Metabolic engineering of plant secondary products

Plants interact with their environment by producing a diverse array of secondary metabolites. Many of these compounds are valued for their medicinal, industrial or agricultural properties. Other secondary products are toxic or otherwise undesirable and can reduce the commercial value of crops. Gene transfer technology offers new opportunities to modify directly plant secondary product synthesis through metabolic engineering. This article reviews some of the strategies which have been used to increase or decrease the synthesis of specific plant metabolites, as well as methods for expanding the biosynthetic capabilities of individual species.     

Recombinant human pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF): characterization of PEDF overexpressed and secreted by eukaryotic cells.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is a serpin found in the interphotoreceptor matrix of the eye, which, although not a proteinase inhibitor, possesses a number of important biological properties, including promotion of neurite outgrowth and differential expression in quiescent versus senescent states of certain cell types. The low amounts present in the eye, together with the impracticality of using the eye as a source for isolation of the human protein, make it important to establish a system for overexpression of the recombinant protein for biochemical and biological studies. We describe here the expression and secretion of full-length glycosylated human recombinant PEDF at high levels (> 20 micrograms/ mL) into the growth medium of baby hamster kidney cells and characterization of the purified rPEDF by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopies and neurite outgrowth assay. By these assays, the recombinant protein behaves as expected for a correctly folded full-length human PEDF. The availability of milligram amounts of PEDF has permitted quantitation of its heparin binding properties and of the effect of reactive center cleavage on the stability of PEDF towards thermal and guanidine hydrochloride denaturation.     

Etk敲除及过表达细胞株构建并探讨Etk对细胞增殖的影响

目的:利用CRISPR-Cas9技术在人脐静脉内皮细胞(Human umbilical vein endothelial cells,HUVECs)中构建Etk(Epithelial and endothelial tyrosine kinase)敲除稳定细胞株以及利用慢病毒构建Etk过表达稳定细胞株,并初步探讨Etk基因对HUVECs细胞增殖的影响。方法:利用CRISPR-Cas9技术,使用在线工具设计针对Etk的sgRNA (https://chopchop.rc.fas.harvard.edu/)。将sgRNA利用连接酶整合到病毒载体中,包被病毒并感染HUVECs敲除HUVECs中的内源性Etk。利用嘌呤霉素筛选得到Etk敲除的稳定细胞株。PCR扩增Etk基因序列,将其整合到pLEX-MCS慢病毒过表达载体中构建Etk过表达重组质粒。包被病毒并感染HUVECs,在HUVECs中过表达Etk,利用嘌呤霉素筛选得到Etk过表达的稳定细胞株。利用qRT-PCR和Western-Blotting检测Etk的敲除和过表达情况。利用CCK-8盒子检测两种稳定细胞株细胞增殖情况。结果:利用CRISPR-Cas9技术有效的敲除HUVECs中内源性Etk,同对照相比,Etk的mRNA和蛋白水平显著地降低(P0.01)。同时利用慢病毒在HUVECs中过表达Etk,同对照相比,在过表达Etk稳定细胞株中Etk的mRNA和蛋白表达显著上调(P0.01)。CCK-8检测发现,Etk敲除降低细胞增殖能力;而Etk过表达增加细胞增殖能力。结论:通过CRISPR-Cas9技术成功在HUVECs中敲除Etk,利用慢病毒过表达系统成功的在HUVECs中过表达Etk,并且初步验证了Etk促进HUVECs细胞增殖。     

内质网膜复合亚基3调控内质网应激影响人畸胎瘤细胞的存活

内质网膜蛋白复合物（endoplasmic reticulum membrane complex,EMC）在跨膜蛋白质的生物发生和膜整合中发挥重要作用。内质网膜复合亚基3(endoplasmic reticulum membrane complex 3,EMC3)是EMC的重要组成部分,但其在生殖细胞中发挥的作用未见报道。本研究通过实时荧光定量PCR法检测18周龄小鼠睾丸、肺、脾、下丘脑组织中的EMC3 mRNA表达水平差异。结果显示,小鼠睾丸中EMC3 mRNA表达水平较高。体外培养人畸胎癌细胞NCCIT,通过不同浓度衣霉素诱导细胞产生内质网应激(endoplasmic reticulum stress,ERS),应用实时荧光定量PCR法、蛋白质印迹法检测其中EMC3、葡萄糖调节蛋白78(glucose regulatory protein,GRP78)、CCAAT-增强子结合蛋白同源蛋白(CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein,CHOP)的mRNA及其蛋白质表达水平。结果显示,相对于对照组,EMC3、GRP78、CHOP的mRNA与蛋白质水平表达极显著升高(P< 0.01),表明衣霉素成功诱导了NCCIT细胞产生内质网应激,EMC3在衣霉素诱导的内质网应激的精原细胞中,mRNA与蛋白质水平表达升高。以NCCIT细胞cDNA为模板,利用PCR法扩增EMC3基因片段,并将其与pRK5-myc载体连接,构建pRK5-myc-EMC3重组质粒,经双酶切鉴定及DNA测序表明：pRK5-myc-EMC3重组质粒构建成功。将重组质粒和空载体分别转染至NCCIT细胞中进行表达,应用实时荧光定量PCR法与CCK8法检测细胞中GRP78、CHOP的mRNA转录水平以及细胞活力。结果显示,EMC3转染组的GRP78、CHOP的mRNA水平表达显著升高(P< 0.05),细胞活性极显著降低(P< 0.01),表明EMC3可以在NCCIT细胞中调控内质网应激并抑制细胞存活的发生。综上表明,过表达EMC3能够在精原细胞中调控内质网应激抑制细胞存活,EMC3可能在精原细胞的内质网应激中发挥重要作用。     

Production of γ-aminobutyric acid in Escherichia coli by engineering MSG pathway

Abstract

The compound γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has many important physiological functions. The effect of glutamate decarboxylases and the glutamate/GABA antiporter on GABA production was investigated in Escherichia coli. Three genes, gadA, gadB, and gadC were cloned and ligated alone or in combination into the plasmid pET32a. The constructed plasmids were transformed into Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). Three strains, E. coli BL21(DE3)/pET32a-gadA, E. coli BL21(DE3)/pET32a-gadAB and E. coli BL21(DE3)/pET32a-gadABC were selected and identified. The respective titers of GABA from the three strains grown in shake flasks were 1.25, 2.31, and 3.98?g/L. The optimal titer of the substrate and the optimal pH for GABA production were 40?g/L and 4.2, respectively. The highest titer of GABA was 23.6?g/L at 36?h in batch fermentation and was 31.3?g/L at 57?h in fed-batch fermentation. This study lays a foundation for the development and use of GABA.     

Septin 7 is required for orderly meiosis in mouse oocytes

Septin 7 is a conserved GTP-binding protein. In this study, we examined the localization and functions of Septin 7 during mouse oocyte meiotic maturation. Immunofluorescent analysis showed that intrinsic Septin 7 localized to the spindles from the pro-MI stage to the MII stage. Knockdown of Septin 7 by siRNA microinjection caused abnormal spindles and affected extrusion of the first polar body. Septin 7 mRNA tagged with myc was injected into GV stage oocytes to overexpress Septin 7. Overexpressed Myc-Septin 7 localized to the spindle and beneath the plasma membrane displaying long filaments. Fluorescence intensity of spindle α-tubulin in myc-Septin 7-injected oocytes was weaker than that of the control group, demonstrating that Septin 7 may influence recruitment of α-tubulin to spindles. MII oocytes injected with myc-Septin 7 exhibited abnormal chromosome alignment, and parthenogenetic activation failed to allow extrusion of the second polar body, suggesting that overexpression of Septin 7 may affect extrusion of the polar body by disturbing the alignment of chromosomes and regulating α-tubulin recruitment to spindles. In summary, Septin 7 may regulate meiotic cell cycle progression by affecting microtubule cytoskeletal dynamics in mouse oocytes.     

Rapid Genetic Analysis of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Signaling During Hair Regeneration

Hair follicle morphogenesis, a complex process requiring interaction between epithelia-derived keratinocytes and the underlying mesenchyme, is an attractive model system to study organ development and tissue-specific signaling. Although hair follicle development is genetically tractable, fast and reproducible analysis of factors essential for this process remains a challenge. Here we describe a procedure to generate targeted overexpression or shRNA-mediated knockdown of factors using lentivirus in a tissue-specific manner. Using a modified version of a hair regeneration model ^{5, 6, 11}, we can achieve robust gain- or loss-of-function analysis in primary mouse keratinocytes or dermal cells to facilitate study of epithelial-mesenchymal signaling pathways that lead to hair follicle morphogenesis. We describe how to isolate fresh primary mouse keratinocytes and dermal cells, which contain dermal papilla cells and their precursors, deliver lentivirus containing either shRNA or cDNA to one of the cell populations, and combine the cells to generate fully formed hair follicles on the backs of nude mice. This approach allows analysis of tissue-specific factors required to generate hair follicles within three weeks and provides a fast and convenient companion to existing genetic models.     

A Simple,Large-Scale Overexpression Method of Deriving Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase II from Thermophilic Bacterium Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans

We established an Na₂S-free, large-scale overexpression system of deriving CODH II from thermophilic bacterium Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans in Escherichia coli using a large-scale fermentor. Recombinant-CODH II showed a CO oxidation activity of 9,600 U/mg. In addition, recombinant-CODH II exhibited considerable CO₂ reduction activity, of 16.9 U/mg.