Mdfic与Rhox5蛋白相互作用的关键结构域鉴定

Mdfic（MyoD family inhibitor domain containing）是一个新发现的含有MyoD抑制素结构域（I-mfa domain）的转录调控因子,可能在肌细胞的分化过程中发挥重要作用. 小鼠Rhox5为同源异型框基因,隶属于Rhox基因簇（reproductive homeobox on the X chromosome genes cluster）β亚簇.在前期证实Mdifc能结合Rhox5蛋白的基础上,进一步鉴定两者相互作用的关键结构域.生物信息学分析Mdfic 的氨基酸序列,PCR方法扩增Mdfic A截短型片段（第72～247位氨基酸残基）,含保守的I-mfa结构域; 双向酵母双杂交和体外GST-Pull down结果表明,该截短型片段可以与Rhox5蛋白结合,且结合力度较完整的Mdfic蛋白强; 将Mdfic A片段划分为两段: Mdfic B（72～191 aa, 不含I-mfa结构域）和Mdfic C（191～247 aa, 含I-mfa结构域）.结果表明,含保守I-mfa结构域的Mdfic C截短型片段丧失了与Rhox5蛋白结合的能力,而不含I-mfa结构域的Mdfic B截短型片段可以结合Rhox5蛋白. 鉴于Mdfic蛋白的非I-mfa结构域在Rhox5/Mdfic结合中发挥关键作用, Rhox5与Mdfic的结合可能进一步调控由Mdfic的I-mfa结构域参与的其他转录因子（如MyoD）的调控,三者形成一个复杂的调控网络,共同参与肌细胞发生及分化的调控.     

Prosaposin对细胞增殖和凋亡的调控及其分子机制

为研究鞘脂激活蛋白原(Prosaposin)对细胞增殖、细胞凋亡的调控及其可能的分子机制, 以pcDNA3.1 in NIH3T3阴性对照细胞株和过表达prosaposin的Psap-Myc in NIH3T3细胞株为模型, 噻唑蓝(MTT)比色法检测prosaposin对细胞增殖的影响; Annexin V联合碘化丙啶(Propidium iodide, PI)法检测血清饥饿状态下prosaposin对细胞凋亡的影响; Western blotting检测PI3K/Akt信号通路中蛋白磷酸化水平的变化; Real-time PCR检测PI3K/Akt信号通路下游靶分子表达水平的改变。结果表明prosaposin可活化PI3K/Akt信号通路, 提高Akt^Ser473的磷酸化水平, 抑制细胞周期抑制基因P27^KIP1的表达, 上调细胞周期蛋白Cyclin D1的表达, 促进细胞周期从G1→S期进展; 诱导survival基因cIAP1、cIAP2的表达, 促进细胞存活。这些结果提示, prosaposin对细胞增殖和凋亡的调控可能是通过PI3K/Akt信号通路及其下游靶分子进行的。     

鞘脂类的研究进展

鞘脂类研究是目前脂类研究的重点之一,鞘脂类研究进展有以下几方面:首先,鞘脂类具有结构上的多样性,可能的种类数量巨大;其次,人们已经克隆了大多数在鞘脂代谢途径中具有调控作用的酶类,研究的热点正在转向其调节机制;再次鞘脂类合成发生在内质网和高尔基体,通过协助扩散进行转运,CERT帮助神经酰胺从内质网到高尔基体的转运;第四,鞘脂类在细胞信号转导中起重要作用,神经酰胺和SIP是当前集中的研究对象;第五,鞘脂在脂筏的形成中具有重要作用,其特异性分布可能与脂筏的功能相关.鞘脂类的研究正在系统化,"(鞘)脂类组学"的提出有助于研究的进一步深入.     

鞘脂激活蛋白原:一种新型神经营养因子

鞘脂激活蛋白 (ｓｐｈｉｎｇｏｌｉｐｉｄａｃｔｉｖａｔｏｒｐｒｏ ｔｅｉｎ ,ｓａｐｏｓｉｎ)是包含鞘脂激活蛋白Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ的一组热稳定糖蛋白 ,它们在溶酶体酶解鞘脂的过程中发挥着重要作用[1] 。鞘脂激活蛋白由其前体鞘脂激活蛋白原 (ｐｒｏｓａｐｏｓｉｎ)水解产生。最近的研究表明 ,除作为前体外 ,鞘脂激活蛋白原还具有较强的神经营养活性。本文就这一方面的研究进展作一综述。1 .鞘脂激活蛋白原的神经营养作用及其分布1 .1　作用的发现　　鞘脂激活蛋白原是在对鞘脂激活蛋白的研究中发现的。Ｋｏｎｄｏｎ等用免疫组织法发现 ,脑…     

PICK1蛋白C端酸性区域对其功能的调节

蛋白激酶C相互作用蛋白1(protein interacting with Ckinase1,PICK1)是调节AMPA(alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid)受体在细胞膜上的数量与分布,引起LTP与LTD现象的重要蛋白.本文利用基因克隆、荧光光谱以及免疫分析等方法,分析了PICK1蛋白C末端酸性区对BAR结构域与膜脂结合能力以及PICK1分子内BAR(Bin/amphiphysin/RVS)结构域与PDZ结构域相互作用的影响,研究了钙离子结合C末端酸性区后对上述相互作用的调节.结果显示,C末端酸性区的存在使BAR结构域与膜脂的结合能力减弱大约10倍,但PICK1分子内的BAR与PDZ结构域的相互作用与不含C末端的酸性区相比增强了大约4倍.另一方面,C末端酸性区的存在,伴随钙离子浓度的提高,有助于增强BAR与膜脂的结合,却削弱了PDZ和BAR结构域的作用.当钙离子浓度增加到500μmol/L时,BARC的脂质结合能力以及和PDZ的亲和力与不含酸性区相当.     

鞘脂与细胞凋亡

随着生物技术的不断发展,近年来对鞘脂类物质的研究不断深入。鞘脂质除了在细胞骨架的迁移、血管发生、胚胎发育和信号转导等方面起重要作用外,最近的研究发现鞘脂及其代谢物(神经酰胺、鞘氨醇、鞘氨醇-1-磷酸)能诱导多种肿瘤和恶性增殖细胞(如腺癌、结肠癌、肝肿瘤、肺癌、鼻咽癌等)的凋亡。本文着重对鞘脂与细胞凋亡相关的最新研究进展进行综述。     

鞘脂在植物-真菌互作中的分子调控机制研究进展

鞘脂是细胞生物膜结构的重要组分, 鞘脂及其代谢产物参与许多重要的信号转导过程。在植物-真菌互作中, 植物鞘脂的主要作用是诱导细胞发生程序性死亡; 真菌鞘脂既能引起植物死亡, 也能诱导植物产生抗病性。该文总结了植物和真菌鞘脂的结构及代谢特点, 综述了鞘脂参与调控植物-真菌互作的分子机制研究进展, 并展望了植物-真菌共生关系中鞘脂作用的研究方向。     

鞘脂在植物-真菌互作中的分子调控机制研究进展

鞘脂是细胞生物膜结构的重要组分, 鞘脂及其代谢产物参与许多重要的信号转导过程。在植物-真菌互作中, 植物鞘脂的主要作用是诱导细胞发生程序性死亡; 真菌鞘脂既能引起植物死亡, 也能诱导植物产生抗病性。该文总结了植物和真菌鞘脂的结构及代谢特点, 综述了鞘脂参与调控植物-真菌互作的分子机制研究进展, 并展望了植物-真菌共生关系中鞘脂作用的研究方向。     

Rhox5基因真核表达质粒的构建及其在NIH3T3细胞中的稳定表达

目的:构建同源异性框基因Rhox5的真核表达质粒,转染NIH3T3细胞,建立稳定过表达Rhox5的细胞系。方法:PCR方法扩增Rhox5的全长cDNA序列,PCR产物双酶切后和人工合成的HA抗原表位标签共同克隆至pcDNA3.1(-)哺乳动物细胞表达载体中,构建pcDNA-Rhox5-HA融合表达质粒。脂质体法将经过测序成功的pcDNA-Rhox5-HA融合质粒和pcDNA3.1空载体分别转染NIH3T3细胞,潮霉素B筛选后建立阴性对照pcDNA3.1 in NIH3T3和稳定过表达Rhox5的Rhox5-HA in NIH3T3细胞系。RT-PCR和western blotting方法检测Rhox5-HA在稳定转染细胞系中的表达情况。结果:成功构建了pcDNA-Rhox5-Myc重组质粒,获得稳定过表达Rhox5的NIH3T3细胞系。RT-PCR和Western blotting结果表明,构建的稳定细胞系中成功表达Rhox5-HA融合蛋白。结论:Rhox5基因真核表达质粒的构建及其在NIH3T3细胞中的稳定表达为进一步体外研究Rhox5蛋白单独的功能及其与其他分子间功能性相互作用奠定了实验基础。     

拟南芥抗凋亡突变体fbr136的分离鉴定与分析

植物细胞程序性死亡(programmed cell death,PCD)在植物的生长发育进程以及防御生物与非生物胁迫的过程中具有重要的作用.Fumonisin B1(FB1)是一种真菌毒素,是鞘脂生物合成途径中关键酶神经酰胺合酶(ceramide synthase)的竞争性抑制剂.FB1在动植物细胞中均能够诱导PCD.为了探索植物PCD的机制,通过筛选拟南芥抗FB1的突变体,分离鉴定了11个,fumonisin B1 resistant (fbr)突变体.遗传分析表明,这些突变体分别是由9个相同或者不同的遗传座位突变造成的.对其中一个代表性的突变体fbr136进行了详细的表型分析和初步遗传定位.fbr136对其他PCD诱导剂,例如H2O2或paraquat也表现出一定的抗性或耐受性,而且在fbr136突变体中FB1不能正常诱导PR1基因的表达,说明fbr136突变体PCD的发生可能受到阻碍.硝基四唑(Nitroblue tetrazolium,NBY)染色表明,FBl处理fbr136突变体后产生和积累活性氧(reactive oxygenspecies)比野生型植物显著降低,暗示其抗凋亡表型可能与活性氧的产生有关.推测FBR136可能是FB1在诱导PCD过程中,从鞘脂含量变化到活性氧积累变化这一途径的一个重要的调控因子.fbr136被定位于染色体Ⅲ上,与以往鉴定的抗FB1突变基因的定位都不同,因此,FBR136可能是FB1诱导PCD信号途径中的一个新基因.     

High-level expression, polyclonal antibody preparation and sub-cellular localization analysis of mouse Rhox5 protein

Mouse reproductive homeobox on the X chromosome (Rhox) is a novel homeobox gene cluster. Rhox5, also called Pem, belongs to the beta subcluster of Rhox. Codon analysis indicated that the cDNA contains 16% of codons rarely used in Escherichia coli. To achieve high-level expression of Rhox5, the coding sequence of Rhox5 was amplified and subcloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET22b (+) in order to produce 6His-tagged fusion protein in the modified BL21 (DE3) cells, namely Rosetta2 (DE3) cells. The 6His-tagged Rhox5 was expressed efficiently in Rosetta2 (DE3), compared with marginal expression in BL21 (DE3). The fusion protein amounted to 16% of the total bacterial proteins after induction with 0.4mM IPTG for 1.5h at 37 degrees C. After purification, Rhox5-6His was used to immunize New Zealand white rabbits following standard protocol. The homemade antiserum could detect both endogenous Rhox5 protein expressed in eukaryotic cells (Cos-7) and exogenous GFP-Rhox5 protein. Furthermore, the antiserum was used to determine the localization of Rhox5 in NIH3T3 cells using an immunofluorescence technique. The results demonstrated that Rhox5 was localized predominantly in the nucleus. Preparation of the anti-Rhox5 polyclonal antibody will facilitate further functional study of Rhox5.     

BRPF1及其新型转录本BRPF2与RHOX5蛋白间的相互作用

RHOX5基因是最早发现的小鼠RHOX基因簇(reproductive homeobox on the X chromosome)成员,可特异性地在生殖系统中表达.RHOX5蛋白在胚胎发育、生殖组织的发育、精子的生成和成熟等多个环节发挥作用,但其功能的发挥途径尚不明确.在前期筛选与RHOX5蛋白相互作用的分子中初步获得一个BRPF1的新型转录本BRPF2.进一步构建pGBKT7-BRPF2质粒,酵母双杂交实验确定其与RHOX5蛋白的相互作用,GST-pull down实验确定其在体外的直接结合;PCR扩增BRPF1基因,构建pGBKT7-BRPF1和pGADT7-BRPF1质粒,酵母双杂交实验和GST-pull down实验证明RHOX5蛋白亦可以直接结合BRPF1蛋白.BRPF1及其新型转录本BRPF2与RHOX5蛋白间的相互作用证实暗示了BRPF2极有可能与BRPF1竞争性结合RHOX5蛋白,为三种蛋白功能的研究提供了新的思路.     

Two-hybrid-based analysis of protein–protein interactions of the yeast multidrug resistance protein, Pdr5p

The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are a large family of proteins responsible for the translocation of a variety of compounds across the membranes of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The inter-protein and intra-protein interactions in these traffic ATPases are still only poorly understood. In the present study we describe, for the first time, an extensive yeast two-hybrid (Y2H)-based analysis of the interactions of the cytoplasmic loops of the yeast pleiotropic drug resistance (Pdr) protein, Pdr5p, an ABC transporter of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Four of the major cytosolic loops that have been predicted for this protein [including the two nucleotide-binding domain (NBD)-containing loops and the cytosolic C-terminal region] were subjected to an extensive inter-domain interaction study in addition to being used as baits to identify potential interacting proteins within the cell using the Y2H system. Results of these studies have revealed that the first cytosolic loop (CL1) – containing the first NBD domain – and also the C-terminal region of Pdr5p interact with several candidate proteins. The possibility of an interaction between the CL1 loops of two neighboring Pdr5p molecules was also indicated, which could possibly have implications for dimerization of this protein. Electronic Publication     

Remarkable expansions of an X-linked reproductive homeobox gene cluster in rodent evolution

Rhox is a recently identified cluster of 12 X-linked homeobox genes in mice. The expression pattern of Rhox genes during postnatal testis development corresponds to their chromosomal position, much like the colinear gene regulation of the Hox gene clusters during animal embryonic development. We here report the identification of 18 additional Rhox genes and 3 pseudogenes in mice. Comparative analyses of the mouse, rat, human, dog, cow, opossum, and chicken genomes suggest that the Rhox cluster originated in the common ancestor of primates and rodents. It subsequently underwent two remarkable expansions, first in the common ancestor of mice and rats and then in mice. Positive selection promoting amino acid substitutions was detected in some young Rhox genes, suggesting adaptive functional diversification. The recent expansions of the Rhox cluster provide an opportunity to study the mechanism and origin of colinear gene regulation, but they may also undermine the utility of mouse models for understanding the development and physiology of the human reproductive system.     

Rhox homeobox gene cluster: recent duplication of three family members

We recently reported the discovery of a homeobox gene cluster on the mouse X chromosome, Rhox, whose 12 members are selectively expressed in specific cell types in reproductive organs. Here we report the existence of 20 additional Rhox homeobox genes in this gene cluster. Most of the newly identified Rhox paralogs retain the same order and relative orientation as three of the originally described Rhox genes, suggesting that they arose from recent duplications of this trimer unit. Many of these new Rhox family members are expressed in the testis and placenta. Analysis of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions in their homeodomain region suggests that these new Rhox paralogs duplicated so recently that their encoded proteins have not yet acquired distinct DNA-binding specificities. The existence of these new Rhox genes provides an opportunity to examine the initial stages of gene cluster evolution.