人类天然抗α-Gal抗体抑制肽的筛选

人类天然抗体可以与猪细胞抗原表位Gal-α1,3-Gal结合,触发超急性排斥反应（HAR）,HAR是猪器官移植至人体时的首要障碍.阻断人的天然抗体,阻止其与猪细胞表面特异性抗原的结合,是防止超急性排斥的有效措施.利用噬菌体展示技术,从XCX₁₅随机肽库中筛选与西非单叶豆凝集素(GS-I-B₄）特异性结合的噬菌体展示肽.得到一个小肽序列为SCTALSFPSFAFLARGT,其与人血清中天然抗体的结合可以被蜜二糖（melibiose）竞争性地抑制,同时该小肽还能抑制人类天然抗体介导的猪红细胞的凝集反应.因此,筛选到的小肽能作为人天然抗α-Gal抗体的抑制肽.     

用噬菌体展示筛选Gal-α-1,3-Gal的模拟肽

猪心移植是解决心脏移植供体少的有效方法.由于猪心血管内皮细胞表面抗原半乳糖-α-1,3-半乳糖（Gal-α-1,3-Gal）,能与人体内预存的天然抗体结合产生超急性排斥反应（HAR）,而无法应用于临床.为了解决这一难题, 应用噬菌体展示技术,筛选出一个能与抗B型血单克隆抗体（mAB anti-B) 特异性结合的阳性噬菌体克隆,应用酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)和竞争性ELISA结果表明,所获得的阳性噬菌体克隆能特异性地与mAB anti-B结合,并且这种结合可被蜜二糖（具有Gal-α-1,6-Glc的结构)所竞争抑制.由此推测,筛选到的噬菌体阳性克隆很可能就结合在蜜二糖与mAB anti-B结合的位点.同时,进行了阳性噬菌体克隆的抑制猪红细胞凝集活性试验,试验结果表明,此阳性克隆不仅可抑制Gal-α-1,3-Gal与抗体的结合, 也可抑制Gal-α-1,3-Gal与西非单叶豆凝集素（GS-I-B4）的结合.此噬菌体阳性克隆测序后,得小肽序列为CCWLLRQPVRFVRSIRS.鉴于以上的结果,认为此小肽可以作为Gal-α-1,3-Gal的模拟肽,同时有望开发成抗猪器官异种移植超急性排斥反应的新药.     

Cx43/β-Gal Inhibits Cx43 Transport in the Golgi Apparatus

A connexin construct consisting of bacterial β-galactosidase fused to the C-terminus of connexin43 (Cx43/β-gal) was used to examine Cx43 assembly in NIH 3T3 cells. Cx43/β-gal is retained in a perinuclear compartment and inhibits Cx43 transport to the cell surface. The intracellular connexin pool trapped by Cx43/β-gal was retained in a compartment that co-localized with a medial Golgi apparatus marker by immunofluorescence microscopy and that was readily disassembled by treatment with brefeldin A. Further analysis by sucrose gradient fractionation showed that Cx43 and Cx43/β-gal were assembled into a sub-hexameric complex, and that Cx43/β-gal expression also inhibited Cx43 assembly into hemichannels. While this is consistent with Cx43 hemichannel assembly in the trans Golgi network (TGN), these data also suggest that the dominant negative effect of Cx43/β-gal on Cx43 trafficking may reflect a putative sub-hexameric assembly intermediate formed in the Golgi apparatus.     

α-半乳糖苷酶清除猪细胞表面的α-Gal抗原

目的:探讨脆弱类杆菌来源的基因重组α-半乳糖苷酶清除猪细胞表面α-Gal抗原的作用。方法:用不同浓度的α-半乳糖苷酶酶解猪红细胞、猪胚肾细胞PK15、猪睾丸细胞ST和原代培养的猪成纤维细胞上的α-Gal抗原,酶解温度为26℃,作用时间为2 h;用25μg/m L的FITC-IB4凝集素标记酶解前后的细胞,采用流式细胞仪检测细胞表面α-Gal抗原的清除率。结果:流式细胞检测结果表明,不同组织来源的猪细胞表面的α-Gal抗原的表达量明显不同,所需酶的剂量也不同,但其表面的α-Gal抗原均能被α-半乳糖苷酶清除。结论:脆弱类杆菌来源的α-半乳糖苷酶可以清除猪细胞表面的α-Gal抗原,提示该酶对降低异种移植引起的超急性排斥反应有重要意义。     

Rapid recruitment and activation of macrophages by anti-Gal/α-Gal liposome interaction accelerates wound healing

Macrophages are pivotal in promoting wound healing. We hypothesized that topical application of liposomes with glycolipids that carry Galα1-3Galβ1-4GlcNAc-R epitopes (α-gal liposomes) on wounds may accelerate the healing process by rapid recruitment and activation of macrophages in wounds. Immune complexes of the natural anti-Gal Ab (constituting ～1% of Ig in humans) bound to its ligand, the α-gal epitope on α-gal liposomes would induce local activation of complement and generation of complement chemotactic factors that rapidly recruit macrophages. Subsequent binding of the Fc portion of anti-Gal coating α-gal liposomes to FcγRs on recruited macrophages may activate macrophage genes encoding cytokines that mediate wound healing. We documented the efficacy of this treatment in α1,3galactosyltrasferase knockout mice. In contrast to wild-type mice, these knockout mice lack α-gal epitopes and can produce the anti-Gal Ab. The healing time of excisional skin wounds treated with α-gal liposomes in these mice is twice as fast as that of control wounds. Moreover, scar formation in α-gal liposome-treated wounds is much lower than in physiologic healing. Additional sonication of α-gal liposomes resulted in their conversion into submicroscopic α-gal nanoparticles. These α-gal nanoparticles diffused more efficiently in wounds and further increased the efficacy of the treatment, resulting in 95-100% regeneration of the epidermis in wounds within 6 d. The study suggests that α-gal liposome and α-gal nanoparticle treatment may enhance wound healing in the clinic because of the presence of high complement activity and high anti-Gal Ab titers in humans.     

Optimized decellularization protocol including α-Gal epitope reduction for fabrication of an acellular porcine annulus fibrosus scaffold

Recent advances in tissue engineering have led to potential new strategies, especially decellularization protocols from natural tissues, for the repair, replacement, and regeneration of intervertebral discs. This study aimed to validate our previously reported method for the decellularization of annulus fibrosus (AF) tissue and to quantify potentially antigenic α-Gal epitopes in the decellularized tissue. Porcine AF tissue was decellularized using different freeze–thaw temperatures, chemical detergents, and incubation times in order to determine the optimal method for cell removal. The integrity of the decellularized material was determined using biochemical and mechanical tests. The α-Gal epitope was quantified before and after decellularization. Decellularization with freeze–thaw in liquid nitrogen, an ionic detergent (0.1% SDS), and a 24 h incubation period yielded the greatest retention of GAG and collagen relative to DNA reduction when tested as single variables. Combined, these optimal decellularization conditions preserved more GAG while removing the same amount of DNA as the conditions used in our previous study. Components and biomechanical properties of the AF matrix were retained. The decellularized AF scaffold exhibited suitable immune-compatibility, as evidenced by successful in vivo remodeling and a decrease in the α-Gal epitope. Our study defined the optimal conditions for decellularization of porcine AF tissues while preserving the biological composition and mechanical properties of the scaffold. Under these conditions, immunocompatibility was evidenced by successful in vivo remodeling and reduction of the α-Gal epitope in the decellularized material. Decellularized AF scaffolds are potential candidates for clinical applications in spinal surgery.     

Metabolic engineering of Agrobacterium sp. strain ATCC 31749 for production of an α-Gal epitope

Background  

Oligosaccharides containing a terminal Gal-α1,3-Gal moiety are collectively known as α-Gal epitopes. α-Gal epitopes are integral components of several medical treatments under development, including flu and HIV vaccines as well as cancer treatments. The difficulty associated with synthesizing the α-Gal epitope hinders the development and application of these treatments due to the limited availability and high cost of the α-Gal epitope. This work illustrates the development of a whole-cell biocatalyst for synthesizing the α-Gal epitope, Gal-α1,3-Lac.     

番木瓜β-Gal基因RNAi双T-DNA植物表达载体的构建及其遗传转化的初步研究

克隆了番木瓜(Carica papaya L.)果肉的细胞壁水解关键酶β-半乳糖苷酶(β-GAL)基因保守区,将其反向重复插入载体pKANNIBAL,构建RNAi中间表达载体pKAN/RG,将其上的发夹结构取代经改造的载体pCAMBIA 1300上hpt II基因,构建中间表达载体p1300~-/MFRG,分离单T-DNA区段,与载体pCAMBIA 2301构建RNAi双T-DNA植物表达载体p2301/TTRG.酶切分析和PCR检测表明,p2301/TTRG已被成功导入农杆菌EHA 105.通过遗传转化,初步获得了GUS染色呈阳性且具Kan抗性的番木瓜胚性愈伤组织.     

β-Gal gene expression MRI reporter in melanoma tumor cells. Design, synthesis, and in vitro and in vivo testing of a Gd(III) containing probe forming a high relaxivity, melanin-like structure upon β-Gal enzymatic activation

The aim of this work is to design and test an MRI probe (Gd-DOTAtyr-gal) able to report on the gene expression of β-galactosidase (β-Gal) in melanoma cells. The probe consists of a Gd-DOTA reporter bearing on its surface a tyrosine-galactose-pyranose functionality that, upon the release of the sugar moiety, readily transforms, in the presence of tyrosinase, into melanin oligomeric/polymeric mixture. The formation of Gd-DOTA-containing melanin oligomers and polymers is accompanied by a marked increase of the water proton relaxation rate. The steps involving the release of the galactose-pyranose group and the formation of the melanin-like structure have been carefully investigated in vitro by relaxometric and UV-vis measurements. Cellular uptake studies of Gd-DOTAtyr-gal by melanoma cells have shown that the probe enters the cells, and it appears not to be confined in endosomal vesicles. Using B16-F10LacZ transfected cells, the fast formation of paramagnetic melanin-Gd(III)-containing species has been assessed by the measurement of increased longitudinal relaxation rates of the cellular pellets suspensions. The in vitro results have been confirmed in in vivo MRI investigations on murine melanoma tumor bearing mice. Upon direct injection of Gd-DOTAtyr-gal, a good contrast is observed after 5 h post injection in B16-F10LacZ tumors, but not in B16-F10 tumors lacking the β-Gal enzyme. Gd-DOTAtyr-gal in combination with tyrosinase introduces a novel approach for the detection of β-Gal expression by MRI in vivo.     

The α-Gal epitope (Galα1-3Galβ1-4GlcNAc-R) in xenotransplantation

Many patients with failing organs (e.g., heart, liver or kidneys), do not receive the needed organ because of an insufficient number of organ donors. Pig xenografts have been considered as an alternative source of organs for transplantation. The major obstacle currently known to prevent pig to human xenotransplantation is the interaction between the human natural anti-Gal antibody and the alpha-gal epitope (Gal alpha 1-3Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc-R), abundantly expressed on pig cells. This short review describes the characteristics of anti-Gal and of the alpha-gal epitope, their role in inducing xenograft rejection and some experimental approaches for preventing this rejection.     

一种新型提高HDR效率的CRISPR/Cas9-Gal4BD供体适配基因编辑系统

近年来，CRISPR基因编辑及衍生技术迅速发展，在生命科学、生物医学研究以及动植物育种领域得到了广泛应用。基于DNA双链断裂(double-stranded break, DSB)同源指导修复(homology-directed repair, HDR)机制的基因敲入和点编辑是基因编辑的重要策略，但效率偏低亟待提高。本文提出了驱动供体DNA富集至DSB处以提高HDR效率的新策略，并设计了一套CRISPR/Cas9-Gal4BD供体适配基因编辑系统(donoradapting system, DAS)。该系统主要利用Gal4 DNA结合域(Gal4 binding domain, Gal4BD)作为配体蛋白与Cas9融合表达，将Gal4BD结合序列(Gal4 binding sequence, Gal4BS)作为受体序列与双链DNA (double-stranded DNA, dsDNA)供体结合，以期提高HDR效率。使用HEK293T-HDR.GFP报告细胞系的初步研究结果表明当dsDNA供体同源臂在一定长度(100～60 bp)时该系统能够提高HDR效率2～4倍。进一步的优化研究表明...     

IgE Production to α-Gal Is Accompanied by Elevated Levels of Specific IgG1 Antibodies and Low Amounts of IgE to Blood Group B

IgE antibodies to gal-α-1,3-gal-β-1,4-GlcNAc (α-gal) can mediate a novel form of delayed anaphylaxis to red meat. Although IgG antibodies to α-gal (anti-α-gal or anti-Gal) are widely expressed in humans, IgE anti-α-gal is not. We explored the relationship between the IgG and IgE responses to both α-gal and the related blood group B antigen. Contradicting previous reports, antibodies to α-gal were found to be significantly less abundant in individuals with blood group B or AB. Importantly, we established a connection between IgE and IgG responses to α-gal: elevated titers of IgG anti-α-gal were found in IgE-positive subjects. In particular, proportionally more IgG1 anti-α-gal was found in IgE-positive subjects against a background of IgG2 production specific for α-gal. Thus, two types of immune response to α-gal epitopes can be distinguished: a ‘typical’ IgG2 response, presumably in response to gut bacteria, and an ‘atypical’, Th2-like response leading to IgG1 and IgE in addition to IgG2. These results suggest that IgE to a carbohydrate antigen can be formed (probably as part of a glycoprotein or glycolipid) even against a background of bacterial immune stimulation with essentially the same antigen.     

利用激光共聚焦研究金黄地鼠与小鼠科间妊娠中MHC Ⅱ和Gal-α-Gal的表达

目的:种间胚胎移植是挽救濒危动物的一个有效手段。以往的研究主要集中于对种间、同种妊娠之间微观结构和解剖学差异的描述上,而对导致这些现象产生的分子机制的研究却所见甚少。本研究的目的是阐明同种妊娠和科间妊娠之间免疫反应的差异,并初步探讨科间妊娠中流产的可能原因。方法:以科间妊娠第4天、第8天、第12天的孕体为实验组,小鼠同种移植妊娠第4天、第8天、第12天的子宫孕体和相应时间假孕小鼠的子宫为阳性和阴性对照。结果:采用间接免疫荧光和激光共聚焦扫描的方法对冰冻切片显色的结果表明:妊娠第8天时,MHCⅡ分子和Gal-α-Gal抗原决定簇的表达位置和表达密度在科间妊娠、阳性、阴性对照之间均不相同。妊娠第八天时,MHCⅡ分子在科间妊娠中的表达弱于同种妊娠,其表达模式在第12天时也不相同。Gal-α-Gal抗原决定簇在科间妊娠第8天时不表达,但在同种妊娠中却有一定水平的表达。在妊娠第12天,科间妊娠中有一定量的表达,但与同种妊娠的表达模式不同。结论:科间妊娠和同种妊娠的免疫反应有差异,这些差异可能是造成科间妊娠失败的原因之一。     

The Galα1,3Galβ1,4GlcNAc-R (α-Gal) epitope: A carbohydrate of unique evolution and clinical relevance

In 1985, we reported that a naturally occurring human antibody (anti-Gal), produced as the most abundant antibody (1% of immunoglobulins) throughout the life of all individuals, recognizes a carbohydrate epitope Galα1–3Galβ1–4GlcNAc-R (the α-gal epitope). Since that time, an extensive literature has developed on discoveries related to the α-gal epitope and the anti-Gal antibody, including the barrier they form in xenotransplantation and their reciprocity in mammalian evolution. This review covers these topics and new avenues of clinical importance related to this unique antigen/antibody system (α-gal epitope/anti-Gal) in improving the efficacy of viral vaccines and in immunotherapy against cancer.     

Site specific <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-glycan profiling of NeuAc(α2-6)-Gal/GalNAc-binding bark <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sambucus nigra</Emphasis> agglutinin using LC–MS<Superscript>n</Superscript> revealed differential glycosylation

The bark of Sambucus nigra contains a complex mixture of glycoproteins that are characterized as chimeric lectins known as type II ribosome inactivating proteins and holo lectins. These type II ribosome inactivating proteins possess RNA N-glycosidase activity in subunit A and lectin activity associated with subunit B exhibiting distinct sugar specificities to NeuAc(α2-6)-Gal/GalNAc and Gal/GalNAc. In the present study we have determined the N-glycosylation pattern of type II ribosome inactivating protein specific to NeuAc(α2-6)-Gal/GalNAc (Sambucus nigra agglutinin I) by subjecting it to digestion with multiple proteases. The resulting mixture of peptides and N-glycopeptides were analyzed on liquid chromatography coupled to electro spray ionization-iontrap mass spectrometry in MSⁿ mode. MS² of precursor ions was carried out using CID which provided information on glycan sequence. In subsequent MS³ of Y₁/Y_1α ions (peptide + HexNAc)⁺ⁿ of corresponding N-glycopeptides, resulted in the fragmentation of peptide backbone confirming the site of attachment. We observed microheterogeneity in each glycan occupied site with subunit A possessing four N-glycans out of six sites with complex and paucimannose types while subunit B comprises occupancy of two sites with a paucimannose and a high mannose type. The differential N-glycosylation of subunits in SNA is discussed in the context of other type II RIPs glycans.