表达β-半乳糖苷酶的gal B16肿瘤模型的建立及其在肿瘤DNA疫苗研究中的应用

本文工作的目的是建立以β-半乳糖苷酶为标志性抗原的小鼠黑色素瘤模型,并进行肿瘤免疫的研究.我们首先在pcDNA3质粒中引入一个β-半乳糖苷酶编码基因从而建立转染质粒p3gal.p3gal转染小鼠黑色素瘤细胞B16后,再通过G418筛选及X-Gal细胞染色得到表达β-半乳糖苷酶的galB16细胞株.接着用该细胞株成功地在C57小鼠上建立了表达β-半乳糖苷酶的galB16肿瘤模型.并在此模型上观察了β-半乳糖苷酶编码基因作为DNA疫苗抑制galB16肿瘤生长的作用.     

β-半乳糖苷酶基因在猕猴桃果实成熟过程的表达

从成熟中华猕猴桃果实中克隆到了一个 β 半乳糖苷酶基因cDNA片段 ,其长度为 747bp ,有一由 2 49个氨基酸组成的开放阅读框架 ,它与苹果、芦笋、绿花椰菜、番茄中 β 半乳糖苷酶基因cDNA相应区段的核苷酸同源性为 6 7.3 %～ 70 .3 %,氨基酸同源性为6 9.1%～ 72 .7%。用该片段为探针进行Northern分析表明 ,果实采收时 ,β 半乳糖苷酶mRNA水平最高 ,随后呈下降变化 ,同时 β 半乳糖苷酶基因的表达可为外源乙烯所诱导 ,但在果实乙烯跃变期间 β 半乳糖苷酶基因的表达信号无显著变化。文中对 β 半乳糖苷酶在猕猴桃果实成熟衰老过程的作用进行了讨论     

草莓β-半乳糖苷酶基因FaTβgal的克隆与表达分析

利用SSH和RACE技术,从‘丰香’草莓果实中分离了1个草莓β-半乳糖苷酶(β-Gal)基因,命名为FaTβgal。FaTβgal基因cDNA序列全长2 891bp,ORF区2 448bp,编码815个氨基酸,含有保守序列GGPIILSQIENEY和凝集素结构域。FaTβgal推导氨基酸序列与已报道的3个草莓β-Gal基因Faβgal1(CAC44500)、Faβgal2(CAC44501)、Faβgal3(CAC44502)氨基酸序列有47.1%~48.1%的相似性。与其它物种24个β-Gal基因聚类分析表明,FaTβgal聚在一个独立的分枝上。采用实时荧光定量PCR技术,对FaTβgal基因在果实发育成熟过程中的表达分析表明,该基因在果实中特异表达,随着果实成熟表达量升高,粉红期达到峰值,全红期迅速下降;2个软硬不同的品种表达模式趋于一致。研究认为,FaTβgal基因是β-Gal基因家族的一个新基因,该基因可能在果实成熟软化过程中发挥作用。     

植物β-半乳糖苷酶

β-半乳糖苷酶是一个与细胞壁降解相关的酶,广泛分布于植物组织中,参与一系列的生理生化过程,如植物的花粉发育、果实成熟及生长过程中多糖的裂解。目前,已从多种植物中分离到β-半乳糖苷酶基因。β-半乳糖苷酶基因属于多基因家族,随着研究的深入,其不同水平的转录本在不同植物的不同组织中被发现。但目前β-半乳糖苷酶在植物发育中确切的作用机制尚不明确。现介绍目前这一领域内细胞与分子生物学方面的研究进展,并结合所在课题组的研究结果进行相关探讨,为进一步研究β-半乳糖苷酶在植物中的作用机制提供新的线索。     

植物β-半乳糖苷酶

β-半乳糖苷酶是一个与细胞壁降解相关的酶,广泛分布于植物组织中,参与一系列的生理生化过程,如植物的花粉发育、果实成熟及生长过程中多糖的裂解。目前,已从多种植物中分离到β-半乳糖苷酶基因。β-半乳糖苷酶基因属于多基因家族,随着研究的深入,其不同水平的转录本在不同植物的不同组织中被发现。但目前β-半乳糖苷酶在植物发育中确切的作用机制尚不明确。现介绍目前这一领域内细胞与分子生物学方面的研究进展,并结合所在课题组的研究结果进行相关探讨,为进一步研究β-半乳糖苷酶在植物中的作用机制提供新的线索。     

β-半乳糖苷酶的研究进展

对β半乳糖苷酶的性质及作用机理作概述,同时对利用生物技术进行β半乳糖苷酶基因克隆和表达的研究概况进行了简要介绍。     

β-半乳糖苷酶酶学性质及其在低聚半乳糖合成中的应用

研究乳酸克鲁维酵母所产β-半乳糖苷酶的酶学性质及低聚半乳糖(galactooligosaccharides,GOS)的酶法合成条件。利用高效液相色谱法进行检测,以GOS(聚合度n3)生成量为指标,考察温度、pH、金属离子种类和浓度对酶活性的影响,以及K+存在时,底物浓度、反应时间、加酶量对乳糖转化率及GOS生成浓度的影响。结果表明:一价离子对β-半乳糖苷酶转糖苷活性具有促进作用,其中K+、NH+4对水解活性同样起促进作用,而Na+起抑制作用;制备低聚半乳糖的最佳工艺条件为37℃、pH8.0、K+0.08mol/L、初始乳糖质量浓度500g/L、反应时间5h、加酶量10μL/g乳糖,此条件下低聚半乳糖的生成质量浓度达到94.74g/L。     

嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌β-半乳糖苷酶合成低聚半乳糖动力学模型

根据反应机理和产物的化学结构,建立了嗜热脂肪芽孢来源的β-半乳糖苷酶催化乳糖水解和转半乳糖苷反应偶合的动力学模型,模型中包含了低聚三糖和低聚四糖的生成。通过优化计算,估算反应动力学参数,结果表明该模型能较好地与实验结果相吻合。     

蓖麻β-半乳糖苷酶的纯化及其基本性质

蓖麻籽黄化苗中存在高活性β-半乳糖苷酶。经硫酸铵分级分离、DEAE-纤维素离子交換层析、Sephadex G-100、CM-Sephadex和DEAE-Sephadex层析纯化。活性收率为6.4％,纯化倍数达107倍。纯化了的酶经聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳显示单一蛋白带,SDS-PAGE显示两条蛋白带,其相应分子量分别为3.25×10~4和2.94×10~4。用Sephadex G-200分子筛层析法测得分子量为6.7×10~4。综合上述结果推测该酶是由两个不同的亚基构成。以邻硝基苯酚-β-半乳糖苷为底物测得该酶的表观Km为5.9×10~(-3)mol/L。最适pH和最适温度分别为4.5和50℃。酸碱稳定区域在pH4.6—7.5之间。不同浓度缓冲液以及不同种类缓冲液、不同金属离子对酶活性影响均进行了讨论。     

阴道乳杆菌耐热β-半乳糖苷酶的鉴定

利用改良的MRS培养基,从鸡粪样本中分离到多株产β-半乳糖苷酶的乳酸菌菌株。酶学性质分析发现,菌株1-1产生的β-半乳糖苷酶在37℃~60℃相对稳定,37℃酶活力达到183.9NLU/g菌体干重。进一步分析16S rRNA基因序列,确定菌株1-1为阴道乳杆菌(Lactobacillus vaginalis)。扩增分析β-半乳糖苷酶编码基因lacL和lacM,结果发现LacL亚基有642个氨基酸,LacM亚基有321个氨基酸,与罗伊氏乳杆菌MM2-3相应蛋白的相似性分别为86%和84%。     

Differential immunogenicity and protective efficacy of DNA vaccines expressing proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a mouse model

BALB/c mice were vaccinated three times (2-week intervals) with plasmid DNA separately encoding antigen Ag85B, ESAT-6 or Ag85A from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The protective efficacy of these DNA vaccines against intravenous M. tuberculosis H37Rv challenge infection was measured by counting bacterial loads in spleen and lung and recording changes in lung pathology. The splenocyte proliferative response to the corresponding antigens and antigen-specific interferon (IFN)-γ secreted by splenocytes of the vaccinated mice were also detected. We found a clear hierarchy of protective efficacies among the three DNA vaccines tested in this study. Plasmid DNA encoding Ag85A provided the strongest protection and showed the least change in lung pathology, followed by plasmid DNAs encoding Ag85B and ESAT-6. However, DNA-85B reduced comparative bacterial load in lung tissue, as did DNA-85A. Compared to the control group, protective efficacies conferred by different DNA vaccines were consistent with the lymphoproliferative responses to the corresponding antigens as well as the secretions of antigen-specific IFN-γ. Our study demonstrates that both Ag85A and Ag85B are the most promising of the candidate antigens tested for future TB vaccine development.     

DNA and adenovirus tumor vaccine expressing truncated survivin generates specific immune responses and anti-tumor effects in a murine melanoma model

Survivin is overexpressed in major types of cancer and is considered an ideal "universal" tumor-associated antigen that can be targeted by immunotherapeutic vaccines. However, its anti-apoptosis function raises certain safety concerns. Here, a new truncated human survivin, devoid of the anti-apoptosis function, was generated as a candidate tumor vaccine. Interleukin 2 (IL-2) has been widely used as an adjuvant for vaccination against various diseases. Meanwhile, the DNA prime and recombinant adenovirus (rAd) boost heterologous immunization strategy has been proven to be highly effective in enhancing immune responses. Therefore, the efficacy of a new cancer vaccine based on a truncated form of survivin, combined with IL-2, DNA prime, and rAd boost, was tested. As prophylaxis, immunization with the DNA vaccine alone resulted in a weak immune response and modest anti-tumor effect, whereas the tumor inhibition ratio with the DNA vaccine administered with IL-2 increased to 89?% and was further increased to nearly 100?% by rAd boosting. Moreover, complete tumor rejection was observed in 5 of 15 mice. Efficacy of the vaccine administered therapeutically was enhanced by nearly 300?% when combined with carboplatin. These results indicated that vaccination with a truncated survivin vaccine using DNA prime-rAd boost combined with IL-2 adjuvant and carboplatin represents an attractive strategy to overcoming immune tolerance to tumors and has potential therapeutic benefits in melanoma cancer.     

Tumor specific phage particles promote tumor regression in a mouse melanoma model

Within cancer research, phage display libraries have been widely used for the identification of tumor targeting peptides and antibodies. Additionally, phages are known to be highly immunogenic; therefore we evaluated the immunotherapeutic potential of tumor specific phages to treat established solid tumors in a mouse model of melanoma. We developed two tumor specific phages, one derived from a peptide phage display library and one Fab expressing phage with known specificity, for the treatment of mice bearing palpable B16-F10 or B16/A2K^b tumors. Therapy in B16-F10 tumor bearing mice with tumor specific phages was superior to treatment with non-tumor specific phages and lead to delayed tumor growth and increased survival. In B16/A2K^b tumor bearing mice, therapy with tumor specific phages resulted in complete tumor regression and long-term survival in 50% of the mice. Histological analysis of tumors undergoing treatment with tumor specific phages revealed that phage administration induced a massive infiltration of polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Furthermore, phages induced secretion of IL-12 (p70) and IFN-γ as measured in mouse splenocyte culture supernatants. These results demonstrate a novel, immunotherapeutic cancer treatment showing that tumor specific phages can promote regression of established tumors by recruitment of inflammatory cells and induction of Th1 cytokines.     

Establishment of a transgenic mouse model specifically expressing human serum amyloid A in adipose tissue

Obesity and obesity co-morbidities are associated with a low grade inflammation and elevated serum levels of acute phase proteins, including serum amyloid A (SAA). In the non-acute phase in humans, adipocytes are major producers of SAA but the function of adipocyte-derived SAA is unknown. To clarify the role of adipocyte-derived SAA, a transgenic mouse model expressing human SAA1 (hSAA) in adipocytes was established. hSAA expression was analysed using real-time PCR analysis. Male animals were challenged with a high fat (HF) diet. Plasma samples were subjected to fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) separation. hSAA, cholesterol and triglyceride content were measured in plasma and in FPLC fractions. Real-time PCR analysis confirmed an adipose tissue-specific hSAA gene expression. Moreover, the hSAA gene expression was not influenced by HF diet. However, hSAA plasma levels in HF fed animals (37.7±4.0 µg/mL, n = 7) were increased compared to those in normal chow fed animals (4.8±0.5 µg/mL, n = 10; p<0.001), and plasma levels in the two groups were in the same ranges as in obese and lean human subjects, respectively. In FPLC separated plasma samples, the concentration of hSAA peaked in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) containing fractions. In addition, cholesterol distribution over the different lipoprotein subfractions as assessed by FPLC analysis was similar within the two experimental groups. The established transgenic mouse model demonstrates that adipose tissue produced hSAA enters the circulation, resulting in elevated plasma levels of hSAA. This new model will enable further studies of metabolic effects of adipose tissue-derived SAA.     

DNA分析技术及其在植物研究中的应用

从DNA/DNA杂交、RFLP分析、DNA的限制酶图谱和核苷酸序列分析、PCR技术、DNA指纹技术、RAPD分析等六个方面详细描述DNA分析技术在植物学研究中的应用 ,并讨论了DNA分析技术与植物系统学的关系。     

Immunogenicity and tumor protective activity of B16 melanoma vaccines

The immunogenicity and tumor-protective activity of different vaccines were examined and compared with murine B16 melanoma. All vaccines were prepared from material shed into culture medium by B16 melanoma cells. Vaccine I was generated by concentrating the shed material. Vaccine II was partially purified by precipitating the shed material with 50% ammonium sulfate followed by sephadex G-200 column chromatography. Vaccine III was concentrated shed material that was treated with 0.5% NP-40 and then ultracentrifuged to remove transplantation antigens. Mice were immunized to equal protein concentrations of vaccines weekly for 5 weeks or to control buffer. Antibody, cellular, and tumor-protective immunity to melanoma was measured in all mice 2 weeks following the last immunization. All three vaccine preparations were immunogenic. Vaccine preparation I appeared to be the most immunogenic and the one that most consistently augmented tumor-protective immunity. Augmentation in tumor-protective immunity correlated better with increase in cellular than in humoral immunity to melanoma.     

Proteomic analysis of tumor establishment and growth in the B16-F10 mouse melanoma model

The B16-F10 mouse model of melanoma is a widely used model to study many aspects of cancer biology and therapeutics in a solid tumor. Melanomas aggressively progress within a dynamic microenvironment containing in addition to tumor cells, stroma cells and components such as fibroblasts, immune cells, vascular cells, extracellular matrix (ECM) and extracellular molecules. The goal of this study was to elucidate the processes of tumor progression by identifying differentially expressed proteins in the tumor mass during specific stages of tumor growth. A comparative proteome analysis was performed on B16-F10 derived tumors in C57BL/6 mice at days 3, 5, 7, and 10. Statistical approaches were used to determine quantitative differential protein expression at each tumor time stage. Hierarchical clustering of 44 protein spots (p < 0.01) revealed a progressive change in the tumor mass when all 4 time stages were classified together, but there was a clear switch in expression of these proteins between the day 5 and the day 7 tumors. A trend analysis showed 53 protein spots (p < 0.001) following 6 predominant kinetic paths of expression as the tumor progressed. The protein spots were then identified using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Proteins involved in glycolysis, inflammation, wounding, superoxide metabolism, and chemotaxis increased during tumorigenesis. From day 3 to day 7 VEGF and active cathepsin D were induced 7-fold and 4-fold, respectively. Proteins involved in electron transport, protein folding, blood coagulation, and transport decreased during tumorigenesis. This work illustrates changes in the biology of the B16-F10 tumor mass during tumor progression.     

A rat experimental model for the design of vaccines against tumor associated antigens Tn and Sialyl-Tn

Clones either strongly or barely expressing the Tn and Sialyl-Tn antigens were isolated from a rat colon carcinoma cell line. Expression of the antigens in normal rat tissues was very restricted and vaccination using Ovine Submaxillary Mucin as the immunogen could delay growth of the Sialyl-Tn positive cells, but not of the Sialyl-Tn negative cells in syngeneic rats. The model should be useful for testing new anti-Tn or Sialyl-Tn vaccination protocols.     

Design of immunogenic and effective multi-epitope DNA vaccines for melanoma

Plasmid DNA vaccination is an attractive way to elicit T cell responses against infectious agents and tumor cells. DNA constructs can be designed to contain multiple T cell epitopes to generate a diverse immune response to incorporate numerous antigens and to reduce limitations due to MHC restriction into a single entity. We have prepared cDNA plasmid constructs containing several mouse T cell epitopes connected by either furin-sensitive or furin-resistant linkers and studied the effects of a cationic cell-penetrating sequence from HIV-tat. Significant CD8 T cell responses were obtained with multi-epitope DNA vaccines followed by in vivo electroporation regardless of the type of linker used and whether the construct had the HIV-tat sequence. The magnitude of immune responses was very similar to all CD8 T cell epitopes contained within each vaccine construct, indicating the absence of immunodominance. Incorporating a T helper epitope into the constructs increased the T cell responses. Prophylactic and therapeutic antitumor responses against B16 melanoma were obtained using a construct containing epitopes from melanosomal proteins, indicating that this vaccination was successful in generating responses to self-antigens that potentially may be subjected to immune tolerance. These findings are useful for designing DNA vaccines for a multitude of diseases where T lymphocytes play a protective or therapeutic role.