7 (P7) and remained at this level until 18M. The Cdk5 kinase activity and the levels of both p35 mRNA and protein were low at E12, became prominent at E18-P14 but then decreased in the adult and aged rat brains of 3M to 18M. In comparison, the expression pattern of p39 appeared to have an inverse relationship to that of Cdk5 and p35. In regional distribution studies, p35 protein levels and Cdk5 kinase activity were significantly higher in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, but lower in the cerebellum and striatum. These results suggested that Cdk5, p35 and p39 might have region-specific and developmental stage-specific functions in rat brain.     

A protective and agonistic function of IL-12p40 in mycobacterial infection.

IL-12p35(-/-)p40(-/-) mice are highly susceptible to Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In this study IL-12p35(-/-) mice, which are able to produce endogenous IL-12p40, cleared M. bovis BCG and showed reduced susceptibility to pulmonary M. tuberculosis infection, which was in striking contrast to the outcome of mycobacterial infection in IL-12p35(-/-)p40(-/-) mice. Resistance in wild-type and IL-12p35(-/-) mice was accompanied by protective granuloma formation and Ag-specific delayed-type hypersensitivity responses, which were impaired in susceptible IL-12p35(-/- )p40(-/-) mice. Furthermore, IL-12p35(-/-) mice, but not IL-12p35(-/-)p40(-/-) mice, mounted Ag-specific Th1 and cytotoxic T cell responses. In vivo therapy with rIL-12p40 homodimer restored the impaired delayed-type hypersensitivity responses in M. bovis BCG-infected IL-12p35(-/-)p40(-/-) mice and reverted them to a more resistant phenotype. Together, these results show evidence for a protective and agonistic role of endogenous and exogenous IL-12p40 in mycobacterial infection, which is independent of IL-12p70.     

Promoting effect of IFN-γ on the expression of LPS-induced IL-12 p40 and p35 mRNA in murine suppressor macrophages

We detected the expression of IL-12 p40/p35 mRNA by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and silver staining, and studied the molecular interaction between the IL-12 expression and the NF-kB activation induced by LPS and IFN-γ/LPS in murine peritoneal suppressor macrophages (MPSMs). It was found that IFN-γ strongly enhanced the LPS-induced IL-12 p40 and p35 mRNA expression. Both p40 and p35 mRNA levels were approximately equal. IFN-γ also greatly promoted the LPS-induced secretion of IL-12 p70 in MPSMs. The Proteasome Inhibitor I (PSI) could block the expres-sion of IL-12 p40 and p35 mRNA, and the degradation of IkBα induced by LPS or LPS/IFN-γ. EM-SA showed that LPS could augment the NF-kB binding activity to p40 promoter DNA. However, IFN-γ could neither enhance the LPS-induced NF-kB activity nor promote the degradation of IkBα. Taken together, the data suggest: (i) IFN-γ/LPS could strongly induce the expression of IL-12 p40 and p35 mRNA; both the expression levels were equal; this phenomenon coincided with the high-level secretion of IL-12 p70 induced by IFN-γ/LPS; (ii) NF-kB signal pathway is essential for IFN-γ/LPS to induce IL-12 mRNA expression; (iii) by blocking the degradation of IkB, the PSI sup-presses the IL-12 p40/p35 mRNA expression induced by LPS and IFN-γ/LPS; (iv) NF-kB signal may not be involved in the mechanism by which IFN-γ enhanced the expression of the LPS-induced IL-12 p40/p35 mRNA.     

Intracellular localization of the p35 subunit of murine IL-12

Production of interleukin-12 (IL-12), a heterodimer of p35 and p40 subunits, is limited by p35 expression. A long and a short murine p35 mRNA potentially encoding proteins differing in pre-sequence size are produced. Increased pre-sequence size could convert a cleaved signal peptide to an uncleaved signal peptide, raising the possibility that a membrane-bound form of p35 is produced. The intracellular localization of the p35 encoded by each mRNA isoform was determined by constructing cDNAs containing the long or short p35 cDNA isoform fused in-frame to a cDNA encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP). After transfection of a CV-1 African green monkey kidney cell line with the constructs, confocal microscopy and immunoblotting of extracted microsomal membranes demonstrated that the p35-GFP fusion protein encoded by the long or short mRNA accumulates in the Golgi apparatus as an endoglycosidase H-sensitive glycosylated integral membrane protein. In contrast, a p40-GFP fusion protein accumulates in the Golgi apparatus as a soluble protein. Since assembly of the p35 and p40 subunits to form bioactive IL-12 occurs in the ER, release of membrane-tethered IL-12 by proteolytic cleavage in a late Golgi or post-Golgi compartment may represent an as yet unidentified level at which bioactive IL-12 secretion is regulated.     

Early Cytokine Elevation, PrPres Deposition, and Gliosis in Mouse Scrapie: No Effect on Disease by Deletion of Cytokine Genes IL-12p40 and IL-12p35

Neurodegenerative diseases are typically associated with an activation of glia and an increased level of cytokines. In our previous studies of prion disease, the cytokine response in the brains of clinically sick scrapie-infected mice was restricted to a small group of cytokines, of which IL-12p40, CCL2, and CXCL10 were present at the highest levels. The goal of our current research was to determine the relationship between cytokine responses, gliosis, and neuropathology during prion disease. Here, in time course studies of C57BL/10 mice intracerebrally inoculated with 22L scrapie, abnormal protease-resistant prion protein (PrPres), astrogliosis, and microgliosis were first detected at 40 days after intracerebral scrapie inoculation. In cytokine studies, IL-12p40 was first elevated by 60 days; CCL3, IL-1β, and CXCL1 were elevated by 80 days; and CCL2 and CCL5 were elevated by 115 days. IL-12p40 showed the most extensive increase throughout disease and was 30-fold above control levels at the terminal stage. Because of the early onset and dramatic elevation of IL-12p40 during scrapie, we investigated whether IL-12p40 contributed to the development of prion disease neuropathogenesis by using three different scrapie strains (22L, RML, 79A) to infect knockout mice in which the gene encoding IL-12p40 was deleted. We also studied knockout mice lacking IL-12p35, which combines with IL-12p40 to form active IL-12 heterodimers. In all instances, knockout mice did not differ from control mice in survival time, clinical tempo, or levels of spongiosis, gliosis, or PrPres in the brain. Thus, neither IL-12p40 nor IL-12p35 molecules were required for prion disease-associated neurodegeneration or neuroinflammation.     

Impaired production of IL-12 in systemic lupus erythematosus. III: deficient IL-12 p40 gene expression and cross-regulation of IL-12, IL-10 and IFN-gamma gene expression.

Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is a heterodimer comprising p35 and p40 subunits which are encoded and regulated separately. The authors previously demonstrated deficient IL-12 production in SLE which correlates negatively with disease activity. The present study was designed to determine whether deficiency of IL-12 and excess production of IL-10 and IL-6 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are due to aberrant regulation at the gene level. Using semiquantitative RT-PCR assay, it was shown that constitutive expression of IL-12 p35 gene is somewhat impaired in SLE compared with controls and that IL-12 p40 mRNA, which was present at low levels in controls, was undetectable in unstimulated SLE peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Gene expression of IL-12 p35 and p40 was significantly increased in response to SAC, with significantly lower SAC-induced expression of p40 in SLE patients than controls. SAC-stimulated IL-12 p35 and p40 mRNAs were significantly augmented by interferon gamma (IFN-gamma). Exogenous IL-12 or IFN-gamma significantly inhibited IL-10 gene expression, without affecting IL-6 mRNA or other proinflammatory cytokine mRNA levels. These observations were further confirmed by studies of protein production at the single cell level using ELISPOT assay. Downregulation of IL-12 p40 expression appears to be the cause of IL12 p70 deficiency in SLE. If this defect could be repaired, normalization of IL-12 and IFN-gamma production should reduce excessive IL-10 and prevent pathology.