乳胶凝集试验检测H5亚型禽流感病毒血凝素抗体的研究

利用原核表达并经过纯化的H5亚型禽流感病毒的血凝素蛋白做为抗原,经碳二亚胺（EDAC）将表达产物和羧基化的乳胶共价偶联,并对偶联乳胶的蛋白量和偶联时间进行合理选择,建立H5亚型禽流感病毒血凝素蛋白乳胶凝集试验的方法。临床检测H5亚型禽流感病毒实验免疫鸡血清126份,同血凝抑制试验相比,其敏感性为87.03％,特异性为88.8％,两者的符合率为87.30%。结果证明建立的方法可用于H5亚型禽流感抗体水平监测和流行病学调查。     

禽流感病毒血凝素蛋白的结构、功能与表达

血凝素蛋白（HA）既是一种重要吸附蛋白,介导禽流感病毒吸附和穿入宿主细胞而发挥致病作用,也是一种良好的保护性抗原,对宿主抵抗禽流感起到了决定性保护作用。研究HA蛋白对揭示禽流感病毒的致病机理和免疫防治禽流感均具有重要意义。本文重点概述了HA蛋白的结构、功能和蛋白表达方面的研究进展,并对HA蛋白在禽流感疫苗中的应用进行了探讨。     

马铃薯卷叶病毒基因间隔区转化的马铃薯抗病性研究

将本室合成、克隆的马铃薯卷叶病毒（ＰｏｔａｔｏＬｅａｆｒｏｌＶｉｒｕｓ,ＰＬＲＶ）中国分离株的基因间隔区（ｉｎｔｅｒｇｅｎｉｃｓｅｑｕｅｎｃｅ,ＩＳ）双链ｃＤＮＡ以正、反向两种方式分别构建于转化载体ｐＲＯＫ２中,通过致瘤农杆菌介导,以马铃薯叶圆片为转化材料,转化马铃薯栽培品种Ｄｅｓｉｒｅ,获得了转基因植株。卡那霉素抗性分析和ＰＣＲ检测目的基因,证明ＰＬＲＶＩＳ双链ｃＤＮＡ已经整合到转基因马铃薯的染色体基因组中。将转基因植株移栽网棚用蚜虫接种ＰＬＲＶ,观察症状并用酶联免疫吸附测定（ＥＬＩＳＡ）检测转基因植株中ＰＬＲＶ含量。结果表明,表达ＰＬＲＶＩＳ正意和反意ＲＮＡ的转基因植株,接种病毒后表现无症状或症状轻微,ＰＬＲＶ平均滴度均较未转基因对照植株低。表达正意ＲＮＡ的转基因植株ＰＬＲＶ滴度降低４３％～７２％,表达反意ＲＮＡ的转基因植株ＰＬＲＶ滴度降低７２％～８６％,由此可见,表达ＰＬＲＶＩＳ反意ＲＮＡ的转基因马铃薯对ＰＬＲＶ抗性较强。     

禽流感病毒H5N1血凝素基因和神经氨酸酶基因在大肠杆菌中的表达

目的：克隆、表达和鉴定禽流感病毒H5N1血凝素基因（hemagglutinin,HA）和神经氨酸酶基因（neuramidinase,NA）序列,为制备抗体和基因工程疫苗打下基础。方法：在成功克隆禽流感病毒H5N1全长HA、NA基因并测序的基础上,将部分基因序列克隆到表达载体pET32a（＋）上,全基因序列克隆到表达载体pGEX4T-1上,构建了重组表达质粒pET32a（＋）/HA(49~1587bp)、pET32a（＋）/NA(121~1141bp)、pGEX4T-1/HA、pGEX4T-1/NA,转化大肠杆菌BL21/rosetta,IPTG诱导表达,利用Ni2＋亲和层析柱和GSTra P4B亲和层析柱对重组蛋白进行纯化,并用Western blotting和ELISA方法检测其抗原性。结果：重组蛋白在大肠杆菌中可以高效达,SDS PAGE显示其相对分子质量与预计大小一致,蛋白纯度占总蛋白的90％以上。ELISA和Western blotting实验证实,重组蛋白具有良好的抗原性。结论:成功克隆和表达了禽流感病毒H5N1 HA、NA基因序列,为禽流感病毒H5N1诊断试剂和疫苗的开发等进一步的研究奠定了基础。     

利用反向遗传学技术构建H5亚型禽流感高产疫苗株

采用RT-PCR技术分别扩增了鹅源高产禽流感病毒的6条内部基因片段,近期分离的H5N1亚型禽流感病毒的血凝素基因以及N3亚型参考毒株的神经氨酸酶基因,分别构建了8个基因的转录与表达载体,利用反向遗传学技术拯救出了全部基因都源于禽源的重组流感病毒疫苗株rH5N3。通过对血凝素蛋白HA1和HA2连接肽处的5个碱性氨基酸(R-R-R-K-K)基因缺失与修饰,从而消除了病毒基因的毒力相关序列,拯救的rH5N3疫苗株对鸡和鸡胚均无致病性,病毒在鸡胚尿囊液和细胞培养上清的HA效价得到极大提高,分别为12048和1512。制备的禽流感疫苗免疫动物后4~5周即可诱导产生高效价的HI抗体,鸡免疫后18周依然保持高水平的HI抗体。重组疫苗不论是对于国内早期分离的禽流感病毒A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96还是近期分离的A/Goose/HLJ/QFY/04都能够产生完全的免疫保护作用,免疫鸡攻毒后不发病、不排毒、不死亡。带有N3鉴别诊断标记禽流感疫苗株的研制为H5N1高致病性禽流感的防治提供了新的技术保障。     

禽流感病毒H9N2血凝素基因和神经氨酸酶基因在真核酵母菌中的表达

目的:克隆、表达和鉴定禽流感病毒H9N2血凝素基因(hemagglutinin,HA)和神经氨酸酶基因(neuramidinase,NA)序列,为制备抗体和基因工程疫苗打下基础。方法:在成功克隆禽流感病毒H9N2全长HA、NA基因并测序的基础上,将部分基因序列克隆到表达载体pMETA上,构建了重组表达质粒pMETA/HA(52～1545bp),pMETA/NA(121～1254bp),电转化真核酵母菌pMAD16,甲醇诱导表达,利用Ni2+亲和层析柱对重组蛋白进行纯化,并用Western blotting和ELISA方法检测其抗原性。结果:重组蛋白在酵母菌中可以高效表达,SDS-PAGE显示蛋白表达后形成了二聚体,蛋白纯度占总蛋白的95%以上,ELISA和Western blotting实验证实,重组蛋白具有良好的抗原性。结论:成功克隆和表达了禽流感病毒H9N2HA、NA基因序列,为禽流感病毒H9N2诊断试剂和疫苗的开发等进一步的研究奠定了基础。     

密码子优化的人H5N1流感病毒HA基因在哺乳动物细胞中获得高效表达

为了提高人禽流感病毒血凝素HA的表达量,应对流感大流行疫苗的需求,按照人的偏爱密码子将H5N1(A/Anhui/1/2005)流感病毒的HA基因进行优化改造,经全基因合成后插人到真核表达载体pDC315中,构建了真核表达质粒pDC315-Mod.HA;将此质粒和含野生HA基因的真核表达质粒pDC315-Wt.HA分别转染293T细胞,比较HA蛋白的表达量.结果表明:经间接免疫荧光实验及Western blot实验比较和鉴定,密码子优化后,HA蛋白在293T细胞中的表达水平显著提高,为流感大流行疫苗的研究打下了基础.     

H5N1亚型禽流感病毒进化的研究进展

由H5N1流感病毒引起的高致病性禽流感,在禽类之间广泛传播。当人类接触这些禽类时,可能会被感染并产生严重的呼吸道症状,且死亡率高达60%。血凝素(hemagglutinin,HA)是H5N1病毒中和抗体的主要抗原,为了便于对病毒的HA突变进行研究,根据HA遗传基因的差异远近,所有的H5病毒株都被划分在20个分支内。对于H5N1病毒进化的研究在禽流感疫苗的研制、禽流感大流行的预防等方面均具有重要意义。现对禽流感、H5N1病毒特征、血凝素的结构功能、H5N1病毒的分支以及病毒进化的研究进行概述。     

马铃薯卷叶病毒基因间隔区转化的马铃薯抗病性研究

将本室合成、克隆的马铃薯卷叶病毒(Potato Leafroll Virus, PLRV)中国分离株的基因间隔区(intergenic sequence, IS)双链cDNA以正、反向两种方式分别构建于转化载体pROK2中,通过致瘤农杆菌介导,以马铃薯叶圆片为转化材料,转化马铃薯栽培品种Desiree,获得了转基因植株.卡那霉素抗性分析和PCR检测目的基因,证明PLRV IS双链cDNA已经整合到转基因马铃薯的染色体基因组中.将转基因植株移栽网棚用蚜虫接种PLRV,观察症状并用酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)检测转基因植株中PLRV含量.结果表明,表达PLRV IS正意和反意RNA的转基因植株,接种病毒后表现无症状或症状轻微,PLRV平均滴度均较未转基因对照植株低.表达正意RNA的转基因植株PLRV滴度降低43%～72%,表达反意RNA的转基因植株PLRV滴度降低72%～86%,由此可见,表达PLRV IS反意RNA的转基因马铃薯对PLRV抗性较强.     

H5N1型禽流感病毒广谱中和单克隆抗体的筛选及其中和机制初步研究

利用杆状病毒-昆虫细胞表达H5N1型禽流感病毒的血凝素蛋白(HA),纯化后的重组蛋白HA免疫小鼠并制备杂交瘤单克隆抗体,用H5N1型禽流感病毒的全病毒进行筛选,成功地获得了抗H5N1型禽流感病毒血凝素蛋白HA的单抗.MDCK细胞微量中和试验表明,单抗8G10D7可对clade2和clade9的H5N1型禽流感病毒起中和作用.Western-blot及血凝抑制实验进一步证明了该单抗的结合位点位于HA蛋白的HA1亚基上.鸡胚感染病毒预防试验结果表明,8G10D7对禽来源的和人来源的H5N1型禽流感病毒均可达到100%的保护率;在治疗试验组中,8G10D7对禽来源的病毒感染具有较高的保护率,可达100%,对人来源的H5N1型禽流感病毒最高也可达87.5%的保护率.该抗体的获得不仅为H5N1型高致病性禽流感病毒的预防和治疗带来了希望,同时其中和位点的发现也为以后亚单位疫苗的研制提供新的思路.     

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.