一种简便高效的改良降落PCR

降落(touchdown,TD)PCR通常涉及15个退火温度,程序设计复杂。报道了一种简便高效的改良降落PCR,只需5个降落退火温度,以杜氏盐藻(Dunaliellabardawil)基因组为模板,设计一对引物扩增胡萝卜素生物合成相关(carotenebiosynthesisrelated,cbr)基因的第3外显子。实验证实该方法程序简单,比标准降落PCR步骤简化70%,且产物的特异性及效率都有较大提高。     

Label-free Isolation and Enrichment of Cells Through Contactless Dielectrophoresis

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is the phenomenon by which polarized particles in a non-uniform electric field undergo translational motion, and can be used to direct the motion of microparticles in a surface marker-independent manner. Traditionally, DEP devices include planar metallic electrodes patterned in the sample channel. This approach can be expensive and requires a specialized cleanroom environment. Recently, a contact-free approach called contactless dielectrophoresis (cDEP) has been developed. This method utilizes the classic principle of DEP while avoiding direct contact between electrodes and sample by patterning fluidic electrodes and a sample channel from a single polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate, and has application as a rapid microfluidic strategy designed to sort and enrich microparticles. Unique to this method is that the electric field is generated via fluidic electrode channels containing a highly conductive fluid, which are separated from the sample channel by a thin insulating barrier. Because metal electrodes do not directly contact the sample, electrolysis, electrode delamination, and sample contamination are avoided. Additionally, this enables an inexpensive and simple fabrication process.cDEP is thus well-suited for manipulating sensitive biological particles. The dielectrophoretic force acting upon the particles depends not only upon spatial gradients of the electric field generated by customizable design of the device geometry, but the intrinsic biophysical properties of the cell. As such, cDEP is a label-free technique that avoids depending upon surface-expressed molecular biomarkers that may be variably expressed within a population, while still allowing characterization, enrichment, and sorting of bioparticles.Here, we demonstrate the basics of fabrication and experimentation using cDEP. We explain the simple preparation of a cDEP chip using soft lithography techniques. We discuss the experimental procedure for characterizing crossover frequency of a particle or cell, the frequency at which the dielectrophoretic force is zero. Finally, we demonstrate the use of this technique for sorting a mixture of ovarian cancer cells and fluorescing microspheres (beads).     

A Simple and Efficient DNA Isolation Method for Salvia officinalis

We report an efficient, simple, and cost-effective protocol for the isolation of genomic DNA from an aromatic medicinal plant, common sage (Salvia officinalis L.). Our modification of the standard CTAB protocol includes two polyphenol adsorbents (PVP 10 and activated charcoal), high NaCl concentrations (4?M) for removing polysaccharides, and repeated Sevag treatment to remove proteins and other carbohydrate contaminants. The mean DNA yield obtained with our Protocol 2 was 330.6?μg DNA g^?1 of dry leaf tissue, and the absorbance ratios 260/280 and 260/230?nm averaged 1.909 and 1.894, respectively, revealing lack of contamination. PCR amplifications of one nuclear (26S rDNA) and one chloroplast (rps16-trnK) locus indicated that our DNA isolation protocol may be used in common sage and other aromatic and medicinal plants containing essential oil for molecular biologic and biotechnological studies and for population genetics, phylogeographic, and conservation surveys in which nuclear or chloroplast genomes would be studied in large numbers of individuals.     

木薯外植体快速、高效消毒的简易方法

本研究以木薯栽培种华南7号的幼嫩茎段为外植体,就取材地点,取材时间,取材天气,消毒试剂进行筛选研究,以发展一套木薯外植体快速、有效消毒的简易方法.实验结果表明,来自室内培养植株的外植体接种污染率低.大田取样中午脱菌效果好于清晨和傍晚.连续晴天取材脱菌效果比雨后第2天稍好.0.1%HgCl2对室内所取材料消毒效果好于10%NaClO的消毒效果,前者无菌率平均高达90%以上.     

Isolation,Enrichment, and Maintenance of Medulloblastoma Stem Cells

Brain tumors have been suggested to possess a small population of stem cells that are the root cause of tumorigenesis. Neurosphere assays have been generally adopted to study the nature of neural stem cells, including those derived from normal and tumorous tissues. However, appreciable amounts of differentiation and cell death are common in cultured neurospheres likely due to sub-optimal condition such as accessibility of all cells within sphere aggregates to culture medium.Medulloblastoma, the most common pediatric CNS tumor, is characterized by its rapid progression and tendency to spread along the entire brain-spinal axis with dismal clinical outcome. Medulloblastoma is a neuroepithelial tumor of the cerebellum, accounting for 20% and 40% of intracranial and posterior fossa tumor in childhood, respectively¹. It is now well established that Shh signaling stimulates proliferation of cerebellar granule neuron precursors (CGNPs) during cerebellar development ^2-4. Numerous studies using mouse models, in which the Shh pathway is constitutively activated, have linked Shh signaling with medulloblastoma ^5-9.A recent report has shown that a subset of medulloblastoma cells derived from Patched1^LacZ/+ mice are cancer stem cells, which are capable of initiating and propogating tumors ¹⁰. Here we describe an efficient method to isolate, enrich and maintain tumor stem cells derived from several mouse models of medulloblastoma, with constitutively activated Shh pathway due to a mutation in Smoothened (¹¹, hereon referred as SmoM2), a GPCR that is critical for Shh pathway activation. In every isolated medulloblastoma tissue, we were able to establish numerous highly proliferative colonies. These cells robustly expressed several neural stem cell markers such as Nestin and Sox2, can undergo serial passages (greater than 20) and were clonogenic. While these cultured tumor stem cells were relatively small, often bipoar with high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio when cultured under conditions favoring stem cell growth, they dramatically altered their morphology, extended multiple cellular processes, flattened and withdrew from the cell cycle upon switching to a cell culture medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. More importantly, these tumor stem cells differentiated into Tuj1+ or NeuN+ neurons, GFAP+ astrocytes and CNPase+ oligodendrocytes, thus highlighting their multi-potency. Furthermore, these cells were capable of propagating secondary medulloblastomas when orthotopically transplanted into host mice.Download video file.^{(40M, mov)}     

哺乳动物精原干细胞的分离富集及检测鉴定

获得高纯度、高活力的具有生物学安全性的精原干细胞(SSCs)并能从功能上对其进行检测鉴定,是SSCs体外生物学研究的关键所在。近年来,借助于SSCs移植这一功能性检测手段,有关SSCs的分离富集及识别鉴定取得了快速进展。本文结合作者的工作实践,就生精上皮细胞悬液的制备、SSCs的分离富集及其检测鉴定方法进行评述。     

不同富集方法分离多环芳烃降解菌的比较研究

多环芳烃是一类普遍存在的环境污染物。本研究探讨了普通富集法,固定化富集法以及巴斯德消毒后富集法三种途径从相同红树林土壤中分离菲降解茵的差异。通过平板培养和变性梯度凝胶电泳两种方法分析分离结果。上述方法分别获得以鞘氨醇单胞茵、分枝杆菌以及红球茵为优势菌群的群落,表明分离方法对多环芳烃降解菌多样性的研究是一种重要的影响因素。     

一种高效提取棉花RNA的改良方法

与其他植物相比,棉花组织中含有较多的酚类、萜类和多糖等次生代谢物,这些物质严重影响棉花细胞中RNA的分离。针对棉花富含次生代谢物的特点,同时简化操作步骤,摸索出一种高效提取棉花RNA的方法,该方法具有提取RNA完整性好、纯度高和操作简单等特点,可适用于提取棉花等多糖多酚类植物的RNA。     

T4核酸内切酶V的分离纯化

 <正> T_4核酸内切酶V[endodeoxyribonuclease(Pyrimidine dimer)EC 3.1.25.1,简称Endo V]是由噬菌体T_4感染宿主E.coli后产生的一种修复酶。它能特异识别紫外线(UV)辐射在DNA引起的损伤产物环丁烷嘧啶二聚体(PD),在组成PD的两个嘧啶核苷酸之间切割磷酸二酯键,造成单链缺刻,从而启动E.coli体内的切除修复途径~[1]。Endo V不仅具有对PD的高     

Efficient Isolation of Mouse Liver NKT Cells by Perfusion

Background

NKT cell is a population of unconventional T cells that mediate both innate and adaptive T cell responses. Since NKT cells are most abundant in the liver, much of NKT biology has been learnt from studies of NKT cells isolated from liver. This is a cumbersome procedure with variations in cell yield.

Results

Based on recent evidence that NKT cells reside in liver vascular compartment, we developed a simple method to isolate NKT cells by perfusion with PBS-containing 10 mM of EDTA. The number and cell surface phenotype of liver NKT cells recovered by perfusion and by the traditional method were comparable. The yield of other lymphocytes was also comparable.

Conclusion/Significance

Our data demonstrated that liver lymphocytes can be efficiently isolated by simple perfusion. These data provide a convenient method to isolate liver lymphocyte while preserving liver tissue for other analysis.     

Generation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells from Purified Embryonic Endothelial Cells by a Simple and Efficient Strategy

Recent progress by versatile approaches supports the new hypothesis that multi-potent hematopoietic stein cells （HSCs） are directly formed from a rare population of endothelial cells in mid-gestation mouse embryos. This process is therefore known as the endothelial-to- hematopoietic transition （EHT）. Nevertheless, there is no functional evidence that documents the HSC transition from purified endothelial cells. In this study, we developed an OP9-DLl-based co-culture system that was able to facilitate the HSC specification and/or expansion in vitro of mouse embryonic day 10.5 （El0.5） Tie2~ cells remarkably. Then, the immunophenotypically defined endothelial ceils were harvested by a combination of surface markers （Flkl＋CD31 ~CD41 CD45 Ter119 ） from the caudal half of EI0.0-EI 1.0 mouse embryos. The transplantation of the endothelia/OP9-DL1 co-cultures led to long-term, high-level, multi-lineage, and multi-organ he- matopoietic reconstitution in the irradiated adult recipients. The induced HSC activity was initially observed at El0.5, and a significant increase was detected at El 1.0, which suggests a temporally specific regulation. Taken together, tbr the first time, we provide functional evidence showing the HSC potential of purified embryonic endothelial cells, which is indispensable for the emerging EHT concept. Moreover, the newly defined co-culture system will aid the exploration of the key molecules governing the HSC transition from embryonic and even postnatal endothelial cells, which has enormous significance in basic and translational research.     

Depletion of Endonuclease G Selectively Kills Polyploid Cells

Endonuclease G is a mitochondrio-nuclear located nuclease with dual- vital and lethal- functions. Besides its role in apoptosis execution, we have recently shown that depletion of endonuclease G leads to necrotic cell death in yeast. Here, we present further mechanistic elucidation of endonuclease G's vital functions. The deletion of the yeast Endonuclease G gene causes the complete elimination of tetraploid cells during exponential growth. Consistently, conditional knockdown of mammalian endonuclease G selectively kills tetraploid but not diploid clones of the human HCT116 colon carcinoma cell line. We conclude that endonuclease G is important for the viability of polyploid mammalian and yeast cells.     

Highly Efficient Differentiation and Enrichment of Spinal Motor Neurons Derived from Human and Monkey Embryonic Stem Cells

Background

There are no cures or efficacious treatments for severe motor neuron diseases. It is extremely difficult to obtain naïve spinal motor neurons (sMNs) from human tissues for research due to both technical and ethical reasons. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are alternative sources. Several methods for MN differentiation have been reported. However, efficient production of naïve sMNs and culture cost were not taken into consideration in most of the methods.

Methods/Principal Findings

We aimed to establish protocols for efficient production and enrichment of sMNs derived from pluripotent stem cells. Nestin+ neural stem cell (NSC) clusters were induced by Noggin or a small molecule inhibitor of BMP signaling. After dissociation of NSC clusters, neurospheres were formed in a floating culture containing FGF2. The number of NSCs in neurospheres could be expanded more than 30-fold via several passages. More than 33% of HB9+ sMN progenitor cells were observed after differentiation of dissociated neurospheres by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and a Shh agonist for another week on monolayer culture. HB9+ sMN progenitor cells were enriched by gradient centrifugation up to 80% purity. These HB9+ cells differentiated into electrophysiologically functional cells and formed synapses with myotubes during a few weeks after ATRA/SAG treatment.

Conclusions and Significance

The series of procedures we established here, namely neural induction, NSC expansion, sMN differentiation and sMN purification, can provide large quantities of naïve sMNs derived from human and monkey pluripotent stem cells. Using small molecule reagents, reduction of culture cost could be achieved.     

Isolation of Salmonellae from Foods Samples: IV. Comparison of Methods of Enrichment

A comparison of various methods of enhancing frequency of Salmonella isolations revealed that inoculation of a second enrichment broth, with culture from the first, was no improvement over the single direct enrichment method. It was inferior to centrifugation.

Selenite was observed to produce more positive isolations at 48 hr than at 24. No change occurred in tetrathionate. Reconstitution of dried albumen with water produced a significant increase in isolations over direct inoculation of enrichment broth in the case of tetrathionate but not selenite broth.

Pre-enrichment in lactose broth before inoculation of enrichment media was vastly superior to reconstitution in water for both enrichment broths. A comparison of results obtained using dulcitol, mannitol, lactose and carbohydrate-free purple broths in pre-enrichment indicated that the carbohydrate added was immaterial.

     

基因修饰人多能干细胞的高效单克隆建系方法

目标:提供一种能够显著提高慢病毒稳定转染人多能干细胞的方法,并建立一种简便无损的转染细胞筛选方法.方法:在慢病毒转染人多能干细胞过程,分别比较添加与不添加Y-27632情况下细胞形态的动态变化规律,以及细胞不同形态下对慢病毒颗粒的摄入能力差异,优化建立高效的慢病毒转染方法.随后,设计并研制可视化的简便显微操作装置,探索...     

Enrichment and Isolation of Naphthalenesulfonic Acid-Utilizing Pseudomonads

Naphthalenesulfonate-degrading bacteria were obtained by continuous enrichment from a naphthalene-degrading population from sewage. In addition to naphthalene, Pseudomonas sp. A3 can utilize 2-naphthalenesulfonate (2NS) and Pseudomonas sp. C22 can utilize both 1-naphthalenesulfonate (1NS) and 2NS as sole carbon sources. In a mixture of 1NS and 2NS, the former substrate is utilized by strain C22 only after complete consumption of 2NS. During exponential growth, approximately 10% of the organic carbon of naphthalenesulfonates is temporarily excreted. These unidentified metabolites can readily be used by other bacteria, which, by supplying strain C22 with vitamins, allow optimal growth in stable mixed cultures. The degradative capability of Pseudomonas sp. A3 for 2NS was irreversibly lost under nonselective growth conditions and could be transferred from the wild type to a distinguishable cured strain of the wild type.     

Isolation and Enrichment of Rat Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and Separation of Single-colony Derived MSCs

MSCs are a population of adult stem cells that is a promising source for therapeutic applications. These cells can be isolated from the bone marrow and can be easily separated from the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) due to their plastic adherence. This protocol describes how to isolate MSCs from rat femurs and tibias. The isolated cells were further enriched against two MSCs surface markers CD54 and CD90 by magnetic cell sorting. Expression of surface markers CD54 and CD90 were then confirmed by flow cytometry analysis. HSC marker CD45 was also included to check if the sorted MSCs were depleted of HSCs. MSCs are naturally quite heterogeneous. There are subpopulations of cells that have different shapes, proliferation and differentiation abilities. These subpopulations all express the known MSCs markers and no unique marker has yet been identified for the different subpopulations. Therefore, an alternative approach to separate out the different subpopulations is using cloning cylinders to separate out single-colony derived cells. The cells derived from the single-colonies can then be cultured and evaluated separately.Download video file.^{(94M, mp4)}     

Methods for Isolation and Purification of Murine Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells: A Systematic Review

To study the biological functions of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC) and to identify their interplay with blood or liver cells, techniques allowing for the isolation and purification of LSEC have been developed over the last decades. The objective of the present review is to summarize and to compare the efficiency of existing methods for isolating murine LSEC. Toward this end, the MEDLINE database was searched for all original articles describing LSEC isolation from rat and mouse livers. Out of the 489 publications identified, 23 reported the main steps and outcomes of the procedure and were included in our review. Here, we report and analyse the technical details of the essential steps of the techniques used for LSEC isolation. The correlations between the prevalence of some steps and the efficiency of LSEC isolation were also identified. We found that centrifugal elutriation, selective adherence and, more recently, magnetic-activated cell sorting were used for LSEC purification. Centrifugal elutriation procured high yields of pure LSEC (for rats 30–141.9 million cells for 85–98% purities; for mice 9–9.25 million cells for >95% purities), but the use of this method remained limited due to its high technical requirements. Selective adherence showed inconsistent results in terms of cell yields and purities in rats (5–100 million cells for 73.7–95% purities). In contrast, magnetic-activated cell sorting allowed for the isolation of highly pure LSEC, but overall lower cell yields were reported (for rats 10.7 million cells with 97.6% purity; for mice 0.5–9 million cells with 90–98% purities). Notably, the controversies regarding the accuracy of several phenotypic markers for LSEC should be considered and their use for both magnetic sorting and characterization remain doubtful. It appears that more effort is needed to refine and standardize the procedure for LSEC isolation, with a focus on the identification of specific antigens. Such a procedure is required to identify the molecular mechanisms regulating the function of LSEC and to improve our understanding of their role in complex cellular processes in the liver.