抗肿瘤蛋白Onconase的原核细胞表达及细胞毒性检测

本文主要利用pET22b(+)表达载体在大肠杆菌中表达一种在两栖类蛙(Rana pipiens)卵细胞内存在的核糖核酸酶—Onconase。通过包涵体复性、蛋白纯化等程序最终获得与天然蛋白活性相似的重组蛋白,并检测Onconase 对源于皮肤T 细胞淋巴瘤的Hut-78肿瘤细胞的毒性(IC_(50)=0.5μmol/L),证明Onconase 用于抗淋巴瘤的可行性。     

Onconase研究与开发的最新进展

Onconase是一种在北方豹蛙(Rana pipiens)卵母细胞和早期胚胎内存在的核糖核酸酶,是RNase A超家族中的一员,研究证实它在体内外对多种肿瘤均具显著杀伤作用。Onconase目前已经作为抗肿瘤药物上市,用于治疗恶性间皮瘤。Onconase结构独特,高度稳定。在临床上,Onconase具有副反应较轻,免疫原性低和不易产生耐药性等优点。因此Onconase的研究在学术上和医学应用上均具重要意义。本文综述了Onconase的结构特点、催化专一性、细胞毒性、体内外抗肿瘤活性及其临床应用的最新进展,并讨论了与其相关的一些重要问题。     

北京大学临床肿瘤学院、北京肿瘤医院暨北京市肿瘤防治研究所淋巴肿瘤科，恶性肿瘤 发病机制及转化研究教育部重点实验室，1 肿瘤分子生物学实验室，2 病理

目的:探讨RIP3(受体相互作用蛋白-3)在淋巴瘤患者病理组织中是否表达及其亚细胞定位,并初步观察RIP3的表达是否与淋巴瘤病理恶性度相关。方法:(1)利用免疫组化技术检测48例淋巴瘤和非肿瘤侵润淋巴结病理组织中RIP3表达,并观察RIP3亚细胞定位。结果:(1)RIP3在淋巴瘤患者病理组织中均有表达,其亚细胞定位主要在细胞核,在细胞质中相对弱表达。(2)RIP3表达与淋巴瘤病理恶性度可能存在相关性。结论:RIP3在淋巴瘤患者病理组织中存在阳性表达,为研究RIP3是否与淋巴瘤的发病、临床表现和预后相关,提供了新的探索途径。     

凋亡抑制蛋白XIAP 在急性髓系白血病和淋巴瘤骨髓组织中 的表达及意义

目的:研究凋亡抑制蛋白(XIAP)在白血病及淋巴瘤骨髓活检组织中的表达及意义。方法:采用免疫组织化学法检测10例急性髓系白血病,13例淋巴瘤,9例非恶性血液病患者骨髓活检组织中XIAP的表达水平。结果:XIAP蛋白在急性髓系白血病、淋巴瘤骨髓活检组织中的阳性表达积分均高于非恶性血液病,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:XIAP的表达水平与白血病及淋巴瘤的发生发展有一定关联,可能与其抑制肿瘤细胞的凋亡有关。     

Notch 1 在外周T 细胞淋巴瘤中的表达及基因突变 及其与临床生存期的相关性研究

目的:检测活化型notch1(NICD)蛋白在外周T细胞淋巴瘤组织中的表达情况,探讨活化型notch1对外周T细胞淋巴瘤患者生存时间的影响,分析其与NOTCH1基因突变之间的关系。方法:免疫组织化学法检测20例外周T细胞淋巴瘤(13例PTCLNOS、7例ALCL)及5例反应性增生患者病变组织活化型notch 1(NICD)抗体的表达,PCR-SSCP及基因测序法分析NOTCH1基因HD-N、HD-C、TAD、PEST片段的突变情况。结果:20例外周T细胞淋巴瘤NICD蛋白均为阳性,5例慢性淋巴结炎均为阴性,其中PTCL NOS组织较ALCL高表达NICD蛋白。淋巴瘤患者HD-N、HD-C、PEST片段存在基因点突变。结论:NOTCH1基因点突变可能为异常表达NICD的原因之一,异常表达的NICD影响外周T细胞淋巴瘤的生存时间。     

Ezrin在化疗敏感性不同大B细胞淋巴瘤中表达的实验研究

目的：比较化疗敏感性不同弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤的蛋白质表达差异,寻找可反映大B细胞淋巴瘤化疗敏感性的标志物。方法：通过肿瘤药物敏感试验选取化疗高敏感性和低敏感性大B细胞淋巴瘤组织,进行蛋白质组学比较研究后得出差异表达蛋白;对在高敏感组中高表达的埃兹蛋白（Ezrin）进一步行免疫印迹验证,应用免疫组化技术检测在临床病例中的表达情况。结果：建立了化疗高敏感和低敏感大B细胞淋巴瘤差异表达蛋白质凝胶2D图谱,鉴定了28种差异表达蛋白,发现Ezrin蛋白在化疗高敏感组表达高于低敏感组,免疫印迹和免疫组化结果也进一步证实了Ezrin的这一表达状态。结论：Ezrin蛋白表达在化疗敏感性不同大B细胞淋巴瘤中存在差别,可能作为预测淋巴瘤化疗敏感性的候选标志物。     

抗CD20单链抗体与力达霉素强化融合蛋白的制备及其抗肿瘤活性

抗体融合蛋白是新一代抗肿瘤抗体药物.CD20在约95%的B细胞非霍奇金淋巴瘤表面过度表达,是治疗B细胞淋巴瘤的理想靶点.力达霉素(LDM)是强效烯二炔抗肿瘤抗生素,目前已进入Ⅱ期临床阶段.采用DNA重组技术,利用大肠杆菌表达体系,制备抗CD20单链抗体与力达霉素辅基蛋白LDP的基因工程融合蛋白scFv-LDP.经纯化和...     

中国林蛙Onconase样核糖核酸酶的基因克隆和表达

Onconase是从美洲豹蛙卵中提取的一种核糖核酸酶,由于其抗肿瘤活性而具有潜在的临床应用价值.以中国林蛙基因组为模板,克隆了一个新的RNase基因,并由此推导出了成熟林蛙RNase的氨基酸顺序.该酶是由103个氨基酸残基组成的,它保留了RNaseA家族成员酶催化活性必须的组氨酸和赖氨酸残基,以及CKXXNTF的序列特征,与Onconase具有73％的氨基酸顺序的相似性.林蛙酶比Onconue少一个氨基酸,成为选今为止发现的RNaseA家族中的最小成员;并且,林蛙酶拥有的精氨酸和酪氨酸残基比Onconase多3个.此外,在利用原核表达系统对林蛙RNase基因进行表达的过程中,表达产物对宿主显示出一定的细胞毒性.     

初探Septin 9作为大B细胞淋巴瘤化疗敏感性相关标志物

目的：初步探讨Septin 9作为大B细胞淋巴瘤化疗敏感性相关标志物的实验依据。方法：通过肿瘤药物敏感试验选取化疗高敏感性和低敏感性大B细胞淋巴瘤组织,进行蛋白质组学比较研究后得出差异表达蛋白;对在低敏感组中高表达的Septin 9进一步行Western Blot验证,应用免疫组化技术检测Septin 9在临床病例中的表达情况。结果：化疗高敏感性和低敏感性大B细胞淋巴瘤组织蛋白质组学比较研究显示Septin 9蛋白在高敏感组表达低于低敏感组,免疫印迹和免疫组化结果与蛋白质组结果是一致的。结论：Septin 9蛋白表达在化疗敏感性不同大B细胞淋巴瘤中存在差别,存在化疗敏感性越高Septin 9表达越低的趋势,可能作为预测淋巴瘤化疗敏感性的候选标志物。     

融合基因anti-erbB2 scFv-Fc-CD28-CD3(ζ)的构建及真核表达

本研究利用SWISS-MODEL预测该融合蛋白的三级结构。利用PCR的方法分别从重组pPIC9k、重组pBullet和pSecTag2B上扩增出3段基因片段,即片段anti-erbB2 scFv(简称A)、片段Fc-CD28-CD3(ζ)(简称B)和信号肽序列(简称S)。利用SOE-PCR将3段序列连接形成融合基因片段S-A-B。经TA克隆扩增及鉴定后,将融合基因片段与逆转录病毒表达载体pLNCX相连构建重组真核表达载体,电转染人淋巴瘤T细胞株Jurkat,G418筛选后用流式细胞术检测融合蛋白稳定表达情况。经预测在anti-erbB2 scFv与Fc基因片段之间不加连接肽的融合蛋白,在三级结构上可形成更佳的功能构象。经PCR、酶切及测序鉴定均证实成功构建重组真核表达载体pLNCX/S-A-B(在A与B基因片段之间不加linker)。经流式细胞术检测,在转染的Jurkat细胞中融合蛋白表达率约为56.17%。本研究应用分子克隆的方法成功地构建了重组真核表达载体pLNCX/anti-erbB2 scFv-Fc-CD28-CD3(ζ),融合基因能够在淋巴瘤T细胞株中表达,为制备含该融合基因的原代T淋巴细胞,进行erbB2过表达肿瘤的靶向基因治疗研究奠定了实验基础。     

Cytostatic and Cytotoxic Properties of Amphinase: A Novel Cytotoxic Ribonuclease from Rana pipiens Oocytes

Onconase (Onc), is a novel amphibian cytotoxic ribonuclease with antitumor activity, and is currently in a confirmatory phase III clinical trial for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. It was recently reported that Rana pipiens oocytes contain still another ribonuclease, named Amphinase (Amph). Amph shows 38 – 40 % amino acid sequence identity with Onc; presents as four variants varying between themselves from 87 to 99 % in amino acid sequence identity and has a molecular mass ~ 13,000. In the present study we describe the effects of Amph on growth of several tumor cell lines. All four variants demonstrated cytostatic and cytotoxic activity against human promyelocytic HL-60-, Jurkat T-cell- and U-937 monocytic leukemia cells. The pattern of Amph activity to certain extent resembled that of Onc. Thus, cell proliferation was suppressed at 0.5 – 10.0 µg/ml (40 – 80 nM) Amph concentration with distinct accumulation of cells in G1 phase of the cell cycle. In addition, the cells were undergoing apoptosis, which manifested by DNA fragmentation (presence of “sub-G1” cells, TUNEL-positivity), caspases and serine proteases activation as well as activation of transglutaminase. The cytotostatic and cytotoxic effects of Amph required its ribonuclease activity: the enzymatically inactive Amph-2 having histidine at the active site alkylated was ineffective. The effectiveness and cell cycle specificity was generally similar for all four Amph variants and at the equimolar concentrations was somewhat more pronounced than that of Onc. The observed cytostatic and cytotoxic activity of Amph against tumor cell lines suggests that similar to Onc this cytotoxic ribonuclease may have antitumor activity and find an application in clinical oncology.     

Endowing human pancreatic ribonuclease with toxicity for cancer cells

Onconase is an amphibian protein that is now in Phase III clinical trials as a cancer chemotherapeutic. Human pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase 1) is homologous to Onconase but is not cytotoxic. Here, ERDD RNase 1, which is the L86E/N88R/G89D/R91D variant of RNase 1, is shown to have conformational stability and ribonucleolytic activity similar to that of the wild-type enzyme but > 10(3)-fold less affinity for the endogenous cytosolic ribonuclease inhibitor protein. Most significantly, ERDD RNase 1 is toxic to human leukemia cells. The addition of a non-native disulfide bond to ERDD RNase 1 not only increases the conformational stability of the enzyme but also increases its cytotoxicity such that its IC(50) value is only 8-fold greater than that of Onconase. Thus, only a few amino acid substitutions are necessary to make a human protein toxic to human cancer cells. This finding has significant implications for human cancer chemotherapy.     

Arginine residues are more effective than lysine residues in eliciting the cellular uptake of onconase

Onconase is an amphibian member of the pancreatic ribonuclease family of enzymes that is in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. Onconase, which has an abundance of lysine residues, is internalized by cancer cells through endocytosis in a mechanism similar to that of cell-penetrating peptides. Here, we compare the effect of lysine versus arginine residues on the biochemical attributes necessary for Onconase to elicit its cytotoxic activity. In the variant R-Onconase, 10 of the 12 lysine residues in Onconase are replaced with arginine, leaving only the two active-site lysines intact. Cytometric assays quantifying internalization showed a 3-fold increase in the internalization of R-Onconase compared with Onconase. R-Onconase also showed greater affinity for heparin and a 2-fold increase in ribonucleolytic activity. Nonetheless, arginine substitution endowed only a slight increase in toxicity toward human cancer cells. Analysis of denaturation induced with guanidine-HCl showed that R-Onconase has less conformational stability than does the wild-type enzyme; moreover, R-Onconase is more susceptible to proteolytic degradation. These data indicate that arginine residues are more effective than lysine in eliciting cellular internalization but can compromise other aspects of protein structure and function.     

Rapid Diversification of RNase A Superfamily Ribonucleases from the Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana

We present sequences of five novel RNase A superfamily ribonuclease genes of the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana. All five genes encode ribonucleases that are similar to Onconase, a cytotoxic ribonuclease isolated from oocytes of R. pipiens. With amino acid sequence data from 14 ribonucleases from three Rana species (R. catesbeiana, R. japonica, and R. pipiens), we have constructed bootstrap-supported phylogenetic trees that reorganize these ribonucleases into five distinct lineages--the pancreatic ribonucleases (RNases 1), the eosinophil-associated ribonucleases (RNases 2, 3, and 6), the ribonucleases 4, the angiogenins (RNases 5) and the Rana ribonucleases--with the Rana ribonucleases no more closely related to the angiogenins than they are to any of the other ribonuclease lineages shown. Further phylogenetic analysis suggests the division of the Rana ribonucleases into two subclusters (A and B), with positive (Darwinian) selection (dN/dS > 1.0) and an elevated rate of radical nonsynonymous substitution (dR) contributing to the rapid diversification of ribonucleases within each cluster. This pattern of evolution-rapid diversification via positive selection among sequences of a multigene cluster-bears striking resemblance to what we have described for the eosinophil-associated ribonuclease genes of the rodent Mus musculus, a finding that may have implications with respect the physiologic function of this unique family of proteins.     

Enzymatic and structural characterisation of amphinase, a novel cytotoxic ribonuclease from Rana pipiens oocytes

Besides Onconase (ONC) and its V11/N20/R103-variant, oocytes of the Northern Leopard frog (Rana pipiens) contain another homologue of ribonuclease A, which we named Amphinase (Amph). Four variants (Amph-1-4) were isolated and sequenced, each 114 amino acid residues in length and N-glycosylated at two positions. Sequence identities (a) among the variants and (b) versus ONC are 86.8-99.1% and 38.2-40.0%, respectively. When compared with other amphibian ribonucleases, a typical pattern of cysteine residues is evident but the N-terminal pyroglutamate residue is replaced by a six-residue extension. Amph variants have relatively weak ribonucleolytic activity that is insensitive to human ribonuclease inhibitor protein (RI). Values of k(cat)/K(M) with hypersensitive fluorogenic substrates are 10(4) and 10(2)-fold lower than the maximum values exhibited by ribonuclease A and ONC, respectively, and there is little cytosine/uracil or adenine/guanine discrimination at the B(1) or B(2) subsites, respectively. Amph variants have cytotoxic activity toward A-253 carcinoma cells that requires intact ribonucleolytic activity. The glycan component has little or no influence over single-stranded RNA cleavage, RI evasion or cytotoxicity. The crystal structures of natural and recombinant Amph-2 (determined at 1.8 and 1.9 A resolution, respectively) reveal that the N terminus is unlikely to play a catalytic role (but an unusual alpha2-beta1 loop may do so) and the B(2) subsite is rudimentary. At the active site, structural features that may contribute to the enzyme's low ribonucleolytic activity are the fixture of Lys14 in an obstructive position, the accompanying ejection of Lys42, and a lack of constraints on the conformations of Lys42 and His107.     

The importance of dynamic effects on the enzyme activity: X-ray structure and molecular dynamics of onconase mutants

Onconase (ONC), a member of the RNase A superfamily extracted from oocytes of Rana pipiens, is an effective cancer killer. It is currently used in treatment of various forms of cancer. ONC antitumor properties depend on its ribonucleolytic activity that is low in comparison with other members of the superfamily. The most damaging side effect from Onconase treatment is renal toxicity, which seems to be caused by the unusual stability of the enzyme. Therefore, mutants with reduced thermal stability and/or increased catalytic activity may have significant implications for human cancer chemotherapy. In this context, we have determined the crystal structures of two Onconase mutants (M23L-ONC and C87S,des103-104-ONC) and performed molecular dynamic simulations of ONC and C87S,des103-104-ONC with the aim of explaining on structural grounds the modifications of the activity and thermal stability of the mutants. The results also provide the molecular bases to explain the lower catalytic activity of Onconase compared with RNase A and the unusually high thermal stability of the amphibian enzyme.     

A ribonuclease A variant with low catalytic activity but high cytotoxicity

Onconase, a homolog of ribonuclease A (RNase A) with low ribonucleolytic activity, is cytotoxic and has efficacy as a cancer chemotherapeutic. Here variants of RNase A were used to probe the interplay between ribonucleolytic activity and evasion of the cytosolic ribonuclease inhibitor protein (RI) in the cytotoxicity of ribonucleases. K41R/G88R RNase A is a less active catalyst than G88R RNase A but, surprisingly, is more cytotoxic. Like Onconase, the K41R/G88R variant has a low affinity for RI, which apparently compensates for its low ribonucleolytic activity. In contrast, K41A/G88R RNase A, which has the same affinity for RI as does the K41R/G88R variant, is not cytotoxic. The nontoxic K41A/G88R variant is a much less active catalyst than is the toxic K41R/G88R variant. These data indicate that maintaining sufficient ribonucleolytic activity in the presence of RI is a requirement for a homolog or variant of RNase A to be cytotoxic. This principle can guide the design of new chemotherapeutics based on homologs and variants of RNase A.     

Comparative molecular modeling and crystallization of P-30 protein: a novel antitumor protein of Rana pipiens oocytes and early embryos.

The P-30 protein (Onconase) of Rana pipiens oocytes and early embryos is homologous to members of the pancreatic ribonuclease superfamily and exhibits an antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo. It appears that the ribonucleolytic activity of P-30 protein may be required for its antitumor effects. A comparative molecular model of P-30 protein has been constructed based upon the known three-dimensional structure of bovine pancreatic RNase A in order to provide structural information. Functionally, these enzymes hydrolyze oligoribonucleotides to pyrimidine-3'-phosphate monoesters and 5'-OH ribonucleotides. In the modeling procedure, automated sequence alignments were revised based upon the inspection of the RNase A structure before the amino acids of the P-30 protein were assigned the coordinates of the RNase A template. The inevitable intermolecular steric clashes that result were relieved on an interactive graphics device through the adjustment of side chain torsion angles. This process was followed by energy minimization of the model, which served to optimize stereochemical geometry and to relieve any remaining unacceptably close contacts. The resulting model retains the essential features of RNase A as sequence insertions and deletions are almost exclusively found in exposed surface loops. The all atom superposition of active site residues of the P-30 protein model and an identically minimized RNase A structure has a root mean square deviation of 0.52 A. Though tentative, the model is consistent with a pyrimidine specificity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The cytotoxic ribonuclease onconase targets RNA interference (siRNA)

Onconase (Onc), a ribonuclease from oocytes of Northern Leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) is cytostatic and cytotoxic to a variety of tumor lines in vitro, inhibits growth of tumors in animal in vivo models and enhances sensitivity of tumor cells to a number of other cytotoxic agents with diverse mechanism of action. In Phase III clinical trials Onc demonstrated significant efficacy in patients with malignant mesothelioma that failed prior chemotherapy. We previously postulated that the antitumor activity of Onc and the observed synergisms with other antitumor modalities at least in part may be mediated by targeting RNA interference (RNAi). In the present study we observed that the silencing of the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells by siRNA was effectively prevented by Onc. While transfection of cells with GAPDH siRNA reduced expression of this protein by nearly 70%, the expression was restored in the cells exposed to 0.8 Ã?Â?Ã?µM Onc for 48 or 72 h. The data thus provide evidence that one of the targets of Onc is siRNA, likely within the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). In light of the findings that microRNAs are involved in tumor pathogenesis as well as in enhancing cell resistance to anticancer therapy the present data may provide explanation for both, the antitumor Onc activity and its propensity to enhance effectiveness of cytotoxic drugs.