鱼类病毒性神经坏死病研究进展

综述了鱼类病毒性神经坏死病的病原种类、危害性、防治方法以及神经坏死病毒的结构和理化特性等方面的研究进展。     

STAT6 ASODN对哮喘小鼠脾淋巴细胞影响的实验研究

目的研究STAT6反义寡核苷酸对哮喘小鼠脾淋巴细胞的影响作用。方法实验细胞分组:正常鼠空白组(A组)、正常鼠OVA组(B组)、哮喘空白组(C组)、哮喘OVA组(D组)、哮喘治疗组(E组)。正常设计并人工合成一段互补于小鼠STAT6 mRNA翻译起始区271-290的反义寡核苷酸片段,全链硫代修饰。用卵白蛋白和氢氧化铝复制哮喘模型,用淋巴细胞分离液分离脾淋巴细胞,进行体外培养并导入由阳离子脂质体转染剂Geneshuttle携带的反义寡核苷酸,观察反义寡核苷酸的转染对脾淋巴细胞STAT6蛋白表达水平及细胞培养上清中IL-4分泌水平的影响。免疫细胞化学观察脾淋巴细胞中STAT6蛋白的表达水平,同时采用酶联免疫吸附(ELISA)法测定脾细胞培养上清液中IL-4的浓度。结果D组细胞STAT6蛋白表达明显高于其余各组,均具有显著性差异(P均<0.01),STAT6 ASODN转染后,E组细胞该蛋白的表达量明显下降(P<0.01);D组脾淋巴细胞培养上清中IL-4分泌水平明显高于其余各组,均具有显著性差异(P均<0.01);STAT6 ASODN转染后,E组培养上清中IL-4分泌水平显著低于D组(P<0.01)。结论STAT6 ASODN可特异性抑制哮喘鼠脾淋巴细胞中STAT6蛋白的表达,并可特异性抑制脾淋巴细胞中IL-4的分泌,为反义基因技术治疗哮喘提供了依据。     

Characterization of the specific CD4+ T cell response against the F protein during chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Background

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) Alternate Reading Frame Protein (ARFP or F protein) presents a double-frame shift product of the HCV core gene. We and others have previously reported that the specific antibodies against the F protein could be raised in the sera of HCV chronically infected patients. However, the specific CD4⁺ T cell responses against the F protein during HCV infection and the pathological implications remained unclear. In the current study, we screened the MHC class II-presenting epitopes of the F protein through HLA-transgenic mouse models and eventually validated the specific CD4⁺ T cell responses in HCV chronically infected patients.

Methodology

DNA vaccination in HLA-DR1 and-DP4 transgenic mouse models, proliferation assay to test the F protein specific T cell response, genotyping of Chronic HCV patients and testing the F-peptide stimulated T cell response in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) by in vitro expansion and interferon (IFN)- γ intracellular staining.

Principal Findings

At least three peptides within HCV F protein were identified as HLA-DR or HLA-DP4 presenting epitopes by the proliferation assays in mouse models. Further study with human PBMCs evidenced the specific CD4⁺ T cell responses against HCV F protein as well in patients chronically infected with HCV.

Conclusion

The current study provided the evidence for the first time that HCV F protein could elicit specific CD4⁺ T cell response, which may provide an insight into the immunopathogenesis during HCV chronic infection.     

Neural coding properties based on spike timing and pattern correlation of retinal ganglion cells

Correlation between spike trains or neurons sometimes indicates certain neural coding rules in the visual system. In this paper, the relationship between spike timing correlation and pattern correlation is discussed, and their ability to represent stimulus features is compared to examine their coding strategies not only in individual neurons but also in population. Two kinds of stimuli, natural movies and checkerboard, are used to arouse firing activities in chicken retinal ganglion cells. The spike timing correlation and pattern correlation are calculated by cross-correlation function and Lempel–Ziv distance respectively. According to the correlation values, it is demonstrated that spike trains with similar spike patterns are not necessarily concerted in firing time. Moreover, spike pattern correlation values between individual neurons’ responses reflect the difference of natural movies and checkerboard; neurons cooperate with each other with higher pattern correlation values which represent spatiotemporal correlations during response to natural movies. Spike timing does not reflect stimulus features as obvious as spike patterns, caused by their particular coding properties or physiological foundation. As a result, separating the pattern correlation out of traditional timing correlation concept uncover additional insight in neural coding.     

Structural and Functional Restraints on the Occurrence of Single Amino Acid Variations in Human Proteins

Human genetic variation is the incarnation of diverse evolutionary history, which reflects both selectively advantageous and selectively neutral change. In this study, we catalogue structural and functional features of proteins that restrain genetic variation leading to single amino acid substitutions. Our variation dataset is divided into three categories: i) Mendelian disease-related variants, ii) neutral polymorphisms and iii) cancer somatic mutations. We characterize structural environments of the amino acid variants by the following properties: i) side-chain solvent accessibility, ii) main-chain secondary structure, and iii) hydrogen bonds from a side chain to a main chain or other side chains. To address functional restraints, amino acid substitutions in proteins are examined to see whether they are located at functionally important sites involved in protein-protein interactions, protein-ligand interactions or catalytic activity of enzymes. We also measure the likelihood of amino acid substitutions and the degree of residue conservation where variants occur. We show that various types of variants are under different degrees of structural and functional restraints, which affect their occurrence in human proteome.     

LRP5 Is Required for Vascular Development in Deeper Layers of the Retina

Background

The low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) plays an important role in the development of retinal vasculature. LRP5 loss-of-function mutations cause incomplete development of retinal vessel network in humans as well as in mice. To understand the underlying mechanism for how LRP5 mutations lead to retinal vascular abnormalities, we have determined the retinal cell types that express LRP5 and investigated specific molecular and cellular functions that may be regulated by LRP5 signaling in the retina.

Methods and Findings

We characterized the development of retinal vasculature in LRP5 mutant mice using specific retinal cell makers and a GFP transgene expressed in retinal endothelial cells. Our data revealed that retinal vascular endothelial cells predominantly formed cell clusters in the inner-plexiform layer of LRP5 mutant retina rather than sprouting out or migrating into deeper layers to form normal vascular network in the retina. The IRES-β-galactosidase (LacZ) report gene under the control of the endogenous LRP5 promoter was highly expressed in Müller cells and was also weakly detected in endothelial cells of the retinal surface vasculature. Moreover, the LRP5 mutant mice had a reduction of a Müller cell-specific glutamine transporter, Slc38a5, and showed a decrease in b-wave amplitude of electroretinogram.

Conclusions

LRP5 is not only essential for vascular endothelial cells to sprout, migrate and/or anastomose in the deeper plexus during retinal vasculature development but is also important for the functions of Müller cells and retinal interneurons. Müller cells may utilize LRP5-mediated signaling pathway to regulate vascular development in deeper layers and to maintain the function of retinal interneurons.     

STORM: a general model to determine the number and adaptive changes of epithelial stem cells in teleost, murine and human intestinal tracts

Intestinal stem cells play a pivotal role in the epithelial tissue renewal, homeostasis and cancer development. The lack of a general marker for intestinal stem cells across species has hampered analysis of stem cell number in different species and their adaptive changes upon intestinal lesions or during development of cancer. Here a two-dimensional model, named STORM, has been developed to address this issue. By optimizing epithelium renewal dynamics, the model examines the epithelial stem cell number by taking experimental input information regarding epithelium proliferation and differentiation. As the results suggest, there are 2.0-4.1 epithelial stem cells on each pocket section of zebrafish intestine, 2.0-4.1 stem cells on each crypt section of murine small intestine and 1.8-3.5 stem cells on each crypt section of human duodenum. The model is able to provide quick results for stem cell number and its adaptive changes, which is not easy to measure through experiments. Its general applicability to different species makes it a valuable tool for analysis of intestinal stem cells under various pathological conditions.     

Structural Modifications of the Brain in Acclimatization to High-Altitude

Adaptive changes in respiratory and cardiovascular responses at high altitude (HA) have been well clarified. However, the central mechanisms underlying HA acclimatization remain unclear. Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with fractional anisotropy (FA) calculation, we investigated 28 Han immigrant residents (17–22 yr) born and raised at HA of 2616–4200 m in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau for at least 17 years and who currently attended college at sea-level (SL). Their family migrated from SL to HA 2–3 generations ago and has resided at HA ever since. Control subjects were matched SL residents. HA residents (vs. SL) showed decreased grey matter volume in the bilateral anterior insula, right anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral prefrontal cortex, left precentral cortex, and right lingual cortex. HA residents (vs. SL) had significantly higher FA mainly in the bilateral anterior limb of internal capsule, bilateral superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculus, corpus callosum, bilateral superior corona radiata, bilateral anterior external capsule, right posterior cingulum, and right corticospinal tract. Higher FA values in those regions were associated with decreased or unchanged radial diffusivity coinciding with no change of longitudinal diffusivity in HA vs. SL group. Conversely, HA residents had lower FA in the left optic radiation and left superior longitudinal fasciculus. Our data demonstrates that HA acclimatization is associated with brain structural modifications, including the loss of regional cortical grey matter accompanied by changes in the white matter, which may underlie the physiological adaptation of residents at HA.