基质金属蛋白酶-9 基因单核苷酸多态性与肺结核病的相关性研究

目的:探讨基质金属蛋白酶-9(matrix metalloproteinase-9,MMP-9)基因多态性(single nucleotide polymorphism,SNP)与肺结核的相关性。方法:对符合纳入及排除标准的肺结核病例组224例及健康对照组249例进行血样收集与临床资料采集。采用飞行时间质谱分析方法对MMP-9基因rs17576、rs2236416、rs3787268、rs3918254共4个多态性位点进行基因分型,数据统计分析采用SPSS20.0和Haplo View 4.0软件进行。结果:我们首次发现,在病例及对照组中,rs17576基因型频率分布存在统计学差异(X~2=7.822,P=0.020)。与对照组相比,病例组G等位基因频率显著高于对照组(X~2=7.335,P=0.007,OR=1.463,95%CI=1.110-1.927)。病例组rs17576基因型分布中,GG和AG基因型患者吸烟史显著高于AA基因型患者;GG和AG基因型患者卡介苗接种史显著低于AA基因型患者。连锁不平衡分析发现一个单倍型(rs17576-rs3918254)高度连锁(D'0.7;r~20.8)。在病例组及对照组中,G-C和A-C单倍型频率分布存在显著性差异,病例组中G-C单倍型频率显著高于对照组(P=0.022),对照组中A-C单倍型频率显著高于疾病组(P=0.024)。结论:MMP-9基因rs17576多态性位点可能与肺结核有关,携带有rs17576位点G等位基因的个体更易发生肺结核。携带G-C(rs17576-rs3918254)单倍型的个体更易患肺结核病,携带A-C(rs17576-rs3918254)单倍型的个体相对不易患肺结核病。     

Extra-renal 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1α-hydroxylase in human health and disease

Although ectopic expression of 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃-1α-hydroxylase (1α-OHase) has been recognized for many years, the precise function of this enzyme outside the kidney remains open to debate. Three specific aspects of extra-renal 1α-OHase have attracted most attention: (i) expression and regulation in non-classical tissues during normal physiology; (ii) effects on the immune system and inflammatory disease; (iii) expression and function in tumors. The most well-recognized manifestation of extra-renal 1α-OHase activity remains that found in some patients with granulomatous diseases where locally synthesized 1α,25(OH)₂D₃ has the potential to spill-over into the general circulation. However, immunohistochemistry and mRNA analyses suggest that 1α-OHase is also expressed by a variety of normal human tissues including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, vasculature and placenta. This has promoted the idea that autocrine/paracrine synthesis of 1,25(OH)₂D₃ contributes to normal physiology, particularly in mediating the potent effects of vitamin D on innate (macrophage) and acquired (dendritic cell) immunity. We have assessed the capacity for synthesis of 1,25(OH)₂D₃ in these cells and the functional significance of autocrine responses to 1α-hydroxylase. Data suggest that local synthesis of 1,25(OH)₂D₃ may be a preferred mode of response to antigenic challenge in many tissues.     

Simple and rapid method for detection of nitrate reductase activity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium canettii grown in the Bactec MGIT960 system

Mycobacterium tuberculosis reduces nitrate very strongly as compared to Mycobacterium bovis and M. bovis BCG. Nitrate reductase, in conjunction with niacin accumulation, constitutes one of the major biochemical tests used in clinical microbiology laboratories to differentiate M. tuberculosis from other members of the M. tuberculosis complex, as well as nontuberculous Mycobacteria. Determination of nitrate reductase activity is currently performed using cultures grown on solid media with a slow detection time and the need for large quantities of bacilli, as otherwise the test is not reliable. Hereby, we propose a nitrate reduction test coupled to Bactec MGIT960 system as a simple, rapid and economic method with a total gain of time of about 3 to 4 weeks over the conventional solid medium. In our study, almost all the M. tuberculosis and Mycobacterium canettii strains gave a strongly positive nitrate reductase result within 1 day of positive detection by the MGIT960 system. In contrast, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG and M. africanum strains remained negative even after 14 days of incubation. The possibility to detect nitrate reductase within 1 to 3 days of a positive culture using MGIT960 opens new perspectives with the possibility of confirming M. tuberculosis — starting directly from pathological specimens.     

Structure of translation initiation factor 1 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and inferred binding to the 30S ribosomal subunit

The crystal structure of the free form of IF1 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been determined at 1.47 Å resolution. The structure adopts the expected OB fold and matches the high structural conservation among IF1 orthologues. In order to further explore the function of Mtb-IF1, we built a model of its interaction with the 30S ribosomal subunit based on the crystal structure of the complex from Thermus thermophilus. The model suggests that several functionally important side chain residues undergo large movements while the rest of the protein in complex shows only very limited conformational change as compared to its form in solution.     

脂阿拉伯甘露糖联合38kD蛋白在结核病诊断中的应用

本研究旨在评价脂阿拉伯甘露糖(LAM)联合38kD蛋白的混合抗原在结核病血清学诊断中的应用价值。选取128例活动性结核病患者(活动性肺结核107例,肺外结核21例)、51例潜伏性结核感染者和68例健康对照者的血清,检测抗LAM和38kD混合抗原的IgG抗体(LAM-38kD-IgG)。结果显示,LAM-38kD-IgG检测的总敏感度为46.88%,特异度为98.53%,阳性预测值为98.36%,阴性预测值为49.63%。其中肺结核组敏感度为46.73%,肺外结核组敏感度为47.62%(P0.05);初治组为45.54%,复治组为51.85%(P0.05)。涂片阳性肺结核组敏感度为52.54%,高于涂片阴性组(39.58%),但差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。LAM-38kD-IgG检测在对照组中的特异度为98.53%。其特异度远高于结核菌素试验(TST)的41.46%(P0.01)。LAM-38kD-IgG水平与结核病病情有一定的相关性。结果提示,应用LAM和38kD混合抗原的酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)在诊断活动性结核病方面具有中等敏感度、极高特异度及阳性预测值,不仅可与结核病的其他诊断方法联用以提高诊断的准确性,而且特别适用于细菌学检查阴性结核病和肺外结核病的诊断。     

HLA-DRB1基因多态性与新疆哈萨克族人群结核病易感性的研究

目的:研究HLA-DRB1基因多态性与新疆哈萨克族人群结核病(TB)的相关性。方法:采用病例-对照的研究方法,应用聚合酶链反应-序列特异性引物(PCR-SSP)技术对231例新疆哈萨克族肺结核患者和230例新疆哈萨克族健康对照者的13个HLA-DRB1等位基因进行分型,比较其等位基因频率(GF)并计算其比值比(OR)。结果:与新疆哈萨克族人群对照组相比,新疆哈萨克族人群结核病例组中HLA-DRB1*04显著增高(11.72%比6.75%,p0.05,OR=1.889),HLA-DRB1*10也增高(2.86%比1.09%),但统计学上无显著性差异(Pc0.05)。结论:HLA-DRB1*04可能是新疆哈萨克族人群结核病的易感基因。     

Discovery of the first potent and selective Mycobacterium tuberculosis Zmp1 inhibitor

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis extracellular zinc metalloprotease 1 (Zmp1) has been proposed to play a key role in phagosome maturation and to enhance the survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the host. Consequently, small molecule inhibitors of Zmp1 are of pivotal importance as a tool to better understand the pathogenicity of Zmp1 and as lead candidates for pharmacological intervention. Here we combined in silico structure-based inhibitor design with biochemical studies to discover and characterize the first potent competitive Zmp1 inhibitor showing a K_i of 94 nM and a high selectivity for Zmp1 with respect to human Neprilysin.     

Slow Onset Inhibition of Bacterial ��-Ketoacyl-acyl Carrier Protein Synthases by Thiolactomycin

Thiolactomycin (TLM), a natural product thiolactone antibiotic produced by species of Nocardia and Streptomyces, is an inhibitor of the β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase (KAS) enzymes in the bacterial fatty acid synthase pathway. Using enzyme kinetics and direct binding studies, TLM has been shown to bind preferentially to the acyl-enzyme intermediates of the KASI and KASII enzymes from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Escherichia coli. These studies, which utilized acyl-enzyme mimics in which the active site cysteine was replaced by a glutamine, also revealed that TLM is a slow onset inhibitor of the KASI enzymes KasA and ecFabB but not of the KASII enzymes KasB and ecFabF. The differential affinity of TLM for the acyl-KAS enzymes is proposed to result from structural change involving the movement of helices α5 and α6 that prepare the enzyme to bind malonyl-AcpM or TLM and that is initiated by formation of hydrogen bonds between the acyl-enzyme thioester and the oxyanion hole. The finding that TLM is a slow onset inhibitor of ecFabB supports the proposal that the long residence time of TLM on the ecFabB homologues in Serratia marcescens and Klebsiella pneumonia is an important factor for the in vivo antibacterial activity of TLM against these two organisms despite the fact that the in vitro MIC values are only 100–200 μg/ml. The mechanistic data on the interaction of TLM with KasA will provide an important foundation for the rational development of high affinity KasA inhibitors based on the thiolactone skeleton.     

Identification of the sugars involved in mycobacterial cell aggregation

Abstract Incubation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. smegmatis cells with the sugar components of their surface-exposed glycans demonstrated that d-arabinose, but not α-d-glucose or d-mannose, led to the dispersion of the large clumps formed by the bacilli in stationary liquid cultures. These results confirm the presence of arabinose-containing glycans on the mycobacterial cell surface and demonstrate the implication of selective sugars in cell aggregation, suggesting that the clumping of mycobacterial cells is probably mediated by lectin-carbohydrate interactions.