人源性基因calsenilin/KChIP3/DREAM的单克隆抗体的制备及鉴定

Calsenilin/KChIP3/DREAM, 是脑中高表达蛋白,最初发现是因其与presenilin 和钙离子结合而得名。作为转录因子抑制因子,该基因在细胞核内具有多种功能。该基因在钙离子作用下细胞核内常常与c-fos、prodynorphin等基因的启动子下游的特异性DRE位点相结合,调节这些基因的表达。另一方面,作为钾离子通道结合蛋白,该基因具有4种isoforms,其中KChIP1广泛存在于各种组织中而KChIP2只在心脏中特异表达,KChIP3和 KChIP4则在脑中显示较高的表达。4种基因在C-端结构非常相象,N-端则显示多样性。除此之外,和许多基因相似,calsenilin经PKC、CKI、PKA等激酶作用可产生多位点的磷酸化,其中主要位点Ser63的磷酸化可以阻止caspase-3对该基因的降解作用。另一方面,Calsenilin作为转录因子激动因子结合于维生素D和视黄酸效应因子启动子上游促进转录的进行。 到目前为止,Calsenilin/KChIP3/DREAM在细胞核内具有双重基因表达调控作用,即当结合于启动子上游时显示正调控而当结合在启动子下游时显示负调控。为了更加深入研究calsenilin的功能及寻找新的受其调控的基因,首先制备可特异性识别的单克隆抗体。利用RT-PCR 技术,从人脑中提取RNA扩增calsenilin全基因,克隆于pGEX-4T-2原核细胞表达载体中,经IPTG诱导表达、Gluthathion Sepharose 4B纯化得到GST-calsenilin/DREAM/KChIP3重组蛋白,并免疫小鼠。通过PEG细胞融合得到单克隆抗体。经细胞免疫染色及Western blotting检测显示说明本实验得到单克隆抗体可以用来进行细胞免疫染色及Western blotting等检测。该抗体的成功制备,为今后对calsenilin/DREAM/KChIP3调控基因表达的更深入研究提供了有效工具,也填补了国内尚无该基因单克隆抗体资源的空白。     

Markedly attenuated acute and chronic pain responses in mice lacking adenylyl cyclase-5

Chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain is often difficult to manage using conventional remedies. The underlying mechanisms and therapeutic strategies required for the management of chronic pain need to be urgently established. The cyclic AMP (cAMP) second messenger system has been implicated in the mechanism of nociception, and the inhibition of the cAMP pathway by blocking the activities of adenylyl cyclase (AC) and protein kinase A has been found to prevent chronic pain in animal models. However, little is known regarding which of the 10 known isoforms of AC are involved in nociceptive pathways. Therefore, we investigated the potential pronociceptive function of AC5 in nociception using recently developed AC5 knockout mice (AC5-/-). We found that AC5-/- mice show markedly attenuated pain-like responses in acute thermal and mechanical pain tests as compared with the wildtype control. Also, AC5-/- mice display hypoalgesic responses to inflammatory pain induced by subcutaneous formalin injection into hindpaws, and to non-inflammatory and inflammatory visceral pain induced by injecting magnesium sulfate or acetic acid into the abdomen. Moreover, AC5-/- mice show strongly suppressed mechanical and thermal allodynia in two nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain models. These results suggest that AC5 is essential for acute and chronic pain, and that AC5 knockout mice provide a useful model for the evaluation of the pathophysiological mechanisms of pain.