马立克氏病病毒pp38基因和1.8kb转录子之间双向启动子的特性研究

从马立克氏病病毒(MDV)基因组DNA复制原点区某一点,将介于MDVpp38基因和1 8kb转录子之间的双向启动子分割成两个单方向的启动子。以pp38为报告基因,pUC18质粒为载体,构建了含不同方向完整启动子序列的pProfpp38和pProrpp38质粒,以及含分割后单方向启动子序列的pdProfpp38和pdProrpp38质粒。4种质粒分别转染鸡胚成纤维细胞(Chickenembryofibroblast,CEF)后,均能检测到pp38基因的表达。进一步以氯霉素乙酰转移酶(Chloramphenicolacetyltransferase,CAT)为报告基因,构建了含不同方向完整双向启动子的pProfCAT和pProrCAT质粒,以及含分割后单方向启动子序列的pdProfCAT和pdProrCAT质粒。通过转染试验,定量分析了完整启动子和分割后启动子在两个方向上的启动活性。实验结果表明,分割后的启动子在两个方向上的启动活性均比相应方向上完整启动子的活性低,其中1 8kb转录子方向上的活性下降了4 1倍     

马立克氏病病毒pp38基因上游的一个双向启动子研究

马立克氏病病毒（MDV）pp38基因上游是病毒基因组DNA复制原点。在其两侧均含有启动子TATAbox、CAATbox等特征性的保守基元,推测是一个天然的双向启动子。为了在体外验证其双向启动活性,本研究以MDVpp38为报告基因,并将其ORF插入到pUC18中,构建了pUCpp38质粒。将包含该启动子完整区域的789bp序列分别以正反两个方向克隆进pUCpp38质粒中pp38报告基因的上游,获得的重组质粒pProfpp38和pProrpp38。将所获得的重组质粒分别转染鸡胚成纤维细胞（CEF）,通过间接免疫荧光试验检测pp38基因的表达以验证该启动子的双向启动活性。结果表明,马立克氏病病毒复制原点区的启动子无论以何种方向插入pUCpp38质粒中,在转染细胞24h内能检测到pp38基因的表达,48h后能获得高效和持续的表达。逐渐缩小该启动子的范围,最终在320bp时,仍能检测到两个方向较强的启动活性。     

Expansion of a unique region in the Marek's disease virus genome occurs concomitantly with attenuation but is not sufficient to cause attenuation

Pathogenic Marek's disease viruses (MDVs) have two head-to-tail copies of a 132-bp repeat. As MDV is serially passaged in cell culture, the virus becomes attenuated and the number of copies of the 132-bp repeat increases from 2 to often more than 20 copies. To determine the role of the repeats in attenuation, we used five overlapping cosmid clones that spanned the MDV genome to reconstitute infectious virus (rMd5). By mutating the appropriate cosmids, we generated clones of infectious MDVs that contained zero copies of the 132-bp repeats, rMd5(Delta132); nine copies of the 132-bp repeats, rMd5(9-132); and nine copies of the 132-bp repeats inserted in the reverse orientation, rMd5(rev9-132). After two passages in cell culture, wild-type Md5, rMd5, and rMd5(Delta132) were stable. However, rMd5(9-132) and rMd5(rev9-132) contained a population of viruses that contained from 3 to over 20 copies of the repeats. A major 1.8-kb mRNA, containing two copies of the 132-bp repeat, was present in wild-type Md5 and rMd5 but was not present in rMd5(Delta132), rMd5(9-132), rMd5(rev9-132), or an attenuated MDV. Instead, the RNAs transcribed from the 132-bp repeat region in rMd5(9-132) and rMd5(rev9-132) closely resembled the pattern of RNAs transcribed in attenuated MDVs. When inoculated into susceptible day-old chicks, all viruses produced various lesions. Thus, expansion of the number of copies of 132-bp repeats, which accompanies attenuation, is not sufficient in itself to attenuate pathogenic MDVs.     

Ⅰ型马立克氏病病毒pp38和pp24基因的真核共表达

本研究将Ⅰ型超强毒MDVMd11株的pp38和pp24完整基因分别克隆到真核双表达载体pBudCE4.1中,在脂质体作用下将阳性克隆DNA转染CEF,通过间接免疫荧光试验(IFA)用单克隆抗体H19和鼠抗GST-pp24血清分别检测到了pp38和pp24基因的单独表达。然后将MDVMd11株的pp38和pp24完整基因同时克隆到载体pBudCE4.1中,在脂质体作用下将阳性克隆DNA转染CEF,通过IFA检测和用抗pp24多克隆血清进行West-ern-blotting试验检测到了PP38和PP24磷蛋白的共表达。     

Improved technique for detection of enhanced green fluorescent protein in transgenic mice.

One of the most exciting recent advances in cell biology is the possibility to use the green fluorescent protein and its various mutated forms as reporter proteins in studies carried out in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, several detection techniques for the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) were compared in transgenic mice, using fluorescence and confocal microscopy. In addition, different tissue preparation techniques (squash preparations, vibratome sections, frozen sections) were evaluated. As a model we used transgenic mice expressing EGFP under the control of a 5.0-kb fragment of the glutathione peroxidase isoenzyme 5 protein promoter (GPX5-EGFP) or under a 3.8-kb fragment of the cysteine rich protein-1 promoter (CRISP1-EGFP). In the GPX5-EGFP mice, expression of EGFP was observed in the distal part of the caput epididymis, while the CRISP1 promoter directed EGFP expression in the tubular compartment of the testis. Among the various tissue preparation procedures tested, the best morphological and histological preservation, and reproducibility in EGFP detection, were obtained using frozen sections after a slow tissue-freezing protocol developed in the present study. After slow tissue freezing, specimens of testis and epididymis could be stored at -70 degrees C for at least six weeks without any affect on EGFP fluorescence. Hence, the method developed offers the possibility to analyze EGFP fluorescence in tissues several weeks after specimen collection. The sensitivity achieved was equal to that found in immunohistochemistry, applying biotin-streptavidin-FITC detection. Confocal microscopy is known to have the advantage that fluorescence can be detected from cells in different layers. This was found to be important as regards detecting EGFP fluorescence because the fluorescence was destroyed at the cut surfaces of sections produced by either vibratome or cryomicrotome.     

Evaluation of the 5'-flanking regions of murine glutathione peroxidase five and cysteine-rich secretory protein-1 genes for directing transgene expression in mouse epididymis

Based on strong epididymal expression of the mouse glutathione peroxidase 5 (GPX5) and cysteine-rich secretory protein-1 (CRISP-1) genes, we evaluated whether the 5.0-kilobase (kb)-long GPX5 and 3.8-kb-long CRISP-1 gene 5'-flanking regions could be used to target expression of genes of interest into the epididymis in transgenic mice. Of the two candidate promoters investigated, the CRISP-1 promoter-driven enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter gene was highly expressed in the tubular compartment of the testis in all stages of the seminiferous epithelial cycle between pachytene spermatocytes at stage VII to elongated spermatids at step 16. In contrast to CRISP-1, the 5.0-kb 5' region of the mouse GPX5 gene directed EGFP expression to the epididymis. In the various GPX5-EGFP mouse lines, strongest expression of EGFP mRNA was found in the epididymis, but low levels of reporter gene mRNA were detected in several other tissues. Strong EGFP fluorescence was found in the principal cells of the distal caput region of epididymis, and few fluorescent cells were also detected in the cauda region. No EGFP fluorescence was detected in the corpus region or in the other tissues analyzed. Hence, it is evident that the 5.0-kb 5'-flanking region of GPX5 promoter is suitable for directing the expression of structural genes of interest into the caput epididymidis in transgenic mice.     

Fluorescently tagged pUL47 of Marek's disease virus reveals differential tissue expression of the tegument protein in vivo

Marek''s disease virus (MDV), a lymphotropic alphaherpesvirus, causes Marek''s disease (MD) in chickens. MD is characterized by neurological signs, chronic wasting, and T cell lymphomas that predominate in the visceral organs. MDV replicates in a highly cell-associated manner in vitro and in vivo, with infectious virus particles being released only from feather follicle epithelial (FFE) cells in the skin. Virus produced and shed from FFE cells allows transmission of MDV from infected to naïve chickens, but the mechanisms or roles of differential virus gene expression have remained elusive. Here, we generated recombinant MDV in which we fused enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) to the C terminus of the tegument protein pUL47 (vUL47-EGFP) or pUL49 (vUL49-EGFP). While vUL49-EGFP was highly attenuated in vitro and in vivo, vUL47-EGFP showed unaltered pathogenic potential and stable production of pUL47-EGFP, which facilitated direct analysis of pUL47 expression in cells and tissues. Our studies revealed that pUL47-EGFP is expressed at low levels and localizes to the nucleus during lytic replication in vitro and in lymphocytes in the spleen in vivo, while it is undetectable in tumors. In contrast, pUL47-EGFP is highly abundant and localizes predominantly in the cytoplasm in FFE cells in the skin, where MDV is shed into the environment. We concluded that differential expression and localization of MDV pUL47-EGFP tegument protein is potentially important for the unique cell-associated nature of MDV in vitro and in lymphocytes in vivo, as well as production of free virus in FFE cells.     

表达强毒pp38决定簇的马立克病病毒疫苗毒CVI988点突变株的构建和特性

用鸡马立克病病毒（ＭＤＶ）强毒ＧＡ株的３８ｋＤ磷蛋白（ｐｐ３８）基因克隆ＤＮＡ转染Ｉ型弱毒疫苗ＣＡＩ９８８／Ｒｉｓｐｅｎｓ株ＭＤＶ感染的鸡胚成纤维细胞,再用能识别Ｉ型强毒ｐｐ３８的单克隆抗体Ｈ１９做免疫荧光试验,筛选到能在ｐｐ３８基因上表达强毒株特异性抗原决定簇的定向点突变弱毒株ＣＶＩ／ｒｐｐ３８。用＾３５Ｓ－蛋氨酸标记的细胞裂解物做免疫沉淀反应表明,单抗Ｈ１９不能识别天然ＣＶＩ９８８株ＭＤＶ中的     

鸡痘病毒复制非必需区的选择对重组鸡痘病毒免疫效力的影响

母源抗体的干扰是重组鸡痘病毒(FPV)活载体疫苗至今未能得到大规模推广应用的主要原因,而选择适当的FPV复制非必需区可能是解决这一问题的方法之一。根据已发表的美国致病株FPV的基因组设计两对引物,用PCR方法扩增FPV假定复制非必需区的两个侧翼区FPV1和FPV2 ,利用此假定复制非必需区构建FPV表达载体pP12LS及表达ZJ1株新城疫病毒(NDV)F基因的转移载体pP12LSF。pP12LSF与2 82E4株FPV共转染鸡胚成纤维细胞(CEF) ,经数轮蓝斑筛选得到纯化的重组病毒rFPV_FSC。重组FPV在CEF上连续传2 0代仍具有良好的遗传稳定性。对重组FPV进行免疫效力试验,在SPF鸡上,重组病毒rFPV_FSC和与之仅有复制非必需区差异的rFPV_FSB均能抵抗NDV强毒的攻击,提供10 0 %的保护。但在有母源抗体的商品鸡上,rFPV_FSC与rFPV_FSB的免疫效力却有显著差异,保护率分别为10 0 %和6 1 5 4 % ,rFPV_FSC的免疫效力与NDV常规油苗相当。试验结果表明,母源抗体对重组FPV的免疫效力有一定的影响,而选择合适的FPV复制非必需区是克服母源抗体并提高重组FPV免疫效力的有效策略之一     

Marek's disease virus-encoded vIL-8 gene is involved in early cytolytic infection but dispensable for establishment of latency

Marek's disease, a lymphoproliferative disease of chickens, is caused by an alphaherpesvirus, Marek's disease virus (MDV). This virus encodes a virokine, vIL-8, with general homology to cellular CXC chemokines such as interleukin-8 (IL-8) and Gro-alpha. To study the function of vIL-8 gene, we deleted both copies of vIL-8 residing in the terminal repeat long and internal repeat long region of the viral genome and generated a mutant virus with vIL-8 deleted, rMd5/DeltavIL-8. Growth kinetics study showed that vIL-8 gene is dispensable for virus replication in cell culture. In vivo, the vIL-8 gene is involved in early cytolytic infections in lymphoid organs, as evidenced by limited viral antigen expression of rMd5/DeltavIL-8. However, the rMd5/DeltavIL-8 virus is unimpaired in virus replication in the feather follicle epithelium. vIL-8 does not appear to be important for establishment of latency, since rMd5/DeltavIL-8 and the wild-type virus have similar viremia titers at 14 days postinfection, a period when the virus titer comes primarily from reactivated latent genomes. Nevertheless, because of the impaired cytolytic infections, the overall transformation efficiency of the virus with vIL-8 deleted is much lower, as reflected by the reduced number of transformed cells at 5 weeks postinoculation and the presence of fewer gross tumors. Importantly, the revertant virus that restored the expression of vIL-8 gene also restored the wild-type phenotype, indicating the deficient phenotypes are results of vIL-8 deletion. One of the interesting differences between the MDV vIL-8 gene and its cellular counterpart is the presence of a DKR (Asp-Lys-Arg) motif instead of ELR (Glu-Leu-Arg) preceding the invariable CXC motif. To study the significance of this variation, we generated recombinant MDV, rMd5/vIL-8-ELR, carrying the ELR motif. Both in vitro and in vivo studies revealed that the DKR motif is as competent as ELR in pathogenesis of MDV.     

Efficient transformation of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti using the piggyBac transposable element vector pBac[3xP3-EGFP afm

We report efficient germ-line transformation in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti accomplished using the piggyBac transposable element vector pBac[3xP3-EGFP afm]. Two transgenic lines were established and characterized; each contained the Vg-Defensin A transgene with strong eye-specific expression of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) marker gene regulated by the artificial 3xP3 promoter. Southern blot hybridization and inverse PCR analyses of genomic DNA demonstrated a precise piggyBac-mediated, single copy insertion of the pBac[3xP3-EGFP afm,Vg-DefA] transposon in each transgenic line. For each line, genetic analysis confirmed stability and integrity of the entire transposon construct in the mosquito genome through the G₂–G₆ generations. Successful establishment of homozygous transgenic lines indicated that in both cases a non-lethal integration of the transposon into the mosquito genome had occurred. The 3xP3-EGFP marker was tested in mosquitoes with different genetic backgrounds. In white-eyed transgenic mosquitoes, the strong eye-specific expression of GFP was observed throughout all stages of development, starting from newly hatched first instar larvae to adults. A similar level and pattern of fluorescence was observed in red-eyed mosquitoes that were generated by crossing the 3xP3-EGFP transformants with the kh^w white-eye mosquitoes transformed with the Drosophila cinnabar gene. Importantly, the utility of the 3xP3-EGFP, as marker gene for transformation of wild type mosquitoes, was demonstrated by strong eye-specific GFP expression in larval and pupal stages of black-eyed hybrids of the 3xP3-EGFP white-eye transformants and the wild type Rockefeller/UGAL strain. Finally, analysis of the Vg-DefA transgene expression in transformants from two established lines demonstrated strong blood-meal activation and fat-body-specific expression regulated by the Vg 1.8-kb 5′ upstream region.     

表达绿色荧光蛋白的重组CVI988病毒的构建及特性

提取马立克氏病毒Ⅰ型疫苗毒株CVI988的总DNA为模板,利用PCR技术扩增出病毒生长非必需的US2基因并克隆入T—easy载体。将CMV启动子和增强子控制的含GFP基因表达盒克隆入US2基因中,成功构建了含GFP基因的转移质粒载体pGUS2GFP。用脂质体将其与CVI988株共转染CEF细胞,用96孔板稀释法得到纯化的表达绿色荧光蛋白的重组CVI988病毒株rCVIGFP,并分别测定其在体内和体外的生长情况。表达EGFP基因的重组病毒在细胞上生长曲线与亲本毒CVI988类似,体外实验表明,1日龄腹腔接种该重组毒后,可以从鸡体内分离到表达绿色荧光的病毒。