Direct quantification of gene expression using capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence

Quantification of gene expression provides valuable information regarding the response of cells or tissue to stimuli and often is accomplished by monitoring the level of messenger RNA (mRNA) being transcribed for a particular protein. Although numerous methods are commonly used to monitor gene expression, including Northern blotting, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and RNase protection assay, each method has its own drawbacks and limitations. Capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF) can reduce protocol time, eliminate the need for radioactivity, and provide superior sensitivity and dynamic range for quantification of RNA. In addition, CE-LIF can be used to directly determine the amount of an RNA species present, something that is difficult and not normally accomplished using current methods. Gene expression is detected using a fluorescently labeled riboprobe specific for a given RNA species. This direct approach was validated by analyzing levels of 28S RNA and also used to determine the amount of discoidin domain receptor 2 mRNA in cardiac tissue.     

替换HIV-1衣壳蛋白基因SHIV的构建及其活性测定

将猴免疫缺陷病毒(Simianimmunodeficiencyvirus,SIVmm239)中gag基因的衣壳蛋白部分置换成人免疫缺陷病毒(Humanimmunodeficiencyvirustype1,HIV-1HXBc2)的相应部分,构建出替换了衣壳蛋白基因的人/猿嵌合免疫缺陷病毒(SHIV)原病毒DNA。用此SHIV原病毒DNA转染293T细胞,细胞中能够检测到嵌合病毒基因的转录与翻译;在细胞培养液上清中亦可检测到装配出的病毒颗粒。病毒颗粒形态正常,含有基因组RNA,具有反转录酶活性,嵌合的外源衣壳蛋白能够正确剪切,形成棒状的核心。将此嵌合SHIV病毒感染MT4细胞,病毒能够吸附并进入细胞,能完成反转录过程,但不能增殖。     

Suppression of HIV replication using RNA interference against HIV-1 integrase

RNA interference (RNAi) has become one of the most powerful and popular approach on gene silencing in clinical research study especially in virology due to the gene-specific suppression property of small interfering RNA (siRNA). In this report, we demonstrate that expression of vector-mediated small hairpin RNA (shRNA) against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase (IN), one of the three important enzymes in HIV infection by controlling the integration of viral RNA to host DNA, could suppress the protein synthesis of EGFP-tagged IN in HeLa cell model efficiently. Furthermore, we show that IN shRNA can successfully reduce the HIV particles production in 293T cells at the level similar to the positive control of HIV-1 tat shRNA. These results provide the therapeutic possibility of HIV replication using RNAi against HIV-1 integrase.     

IL-12基因对HIV-1核酸疫苗诱导的免疫应答的影响

研究白细胞介素 12(IL 12)基因对HIV 1核酸疫苗诱导免疫应答的影响,以探求治疗性 HIV 1 核酸疫苗的新策略。将 pCI neoGAG联合白细胞介素 12基因或者 pCI neoGAG单独免疫 Balb/c小鼠,通过 ELISA检测免疫小鼠的特异性抗体和 IFN γ,通过MTT实验检测免疫小鼠脾淋巴细胞增殖实验,通过乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)实验检测小鼠特异性细胞毒性T淋巴细胞(CTL)反应。与 pCI neoGAG免疫组比较,pCI neoGAG联合白细胞介素 12基因免疫组小鼠血清的抗 HIV 1p24 抗体滴度降低,有显著性差异(P< 0. 01);而与 pCI neoGAG 免疫组比较, pCI neoGAG联合白细胞介素 12基因免疫组小鼠血清的 IFN γ升高,有显著性差异(P<0.01);pCI neoGAG联合白细胞介素 12基因免疫组小鼠的脾淋巴细胞增殖实验刺激指数(SI)以及特异性 CTL活性均高于 pCI neoGAG免疫组,有显著性差异(P<0.01)。因此,白细胞介素 12基因基因联合HIV 1核酸疫苗免疫小鼠,可能增强特异性Th1细胞和CTL反应,白细胞介素 12基因对体液免疫有抑制作用。     

IL-12基因对HIV-1核酸疫苗诱导的免疫应答的影响

研究白细胞介素-12(IL 12)基因对HIV-1核酸疫苗诱导免疫应答的影响,以探求治疗性HIV-1核酸疫苗的新策略.将pCI-neoGAG联合白细胞介素-12基因或者pCI-neoGAG单独免疫Balb/c小鼠,通过ELISA检测免疫小鼠的特异性抗体和IFN-γ,通过MTT实验检测免疫小鼠脾淋巴细胞增殖实验,通过乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)实验检测小鼠特异性细胞毒性T淋巴细胞(CTL)反应.与pCI-neoGAG免疫组比较,pCI-neoGAG联合白细胞介素-12基因免疫组小鼠血清的抗HIV-1p24抗体滴度降低,有显著性差异(P＜0.01);而与pCI-neoGAG免疫组比较,pCI-neoGAG联合白细胞介素-12基因免疫组小鼠血清的IFN-γ升高,有显著性差异(P＜0.01);pCI-neoGAG联合白细胞介素-12基因免疫组小鼠的脾淋巴细胞增殖实验刺激指数(SI)以及特异性CTL活性均高于pCI-neoGAG免疫组,有显著性差异(P＜0.01).因此,白细胞介素-12基因基因联合HIV-1核酸疫苗免疫小鼠,可能增强特异性Th1细胞和CTL反应,白细胞介素-12基因对体液免疫有抑制作用.     

用PCR突变技术克隆艾滋病病毒蛋白酶基因

作者设计并合成了一对用于PCR技术的突变引物HIV-1 Pr1和HIV-1Pr2,分别在两引物中设计了两个突变点,使突变后基因含有EcoRI、HindⅢ和TAA序列,便于HIV-1 Pr基因的定向克隆和表达。用HIV-1 Pr1和HIV-1 Pr2作引物,采用PCR方法从HIV-1基因组DNA中扩增出了一个360bp长的DNA片段,用EcoRI和HindⅢ双酶切法将此片段定向克隆入pUC19质粒,将克隆基因插入M13mp18进行DNA序列分析。结果表明,该基因序列的读框完全正确,从而为HIV-1 Pr基因的表达及抑制剂的研究奠定了基础。     

Mathematical modeling of viral kinetics under immune control during primary HIV-1 infection

Primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is characterized by an initial exponential increase of viral load in peripheral blood reaching a peak, followed by a rapid decline to the viral setpoint. Although the target-cell-limited model can account for part of the viral kinetics observed early in infection [Phillips, 1996. Reduction of HIV concentration during acute infection: independence from a specific immune response. Science 271 (5248), 497-499], it frequently predicts highly oscillatory kinetics after peak viremia, which is not typically observed in clinical data. Furthermore, the target-cell-limited model is unable to predict long-term viral kinetics, unless a delayed immune effect is assumed [Stafford et al., 2000. Modeling plasma virus concentration during primary HIV infection. J. Theor. Biol. 203 (3), 285-301]. We show here that extending the target-cell-limited model, by implementing a saturation term for HIV-infected cell loss dependent upon infected cell levels, is able to reproduce the diverse observed viral kinetic patterns without the assumption of a delayed immune response. Our results suggest that the immune response may have significant effect on the control of the virus during primary infection and may support experimental observations that an anti-HIV immune response is already functional during peak viremia.     

Rates of amino acid change in the envelope protein correlate with pathogenicity of primate lentiviruses

A spectrum of pathogenicity has been observed for primate lentiviruses in their natural hosts. For example, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a potent etiologic agent for AIDS in man, whereas there is no evidence to date which indicates that simian immunodeficiency virus from African green monkeys (SIVAGM) causes immunodeficiency in AGM. We measured the relative rates of amino acid change, as the ratio of the number of nonsynonymous to synonymous (silent) nucleotide substitutions, for six primate lentiviruses evolving in their respective hosts. These rates for the external envelope glycoprotein (gp120) and gag coding sequences are 2–3 times higher for pathogenic HIV-1 and SIV..ac (macaque) than for minimally pathogenic SIVAGM and SIVsn,m (sooty mangabey), and intermediate for HIV-2. We speculate that the increased rates of nonsynonymous changes in gp120 and gag coding sequences are due to viral escape from immune surveillance and are indicative of higher immunogenicity of these proteins in their hosts. Based on these results and available experimental data, we conclude that there is a positive correlation between lentiviral pathogenicity and immunogenicity of the Env and Gag proteins in a given host. This hypothesis is consistent with recent data suggesting that immune system activation or autoimmunity induced by viral antigens may be important in the pathogenesis of AIDS.Correspondence to: E.G. Shpaer     

In Vitro Modification of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Infectivity by the U937 Cells

The effect of host cell factors on infectivity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) was studied by infecting a monoblastoid cell line (U937) or a T-cell line (MOLT-4) with a highly infective single clone of HIV-1 and comparing the infectivity of the produced viruses to different cell lines. Chronically infected U937 cells consistently produced viruses with minimal infectivity. This phenotypic change was host-dependent as the back-passage of the U937-produced low infective viruses into MOLT-4 cells resulted in regaining their original high infectivity. Southern and Northern blot analyses of the HIV-1 grown in U937 cells did not reveal any genomic difference between it and the virus grown it MOLT-4 cells. The radioimmunoprecipitation analysis of viral proteins showed that the HIV-1-infected U937 cells had a different pattern of envelope glycoproteins and core proteins, which well correlated with the low infectivity of the produced viruses. This experimental system using MOLT-4 and U937 cell lines would be useful to further explore host cell factor(s) which play an important role in the regulation of HIV-1 infectivity.     

HIV-1 Nef promotes cell proliferation and microRNA dysregulation in lung cells

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents about 85% of all lung cancer cases. Lung cancer is the most frequent non-AIDS-defining malignancies in HIV-infected patients. The mechanism of the increased risk for lung cancer in HIV-1 patients is poorly understood. HIV-1 Nef protein has been suggested to be one of the key players in HIV-related lung disease. In here, we showed the involvement of Nef protein in cell modifications such as fibroblasts (IMR-90) and normal (BEAS-2B) or cancerous (A549) epithelial cells. We demonstrated that Nef protein reprograms initial stages of lung cancer (e.g. changes in the metabolism, improved cell survival and invasion, increase the angiogenesis factor VEGF). Additionally, we showed that Nef is provoking a global decrease of mature miRNA and a decrease of DICER1 and AGO expression in lung cells. MiRNAs play a crucial role in cell signaling and homeostasis, functioning as oncogenes or tumor suppressors, and their dysregulation can contribute to the tumorigenic process. These results showed that HIV-1 Nef protein is directly involved in preventing cell death and contributes to tumor progression.     

替换HIV-1衣壳蛋白基因SHIV的构建及其活性测定

将猴免疫缺陷病毒(Simian immunodeficiency virus,SIVmm239)中gag基因的衣壳蛋白部分置换成人免疫缺陷病毒(Human immunodeficiency virus type1,HIV-1 HXBc2)的相应部分,构建出替换了衣壳蛋白基因的人/猿嵌合免疫缺陷病毒(SHIV)原病毒DNA.用此SHIV原病毒DNA转染293T细胞,细胞中能够检测到嵌合病毒基因的转录与翻译;在细胞培养液上清中亦可检测到装配出的病毒颗粒.病毒颗粒形态正常,含有基因组RNA,具有反转录酶活性,嵌合的外源衣壳蛋白能够正确剪切,形成棒状的核心.将此嵌合SHIV病毒感染MT4细胞,病毒能够吸附并进入细胞,能完成反转录过程,但不能增殖.     

Determination of vigabatrin by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

A new analytical method for vigabatrin based on capillary electrophoretic separation and laser-induced fluorescence detection has been developed. 5-Carboxytetramethylrhodamine succinimidyl ester was used for precolumn derivatization of the non-fluorescent drug. Optimal separation and detection were obtained with an electrophoretic buffer of 50 mM sodium borate (pH9.5) containing 10 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and a green He-Ne laser (excitation at 543.5 nm, emission at 589 nm). The concentration limit of detection in aqueous solution was 24 nM. Combined with a simple cleanup procedure, this method can be applied to the determination of vigabatrin in human plasma. A calibration curve ranging from 1.5 to 200 microM shown to be linear. Both the within-day and day-to-day reproducibilities and accuracies were less then 14.3% and 4.9% respectively. The limit of detection of vigabatrin in plasma was about 0.13 microM     

反式激活HIV—1LTR的人疱疹病毒6型（HHV—6）基因片段的初步研究

艾滋病（ＡＩＤＳ）主要是由人免疫缺陷病毒（ＨＩＶ）侵入人体后,破坏人的免疫系统造成的。许多流行病学研究已证明,疱疹病毒与ＨＩＶ的共感染可以导致对ＨＩＶ－１启动子的激活,并加速细胞的病理性反应〔１〕,从而加大个体对ＨＩＶ感染的敏感和加快疾病的进程。人疱...     

Plasma D-penicillamine redox state evaluation by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence

D-Penicillamine (D-Pen) is a thiol drug used in the treatment of Wilson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, metal intoxication and cystinuria. We have recently described a new capillary electrophoresis (CE) method to measure physiological thiols, in which separation of total plasma homocysteine, cysteine, cysteinylglycine, glutathione is achieved using the organic base N-methyl-D-glucamine in the run buffer. In this paper, we present an improvement of our method that allows a baseline separation of total plasma D-Pen from the physiological thiols. Moreover, reduced, free and protein-bound forms of drug are measured by varying the order of disulfide reduction with tributylphosphine and proteins precipitation with 5-sulphosalicylic acid (SSA). After derivatization with 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein (5-IAF), samples are separated and measured by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence in an uncoated fused-silica capillary (57 x 75 microm i.d.) using a phosphate/borate run buffer pH 11.4. In these conditions, the migration time of D-Pen is about 7 min and the time required for each analysis is roughly 10 min. The proposed method has been utilized to measure the various forms of the drug in a D-Pen administered Wilson's disease patient.     

Ⅰ型人免疫缺陷病毒(HIV-1)逆转录酶在大肠杆菌中的表达及其初步纯化

Ⅰ型人免疫缺陷病毒(HIV-1)逆转录酶(RT)在抗病毒感染及AIDS治疗药物的设计中是一个重要的靶分子,并且可作为工具酶应用于逆转录PCR等分子生物学研究中。本研究将HIV-1RT基因经PCR扩增并修饰后克隆入大肠杆菌表达载体pBV220,所获重组子所表达的HIV-1RT蛋白占菌体总蛋白的8％左右,且经[~3H]dTTP掺入法证实该重组HIV-1RT具有RT聚合酶活性。用Q-Sepharose层析柱对重组HIV-1RT蛋白进行了初步纯化,所获纯化样品的RT聚合酶比活性(1.7×10~4U/mg)比纯化前的裂解上清提高612倍。     

On transient effects in the HIV/AIDS epidemic

During the initially exponential spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV—the causative agent of AIDS) the growth rate of the number of AIDS cases decreases from plus infinity to the growth rate of HIV infections. A sensitivity analysis shows that for all reasonable values of the parameters of the HIV epidemic (incubation period, initial doubling time, etc.) the effect of this positive transient becomes negligible when the annual number of AIDS cases reaches a few dozen. Necessary and sufficient conditions are given for the growth rate of the number of AIDS cases to be monotonically decreasing during the positive transient. A mildly pathological density function for the incubation period of AIDS provides an example of a growth rate of AIDS that does not decrease monotonically, even though HIV is spreading exponentially. A negative transient occurs when the growth rate of HIV begins to decrease. In this context a somewhat surprising result emerges under the assumption that the growth rate of HIV is non-increasing: the growth rate of AIDS is at all times larger than the growth rate of HIV. A logistic HIV epidemic illustrates this result, and implications for the growth of the HIV epidemic in the United States and Europe are discussed. In particular, it is shown that the positive transient must have passed by 1982 in the United States and by 1986 or 1987 for the five European countries with the largest caseloads.