昆虫抗菌肽结构、性质和基因调控

昆虫抗菌肽是昆虫先天免疫系统中非常重要的一类效应分子。昆虫抗菌肽带正电荷,分子量小,大多数少于100个氨基酸残基。根据结构可以将昆虫抗菌肽分为一些不同的家族。昆虫抗菌肽不同的抗菌谱表明,它具有不同的作用机制。以果蝇为模式生物研究表明,昆虫抗菌肽的基因调控涉及到多个信号通路及大量的信号分子。     

Functional analysis of C-type lysozyme in penaeid shrimp

Lysozyme is an enzyme that cleaves the β-1,4-glycosidic linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetylglucosamine in peptidoglycan, leading to bacterial lysis. Recently, lysozyme has been found to have anti-HIV and anti-cancer properties in mammals. However, most functional analyses were done in vitro using purified or recombinant lysozyme protein. Here, we used RNA interference to silence c-type lysozyme expression in penaeid shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus, to analyze the function of lysozyme in vivo. Silencing of lysozyme expression by dsRNA lysozyme (dsLYZ) led to 100% mortality without any artificial bacterial infection in 5 days. Lysozyme deficiency caused the number of hemocytes in hemolymph to decrease from 1.3 × 10(7) to 2.3 × 10(6) cells/ml and caused the number of bacteria to increase from 78 to 764 colony-forming units/ml. Suppression of bacterial growth using oxytetracycline and kanamycin showed improvement in mortality, suggesting that shrimp mortality post- dsLYZ injection can be attributed to bacterial growth in the shrimp hemolymph. The majority of the bacteria, identified by 16 S rRNA analysis, were Gram-negative species such as Vibrio and Pseudomonas. Furthermore, PKH26 staining showed that the dsLYZ-injected shrimp were unable to eliminate non pathogenic Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus in 24 h. These data suggest that c-type lysozyme in shrimp serves to regulate the growth of bacterial communities, particularly Gram-negative bacteria, in the hemolymph.     

Insect Cytokine Paralytic Peptide (PP) Induces Cellular and Humoral Immune Responses in the Silkworm Bombyx mori

In the blood (hemolymph) of the silkworm Bombyx mori, the insect cytokine paralytic peptide (PP) is converted from an inactive precursor to an active form in response to the cell wall components of microorganisms and contributes to silkworm resistance to infection. To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the up-regulation of host resistance induced by PP, we performed an oligonucleotide microarray analysis on RNA of blood cells (hemocytes) and fat body tissues of silkworm larvae injected with active PP. Expression levels of a large number of immune-related genes increased rapidly within 3 h after injecting active PP, including phagocytosis-related genes such as tetraspanin E, actin A1, and ced-6 in hemocytes, and antimicrobial peptide genes cecropin A and moricin in the fat body. Active PP promoted in vitro and in vivo phagocytosis of Staphyloccocus aureus by the hemocytes. Moreover, active PP induced in vivo phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) in the fat body. Pretreatment of silkworm larvae with ML3403, a pharmacologic p38 MAPK inhibitor, suppressed the PP-dependent induction of cecropin A and moricin genes in the fat body. Injection of active PP delayed the killing of silkworm larvae by S. aureus, whereas its effect was abolished by preinjection of the p38 MAPK inhibitor, suggesting that p38 MAPK activation is required for PP-dependent defensive responses. These findings suggest that PP acts on multiple tissues in silkworm larvae and acutely activates cellular and humoral immune responses, leading to host protection against infection.     

基因表达系列分析技术在真菌功能基因组学中的应用

基因表达系列分析( SAGE)是一种在mRNA水平上高通量、快速、灵敏分析细胞或组织基因表达信息,并在基因组学研究中广泛应用的技术.该技术不仅能够全面地分析特定组织或细胞表达的基因,比较不同时空条件下基因表达的差异,还可以在全基因组范围内获得基因的表达谱,从而发现新基因.综述基因表达系列分析技术在材料用量、标签长度、技术流程和标签测序等方面的研究进展及该技术在病原真菌、工业真菌和食用真菌功能基因组学中的应用.     

Myeloperoxidase-dependent Inactivation of Surfactant Protein D in Vitro and in Vivo

Surfactant protein D (SP-D) plays diverse and important roles in innate immunity and pulmonary homeostasis. Neutrophils and myeloperoxidase (MPO) colocalized with SP-D in a murine bacterial pneumonia model of acute inflammation, suggesting that MPO-derived reactive species might alter the function of SP-D. Exposure of SP-D to the complete MPO-H₂O₂-halide system caused loss of SP-D-dependent aggregating activity. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl), the major oxidant generated by MPO, caused a similar loss of aggregating activity, which was accompanied by the generation of abnormal disulfide-cross-linked oligomers. A full-length SP-D mutant lacking N-terminal cysteine residues and truncation mutants lacking the N-terminal domains were resistant to the oxidant-induced alterations in disulfide bonding. Mass spectroscopy of HOCl-treated human SP-D demonstrated several modifications, but none involved key ligand binding residues. There was detectable oxidation of cysteine 15, but no HOCl-induced cysteine modifications were observed in the C-terminal lectin domain. Together, the findings localize abnormal disulfide cross-links to the N-terminal domain. MPO-deficient mice showed decreased cross-linking of SP-D and increased SP-D-dependent aggregating activity in the pneumonia model. Thus, MPO-derived oxidants can lead to modifications of SP-D structure with associated alterations in its characteristic aggregating activity.     

Enhancement of reactive oxygen species production and chlamydial infection by the mitochondrial Nod-like family member NLRX1

Chlamydia trachomatis infections cause severe and irreversible damage that can lead to infertility and blindness in both males and females. Following infection of epithelial cells, Chlamydia induces production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Unconventionally, Chlamydiae use ROS to their advantage by activating caspase-1, which contributes to chlamydial growth. NLRX1, a member of the Nod-like receptor family that translocates to the mitochondria, can augment ROS production from the mitochondria following Shigella flexneri infections. However, in general, ROS can also be produced by membrane-bound NADPH oxidases. Given the importance of ROS-induced caspase-1 activation in growth of the chlamydial vacuole, we investigated the sources of ROS production in epithelial cells following infection with C. trachomatis. In this study, we provide evidence that basal levels of ROS are generated during chlamydial infection by NADPH oxidase, but ROS levels, regardless of their source, are enhanced by an NLRX1-dependent mechanism. Significantly, the presence of NLRX1 is required for optimal chlamydial growth.     

Effect of soil fumigation with vapam on the dynamics of soil microflora and their related biochemical activity

Summary Fungal propagules, in general, were drastically reduced in vapam amended soils. The toxicant from 250 to 1000 ppm was lethal toFusarium spp. Only in the early part of the experiment, higher concentrations of vapam appreciably reduced the population of bacteria and actinomycetes, though later on, their population gradually increased. The numbers of Azotobacter in soil amended with 125, 250 and 500 ppm did not alter appreciably, but their population in treated soils increased over the check on the 45th day. All concentrations of vapam lowered the population of Rhizobia.Vapam produced inhibitory effect on soil nitrification, inhibition period varying with the amount of chemical applied initially. Vapam from 125 to 500 ppm stimulated the ammonification process, while its higher concentration (1000 ppm) produced detrimental effect for 15 days. The toxicant increased CO₂ production for first 32 days.Results suggest that extraordinary success of vapam in controlling soil-borne infections of Pythium and Rhizoctonia was not entirely due to its fungicidal action. Partly it was also due to an increase in the population of known antagonists of these pathogens in fumigated soils.     

Gene Trap Mice Reveal an Essential Function of Dual Specificity Phosphatase Dusp16/MKP-7 in Perinatal Survival and Regulation of Toll-like Receptor (TLR)-induced Cytokine Production

MAPK activity is negatively regulated by members of the dual specificity phosphatase (Dusp) family, which differ in expression, substrate specificity, and subcellular localization. Here, we investigated the function of Dusp16/MKP-7 in the innate immune system. The Dusp16 isoforms A1 and B1 were inducibly expressed in macrophages and dendritic cells following Toll-like receptor stimulation. A gene trap approach was used to generate Dusp16-deficient mice. Homozygous Dusp16tp/tp mice developed without gross abnormalities but died perinatally. Fetal liver cells from Dusp16tp/tp embryos efficiently reconstituted the lymphoid and myeloid compartments with Dusp16-deficient hematopoietic cells. However, GM-CSF-induced proliferation of bone marrow progenitors in vitro was impaired in the absence of Dusp16. In vivo challenge with Escherichia coli LPS triggered higher production of IL-12p40 in mice with a Dusp16-deficient immune system. In vitro, Dusp16-deficient macrophages, but not dendritic cells, selectively overexpressed a subset of TLR-induced genes, including the cytokine IL-12. Dusp16-deficient fibroblasts showed enhanced activation of p38 and JNK MAPKs. In macrophages, pharmacological inhibition and siRNA knockdown of JNK1/2 normalized IL-12p40 secretion. Production of IL-10 and its inhibitory effect on IL-12 production were unaltered in Dusp16tp/tp macrophages. Altogether, the Dusp16 gene trap mouse model identifies an essential role in perinatal survival and reveals selective control of differentiation and cytokine production of myeloid cells by the MAPK phosphatase Dusp16.     

Antibacterial activity of the contact and complement systems is blocked by SIC, a protein secreted by Streptococcus pyogenes

Recent studies have shown that activation of complement and contact systems results in the generation of antibacterial peptides. Streptococcus pyogenes, a major bacterial pathogen in humans, exists in >100 different serotypes due to sequence variation in the surface-associated M protein. Cases of invasive and life-threatening S. pyogenes infections are commonly associated with isolates of the M1 serotype, and in contrast to the large majority of M serotypes, M1 isolates all secrete the SIC protein. Here, we show that SIC interferes with the activation of the contact system and blocks the activity of antibacterial peptides generated through complement and contact activation. This effect promotes the growth of S. pyogenes in human plasma, and in a mouse model of S. pyogenes sepsis, SIC enhances bacterial dissemination, results which help explain the high frequency of severe S. pyogenes infections caused by isolates of the M1 serotype.     

昆虫离体细胞总膜蛋白的提取及双向电泳分析

探讨适用于双向电泳的昆虫离体细胞总膜蛋白提取技术及适于双向电泳染色的高灵敏度蛋白质银染技术。以粉纹夜蛾细胞系BT1-TN-5B1-4为材料,比较了传统的Kwa法和Sigma公司的ProteoProp^TMMEMBRANE EXTRACTION KIT提取BT1-TN-5B1。离体细胞总膜蛋白,SDS—PAGE及双向电泳结果表明Sigma公司试剂盒提取的总膜蛋白效果较好,并且适用于双向电泳分析;比较了两种蛋白银染方法,确定并优化了一种灵敏度较高适于双向电泳的银染方法,得到了理想的膜蛋白2-DE图谱。     

The pH-regulated antigen 1 of Candida albicans binds the human complement inhibitor C4b-binding protein and mediates fungal complement evasion

Candida albicans binds and utilizes human complement inhibitors, such as C4b-binding protein (C4BP), Factor H, and FHL-1 for immune evasion. Here, we identify Candida pH-regulated antigen 1 (Pra1) as the first fungal C4BP-binding protein. Recombinant Pra1 binds C4BP, as shown by ELISA and isothermal titration calorimetry, and the Pra1-C4BP interaction is ionic in nature. The Pra1 binding domains within C4BP were localized to the complement control protein domain 4 (CCP4), CCP7, and CCP8. C4BP bound to Pra1 maintains complement-inhibitory activity. C4BP and Factor H bind simultaneously to Candida Pra1 and do not compete for binding at physiological levels. A Pra1-overexpressing C. albicans strain, which had about 2-fold Pra1 levels at the surface acquired also about 2-fold C4BP to the surface, compared with the wild type strain CAI4. A Pra1 knock-out strain showed ～22% reduced C4BP binding. C4BP captured by C. albicans from human serum inhibits C4b and C3b surface deposition and also maintains cofactor activity. In summary, Candida Pra1 represents the first fungal C4BP-binding surface protein. Pra1, via binding to C4BP, mediates human complement control, thereby favoring the immune and complement evasion of C. albicans.     

Studies on Insect Resistance of Bt Transplastomic Plants and the Phenotype of Their Progenies

Insecticidal protein gene CrylA (c) from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt toxin gene) was placed under the control of psbA5'- and 3'- regulatory regions of rice (Oryza sativa L. ) chloroplast to construct Bt expression cassette, which was ligated with selectable marker aadA cassette and homology regions of tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L. ) chloroplast genome to generate transformation vector pTRS8. Leaves of tobacco plant cv. NC89 were transformed with particle bombardment method, plastid transformants were selected by their resistance to 500 mg/L of spectinomycin. Some transplastomic plants were toxic to the third-instar larvae of Helicoverpa zea, and the growth of the survived insects was remarkably inhibited. Genetic and molecular analyses of T1 and T2 progenies of plants with highly efficient insect resistance showed that Bt toxin gene had been inherited in progenies, and spectinomycin resistance was inherited maternally.     

Functional Interaction of Common Allergens and a C-type Lectin Receptor, Dendritic Cell-specific ICAM3-grabbing Non-integrin (DC-SIGN), on Human Dendritic Cells

Fucosylated glycans on pathogens are known to shape the immune response through their interaction with pattern recognition receptors, such as C-type lectin receptors (CLRs), on dendritic cells (DCs). Similar fucosylated structures are also commonly found in a variety of allergens, but their functional significance remains unclear. To test a hypothesis that allergen-associated glycans serve as the molecular patterns in functional interaction with CLRs, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based binding assay was performed to determine the binding activity of purified allergens and allergen extracts. THP-1 cells and monocyte-derived DCs (MDDCs) were investigated as a model for testing the functional effects of allergen-CLR interaction using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blotting, and flow cytometry. Significant and saturable bindings of allergens and allergen extracts with variable binding activities to DC-specific ICAM3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN) and its related receptor, L-SIGN, were found. These include bovine serum albumin coupled with a common glycoform (fucosylated glycan lacking the α1,3-linked mannose) of allergens and a panel of purified allergens, including BG60 (Cyn dBG-60; Bermuda grass pollen) and Der p2 (house dust mite). The binding activity was calcium-dependent and inhibitable by fucose and Lewis-x trisaccharides (Le^x). In THP-1 cells and human MDDCs, BG60-DC-SIGN interaction led to the activation of Raf-1 and ERK kinases and the induction of tumor necrosis factor-α expression. This effect could be blocked, in part, by Raf-1 inhibitor or anti-DC-SIGN antibodies and was significantly reduced in cells with DC-SIGN knockdown. These results suggest that allergens are able to interact with DC-SIGN and induce tumor necrosis factor-α expression in MDDCs via, in part, Raf-1 signaling pathways.     

Assessing the impact of rumen microbial communities on methane emissions and production traits in Holstein cows in a tropical climate

The evaluation of how the gut microbiota affects both methane emissions and animal production is necessary in order to achieve methane mitigation without production losses. Toward this goal, the aim of this study was to correlate the rumen microbial communities (bacteria, archaea, and fungi) of high (HP), medium (MP), and low milk producing (LP), as well as dry (DC), Holstein dairy cows in an actual tropical production system with methane emissions and animal production traits. Overall, DC cows emitted more methane, followed by MP, HP and LP cows, although HP and LP cow emissions were similar. Using next-generation sequencing, it was found that bacteria affiliated with Christensenellaceae, Mogibacteriaceae, S24-7, Butyrivibrio, Schwartzia, and Treponema were negatively correlated with methane emissions and showed positive correlations with digestible dry matter intake (dDMI) and digestible organic matter intake (dOMI). Similar findings were observed for archaea in the genus Methanosphaera. The bacterial groups Coriobacteriaceae, RFP12, and Clostridium were negatively correlated with methane, but did not correlate with dDMI and dOMI. For anaerobic fungal communities, no significant correlations with methane or animal production traits were found. Based on these findings, it is suggested that manipulation of the abundances of these microbial taxa may be useful for modulating methane emissions without negatively affecting animal production.     

Bt叶绿体转基因植株的抗虫性及后代表型分析

将Ｂｔ ＣｒｙＩＡ（ｃ） 基因与水稻（ Ｏｒｙｚａ ｓａｔｉｖａ Ｌ．） 叶绿体ｐｓｂＡ 基因的启动子和终止子构建成表达盒,连同烟草（ Ｎｉｃｏｔｉａｎａｔａｂａｃｕｍ Ｌ．） 叶绿体基因组同源片段ｒｐｌ２＿ｔｒｎＨ＿ｐｓｂＡ和ｔｒｎＫ＿ＯＲＦ５０９Ａ 以及选择标记基因ａａｄＡ一起构建成烟草叶绿体转化载体ｐＴＲＳ８。基因枪法转化烟草叶片,经壮观霉素筛选获得转化再生植株。有些转基因植株对３龄棉铃虫（ Ｈｅｌｉｃｏｖｅｒｐａ ｚｅａ） 具有较强的毒杀作用,并能显著抑制昆虫蜕皮和生长发育。对高抗虫性植株的子一代（Ｔ１） 和子二代（Ｔ２） 进行的遗传学和分子生物学分析表明,Ｂｔ 基因已稳定地遗传给子代叶绿体,且抗生素抗性遗传遵循非孟德尔的母系遗传规律     

Evolutionary Analysis for Functional Divergence of the Toll-Like Receptor Gene Family and Altered Functional Constraints

The Toll-like receptor (TLR) gene family consists of type 1 transmembrane receptors, which play essential roles in both innate immunity and adaptive immune response by ligand recognition and signal transduction. Using all available vertebrate TLR protein sequences, we inferred the phylogenetic tree and then characterized critical amino acid residues for functional divergence by detecting altered functional constraints after gene duplications. We found that the extracellular domain of TLR genes showed higher functional divergence than that of the cytoplasmic domain, particularly in the region between leucine-rich repeat (LRR) 10 and LRR 15 of TLR 4. Our finding supports the concept that sequence evolution in the extracellular domain may be responsible for the broad diversity of TLR ligand-binding affinity, providing a testable hypothesis for potential targets that could be verified by further experimentation.     

Recognition of Malondialdehyde-modified Proteins by the C Terminus of Complement Factor H Is Mediated via the Polyanion Binding Site and Impaired by Mutations Found in Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a severe thrombotic microangiopathy characterized by uncontrolled complement activation against endothelial and blood cells. Mutations in the C-terminal target recognition domains 19–20 of complement regulator factor H (FH) are strongly associated with aHUS, but the mechanisms triggering disease onset have remained unresolved. Here we report that several aHUS-related mutations alter the binding of FH19–20 to proteins where lysines have reacted with malondialdehyde (MDA). Although FH19–20 did not interact with MDA-modified hexylamine, lysine-containing peptides, or a proteolytically degraded protein, it bound to MDA-modified polylysine. This suggests that FH19–20 recognizes only clustered MDA adducts. Binding of MDA-modified BSA to FH19–20 was ionic by nature, depended on positive residues of FH19–20, and competed with the polyanions heparin and DNA. This could not be explained with the mainly neutral adducts known to form in MDA modification. When positive charges of lysines were eliminated by acetic anhydride instead of MDA, the acetylated BSA started to bind FH19–20. Together, these results indicate that negative charges on the modified proteins dominate the interaction with FH19–20. This is beneficial for the physiological function of FH because by binding to the negative charges of the modified target, FH could prevent excess complement activation initiated by naturally occurring antibodies recognizing MDA epitopes with multiple different structures. We propose that oxidative stress leading to formation of MDA adducts is a common feature for triggers of aHUS and that failure of FH in protecting MDA-modified surfaces from complement activation is involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.     

Regulation of MyD88 Aggregation and the MyD88-dependent Signaling Pathway by Sequestosome 1 and Histone Deacetylase 6

MyD88 is an essential adaptor molecule for Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and interleukin (IL)-1 receptor. MyD88 is thought to be present as condensed forms or aggregated structures in the cytoplasm, although the reason has not yet been clear. Here, we show that endogenous MyD88 is present as small speckle-like condensed structures, formation of which depends on MyD88 dimerization. In addition, formation of large aggregated structures is related to cytoplasmic accumulation of sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1; also known as p62) and histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), which are involved in accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins. A gene knockdown study revealed that SQSTM1 and HDAC6 were required for MyD88 aggregation and exhibited a suppressive effect on TLR ligand-induced expression of IL-6 and NOS2 in RAW264.7 cells. SQSTM1 and HDAC6 were partially involved in suppression of several TLR4-mediated signaling events, including activation of p38 and JNK, but they hardly affected degradation of IκBα (inhibitor of nuclear factor κB). Biochemical induction of MyD88 oligomerization induced recruitment of SQSTM1 and HDAC6 to the MyD88-TRAF6 signaling complex. Repression of SQSTM1 and HDAC6 enhanced formation of the MyD88-TRAF6 complex and conversely decreased interaction of the ubiquitin-specific negative regulator CYLD with the complex. Furthermore, ubiquitin-binding regions on SQSTM1 and HDAC6 were essential for MyD88 aggregation but were not required for interaction with the MyD88 complex. Thus, our study reveals not only that SQSTM1 and HDAC6 are important determinants of aggregated localization of MyD88 but also that MyD88 activates a machinery of polyubiquitinated protein accumulation that has a modulatory effect on MyD88-dependent signal transduction.