升血汤促进辐射后骨髓移植小鼠造血与免疫重建的研究

本文用多项血液学及免疫学指标研究了中药升血汤对骨髓移植小鼠造血与免疫重建的影响,结果证明,升血汤有明显促进骨髓移植小鼠造血与免疫功能恢复的功效,表现在小鼠骨髓造血干细胞数量的恢复,小鼠外周血象的改善,脾及骨髓中有核细胞数的增加,明显促进小鼠细胞免疫和体液免疫功能的恢复,研究结果为升血汤的临床应用提供了实验依据。     

喘可治对辐射损伤小鼠造血与免疫重建的作用

目的：研究喘可治对辐射损伤后小鼠造血和免疫重建的影响。方法：建立小鼠辐射损伤模型,通过腹腔注射给药喘可治（CKZ）和重组人粒细胞集落刺激因子（recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor,rhG-CSF）注射液,利用血细胞自动分析仪和流式细胞术分析辐射后小鼠外周血象和骨髓干细胞的变化规律。结果：CKZ组外周血象显示造血和免疫系统恢复显著高于rhG．CSF组,P〈0．05;骨髓干细胞虽有一定恢复,但不如rhG—CSF组,P〈0．05。结论：喘可治可促进辐射损伤后小鼠造血和免疫重建,促进骨髓干、祖细胞的释放与分化可能是其机制之一。     

大豆异黄酮对辐射小鼠造血系统损伤防护作用的实验研究

研究大豆异黄酮(SoybeanIsoflavone,SI)对辐射损伤小鼠造血系统功能的影响。雄性昆明小鼠照射前补充SI,经4Gyγ射线照射,观察补充SI对电离辐射损伤小鼠内源性脾结节(CFU-S)数、骨髓细胞粒、巨噬系细胞集落形成单位(CFU-GM)数、骨髓细胞DNA含量及外周血淋巴细胞DNA损伤程度的影响。结果显示SI提高了辐射损伤小鼠CFU-S数,增加了骨髓有核细胞CFU-GM数,降低外周血淋巴细胞DNA损伤程度,对骨髓细胞DNA含量也有一定的增加趋势。表明SI可以提高辐射损伤小鼠造血干祖细胞的增殖能力,减轻辐射对骨髓细胞和外周血淋巴细胞DNA的损害,SI对辐射小鼠的造血系统有一定的防护作用。     

螺旋藻多糖的药理作用研究

螺旋藻多糖（Ｐｏｌｙｓａｃｃｈａｒｉｄｅ ｏｆ Ｓｐｉｒｕｌｉｎａ）是从螺旋藻中提取的一种无毒的天然产物,具有多种生物学活性。为进一步探讨螺旋藻多糖的作用,本文以小鼠为动物模型,观察极大藻多糖对小鼠生物功能的影响。螺旋藻多糖可以提高受γ射线致死剂量照射的小鼠３０天内的存活率促进小鼠多能干细胞和造血祖细胞的增殖和分化;促进受到辐射损伤的小鼠造血系统的恢复,增强小鼠的抗辐射能力。螺旋藻多糖可以提高小鼠     

天然杀伤细胞在受照射小鼠中的造血调控作用

研究了天然杀伤（ＮＫ）细胞对受致死剂量γ线照射的同系小鼠的造血调控作用。ＡＭＳ／５小鼠经９Ｇｙγ线全身照射后立即经尾静脉注射ＮＫ细胞（５×１０５）,可明显提高受照小鼠３０ｄ活存率,照后８ｄ小鼠骨髓中ＣＦＵ－ＧＭ数量明显高于对照和脾细胞注射组,照射后３０ｄ,ＮＫ细胞注射组活存小鼠的骨髓有核细胞数和ＣＦＵ－ＧＭ数已恢复到正常的７６％─９６％。病理组织学观察显示,输注ＮＫ细胞可使小鼠骨髓、脾脏的组织损伤程度减轻,造血功能增强,表现为造血灶数增多,造血细胞功能活跃,核分裂相增多,且涉及红系、粒系、巨核细胞系造血。ＮＫ细胞可能通过直接与造血干细胞相互作用或改善造血微环境等促进“内源性”造血功能,从而发挥对造血的正调控作用。提示ＮＫ细胞在小鼠造血功能的平衡维持中起重要作用。     

脐带间充质干细胞对辐射损伤小鼠造血功能的影响

目的:探讨脐带间充质干细胞(UCMSC)对辐射损伤模型小鼠造血功能的影响,为相关放射性造血功能损伤疾病的治疗提供理论依据。方法:选取清洁的雄性小鼠80只,随机分为正常组、放射对照组、普通组(注射1次UCMSC)和加强组(注射2次UCMSC),放射组、普通组和加强组的小鼠均经2 Gy射线照射剂量辐射1 h,建立辐射损伤模型。UCMSC悬浮液(每次注射剂量均为230 IU/g)经尾静脉注射方式分别在辐射12和24 h后给予小鼠。照射处理后定期在第1、2、7、14 d对小鼠进行心脏取血并做血象分析,测定血清内超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性和丙二醛(MDA)含量。结果:与辐射对照组比较,尾静脉注射UCMSC悬浮液组能改善外周血的数目,血清中SOD活性有所升高,MDA含量显著降低。结论:脐带间充质干细胞对辐射损伤小鼠造血功能具有一定的防护作用。     

IL-33转基因小鼠骨髓造血干／祖细胞向髓系细胞分化的能力增强

目的：利用IL-33转基因小鼠研究IL-33对造血干/祖细胞的增殖和分化影响。方法利用流式细胞仪分析IL-33转基因小鼠及同窝野生对照小鼠的外周血、脾脏、骨髓细胞的免疫表型及造血干细胞分化不同阶段细胞的数量变化;利用体外成克隆实验和细胞周期分析研究IL-33对于造血干细胞增殖能力的影响。结果与野生型小鼠相比,IL-33转基因小鼠B细胞和T细胞在外周血中都明显降低,粒细胞在外周血和骨髓中都有明显增加;IL-33转基因小鼠的骨髓造血干细胞和多能祖细胞数量减少,共同淋系祖细胞数量减少,共同髓系祖细胞和粒单系祖细胞数量增加;IL-33转基因小鼠的造血干细胞处于S-G2-M的细胞增多;体外单克隆实验发现IL-33转基因小鼠造血干细胞形成的集落数增加。结论 IL-33转基因小鼠造血干细胞增殖能力增强,更易向髓系细胞分化。     

外周血造血干细胞移植的实验观察

外周血白细胞中存在着少量的造血干细胞。对某些造血功能损伤的动物或人,移植外周血造血干细胞可以促进机体造血功能的恢复。但是,在外周血中存在着大量的免疫活性细胞,因此,在同种异体移植中,由于个体组织抗原的差异,输入大量免疫活性细胞     

升血汤促进小鼠免疫功能的实验研究

利用多种免疫学方法研究了中药升血汤对小鼠免疫功能的影响。结果证明,升血汤对正常小鼠的细胞免疫功能和体液免疫功能确有明显的促进作用。表现为,非特异地（多克隆）增强Ｔ、Ｂ淋巴细胞对丝裂原的增殖反应;特异地增强Ｔ细胞对异型抗原的ＭＬＲ、ＤＴＨ反应;特异地增强小鼠对ＳＲＢＣ的抗体反应;明显增强小鼠脾细胞产生ＩＬＤ２的能力。     

迷迭香酸对辐射损伤小鼠造血功能的保护作用

迷迭香酸是一种天然的水溶性多酚类化合物,最新研究发现具有抗紫外线辐射及细胞保护之效,实验中口服给予辐射损伤的ICR种小鼠不同剂量迷迭香酸(50、100、150、200 mg/kg),通过脏器系数、骨髓DNA含量、股骨有核细胞数(BMNC)、脾结节数(CFU-S)等指标检测其对小鼠造血系统的作用,并以外周血(WBC、HGB、PLT)及体重等指标,从整体水平上衡量迷迭香酸对小鼠造血功能的影响.研究发现不同剂量迷迭香酸对小鼠造血系统均有一定的保护作用,但呈倒“U”形剂量反应曲线,100 mg/kg作用尤为突出,各指标与单纯照射组相比均有显著性差异.     

A Toxin–Antitoxin System Promotes the Maintenance of an Integrative Conjugative Element

SXT is an integrative and conjugative element (ICE) that confers resistance to multiple antibiotics upon many clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae. In most cells, this ~100 Kb element is integrated into the host genome in a site-specific fashion; however, SXT can excise to form an extrachromosomal circle that is thought to be the substrate for conjugative transfer. Daughter cells lacking SXT can theoretically arise if cell division occurs prior to the element's reintegration. Even though ~2% of SXT-bearing cells contain the excised form of the ICE, cells that have lost the element have not been detected. Here, using a positive selection-based system, SXT loss was detected rarely at a frequency of ~1×10⁻⁷. As expected, excision appears necessary for loss, and factors influencing the frequency of excision altered the frequency of SXT loss. We screened the entire 100 kb SXT genome and identified two genes within SXT, now designated mosA and mosT (for maintenance of SXT Antitoxin and Toxin), that promote SXT stability. These two genes, which lack similarity to any previously characterized genes, encode a novel toxin-antitoxin pair; expression of mosT greatly impaired cell growth and mosA expression ameliorated MosT toxicity. Factors that promote SXT excision upregulate mosAT expression. Thus, when the element is extrachromosomal and vulnerable to loss, SXT activates a TA module to minimize the formation of SXT-free cells.     

Control of SXT integration and excision

The Vibrio cholerae SXT element is a conjugative self-transmissible chromosomally integrating element that encodes resistance to multiple antibiotics. SXT integrates in a site-specific fashion at prfC and excises from the chromosome to form a circular but nonreplicative extrachromosomal form. Both chromosomal integration and excision depend on an SXT-encoded recombinase, Int. Here we found that Int is necessary and sufficient for SXT integration and that int expression in recipient cells requires the SXT activators SetC and SetD. Although no xis-like gene was annotated in the SXT genome, Int was not sufficient to mediate efficient SXT chromosomal excision. We identified a novel SXT Xis that seems to function as a recombination directionality factor (RDF), facilitating SXT excision and inhibiting SXT integration. Although unrelated to any previously characterized RDF, Xis is similar to five hypothetical proteins that together may constitute a new family of RDFs. Using real-time quantitative PCR assays to study SXT excision from the chromosome, we determined that while SXT excision is required for SXT transfer, the percentage of cells containing an excised circular SXT does not appear to be a major factor limiting SXT transfer; i.e., we found that most cells harboring an excised circular SXT molecule do not act as SXT donors. In the absence of prfC, SXT integrated into several secondary attachment sites but preferentially into the 5' end of pntB. SXT excision and transfer from a donor containing pntB::SXT were reduced, suggesting that the SXT integration site may also influence the element's transmissibility.     

Visualizing and quantifying cell phenotype using soft X-ray tomography

Soft X-ray tomography (SXT) is an imaging technique capable of characterizing and quantifying the structural phenotype of cells. In particular, SXT is used to visualize the internal architecture of fully hydrated, intact eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells at high spatial resolution (50 nm or better). Image contrast in SXT is derived from the biochemical composition of the cell, and obtained without the need to use potentially damaging contrast-enhancing agents, such as heavy metals. The cells are simply cryopreserved prior to imaging, and are therefore imaged in a near-native state. As a complement to structural imaging by SXT, the same specimen can now be imaged by correlated cryo-light microscopy. By combining data from these two modalities specific molecules can be localized directly within the framework of a high-resolution, three-dimensional reconstruction of the cell. This combination of data types allows sophisticated analyses to be carried out on the impact of environmental and/or genetic factors on cell phenotypes.     

Studies on the electrophoretic separability of B and T human lymphocytes.

Cell electrophoresis experiments were performed at physiological, ionic strength on Hypaque-Ficoll separated normal human peripheral blood lymphocytes. The initial lymphocyte preparations averaged 72% T cells and 22% B cells as estimated by resetting techniques. A bimodal electrophoretic distribution of fast T cells and slow B cells such as has been repeatedly shown to exist for experimental animals could not be demonstrated. Neither B- nor T-enriched populations showed any correlation between mobility and degree of enrichment. A strong positive correlation was found between the non-rosetting cells and a very slow electrophoretic subpopulation produced during the B enrichment procedure. It was also found that considerable variability in lymphocyte mobilities existed from person to person and even in the same individual sampled over several months; these observations imply that the pooling of electrophoretic data can be misleading. The importance of these findings lies in the growing interest in relating lymphocyte electrophoresis to disease processes and immunological rejection phenomena.     

Interactions between inner membrane proteins in donor and recipient cells limit conjugal DNA transfer

Conjugation enables horizontal transmission of DNA among bacteria, thereby facilitating the rapid spread of genes such as those conferring resistance to antibiotics. Cell-cell contact is required for conjugative DNA transfer but does not ensure its success. The presence of certain plasmids in potential recipient cells inhibits redundant transfer of these plasmids from competent donors despite contact between donor and recipient cells. Here, we used two closely related integrating conjugative elements (ICEs), SXT and R391, to identify genes that inhibit redundant conjugative transfer. Cells containing SXT exclude transfer of a second copy of SXT but not R391 and vice versa. The specific exclusion of SXT and R391 is dependent upon variants of TraG and Eex, ICE-encoded inner membrane proteins in donor and recipient cells, respectively. We identified short sequences within each variant that determine the exquisite specificity of self-recognition; these data suggest that direct interactions between TraG and Eex mediate exclusion.     

The role of mutation accumulation in HIV progression

The onset of AIDS is characterized by the collapse of the immune system after a prolonged asymptomatic period. The mechanistic basis of this disease progression has remained obscure, hindering the development of effective therapies. Here I present a mechanism that underlies the deterioration of the immune system during HIV infection. The elevated turnover of lymphocytes throughout the asymptomatic period is postulated to result in the accumulation of deleterious mutations, which impairs immunological function, replicative ability and viability of lymphocytes. This mutational meltdown is proposed to occur throughout the hierarchy of lymphocyte progenitors, resulting in the deterioration of lymphocyte regeneration and an ensuing rise in viral loads. A mathematical model is used to illustrate this mechanism of progressive immunological deterioration. Mutation accumulation may explain not only the decline in CD4+T cells, but also the functional deterioration of CD4+T cells, CD8+T cells and B cells, and the exhaustion of lymphocyte regeneration.     

Mobilization of plasmids and chromosomal DNA mediated by the SXT element, a constin found in Vibrio cholerae O139

The Vibrio cholerae SXT element encodes resistance to multiple antibiotics and is a conjugative, self-transmissible, and chromosomally integrating element (a constin). Excision and self-transfer of the SXT element require an element-encoded integrase. We now report that the SXT element can also mobilize the plasmids RSF1010 and CloDF13 in trans as well as chromosomal DNA in an Hfr-like manner. SXT element-mediated mobilization of plasmids and chromosomal DNA, unlike its self-transfer, is not dependent upon excision of the element from the chromosome. These results raise the possibility that the SXT element and other constins play a general role in horizontal gene transfer among gram-negative bacteria.     

Automatic alignment and reconstruction of images for soft X-ray tomography

Soft X-ray tomography (SXT) is a powerful imaging technique that generates quantitative, 3D images of the structural organization of whole cells in a near-native state. SXT is also a high-throughput imaging technique. At the National Center for X-ray Tomography (NCXT), specimen preparation and image collection for tomographic reconstruction of a whole cell require only minutes. Aligning and reconstructing the data, however, take significantly longer. Here we describe a new component of the high throughput computational pipeline used for processing data at the NCXT. We have developed a new method for automatic alignment of projection images that does not require fiducial markers or manual interaction with the software. This method has been optimized for SXT data sets, which routinely involve full rotation of the specimen. This software gives users of the NCXT SXT instrument a new capability - virtually real-time initial 3D results during an imaging experiment, which can later be further refined. The new code, Automatic Reconstruction 3D (AREC3D), is also fast, reliable, and robust. The fundamental architecture of the code is also adaptable to high performance GPU processing, which enables significant improvements in speed and fidelity.     

From Tango to Quadrilla: Current Views of the Immunological Synapse

All T cell functions require establishing contacts with other cells. In the last ten years, the immunological synapse, the contact-site between T cells and their partners, has been the object of numerous investigations and recent advances in imaging technologies have provided significant insights into the mechanism of immunological synapse formation and its functional outcomes. Considering all the available data, the immunological synapse can be defined as a dynamic structure, formed between a T cell and one or more antigen-presenting cells, showing lipid and protein segregation, signaling compartmentalization, and bidirectional information exchange though soluble and membrane-bound transmitters. In this review, we present the current views on the immunological synapse and discuss about some interesting unresolved questions.Key words: T lymphocyte, immunological synapse, signaling, microcluster, TCR, lipid raft, costimulation     

Identification of the origin of transfer (oriT) and a new gene required for mobilization of the SXT/R391 family of integrating conjugative elements

Integrating conjugative elements (ICEs) are self-transmissible, mobile elements that are widespread among bacteria. Following their excision from the chromosome, ICEs transfer by conjugation, a process initiated by a single-stranded DNA break at a specific locus called the origin of transfer (oriT). The SXT/R391 family of ICEs includes SXT(MO10), R391, and more than 25 related ICEs found in gammaproteobacteria. A previous study mapped the oriT locus of SXT(MO10) to a 550-bp intergenic region between traD and s043. We suspected that this was not the correct oriT locus, because the identical traD-s043 region in R391 and other SXT/R391 family ICEs was annotated as a gene of an unknown function. Here, we investigated the location and structure of the oriT locus in the ICEs of the SXT/R391 family and demonstrated that oriT(SXT) corresponds to a 299-bp sequence that contains multiple imperfect direct and inverted repeats and is located in the intergenic region between s003 and rumB'. The oriT(SXT) locus is well conserved among SXT/R391 ICEs, like R391, R997, and pMERPH, and cross-recognition of oriT(SXT) and oriT(R391) by R391 and SXT(MO10) was demonstrated. Furthermore, we identified a previously unannotated gene, mobI, located immediately downstream from oriT(SXT), which proved to be essential for SXT(MO10) transfer and SXT(MO10)-mediated chromosomal DNA mobilization. Deletion of mobI did not impair the SXT(MO10)-dependent transfer of the mobilizable plasmid CloDF13, suggesting that mobI has no role in the assembly of the SXT(MO10) mating pair apparatus. Instead, mobI appears to be involved in the recognition of oriT(SXT).