Dissecting the Calcium-Induced Differentiation of Human Primary Keratinocytes Stem Cells by Integrative and Structural Network Analyses

The molecular details underlying the time-dependent assembly of protein complexes in cellular networks, such as those that occur during differentiation, are largely unexplored. Focusing on the calcium-induced differentiation of primary human keratinocytes as a model system for a major cellular reorganization process, we look at the expression of genes whose products are involved in manually-annotated protein complexes. Clustering analyses revealed only moderate co-expression of functionally related proteins during differentiation. However, when we looked at protein complexes, we found that the majority (55%) are composed of non-dynamic and dynamic gene products (‘di-chromatic’), 19% are non-dynamic, and 26% only dynamic. Considering three-dimensional protein structures to predict steric interactions, we found that proteins encoded by dynamic genes frequently interact with a common non-dynamic protein in a mutually exclusive fashion. This suggests that during differentiation, complex assemblies may also change through variation in the abundance of proteins that compete for binding to common proteins as found in some cases for paralogous proteins. Considering the example of the TNF-α/NFκB signaling complex, we suggest that the same core complex can guide signals into diverse context-specific outputs by addition of time specific expressed subunits, while keeping other cellular functions constant. Thus, our analysis provides evidence that complex assembly with stable core components and competition could contribute to cell differentiation.     

肿瘤细胞的诱导分化

肿瘤细胞最显著的生物学特性是无限制增殖和不良分化,一般认为肿瘤的发生与分化异常有关,所以肿瘤细胞有可能被诱导分化,使之向正常方向转变.因此诱导分化治疗成为肿瘤化疗的一个新的领域.近年来,对诱导分化剂,如维甲酸、砷、维生素D3及其衍生物、芳香族氨基酸、环腺苷酸衍生物等的机制及应用研究不断深入,为肿瘤的诱导分化治疗带来光明前景.     

Myocardin in Tumor Suppression and Myofibroblast Differentiation

The malignant transformation process is associated with defects in cell cycle regulation and disruption of the normal differentiation programs in both neoplastic and adjacent stroma cells. However, the relationships between the cell cycle, differentiation and cancer are very complex and tissue specific. Recently we have demonstrated a previously unrecognized role in human carcinogenesis for the important regulator of cardiac and smooth muscle differentiation, myocardin. Myocardin expression is frequently repressed during human malignant transformation contributing to a differentiation defect in the premalignant mesenchymal cells. TGFβ treatment, serum deprivation and intact contact inhibition response all contribute to myocardin induction and differentiation. Positive regulation of myocardin mRNA levels and activity by the p16/Rb pathway provides a molecular link between cell cycle and differentiation defects during cancer development. In addition, we show that myocardin represses its own expression in human fibroblasts. This negative autoregulatory loop might be potentially important for restraining myocardin activity and allowing reversibility of fibroblast-myofibroblast phenotypic conversion.Here we discuss the emerging role of myocardin in tumor suppression as well as novel aspects of its regulation in normal and malignant conditions.     

生长分化因子5与代谢性疾病

生长分化因子5 (growth/differentiation factor-5,GDF-5)属于转化生长因子β (transforming growth factor-β,TGF-β)家族,在骨、软骨、心脏、大脑、肾脏、骨骼肌和肌腱、肝脏以及脂肪等多个器官组织中表达。GDF-5与其受体BMPR-I/BMPR-II结合,激活Smad1/5/8、PI3K/Akt、p38-MAPK等信号,发挥促进细胞增殖分化、减少氧化应激损伤、细胞凋亡和组织纤维化等生物学功能。目前针对GDF-5的研究多聚焦在骨、软骨与肌腱的生长和修复等方面,而在其他器官中的生物学作用鲜有报道。因此,本文通过梳理和总结近年来GDF-5与代谢性疾病的研究进展,为GDF-5在改善代谢性疾病防治提供新的见解和理论依据。     

猪髓样分化因子MyD88特异性shRNA干扰载体的构建筛选及干扰效果评价

髓样分化因子My D88(myeloid differentiation factor 88)信号通路是一个具有多种调节功能的传导通路,在免疫反应、炎症反应及肿瘤的发生和发展过程中均发挥重要作用。构建猪(Sus scrofa)My D88基因的shRNA干扰载体,并在转录水平和蛋白质表达水平对其干扰效果进行验证,以筛选出干扰效果最优的干扰载体。根据猪My D88基因(Gen Bank登录号:KC766424.1)全长c DNA序列,利用Invitrogen公司在线设计软件设计出4对shRNA干扰序列,退火成双链后,分别将其插入到p Yr-1.1载体中,构建My D88基因的shRNA真核表达载体p Yr-1.1-pig My D88-sh1、p Yr-1.1-pig My D88-sh2、p Yr-1.1-pig My D88-sh3、p Yr-1.1-pig My D88-sh4,并通过双酶切和测序对其进行鉴定。构建成功后转染猪肺泡巨噬细胞3D4/2,通过Real-time PCR及Western blot验证My D88基因的表达水平,以及对LPS刺激后炎症因子TNF-α基因表达水平的影响。结果表明,所构建的猪My D88基因的特异性shRNA表达载体均可显著降低猪My D88 mRNA和蛋白质的表达水平(P0.05),干扰效率分别达到36%、67%、60%、69%;相比于未干扰组,LPS刺激My D88沉默之后的巨噬细胞,炎症因子TNF-α基因表达水平显著下降(P0.05),表明所构建猪My D88干扰载体干扰效果较好。     

中国人群中肿瘤坏死因子α－308A／G基因多态和α2－巨球蛋白基因缺失多态与晚发性阿尔茨海默病无相关性

晚发性阿尔茨海默病(LOAD)是老年痴呆中最常见的一种,它是一种病因复杂、由遗传因素和环境等其他因素共同作用引起的老年期疾病.服用非甾类抗炎类药物能延缓或防止LOAD的发病说明炎症反应可能参与LOAD病理,肿瘤坏死因子(TNF)是炎症反应中主要的细胞因子,并且能增加β-淀粉样肽(Aβ)的产生说明其可能是LOAD的易感基因.α2-巨球蛋白(A2M)是一种血清蛋白酶抑制剂,它是低密度脂蛋白受体相关蛋白(LRP)主要的配体, 并且能与Aβ结合并介导其降解和清除,说明它可能是另一个LOAD的易感基因.在67名晚发性阿尔茨海默病人和142名正常对照中比较了载脂蛋白E基因 (APOE)、TNF启动子区(-308 A/G)多态和A2M一5 bp核苷酸缺失(I/D)多态(A2M-2)与LOAD发病风险的关系.结果显示,APOE ε4等位基因在AD病人组中显著高于对照组(χ2=11.66,P＜0.01),而TNF(-308 A/G)多态和A2M缺失多态的基因型和等位基因在LOAD病人组和对照组中都无显著差别(P＞0.1).按年龄和APOE ε4等位基因分组同样无相关性,说明TNF-308 A/G位点的多态与A2M缺失不是中国人群的晚发性老年痴呆的风险因子.     

转录因子家族DP蛋白与肿瘤关系的研究进展

E2F是一个重要的转录因子家族,通过调节靶基因的转录活性在细胞周期、DNA复制、生长、分化、凋亡等多种细胞进程中发挥关键的作用.转录因子家族DP与E2F结合形成E2F/DP异二聚体,对E2F的DNA结合亲和力和转录激活功能起到增强的作用,是生理状态下E2F必不可少的组成部分.DP蛋白家族有三个成员,即DP-1、DP-2和DP-3,其中DP-1具有三个异构体,DP-2具有四个异构体.DP蛋白家族成员以及异构体间存在结构和功能的差异,能通过组织特异性表达和显性负性方式在家族内部构成调节系统,对生理功能进行精细调节.E2F-1兼具抑癌和促癌双重作用,已得到人们的广泛关注.DP蛋白作为E2F的结合伴侣对其功能起到重要的调节作用,加之以DP-3在肿瘤细胞中的特异性表达,提示DP蛋白与肿瘤间存在密切的关系.本文就此将近年来的研究成果进行总结,并提出进一步研究的设想.     

Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors and Fungal Infections

The number of commercially available tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors has been increasing, including two new agents licensed since 2008. In addition to an expanding number of agents, there are also increasing licensed and “off label” clinical applications for the TNF inhibitors for the treatment of a variety of inflammatory or granulomatous disorders. Unfortunately, use of the TNF inhibitors has been associated with a wide variety of opportunistic infections, including fungal infections. Higher rates of morbidity and mortality from fungal infection in TNF inhibitor-treated patients have been observed, likely due to a delay in the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections and a tendency for these patients to develop severe and disseminated disease. Therefore, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a “black box” warning for clinicians in September 2008 to alert providers to the risks of fungal infections in patients treated with TNF-α inhibitors.     

真核翻译起始因子3与肿瘤

真核翻译起始因子3是由多个亚基组成的,在真核翻译起始中发挥重要作用,近年来的研究表明其多个亚基在多种肿瘤细胞中存在异常表达的现象且与肿瘤的侵袭性、转移能力、分化程度及预后相关,使其有望成为肿瘤治疗的新靶点。     

核内转录因子IKAROS与血液肿瘤

IKAROS蛋白是一类含锌指结构域的核内转录因子,调节血液细胞分化发育。机体在血液细胞分化发育、天然免疫细胞的分化成熟、抗血液系统肿瘤发生等过程中均需要IKAROS蛋白的参与。IKAROS蛋白的功能依赖于其分子结构上的2个重要结构域:DNA结合结构域和家族蛋白相互作用结构域。DNA结合结构域与靶基因上游调控序列进行特异性结合,而蛋白相互作用结构域与家族蛋白分子结合形成二聚体,发挥IKAROS的生物学活性。IKAROS蛋白在细胞内代谢受到酪蛋白激酶2（casein kinase 2,CK2）和蛋白磷酸化酶1（protein phosphorylase 1,PP1）的调节,CK2将IKAROS蛋白磷酸化,使其失去生物活性|而PP1将磷酸化的IKAROS蛋白去磷酸化,从而增强IKAROS的生物活性。近几年临床研究发现,IKAROS蛋白的表达异常以及CK2激酶活性的增高与白血病的发生发展有密切关系。本文就IKAROS的分子结构特点、生物学功能、体内代谢调控方式及IKAROS在血液系统肿瘤发生发展过程中的生物学作用进行综述。     

胎盘生长因子与肿瘤的研究进展

血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF)家族及其受体已被公认在促进血管生成中起关键作用,大量研究证实其与肿瘤生长及血管生成具有相关性.胎盘生长因子(placental growth factor,PlGF)为VEGF家族的一个成员,与其受体VEGFR-1可以通过特异性结合而产生生物学活性.P1GF在正常组织中几乎不表达,但在病理条件下,其在一些细胞中表达增加.在肿瘤生长和血管生成的基础研究中,P1GF的作用备受争议.PlGF在人类多种肿瘤组织中表达,并且在部分肿瘤中其表达水平与预后不良相关.抗P1GF治疗可抑制血管生成及肿瘤细胞生长.同抗VEGF治疗相比,抗P1GF治疗副作用较小,而且不损害健康血管.现就P1GF及其与肿瘤相关研究予以综述.     

Molecular Biomarker Analyses Using Circulating Tumor Cells

Background

Evaluation of cancer biomarkers from blood could significantly enable biomarker assessment by providing a relatively non-invasive source of representative tumor material. Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) isolated from blood of metastatic cancer patients hold significant promise in this regard.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Using spiked tumor-cells we evaluated CTC capture on different CTC technology platforms, including CellSearch® and two biochip platforms, and used the isolated CTCs to develop and optimize assays for molecular characterization of CTCs. We report similar performance for the various platforms tested in capturing CTCs, and find that capture efficiency is dependent on the level of EpCAM expression. We demonstrate that captured CTCs are amenable to biomarker analyses such as HER2 status, qRT-PCR for breast cancer subtype markers, KRAS mutation detection, and EGFR staining by immunofluorescence (IF). We quantify cell surface expression of EGFR in metastatic lung cancer patient samples. In addition, we determined HER2 status by IF and FISH in CTCs from metastatic breast cancer patients. In the majority of patients (89%) we found concordance with HER2 status from patient tumor tissue, though in a subset of patients (11%), HER2 status in CTCs differed from that observed in the primary tumor. Surprisingly, we found CTC counts to be higher in ER+ patients in comparison to HER2+ and triple negative patients, which could be explained by low EpCAM expression and a more mesenchymal phenotype of tumors belonging to the basal-like molecular subtype of breast cancer.

Conclusions/Significance

Our data suggests that molecular characterization from captured CTCs is possible and can potentially provide real-time information on biomarker status. In this regard, CTCs hold significant promise as a source of tumor material to facilitate clinical biomarker evaluation. However, limitations exist from a purely EpCAM based capture system and addition of antibodies to mesenchymal markers could further improve CTC capture efficiency to enable routine biomarker analysis from CTCs.     

干扰素调节因子的抑制肿瘤作用

干扰素（interferon,IFN）具有调节机体免疫功能、抗病毒、抗肿瘤等多种作用,是机体防御系统的重要组成部分。目前,基因工程生产的干扰素已广泛应用于临床治疗多种肿瘤。干扰素调节因子（IRF）家族在IFN的诱导表达中起着重要的调节作用。已发现了9个IRF成员,其中IRF-1和IRF-2的表达水平与宫颈癌、乳腺癌等有关;IRF-3与食管癌、宫颈癌等密切相关;IRF-5可以抑制B细胞淋巴瘤;IRF-7与乳腺癌相关;IRF-8和IRF-4参与慢性髓细胞性白血病的发病机制。     

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C-Induced Lymphangiogenesis Decreases Tumor Interstitial Fluid Pressure and Tumor

Characteristically, most solid tumors exhibit an increased tumor interstitial fluid pressure (TIFP) that directly contributes to the lowered uptake of macromolecular therapeutics into the tumor interstitium. Abnormalities in the tumor-associated lymph vessels are a central brick in the development and prolonged sustaining of an increased TIFP. In the current study, vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) was used to enhance tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis as a new mechanism to actively reduce the TIFP by increased lymphatic drainage of the tumor tissue. Human A431 epidermoid vulva carcinoma cells were inoculated in NMRI nu/nu mice to generate a xenograft mouse model. Seven days after tumor cell injection, VEGF-C was peritumorally injected to induce lymphangiogenesis. Tumor growth and TIFP was lowered significantly over time in VEGF-C-treated tumors in comparison to control or VEGF-A-treated animals. These data demonstrate for the first time that actively induced lymphangiogenesis can lower the TIFP in a xenograft tumor model and apparently reduce tumor growth. This model represents a novel approach to modulate biomechanical properties of the tumor interstitium enabling a lowering of TIFP in vivo.     

零配比正交试验设计与结果分析

发现了正交配比试验的一种特殊情况-零配比正交试验,极差与平方和特征分析表明:常规正交(配比)试验极差与方差分析法均不能直接用于零配比正交试验结果分析．推导了3因素、3水平、无互作零配比正交试验极差估计与平方和分解校正方法,可有效提高试验结果分析的可靠性．     

Structural Differentiation of Graphs Using Hosoya-Based Indices

In this paper, we introduce the Hosoya-Spectral indices and the Hosoya information content of a graph. The first measure combines structural information captured by partial Hosoya polynomials and graph spectra. The latter is a graph entropy measure which is based on blocks consisting of vertices with the same partial Hosoya polynomial. We evaluate the discrimination power of these quantities by interpreting numerical results.     

Chromatographic Analyses of Isoaccepting tRNAs from Avian Tumor Viruses

Low-molecular-weight RNA from transforming viruses (Rous sarcoma virus-Rous-associated virus 1, Schmidt-Ruppin strain of Rous sarcoma virus, and sarcoma-B(77)), from nontransforming viruses (Rous-associated virus 1 and sarcoma-NTB(77)), and from chicken liver, chicken embryo fibroblast, and Rous sarcoma virus-Rous-associated virus 1-transformed chicken embryo fibroblast was isolated and purified. To determine if there are modified, qualitatively or quantitatively different isoaccepting species of tRNA in these avian sarcoma viruses as compared with the cell of virus origin, chicken embryo fibroblast or normal chicken liver, methionyl-, arginyl-, and lysyl-tRNA (with high amino acid acceptance activity), and aspartyl- and glutamyl-tRNA from viral-trans-formed cells (with low viral amino acid acceptance activity) were co-chromatographed on reversed phase-5 chromatography columns, and elution profiles were compared. Although in each case the elution profile between a particular viral and host cell tRNA differed quantitatively, there was no qualitative difference in the profiles of corresponding tRNAs from either transforming or nontransforming viruses examined. Minor quantitative differences in the elution profiles might be a reflection of the metabolic state of the cells, since all evidence points to acceptor activity being of host rather than viral origin. Since, with the exception of selective packaging of methionyl-tRNA (IV) species by both transforming and nontransforming viruses, no selectivity was found for isoacceptor species of other tRNAs, it seems that such preferential packaging of methionyl-tRNA (IV) species has no bearing on the event of viral transformation.