微流控芯片在乳腺癌骨转移研究中的应用

乳腺癌骨转移患者死亡率高达70%～80%,目前缺乏有效的治疗药物.微流控芯片技术能够有效模拟骨组织的生化和生物物理微环境,便捷地实现模拟骨微环境中乳腺癌骨转移的研究,这将为探索乳腺癌骨转移的细胞和分子机制、进而进行抗乳腺癌骨转移药物高通量筛选提供有价值的技术方法和平台.本综述简要介绍了乳腺癌骨转移的分子机制和治疗药物研究现状,详细阐述了乳腺癌骨转移的微流控芯片模型,分析了基于微流控芯片技术进行抗乳腺癌骨转移药物高通量筛选的优势和挑战,旨在为乳腺癌骨转移机制研究和药物筛选提供参考.     

基于受体的药物高通量筛选研究进展

受体是药物筛选的重要靶标,基于受体的药物高通量筛选是药物筛选的主要类型之一。本文根据受体作用原理,按照检测对象的不同,从直接与间接检测的角度,将基于受体的药物高通量筛选进行了分类,总结了基于受体的几种不同的药物筛选模型,并简要介绍了高通量筛选技术在中药研究中的应用,对药物筛选的发展进行了展望。     

药物靶标配体高通量筛选的亲和质谱技术研究

疾病相关的药物靶标蛋白与小分子化合物的亲和作用研究是当今新药研发的热点领域,基于靶蛋白与配体亲和作用的筛选技术已成为与基于靶蛋白活性高通量筛选技术高度互补的药物先导化合物发现关键技术。本文综述了亲和质谱技术用于筛选和检测指定靶蛋白的小分子配体的基本原理和主要优势,详细介绍了该技术应用于大规模化合物库筛选、分子片段库筛选、天然产物粗提物筛选和蛋白质与胞内代谢物相互作用研究领域的主要进展。     

高通量siRNA筛选技术发展与展望

RNA干扰(RNA interference,RNAi)技术被认为是20世纪生命科学领域最伟大的发现之一,是最具发展前景的生物医药技术和基因功能研究方法。因此,高通量siRNA筛选技术也成为生物学最强有力的研究工具之一。特别是在当今后基因组时代,高通量siRNA筛选技术已经成为揭示复杂信号网络调控、寻找新药物靶点分子等诸多问题的利器。将对这一技术的产生和发展进行回顾,总结描述我们的筛选经验,通过介绍若干典型筛选工作,来梳理高通量筛选技术的发展脉络,最后展望了高通量siRNA筛选技术的发展趋势。     

细胞分子生物学技术在靶向药物筛选中的应用

随着细胞及分子生物学的发展,新技术方法越来越多地用于新靶点建立和药物筛选研究,为药物设计、靶点的选择和用药方案的确定提供理论依据,同时使药物筛选有了更高的特异性,对药物筛选和药理学研究起到了极大的促进作用. 论述了功能基因的筛选、高通量细胞筛选和高内涵筛选技术、反义核酸技术、转基因/基因敲除技术、基因芯片、蛋白质芯片、组织芯片、酶免疫分析、荧光免疫分析、流式细胞技术等方法在靶向药物筛选中的应用.     

监测细胞内氧化还原代谢状态的遗传编码荧光探针

原位、高时空分辨地检测细胞内氧化还原代谢状态是生命科学研究的一个瓶颈问题和迫切需求.然而,依赖细胞裂解、酶学、色谱、质谱等传统生化分析方法难以实时监测细胞内氧化还原代谢变化,更难以应用于高通量药物筛选.基于荧光蛋白的探针成像是近年来生命科学和医学领域迅速发展的一种分析检测技术.由于这些荧光探针实现了在活细胞内实时、动态地监测生物学过程,从而革命性地改变了生命科学研究.相对于化学小分子荧光探针,遗传编码的荧光蛋白探针在精确定位亚细胞结构、消除人为干扰以及活体应用方面,存在显著的优势.近年来,科学家针对细胞内重要的氧化还原代谢物,发明了多种多样的遗传编码荧光探针,实现了在单细胞、亚细胞甚至活体内对氧化还原代谢状态的特异性检测和成像,大大推动了相关研究领域的发展.本文将以细胞内两对关键的氧化还原代谢分子NADH/NAD~+和NADPH/NADP~+为例,重点介绍相关荧光探针的设计、性质、应用以及使用注意事项,以方便研究者更好地了解和使用相关技术.     

基于高通量测序技术的微生物检测数据分析方法

高通量测序技术的发展正在逐渐改变诸多生物学领域的研究方法.为应对突发疫情以及新发未知微生物威胁的需求,微生物鉴定技术逐渐从传统的物理化学方法及核酸杂交等分子水平方法进一步走向利用无需培养的测序数据进行快速分析检测.随之而来的是对高通量数据分析在精度及速度的要求.基于高通量测序数据的微生物检测数据分析方法在近些年得到了快速的发展.本文分析了目前基于高通量测序数据的微生物检测数据分析方法,对其数据分析的处理流程和计算方法进行了研究,比较了各个微生物检测数据分析方法的特点及适用场景.最后结合本实验室工作总结微生物检测数据分析方法在实际应用中可能遇到的问题,希望对该应用领域的研究有一定的参考意义.     

高通量筛选技术及其应用

主要介绍了高通量筛选技术(HTS,HighThroughputScreening)的原理,包括非细胞相筛选、细胞相筛选和生物表型筛选及其在生命科学和药学领域中的应用以及高通量筛选技术的发展趋势。     

高通量药物筛选技术进展及新药开发策略

新药研发过程中．通过筛选而获得具有生物活性的先导化合物．是创新药物研究的关键．目前药物筛选模型已经从传统的整体动物、器官和组织水平发展到细胞和分子水平。创新药物的发现都离不开采用适当的药物作用靶点对大量化合物样品进行筛选．而且筛选规模越大,发现新药的机会就越多。随着计算机技术、生物芯片、蛋白质组学、组合化学等的发展．高通量药物筛选技术应运而生。高通量筛选体系在创新药物筛选中的应用是新药开发研究的一个重要领域。     

酵母模型揭示胁迫因子驱动基因组变异的研究进展

基因组变异是遗传疾病发生和物种演化的分子基础，这个过程受到细胞内外源理化因子的共同作用。模式生物酿酒酵母（Saccharomyces cerevisiae）基因组小且易于开展分子遗传操作，在探究基因组变异进化调控机制的相关研究中应用广泛。本文总结了酵母模型中典型的DNA变异检测遗传体系，包括利用报告基因检测DNA突变率和红白扇形菌落筛选染色体重组子等；讨论了高通量测序技术在检测自发性和胁迫因子诱导基因组变异中的应用；综述了运用酵母模型揭示温度波动、氧化压力、抗肿瘤药物、金属离子和辐射等胁迫因子对基因组稳定性的影响及遗传机制的研究进展。酵母在多种胁迫条件下均会发生适应性进化现象，特定的染色体结构变异是适应性背后的重要遗传机制之一。在酵母中结合遗传筛选体系和高通量分析手段阐释细胞胁迫因子与基因组变异的关联机制，可为全面理解生物基因组不稳定机理和物种进化规律提供新的视角。     

蛋白质检测新技术——邻位连接技术及初步应用

邻位连接技术（proximity ligation assay,PLA）,是新研发的一项高灵敏度的蛋白质体外分析技术。该方法利用一对邻位探针（proximity probes）对靶分子进行双识别,通过连接反应产生可扩增的检测信号,以实时 PCR进行放大和检测,将对蛋白质的检测转变成为对DNA的检测,实现痕量蛋白的分析,具有极高的检测灵敏度和特异性。综述了邻位连接技术的原理、研究进展以及该技术在蛋白质分析及疾病诊断领域的初步应用。     

A 15-ketosterol is a liver X receptor ligand that suppresses sterol-responsive element binding protein-2 activity

Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. Oxysterols are known to inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis and have been explored as potential antihypercholesterolemic agents. The ability of 3beta-hydroxy-5alpha-cholest-8(14)-en-15-one (15-ketosterol) to lower non-HDL cholesterol has been demonstrated in rodent and primate models, but the mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Here we show in a coactivator recruitment assay and cotransfection assays that the 15-ketosterol is a partial agonist for liver X receptor-alpha and -beta (LXRalpha and LXRbeta). The binding affinity for the LXRs was comparable to those of native oxysterols. In a macrophage cell line of human origin, the 15-ketosterol elevated ATP binding cassette transporter ABCA1 mRNA in a concentration-dependent fashion with a potency similar to those of other oxysterols. We further found that in human embryonic kidney HEK 293 cells, the 15-ketosterol suppressed sterol-responsive element binding protein processing activity and thus inhibited mRNA expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, LDL receptor, and PCSK9. Our data thus provide a molecular basis for the hypocholesterolemic activity of the 15-ketosterol and further suggest its potential antiatherosclerotic benefit as an LXR agonist.     

P-LISA技术

原位邻近式连接分析(proximity ligation in situ assay,P-LISA)是一种用来研究蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用的新方法。该方法能够对原位、瞬时、微弱的蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用进行定量分析和亚细胞定位,在药物研发和临床诊断中将有着重要的应用价值。     

Renewable reagentless hydrogen peroxide sensor based on direct electron transfer of horseradish peroxidase immobilized on colloidal gold-modified electrode

The polC gene from Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes, strain SF370) has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) as a fusion protein containing an N-terminal histidine tag. The purified recombinant enzyme showed an apparent molecular mass of 160 kDa on SDS-PAGE and a specific activity of 3.5 nmol/min/mg when assayed in the presence of calf thymus DNA and the four deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates. This activity was inhibited by TMAU, a specific inhibitor of PolC. To facilitate kinetic studies, and high-throughput assays, a double-stranded oligo DNA primer/template was used as a substrate. The minimum requirement for the length of the substrate was a 20-base oligo primer annealed to a 35-base template. PolC activity was detected either by a filter-binding format or by a novel homogeneous scintillation proximity assay (SPA). Sensitivity to inhibition by anilinouracil analogs was improved by incorporating three deoxycytidines in the template strand as the first 3 bases to be copied by the polymerase. Inhibition of PolC activity by trimethyleneanilinouracil by the filtration and SPA methods gave comparable results, but the SPA assay uses less radioactive label, is less time-consuming, and is amenable to high-throughput formatting.     

Scintillation proximity assay of inositol phosphates in cell extracts: high-throughput measurement of G-protein-coupled receptor activation

The phosphatidylinositol turnover assay is used widely to measure activation, and inhibition, of G(q)-linked G-protein-coupled receptors. Cells expressing the receptor of interest are labeled by feeding with tritiated myo-inositol. The label is incorporated into cellular phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, which, upon agonist binding to the receptor, is hydrolyzed by phospholipase C to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) and diacylglycerol. In the presence of Li(+), dephosphorylation of IP(3) to inositol is blocked, and the mass of soluble inositol phosphates is a quantitative readout of receptor activation. Current protocols for this assay all involve an anion-exchange chromatography step to separate radiolabeled inositol phosphates from radiolabeled inositol, making the assay cumbersome and difficult to automate. We now describe a scintillation proximity assay to measure soluble inositol phosphate mass in cell extracts, thus obviating the need for the standard chromatography step. The method uses positively charged yttrium silicate beads that bind inositol phosphates, but not inositol. We have used this assay to measure activation of recombinant and endogenous muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and activation of recombinant neuropeptide FF2 receptor coupled to IP(3) production by coexpression of a chimeric G protein. Further, we demonstrate the use and functional validity of this assay in a semiautomated, 384-well format, by characterizing the muscarinic receptor antagonists pirenzepine and atropine.     

Cell-based multiwell assays for the detection of substrate accumulation and oxidation

We describe multiwell assays for detecting the accumulation as well as the subsequent oxidation of (14)C-labeled substrates in cultured cells. Accumulation is monitored in real time by an established scintillation proximity assay in which the scintillator is embedded in the plate base primarily detecting cell-associated radiolabel. The substrate oxidation assay is a novel variant of previously described experimental approaches aimed at trapping (14)CO(2) produced by isolated enzymes, organelles, or intact cells. This method uses a standard 96-well tissue culture plate and, on top, an inverted filter plate immersed with NaOH that are clamped into a sandwich sealed with a silicon gasket to obtain gas-tight compartments. (14)CO(2) is captured in the filter and quantified by conventional scintillation. We demonstrate both the accumulation and subsequent oxidation of (14)C-labeled substrates in cultured human myotubes, adipocytes, and hepatocytes. Both methods are adaptable for compound screening; at the same time, these protocols provide easy-to-use and time- saving methods for in vitro studies of cellular fuel handling.     

Homogenous assays for Escherichia coli DnaB-stimulated DnaG primase and DnaB helicase and their use in screening for chemical inhibitors

Escherichia coli DnaG primase is a single-stranded DNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Primase catalyzes the synthesis of a short RNA primer to initiate DNA replication at the origin and to initiate Okazaki fragment synthesis for synthesis of the lagging strand. Primase activity is greatly stimulated through its interaction with DnaB helicase. Here we report a 96-well homogeneous scintillation proximity assay (SPA) for the study of DnaB-stimulated E. coli primase activity and the identification of E. coli primase inhibitors. The assay uses an adaptation of the general priming reaction by employing DnaG primase, DnaB helicase, and ribonucleotidetriphosphates (incorporation of [(3)H]CTP) for in vitro primer synthesis on single-stranded oligonucleotide and M13mp18 DNA templates. The primase product is captured by polyvinyl toluene-polyethyleneimine-coated SPA beads and quantified by counting by beta-scintography. In the absence of helicase as a cofactor, primer synthesis is reduced by 85%. The primase assay was used for screening libraries of compounds previously identified as possessing antimicrobial activities. Primase inhibitory compounds were then classified as direct primase inhibitors or mixed primase/helicase inhibitors by further evaluation in a specific assay for DnaB helicase activity. By this approach, specific primase inhibitors could be identified.     

A procedure for quantification of cytokinins as free bases involving scintillation proximity immunoassay

Cytokinins occur in a diversity of forms and determination of their individual levels requires extensive purification. However, determination of the total level of each major base in free, riboside and nucleotide forms would often be adequate. Hence, a methanolysis procedure which releases cytokinin bases from 9-ribosyl derivatives was developed and applied to plant extracts. A simple procedure, involving low pressure column chromatography, for purification of the cytokinin bases in treated extracts, and a scintillation proximity immunoassay for their quantification, were developed. The total level of each cytokinin base [N⁶-(2-isopentenyl)adenine, zeatin and dihydrozeatin] in free and ribosylated forms determined by these methods is reported for several plant tissues and the results are compared with those obtained after additional purification by HPLC. Values for zeatin were not changed by HPLC but isopentenyl-adenine and dihydrozeatin levels were usually reduced indicating the presence of unknown compounds which cross-react in the immunoassay. Modifications to the above purification method to quantify O-glucosyl cytokinins are also described.
The methods described facilitate the quantification of the total amount of each cytokinin base in forms closely associated with cytokinin action, and the detection of cytokinin biosynthesis by labelled precursor incorporation.     

Regulation of transient receptor potential melastatin 4 channel by sarcoplasmic reticulum inositol trisphosphate receptors: Role in human detrusor smooth muscle function

We recently reported key physiologic roles for Ca²⁺-activated transient receptor potential melastatin 4 (TRPM4) channels in detrusor smooth muscle (DSM). However, the Ca²⁺-signaling mechanisms governing TRPM4 channel activity in human DSM cells are unexplored. As the TRPM4 channels are activated by Ca²⁺, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP₃R)-mediated Ca²⁺ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum represents a potential Ca²⁺ source for TRPM4 channel activation. We used clinically-characterized human DSM tissues to investigate the molecular and functional interactions of the IP₃Rs and TRPM4 channels. With in situ proximity ligation assay (PLA) and perforated patch-clamp electrophysiology, we tested the hypothesis that TRPM4 channels are tightly associated with the IP₃Rs and are activated by IP₃R-mediated Ca²⁺ release in human DSM. With in situ PLA, we demonstrated co-localization of the TRPM4 channels and IP₃Rs in human DSM cells. As the TRPM4 channels and IP₃Rs must be located within close apposition to functionally interact, these findings support the concept of a potential Ca²⁺-mediated TRPM4-IP₃R regulatory mechanism. To investigate IP₃R regulation of TRPM4 channel activity, we sought to determine the consequences of IP₃R pharmacological inhibition on TRPM4 channel-mediated transient inward cation currents (TICCs). In freshly-isolated human DSM cells, blocking the IP₃Rs with the selective IP₃R inhibitor xestospongin-C significantly decreased TICCs. The data suggest that IP₃Rs have a key role in mediating the Ca²⁺-dependent activation of TRPM4 channels in human DSM. The study provides novel insight into the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating TRPM4 channels by revealing that TRPM4 channels and IP₃Rs are spatially and functionally coupled in human DSM.     

A novel scintillation proximity assay for fatty acid amide hydrolase compatible with inhibitor screening

A binding assay for human fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) using the scintillation proximity assay (SPA) technology is described. This SPA uses the specific interactions of [3H]R(+)-methanandamide (MAEA) and FAAH expressing microsomes to evaluate the displacement activity of FAAH inhibitors. We observed that a competitive nonhydrolyzed FAAH inhibitor, [3H]MAEA, bound specifically to the FAAH microsomes. Coincubation with an FAAH inhibitor, URB-597, competitively displaced the [3H]MAEA on the FAAH microsomes. The released radiolabel was then detected through an interaction with the SPA beads. The assay is specific for FAAH given that microsomes prepared from cells expressing the inactive FAAH-S241A mutant or vector alone had no significant ability to bind [3H]MAEA. Furthermore, the binding of [3H]MAEA to FAAH microsomes was abolished by selective FAAH inhibitors in a dose-dependent manner, with IC50 values comparable to those seen in a functional assay. This novel SPA has been validated and demonstrated to be simple, sensitive, and amenable to high-throughput screening.