中华鲟生长激素受体的分子克隆和功能分析

为研究生长激素对中华鲟生长的调控机制,克隆了中华鲟生长激素受体cDNA.csGHRcDNA的可读框编码了611个氨基酸残基的跨膜蛋白质,含有GHR的所有特征结构域.序列对比发现其他种属GHR中高度保守的氨基酸残基在csGHR中发生了替换.我们利用CHO细胞分析了csGHR的生物功能和csGHR分子中高度保守性氨基酸残基替换的生物意义.csGHR稳定表达细胞中共转染的受丝氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂2.1（Spi1.2）启动子驱动的荧光素酶报告基因受海鲤生长激素（seabream GH,sbGH）诱导表达,并且sbGH诱导稳定表达细胞显著增殖.csGHR稳定表达细胞培养液中检测到中华鲟生长激素结合蛋白质,并且csGHBP的生成需要金属蛋白酶活性的参与.csGHR配体结合域的Asp突变为Glu显著提高csGHR介导的上述生物活性,而Asp突变为Ala则明显降低csGHR的生物活性.这些结果表明,克隆的csGHR具有完全生物功能,并且csGHBP可能通过csGHR蛋白酶解而生成.这些发现将有助于全面了解中华鲟生长调控机制.     

用DREAM技术进行全长质粒快速定点突变

利用“设计限制酶辅助突变”(Designed Restriction Enzyme Assisted Mutagenesis, DREAM)进行全长质粒快速定点突变。根据突变位点附近氨基酸靶序列, 以简并密码子进行逆向推导, 这样在不改变氨基酸序列的前提下可以得到数目巨大的隐性突变体(Silent mutants), 这些突变体中包含大量的限制性酶切位点, 选择合适的酶切位点设计引物, 用Phusion超保真DNA聚合酶扩增全长质粒的DNA序列, 得到的PCR产物用T4多聚核苷酸激酶添加5￠磷酸基团后进行平末端连接, 转化大肠杆菌受体菌后用设计的酶切位点进行快速筛选。本研究用该方法成功地纠正了长约8 kb的质粒pcDNA3.1-pIgR中的突变碱基, 从而获得了多聚免疫球蛋白受体(pIgR)的野生型氨基酸序列。以上结果表明: 利用DREAM技术将限制性酶切位点引入目的基因而不改变目的蛋白质的氨基酸序列, 使突变体的筛选简单化; 配合使用高保真和高效率的Phusion DNA聚合酶可以进行长达8 kb的全长质粒的快速突变; 该方法无需使用定点突变试剂盒和特殊的受体菌, 同时避免了核酸杂交以及同位素的使用。     

FABP5基因重组突变体蛋白抗前列腺癌细胞活性分析

为构建脂肪酸结合蛋白5 (FABP5)突变体的原核表达体系,评价突变体蛋白质体外抗前列腺癌细胞的活性.利用定点突变技术,突变FABP5蛋白脂肪酸结合的3个关键位点,并构建原核表达体系,对重组蛋白质进行原核表达、分离纯化.通过细胞毒性、细胞划痕和细胞侵袭试验,评价重组FABP5突变体蛋白质对前列腺癌细胞22RV1和PC3增殖、迁移和侵袭的影响.结果 显示定点突变后的DNA与表达载体pQE32连接并转入大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli) BL21(DE3),经序列测定正确,构建了重组表达工程菌,并诱导表达的重组蛋白经亲和层析纯化获得纯度较高的重组蛋白;三突变体对细胞的增殖、迁移和侵袭抑制作用比3个单突变体和3个双突变体抑制效果明显;单突变体和双突变体组内对细胞的增殖、迁移和侵袭抑制作用差异较小;而野生型重组蛋白质对两株细胞的增殖、迁移和侵袭具有促进作用.本研究从所有突变体中筛选出FABP5的三突变体重组蛋白质对前列腺癌细胞抑制作用较好,为后续开发去势抵抗性前列腺癌(CRPC)蛋白质药物提供参考.     

酪氨酸蛋白激酶Fyn突变体FynY531F与FynK299M活性的鉴定

Fyn是Src酪氨酸蛋白激酶家族（Src family of protein tyrosine kinases;Src PTKs）中的一员,在神经元的增殖、分化和存活中起着重要作用.本文利用分子克隆手段构建Fyn突变体FynY531F（酪氨酸突变为苯丙氨酸）和FynK299M（赖氨酸突变为甲硫氨酸）的真核表达载体,并通过检测突变体对NMDA受体亚基NR2A的磷酸化作用以鉴定其激酶活性.根据GenBank提供的大鼠Fyn的cDNA序列（NM\--012755）,采用RT-PCR扩增野生型 Fyn（wFyn）目的基因,应用定点突变技术扩增活化型Fyn（FynY531F）目的基因,并用重叠延伸PCR定点突变技术扩增失活型Fyn（FynK299M）目的基因,分别克隆入真核表达载体pcDNA3.1(+).免疫印迹分析显示,wFyn、FynY531F及FynK299M重组体均能在COS-7细胞表达.将构建的3个重组体分别与NMDA受体亚基NR2A的表达质粒共转染COS-7细胞.结果显示,活化型Fyn能够使NR2A酪氨酸磷酸化,而失活型Fyn则没有表现出激酶活性.结果表明,本文成功构建了野生型、活化型及失活型Fyn的真核表达载体,为进一步揭示Fyn在中枢神经系统中的病理生理意义奠定了基础.     

F43Y及I354M,L358F定点突变对植酸酶热稳定性及酶活性的改善

对重组酵母PPNPm8的植酸酶phyAm基因进行PCR介导的定点突变,即将植酸酶43位的苯丙氨酸替换为酪氨酸(F43Y),将其354、358位的异亮氨酸、亮氨酸分别替换为甲硫氨酸和苯丙氨酸(I354M,L358F),得到了2个突变体PPNPm-1(F43Y)及PPNPm-2(I354M,L358F).含突变基因的重组表达载体pPIC9kphyAm-1,pPIC9kphyAm-2在毕赤酵母GS115中表达,对表达产物进行酶活性测定及热稳定性检测.结果表明:突变体PPNPm-1最适反应温度比未突变体PPNPm8上升了3℃,75℃处理10min,热稳定性提高15%,比活力提高11%;PPNPm-2最适反应温度未改变,热稳定性比PPNPm8仅提高3%,比活力降低6.5%.对突变前后的植酸酶空间结构进行比较预测,发现突变氨基酸Tyr43与空间位置相邻的Asn416之间形成氢键,增强了酶的热稳定性.     

用酵母双杂交系统研究胰岛素样生长因子-1突变体与其结合蛋白-3的相互作用

为研究胰岛素样生长因子 1(IGF1)及其突变体与IGF结合蛋白 3(IGFBP3)的相互作用 ,针对IGF1的第 3、4、15、16位氨基酸残基 ,采用定点突变的方法构建了 [Y15L16 ]IGF1和 [Q3A4Y15L16 ]IGF1。然后分别将IGF1/IGF1突变体和IGFBP3cDNA克隆至酵母表达载体pGBT9和pACT2中 ,利用酵母双杂交技术检测IGF1/IGF1突变体和IGFBP3之间的相互作用。结果表明用酵母双杂交系统检测IGF1与其结合蛋白的结合力是可行的 ,构建的这两个IGF1突变体与IGFBP3的结合力 ,与天然IGF1相比 ,结合力大大减小     

Flag标签MORC2-677丝氨酸位点突变载体构建及表达

构建Flag标签pcDNA3.1-MORC2的677丝氨酸位点突变重组质粒并完成在SGC-7901细胞中表达,更好地研究677丝氨酸位点所发生的功能.首先,构建含有KpnⅠ和XhoⅠ酶切位点Flag标签的pcDNA3.1空载体;再以含有KpnⅠ和XhoⅠ酶切位点的pcDNA3.1A-MORC2-WT野生型质粒为模板,在S677突变位点两侧设计重叠突变引物,进行三轮重叠延伸PCR完成定点突变,获得MORC2全长编码序列的S677位点的定点突变体载体(pcDNA3.1A-MORC2-S677A/S677E);再通过KpnⅠ和XhoⅠ酶切把pcDNA3.1A-MORC2-WT/S677A/S677E各载体定向克隆到已构建好的pcDNA3.1-Flag空载体中,酶切鉴定及测序正确后,转染到SGC-7901细胞中,利用Flag–标签抗体,Western blot检测其各突变载体的表达.成功构建了人Flag标签MORC2全长编码序列S677位点突变体真核表达载体并在SGC-7901细胞中获得带Flag标签融合蛋白表达产物,为进一步研究MORC2的功能奠定了基础.     

P48L和D74N突变对p16基因功能的影响

应用DNA聚合酶链式反应(PCR)技术,对p16抑癌基因(CDKN2)进行体外定点突变,在p16cDNA中引入第48位密码子CCG(Pro)→CTG(Leu)和第74位密码子GAC(Asp)→AAC(Asn)突变,构建了p16-P48L和p16-D74N突变体。野生型和突变型p16 cDNA克隆于pcDNA3构建pCMV-p16、pCMV-p16P48L和pCMV-p16D74N真核表达载体,导入纯合缺失p16基因的人肺癌细胞株H460,经RNA点杂交、RNA印迹和细胞免疫化学染色,检测到P16表达。通过比较表达野生型和突变型P16的H460细胞在~3H-TdR掺入及细胞所在周期的差异,证实P16表达抑制细胞进入S期,而P48L和D74N突变体对细胞进入S期没有什么影响,提示P48L和D74N突变导致P16蛋白功能丧失。     

定向进化改造酪氨酸解氨酶提高大肠杆菌合成对香豆酸产量

对香豆酸是一种具有多种药理活性的天然酚类化合物,也是多种天然药用产物生物合成的前体物质,广泛应用于食品、化妆品、医药等领域。通过微生物合成对香豆酸相对于化学合成和植物提取工艺具有节能减排等优势。但是,目前微生物合成对香豆酸产量较低,难以满足大规模工业发酵生产的要求。为了进一步提高对香豆酸产量,对粘红酵母酪氨酸解氨酶 (Tyrosine ammonia-lyase,TAL) 进行定向进化改造,利用高通量筛选方法从随机突变体文库中筛选TAL催化活性提高的突变体。通过初筛和复筛两轮筛选,从大约10 000个突变体中获得1个TAL催化活性提高1倍的突变体。该突变体包含3个氨基酸突变位点,分别为S9Y、A11N、E518A。进一步通过单点氨基酸饱和突变验证,当S9位点突变为Y、I、N和A11位点突变为N、T、Y时,TAL的催化活性提高1倍以上。通过对S9和A11位点3种类型突变进行组合突变验证,S9Y/A11N和S9N/A11Y突变体的TAL催化活力显著高于其他组合。将S9N/A11Y突变体质粒转入酪氨酸高产菌株CP032。通过摇瓶发酵,该菌株在48 h时的对香豆酸产量达到394.2 mg/L,比对照菌提高2.2倍。本研究工作对促进微生物合成对香豆酸的代谢工程研究具有一定的参考价值。     

甲型肝炎病毒细胞受体结构区氨基酸突变分析

利用ＰＣＲ引导的基因突变技术,对位于甲型肝炎病毒衣壳蛋白ＶＰ１上的细胞受体结合区进行氨基酸定点突变。结果发现当第１１４３,１１８７,１２０２和１２２５位氨基酸发生突变时,突变株病毒在细胞中的增殖动力学改变,病毒增殖量呈不同减少,提示这些位置上的氨基酸可能与细胞受体结合。     

A Unique Protease Cleavage Site Predicted in the Spike Protein of the Novel Pneumonia Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Potentially Related to Viral Transmissibility

正Dear Editor,In December 2019, a novel human coronavirus caused an epidemic of severe pneumonia(Coronavirus Disease 2019,COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei, China(Wu et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2020). So far, this virus has spread to all areas of China and even to other countries. The epidemic has caused 67,102 confirmed infections with 1526 fatal cases     

Curcuminoids as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase: A receptor based pharmacophore study with distance mapping of the active site

Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric that interacts irreversibly forming an adduct with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme responsible for redox control of cell and defence against oxidative stress. Docking at both the active sites of TrxR was performed to compare the potency of three naturally occurring curcuminoids, namely curcumin, demethoxy curcumin and bis-demethoxy curcumin. Results show that active sites of TrxR occur at the junction of E and F chains. Volume and area of both cavities is predicted. It has been concluded by distance mapping of the most active conformations that Se atom of catalytic residue SeCYS498, is at a distance of 3.56 from C13 of demethoxy curcumin at the E chain active site, whereas C13 carbon atom forms adduct with Se atom of SeCys 498. We report that at least one methoxy group in curcuminoids is necessary for interation with catalytic residues of thioredoxin. Pharmacophore of both active sites of the TrxR receptor for curcumin and demethoxy curcumin molecules has been drawn and proposed for design and synthesis of most probable potent antiproliferative synthetic drugs.     

Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Hewardieae, Petrosavieae, and Tricyrteae

The young pistils in the melanthioid tribes, Hewardieae, Petrosavieae and Tricyrteae, are uniformly tricarpellate and syncarpous. They lack raphide idioblasts. All are multiovulate, with bitegmic ovules. The Petrosavieae are marked by the presence of septal glands and incomplete syncarpy. Tepals and stamens adhere to the ovary in the Hewardieae and the Petrosavieae but not in the Tricyrteae. Two vascular bundles occur in the stamens of the Hewartlieae and Tricyrtis latifolia. Ventral bundles in the upper part of the ovary of the Hewardieae are continuous with compound septal bundles and placental bundles in the lower part. Putative ventral bundles occur in the alternate position in the Tricyrteae and putative placental bundles in the opposite. position in the Petrosavieae. The dichtomously branched stigma in each carpel of the Tricyrteae is supplied by a bifurcated dorsal bundle.     

Enterovirus 71 3C proteolytically processes the histone H3 N-terminal tail during infection

Highlights
1. The N-terminal tail of histone H3 is specifically cleaved during EV71 infection.
2. Viral protease 3C is identified as a protease responsible for proteolytically processing the N-terminal H3 tail.
3. Our finding reveals a new epigenetic regulatory mechanism for Enterovirus 71 in virus-host interactions.     

Detection of EBV and HHV6 in the Brain Tissue of Patients with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis

Rasmussen’s encephalitis (RE) is a rare pediatric neurological disorder, and the exact etiology is not clear. Viral infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of RE, but conflicting results have reported. In this study, we evaluated the expression of both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus (HHV) 6 antigens in brain sections from 30 patients with RE and 16 control individuals by immunohistochemistry. In the RE group, EBV and HHV6 antigens were detected in 56.7% (17/30) and 50% (15/30) of individuals, respectively. In contrast, no detectable EBV and HHV6 antigen expression was found in brain tissues of the control group. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in 20.0% (6/30) of individuals. In particular, a 4-year-old boy had a typical clinical course, including a medical history of viral encephalitis, intractable epilepsy, and hemispheric atrophy. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in neurons and astrocytes in the brain tissue, accompanied by a high frequency of CD8⁺ T cells. Our results suggest that EBV and HHV6 infection and the activation of CD8⁺ T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of RE.     

Perinatal Vertical Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in Ruili,a Town on the Border between China and Myanmar

正Dear Editor,Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an arbovirus in the family of Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, is transmitted by the A.aegyptii or A. albopictus mosquito, and causes disease in humans characterized by fever, rash, and arthralgia (Silva and Dermody 2017; Suhrbier 2019). It was first reported in 1953 in Tanzania, and caused only a few outbreaks and sporadic cases in Africa and Asia in last century. However, in the epidemic in 2004, CHIKV acquired mutations that conferred enhanced transmission by the A. albopictus mosquito(Schuffenecker et al. 2006). Since then, it has successively caused outbreaks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, the South America, and Europe (Zeller et al. 2016).     

Development of a Novel Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

In conclusion, the novel visual RT-LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, and sensitive approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2, and it is ready for application in primary care and community hospitals or health care centers, and even patients' own houses in response to the current SARS-CoV-2 epidemic because the assay does not require sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Furthermore, it is also ready to be used in fields for screening samples from wild animals and environments to facilitate the identification of potential intermediate hosts that mediate the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from bats to humans.