Control of the acetamidase gene of Mycobacterium smegmatis by multiple regulators

The acetamidase of Mycobacterium smegmatis is an inducible enzyme which enables the organism to utilise several amides as sole carbon sources. The acetamidase structural gene (amiE) is located downstream of four other genes, of which three form a probable operon with amiE; the fourth (amiC) is divergently transcribed. We constructed deletion mutants in two of these genes in order to determine their role in acetamidase expression. Both AmiC and AmiD were shown to be positive regulators of acetamidase expression required for induction. Combinations of regulatory gene deletions were made which revealed that AmiC interacts with the previously characterised negative regulator AmiA, whereas AmiD does not.     

Identification of strong promoter elements of Mycobacterium smegmatis and their utility for foreign gene expression in mycobacteria

The isolation of elements driving high-level expression of foreign genes in mycobacteria would significantly aid characterization of mycobacterial antigens and recombinant vaccine development. Mycobacterium smegmatis is a widely employed host for recombinant mycobacterial gene expression. This report describes the identification of strong promoter elements of M. smegmatis. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting was employed to isolate DNA fragments permitting high-level expression of the Aequorea victoria green fluorescent protein within recombinant M. smegmatis. Ten postulated M. smegmatis promoters were identified which showed activity two to six times that of the strong beta-lactamase promoter of Mycobacterium fortuitum. The utility of one of these promoters for the over-expression of foreign genes in mycobacteria was demonstrated by the efficient purification of the Mycobacterium leprae 35-kDa antigen from recombinant M. smegmatis.     

A host-vector system for molecular study of the intracellular growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in phagocytic cells

The mechanisms by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis survives and persists in phagocytic cells remain poorly understood. To study the question, a convenient and safe host-vector system is indispensable. In this study it has been shown that, in contrast with M . smegmatis strain mc²155 which has been widely used for molecular analysis, M. smegmatis strain J15cs is able to survive even at day 6 post-infection in a murine macrophage cell line, J774. The survivability of J15cs was found to depend on the culture medium used for the bacteria prior to infection. Bacteria precultured on nutrient agar medium showed a high survivability and a characteristic cell wall ultrastructure. A plasmid vector, pYT923hyg, was developed from an Escherichia coli - mycobacterium shuttle vector pYT923 (previously constructed in our laboratory) to obtain three drug resistant genes (amp-, hyg- and km-resistant gene) and cloning sites in the km resistant gene. The vector pYT923hyg exerted no influence on in vitro growth of J15cs and intracellular survival in J774 cells, and was stably retained in J15cs after serial subculturing (three subcultures) in Luria-Bertani broth and at day 5 post-infection into J774 cells. Furthermore, using this system, the possibility of a relationship between some seemingly essential genes of M. tuberculosis and intracellular growth was demonstrated.
In this study, M. smegmatis strain J15cs and pYT923hyg were found to be capable of serving as an appropriate host-vector system for molecular study of the intracellular growth of M . tuberculosis in phagocytic cells; this system may be useful as a screening tool for M . tuberculosis genes.     

结核杆菌抗原HSP65基因在大肠杆菌中的表达及纯化

目的 :为研制预防结核病疫苗 ,选取结核杆菌HSP65蛋白为免疫抗原 ,将结核分枝杆菌HSP65抗原基因在大肠杆菌中表达、纯化。方法 :将HSP65的全长cDNA插入到原核表达载体pGEX5T中 ,构建成pGEX5T HSP65重组质粒。将质粒转化到E .coli.K80 2细菌 ,用IPTG诱导HSP65表达 ,然后用亲和层析的方法进行纯化 ,最后用Western blot方法确认表达蛋白的特异性。结果 :获得了pGEX5T HSP65重组子 ,HSP65蛋白在k80 2菌中获得了表达 ,表达的蛋白条带大小约 86kDa ,与预期的结果相符。表达产物经亲和层析后获得了较单一的蛋白条带 ;表达及纯化的蛋白在纯化前后均可被结核病患者血清特异地识别。为进一步研究其在结核病诊断和防治中的应用打下了基础。     

Desensitization by histamine of H2 receptor-mediated adenylate cyclase activation in the human gastric cancer cell line HGT-1

Short-term treatment of cultured HGT-1 cells with histamine produced a time-dependent (half-life: 20 min) and homologous desensitization of histamine H2 receptor activity mediating cAMP generation in HGT-1 cells and gastric acid secretion in normal gastric mucosa. Histamine treatment resulted in loss of response of the adenylate cyclase to histamine in purified plasma membranes, but had no effect on basal, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)- or NaF-stimulated enzyme activities. We propose that the desensitization of gastric histamine H2 receptor by histamine evidenced in cellular or subcellular preparations from HGT-1 cells could be involved in the physiological regulation and pharmacological control of gastric cell function in man.     

耻垢分枝杆菌中反式翻译报告体系的构建

细菌在翻译过程中,mRNA受到损伤(如缺失终止密码子)时会使翻译提前终止,导致核糖体熄火,细菌自身会启动核糖体拯救途径。由tmRNA-SmpB介导的反式翻译系统是结核分枝杆菌中的核糖体拯救途径,对结核分枝杆菌的生长繁殖有重大影响。为探究分枝杆菌中反式翻译途径的启动及其功能特点,本研究选取耻垢分枝杆菌为实验菌株,分别以mCherry和egfp作为报告基因,通过在报告基因3′端添加大肠埃希菌终止子序列,构建能在菌体中反映反式翻译表达的报告体系,并初步探究该体系中报告基因的动态表达特点。结果显示,相比正常表达mCherry的对照菌株,实验菌株中表达的错误mCherry蛋白很快被水解,菌体颜色均明显浅于前者,增强绿色荧光蛋白(enhanced green fluorescent protein,EGFP)定量检测数据也显示错误EGFP水平显著低于正常表达的EGFP水平,表明两种反式翻译报告体系均构建成功。报告基因的动态表达数据显示,蛋白出现翻译异常时,耻垢分枝杆菌可在蛋白翻译过程中快速启动反式翻译途径,并于40～45h将不成熟错误蛋白完全水解。本研究构建的反式翻译报告体系可为后续开展分枝杆菌反式翻译途径的功能研究及抗结核药物筛选提供帮助。     

Evaluation of a low-cost calorimetric approach for rapid detection of tuberculosis and other mycobacteria in culture

Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of microcalorimetry in rapid detection of mycobacterium species using an inexpensive Isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC) instrument. In addition, we compared microcalorimetry with conventional monitoring techniques. Methods and Results: Isothermal microcalorimetry measures heat production rate and can provide rapid detection of living mycobacteria in clinical specimens. Using liquid medium showed that bacterial activity measured by IMC using a TAM Air^® agreed with the triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) assay. Using solid medium to enhance growth, fast‐growing mycobacteria detection was achieved between 26 and 53 h and slow‐growing mycobacteria detection was achieved between 54 and 298 h. In addition, the calorimetric data were analysed to estimate the growth rate and generation time of the mycobacteria monitored. Significance and Impact of the Study: Infections caused by mycobacteria are severe and difficult to treat. With 9·27 million new cases of tuberculosis in 2007, developing countries experience severe health and economic consequences owing to the lack of an affordable, fast detection method. Research‐grade IMC instruments are too expensive to use in developing countries. Our study demonstrates that less‐expensive instruments such as the TAM air ^® are adequate for mycobacteria detection and therefore establishes a clear proof of concept.     

耻垢分枝杆菌在感染与免疫研究中的应用

耻垢分枝杆菌属革兰阳性腐生菌,具有快速生长,无致病性,与结核分枝杆菌基因高度同源、细胞结构相似等特点,较多应用于分枝杆菌感染及相关免疫学研究,是一种相对理想的实验模型。同时,其在非分枝杆菌感染及其他相关免疫研究中也有拓展性的应用。本文就耻垢分枝杆菌在感染与免疫研究中的应用现状进行综述。