用直接测定基因组DNA序列的方法检测β-地中海贫血基因突变

本文报道一种结合聚合酶链反应(PCR)技术直接测定基因组DNA中单考贝基因片段序列的方法,以及利用这种方法测定两例β-地贫纯合子的β珠蛋白基因序到结果。测定出基因点突变,一例为编码子17(A→T)突变纯合子,另一例为编码子69(G→A)突变纯合子。针对上述两个点突变合成寡核苷酸片段,末端标记~(82)P后为探针进行斑点杂交的结果与测序结果一致。     

Goosecoid基因突变与先天性小耳畸形的关系

目的:对收集的43例先天性小耳畸形患者进行遗传因素分析,对Goosecoid(GSC)基因测序,探讨GSC基因与先天性小耳畸形的关系。方法:采集43例小耳畸形患者的外周血提取基因组DNA,对GSC基因的三个外显子分别设计引物,经PCR扩增纯化后直接测序。结果:6例患者在第二外显子的第197bp处发生了C→T的同义突变,编码氨基酸仍为酪氨酸;2例患者在第三外显子的第125bp处发生了A→G的错义突变,编码氨基酸由谷氨酸变成谷氨酰胺。结论:在先天性小耳畸形的患者中发现了GSC基因的突变。     

血管内皮生长因子基因3''UTR 不同基因型载体的构建与鉴定

目的:构建含SNP位点的血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)基因3’UTR的荧光素酶报告基因载体,为进一步揭示VEGF基因3’UTR的单核苷酸多态性(SNP)影响肺癌发病风险的分子机制奠定基础。方法:以rs3025039和rs3025040两个位点均为C纯合子的非癌症病人血液DNA为模板,扩增出两位点为C/C单体型、长度为1448 bp的VEGF基因3’UTR目的片段,测序验证后将其克隆至pMIR-REPORT荧光素酶报告基因载体上,得到重组质粒pMIR-C/C。同时,我们以pMIR-C/C为模板定点突变两个SNP位点,得到具有T/T单体型的重组质粒pMIR-T/T。将各重组质粒转化大肠杆菌DH10B,筛选阳性克隆后提取质粒进行双酶切鉴定及DNA测序鉴定。结果:单菌落质粒测序验证显示带有C/C单体型的VEGF基因3’UTR重组质粒pMIR-C/C构建成功;经两次定点突变,成功将pMIR-C/C质粒转变为pMIR-T/T,经测序验证未引入任何其他突变。同时生物信息学预测还显示rs3025040位点位于miR-199a/b与VEGF基因mRNA的结合位置,其改变可以影响miRNA与mRNA的结合效率。结论:本研究成功构建了含有两个连锁SNP的VEGF基因3’UTR的荧光素酶报告基因载体,为今后VEGF基因3’UTR的功能研究奠定基础。     

ENU诱变获得一例巨结肠症小鼠及其突变基因的染色体定位

采用化学诱变剂乙酰基亚硝基脲(N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea,ENU)获得一种可遗传的腹部白斑突变杂合子小鼠,将该杂合子小鼠互交后获得具有花斑表型的突变纯合子小鼠,进一步研究表明突变纯合子小鼠表现为严重的巨结肠表型。肠全标本乙酰胆碱酯酶组织化学染色显示突变纯合子小鼠巨结肠段神经节细胞缺失。为定位该基因,利用微卫星标记(B6×D2)对F1互交获得的F2突变纯合子小鼠进行基因组扫描,初步将该突变基因定位于小鼠第14号染色体。     

骨形态发生蛋白9基因敲除小鼠的构建

目的运用CRISR/Cas9技术敲除小鼠基因组中Bmp9基因片段,构建Bmp9基因敲除小鼠。方法根据Bmp9基因的外显子序列,设计一段sgRNA并合成。sgRNA体外转录后和Cas9mRNA混合后显微注射受精卵细胞,注射后的受精卵细胞移植至受体动物获得子代小鼠。提取子代小鼠基因组DNA测序鉴定其基因型。基因型鉴定正确的小鼠与野生型交配后筛选纯合子小鼠。同时取纯合子小鼠心脏、肝、脾、肺、肾,匀浆后提取总RNA和总蛋白,通过qPCR、WB和免疫组化检测BMP9在各组织中的表达。结果设计并合成20bp的sgRNA并进行体外转录,显微注射并回植后得到基因突变小鼠,连续交配后得F2代纯合子。测序结果显示,突变小鼠存在两种基因型,一种为5bp缺失突变,另一种为13bp缺失并伴有1bp插入突变。与野生型C57BL/6相比,qPCR、WB和免疫组化结果均表明基因敲除小鼠肝中BMP9表达显著降低。结论利用CRISPR/Cas9技术成功构建出了BMP9基因敲除小鼠。     

两种白斑小鼠突变基因的染色体定位

以本中心ENU诱变获得的两种白斑突变小鼠W-4Bao与Kitl-1Bao为研究对象[均为C57BL/6J(B6)背景],遗传试验表明它们都为单基因显性遗传,W-4Bao及Kitl-1Bao突变基因纯合子小鼠的表型分别为全白色及“黑头白”;将白斑杂合子小鼠与DBA/2(D2)交配获得具有白斑表型的F1小鼠,F1小鼠再回交D2繁殖[(B6×D2)F1×D2]F2小鼠,利用微卫星标记对F2代小鼠进行连锁分析。结果发现W-4Bao与微卫星D5Mit356、D5Mit308之间的LOD值分别为56.82、51.50,从而把该突变基因定位于第5号染色体D5Mit356与D5Mit308之间;Kitl-1Bao与微卫星D10Mit70、D10Mit68之间的LOD值分别为27.37、21.20,从而把该突变基因定位于第10号染色体上D10Mit70与D10Mit68之间。经过检索小鼠基因组数据库确认它们的候选基因分别为kit及kitl。     

snthr-1Bao稀毛小鼠突变基因的精确定位及克隆鉴定

snthr-1Bao稀毛小鼠足本实验室培育的呈单基因隐性遗传的突变系小鼠,突变基因已被初步定位于第9号染色体末端;为了精确定位并鉴定snthr-1Bao稀毛小鼠的突变基因,将(C57BL/6Jxsnthr-1Bao)F1代互交繁殖F2代小鼠4400余只,其中稀毛小鼠1100只,并在2个微卫星、35个可能的简单序列重复标记(simple sequence repeat,SSR)及3个酶切扩增多态性序列(cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences,CAPS)标记中找到4个合适的基因组标记.利用这些标记及F2代稀毛小鼠将突变基因精确定位到第9号染色体距着丝粒117.763 kb及119.129kb之间1.367Mb的范用内,在其问的21个基因中确定Plcdl为稀毛突变的强力候选基因.通过对基因组的直接测序,发现snthr-1Bao稀毛小鼠基因组上有一个14883bp的缺失,这一缺失包含了Plcd1基因的4-15号外显子及Vill基因的10-19号外显子.推测极可能是Plcdl基因缺失导致snthr-1Bao小鼠出现稀毛表型.     

在两个X连锁显性腓骨肌萎缩症家系中发现同一GJB1基因突变Glu208Lys

在两个X连锁显性腓骨肌萎缩症(Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, CMT) 家系中进行了GJB1基因的突变分析。提取基因组DNA, PCR(polymerase chain reaction)反应扩增GJB1基因编码序列, 进行单链构象多态性(single strand conformational polymorphism, SSCP)分析, 对有差异SSCP带型的PCR产物进行测序, 结果在两家系中发现同一GJB1基因c.622G→A (Glu208Lys)突变。所发现的突变位点在国内尚未报道。     

GCK基因和HNF-1α基因突变的研究

目的:研究一典型的青少年发病的成人型糖尿病家系并研究其基因突变位点。方法:以1个典型MODY家系的7名成员为研究对象,同时以10名无糖尿病家族史的普通2型糖尿病患者和10名健康人员为2个对照组。抽取外周血,分离白细胞,用快速盐析法提取基因组DNA,以基因组DNA为模板对HNF-1α基因的4号、2号和6号外显子和GCK基因的1号外显子进行PCR扩增,扩增产物经纯化后直接进行序列测定,并分别和各自的正常序列进行比较。结果:7名MODY家系成员HNF-1α2号外显子上游的内含子均存在一碱基G→A置换,即IVS2nt-42 G-A;4例存在HNF-1α6号外显子P380fsinsG移码突变,其中1例合并P379S点突变和IVS6nt-4G-A突变;1例存在P379S点突变;2例未发现突变和多态性。GCK基因的1号外显子及其内含子均未发现有突变或多态性。20名对照组成员均未发现有GCK1号外显子和HNF-1α2、4、6号外显子及其内含子的突变。结论:本家系是HNF-1α基因的6号外显子及其上游内含子突变(移码突变和/或点突变)和2号外显子上游内含子的一个碱基突变,该家系MODY属于MODY3。     

血管内皮生长因子基因3＇UTR不同基因型载体的构建与鉴定

目的：构建含SNP位点的血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）基因3＇UTR的荧光素酶报告基因载体,为进一步揭示VEGF基因3＇UTR的单核苷酸多态性（SNP）影响肺癌发病风险的分子机制奠定基础。方法：以rs3025039和rs3025040两个位点均为C纯合子的非癌症病人血液DNA为模板,扩增出两位点为C/C单体型、长度为1448 bp的VEGF基因3＇UTR目的片段,测序验证后将其克隆至pMIR-REPORT荧光素酶报告基因载体上,得到重组质粒pMIR-C/C。同时,我们以pMIR-C/C为模板定点突变两个SNP位点,得到具有T/T单体型的重组质粒pMIR-T/T。将各重组质粒转化大肠杆菌DH10B,筛选阳性克隆后提取质粒进行双酶切鉴定及DNA测序鉴定。结果：单菌落质粒测序验证显示带有C/C单体型的VEGF基因3＇UTR重组质粒pMIR-C/C构建成功;经两次定点突变,成功将pMIR-C/C质粒转变为pMIR-T/T,经测序验证未引入任何其他突变。同时生物信息学预测还显示rs3025040位点位于miR-199a/b与VEGF基因mRNA的结合位置,其改变可以影响miRNA与mRNA的结合效率。结论：本研究成功构建了含有两个连锁SNP的VEGF基因3＇UTR的荧光素酶报告基因载体,为今后VEGF基因3＇UTR的功能研究奠定基础。     

X-连锁迟发性脊椎骨骺发育不良基因剪接受体突变对mRNA加工的影响

X-连锁迟发性脊椎骨骺发育不良（spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda, SEDL）是一种少见的由SEDL基因突变引起的骨软骨发育障碍性疾病,病变主要累及腰椎和近端承重大关节。为研究SEDL基因剪接受体突变(IVS2 -2A→C)对mRNA加工的影响,从该突变所致SEDL患者,以及健康对照者外周血中提取总RNA,逆转录合成cDNA, 以此为模板进行聚合酶链式反应（polymerase chain reaction, PCR）,对PCR扩增产物采用双向直接测序和非变性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, PAGE)方法进行分析。测序结果发现IVS2-2A→C突变患者的一种cDNA外显子2与外显子4直接拼接,显示外显子3全部丢失;另一种cDNA外显子1与外显子4拼接,显示外显子2和外显子3均缺失;在健康对照者也发现了外显子2缺失的cDNA。PAGE发现患者和对照者都存在两种RT-PCR产物,长度分别为567bp、425bp以及679bp、537bp,证实了测序结果。这说明SEDL基因第二内含子剪接受体突变（IVS2-2A→C）导致其外显子3在mRNA加工过程中全部丢失,由于SEDL基因的翻译起始位点位于外显子3,它的缺失可能使生成的mRNA不能被翻译,从而引起SEDL发生;外显子2位于5′ UTR,它的缺失提示SEDL基因存在选择性剪接,正常人也存在缺失外显子2的cDNA,说明这种选择性剪接对临床表型的影响似乎并不大,它对基因表达水平和表达调控是否有影响还需要进一步研究。     

An intronic splicing enhancer element in survival motor neuron (SMN) pre-mRNA

Spinal muscular atrophy is caused by the homozygous loss of survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1). SMN2, a nearly identical copy gene, differs from SMN1 only by a single nonpolymorphic C to T transition in exon 7, which leads to alteration of exon 7 splicing; SMN2 leads to exon 7 skipping and expression of a nonfunctional gene product and fails to compensate for the loss of SMN1. The exclusion of SMN exon 7 is critical for the onset of this disease. Regulation of SMN exon 7 splicing was determined by analyzing the roles of the cis-acting element in intron 7 (element 2), which we previously identified as a splicing enhancer element of SMN exon 7 containing the C to T transition. The minimum sequence essential for activation of the splicing was determined to be 24 nucleotides, and RNA structural analyses showed a stem-loop structure. Deletion of this element or disruption of the stem-loop structure resulted in a decrease in exon 7 inclusion. A gel shift assay using element 2 revealed formation of RNA-protein complexes, suggesting that the binding of the trans-acting proteins to element 2 plays a crucial role in the splicing of SMN exon 7 containing the C to T transition.     

Aberrant splicing of phenylalanine hydroxylase mRNA: the major cause for phenylketonuria in parts of southern Europe.

We report a mutation within the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene that causes aberrant splicing of the mRNA and that is in tight association with chromosomal haplotypes 6, 10, and 36. Because of the high frequency of these particular haplotypes in Bulgaria, Italy, and Turkey, it appears to be one of the more frequent defects in the PAH gene causing classical phenylketonuria in this part of Europe. The mutation is a G to A transition at position 546 in intron 10 of the PAH gene, 11 bp upstream from the intron 10/exon 11 boundary. It activates a cryptic splice site and results in an in-frame insertion of 9 nucleotides between exon 10 and exon 11 of the processed mRNA. Normal amounts of liver PAH protein are present in homozygous patients, but no catalytic activity can be detected. This loss of enzyme activity is probably caused by conformational changes resulting from the insertion of three additional amino acids (Gly-Leu-Gln) between the normal sequences encoded by exon 10 and exon 11.     

Muscleblind-like 1 knockout mice reveal novel splicing defects in the myotonic dystrophy brain

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multi-systemic disorder caused by a CTG trinucleotide repeat expansion (CTG(exp)) in the DMPK gene. In skeletal muscle, nuclear sequestration of the alternative splicing factor muscleblind-like 1 (MBNL1) explains the majority of the alternative splicing defects observed in the HSA(LR) transgenic mouse model which expresses a pathogenic range CTG(exp). In the present study, we addressed the possibility that MBNL1 sequestration by CUG(exp) RNA also contributes to splicing defects in the mammalian brain. We examined RNA from the brains of homozygous Mbnl1(ΔE3/ΔE3) knockout mice using splicing-sensitive microarrays. We used RT-PCR to validate a subset of alternative cassette exons identified by microarray analysis with brain tissues from Mbnl1(ΔE3/ΔE3) knockout mice and post-mortem DM1 patients. Surprisingly, splicing-sensitive microarray analysis of Mbnl1(ΔE3/ΔE3) brains yielded only 14 candidates for mis-spliced exons. While we confirmed that several of these splicing events are perturbed in both Mbnl1 knockout and DM1 brains, the extent of splicing mis-regulation in the mouse model was significantly less than observed in DM1. Additionally, several alternative exons, including Grin1 exon 4, App exon 7 and Mapt exons 3 and 9, which have previously been reported to be aberrantly spliced in human DM1 brain, were spliced normally in the Mbnl1 knockout brain. The sequestration of MBNL1 by CUG(exp) RNA results in some of the aberrant splicing events in the DM1 brain. However, we conclude that other factors, possibly other MBNL proteins, likely contribute to splicing mis-regulation in the DM1 brain.     

B-raf alternative splicing is dispensable for development but required for learning and memory associated with the hippocampus in the adult mouse

The B-raf proto-oncogene exerts essential functions during development and adulthood. It is required for various processes, such as placental development, postnatal nervous system myelination and adult learning and memory. The mouse B-raf gene encodes several isoforms resulting from alternative splicing of exons 8b and 9b located in the hinge region upstream of the kinase domain. These alternative sequences modulate the biochemical and biological properties of B-Raf proteins. To gain insight into the physiological importance of B-raf alternative splicing, we generated two conditional knockout mice of exons 8b and 9b. Homozygous animals with a constitutive deletion of either exon are healthy and fertile, and survive up to 18 months without any visible abnormalities, demonstrating that alternative splicing is not essential for embryonic development and brain myelination. However, behavioural analyses revealed that expression of exon 9b-containing isoforms is required for B-Raf function in hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. In contrast, mice mutated on exon 8b are not impaired in this function. Interestingly, our results suggest that exon 8b is present only in eutherians and its splicing is differentially regulated among species.     

An intron mutation in the human alpha 1(I) collagen gene alters the efficiency of pre-mRNA splicing and is associated with osteogenesis imperfecta type II

This study describes a homozygous, G----A transition at the moderately conserved +5 position within the splice donor site of intron 14 in the human alpha 1(I) collagen gene. The mutation reduced the efficiency of normal splice-site selection since the exon upstream of the mutation was spliced alternatively. Moreover, the extent of alternative splicing was sensitive to the temperature at which the mutant cells were grown, suggesting that the mutation directly affected spliceosome assembly. To achieve exon skipping, this effect must be propagated so as to disrupt the selection of a second splice site in the adjacent intron.     

During in vivo maturation of eukaryotic nuclear mRNA, splicing yields excised exon circles.

Circular splicing has already been described on nuclear pre-mRNA for certain splice sites far apart in the multi exonic ETS-1 gene and in the single 1.2 kb exon of the Sry locus. To date, it is unclear how splice site juxtaposition occurs in normal and circular splicing. The splice site selection of an internal exon is likely to involve pairing between splice sites across that exon. Based on this, we predict that, albeit at low frequency, internal exons yield circular RNA by splicing as an error-prone mechanism of exon juxtaposition or, perhaps more interestingly, as a regulated mechanism on alternative exons. To address this question, the circular exon formation was analyzed at three ETS-1 internal exons (one alternative spliced exon and two constitutive), in human cell line and blood cell samples. Here, we show by RT-PCR and sequencing that exon circular splicing occurs at the three individual exons that we examined. RNase protection experiments suggest that there is no correlation between exon circle expression and exon skipping.