西方马脑炎核酸疫苗表达载体构建及免疫原性研究

为构建西方马脑炎病毒(western equine encephalomyelitis virus,WEEV)结构基因C-E3-E2-6k-E1重组真核表达载体,并研究其作为核酸疫苗的免疫原性.采用PCR方法扩增目的基因,酶切之后连接到pcDNA3.1上构建真核表达载体pcDNA3.1-C-E,用酶切和测序分析方法鉴定正确后,重组质粒被转染到293T细胞,经电镜检测和间接免疫荧光方法证明基因可以表达后,用该重组质粒免疫小鼠,免疫后检测实验组小鼠外周血中CD4+T细胞/CD8+T细胞比例和血清中细胞因子IL-2、IL-4及IFN-γ浓度,以上实验组各项免疫指标与对照组相比差异均显著(P＜ 0.05);ELISA方法检测实验组小鼠血清中WEEV的IgG抗体效价是1∶16.研究结果表明重组质粒pcDNA3.1-C-E可在细胞中获得瞬时表达,并且重组质粒作为核酸疫苗能够刺激小鼠产生免疫反应,具有较强免疫原性,为今后WEEV核酸疫苗研制奠定了良好基础.     

Enhancement of anti-tumor CD8 immunity by IgG1-mediated targeting of Fc receptors

Dendritic cells (DCs) function as professional antigen presenting cells and are critical for linking innate immune responses to the induction of adaptive immunity. Many current cancer DC vaccine strategies rely on differentiating DCs, feeding them tumor antigens ex vivo, and infusing them into patients. Importantly, this strategy relies on prior knowledge of suitable “tumor-specific” antigens to prime an effective anti-tumor response. DCs express a variety of receptors specific for the Fc region of immunoglobulins, and antigen uptake via Fc receptors is highly efficient and facilitates antigen presentation to T cells. Therefore, we hypothesized that expression of the mouse IgG1 Fc region on the surface of tumors would enhance tumor cell uptake by DCs and other myeloid cells and promote the induction of anti-tumor T cell responses. To test this, we engineered a murine lymphoma cell line expressing surface IgG1 Fc and discovered that such tumor cells were taken up rapidly by DCs, leading to enhanced cross-presentation of tumor-derived antigen to CD8+ T cells. IgG1-Fc tumors failed to grow in vivo and prophylactic vaccination of mice with IgG1-Fc tumors resulted in rejection of unmanipulated tumor cells. Furthermore, IgG1-Fc tumor cells were able to slow the growth of an unmanipulated primary tumor when used as a therapeutic tumor vaccine. Our data demonstrate that engagement of Fc receptors by tumors expressing the Fc region of IgG1 is a viable strategy to induce efficient and protective anti-tumor CD8+ T cell responses without prior knowledge of tumor-specific antigens.     

识“微”见远，立德树人——微生物学核心课程建设

微生物学作为生物学专业的基础课,在构建学生知识体系、课堂价值观引领方面具有重要作用。为实现"金课"建设目标,微生物学理论课在建设过程中,秉承着夯实基础、注重前沿的理念,在课程内容设计上注重不同课程的衔接和过渡,在教学方法上通过开展特色专题讲座、建设精品教材、应用"对分易"平台、举办"我是主讲人"等活动,以识"微"见远的理念,提升教学质量,延伸教学效果。与此同时,深刻认识到对人才培养而言,既要育智,更要育人。因此在教学中注重结合专业内容,激发学生的社会责任感和使命感;以榜样力量给予学生学习的目标与指引,立德树人,进而实现课程全方位育人的目标。     

Novel nucleic acid detection strategies based on CRISPR-Cas systems: From construction to application

Beyond their widespread application as genome-editing and regulatory tools, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated (Cas) systems also play a critical role in nucleic acid detection due to their high sensitivity and specificity. Recently developed Cas family effectors have opened the door to the development of new strategies for detecting different types of nucleic acids for a variety of purposes. Precise and efficient nucleic acid detection using CRISPR-Cas systems has the potential to advance both basic and applied biological research. In this review, we summarize the CRISPR-Cas systems used for the recognition and detection of specific nucleic acids for different purposes, including the detection of genomic DNA, nongenomic DNA, RNA, and pathogenic microbe genomes. Current challenges and further applications of CRISPR-based detection methods will be discussed according to the most recent developments.     

Cloning Vectors Based on Cryptic Plasmids Isolated from Lactic Acid Bacteria:Their Characteristics and Potential Applications in Biotechnology

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are Gram positive bacteria, widely distributed in nature, and industrially important as they are used in a variety of industrial food fermentations. The use of genetic engineering techniques is an effective means of enhancing the industrial applicability of LAB. However, when using genetic engineering technology, safety becomes an essential factor for the application of improved LAB to the food industry. Cloning and expression systems should be derived preferably from LAB cryptic plasmids that generally encode genes for which functions can be proposed, but no phenotypes can be observed. However, some plasmid-encoded functions have been discovered in cryptic plasmids originating from Lactobacillus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Pediococcus spp. and can be used as selective marker systems in vector construction. This article presents information concerning LAB cryptic plasmids, and their structures, functions, and applications. A total of 134 cryptic plasmids collated are discussed.     

Studying the collective motions of the adenosine A2A receptor as a result of ligand binding using principal component analysis

Abstract

Adenosine receptors (ARs) belong to family A of GPCRs that are involved in many diseases, including cerebral and cardiac ischemic diseases, immune and inflammatory disorders, etc. Thus, they represent important therapeutic targets to treat these conditions. Computational techniques such as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations permit researchers to obtain structural information about these proteins, and principal component analysis (PCA) allows for the identification of collective motions. There are available structures for the active form (3QAK) and the inactive form (3EML) of A2AR which permit us to gain insight about their activation/inactivation mechanism. In this work, we have proposed an inverse strategy using MD simulations where the active form was coupled to the antagonist caffeine and the inactive form was coupled to adenosine agonist. Moreover, we have included four reported thermostabilizing mutations in the inactive form to study A2AR structural differences under different conditions. Some observations stand out from the PCA studies. For instance, the apo structures showed remarkable similarities, and the principal components (PCs) were rearranged in a ligand-dependent manner. Additionally, the active conformation was less stable compared to the inactive one. Some PCs inverted their direction in the presence of a ligand, and comparison of the PCs between 3EML and 3EML_ADN showed that adenosine induced major changes in the structure of A2AR. Rearrangement of PCs precedes and drives conformational changes that occur after ligand binding. Knowledge about these conformational changes provides important insights about the activity of A2AR.     

Dry land drowning or rip current survival? Haitians without status in the Bahamas

Recent scholarship contends that collective action emerges when human rights are violated. This article investigates why Haitians without status in the Bahamas have yet to mobilize collectively for basic rights and protections, despite discrimination and exploitation. The article examines two analogies to explain their immobilization. The analogy of dry land drowning utilizes Goffman's Stigma (1963) framework to describe how social prejudice hinders the ability of Haitians without status to act, while the analogy of rip current survival explains how institutional drawbacks pull Haitians without status away from movement activity through a political process analysis. The article contends that both interpretations are inadequate when taken alone and provides suggestions for future research into Bahamian-Haitian relations.     

Conflict and contestation in the cross-border community: hometown associations reassessed

Drawing on a broad variety of field research projects among Salvadoran immigrant hometown associations in Los Angeles, conducted over a ten-year period, this paper seeks to contribute to the emerging literature on hometown associations by shifting the focus to the political processes underlying associational politics and the characteristics of the organizational field that structures their activities. We argue that conflict, both among migrants in the ‘hostland’ and between migrants in the hostland and stay-behinds in the ‘homeland’, is an inherent aspect of hometown association activities and their efforts to create sociability ‘here’ and development ‘there’. We demonstrate that the hometowners abroad have difficulty deciding what they share in common; those who do engage in organized efforts to span here and there represent a select few. Moreover, the issue of how the migrants and their associations relate to the people and institutions left behind is often a dilemma, resolved in any number of ways, not all of which render satisfaction at either ends of the chain.