The function and structural influence of selective relaxed constraint at functional intracellular loop3 of 5-HT(1A) serotonin-1 receptor family

Superoxide dismutases (SODs) are metalloenzymes that represent one important line of defense against reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this paper, two novel SOD genes, MdSOD1 and MdSOD2, which putatively encode 261 and 214 amino acid residues respectively were identified and characterized from the housefly Musca domestica. The high similarity of MdSOD1 and MdSOD2 with SODs from other organisms indicated that they should be two new members of the SOD family. qPCR exhibited a universal expression of MdSOD1 and MdSOD2 detected in various tissues of housefly larva, including the fat body, gut, hemocyte and epidermis. Expression profiling reveals that MdSOD1 and MdSOD2 can be induced significantly via not only heat shock and cadmium (Cd) stress but also Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus challenge. The two genes were cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-28a to obtain the fusion proteins rMdSOD1 and rMdSOD2. Between them, the activity of rMdSOD2 was found by visual assay methods. ESI-LC-MS/MS analysis showed that three peptide fragments of the protein rMdSOD2 were identical to the corresponding sequence of M. domestica MdSOD2. MdSOD1 and MdSOD2 in housefly larvae were abrogated by feeding bacteria expressing dsRNA. High mortalities were observed in the larvae treated with dsRNA of SODs at heat shock, Cd stress and bacterial invasion. This phenomenon indicated that MdSOD1 and MdSOD2 are related to the survival of M. domestica under stress. This may provide new insights into the role of the two SOD genes in protecting M. domestica against both stress and bacterial invasion.     

病毒干扰MHCⅠ类抗原呈递策略的研究进展

细胞表面MHCⅠ类分子在CTL的产生和作为CTL受体的配体清除病毒感染细胞中发挥着重要作用。因此,许多病毒在其生活周期的不同阶段干扰MHCⅠ类抗原呈递并不足为奇。深入理解病毒利用的干扰策略不仅有助于揭示病毒的致病机理,而且有助于制定新的对策避免病毒逃逸,这些研究最终可能建立有效控制病毒感染的免疫疗法。因此,本文将就病毒干扰MHCⅠ类抗原呈递策略的研究进展做一综述。     

EGFL7 基因RNAi慢病毒表达载体的构建及鉴定

目的：构建人类表皮生长因子域7（EGFL7）基因RNA干扰（RNAi）重组慢病毒表达载体。方法：参照小分子干扰RNA 的设 计原则,应用OligoDesigner 3.0 软件设计三条靶向人EGFL7 基因的RNA干扰序列（hEGFL7-RNAi）,并将其分别插入含有绿色 荧光蛋白（GFP）的慢病毒载体pLV3 中,获得重组质粒,与包装质粒pRsv-REV、pMDlg-pRRE 和pMD2G共同转染293T细胞,包 装产生重组慢病毒,培养72 h后,应用qRT-PCR 检测慢病毒感染人脐静脉内皮细胞（HUVEC）后靶基因mRNA 的水平,以评价 其基因沉默效果。结果：筛选出3 条人EGFL7 基因的RNAi 序列,分别包装出重组慢病毒,其滴度分别为1× 108、2× 108和5× 108TU/mL,将其转染入HUVEC 后,EGFL7mRNA表达均受到明显抑制(P<0.05)。结论：成功筛选出三条针对人EGFL7基因的 RNAi有效靶序列,并成功构建重组慢病毒表达载体,证明该序列可沉默HUVECs 中EGFL7 基因的表达。     

Characterization and expression of cytoplasmic copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZn SOD) gene under temperature and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus

Superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) is an important antioxidant enzyme that protects organs from damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). We cloned cDNA encoding SOD activated with copper/zinc (CuZn SOD) from the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus Pallas. The full-length cDNA of CuZn SOD was 692 bp and had a 465 bp open reading frame encoding 154 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of B. calyciflorus CuZn SOD showed 63.87%, 60.00%, 59.74% and 48.89% similarity with the CuZn SOD of the Ctenopharyn godonidella, Schistosoma japonicum, Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, respectively. The phylogenetic tree constructed based on the amino acid sequences of CuZn SODs from B. calyciflorus and other organisms revealed that rotifer is closely related to nematode. Analysis of the expression of CuZn SOD under different temperatures (15, 30 and 37 °C) revealed that its expression was enhanced 4.2-fold (p < 0.001) at 30 °C after 2 h, however, the lower temperature (15 °C) promoted CuZn SOD transiently (4.1-fold, p < 0.001) and then the expression of CuZn SOD decreased to normal level (p > 0.05). When exposed to H₂O₂ (0.1 mM), CuZn SOD, manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn SOD) and catalase (CAT) gene were upregulated, and in addition, the mRNA expression of CuZn SOD gene was induced instantaneously after exposure to vitamin E. It indicates that the CuZn SOD gene would be an important gene in response to oxidative and temperature stress.     

RNA干涉在纤毛虫中的研究进展

RNA干涉是dsRNA介导的基因沉默现象,本文简要介绍了其作用的机制和生物学意义,重点阐述了RNA干涉在原生动物纤毛虫中的发现与应用,比较了RNA干涉与纤毛虫大核基因组重排机理的异同,并对RNA干涉在纤毛虫中传输的技术途径-RNAi喂饲法的原理也做了详细的介绍。     

玉米螟赤眼蜂自身密度的干扰效应研究

玉米赤眼蜂自身密度干扰效应显著。在同一寄主（米蛾卵）密度条件下,干扰效应符合Hassell模型。在不同寄主密度条件下,赤眼蜂的寄生功能反应符合Beddington模型,自身密度对寄生率以及个体生殖力也存在干扰效应。     

The potential role of ubiquitin c-terminal hydrolases in oncogenesis

Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), capable of removing ubiquitin (Ub) from protein substrates, are involved in numerous biological processes. The ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolases (UCHs) subfamily of DUBs consists of four members: UCH-L1, UCH-L3, UCH37 and BRCA1-associated protein-1 (BAP1). UCH-L1 possesses deubiquitinating activity and dimerization-dependent ubiquitin ligase activity, and functions as a mono-ubiquitin stabilizer; UCH-L3 does both deubiquitinating and deneddylating activity, except dimerization or ligase activity, and unlike UCH-L1, can interact with Lys48-linked Ub dimers to protect it from degradation and in the meanwhile to inhibit its hydrolase activity; UCH37 is responsible for the deubiquitinating activity in the 19S proteasome regulatory complex, and as indicated by the recent study, UCH37 is also associated with the human Ino80 chromatin-remodeling complex (hINO80) in the nucleus and can be activated via transient association of 19S regulatory particle- or proteasome-bound hRpn13 with hINO80; BAP1, binding to the wild-type BRCA1 RING finger domain, is regarded as a tumor suppressor, but for such suppressing activity, as demonstrated otherwise, both deubiquitinating activity and nucleus localization are required. There is growing evidence that UCH enzymes and human malignancies are closely correlated. Previous studies have shown that UCH enzymes play a crucial role in some signalings and cell-cycle regulation. In this review, we provided an insight into the relation between UCH enzymes and oncogenesis.     

大麦产量相关基因HvYrg1的克隆及植物RNA干扰载体的构建

大麦谷粒是受多个数量性状基因(QTL)控制的复杂性状,而RING E3泛素连接酶在决定大麦产量和蛋白质降解途径中起到极为重要的作用。本研究按照同源克隆的方法,依据水稻、拟南芥、玉米、小麦和酵母等E3泛素连接酶保守区域设计引物,采用RT-PCR方法从西藏大麦中克隆出产量相关基因HvYrg1全长cDNA序列,包括完整的开放阅读框架(ORF)1 275 bp,编码蛋白为424个氨基酸(GenBank No. EU333863)。同源性比较结果显示,它与GenBank上已报道的水稻GW2基因同源性最高为86%。以植物表达载体pCAMBIA2300-35s-OCS质粒为基础,构建由35s启动子调控的HvYrg1基因的RNA干扰载体pCAM-RNAi-HvYrg1。这一载体的成功构建为研究该基因在作物产量的功能鉴定打下了很好的基础。     

靶向NBS1基因的 microRNA真核表达载体的构建及其活性鉴定

目的:构建靶向NBS1基因的 microRNA真核表达载体,鉴定其转染宫颈癌细胞株Hela后的生物活性?方法:根据NBS1mRNA序列设计合成四对pre- microRNA片段,定向克隆到pcDNA 6.2- GW/ EmGFP-miR真核表达载体上,并将其转染至Hela细胞株中?采用菌落PCR和测序分析鉴定插入序列的完整性;采用实时定量PCR分析鉴定重组体对NBS1mRNA表达的干扰效果以确定其生物活性? 结果:构建的四组重组体插入片段的碱基序列完全正确?重组体能干扰Hela细胞NBS1基因的表达,四组重组体NBS1 mRNA表达量分别为: 0.24±0.17 (NBS1mi-1组)?0.12±0.12 (NBS1mi-2组)?0.41±0.97 (NBS1mi-3组)?0.48±0.93 (NBS1mi-4组),其中NBS1mi-2组表达最低? 结论: 构建的四组NBS1 microRNA重组体在Hela细胞株中都具有生物活性, 且NBS1mi-2组的干扰作用最强? 载体构建成功,为应用microRNA靶向NBS1的肿瘤基因治疗的研究奠定了基础。     

Improved MR-thermometry during hepatic microwave ablation by correcting for intermittent electromagnetic interference artifacts

MRI-guided microwave ablation (MWA) is a minimally invasive treatment for localized cancer. MR thermometry has been shown to be able to provide vital information for monitoring the procedure in real-time. However, MRI during active MWA can suffer from image quality degradation due to intermittent electromagnetic interference (EMI). A novel approach to correct for EMI-contaminated images is presented here to improve MR thermometry during clinical hepatic MWA. The method was applied to MR-thermometry images acquired during four MR-guided hepatic MWA treatments using a commercially available MRI-configured microwave generator system. During the treatments MR thermometry data acquisition was synchronized to respiratory cycle to minimize the impact of motion. EMI was detected and corrected using uncontaminated k-space data from nearby frames in k-space. Substantially improved temperature and thermal damage maps have been obtained and the treatment zone can be better visualized. Our ex vivo tissue sample study shows the correction introduced minimal errors to the temperature maps and thermal damage maps.