Study on gene sensor based on primer extension

Based on the fact that the resonant frequency of a piezoelectric crystal is the function of its surface deposit, and that the primer extends after it hybridizes with the template, the primer extension gene sensor technique was developed. The prominent feature of the technique is that fast and sensitive frequency signals are used as the monitoring system of gene hybridization and primer strand extension. Results show that this technique may be used in homologous analysis of nucleic acid, trace DNA detection, and determining the integration of DNA. It may also be used for isolation of target gene, gene mutation analysis, and predicting the location of a gene in its genome.     

Mapping of a BYDV resistance gene from Thinopyrum intermedium in wheat background by molecular markers

The wheat line H960642 is a homozygous wheat-Thinopyrum intermedium translocation line with resistance to BYDV by genomie in situ hybridization (GISH) and RFLP analysis. The genomie DNA of Th. intermedium was used as a probe, and eonunon wheat genomie DNA as a blocking in GISH experiment. The results showed that the chromosome segments of Th. intermedium were transferred to the distal end of a pair of wheat chromosomes. RFLP analysis indicated that the transloeation line H960642 is a T7DS·7DL-7XL translocation by using 8 probes mapped on the homoeologous group 7 in wheat. The tranalocation breakpoint is located between Xpsr680 and Xpsr965 about 90—99 cM from the centromere. The RFLP markers psr680 and psr687 were closoly linked with the BYDV resistance gene. The gene is located on the distal end of 7XL around Xpsr680 and Xpsr687.     

Molecular systematics analysis of Lymantria dispar based on 18S rRNA and cox1 mtDNA sequence data

The complete sequence of the 18 S ribosomal RNA gene(18S rRNA) from Lymantria dispar was cloned and analysed here. 18 S rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidasel(cox1) gene sequences of Lymantria dispar were compared with homologous sequences of other nine insects from different orders. Analytic results showed that 18 S rRNA of these insects had two conserved domains and the second domain was an even more conserved region. The phylogenetic trees based on the full-length sequence and the second domain fragment of 18 S rRNA as well as sequence of cox1 from different orders indicated that Lepidoptera and Trichoptera, which belongs to Amphiesmenoptera, had a closer phylogenetic relationship and fewer differences were observed comparing with traditional taxonomic results.     

Microarray,SAGE and their applications to cardiovascular diseases

The wealth of DNA data generated by the human genome project coupling with recently invented high-throughput gene expression profiling techniques has dramatically sped up the process for biomedical researchers on elucidating the role of genes in human diseases. One powerful method to reveal insight into gene functions is the systematic analysis of gene expression. Two popular high-throughput gene expression technologies, microarray and Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) are capable of producing large amounts of gene expression data with the potential of providing novel insights into fundamental disease processes, especially complex syndromes such as cardiovascular disease, whose etiologies are due to multiple genetic factors and their interplay with the environment. Microarray and SAGE have already been used to examine gene expression patterns of cell-culture, animal and human tissues models of cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we will first give a brief introduction of microarray and SAGE     

从我国分离的3株蛙虹彩病毒与蛙病毒3型主要衣壳蛋白基因同源性的比较

Since 1995,three viral isolates named RGV9506,RGV9807 and RGV9808 associated with frog mortality were isolated from farm-raised frogs (Rana grylio virus,RGV) in China.Both ultrastructural morphology and serological characterisitics had shown that the RGV isolates belong to genus Ranavirus. The DNA sequence analysis of the 5′end of the major capsid protein(MCP) gene of RGV isolates by PCR amplification produced a 531bp fragment.DNA templates were prepared from cells infected with different RGV isolates and the specific primers designed were based on highly conserved region at the 5′ of the gene encoding Frog virus 3(FV3) MCP, which is the typical species of the genus Ranavirus.The PCR products indicate that the nucleotide sequence of MCP gene of the RGV9506,RGV9807 and RGV9808 showed 99.6%, 99.8% and 98.4% homology respectively with the corresponding region of the MCP gene of FV3.     

Candidate genes of hypertension with defective environmental expression

Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that the thermosensitivity locus cosegregates with blood pressure and that the elevated expression and restriction fragment length polymorphism of HSP70 gene are associated with hypertension.Cell protection against environmental stressors such as heat and chemicals is often accompanied by up-regulated expression of a wide spectrum of heat shock genes(HSP).To further investigate the interrelation between HSP expression and blood pressure regulation,we employed an effective method of cloning 2 potential hypertension-related HSPs.Synthetic oligonucleotides corresponding either to a highly-conserved region of the known HSP family or a repetitive sequence in the proteinencoding gene were used as target primers for polymerase chain reaction(PCR).cDNA prepared from heat-stressed and non-stressed vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC)of Brown Norway rats(BN.1x)and spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHRp) respectively served as template in the reaction.The PCR products were subsequently analyzed in a single-stranded conformational polymorphism(SSCP) electrophoresing system.Differential gene expression in BN.1x and SHRp was seen on autoradiographs of SSCP gel by comparing the migration patterns of PCR-amplified DNA fragments.Using this technique,we also found that HSP27 and a new member of the large HSP gene family were differentially expressed in BN.1x and SHRp VSMC.     

Molecular cloning and structural analysis of human norepinephrine transporter gene（NETHG）

A cDNA molecule encoding a major part of the human Norepinephrine transporter(hNET) was synthesized by means of Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR) technique and used as a probe for selecting the human genomic NET gene.A positive clone harbouring the whole gene was obtained from a human lymphocyte genomic library through utilizing the “genomic walking” technique.The clone,designated as phNET,harbours a DNA fragment of about 59 kd in length inserted into BamH I site in cosmid pWE15.The genomic clone contains 14 exons encoding all amino acid residues in the protein.A single exon encodes a distinct transmembrane domain,except for transmembrane domain 10 and 11,which are encoded by part of two exons respectively,and exon 12,which encodes part of domain 11 and all of domain 12.These results imply that there is a close relationship between exon splicing of a gene and structureal domains of the protein,as is the case for the human γ－aminobutyric acid transporter(hGAT) and a number of other membrane proteins.     

Wavelet Analysis of DNA Walks on the Human and Chimpanzee MAGE/CSAG-palindromes

The palindrome is one class of symmetrical duplications with reverse complementary characters,which is widely distributed in many organisms.Graphical representation of DNA sequence provides a simple way of viewing and comparing various genomic structures.Through 3-D DNA walk analysis,the similarity and differences in nucleotide composition,as well as the evolutionary relationship between human and chimpanzee MAGE/CSAG-palindromes,can be clearly revealed.Further wavelet analysis indicated that duplicated segments have irregular patterns compared to their surrounding sequences.However,sequence similarity analysis suggests that there is possible common ancestor between human and chimpanzee MAGE/CSAG-palindromes.Based on the specific distribution and orientation of the repeated sequences,a simple possible evolutionary model of the palindromes is suggested,which may help us to better understand the evolutionary course of the genes and the symmetrical sequences.     

The structure, expression and function prediction of DAZAP2, a down-regulated gene in multiple myeloma

In our previous studies, DAZAP2 gene expression was down-regulated in untreatedpatients of multiple myeloma (MM). For better studying the structure and function of DAZAP2, a full-length cDNA was isolated from mononuclear cells of a normal human bone marrow, sequenced and deposited to Genbank (AY430097). This sequence has an identical ORF (open reading frame) as the NM_014764 from human testis and the D31767 from human cell line KG-1. Phylogenetic analysis and structure prediction reveal that DAZAP2 homologues are highly conserved throughout evolution and share a polyproline region and several potential SH2/SH3 binding sites. DAZAP2 occurs as a single-copy gene with a four-exon organization. We further noticed that the functional DAZAP2 gene is located on Chromosome 12 and its pseudogene gene is on Chromosome 2 with electronic location of human chromosome in Genbank, though no genetic abnormalities of MM have been reported on Chromosome 12. The ORF of human DAZAP2 encodes a 17-kDa protein, which is highly similar to mouse Prtb. The DAZAP2 protein is mainly localized in cytoplasm with a discrete pattern of punctuated distribution. DAZAP2 may associate with carcinogenesis of MM and participate in yet-to-be identified signaling pathways to regulate proliferation and differentiation of plasma cells.     

Preliminary study on the molecular structure of 3'''' region of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene in Chinese

Number and order of HindⅢ exon-containing fragments (Hd) at 3' region of DMD gene were studied systematically using 16 partly-overlapping cDNA subprobes which were produced from dystrophin cDNA 9- 14 with each of 9 restriction endonudeases. There are 25 Hd fragments corresponding to cDNA 9 -14 in DMD gene. Since then, the exact length and the new order of Hd fragments are established. A new 2.1 kb fragment (Hd 55) is revealed, a 5.2 kb fragment (formely designated as Hd 59) is excluded and the existence of a controversial 3.2 kb fragment (Hd 64) is confirmed. Besides, three new exons were revealed by comparing the PvuⅡ and the XbaⅠ hybridization patterns with the Hindlll hybridization patterns for these cDNA subprobes. It is concluded that there are at least 66 Hd fragments, or 79 exons in DMD gene basing on the discovery of three additional exons. The corresponding relationship between the 66 Hd fragments and the SfiⅠ large scale physical map has been studied, and at least 17 Hd fragments or 19 exo     

白蚁与动物及微生物的共生类型及其机制

综述了白蚁螱客的主要种类、共生关系及相关机制的研究进展。白蚁螱客中,已报道的动物种类达170种。在与动物的共生关系中存在偏利共生（宾主共栖和异种共栖）、互利共生和无关共生三种;在与微生物的共生关系中,存在与内生菌（原生动物、细菌、真菌和放线菌）和外生菌（蚁巢伞菌等）间的互利关系。指出了白蚁与螱客研究中存在的问题,给出了解决方案,并提出了今后可能的研究热点或方向,为白蚁的综合利用（如纤维素酶）及今后研究物种间的协同进化提供了基础资料。     

New amino-dithiaphospholanes and phosphoramidodithioites and their rhodium and iridium complexes

New sulfur derivatives of phosphoramidite ligands were synthesized and the impact of the sulfur unit on the spectroscopic properties of their rhodium and iridium complexes was investigated. The new ligands Bn₂NPSCH₂CH₂S^a(P-S^a) (Bn = benzyl, 4), Bn₂NPSCHCHS^a(CH₂)₃C^aH₂(P-S^a)(C^a-S^a) (6) and Bn₂NP(4-XC₆H₄OMe)₂ (X = S, 7a; X = O, 7b) were converted to the rhodium and iridium complexes trans-[Rh(CO)Cl(L)₂] (L = 4, 6, 7), [RhCl(COD)(L)] (L = 4, 6, 7), [IrCl(COD)(7a)] and [IrCl₂Cp∗(6)]. For comparison, some phosphoramidite complexes of these formulations also were synthesized. The new metal complexes were spectroscopically analyzed. For the carbonyl complexes, the ν_CO IR stretching frequencies were lower than for the corresponding phosphite and phosphoramidite ligands. The ¹J_PRh coupling constants for the rhodium complexes with the new ligands were also smaller than for the respective phosphoramidite and phosphite complexes. Finally, the ¹J_PSe coupling constants of the selenides of the new ligands were lower than those of the phosphoramidite ligands but higher than for PPh₃. The spectroscopic data reveal that the new thio ligands 4, 6 and 7a are more electron donating than phosphites and phosphoramidites but less electron donating than PPh₃.     

Astrocytes and Synaptosomes Transport and Metabolize Lactate and Acetate Differently

Astrocytes transport the monocarboxylate acetate, but synaptosomes do not. The reason for this is unknown, because both preparations express monocarboxylate transporters (MCT). The transport and metabolism of lactate, another monocarboxylate, was examined in these two preparations, and the results were compared to those for acetate. Lactate transport is more rapid in astrocytes than in synaptosomes, but of lower affinity (Kms of 17 and 4 mM, respectively). Lactate (0.2 mM) is metabolized to CO2 more rapidly in synaptosomes than in astrocytes (rates of 0.37 and 0.07 nmol x mg protein(-1) x min(-1), respectively). The reason for this is unclear, but cellular differences in lactate dehydrogenase isotype expression may be involved. Acetate is metabolized to CO2 more rapidly in astrocytes than in synaptosomes (rates of 0.43 and 0.02 nmol x mg protein(-1) x min(-1), respectively). This is likely due to cellular differences in the expression of monocarboxylate transporter subtypes.     

Rapporteur report: Basics and technology and metrology and standards

The first and second sessions of the Workshop focussed on the basics of ultrasound and infrasound, their applications in both industry and medicine, and metrology and protection standards for ultrasound applications.     

Relative and combined effects of ethanol and protein deficiency on strontium and barium bone content and fecal and urinary excretion

To elucidate accumulation of minerals in human iliac arteries with aging, the content of minerals was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Bilateral common, internal, and external iliac arteries of 16 men and 8 women, ranging ages from 65 to 93 yr, were examined. It was found that an extremely high accumulation of calcium and phosphorus occurred in the common iliac artery at old age, being higher than that of the internal and external iliac arteries. It should be noted that the accumulation of calcium and phosphorus is the highest in the common iliac artery among the human arteries examined to date. Regarding sexual differences, the content of calcium and phosphorus in the common and internal iliac arteries was higher in women than in men, whereas their content in the external iliac artery was lower in women than in men.     

Prostaglandin and thromboxane production by human and guinea-pig macrophages and leucocytes

The ability of partially purified human and guinea-pig haematogenous cell populations, when cultured in vitro, to metabolise arachidonic acid (AA) has been studied. Supernatants from 24 hour cell culture have been subjected to analysis for products of AA metabolism by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection.The cell types studied were human peripheral blood monocytes (both glass adherent and non-adherent), neutrophils, eosinophils and leukemic leucocytes; thoracic duct lymphocytes and lung alveolar macrophages. From the guinea-pig, induced and non-induced macrophage or neutrophil enriched peritoneal exudate populations, lymph node cells, peritoneal eosinophils and peripheral blood platelets were examined. Supernatants were assayed for the presence of PGE₂, PGD₂, PGF_2α, TXB₂ and 6-keto-PGF_1α. In all types studied PGE₂ and TXB₂ were the major products formed. The identification of PGE₂ and TXB₂ was confirmed by GC/MS with multiple ion monitoring.The results have been compared with other reports and their possible significance discussed in relation to the proposed role of prostaglandins as mediators and modulators in immunopathology.     

Chemokines and cytokines: axis and allies in asthma and allergy

Allergic asthma can be precipitated by many factors. For the atopic person, fungus, pollen, dust mites, cockroach antigens, and diesel exhaust are all agents that may trigger an allergic attack. Cytokines and chemokines are integral mediators of fungal asthma. From the earliest time points, they recruit and activate the cells required for the clearance of fungus as well as being critical factors involved in the immunopathology of this disease. In the final analysis, it is clear that these mediators can act to the benefit or the detriment of the host.     

Oxidation and nitration of ribonuclease and lysozyme by peroxynitrite and myeloperoxidase

In spite of the many studies on protein modifications by reactive species, knowledge about the products resulting from the oxidation of protein-aromatic residues, including protein-derived radicals and their stable products, remains limited. Here, we compared the oxidative modifications promoted by peroxynitrite and myeloperoxidase/hydrogen peroxide/nitrite in two model proteins, ribonuclease (6Tyr) and lysozyme (3Tyr/6Trp). The formation of protein-derived radicals and products was higher at pH 5.4 and 7.4 for myeloperoxidase and peroxynitrite, respectively. The main product was 3-nitro-Tyr for both proteins and oxidants. Lysozyme rendered similar yields of nitro-Trp, particularly when oxidized by peroxynitrite. Hydroxylated and dimerized products of Trp and Tyr were also produced, but in lower yields. Localization of the main modified residues indicates that peroxynitrite decomposes to radicals within the proteins behaving less specifically than myeloperoxidase. Nitrogen dioxide is emphasized as an important protein modifier.