单菌多次级代谢产物方法及其在微生物代谢产物研究中的应用

微生物次级代谢产物的结构多样性赋予其广泛的生物活性,是药物先导化合物的重要来源。然而传统单一的培养方法,使微生物中大量的代谢途径不能被表达,以至于许多代谢产物不能产生。因此,运用各种技术和方法激活这些沉默途径,获得结构多样的代谢产物已成为目前关注的热点。单菌多次级代谢产物(Onestrainmany compounds,OSMAC)策略作为一种简便有效的研究手段,已成功应用于该领域的研究。本文综述了OSMAC策略中常用的研究手段(包括改变培养状态、混合培养及添加酶抑制剂等),以及OSMAC与基因组扫描技术相结合的研究进展,并介绍了本研究室利用此方法对高产细胞松弛素的海洋来源真菌曲丽穗霉(Spicaria elegans KLA03)进行研究的部分结果。     

未/难培养微生物可培养策略研究：机遇与挑战

微生物分布广泛、种类众多、功能多样,虽体积微小但功能强大,关乎人类的安全健康和生态的稳定发展,在整个地球生命系统中起着举足轻重的作用。17世纪以来,研究者们一直努力获得、了解和利用这些微生物,然而目前分离方法的局限性使得环境中绝大部分微生物仍不能被纯培养,严重阻碍了我们对微生物生命活动规律的认知。因此,如何分离获得这些仍未被培养出来的“暗物质”是微生物研究面临的严峻挑战和重大机遇。本文分析了环境中制约微生物分离培养的因素,综述未/难培养微生物可培养研究的最新进展,着重论述优化的传统培养方法及网络导向培养、膜扩散培养、微流控分选培养和细胞分选培养等新型技术的应用,并对未来研究进行展望,探索多技术联合使用策略,为未/难微生物资源的挖掘及开发利用提供借鉴。     

Metabolite diversification by cultivation of the endophytic fungus Dothideomycete sp. in halogen containing media: Cultivation of terrestrial fungus in seawater

The endophytic fungus, Dothideomycete sp. CRI7, isolated from the terrestrial plant, Tiliacora triandra, was salt tolerant, capable of growing in the culture medium prepared from seawater; salts in seawater did not have any effects on the fungal growth. Metabolite productions of the fungus CRI7 cultivated in media prepared from seawater (MSW), prepared from deionized water supplemented with potassium bromide (MKBr) or potassium iodide (MKI), and prepared from deionized water (MDW) were investigated. It was found that the cultivation of the fungus CRI7 in MKBr and MSW enabled the fungus to produce nine new metabolites (1–9). The production of an azaphilone, austdiol (10), of the fungus CRI7 grown in MDW was 0.04 g/L, which was much lower than that grown in MSW, MKBr, and MKI media which provided the yields of 0.5, 0.9, and 1.2 g/L, respectively, indicating that halogen salts significantly enhanced the production of the polyketide 10. The cultivation of terrestrial fungi in media containing halogen salts could therefore be useful for the metabolite diversification by one strain-many compounds (OSMAC) approach. Moreover, the isolated polyketides had significant biosynthetic relationship, suggesting that the cultivation of fungi in halogen containing media could provide the insights into certain polyketide biosynthesis. One of the isolated compounds exhibited antibacterial activity with the MIC value of 100 μg/mL.     

Identification of the new T-cell-stimulating antigens from Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture filtrate

The proteins secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis are an important target for vaccine development. To identify the antigens from M. tuberculosis culture filtrate (CF) that strongly stimulate T-cells, the CF was fractionated by ion-exchange chromatography and then non-reducing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with mini-whole gel elution. Each fraction was screened for its ability to induce interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from healthy tuberculin reactors. The protein bands that strongly induced IFN-gamma production were subjected to N-terminal sequencing. Two new proteins, a 17-kDa protein (Rv0164, MTSP17) and an 11-kDa (Rv3204, MTSP11) protein, were identified. The recombinant MTSP17 (rMTSP17) and rMTSP11 induced significant production of IFN-gamma and interleukin (IL)-12p40 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy tuberculin reactors. Interestingly, IL-12p40 production in response to rMTSP11 was significantly higher than that in response to rMTSP17 or the three components of the antigen 85 complex. These results suggest that MTSP11 antigen should be further evaluated as a component of a subunit vaccine.     

Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv induces monocytic release of interleukin-6 via activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases: inhibition by N-acetyl-L-cysteine

The release of proinflammatory cytokines after mycobacterial infection is a host immune response that may be propitious or deleterious to the host. Elevated levels of interleukin (IL)-6 are present in plasma of patients with active tuberculosis infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of mitogen-activated protein kinases in the secretion of interleukin-6 in THP-1 cells and human primary monocytes that were infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, and its regulation by N-acetyl-L-cysteine, a potential antimycobacterial agent. Exposure of THP-1 human monocytes to M. tuberculosis H37Rv induced rapidly, in a time-dependent manner, the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3/6 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, accompanied by an upregulation of interleukin-6. Using highly specific inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor-kappaB, we found that extracellular-signal regulated kinase 1/2, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor-kappaB were essential for M. tuberculosis H37Rv-induced interleukin-6 production in human primary monocytes. Pretreatment with N-acetyl-L-cysteine reduced, in a dose-dependent manner, M. tuberculosis H37Rv-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3/6 and interleukin-6 production in THP-1 cells.     

一种新型抗结核先导化合物S28 对结核分枝杆菌蛋白质组表达的影响

目的 探讨从化合物库中高通量筛选得到的、可有效抑制结核分枝杆菌生长和繁殖的新型活性化合物S28 的作用机制及其可能的作用靶点。方法 采用双向电泳技术, 比较分析活性化合物作用于结核分枝杆菌H37Ra 前、后的全细胞蛋白表达差异。结果 13 个蛋白质斑点表达下调, 对其中6 个改变明显的蛋白质斑点进行基质辅助激光解吸/ 电离飞行时间质谱分析, 成功测定2 个蛋白质斑点。数据库检索分析确定这2 个差异蛋白点分别为延长因子Tu 和短链脱氢酶, 是参与蛋白质翻译和氧化呼吸、能量代谢等生理过程的重要蛋白。结论 为 进一步深入探索新型抗结核活性化合物的作用机制和可能的靶点提供研究基础和方向。     

Cloning,expression, and functional characterization of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis secA gene

To better understand the protein secretion mechanisms involved in the growth and pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, we examined the secA gene from M. tuberculosis (tbsecA; cosmid sequence accession No. z95121.gb_ba). We generated plasmids containing the full-length tbsecA gene or a fusion containing the 5' sequence from the M. tuberculosis secA gene and the remainder from the Escherichia coli secA gene and evaluated the ability of each construct to complement the defective SecA protein in E. coli MM52ts when grown at the non-permissive temperature. The full-length tbsecA gene was unable to compensate for the temperature-sensitive defect, whereas E. coli MM52ts that has been transformed with plasmid pMF8TB226 containing a chimeric secA gene was able to grow at 42 degrees C. This work confirms that the topography of SecA and its ATP binding sites are highly conserved, whereas its membrane insertion domains are species specific.     

结核分枝杆菌furA基因真核表达质粒的构建及表达

以BamH Ⅰ和Hind Ⅲ双酶切pRSET-furA,获得结核分枝杆苗铁调控基因furA,将其克隆入真核表达载体pcDNA3．1（-）,构建了重组质粒pcDNA-furA,经酶切鉴定正确后,将重组质粒以阳离子聚合物转染CHO细胞。经RT—PCR分析表明,furA可在CHO细胞中转录;用间接免疫荧光检测,表达有FurA蛋白的细胞着染。以上结果表明,通过构建结核分枝杆菌furA基因的真核表达载体pcDNA-furA,使知以基因可以在CHO细胞中表达。     

Electrochemical-based biosensors for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and tuberculosis biomarkers

Abstract

Early detection of tuberculosis (TB) reduces the interval between infection and the beginning of treatment. However, commercially available tests cannot discriminate between BCG-vaccinated healthy persons and patients. Also, they are not suitable to be used for immunocompromised persons. In recent years, biosensors have attracted great attention due to their simple utility, accessibility, and real-time outputs. These sensors are increasingly being considered as pioneering tools for point-of-care diagnostics in communities with a high burden of TB and limited accessibility to reference laboratories. Among other types of biosensors, the electrochemical sensors have the advantages of low-cost operation, fast processing, simultaneous multi-analyte analyzing, operating with turbid samples, comparable sensitivity and readily available miniaturization. Electrochemical biosensors are sub-divided into several categories including: amperometric, impedimetric, potentiometric, and conductometric biosensors. The biorecognition element in electrochemical biosensors is usually based on antibodies (immunosensors), DNAs or PNAs (genosensors), and aptamers (aptasensors). In either case, whether an interaction of the antigen–antibody/aptamer or the hybridization of probe with target mycobacterial DNA is detected, a change in the electrical current occurs that is recorded and displayed as a plot. Therefore, impedimetric-based methods evaluate resistance to electron transfer toward an electrode by a Nyquist plot and amperometric/voltammetric-based methods weigh the electrical current by means of cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry. Electrochemical biosensors provide a promising scope for the new era of diagnostics. As a consequence, they can improve detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis traces even in attomolar scales.     

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis serine/threonine kinase PknL phosphorylates Rv2175c: mass spectrometric profiling of the activation loop phosphorylation sites and their role in the recruitment of Rv2175c

Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) comprises 11 serine/threonine protein kinases, the mechanisms of regulation of these kinases and the nature of their endogenous substrates remain largely unknown. Herein, we characterized the M. tb kinase PknL by demonstrating that it expresses autophosphorylation activity and phosphorylates Rv2175c. On-target dephosphorylation/MALDI-TOF for identification of phosphorylated peptides was used in combination with LC-ESI/MS/MS for localization of phosphorylation sites. By doing so, five phosphorylated threonine residues were identified in PknL. Among them, we showed that the activation loop phosphorylated residues Thr173 and Thr175 were essential for the autophosphorylation activity of PknL. Phosphorylation of the activation loop Thr173 residue is also required for optimal PknL-mediated phosphorylation of Rv2175c. Together, our results indicate that phosphorylation of the PknL activation loop Thr residues not only controls PknL kinase activity but is also required for recruitment and phosphorylation of its substrate. Rv2175c was found to be phosphorylated when overexpressed and purified from Mycobacterium smegmatis as 2-DE indicated the presence of different phosphorylated isoforms. Given the presence of the dcw gene cluster in the close vicinity of the pknL/Rv2175c locus, and its conservation in all mycobacterial species, we propose that PknL/Rv2175c may represent a functional pair in the regulation of mycobacterial cell division and cell envelope biosynthesis.