Pin1与β-链蛋白——Wnt信号途径的致肿瘤机制

β-链蛋白（β—catenin）是Wnt信号途径核心成员。Wnt信号传人细胞核致β-链蛋白磷酸化以后,磷酸化依赖肽酰脯氨酰异构酶（Pin1）特异性地催化β-链蛋白（p）丝／苏氨酰-脯氨酰肽键的顺反异构[反式（trans）到顺式（cis）],结果β-链蛋白结构稳定、保持活性状态。Pin1机制是Wnt信号途径致肿瘤重要新机制,并与途径信号分子基因突变等完全无关。     

反基因策略及其靶序列的选择

反基因策略及其靶序列的选择刘定燮,王昌才,黄建生（第一军医大学分子生物学研究所,广州５１０５１５）关键词三链ＤＮＡ,反基因策略合成的脱氧寡核苷酸在一定条件下可缠绕于ＤＮＡ双螺旋的大沟内并以氢键与其相互作用形成三链ＤＮＡ结构。一般把这类能形成三链结构的...     

“三链DNA结构模型和能力学的理论生物学研究”获云南省科学技术一等奖

中国科学院昆明动物研究所刘次全研究员等 ,在中国科学院化学研究所ＳＴＭ实验室首次观察到变性条件下λ噬菌体ＤＮＡ三链辫状结构的直观形貌 ;在此基础上 ,参照ＴＡＴ三碱基体的有关结构参数 ,分别在Ｍ - 2 40 0计算机和ＳＧＩ系统的4Ｄ/ 80ｓ、 4Ｄ/ 2 0Ｇ和ＳＧＩＩｎｄｉｇｏＲ40 0 0上成功的构建了国内外第一个三链辫状结构模型 ;进而就三碱基体模型和能力学 ,ＤＮＡ三链结构模型和能力学 ,以及三链ＤＮＡ碱基配对相互作用三链和三链辫状ＤＮＡ构象比较方面 ,进行了系统的定量和半定量的理论生物学研究。在取得较大进展的基础上 ,又对…     

不同一级结构寡肽的α-羰酰及喹喔啉衍生物的荧光性质

通过对寡肽N-末端α-羰酰及喹喔啉衍生物和荧光在碘化钾、乙二醇、盐酸胍和氯化钠溶液中的变化测定结果表明:不同一级结构寡肽的羰酰荧光物的碘化钾淬灭过程彼此有差异.在不同浓度的乙二醇和盐酸胍溶液中,第三位氨基酸残基的种类和构型不同的寡肽羰酰衍生物的荧光变化亦有不同.乙二醇引起羰酰甘氨寡肽荧先发射峰位红移.丙氨寡肽的发射峰位蓝移;并且不同链长的甘氨短肽及丙氨短肽羰酰衍生物在不同浓度的乙二醇或盐酸胍溶液中各自的荧光变化有差异,但这种差异随肽链的延长逐渐减小.以上结果提示:尽管(含有2-6个氨基酸残基的)寡肽在溶液中难以形成二级结构,但它们的空间构象可能不是随机的;寡肽链越长,结构相对稳定.     

不同一级结构寡肽的α-羰酰及喹喔啉衍生物的荧光性质

通过对寡肽N-末端α-羰酰及喹喔啉衍生物和荧光在碘化钾、乙二醇、盐酸胍和氯化钠溶液中的变化测定结果表明:不同一级结构寡肽的羰酰荧光物的碘化钾淬灭过程彼此有差异.在不同浓度的乙二醇和盐酸胍溶液中,第三位氨基酸残基的种类和构型不同的寡肽羰酰衍生物的荧光变化亦有不同.乙二醇引起羰酰甘氨寡肽荧先发射峰位红移.丙氨寡肽的发射峰位蓝移;并且不同链长的甘氨短肽及丙氨短肽羰酰衍生物在不同浓度的乙二醇或盐酸胍溶液中各自的荧光变化有差异,但这种差异随肽链的延长逐渐减小.以上结果提示:尽管(含有2-6个氨基酸残基的)寡肽在溶液中难以形成二级结构,但它们的空间构象可能不是随机的;寡肽链越长,结构相对稳定.     

三链DNA的形成抑制转录因子与乙肝病毒核衣壳启动子的结合

合成的寡核苷酸可缠绕于DNA双螺旋大沟内并以氢键与其相互作用形成三链DNA结构,这类寡核苷酸常简称为TFO(triplex-form-ing oligonucleotide)。通过TFO与靶基因结合形成局部的三链结构来抑制基因转录的技术被称为反基因策略(antigene strategy)。我们选择乙肝病毒(HBV)核衣壳启动子(Cp)内一近似同聚嘌呤·同聚嘧啶序列(1734～1754,ayw亚型,以EcoR Ⅰ切点为 1)为靶序列,以嘌呤     

反基因策略：基因治疗的新方向

合成的富含嘌呤或嘧啶的脱氧寡核苷酸可与双链ＤＮＡ内特定的同聚嘌呤、同聚嘧啶序列结合形成稳定的三螺旋结构（三链ＤＮＡ）。已在体外及体内证实了在靶基因内形成的局部三链ＤＮＡ可抑制其转录,这给肿瘤和病毒感染性疾病的治疗提示了新的方向,人们称之为反基因策略。然而,三链ＤＮＡ的稳定性不够理想和靶序列的选择范围较窄等问题的存在,在一定程度上限制了反基因策略的应用。     

寡核苷酸的定向突变

当蛋白质特异性的修饰涉及一处或几处 DNA 突变时,用合成的寡核苷酸可以实现该蛋白质遗传密码的突变。DNA 的修饰可以包括单个碱基突变、单个或任何多个重组 DNA 的插入或缺失、这个技术的通用性是因为可以体外合成控制突变的寡核苷酸短链。     

氨酰tRNA合成酶的分子网络和功能

氨酰tRNA合成酶是生命进化过程中最早出现的一类蛋白质,氨酰tRNA合成酶帮助氨基酸转移到相应的tRNA上,进而参与蛋白质的合成保证了生命体的严谨性和多样性.随着后基因组时代的到来,氨酰tRNA合成酶的结构和功能成为新的研究热点.结构生物学和生物信息学的研究结果表明,氨酰tRNA合成酶在真核生物体内以多聚复合物的形式行使功能,形成复杂的分子网络体系.最新的实验证据显示,氨酰tRNA合成酶不但是蛋白质合成过程中一类最重要的酶,而且参与了转录、翻译水平的调控、RNA剪接、信号传导和免疫应答等众多生命活动.     

10-23型DNA酶作为鉴定mRNA靶点有效性的新工具

10-23DNA酶是能主动切割mRNA的一类反义寡核苷酸.利用10-23DNA酶的直接切割作用验证mRNA结构靶点的有效性.对筛选的绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)基因mRNA的4个靶点平行设计了4条反义寡核苷酸和4条10-23DNA酶,对照组反义寡核苷酸将最佳靶点——靶点2的反义寡核苷酸突变2个碱基,对照组10-23DNA酶将靶点2的10-23DNA酶结合臂中央突变2个碱基.体外4条10-23DNA酶切割mRNA的结果和相应的4条反义寡核苷酸依赖的RNaseH降解结果完全相似,细胞内4条10-23DNA酶对绿色荧光蛋白的表达抑制作用与相应的4条反义寡核苷酸相似,表明10-23DNA酶显示的最佳作用靶点同样是最佳作用效果的反义寡核苷酸结合靶.10-23DNA酶可以作为评价mRNA结构靶点有效性的新工具.     

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.