表达登革病毒prM基因小干扰RNA的Vero细胞系的建立

prM蛋白是登革病毒膜蛋白M的前体,膜蛋白M对病毒的组装与成熟有重要作用,针对prM基因设计的小干扰RNA（siRNA）可短期抑制登革病毒复制.为了达到长期抑制登革病毒的效果,本研究构建了插入prM siRNA序列的重组慢病毒,利用流式细胞术分选以及杀稻瘟霉素抗性,筛选出稳定表达prM siRNA的非洲绿猴肾细胞（Vero细胞）系.经逆转录PCR及测序验证siRNA序列表达正确. Vero细胞中prM siRNA的表达率约为976%.当受到登革病毒攻击时,表达prM siRNA的Vero细胞能够明显抑制登革病毒prM基因的表达,并抑制登革病毒在Vero细胞中的复制.建立的Vero细胞系可用于RNA干扰防治登革病毒感染的进一步应用研究.     

Effects of the number of amino acid residues in the signal segment upstream or downstream of the NS2B-3 cleavage site on production and secretion of prM/M-E virus-like particles of West Nile virus

Expression of genes for precursor M (prM) and envelope (E) proteins of West Nile virus (WNV) leads to the production of small, capsidless, and non-infectious virus-like particles (VLPs) possessing the E antigen which is responsible for viral entry and immune protection. It has been reported that processing of the secretion signal affects viral release. We examined the secretion efficiency of VLPs into the culture medium from RK13 or 293 T cells transfected with expression vectors for prM and E proteins of WNV which were constructed to comprise different lengths of signal peptides upstream of the prM-E domain. The number of amino acid residues present in the segment markedly affected the production, processing, and secretion of VLPs. Secreted VLPs possessed both the processed M protein and the glycosylated E protein. In addition, immunization with VLPs induced neutralizing antibodies in C3H/HeN mice. These results indicate that the number of amino acid residues comprising the N-terminus of the signal segment controls the efficiency of assembly, maturation, and release of VLPs in the absence of viral protease, which in turn indicates the potential of VLPs as a candidate for an effective WNV subunit vaccine.     

登革2型病毒43株prM基因片段在痘苗中的克隆与表达

利用RT-PCR技术获得登革2型病毒中国分离株(D_2-43)的prM基因片段。扩增产物经酚:氯仿抽提纯化之后,直接插入pT_7BlueT载体中,经DNA序列分析证明了所扩增片段序列的正确性。构建了痘苗病毒载体PJSA1175/prM,外源基因受痘苗病毒启动子P_(7.5K)的调控。脂质转染(Lipofection)法获得D_2-43株prM蛋白的重组病毒。荧光检测显示,重组痘苗病毒表达的prM蛋白分布于细胞表面。间接ELISA测定其滴度为1:4。     

Statistical analysis of the envelope gene and the prM region of Japanese encephalitis virus: Evidence suggestive of positive selection

The variation in nucleotide sequence observed in the envelope (E) gene and the prM (precursor of M protein) region of different strains of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) was analysed. Presence of selective forces acting on these regions was investigated by computing the relative rates of synonymous (K _s) and nonsynonymous (K _a) substitutions. The ratioK _s/K _a was used as an indicator of the overall selective constraints on the amino acid sequence of JEV proteins. The possibility that different regions of the gene may be subject to varying selective pressures was tested by dividing the gene into three regions and estimating theK _s/K _a ratio for each region. On the basis of analysis of a limited number (17) of strains of JEV, evidence suggestive of positive selection acting on certain regions of the E gene of the virus, and in some cases on the entire gene, was obtained. Analysis ofK _a diversity in the prM region of 46 JEV strains grouped into three genotypes revealed that strains included in genotype II were more heterogeneous than strains belonging to genotype I, while the differences between meanK _a values for genotypes I and III and genotypes II and III were not statistically significant. Analysis of host-specific heterogeneity in the prM region revealed that pig isolates were more X_a-diverse than human isolates.     

Immunochemical properties of the West Nile virus prM protein and the C-terminal fragment of the M protein

The cDNA fragments 466–966 and 878–1088 coding for the precursor M (prM) protein and polypeptide M_31–75-E_1–30 of the Russian strain LEIV-Vlg99-27889-human of the West Nile virus (WNV) were synthesized and cloned. The corresponding prM and M_31–75-E_1–30 recombinant polypeptides were purified by affinity chromatography. The prM polypeptide interacted with a polyclonal serum against WNV in ELISA and immunoblotting, demonstrating the immunochemical similarity of the recombinant polypeptide and the native WNV prM protein. Six species-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the prM recombinant polypeptide recognized at least four epitopes on the recombinant polypeptides. In addition, mAb 7D11 displayed a virus-neutralizing activity. The patterns of mAb interactions with the prM, M_31–75-E_1–30, E_1–180, and E_260–466 recombinant polypeptides revealed cross-reacting epitopes in regions 260–466 of the E protein and 31–75 of the M_31–75-E_1–30 polypeptide and the WNV prM protein. A spatial model revealed structural similarity of the C-terminal regions of the E and M proteins of WNV, supporting the results of immunochemical experiments. Based on virus neutralization by mAb 7D11, which recognized an epitope mapping to region 31–75 of the WNV M protein, an important function in virus penetration into the cell was assumed for the C-terminal region of the M protein.     

Crystal Structure of the Capsid Protein from Zika Virus

Recently, Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged as a global public health concern and is distinct from other flaviviruses in many aspects, for example, causing transplacental infection, fetal abnormalities and vector-independent transmission through body fluids in humans. The capsid (C) protein is a multifunctional protein, since it binds to viral RNA in the process of nucleocapsid assembly and plays important roles in virus infection processes by interacting with cellular proteins, modulating cellular metabolism, apoptosis and immune response. Here we solved the crystal structure of ZIKV C protein at a resolution of 1.9 Å. The ZIKV C protein structure contains four α helices with a long pre-α1 loop and forms dimers. The unique long pre-α1 loop in ZIKV C contributes to the tighter association of dimeric assembly and renders a divergent hydrophobic feature at the lipid bilayer interface in comparison with the known C structures of West Nile and dengue viruses. We reported the interaction between the ZIKV C protein and lipid droplets through confocal microscopy analysis. Substitutions of key amino acids in the pre-α1 loop of ZIKV C disrupted the interaction with lipid droplets, indicating that the loop is critical for membrane association. We also recognized that ZIKV C protein possesses broad binding capability to different nucleotide types, including single-stranded and double-stranded RNAs or DNAs. Furthermore, the highly positively charged interface, mainly formed by α4 helix, is proposed to be responsible for nucleotide binding. These findings will greatly enhance our understanding of ZIKV C protein, providing information for anti-ZIKV drug design targeting the C protein.     

Novel binding between pre-membrane protein and vacuolar ATPase is required for efficient dengue virus secretion

Flavivirus pre-membrane (prM) protein is important for proper folding and secretion of envelope (E) protein. However, other non-structural functions of prM protein in the context of virus life-cycle are poorly known. In this study, we aimed to elucidate if dengue virus (DV) prM protein interacts with host proteins and contributes to viral pathogenesis by screening human liver cDNA yeast-two-hybrid library. Our study identified vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) as a novel interacting partner of DV prM protein and aminoacid residues from 76 to 80 of prM protein are crucial to mediate V-ATPase binding. We showed that V-ATPase plays an important role in mediating low-pH dependent entry of DV. The biological significance of prM-V-ATPase interaction is also elucidated and we have shown that this association is critical to influence efficient virus egression. This study highlighted for the first time that flavivirus prM protein interacts with V-ATPase and V-ATPase mediates both entry and egression of DV.     

登革病毒转基因载体pB［PUBnls_EGFP_prM］的构建及其在C6/36细胞中整合作用的检测

利用转基因技术来探索新的蚊媒疾病防治方法,将登革病毒前膜蛋白基因prM重组入以转座子piggyBac因子为基础的载体,构建了昆虫转基因载体pB［PUBnls-EGFP-prM］,在辅助质粒的作用下共同转染白纹伊蚊Aedes albopictus C6/36细胞。PCR和Southern blot证明构建的转基因载体可以将EGFP-prM基因整合入蚊虫基因组中。验证了转座子piggyBac因子、启动子polyubiquitin可以在白纹伊蚊中发挥功能,为进一步构建不传播登革病毒的转基因白纹伊蚊奠定了基础。