Stable inhibition of hepatitis B virus expression and replication by expressed siRNA

RNA interference might be an efficient antiviral therapy for some obstinate illness. Here, we studied the effects of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific 21-nt small interfering RNAs (siRNA) on HBV gene expression and replication in 2.2.15 cells. Seven vectors expressing specific hairpin siRNA driven by the RNA polymerase II-promoter were constructed and transfected into 2.2.15 cells. In the cell strain that can stably express functional siRNA, the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and the HBV e antigen (HBeAg) secretion into culture media was inhibited by 86% and 91%, respectively, as shown by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Immunofluorescence and Western blot indicated similar results. HBV DNA was markedly restrained by 3.28-fold, as assessed by the fluorescent quantitation PCR. Moreover, the HBV mRNA was significantly reduced by 80% based on semiquantitative RT-PCR. In conclusion, the specific siRNA can knock down the HBV gene expression and replication in vitro, and the silence effects have no relationship with interferon response.     

Genetic Diversity and Relationship of Yunnan Native Cattle Breeds and Introduced Beef Cattle Breeds

In this study, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to estimate genetic diversity and relationship in 134 samples belonging to two native cattle breeds from the Yunnan province of China (DeHong cattle and DiQing cattle) and four introduced beef cattle breeds (Brahman, Simmental, MurryGrey, and ShortHorn). Ten primers were used, and a total of 84 bands were scored, of which 63 bands (75.0%) were polymorphic. The genetic distance matrix was obtained by proportions of shared fragment. The results indicate that the Yunnnan DeHong cattle breed is closely related to the Brahman (Bos indicus), and the Yunnan DiQing cattle breed is closely related to the Simmental, ShortHorn, and MurryGrey (Bos taurus) breeds. Our results imply that Bos indicus and Bos taurus were the two main origins of Yunnan native cattle. The results also provide the basic genetic materials for conservation of cattle resources and crossbreeding of beef cattle breeds in South China.     

Plasminogen activator inhibitor 2: expression and role in differentiation of epidermal keratinocyte

Plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 (PAI-2) is an enzyme inhibitor which is involved in cell differentiation, tissue growth and regeneration. In this study, immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used to investigate the expression and role of PAI-2 in differentiation of keratinocytes in vitro. The result showed that in the mono-layer differentiated keratinocytes induced by high calcium concentration, the expression of PAI-2 and its mRNA increased significantly, accompanied by expression increase of the differentiation marker keratin 10; and in the multi-layer differentiated keratinocytes induced by high calcium, PAI-2 expressed strongly mainly in the keratinocytes of middle as well as upper stratified layers, while K10 expressed in the keratinocytes of all stratified layers. Furthermore, the changes of the parameters related to keratinocyte differentiation were detected after inhibition of PAI-2 functions by its antibody, and the data showed that when treated by PAI-2 antibody, involucrin in the keratinocytes envelope expressed increasingly with an altering distribution from part to the whole envelope area. Our results indicate that during differentiation of epidermal keratinocyte, PAI-2 expresses mainly in the more differentiated keratinocytes and may protect the terminal differentiated keratinocytes from prematuration through inhibiting involucrin expression in cornified envelope.     

乙酰唑胺对氧惊厥潜伏期的影响

为探讨脑血流调节与氧惊厥的关系,在复制大鼠氧惊厥模型的基础上,采用行为学方法测定氧惊厥潜伏期,并测定不司部位脑组织氧化与抗氧化指标,采用腹腔注射不同剂量脑血管扩张药物乙酰唑胺,观察脑血管扩张对氧化状态以及氧惊厥潜伏期的影响。观察结果为:(1)与生理盐水组相比,乙酰唑胺200、20 mg/kg体重组腹腔给药后氧惊厥潜伏期(纯氧6 ATA暴露)明显缩短(P<0.01),乙酰唑胺2 mg/kg体重组无明显改变(P>0.05);(2)腹腔给乙酰唑胺(20 mg/kg体重)或生理盐水后,各组各部位脑组织GSH-PX无显著差异(P>0.05),但随暴露时间的延长,其活力呈现先升高后降低的趋势;与对照组相比,乙酰唑胺6min组和生理盐水16min组皮层丙二醛(maleic dialdehyde,MDA)含量均明显增多(P<0.01),乙酰唑胺16 min组海马MDA含量明显增多(P<0.01)。结果表明,乙酰唑胺可缩短氧惊厥潜伏期,加重脑组织氧化损伤。     

Evaluation of envelope vaccines derived from the South African subtype C human immunodeficiency virus type 1 TV1 strain

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype C infections are on the rise in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Therefore, there is a need to develop an HIV vaccine capable of eliciting broadly reactive immune responses against members of this subtype. We show here that modified HIV envelope (env) DNA vaccines derived from the South African subtype C TV1 strain are able to prime for humoral responses in rabbits and rhesus macaques. Priming rabbits with DNA plasmids encoding V2-deleted TV1 gp140 (gp140TV1DeltaV2), followed by boosting with oligomeric protein (o-gp140TV1DeltaV2) in MF59 adjuvant, elicited higher titers of env-binding and autologous neutralizing antibodies than priming with DNA vaccines encoding the full-length TV1 env (gp160) or the intact TV1 gp140. Immunization with V2-deleted subtype B SF162 env and V2-deleted TV1 env together using a multivalent vaccine approach induced high titers of oligomeric env-binding antibodies and autologous neutralizing antibodies against both the subtypes B and C vaccine strains, HIV-1 SF162 and TV1, respectively. Low-level neutralizing activity against the heterologous South African subtype C TV2 strain, as well as a small subset of viruses in a panel of 13 heterologous primary isolates, was observed in some rabbits immunized with the V2-deleted vaccines. Immunization of rhesus macaques with the V2-deleted TV1 DNA prime/protein boost also elicited high titers of env-binding antibodies and moderate titers of autologous TV1 neutralizing antibodies. The pilot-scale production of the various TV1 DNA vaccine constructs and env proteins described here should provide an initial platform upon which to improve the immunogenicity of these subtype C HIV envelope vaccines.     

Preparation and Characterization of a Truncated Caricain Lacking 41 Residues from the N-terminal

We purified an 18.8 kD protease from caricain solution. This protease was derived from caricain. It does not have the first 41 residues of the N-terminal sequence of caricain, and its N-terminal residue is Thr. Also, one of the disulfide bonds of caricain (cys²²–cys⁶³) was opened during the formation of the protease. We named this 18.8 kD protease caricain II. Caricain II has a wide pH range, and it is more sensitive to temperature changes than caricain. The proteolytic activity of caricain II is twice as much as that of caricain using casein as a substrate. However, caricain II has a low hydrolytic activity with N-benzoyl-l-arginine ethyl ester (BAEE) that is one of the special substrates of caricain. Our results indicate that caricain II is remarkably different from caricain and it can provide an improvement over caricain on the proteolytic activity.     

绘画昆虫图的点滴经验

本文是作者进行钢笔绘画昆虫全形图的工作体会,着重介绍工具设备、绘图过程及其艺术表现形式,提供有关同志参考。 一、工具及设备 常用工具,除铅笔、小钢笔尖、橡皮、九宫格外,尚有铁笔(刻蜡纸用的铁笔)、三角形刀片(刮脸刀片折断成三角形体,用以修改图形及线条并可刮制图的暗面虫体上的体毛)。 绘图设备有: 标本架——插放标本,用高梁秆或软木板制作(图1:a),或用橡皮泥捏成丁字型体固定在玻璃片上(图1:b)。