水稻精细胞差异表达基因RSG6的克隆和初步研究

用水稻 (Oryza sativa L.)精细胞优势表达克隆BF475207为探针,筛选水稻精细胞cDNA文库,得到一全长为1 176 bp的序列,其开放读码框编码281个氨基酸,与已知蛋白质无明显同源性,属于一新发现的基因,GenBank登录号为AF442490.Southern杂交显示该基因可能含有内含子.RT-PCR结果显示该基因在根、叶、二细胞花粉、成熟花粉、授粉子房和精细胞中均有表达,但在精细胞中的表达量要高得多,是精细胞差异表达基因.将此基因命名为RSG6 (rice sperm gene 6).将RSG6的编码区克隆到表达载体pQE30上,构建重组质粒.在大肠杆菌M15中表达出N端融合了6×His的融合蛋白.用纯化的融合蛋白免疫家兔,制得高效价、高特异性的抗体.     

水稻精细胞差异表达基因RSG6的克隆和初步研究

用水稻 (OryzasativaL .)精细胞优势表达克隆BF4 75 2 0 7为探针 ,筛选水稻精细胞cDNA文库 ,得到一全长为1176bp的序列 ,其开放读码框编码 2 81个氨基酸 ,与已知蛋白质无明显同源性 ,属于一新发现的基因 ,GenBank登录号为AF4 4 2 4 90。Southern杂交显示该基因可能含有内含子。RT_PCR结果显示该基因在根、叶、二细胞花粉、成熟花粉、授粉子房和精细胞中均有表达 ,但在精细胞中的表达量要高得多 ,是精细胞差异表达基因。将此基因命名为RSG6 (ricespermgene 6 )。将RSG6的编码区克隆到表达载体pQE30上 ,构建重组质粒。在大肠杆菌M15中表达出N端融合了 6×His的融合蛋白。用纯化的融合蛋白免疫家兔 ,制得高效价、高特异性的抗体     

The Isolation and Characterization of Low Molecular Weight Hydrophobic Salt-Soluble Proteins from Barley

The four main components of the previously designated A-hordeinfraction have been purified to homogeneity and partially characterized.Their amino acid composition and solubility properties clearlydiffer from those of both prolamins and other purified salt-solubleproteins from barley endosperm. Evidence is presented of theirhomology with the previously described CM-proteins from wheatso their designation as CMa, CMb, CMc and CMd is proposed.     

Neurofilament Proteins Are Distributed in a Diminishing Proximodistal Gradient Along Rat Sciatic Nerve

Neurofilament (NF) proteins are distributed in a diminishing proximodistal gradient along rat sciatic nerve when compared with total noncollagen or other proteins in nerve. About a twofold decline of NF proteins can be detected by quantitating nerve proteins that have been separated by gel electrophoresis. A similar decrease of immunoreactivity to each NF subunit is seen in distal nerve segments when noncollagen nerve proteins are immunoblotted. Parallel decreases occur in all three NF proteins, thereby maintaining neurofilament subunit stoichiometry along the neuraxis. The same NF gradient can be detected when the NF contents in nerve branches to the gluteus and gastrocnemius muscles are compared with each other and with those in nerve segments taken from the same proximodistal levels of the parent sciatic nerve. The gradient of NF proteins increases during postnatal development and is readily detected by postnatal day 16. During the same period of development, the heavy NF subunit appears for the first time and is rapidly incorporated throughout the sciatic nerve. Hence, the NF gradient becomes manifest during the development and maturation of the adult form of the axonal cytoskeleton. The basis for the proximodistal gradient of NF proteins in peripheral nerve is presently unknown. The extent of the gradient cannot be accounted for on the basis of diminishing numbers of nerve fibers or increasing amounts of other nerve proteins, e.g., collagen, in distal nerve. An alternative interpretation is that the gradient reflects a low level of NF protein turnover during axonal transport.     

Agonist Regulation of Gene Expression of Adrenergic Receptors and G Proteins

Abstract: Study of transmembrane signaling via G proteins has focused to a large extent upon investigations of individual G protein-linked receptor-effector systems. Agonist-induced desensitization and down-regulation of β-adrenergic receptors, for example, have been studied extensively and adopted as a general model for G protein-linked receptor regulation. This review focuses not only on agonist regulation of adrenergic receptor gene expression, but also on how agonists regulate opposing adrenergic receptor-mediated pathways. This important feature of G protein-mediated pathways, i.e., cross-regulation and integration of information among several pathways, will be discussed in the context of what has been learned in the adrenergic receptor-coupled pathways.     

The Effect of Maillard Conjugation of Deamidated Wheat Proteins with Low Molecular Weight Carbohydrates on the Secondary Structure of the Protein

A soluble isolated wheat protein fraction (sIWP) prepared from isolated wheat protein (30–35% deamidation) was incubated alone or in the presence of glucose or maltodextrins of various molecular weights (MW 1, 1.9 and 4.3 kDa) at 60 °C and 75% relative humidity to promote the formation of Maillard conjugates. The formation of Maillard conjugates was confirmed by the loss of available -NH₂ groups on incubation. Approximately 3–4 carbohydrate moieties (glucose or low molecular weight carbohydrates in the commercial maltodextrin) were attached per mole of sIWP after 24 h incubation. Principal component analysis of attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra measured in the dry state showed that there were no major structural changes among non-incubated sIWP, sIWP incubated alone, sIWP–glucose conjugate and sIWP–maltodextrin (MW 1 kDa) conjugate. Structural changes were observed when the protein was incubated with larger molecular weight maltodextrin (MW 1.9 kDa or 4.3 kDa). However, there were no detectable differences in their circular dichroism (CD) spectra suggesting the absence of conformational changes in proteins with or without attached carbohydrates in solution state. The differences between the FTIR and CD results are possibly due to differences in water content of the samples although pressure-induced changes to protein structure induced in the ATR cell and the influence of unreacted maltodextrins cannot be discounted. Attachment of low molecular weight carbohydrate moieties on a relatively large molecular weight protein (i.e. sIWP with average MW of 40.4 kDa) with low lysine content (average three per mole of protein) is not sufficient to have an impact on the secondary structure of the protein.     

Molecular Properties of a Cholinergic Differentiation Factor from Muscle-Conditioned Medium

Conditioned medium by a variety of rat non-neuronal cells contains a protein involved in the differentiation of cholinergic neurons in cultures prepared from newborn rat superior cervical ganglion, from nodose ganglion, and from embryonic spinal cord. We have determined some hydrodynamic properties of this factor using as a bioassay the increase in choline acetyltransferase activity in sympathetic neurons grown for 12-15 days in the presence of the factor. The Stokes' radius, measured by molecular sieving chromatography on an Ultrogel AcA 44 column, was similar to that of ovalbumin (27.6 A). By analysis on 5-20% linear sucrose gradients made in H2O and D2O, we determined the partial specific volume (0.68 ml X g-1 and the sedimentation coefficient (2.1S). These data allowed the calculation of the molecular weight (21,000) and the frictional ratio f/fo (1.56). The elution pattern of the factor from a SynChropak CM 300 HPLC cation exchange column suggested that it was a basic protein. The activity of this factor was unaffected by heat treatment at 100 degrees C for 10 min.     

Expression of a Conserved Family of Cytoplasmic Low Molecular Weight Heat Shock Proteins during Heat Stress and Recovery

Plants synthesize several families of low molecular weight (LMW) heat shock proteins (HSPs) in response to elevated temperatures. We have characterized two cDNAs, HSP18.1 and HSP17.9, that encode members of the class I family of LMW HSPs from pea (Pisum sativum). In addition, we investigated the expression of these HSPs at the mRNA and protein levels during heat stress and recovery. HSP18.1 and HSP17.9 are 82.1% identical at the amino acid level and are 80.8 to 92.9% identical to class I LMW HSPs of other angiosperms. Heat stress experiments were performed using intact seedlings subjected to a gradual temperature increase and held at a maximum temperature of 30 to 42 degrees Celsius for 4 hours. HSP18.1 and HSP17.9 mRNA levels peaked at the beginning of the maximum temperature period and declined rapidly after the stress period. Antiserum against a HSP18.1 fusion protein recognized both HSP18.1 and HSP17.9 but not members of other families of LMW HSPs. The accumulation of HSP18.1-immunodetected protein was proportional to the severity of the heat stress, and the protein had a half-life of 37.7 ± 8 hours. The long half-life of these proteins supports the hypothesis that they are involved in establishing thermotolerance.     

Two Novel Src Homology 2 Domain Proteins Interact to Regulate Dictyostelium Gene Expression during Growth and Early Development

There are 13 Dictyostelium Src homology 2 (SH2) domain proteins, almost 10-fold fewer than in mammals, and only three are functionally unassigned. One of these, LrrB, contains a novel combination of protein interaction domains: an SH2 domain and a leucine-rich repeat domain. Growth and early development appear normal in the mutant, but expression profiling reveals that three genes active at these stages are greatly underexpressed: the ttdA metallohydrolase, the abcG10 small molecule transporter, and the cinB esterase. In contrast, the multigene family encoding the lectin discoidin 1 is overexpressed in the disruptant strain. LrrB binds to 14-3-3 protein, and the level of binding is highest during growth and decreases during early development. Comparative tandem affinity purification tagging shows that LrrB also interacts, via its SH2 domain and in a tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent manner, with two novel proteins: CldA and CldB. Both of these proteins contain a Clu domain, a >200-amino acid sequence present within highly conserved eukaryotic proteins required for correct mitochondrial dispersal. A functional interaction of LrrB with CldA is supported by the fact that a cldA disruptant mutant also underexpresses ttdA, abcG10, and cinB. Significantly, CldA is itself one of the three functionally unassigned SH2 domain proteins. Thus, just as in metazoa, but on a vastly reduced numerical scale, an interacting network of SH2 domain proteins regulates specific Dictyostelium gene expression.     

Studies on the Wolfgram High Molecular Weight CNS Myelin Proteins: Relationship to 2'',3''-Cyclic Nucleotide 3''-Phosphodiesterase

Evidence is presented that the major protein components of the high molecular weight CNS myelin proteins designated as the Wolfgram protein doublet (W1 and W2) contain the enzyme 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.37, CNP). CNP is a basic hydrophobic protein containing about 830 to 840 amino acid residues. When electrophoresed on SDS polyacrylamide gels, CNP appears as a protein doublet, separated by a molecular weight difference of about 2500-3000 in bovine, human, rat, guinea pig, and rabbit. A similar protein doublet has been identified as the Wolfgram proteins W2 and W1 in myelin and in the chloroform-methanol-insoluble pellet obtained from myelin. Moreover, the relative Coomassie blue staining intensity of the CNP2 plus CNP1 protein doublet among the species examined was remarkably similar to that observed for electrophoresed myelin and chloroform-methanol-insoluble pellet derived from myelin. Antisera raised against purified bovine CNP recognized the W1 and W2 proteins isolated from bovine and human brain. The amino acid composition of pure bovine CNP is presented and compared with the compositions of several rat and bovine Wolfgram proteins obtained by other investigators. Our electrophoretic, compositional, and immunological data support the contention that the enzyme CNP is a major component of the Wolfgram protein doublet.     

Affinity Purification of Human τ Proteins and the Construction of a Sensitive Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Human τ Detection

Immunoaffinity chromatography with a monoclonal antibody produced against bovine tau protein was used to purify tau proteins from human brain. Fifty grams of brain tissue yielded approximately 2 mg of pure tau proteins. The affinity-purified human tau was used to produce a high-titered rabbit anti-human tau serum. The monoclonal anti-tau antibody and the polyclonal rabbit anti-tau serum were then used to construct a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of human tau proteins, with a sensitivity of 1 ng/ml.     

Preparation of Neurofilament Protein from Guinea Pig Peripheral Nerve and Spinal Cord

Abstract: A simple and rapid method for preparation of enriched neurofilament protein from mammalian peripheral nerve or spinal cord is described. Tissue extracts from guinea pig nerve or spinal cord are fractionated by ammonium sulfate fractionation, chromatography on Sepharose 4B, and precipitation with ethanol. Molecular exclusion chromatography on Sepharose 4B, in which the neurofilament protein elutes quantitatively in the exclusion volume of the column, with little contamination by other proteins, is found to be a highly effective purification step. The protein is found to precipitate in ammonium sulfate fractions over a wide range of salt concentration, from 20 to 80% saturation. It is found to be quantitatively precipitated in 40% v/v ethanol-water. The preparative method described yields 0.25 mg of neurofilament protein per gram of nerve or spinal cord, with a purity of approximately 50%. The three principal neurofilament polypeptides, which have molecular weights by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 200K, 145K, and 68K, are found to be present in the preparation in a molar ratio of 1:2:6. A variant form of neurofilament protein occurring in approximately 20% of Hartley strain guinea pigs is described, which has the polypeptide composition: 200K, 192K, 145K, 68K.     

Aluminum Inhibits Calpain-Mediated Proteolysis and Induces Human Neurofilament Proteins to Form ProteaseResistant High Molecular Weight Complexes

We studied the effects of aluminum salts on the degradation of human neurofilament subunits (NF-H, NF-M, and NF-L, the high, middle, and low molecular weight subunits, respectively) and other cytoskeletal proteins using calcium-activated neutral proteinase (calpain) purified from human brain. Calpain-mediated proteolysis of NF-L, tubulin, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), three substrates that displayed constant digestion rates in vitro, was inhibited by AlCl3 (IC50 = 200 microM) and by aluminum lactate (IC50 = 400 microM). Aluminum salts inhibited proteolysis principally by affecting the substrates directly. After exposure to 400 microM aluminum lactate and removal of unbound aluminum, human cytoskeletal proteins were degraded two- to threefold more slowly by calpain. When cytoskeleton preparations were exposed to aluminum salt concentrations of 100 microM or higher, proportions of NF-M and NF-H formed urea-insoluble complexes of high apparent molecular mass, which were also resistant to proteolysis by calpain. Complexes of tubulin and of GFAP were not observed under the same conditions. Aluminum salts irreversibly inactivated calpain but only at high aluminum concentrations (IC50 = 1.2 and 2.1 mM for aluminum lactate and AlCl3, respectively), although longer exposure to the ion reduced by twofold the levels required for protease inhibition. These interactions of aluminum with neurofilament proteins and the effects on proteolysis suggest possible mechanisms for the impaired axoplasmic transport of neurofilaments and their accumulation in neuronal perikarya after aluminum administration in vivo.     

Charge Segregation and Low Hydrophobicity Are Key Features of Ribosomal Proteins from Different Organisms

Ribosomes are large and highly charged macromolecular complexes consisting of RNA and proteins. Here, we address the electrostatic and nonpolar properties of ribosomal proteins that are important for ribosome assembly and interaction with other cellular components and may influence protein folding on the ribosome. We examined 50 S ribosomal subunits from 10 species and found a clear distinction between the net charge of ribosomal proteins from halophilic and non-halophilic organisms. We found that ∼67% ribosomal proteins from halophiles are negatively charged, whereas only up to ∼15% of ribosomal proteins from non-halophiles share this property. Conversely, hydrophobicity tends to be lower for ribosomal proteins from halophiles than for the corresponding proteins from non-halophiles. Importantly, the surface electrostatic potential of ribosomal proteins from all organisms, especially halophiles, has distinct positive and negative regions across all the examined species. Positively and negatively charged residues of ribosomal proteins tend to be clustered in buried and solvent-exposed regions, respectively. Hence, the majority of ribosomal proteins is characterized by a significant degree of intramolecular charge segregation, regardless of the organism of origin. This key property enables the ribosome to accommodate proteins within its complex scaffold regardless of their overall net charge.     

参考家系鸡黑素皮质素受体3基因多态性与体重关系研究

鼠遗传学研究显示黑素皮质素受体3（melanocortin-3 receptor,MC3R）和MC4R在能量平衡控制中具有互补作用。敲除MC3R基因鼠表现为独有的代谢综合征和增加脂肪重量。以8周龄高体重或低体重独立选择的高体重系（high weight,HW）和低体重系（low weight,LW）白洛克鸡3代参考家系群体作为实验材料,发现了5个新的MC3R基因单核苷酸多态性（single nucleotide polymorphisms,SNPs）;建立了基于限制性内切酶Dde I的MC3R基因型的PCR-RFLP分子检测方法。方差分析结果显示MC3R基因型显著影响公鸡和母鸡的体重,以及公鸡腹脂含量。该结果建议MC3R基因可以作为侯选基因解释杂交鸡体重显著差异的原因。     

Purification and Properties of a Chromobacterium Lipase with a High Molecular Weight

A lipase with a high molecular weight was purified from Chromobacterium viscosum by chromatography using the Amberlite CG–50 and Sephadex G–75. The purified lipase (Lipase A) was found to be homogeneous by disc electrophoresis.

Lipase A had an optimum pH around 7 for lipolysis of olive oil and the enzyme was stable at the range of pH 4 to 9 and below 50°C. Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ and high concentrations of l-cysteine, iodoacetic acid and NBS had remarkable inhibitory effects. Bile salts were activator. Lipase A was more active on water insoluble esters than water soluble esters. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was pH 4.7.