PPARγ与c/EBPα基因在苏太猪不同组织中的表达水平探究

为探究PPARγ与c/EBPα基因在苏太猪不同组织中的表达与脂肪沉积的关系,本实验以10月龄苏太猪为研究对象,运用实时荧光定量PCR (q RT-PCR)技术检测PPARγ与c/EBPα基因mRNA在苏太猪心、肝、脾、肺、肾、胃、背最长肌和皮下脂肪8个组织中的表达水平。结果表明,PPARγ与c/EBPα基因在苏太猪的8个组织中均有不同程度的表达,其中,PPARγ基因在苏太猪脾脏组织中的表达量最高,皮下脂肪中的表达水平仅次于脾;以背最长肌中PPARγ基因的相对表达量作对比,背最长肌与脾、肺和皮下脂肪的相对表达差异极显著(p<0.01),其余为差异不显著(p>0.05),表达量高低顺序为脾>皮下脂肪>肺>心>胃>肾>肝>背最长肌;c/EBPα基因在苏太猪的皮下脂肪的表达量最高,以背最长肌中c/EBPα基因的相对表达量作对比,在肝、脾、皮下脂肪组织中表达差异极显著(p<0.01),肺的相对表达差异显著(p<0.05),其余组织中差异不显著(p>0.05),表达量的高低顺序为皮下脂肪>肝>脾>肺>肾>心>胃>背最长肌。两基因在各组织中表达趋势趋于一致。试验结果表明PPARγ和c/EBPα基因可能对猪脂肪沉积有重要影响。     

X射线辐照后肝癌细胞HepG2 人宫颈癌基因及其相关基因关系的研究

目的:利用不同剂量X射线对体外培养肝癌细胞HepG2进行照射,研究人宫颈癌基因(HCCR)及其相关基因对于细胞增殖的影响及其可能的分子机制。方法:采用0、1.0、2.0、4.0 Gy的吸收剂量X射线照射细胞,用克隆形成法观察细胞的存活情况;光镜下观察细胞形态变化;同时在辐照24 h后用RT-PCR法检测细胞中HCCR、p53、Bax mRNA的表达情况。结果:1.0、2.0、4.0 Gy吸收剂量时克隆形成率分别为(76.13±3.52)%、(62.22±2.17)%、(25.35±3.10)%,随着辐射剂量的增加细胞存活率显著下降(P0.05)。HCCR mRNA相对表达量分别为0.95±0.04、0.8±0.07、0.45±0.03;p53 mRNA相对表达量分别为1.07±0.22、2.02±0.34、2.90±0.52;Bax mRNA相对表达量分别为1.12±0.11、1.63±0.36、2.48±0.27。较空白对照组,2Gy、4Gy剂量照射组HCCR mRNA相对表达量显著降低(P0.05),而p53、Bax mRNA相对表达量显著增加(P0.05)。结论:X射线照射可下调肝癌细胞HepG2的HCCR-1表达,抑制细胞增殖,作用机制可能与其相关基因p53、Bax表达升高有关。     

转染MIP-lα和B7-1基因增强小鼠的抗淋巴瘤效应

目的观察转染趋化因子MIP-lα和共刺激分子B7-1基因增强小鼠抗淋巴瘤的效应。方法将MIP-1α和B7-1基因慢病毒重组载体转染小鼠EL-4淋巴瘤细胞,应用RT-PCR检测MIP-1et和B7-l基因mRNA表达,Westernblot法检测MIP-lα和B7-1蛋白表达;转基因EL-4细胞注入小鼠右腋皮下,观察成瘤情况;灭活的转基因EL_4细胞注入成瘤小鼠体内,观察其增强小鼠抗淋巴瘤效应。结果RT．PCR检测发现EL-4／MIP-lα＋B7—1细胞内有MIP-1α及B7—1mRNA表达,Westernblot显示MIP-1α及B7-1蛋白表达;MIP-lα组、B7-1组较对照组成瘤时间延长,成瘤率降低,肿瘤平均体积较小,而联合组成瘤性消失;MIP-1俚和B7-1治疗组的肿瘤平均体积、重量及肿瘤器官转移率明显小于对照组（P〈0．05）,而联合组的肿瘤平均体积及重量明显小于MIP-lα和B7-1组（P〈0．05）,而且联合组小鼠平均生存期,均较单基因组、对照组明显延长（P〈0．05）。结论转染MIP-1d和B7-1基因能够明显增强小鼠机体抗淋巴瘤效应,明显延长荷瘤小鼠的平均生存期,为淋巴瘤的基因治疗提供了新的思路。     

猪Mx1和牛Mx1蛋白在PK-15细胞中的表达及其对伪狂犬病病毒的抑制

目的:研究猪Mx1和牛Mx1蛋白在PK-15细胞中的表达并检测其是否对伪狂犬病病毒(PRV)具有抑制作用。方法:从IBRS-2细胞和MDBK细胞中分别调取猪Mx1和牛Mx1基因,并克隆到pc DNA3.1/myc-His(-)B,构建得到真核重组表达质粒,以脂质体转染的方法将其分别导入到PK-15细胞,从mRNA水平和蛋白质水平鉴定重组质粒在细胞内的表达情况,然后用细胞毒性试剂盒检测这两种蛋白是否对PK-15细胞具有毒性。之后,通过荧光定量PCR检测猪Mx1和牛Mx1在攻毒后不同时间、不同攻毒剂量的条件下对PRV的抑制情况,并观察100TCID50病毒攻击细胞72h后的病变程度。结果:成功克隆了猪Mx1和牛Mx1基因,经mRNA水平和蛋白质水平证实,两种重组质粒在PK-15细胞内能够正常表达。从荧光定量PCR和细胞病变的角度来看,细胞内表达的Mx1蛋白对PRV具有显著性的抑制(P0.001)。结论:猪Mx1和牛Mx1基因在PK-15细胞中表达的Mx1蛋白能够抑制PRV在胞内的复制。     

PSGL-1基因敲除小鼠血中MIP-1γ和TNF-α的表达

目的 研究PSGL-1 缺失对遗传基因工程小鼠外周血血常规的影响,并检测外周血中炎症因子IGFBP-6、TNF-α和MIP-1γmRNA 表达水平.方法 用血常规检测方法检测正常C57/BL/6 小鼠和PSGL-1 基因缺失的基因工程小鼠（PSGL-1 -/-小鼠）的外周血中血常规的差异;其次,提取两种鼠的血液的mRNA,逆转录为cDNA,采用real-time PCR 方法,检测C57 小鼠与PSGL-1 -/-小鼠外周血中炎症因子TNF-α和MIP-1γmRNA 的差异.结果 与对照组C57 小鼠相比,PSGL-1 -/-基因工程小鼠在12 周龄时外周血中中性粒细胞（倡P ＜0.05）、淋巴细胞（倡倡P ＜0.01）和白细胞细胞（倡倡倡P ＜0.001）总数显著增加炎症因子TNF-α以及MIP-1γ表达增加（P ＜0.05）.结论 PSGL-1 的缺失改变了小鼠细胞因子并影响了外周血的血细胞组成,MIP-1γ和TNF-α炎症因子上调,有可能影响了小鼠的免疫功能.     

猪圆环病毒2型通过外泌体miR-125a-5p靶向Bcl-2诱导淋巴细胞凋亡

为研究miR-125a-5p在猪圆环病毒2型(porcine circovirus type 2,PCV2)诱导淋巴细胞凋亡中的作用及其作用机制,以PCV2感染PK-15细胞外泌体孵育的淋巴细胞为研究对象,采用流式细胞术、蛋白质免疫印迹试验(Western blotting)和实时荧光定量PCR,检测淋巴细胞凋亡率及凋亡相关miRNA表达;合成miR-125a-5p模拟物和抑制物转染PK-15细胞,检测miR-125a-5p过表达或抑制表达后细胞凋亡率;采用生物信息学方法预测miR-125a-5p的靶基因,双荧光素酶报告基因检测miR-125a-5p对靶基因的调控;Western blotting检测外泌体孵育淋巴细胞的线粒体凋亡信号通路相关蛋白Bcl-2、Bax、细胞色素C和caspase-3的表达。结果显示,感染PCV2的PK-15细胞分泌的外泌体极显著提高淋巴细胞凋亡率,在一定浓度范围内呈剂量依赖性;与PCV2诱导细胞凋亡相关的miRNA中,miR-125a-5p表达量极显著升高,miR-125a-5p模拟物转染细胞后极显著提高细胞凋亡率;利用TargetScan预测发现,miR-125a-5p与Bcl-2 3''UTR区有结合位点,miR-125a-5p模拟物极显著抑制pmir-Bcl-2 3''UTR-WT荧光素酶活性,对pmir-Bcl-2 3''UTR-MuT的荧光素酶活性无明显改变;外泌体孵育的淋巴细胞Bcl-2表达量显著降低,Bax、细胞色素C的释放和caspase-3表达量显著升高,Bcl-2/Bax的比值极显著降低。这表明,PCV2通过外泌体诱导淋巴细胞上调miR-125a-5p的表达,进而抑制Bcl-2 mRNA和蛋白表达,激活淋巴细胞线粒体凋亡通路诱导细胞凋亡。     

MOI对PK-15细胞感染PPV后细胞因子mRNA转录时相的影响

【目的】更好地了解感染复数(MOI)对猪细小病毒(PPV)感染PK-15细胞后引起细胞因子的反应,探讨宿主-病毒之间的作用关系。【方法】运用荧光定量PCR技术,测定和分析3种感染复数对PPV感染PK-15细胞引起的病毒DNA量的变化和细胞因子IFN-、IRF-3、TNF-a和IL-18分泌水平。【结果】PPV感染PK-15细胞12 h病毒开始大量迅速增殖,感染48 h且MOI为1.0时达到最高峰;PPV感染后可引起PK-15细胞中IFN-、IRF-3、TNF-a和IL-18的表达量显著增加,其中IRF-3基因在感染后1 h且MOI为10.0时表达量达到967倍。【结论】细胞因子的分泌水平显著依赖感染复数和感染时间的交互作用。     

含半胱氨酸的天冬氨酸蛋白水解酶(caspase-1)对猪伪狂犬病毒复制的影响

猪伪狂犬病是伪狂犬病毒(Pseudorabies virus,PRV)感染引起的一种烈性接触性传染病,其感染宿主会触发机体先天免疫应答,引起I型干扰素(Type I interferon,IFN-1)和炎性细胞因子等细胞因子的产生,为研究可诱导产生炎性细胞因子的含半胱氨酸的天冬氨酸蛋白水解酶(Cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1,caspase-1)的基因敲除对PRV复制的影响,本试验利用近年来发展迅速的一项规律性短重复回文序列簇/Cas9核酸酶(Clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat/CRISPR associated system 9,CRISPR/Cas9)基因定点修饰技术构建猪肾上皮细胞(Porcine kidney epithelial cells,PK15)caspase-1基因稳定敲除细胞系,并通过T7核酸酶检测敲除效率;细胞毒性(Cell counting kit-8,CCK-8)试剂盒检测PK15敲除caspase-1增殖影响;采用流式细胞术检测PRV-GFP感染PK15以及PK15-caspase-1^-/-的增殖差异;实时荧光定量PCR(Real-time quantitative PCR,RT-PCR)检测PRV-gB、TK及白细胞介素1β(Interleukin-1β,IL-1β)、IFN-β、干扰素刺激基因(Interferon-stimulated genes 20,ISG20)mRNA的表达;Western Blot检测PRV-gB蛋白表达;滴度测定检测子代病毒滴度。结果表明,2对特异性单链引导RNA(Single guide RNA,sgRNA)均能对caspase-1进行基因编辑,但经T7核酸酶酶切进行基因编辑效率分析结果表明sgRNA2的基因编辑效率较高;CCK-8试剂盒检测细胞活力结果表明caspase-1基因敲除对PK15以及PK15-caspase-1^-/-细胞活力无影响(P>0.05);流式细胞仪检测结果表明PRV-GFP在PK15-caspase-1^-/-中的增殖显著低于PK15细胞(P<0.05);定量RT-PCR结果表明PRV-gB、TK基因在PK15-caspase-1^-/-的mRNA表达显著低于PK15细胞(gB:P<0.05,TK:P<0.05),而IFN-β、ISG20基因在PK15-caspase-1^-/-的mRNA表达显著高于PK15细胞(gB:P<0.05,TK:P<0.05);Western Blot结果表明,PRV的gB蛋白在PK15-caspase-1^-/-的表达显著低于PK15细胞(P<0.05);滴度测定结果表明,敲除caspase-1能够抑制PRV子代病毒的增殖。以上结果均表明caspase-1基因敲除可抑制PRV在PK15细胞中复制。     

CNTFRα在ALV自然重组FJ15HT0株感染宿主过程中的表达

本团队之前分离到一株天然重组禽白血病病毒(ALV)毒株FJ15HT0,经RNA-seq分析发现该毒株感染会引起鸡胸腺组织中睫状神经营养因子受体α(CNTFRα)基因表达量上调.为进一步探究CNTFRα在ALVFJ15HT0株感染过程中的表达及作用,本研究在构建ALV先天感染模型的基础上,通过RT-qPCR和免疫组织化学染色(IHC)探究不同时间点CNTFRα在感染鸡肝脏和胸腺中的表达量变化;以RT-qPCR和Western Blot检验病毒的复制水平对DF-1细胞CNTFRα在转录水平和蛋白表达水平的影响.结果表明,感染组与空白组相比,鸡胚出壳率明显降低,鸡只体重极显著降低(P＜0.01);RT-qPCR和IHC结果显示同一时间点感染组胸腺和肝脏组织中CNTFRα转录水平及蛋白表达量均极显著高于空白组(PP＜0.01),胸腺组织中CNTFRα基因相对表达量与病毒gp85基因相对表达量呈极显著正相关关系(r=0.633,P＜0.01);14d、21d感染组鸡只血清C.NTF含量显著高于空白组(P＜0.05).RT-qPCR和Western Blot检测结果表明84 h感染组DF-1细胞CNTFRα表达量随病毒复制水平增加而显著提高(P＜0.05),CNTFRα基因与病毒gp85基因相对表达量呈极显著正相关关系(r=0.73,P＜0.01),CNTFRα蛋白与p27蛋白的表达量呈极显著正相关关系(r=0.973,P＜0.01).研究表明CNTFRα可能参与ALV FJ15HT0株致病过程.     

ASPP2增强结肠癌HCT116细胞对奥沙利铂的化疗敏感性

为研究ASPP2对奥沙利铂诱导的结肠癌细胞系HCT116 p53+/+(野生型)凋亡及周期的影响.利用ASPP2（rAd-ASPP2）及p53腺病毒（rAd-p53）感染HCT116 p53+/+细胞,经奥沙利铂50 μmol/L诱导细胞凋亡及周期改变.Western印迹检测ASPP2及p53的表达水平;MTT法检测ASPP2腺病毒对奥沙利铂诱导的HCT116细胞活性的影响;Calcein/PI吸收试验检测细胞凋亡情况;流式细胞术分析细胞周期分布. 结果显示,ASPP2、p53共同过表达,或者ASPP2单独过表达均能增强奥沙利铂诱导的HCT116 p53+/+细胞增殖抑制,以及S期抑制并伴有细胞凋亡水平的升高;而无奥沙利铂诱导时,ASPP2对HCT116 p53+/+细胞的活性、细胞周期及细胞凋亡水平的影响无统计学意义. 上述结果表明,ASPP2能够增强奥沙利铂诱导HCT116 p53+/+细胞的增殖抑制、细胞周期抑制和细胞凋亡.     

TGEV nucleocapsid protein induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis through activation of p53 signaling

Our previous studies showed that TGEV infection could induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis via activation of p53 signaling in cultured host cells. However, it is unclear which viral gene causes these effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of TGEV nucleocapsid (N) protein on PK-15 cells. We found that TGEV N protein suppressed cell proliferation by causing cell cycle arrest at the S and G2/M phases and apoptosis. Characterization of various cellular proteins that are involved in regulating cell cycle progression demonstrated that the expression of N gene resulted in an accumulation of p53 and p21, which suppressed cyclin B1, cdc2 and cdk2 expression. Moreover, the expression of TGEV N gene promoted translocation of Bax to mitochondria, which in turn caused the release of cytochrome c, followed by activation of caspase-3, resulting in cell apoptosis in the transfected PK-15 cells following cell cycle arrest. Further studies showed that p53 inhibitor attenuated TGEV N protein induced cell cycle arrest at S and G2/M phases and apoptosis through reversing the expression changes of cdc2, cdk2 and cyclin B1 and the translocation changes of Bax and cytochrome c induced by TGEV N protein. Taken together, these results demonstrated that TGEV N protein might play an important role in TGEV infection-induced p53 activation and cell cycle arrest at the S and G2/M phases and apoptosis occurrence.     

Downregulation of immune response by the human cytokines Interleukin-32α and β in cell-mediated rejection

Xenotransplantation of porcine organs has the potential to help overcome the severe shortage of human tissues and organs available for human transplantation. However, numerous hurdles such as immune-mediated xenograft rejection remain before clinical xenotransplantation.In this study, we elucidated the role of human TNF-α-inducing factor, Interleukin-32 (IL-32), in porcine kidney cells (PK-15) during cell-mediated rejection by examining host cell responses. CD8⁺ and CD4⁺ T cells numbers were reduced in the lymph nodes of PK-15/IL-32β injected mice. CD3⁺ Tcells were in mice injected with control cells but PK-15/IL-32α- and PK-15/IL-32β-injected cell numbers were lower in lymphnodes than un transfected controls. In Mixed lymphocyte reaction cultures, the rates of cell proliferation were increased in both PK-15/IL-32α- and PK-15/IL-32β-injected groups compared to the untransfected control groups. The Stable porcine PK-15 cells expression IL-32α and IL-32β inhibited cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTLs) after cellular xenograft. Our results suggest that human IL-32α and IL-32β regulates on xenograft rejection in cellular xenotransplantation.     

Effect of vitamin D(3) on chemokine expression in pulmonary tuberculosis

1,25 Dihydroxy vitamin D(3) (vitamin D(3)) is an immunomodulator and its deficiency has been associated with susceptibility to tuberculosis. We have studied the immunoregulatory role of vitamin D(3) on various chemokine expression in pulmonary tuberculosis. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from 21 pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients and 24 healthy controls (HCs) were cultured for 48h with culture filtrate antigen (CFA) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with or without vitamin D(3) at a concentration 1×10(-7)M. The relative mRNA expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1, CCL2), macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α, CCL3), macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (MIP-1β, CCL4), and regulated upon-activation, normal T cell-expressed and secreted (RANTES, CCL5) and IFN-γ inducible protein-10 (IP-10, CXCL10) chemokines were estimated from 48h old macrophages using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The culture supernatants were used to estimate the various chemokines including monokine induced by IFN-γ (MIG, CXCL9) levels using cytometric bead array. In HCs, vitamin D(3) significantly suppressed the MCP-1 mRNA expression of CFA stimulated cells (p=0.0027), while no such effect was observed in PTB patients. Vitamin D(3) showed no significant effect on MIP-1α, MIP-1β and RANTES in both the study groups. The CFA induced IP-10 mRNA and protein expression was significantly suppressed by vitamin D(3) in both the study groups (p<0.05). A similar suppressive effect of vitamin D(3) was observed with MIG protein in healthy controls (p=0.0029) and a trend towards a suppression was observed in PTB patients. The suppressive effect of vitamin D(3) is more prominent in CXC chemokines rather than CC chemokines. This suggests that vitamin D(3) may down regulate the recruitment and activation of T-cells through CXC chemokines at the site of infection and may act as a potential anti-inflammatory agent.     

Nocodazole-induced p53-dependent c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation reduces apoptosis in human colon carcinoma HCT116 cells

Microtubule-interfering agents are widely used in cancer chemotherapy, and prognostic results vary significantly from tumor to tumor, depending on the p53 status. In preliminary experiments, we compared the expression and phosphorylation profiles of more than 100 protein kinases and protein phosphatases in human colorectal carcinoma cell line HCT116 between p53+/+ and p53-/- cells in response to short term nocodazole treatment through application of Kinetworks immunoblotting screens. Among the proteins tracked, the regulation of the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)1/2 at Thr-183/Tyr-185 was the major difference between p53+/+ and p53-/- cells. With the loss of the p53 gene, the levels of phosphorylation of Ser-63 of c-Jun and Thr-183/Tyr-185 of JNK1/2 in p53-/- cells did not increase as markedly as in p53+/+ cells in response to a 1-h treatment with nocodazole or other microtubule-disrupting drugs such as vinblastine and colchicine. Similar observations were also made in MCF-7 and A549 tumor cells, which were rendered p53-deficient by E6 oncoprotein expression. However, arsenate-induced JNK activation in p53-/- cells was preserved. Inhibition of p53 expression by its antisense oligonucleotide also attenuated nocodazole-induced JNK activation in p53+/+ cells. Surprisingly, cotransfection of p53+/+ cells with dominant negative mutants of JNK isoforms and treatment of p53+/+ cells with the JNK inhibitor SP600125 actually further enhanced apoptosis in p53+/+ cells by up to 2-fold in response to nocodazole. These findings indicate that inhibition of p53-mediated JNK1/2 activity in certain tumor cells could serve to enhance the apoptosis-inducing actions of cancer chemotherapeutic agents that disrupt mitotic spindle function.     

G-protein-coupled receptor independent, immunomodulatory properties of chemokine CXCL9

Certain chemokines possess anti-angiogenic and antibacterial activity, in addition to their ability to recruit leukocytes. Herein, we demonstrate that CXCL9/MIG induces the expression, by a monocytic cell line and peripheral blood mononuclear cells, of a variety of chemokines including CXCL8/IL-8, CCL3/MIP-1α, CCL4/MIP-1β, CCL2/MCP-1 in a pertussis toxin insensitive manner. Similarly, another cationic chemokine CCL20/MIP-3α, but not the non-cationic chemokines CCL2 or CCL3, stimulated monocytic cells to produce substantial amounts of CXCL8 and CCL3. Microarray experiments demonstrated that CXCL9, but not CCL2, induced the expression of hundreds of genes, many of which have known or proposed immunomodulatory functions. Induction of CXCL8 required the p38 and ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinases but not NFκB, JAK-STAT or JNK signaling pathways. These results collectively demonstrate that CXCL9 has immunomodulatory functions that are not mediated through a G-protein coupled receptor and may possess additional roles in host defenses against infection.     

The design and recombinant protein expression of a consensus porcine interferon: CoPoIFN-α

CoPoIFN-α is a recombinant non-naturally occurring porcine interferon-α (IFN-α). It was designed by scanning 17 porcine IFN-α nonallelic subtypes and assigning the most frequently occurring amino acid in each position. We used a porcine IFN-α (PoIFN-α) derived from domestic pig as a control. Both porcine IFN-α genes were introduced into yeast expression vector PpICZα-A and expressed in Pichia pastoris. The antiviral unit of these two IFN-αs were assayed in MDBK, PK-15 and MARC-145 cells against vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), and their inhibitory abilities on pseudorabies virus (PRV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) replication were also examined, respectively. We found the antiviral activity (units/mg) of CoPoIFN-α was 46.4, 63.6 and 53.5-fold higher than that of PoIFN-α for VSV inhibition in MDBK, PK-15 and MARC-145 cells, 4.8-fold higher for PRV inhibition in PK-15 cells, and 5-fold higher for PRRSV inhibition in MARC-145 cells. Our results also showed that the PRV and PRRSV-specific cytopathic effect (CPE) could be inhibited in the cells pretreated with CoPoIFN-α and PoIFN-α, and the virus titers in the cells pretreated with CoPoIFN-α were lower than those cells pretreated with PoIFN-α by 10-20-fold. The antiproliferative activity of CoPoIFN-α was significantly higher than that of PoIFN-α on a molar basis. The mRNA level of Mx1 and OAS1 genes in PK-15 cells induced by CoPoIFN-α were enhanced about 4.6-fold and 3.2-fold compared to that induced by PoIFN-α. Based on a homology model of CoPoIFN-α and IFNAR2, all of the different residues between native PoIFN-α and CoPoIFN-α were not involved in IFNAR1 binding site, and there is no direct interaction between these residues and IFNAR2, either. We speculate that the higher activity of CoPoIFN-α was likely due to the electrostatic potential introduced by residue Arg156 around the binding site or a structural perturbation caused by these different residues. This may enhance the overall binding affinity of CoPoIIFN-α and the receptors. Thus, CoPoIFN-α may have the potential to be used in therapy of porcine diseases.     

p53-dependent Chk1 phosphorylation is required for maintenance of prolonged G2 Arrest

Targeting checkpoint kinases has been shown to have a potential chemosensitizing effect in cancer treatment. However, inhibitors of such kinases preferentially abrogate the DNA damage-induced G2 checkpoint in p53-/- as opposed to p53+/+ cells. The mechanisms by which p53 (TP53) can prevent abrogation of the G2 checkpoint are unclear. Using normal human diploid p53+/+ and p53-/- fibroblasts as model systems, we have compared the effects of three checkpoint inhibitors, caffeine, staurosporine and UCN-01, on gamma-radiation-induced G2 arrest. The G2 arrest in p53+/+ cells was abrogated by caffeine, but not by staurosporine and UCN-01, whereas the G2 arrest in p53-/- cells was sensitive to all three inhibitors. Chk2 (CHEK1) phosphorylation was maintained in the presence of all three inhibitors in both p53+/+ and p53-/- cells. Chk1 phosphorylation was maintained only in the presence of staurosporine and UCN-01 in p53+/+ cells. In the presence of caffeine Chk1 phosphorylation was inhibited regardless of p53 status. The pathway of Chk1 phosphorylation --> Cdc25A degradation --> inhibition of cyclin B1/Cdk1 activity --> G2 arrest is accordingly resistant to staurosporine and UCN-01 in p53+/+ cells. Moreover, sustained phosphorylation of Chk1 in the presence of staurosporine and UCN-01 is strongly related to phosphorylation of p53. The present study suggests the unique role of Chk1 in preventing abrogation of the G2 checkpoint in p53+/+ cells.     

Kruppel-like factor 4 mediates p53-dependent G1/S cell cycle arrest in response to DNA damage

The tumor suppressor p53 is required for the maintenance of genomic integrity following DNA damage. One mechanism by which p53 functions is to induce a block in the transition between the G(1) and S phase of the cell cycle. Previous studies indicate that the Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) gene is activated following DNA damage and that such activation depends on p53. In addition, enforced expression of KLF4 causes G(1)/S arrest. The present study examines the requirement of KLF4 in mediating the p53-dependent cell cycle arrest process in response to DNA damage. We show that the G(1) population of a colon cancer cell line, HCT116, that is null for the p53 alleles (-/-) was abolished following gamma irradiation compared with cells with wild-type p53 (+/+). Conditional expression of KLF4 in irradiated HCT116 p53-/- cells restored the G(1) cell population to a level similar to that seen in irradiated HCT116 p53+/+ cells. Conversely, treatment of HCT116 p53+/+ cells with small interfering RNA (siRNA) specific for KLF4 significantly reduced the number of cells in the G(1) phase following gamma irradiation compared with the untreated control or those treated with a nonspecific siRNA. In each case the increase or decrease in KLF4 level because of conditional induction or siRNA inhibition, respectively, was accompanied by an increase or decrease in the level of p21(WAF1/CIP1). Results of our study indicate that KLF4 is an essential mediator of p53 in controlling G(1)/S progression of the cell cycle following DNA damage.