鼻咽癌相关基因NAP1的克隆及鉴定

从UniGene库中选取编号为BG231197,来自人鼻咽组织的EST序列.利用Blast检索GenBank的nr数据库和EST数据库,构建EST重叠群.利用人类基因组草图搜索法从成人正常鼻咽组织中PCR扩增获得该基因全长cDNA,命名为NAP1,GenBank登录号为AY190326.NAP1基因cDNA序列全长为573 bp,编码由85个氨基酸组成,相对分子质量为9 700的多肽.用α-³²P-dCTP标记NAP1基因片段,与含15种正常成人组织的多组织RNA印迹膜杂交,结果表明NAP1基因在淋巴结和气管中高表达,转录本大小约为0.6 kb,在其他组织中不表达.NAP1蛋白质与滤泡树突状细胞（follicular dendritic cell, FDC）的一种分泌肽前体（FDC -SP）（AF435080）同源,与其他已知蛋白质无明显同源性.NAP1基因定位在染色体4q13,基因组跨越9 179 bp,含5个外显子和4个内含子.采用差异RT-PCR检测了40例经病理诊断为低分化鳞状上皮癌的鼻咽活检组织及其对侧相应部位的正常鼻咽组织中该基因的表达差异.在40例鼻咽癌中,NAP1基因表达下调的有17例（42.5%）,表达上调的有6例（15%）,无明显表达差异的有17例（42.5%）.原位杂交和免疫组化结果显示该基因在正常鼻咽和鼻咽癌组织间质中的树突状细胞中表达,在其他间质细胞和鼻咽上皮中均不表达.以上结果表明,NAP1为树突状细胞的一种新的多肽,该基因在鼻咽癌组织中表达下调的原因,及其与鼻咽癌发生、发展的关系值得进一步探讨.     

鼻咽癌差异表达基因PROL4特性分析

在正常成人鼻咽与鼻咽癌活检组织之间进行抑制性消减杂交和微阵列(microarray)杂交,获得了鼻咽癌差异表达基因PROL4的全长cDNA序列,其GenBank登录号为：AF530472.该基因包含567个核苷酸,其编码产物是由134个氨基酸组成的富含脯氨酸蛋白.采用RT-PCR证实了PROL4基因在鼻咽癌细胞株HNE1和鼻咽癌活检组织中表达下调或缺失（42/48）.12种组织RNA印迹显示：PROL4基因在人骨骼肌、胸腺和肺组织中表达,其转录本大小约为0.6 kb,与所克隆的PROL4基因的cDNA大小一致.进而通过肿瘤表达谱阵列（cancer profiling array）杂交检测了其在乳腺癌、子宫癌、结肠癌、胃癌、卵巢癌、肺癌、肾癌、直肠癌、甲状腺癌、子宫颈癌、前列腺癌、胰腺癌、小肠癌组织及其配对的正常组织的表达状况.     

利用GenMAPP筛查鼻咽癌差异表达基因

利用GenMAPP软件对鼻咽癌和正常鼻咽上皮基因微阵列表达谱结果进行分析,筛查鼻咽癌差异表达基因. 结果显示：在17 000个基因中,与正常鼻咽上皮相比,在鼻咽癌中发生2倍以上差异表达的基因共有339个,其中有160个基因在鼻咽癌中表达上调,179个表达下调. 这些基因分别与细胞增殖、基因转录、凋亡、信号转导、DNA损伤修复、肿瘤分化和浸润转移及细胞周期调节等相关. 鼻咽癌的发生发展存在多基因表达调控的改变,对其差异表达基因的研究有助于阐明鼻咽癌发生发展机制.     

cDNA微阵列技术分析NAG7基因对鼻咽癌细胞基因表达谱的影响

运用cDNA微阵列技术分析NAG7基因重表达对HNE1细胞基因表达谱的影响.抽提HNE1细胞和pcDNA3.1(+)/NAG7/HNE1细胞总RNA,分离polyA mRNA,将mRNA逆转录为cDNA,并在逆转录过程中用³³P-dATP进行标记,与含有16 150个基因和表达序列标签(EST)的cDNA表达阵列膜杂交,获得基因表达图谱.Array Gauge软件分析NAG7基因的重表达所导致的鼻咽癌细胞HNE1基因表达谱改变,并用RNA印迹对微阵列杂交结果进行验证.结果分析表明,2倍以上的差异表达基因或EST 179个,其中表达上调的91个,表达下调的88个;已明确基因表达产物的上调基因29个,下调基因37个.在差异表达基因中,涉及基因转录调控、信号转导、细胞生长、细胞代谢和细胞凋亡等基因.RNA印迹证实生长阻滞特异蛋白1（gas 1）基因表达上调.特别值得关注的是, 先前的蛋白质组研究结果亦发现NAG7基因可导致生长阻滞特异蛋白1表达上调,说明gas 1基因在NAG7重表达的HNE1细胞中具有重要作用,这为深入研究NAG7基因的作用环节和机理提供了重要的线索.     

鼻咽癌上皮细胞株HNE1差异表达基因的分离与鉴定

为了分离鼻咽癌差异表达基因 ,应用抑制性扣除杂交技术 ,在正向抑制性扣除杂交中 ,以鼻咽癌上皮细胞株HNE1cDNA作为检测子 ,以人胚鼻咽上皮细胞cDNA作为驱赶子 ;在反向抑制性扣除杂交中 ,以人胚鼻咽上皮细胞cDNA作为检测子 ,以鼻咽癌上皮细胞株HNE1cDNA作为驱赶子 ,分别通过抑制性扣除杂交 ,构建了鼻咽癌上皮细胞株HNE1表达下调和表达上调的两个扣除cDNA文库 .从鼻咽癌相关的扣除cDNA文库中随机挑取 1 2 0 0个克隆 ,采用菌落PCR扩增其插入cDNA片段 ,自动点膜制备成cDNA微阵列膜 ,分别用鼻咽癌上皮细胞株HNE1、人胚鼻咽上皮mRNA经逆转录标记cDNA探针 ,分别与cDNA微阵列膜杂交 ,通过杂交信号的自动扫描分析 ,对杂交信号存在 5倍差异的克隆进行测序 ,获得了 1 0个鼻咽癌差异表达基因的cDNA片段 ,其中 3个为新基因序列 ,其GenBank登录号为 :AF5 1 0 1 88、AF5 1 0 1 89和AF5 1 0 1 90 ,7个代表已知基因序列 .采用RT PCR证实S1 0 0A8,CK1 9和RBP1基因在人胚鼻咽上皮中高表达而在鼻咽癌细胞株HNE1中低表达 .这些结果显示上述基因可能是鼻咽癌发生的重要因素     

应用cDNA微阵列技术研究EB病毒LMP1介导的鼻咽癌中转移相关基因的表达

探讨EB病毒基因组编码的癌蛋白LMP1对鼻咽癌细胞中转移相关基因表达的影响.采用蛋白质印迹法检测在强力霉素(Dox)诱导下,鼻咽癌细胞系pTet-on-LMP1 HNE2(L7细胞)中LMP1表达的时效和量效关系.应用cDNA微阵列技术建立诱导性LMP1介导鼻咽癌细胞中转移相关基因差异表达谱;运用RT-PCR验证cDNA微阵列筛选差异基因表达的可靠性.与LMP1不表达的L7细胞比较,LMP1高表达的L7细胞中7个基因的表达显著上调,12个基因的表达显著下调.随机选择其中4个基因进行RT-PCR,结果显示,这些基因表达阳性,且与微阵列中的变化趋势一致.LMP1可能通过激活和/或抑制一些转移相关基因的表达而参与鼻咽癌转移过程.     

用cDNA表达阵谱分析小鼠鼻咽部相对特异表达基因

利用Mouse Atlas^TM cDNA expression array检测鼻咽、气管、食管、膀胱四种组织中588个已知基因的表达谱,得到11个在鼻咽上皮中表达相对较高的基因,作为鼻咽部组织相对特异基因的候选者,并用RT-PCR进一步验证.     

鼻咽癌组织cDNA文库的构建及抗原基因的筛选

构建人鼻咽癌组织cDNA文库,以SEREX方法从cDNA文库中筛选鼻咽癌抗原基因。采用确诊鼻咽癌患者新鲜活检癌组织构建cDNA文库,测定原始文库滴度,进行蓝白筛选以确定文库的重组率。以建库组织来源患者的自身血清,采用“一对一” 的血清学方法筛选所构建的cDNA文库,阳性克隆经PCR检测鉴定后进行序列分析。经测定原始文库滴度为7.28×10⁶pfu/mL,含3.64×10⁶个重组子,重组率为94%,扩增文库滴度为3.8×10⁹pfu/mL,cDNA插入片段大小在0.5～3.0kb之间。文库经三轮血清学筛选共获得23个阳性克隆,分别代表了16个独立的cDNA插入片段（抗原基因）。其中10个与已知基因高度同源,另外6个基因与GenBank中已知基因的部分同源,其中有3个是新基因。利用SMART技术构建了高质量的人鼻咽癌组织cDNA表达文库,有利于以cDNA文库为基础的进一步的实验研究。应用SEREX技术初步筛选鼻咽癌组织cDNA文库,共得到16个鼻咽癌相关抗原基因,其中有3个是新基因,可能为鼻咽癌的免疫学研究提供新的研究分子。     

NM23-H1、 DJ1 和 TIM1 在低分化鼻咽鳞癌 组织和 CNE2 细胞株中共同表达

鼻咽癌为一种好发于鼻咽顶前壁及咽隐窝的头颈肿瘤, 98% 属低分化鳞癌 . 鼻咽癌就诊的患者中约 75% 已有颈淋巴结转移,颅神经受累 ( Ⅱ ~ Ⅵ, Ⅸ ~ Ⅻ ) 也较易发生. CNE2 为一种低分化鼻咽鳞癌细胞系,其生物学行为具有低分化鼻咽鳞癌的一些共同特点 . 选择恶性程度高的鼻咽癌组织 ( Ⅳ期,低分化鼻咽鳞癌 ) 和恶性程度高的低分化鼻咽鳞癌细胞株 CNE2 为研究样本,应用双向凝胶电泳技术获得了 6 例分辨率较高、重复性较好的低分化鼻咽鳞癌组织和 CNE2 细胞系双向凝胶电泳图谱,利用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱 (MALDI-TOF-MS) 技术,分析了 145 个蛋白质斑点 ( 组织 66 个点,细胞株 79 个点 ),共鉴定出了 74 种蛋白质,其中瘤基因 DJ1、转移相关基因 NM23-H1 和磷酸丙糖激酶异构酶 1(TIM1) 3 种蛋白质,在 CNE2 细胞系和该 6 例低分化鼻咽鳞癌组织中均共同表达 . 并进一步应用 RT-PCR 法检测低分化鼻咽鳞癌细胞系 CNE2 和 12 例低分化鼻咽鳞癌组织三者 mRNA 的表达：在细胞系 CNE2 和 3 例Ⅳ期低分化鼻咽鳞癌病人的组织中三者全表达, 3 例Ⅲ期及 6 例Ⅱ期也各有 1 例为全表达,而在正常对照的 6 例慢性鼻咽炎组织中未检测到三者的同时表达且有一例为全阴性, NM23-H1、 DJ1 和 TIM1 三者的 mRNA 在Ⅲ、Ⅳ期低分化鼻咽鳞癌组织共同表达,与正常对照组织相比,发现两者有显著性差异 (x²=10.214 , P＜0.005). NM23-H1、 DJ1 和 TIM1 三者的共同表达,可能与低分化鼻咽鳞癌的发生发展有关.     

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.