Characterization of dog prenodal peripheral lymph lipoproteins. Evidence for the peripheral formation of lipoprotein-unassociated apoA-I with slow pre-beta electrophoretic mobility

Dog plasma and prenodal peripheral lymph apoA-I distribution was examined by nondenaturing gradient gel electrophoresis-immunoblot analysis. In control dogs, plasma apoA-I could be localized to two distinct populations of particles with modal diameters of 8.4 nm and 10.4 nm. The smaller sized population accounted for over 50% of plasma apoA-I. Peripheral lymph apoA-I distribution was significantly different. The percentage of apoA-I localized to the 10.4 nm population was reduced by 40% and the modal diameter of the smaller HDL apoA-I population was significantly decreased by 0.1 nm. Additionally, peripheral lymph apoA-I could be localized to particles smaller than albumin (lipoprotein-unassociated apoA-I). The presence of lipoprotein-unassociated apoA-I particles was confirmed by gel filtration chromatography. Immunoblots of column fractions subjected to agarose electrophoresis revealed that these particles had slow pre-beta electrophoretic mobility. In dogs fed an atherogenic diet, lipoprotein-unassociated apoA-I particles with slow pre-beta electrophoretic mobility could be found in both plasma and peripheral lymph. With increasing degree of hypercholesterolemia, the relative amount of plasma lipoprotein-unassociated apoA-I tended to increase. In peripheral lymph, an increasing degree of hypercholesterolemia was associated with a decrease in the relative amount of lipoprotein-unassociated apoA-I. Instead, a population of large apoA-I particles (11-25 nm) became increasingly prominent.     

正常人外周血αβ T细胞TCR β链CDR3多态性和长度分析

采用免疫扫描谱型分析技术,分析正常人外周血T细胞TCR β链CDR3的多态性和长度分布.提取6例正常人外周血单个核细胞（peripheral blood mononuclear cell PBMC）的总RNA,逆转录成cDNA,以24个TCR BV基因家族为上游引物,共同的TCR BC基因为下游引物（荧光标记）,6例样品PCR产物的基因扫描分析表明,24个TCR BV家族的CDR3谱型分析在1.5%琼脂糖凝胶电泳图上显示1个模糊条带.序列测定结果显示,各TCR BV家族的CDR3谱型均超过8个条带.GeneScan分析证明,正常人外周血T细胞的24个TCR BV家族的CDR3谱型为标准的高斯分布,各家族的CDR3表达频率相近,呈现不同的CDR3多态性和不同的CDR3长度.多数TCR BV家族产物为框架内重排（相邻2个PCR产物相差3个碱基）,少数TCR BV家族表现为两个峰群的重排.该研究对正常人TCR β链CDR3谱系的详细分析将为T细胞应答、TCR重组等研究提供基础.利用免疫谱型分析技术能监测到TCR CDR3谱型分布特征和表达频率的变化.     

Human tritanopia associated with two amino acid substitutions in the blue-sensitive opsin.

Tritanopia is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder of human vision characterize by a selective deficiency of blue spectral sensitivity. The defect is manifested within the retina and could be caused by a deficiency in function or numbers (or both) of blue-sensitive cone photoreceptors. We have used PCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, and DNA sequencing of amplified exons to detect in four of nine unrelated tritanopic subjects two different point mutations in the gene encoding the blue-sensitive opsin, each leading to an amino acid substitution. Segregation analysis within pedigrees and hybridization of oligonucleotides specific for each allele to DNA samples from control subjects support the hypothesis that these mutations cause tritanopia. These results complete the genetic evidence for the trichromatic theory of human color vision.     

用普通琼脂糖代替低熔点胶回收DNA片段

为了建立一种直接从普通琼脂糖凝胶中回收DNA片段的简便实用的方法,采用聚合酶链式反应扩增人P53基因外显子7、8和其间的内含子7序列,用普通琼脂糖凝胶电泳,直接从凝胶中切下产物带,用加热熔化法回收DNA;紫外比色法测定回收率;用测序法鉴定回收产物质量。并用QIAquick Spin纯化柱对照。结果表明,本法回收的产物质量明显优于用QIAquick Spin柱回收,本法回收的产物用于测序效果极佳,回收率达80％,用QIAquick Spin柱回收率不到20％,差异非常显著（P<0.01）。证明这种方法回收PCR产物质量可靠,能代替低熔点胶回收DNA,有较大的实用价值。 Abstract： In order to find a simple and efficient method to isolate single or double?strand DNA fragment amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR),we used PCR method to amplify exon 7,exon 8 and intron 7 of human P53 gene, electrophoresis to identify products,fusion and phenol-chlorofom extraction (FPC) to isolate specific DNA from agarose gel,ultraviolet colorimetry to deteminate collected rate,and direct sequencing to identify the quality of recollected DNA. A control test was also made by using QIAquick Spin Colum．The results showed that the quality of PCR products recollected by using FPC method was very good．When the recollected DNA was used in sequencing,no matter what was single or double-strand DNA,the sequence data was clear and even,with low noise．The recollected rate of using FPC,which was over 80 per cent, was higher than that of using colum (lessthan 20 per cent), there were statistical significances (P<0.01).In the control test, it had a little non-specific DNA in the collected products,and the sequencing experiment of using double-strand products was failure．All above mentioned suggested that general agarose gelis efficient in place of low melting-temperature for isolating DNA fragment．     

Polymerase chain reaction for detection of invasive Shigella flexneri in food.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a 760-base-pair (bp) fragment with the 220-kbp invasive plasmids of enteroinvasive Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella boydii, and Shigella sonnei as templates. This PCR product was easily detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. A 210-bp AccI-PstI fragment lying within the amplified region was used as a probe in Southern hybridization blots and showed that the PCR-generated product was derived from the invasive plasmid. The application of PCR as a rapid method to detect enteroinvasive bacteria in foods was tested by inoculating lettuce with 10(4) S. flexneri cells per g in shigella broth base. Plasmid DNA was isolated from cultures of inoculated and uninoculated lettuce in broth after 0, 4, and 24 h of incubation. With the PCR, the 760-bp fragment was generated only from lettuce inoculated with S. flexneri, as shown by gel electrophoresis and confirmed both by Southern blotting and by nucleotide sequencing of the amplified region. Because the isolation of plasmid DNA, the performance of PCR, and gel electrophoresis all can be completed in 6 to 7 h, invasive enteric bacteria can be detected in less than 1 day.     

一个中国Gilbert综合征家系的遗传学分析

对一个中国汉族Gilbert综合征遗传家系致病基因突变位点进行鉴定,以期了解该病的分子遗传学基础。首先提取先证者基因组DNA,PCR扩增尿苷二磷酸葡萄糖醛酸转移酶UGT1A1基因的5个外显子,以琼脂糖电泳鉴定PCR产物,纯化后直接测序鉴定。基因扫描显示,与血清胆红素水平密切相关的UGT1A1基因在第1和第5外显子存在纯合突变,而 UGT1A1基因启动子区域和内含子/外显子剪接边界位点序列未检测到突变。进一步对其他家系成员该基因的相应位点进行突变检测,结果显示他们在第1和第5外显子也存在杂合突变,其中还有两个成员在启动子区域检测到(TA)插入突变。对家系成员未抗凝新鲜血液进行生化检测证实了基因突变分析的结果。综合以上结果发现该家系三种突变并存,致病因素为第1和/或第5外显子突变,为显性遗传,两种突变位点纯合导致先证者出现严重胆红素代谢功能障碍。该家系因此成为Gilbert综合征突变位点及其致病机理研究的一个典型临床病例。     

True hermaphroditism in a 46,XY individual, caused by a postzygotic somatic point mutation in the male gonadal sex-determining locus (SRY): molecular genetics and histological findings in a sporadic case.

Recently, the gene for the determination of maleness has been identified in the sex-determining region on the short arm of the Y chromosome (SRY) between the Y-chromosomal pseudoautosomal boundary (PABY) and the ZFY gene locus. Experiments with transgenic mice confirmed that SRY is a part of the testis-determining factor (TDF). We describe a sporadic case of a patient with intersexual genitalia and the histological finding of ovotestes in the gonad, which resembles the mixed type of gonadal tissue without primordial follicle structures. The karyotype of the patient was 46,XY. By PCR amplification, we tested for the presence of PABY, SRY, and ZFY by using DNA isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes and for the presence of SRY by using DNA obtained from histological gonadal slices. The SRY products of both DNA preparations were further analyzed by direct sequencing. All three parts of the sex-determining region of the Y chromosome could be amplified from leukocytic DNA. The patient's and the father's SRY sequences were identical with the published sequence. In the SRY PCR product of gonadal DNA, the wild-type and two point mutations were present in the patient's sequence, simulating a heterozygous state of a Y-chromosomal gene: one of the mutations was silent, while the other encoded for a nonconservative amino acid substitution from leucine to histidine. Subcloning procedures showed that the two point mutations always occurred together. The origin of the patient's intersexuality is a postzygotic mutation of the SRY occurring in part of the gonadal tissue. This event caused the loss of the testis-determining function in affected cells.     

Identification of the new T-cell-stimulating antigens from Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture filtrate

The proteins secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis are an important target for vaccine development. To identify the antigens from M. tuberculosis culture filtrate (CF) that strongly stimulate T-cells, the CF was fractionated by ion-exchange chromatography and then non-reducing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with mini-whole gel elution. Each fraction was screened for its ability to induce interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from healthy tuberculin reactors. The protein bands that strongly induced IFN-gamma production were subjected to N-terminal sequencing. Two new proteins, a 17-kDa protein (Rv0164, MTSP17) and an 11-kDa (Rv3204, MTSP11) protein, were identified. The recombinant MTSP17 (rMTSP17) and rMTSP11 induced significant production of IFN-gamma and interleukin (IL)-12p40 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy tuberculin reactors. Interestingly, IL-12p40 production in response to rMTSP11 was significantly higher than that in response to rMTSP17 or the three components of the antigen 85 complex. These results suggest that MTSP11 antigen should be further evaluated as a component of a subunit vaccine.     

Leukocyte acid phosphatase and metabolic efficiency of phagocytes in the first lactation trimester of cows from a leukaemic herd

In Black-and-White cattle, polymorphism of acid phosphatase (AcP) of blood leukocytes is determined by a pair of autosomal alleles. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between AcP polymorphism and the metabolic efficiency of phagocytes in the first months after calving of cows naturally infected with the bovine leukaemia virus. The studied population consisted of 91 Black-and-White cows aged 3-6 years, from one herd. Enzootic bovine leukaemia (EBL) was diagnosed with the immuno-enzymatic ELISA method and a PCR molecular test. Additionally, agarose gel electrophoresis and the cytochemical method were used to determine the AcP polymorphism and activity in leukocytes. The metabolic activity of phagocytes was determined by the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction test. Significant differences in metabolic efficiency of granulocytes were observed between cows representing different AcP phenotypes. No significant differences in levels of the analysed indices were observed between the EBL-positive and EBL-negative cows and between the three subsequent months after calving.     

Electrophoretic detection of protein p53 in human leukocytes

Protein (m.v. 53 kilodalton) with electrophoretic mobility identical to that of protein detected in leukocytes of patients with Down's syndrome and of protein p53 obtained from mouse ascites carcinoma was demonstrated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in healthy donors' leukocytes cultured with PHA and in peripheral blood of patients with chronic myeloleukemia. Appearance of the class p53 proteins in leukocytes of patients may be connected with the presence in their blood of the population of immature or transformed, proliferating or merely DNA-synthesizing leukocytes, particularly those amplifying the gene that codes protein p53.