EGF类生长因子来源的新型靶向肽在抗肿瘤药物蛋白中的应用

许多肿瘤细胞表面表皮生长因子受体EGFR都存在过表达现象。考察了牛痘病毒生长因子(VGF)中的EGFR结合域(S3)与人的肝素样表皮生长因子(HB-EGF)来源的肝素结合域(命名为HE)重组后对肿瘤细胞的选择性。通过重组表达带有靶向和穿膜结构域的EGFP-S3-HE和EGFP-S3-HE-TATm两种融合蛋白与正常细胞和肿瘤细胞的共孵育实验来研究其对肿瘤细胞的特异性靶向吸附和穿膜效应。进一步将S3-HE-TATm靶向穿膜序列与苦瓜来源的核糖体失活蛋白MAP30融合,可显著提高MAP30对肿瘤细胞的抑杀作用,但这种抑杀作用却对正常细胞仍保持在较低水平。由此表明S3-HE-TATm是一种新型优异的肿瘤细胞靶向药物运输载体,可用于肿瘤治疗的进一步开发研究。     

一种用于药物蛋白亲和纯化和跨膜转运的双功能标签的开发

目的:开发一种既能用于亲和纯化目标蛋白,又可介导不能自主进入细胞的药物蛋白跨膜转运到细胞内发挥活性的双功能标签。方法:从已有文献资料中挑选四种富含碱性氨基酸的钙调蛋白结合肽(calmodulin binding peptide,CBP),将其与绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)融合表达,然后采用与钙调蛋白(calmodulin,CaM)亲和结合过程来筛选与CaM具有最高亲和力的CBP;随后采用荧光显微镜检测、激光共聚焦显微镜检测以及流式细胞术等技术来分析测定和比较候选CBP序列将EGFP重组蛋白自主转运进入细胞的能力。最后将筛选到的新型CBP双功能标签与凋亡蛋白融合表达,考察其与CaM亲和结合后纯化重组凋亡蛋白的能力,以MTT法分析此重组蛋白进入肿瘤细胞抑制生长的能力。结果:通过CaM-CBP亲和层析筛选出与CaM具高有亲和力的三种CBP序列;从重组蛋白胞内荧光检测结果得知,带有野生型骨骼肌肌球蛋白轻链激酶CBP序列(MLCK)的重组EGFP蛋白具有最佳跨膜转运效率,且显著高于来源于艾滋病毒的经典穿膜肽TAT的穿膜效率。以此MLCK新型双功能标签成功地通过CaM-CBP亲和结合纯化得到重组凋亡蛋白,并可将重组凋亡蛋白转运进入细胞内发挥抗肿瘤作用。重组凋亡蛋白对MGC-803、H460、HeLa三种肿瘤细胞生长的24h半抑制浓度(IC50)分别为:1. 18μmol/L、1. 23μmol/L、1. 23μmol/L。结论:筛选得到一种新型双功能标签MLCK,其可通过与CaM高亲和作用进行亲和纯化;同时标签本身还具有和典型穿膜肽一样的高效跨膜转运功能,可将药物蛋白自主转运进入细胞,发挥药物的生物活性。因此,新型双功能标签既可用于药物蛋白的亲和纯化,又兼具体内跨膜运输作用,可广泛用于各种新型药物的开发。     

多聚精氨酸融合增强型绿色荧光蛋白制备方法及穿膜效果

为了方便细胞穿膜肽R9融合蛋白的可溶性表达及功能上的研究,构建了pSUMO (小分子泛素样修饰蛋白) -R9-EGFP (增强型绿色荧光蛋白) 原核表达载体。分别纯化EGFP及R9-EGFP蛋白后,作用于HepG2,细胞经流式细胞仪及激光共聚焦检测R9细胞穿膜肽的作用效果。实验结果显示在SUMO分子伴侣的作用下,R9-EGFP融合蛋白获得可溶性表达。经流式细胞仪检测,R9细胞穿膜肽可以快速有效的携带目的蛋白进入细胞内部且呈时间、剂量依赖性,大约1.5 h以后荧光强度进入平台期。共聚焦显微镜检测结果表明R9细胞穿膜肽可以有效携带EGFP进入HepG2细胞,并显示主要聚集在细胞浆内。同时体外经肝素抑制实验显示,肝素抑制R9-EGFP穿膜的效率达到50％。这些结果表明,可以利用pSUMO-R9/Ni-NTA表达纯化系统,快速、有效地表达出可溶性多聚精氨酸融合蛋白,同时R9细胞穿膜肽可以有效地携带目的蛋白进入细胞内,为进一步研究多聚精氨酸的穿膜机制提供了基础。     

细胞穿膜肽介导蛋白/多肽类药物输送的研究进展

在当前药物研发中,蛋白/多肽类药物占据着重要地位。然而,此类药物大多需进入细胞内才能发挥作用,故细胞摄取率低的问 题成为制约其发展的关键因素。细胞穿膜肽是一类富含精氨酸的短肽,自身具有较强的生物膜穿透能力,可携带多种大分子甚至是纳米 粒入胞。因此,穿膜肽被广泛应用于药物输送,且基于穿膜肽介导药物胞内输送,成为解决蛋白/多肽类药物入胞问题的优选策略。主 要综述穿膜肽介导蛋白/多肽类药物输送用于不同疾病治疗的研究进展。     

白树毒素融合蛋白的筛选及其抗肿瘤作用和凋亡途径研究

通过白树毒素(Gelonin)与多种穿膜肽(Cell-Penetrating Peptide,CPP)融合,获得一种抗肿瘤活性最高的Gelonin-HBP重组蛋白并研究其抑制肿瘤细胞增长的分子机制。以大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)重组表达及NI-NTA亲和纯化4种CPP(R9、TAT、HBD和HBP)与Gelonin融合的重组蛋白,通过超螺旋切割和体外翻译抑制实验检测其生物活性;激光共聚焦显微镜观察Gelonin重组蛋白穿膜效率、以MTT法检测其对肿瘤细胞的作用、并用流式细胞术及Western blot法观察其细胞凋亡的分子机制。结果显示,获得了保留Gelonin原有生物活性的4种Gelonin重组蛋白,连接CPP的Gelonin均能促进Gelonin的穿膜及抑杀肿瘤细胞效应,其中Gelonin-HBP活性最强,对于He La、B16、MCF-7和Hep G2四种肿瘤细胞比单独的Gelonin活性分别提升16.4倍、9.6倍、14.0倍和24.6倍;免疫印迹分析表明Gelonin-HBP诱导了肿瘤细胞Caspas 3、Caspas 8及Caspas 9的活性、Bax表达量显著增加,而Bcl-2的表达量显著降低。CPP促进了Gelonin对肿瘤细胞的抑杀和促凋亡作用,其中来源于人肝素结合表皮生长因子样生长因子的HBP连接Gelonin的抗肿瘤作用最强,其诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡的机制与线粒体和死亡受体介导的凋亡信号通路有关。     

肽转运载体的分子特征及其分布

动物体内的肽转运载体目前发现的至少有五种,其中研究最为广泛的是：PepT1和PepT2。PepT1和PepT2都是依质子的寡肽转运载体(POT)家族的成员。PepT1是低亲和力／高容量的肽载体,PepT2高亲和力／低容量的肽载体。PepT1主要在消化道中表达,在肾脏中也有微弱的表达;PepT2主要在肾脏中表达。这些肽载体的分子结构特征主要有：(1)有12个假想的穿膜区,在9区和10区之间有一大的胞外环,且所有穿膜区内的序列都高度保守,胞外环上的序列保守的很少;(2)被编码的蛋白上有多个N-糖基化和蛋白激酶的识别位点,它们可能参与肽转运的调控;(3)PepT1上的His-57和PepT2上的His-87是最关键的组氨酸残基,它们可能是转运蛋白发挥吸收功能时最关键的结合位点;(4)不同动物肽转运蛋白的氨基酸范围在707到729之间,且不同动物相同器官肽转运载体的同源性高(大约80％),同种动物不同器官肽转运载体的同源性低(大约50％)。了解肽载体的分子特征和组织分布,可以更好地理解肽吸收的分子机制并有利于肽类药物的研发。     

细胞穿膜肽研究应用的新进展

细胞穿膜肽(Cell-penetrating peptides,CPPs)是一类能够穿过细胞膜或组织屏障的短肽。CPPs可通过内吞和直接穿透等机制运载蛋白质、RNA、DNA等生物大分子进入细胞内发挥其效应功能。相比于其他非天然的化学分子,CPPs具有生物相容性佳、对细胞造成的毒性小、完成入胞转运后可降解、并能与生物活性蛋白直接融合重组表达等优点,因此成为以胞内分子为靶标的药物递送技术发展的重要工具,并在生物医学研究领域具有良好的应用前景。文中针对CPPs的分类特点、入胞转运机制及其治疗应用的新近研究进展进行综述和讨论。     

穿膜肽的研究现状及应用

以细胞内物质为靶标的药物(大分子、蛋白质、多肽及核酸)只有穿透细胞膜才能进一步发挥其药效。细胞穿透多肽(穿膜肽)是由少于30个氨基酸残基组成的小肽,它们能够通过与细胞膜相互作用而穿透细胞膜这一天然屏障。穿膜肽大致分为宿主防御肽、基于信号序列的穿膜肽和富含精氨酸的穿膜肽;穿膜肽进入细胞的机制尚未完全阐明,存在倒置微团模型、地毯式模型及打孔模型等假说。穿膜肽能够携带各种物质进入细胞的特性受到人们的关注。我们就穿膜肽的种类、穿膜机制,及其在生物影像学和生物递送系统中的应用做一综述。     

通过细胞穿膜肽和皂苷增强一种核糖体失活蛋白抗肿瘤活性

将核糖体失活蛋白类鼻疽伯克霍尔德菌致死因子1(BLF1)与细胞穿膜肽(CPP)HBP融合表达并与商陆皂苷甲(EsA)联合使用,提高BLF1重组蛋白抑制肿瘤细胞生长的活性。通过原核表达及NI-NTA亲和层析纯化BLF1、BLF1-HBP融合蛋白,以HepG2、MCF-7、A549和HeLa细胞为检测模型,MTT法检测BLF1重组蛋白对肿瘤细胞的毒性,激光共聚焦显微镜观察重组蛋白进入细胞效率,流式细胞术分析抗肿瘤效应。结果显示,穿膜肽HBP可有效提高BLF1对HepG2、MCF-7、A549和HeLa四种肿瘤细胞的生长抑制作用,其中对HeLa细胞的药效增强效果最显著,可达47.5倍;皂苷EsA的使用进一步显著提高了BLF1-HBP对上述4种肿瘤细胞生长抑制活性,且对MCF-7细胞的IC50值从6 840 nmol/L降至0.57 nmol/L。激光共聚焦观察揭示EsA可有效促进BLF1重组蛋白进入肿瘤细胞效率,流式结果分析表明EsA可大大强化BLF1-HBP诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡的能力。将BLF1与穿膜肽HBP融合表达并在EsA存在下,可显著提升BLF1对肿瘤细胞的毒性,强化其诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡的能力。     

温度、血清以及肝素等因素对TAT穿膜效应的影响

目的:探讨在不同实验条件下,二甲基亚砜(DMSO)预处理培养细胞对TAT穿膜效率的影响.方法:体外培养Caski、4549、HepG2及COS7细胞株在不同实验条件下与荧光标记多肽TAT或无意义肽NCO共孵育.荧光显微镜观察TAT-FTTC的穿膜效率及其胞内定位;荧光酶标仪定量测定细胞内荧光强度.结果:10%DMSO预处理37℃和4℃下各细胞株后,TAT-FITC均可高效穿膜入胞,且胞浆、胞核巾均匀分布,胞核浓度高于胞浆;相同条件下未见NCO-FITC穿膜进入细胞.无血清组(Caski:1881±66、HepG2:2112±74、A549:2126±59)血清组较有血清组(Caski:1312±90、HepG2:1308±11、A549:1370±22)细胞内荧光强度大,且有显著差异(P<0.05).抑制剂Heparin存在时,Caski细胞荧光强度则明显减弱(加肝素组:1208±29,加肝素组:895±56;P<0.05).结论:10%DMSO预处理不同培养细胞在37℃和4℃条件下均可提高TAT的穿膜效率,血清和Heparin可减弱DMSO的穿膜增强效应.     

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.