Use of SMART-generated cDNA for gene expression studies in multiple human tumors

We demonstrate here that SMART PCR-amplified cDNAs arrayed on a nylon membrane are suitable for high-throughput tissue expression profiling when starting biological materials are limited. We show that SMART cDNA accurately reflects gene expression patterns found in total RNA by comparing the expression level of several target genes in SMART PCR-amplified cDNAs and their corresponding total RNAs. We also arrayed cDNAs from 68 matched tumor and normal samples on a nylon membrane to determine whether SMART PCR-amplified cDNA could be used for detecting differentially expressed genes in these tissues. These arrays containing normalized tumor and normal cDNAs were hybridized with probes for glutathione peroxidase and gelsolin. The hybridization results revealed cancer-related and patient-specific gene expression differences between tumor and normal tissues for these genes. These studies show that SMART PCR-amplified cDNAs maintain the complexity of the original mRNA population and are thus suitable for high-throughput studies to compare the relative abundance of target genes and to detect differentially expressed genes in a wide variety of tissues simultaneously.     

Isolation of novel human fetal brain cDNAs mapped to human chromosome bands, 1q25 and 8q24.1

We isolated chromosome band-specific human fetal brain cDNAs by the microdissection mediated cDNA capture method, and localized these cDNA using in situ hybridization histochemistry with developing rat brain sections. Uni-Amp cDNAs were prepared from an 18-week old human fetal brain, and hybridized to human metaphase chromosomes. Eight Uni-Amp cDNAs, hybridized to chromosome band 1q25 or 8q24.1, were recovered by microdissection and PCR amplification with Uni-Amp primers. Among these cDNAs, two novel genes (FB113 of 8q24.1 and FB134 of 1q25) showed a temporospatially interesting expression pattern in the developing rat brains. The expression of FB113 was under dynamic regulation in the developing granule cells of cerebellum and dentate gyrus. FB134 showed a nervous tissue specific expression pattern and an exclusively prominent expression in the developing presubiculum and parasubiculum. By the fluorescence in situ hybridization using human genomic DNAs, FB113 and FB134 were mapped back to the human chromosome bands 8q24.1 and 1q25, respectively. These results indicate that combined application of the microdissection mediated cDNA capture method and in situ hybridization histochemistry can be used for the isolation of chromosomal band-specific genes related to brain development or human genetic diseases.     

应用限制性显示技术制备HCV cDNA诊断基因芯片的初步研究

制备丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV)检测芯片并进行验证、初步检测质量评价。采用限制性显示 (Restrictiondisplay ,RD)技术制备芯片探针 ,从载体pCV_J4L6S中切出HCV全长cDNA ,Sau3AⅠ酶消化 ,所得的限制性片段进行RD_PCR扩增 ,经聚丙烯酰胺电泳 (PAGE)结合银染法进行分离。切胶回收后作 3次PCR ,得到较纯净的HCVcDNA限制性片段。扩增后的产物克隆至pMD18_T载体进行快速鉴定。将筛选出的限制性片段打印在氨基修饰的玻片上制备成检测芯片进行杂交验证分析 ,对芯片检测进行优化、初步的质量评估。运用RD技术 ,得到 2 4个 2 0 0～ 80 0bp、大小均一的基因片段 ,序列分析表明 ,均属于HCV特异基因 ,可以作为诊断芯片探针 ;杂交、测序结果显示 ,芯片检测的敏感性、特异性、准确度、重复性、线性等指标均佳。利用RD技术制备基因芯片探针是一种快速、简便的实用方法 ;制备的诊断芯片可以用于检测HCVRNA ,具有敏感、检测结果较为可靠的优点。     

Combination of PCR subtraction and cDNA microarray for differential gene expression profiling.

PCR subtraction hybridization has been used effectively to enrich and single out differentially expressed genes. However identification of these genes by means of cloning and sequencing individual cDNAs is a tedious and lengthy process. In this report, an attempt has been made to combine the use of PCR select cDNA subtraction hybridization and cDNA microarrays to identify differentially expressed genes using a nonradioactive chemiluminescent detection method. mRNA from human prolactin (hPRL) or human prolactin antagonist (hPRL-G129R) treated and non-treated breast cancer cells was isolated, and cDNAs were synthesized and used for the PCR subtraction to enrich the differentially expressed genes in the treated cells. The PCR-amplified and subtracted cDNA pools were purified and labeled using the digoxigenin method. Labeled cDNAs were hybridized to a human apoptosis cDNA microarray membrane and identified by chemiluminescence. The results suggest that the strategy of combining all three methods will allow for a more efficient, nonradioactive way of identifying differentially expressed genes in target cells.     

Comparative hybridization of an array of 21,500 ovarian cDNAs for the discovery of genes overexpressed in ovarian carcinomas

Comparative hybridization of cDNA arrays is a powerful tool for the measurement of differences in gene expression between two or more tissues. We optimized this technique and employed it to discover genes with potential for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. This cancer is rarely identified in time for a good prognosis after diagnosis. An array of 21,500 unknown ovarian cDNAs was hybridized with labeled first-strand cDNA from 10 ovarian tumors and six normal tissues. One hundred and thirty-four clones are overexpressed in at least five of the 10 tumors. These cDNAs were sequenced and compared to public sequence databases. One of these, the gene HE4, was found to be expressed primarily in some ovarian cancers, and is thus a potential marker of ovarian carcinoma.     

Combining SSH and cDNA microarrays for rapid identification of differentially expressed genes

Comparing patterns of gene expression in cell lines and tissues has important applications in a variety of biological systems. In this study we have examined whether the emerging technology of cDNA microarrays will allow a high throughput analysis of expression of cDNA clones generated by suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). A set of cDNA clones including 332 SSH inserts amplified by PCR was arrayed using robotic printing. The cDNA arrays were hybridized with fluorescent labeled probes prepared from RNA from ER-positive (MCF7 and T47D) and ER-negative (MDA-MB-231 and HBL-100) breast cancer cell lines. Ten clones were identified that were over-expressed by at least a factor of five in the ER-positive cell lines. Northern blot analysis confirmed over-expression of these 10 cDNAs. Sequence analysis identified four of these clones as cytokeratin 19, GATA-3, CD24 and glutathione-S-transferase mu-3. Of the remaining six cDNA clones, four clones matched EST sequences from two different genes and two clones were novel sequences. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence confirmed that CD24 protein was over-expressed in the ER-positive cell lines. We conclude that SSH and microarray technology can be successfully applied to identify differentially expressed genes. This approach allowed the identification of differentially expressed genes without the need to obtain previously cloned cDNAs.     

Diagnosis of rotavirus infection with cloned cDNA copies of viral genome segments.

The diagnostic potential of cloned cDNA copies of human rotavirus (strain WA) genome segments for the detection of rotavirus in clinical specimens has been determined. A hybridization assay in which a mixture of 32P-labeled cDNAs representing the 11 rotavirus segments was used as a probe compared favorably with three frequently used diagnostic tests for rotavirus in terms of both specificity and sensitivity. Significantly, clinical isolates could be readily distinguished when cloned cDNA copies of individual genome segments were used independently as a probe. In assays in which genome RNA from rotaviruses of known subgroups and serotypes were tested, cloned probes that encode nonstructural viral proteins hybridized efficiently to genome RNAs of all strains, whereas cloned probes corresponding to genome segments 6 and 9 exhibited the potential for differentiating strains of different subgroups and serotypes. Cloned cDNA copies of rotavirus genome segments therefore offer considerable potential for improved general diagnosis of rotavirus in clinical specimens, as well as for epidemiological studies in which virus isolates can be distinguished on the basis of nucleotide sequence homology of individual genome segments.     

吉林双阳型梅花鹿sentrin/SUMO的发现

为了确定梅花鹿未知的编码区cDNA,我们利用TaKaRa公司的cDNA 合成试剂盒及PCR cDNA文库试剂盒,构建了吉林双阳型梅花鹿子宫PCR cDNA文库。将文库的PCR产物克隆入pGEM-Teasy载体并进行测序后,应用BLAST网络服务对测得的序列在GenBank数据库中进行同源性比较。结果显示构建的PCR cDNA文库中包含有不同长度的cDNA片段,而且自该文库中我们发现了一与人sentrin-1/SUMO-1（small ubiquitin-related modifier 1）高度同源的全编码区cDNA序列。此序列已在Genbank登录,登录号为AF 242526。这说明我们自梅花鹿子宫PCR cDNA文库中发现了梅花鹿的sentrin/SUMO基因。 Abstract: In order to identify unknown encoding cDNAs of Cervus nioppon Temminck (sika deer),we constructed a cDNA library of uterus from Jilin-Shuangyang Cervus nippon Temminck using PCR cDNA library kit.PCR products of the library were cloned into pGEM-Teasy vectors and the cDNAs were sequenced and analyzed by nucleotide homology comparison against GenBank Database using the BLAST network service.The results showed that the cDNA library contained cDNA fragments of different lengths and a full length encoding cDNA highly homologous to human sentrin-1/SUMO-1 (small ubiquitin-related modifier 1) was identified.The cDNA was deposited in GenBank under the accession number AF 242526.These show that Cervus nippon Temminck-derived sentrin/SUMO gene has been discovered from PCR cDNA library of uterus from Cervus nippon Temminck.     

Isolation of two cDNA clones from tomato containing two different superoxide dismutase sequences

A cDNA library was derived from the poly(A)⁺ RNA of young tomato leaves. The library was cloned in a gt11 system and screened by synthetic oligonucleotide probes having sequences that match the codes of conserved regions of amino acid sequences of Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) proteins from a wide range of eukaryotic organisms. Two cDNAs were isolated, cloned and sequenced. One of the cDNAs, P31, had a full-size open reading frame of 456 bp with a deduced amino acid sequence having an 80% homology with the deduced amino acid sequence of the cytosolic SOD-2 cDNA of maize. The other cDNA, T10 (extended by T1), had a 651 bp open reading frame that revealed, upon computer translation, 90% homology to the amino acid sequence of mature spinach chloroplast SOD. The 5 end of the reading frame seems to code for a putative transit peptide. This work thus suggests for the first time an amino acid sequence for the transit peptide of chloroplast SOD. Northern hybridizations indicated that each of the P31 and T10 clones hybridized to a blotted poly(A)⁺ RNA species. These two species are differentially expressed in the plant organs: e.g., the species having the T10 sequence was detected in the leaves but not in roots, while the one with the P31 sequence was expressed in both leaves and roots. The cDNA clones P31 and T10 were also hybridized to Southern blots of endonuclease fragmented tomato DNA. The clones hybridized to specific fragments and no cross hybridization between the two clones was revealed under stringent hybridization conditions; the hybridization pattern indicated that, most probably, only one locus is coding for each of the two mRNA species.     

cDNA文库法在HCV-1b检测芯片研制中的应用

制备丙型肝炎病毒(HCV) 1b亚型诊断芯片并进行初步验证评价.采用cDNA文库法制备探针,用限制性内切酶Sau3AⅠ消化HCV 1b全长cDNA ,所得的酶切片段72℃补平加A ,AT克隆,PCR初步鉴定,并测序.将筛选出的片段打印在氨基修饰的玻片上制备成检测芯片并进行杂交验证分析.运用cDNA文库法,得到2 2个大小相对一致(2 5 0～75 0bp)的基因片段.序列分析表明,均属于HCV 1b基因,可以作为诊断芯片探针;样品标记采用限制性显示(restrictiondisplay ,RD)技术,标记后进行杂交.杂交结果显示,样品和诊断基因芯片杂交的敏感性和特异性均佳.批内和批间精密度CV值分别为5 4 %和6 8% ,表明用cDNA文库法收集片段是一种快速、简便制备芯片探针的实用方法.     

Sex- and tissue-specific expression of aspartic proteinases in Danio rerio (zebrafish)

Full-length zebrafish cDNAs encoding two aspartic proteinases were cloned and sequenced. One of the two cDNAs was a 1708 bp product with an open reading frame of 398 amino acid residues corresponding to a cathepsin D. The other was a 1383 bp product encoding a polypeptide chain of 416 amino acids homologous to nothepsin, an aspartic proteinase first identified by us in the liver of Antarctic Notothenioidei. Gene expression assessed by RT–PCR and northern blot hybridization of RNA from different tissues showed that the expression was tissue- and sex-specific. Whereas the cathepsin D gene was expressed in all the tissues examined independently of the sex, the nothepsin gene was expressed exclusively in female livers.     

Identification of HCV-1b by Low-Density cDNA Microarray-Based Assay

A rapid and sensitive microarray assay for the detection of HCV-1b was developed in our laboratory and a cDNA fragment library for HCV-1b cDNA microarray probes was constructed. The full-length cDNAs of HCV-1b were digested with restriction endonuclease Sau3A I and the fragments were cloned with the pMD18-T vectors. Positive clones were isolated and identified by sequencing. The cDNA microarray was prepared by spotting the gene fragment on the surface of an amido-modified glass slide using the robotics system and samples were fluorescent labeled by the restriction display PCR (RD-PCR) technique, In the present study, modified protocols were used for probe selection and hybridization temperature. The detection of a microarray was validated by the hybridization and the sequence analysis. A total of 22 different specific gene fragments of HCV-1b ranging from 250 to 750 bp were isolated and sequenced, and these fragments were further used as probes in the microarray preparation. The diagnostic validity of the microarray method was evaluated after the washing and scanning process. The results of hybridization and sequence data analysis showed a significant specificity and sensitivity in the detection of HCV-1b RNA. The method of preparing microarray probes by construction of cDNA fragments library was effective, rapid, and simple; the optimized microarray was sensitive in the clinical detection of HCV-1b. The RD-PCR technique for the sample labeling was useful for significantly increasing the sensitivity of the assay. The cDNA microarray assay can be widely used in the clinical diagnosis of HCV-1b.     

Sex- and tissue-specific expression of aspartic proteinases in Danio rerio (zebrafish)

Full-length zebrafish cDNAs encoding two aspartic proteinases were cloned and sequenced. One of the two cDNAs was a 1708 bp product with an open reading frame of 398 amino acid residues corresponding to a cathepsin D. The other was a 1383 bp product encoding a polypeptide chain of 416 amino acids homologous to nothepsin, an aspartic proteinase first identified by us in the liver of Antarctic Notothenioidei. Gene expression assessed by RT–PCR and northern blot hybridization of RNA from different tissues showed that the expression was tissue- and sex-specific. Whereas the cathepsin D gene was expressed in all the tissues examined independently of the sex, the nothepsin gene was expressed exclusively in female livers.     

Cloning of the cDNA, while encoding a hypothalamic neuropeptide in the rat, related to the melanin-concentrating hormone in the salmon

In order to identify the neuropeptide related to salmon melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) synthetized by neurons of the posterior hypothalamus in the mammals, we have screened rat hypothalamus and rat brain cDNA expression libraries using MCH antiserum. Five recombinants were isolated, which cDNAs were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction. One of them hybridized to RNAs exclusively located in hypothalamic neurons stained by the same antiserum, as seen by performing in situ hybridization and immunocytochemical techniques on the same section. The sequence analysis showed that this cDNA corresponds to the end of the open reading frame encoding a MCH-like peptide and to the 3' untranslated region. The rat MCH is very similar to salmon MCH (greater than 85% homologies in the 14C-terminal residues).     

Amplification using one-sided polymerase chain reaction, cloning and determination of primary structure of 5'-untranslated cDNA segments coding the somatogenic growth hormone receptor from rat liver]

The method of ligation-mediated, single-sided polymerase chain reaction was applied for the amplification of 5'-untranslated regions of cDNA coding for somatogenic growth hormone receptor from rat liver. The products of polymerase chain reaction were cloned and sequenced. Two variants of 5'-untranslated sequences of growth hormone receptor cDNA corresponding to products of alternative splicing of pre-mRNA were found.     

红曲菌cDNA消减文库的构建

应用抑制性消减杂交技术,构建红曲菌产桔霉素和不产桔霉素差异表达的cDNA消减文库.分别从产桔霉素和不产桔霉素的红曲菌丝体中提取mRNA,依次合成单链和双链cDNA,经酶切成大小为250～750bp的片断,将产桔霉素的cDNA分为两组,分别与两种不同的接头连接,再与不产桔霉素的红曲菌的cDNA进行两次消减杂交及两次抑制性PCR后,将产物与T/A载体连接构建成功cDNA消减文库,并转染大肠杆菌进行文库扩增,文库扩增后得到283个克隆,经PCR法快速测定,均得到250～750bp的插入片断.所构建的红曲菌cDNA消减文库为进一步筛选红曲菌中与产桔霉素性状相关的基因奠定了基础.