激活素促进鸡胚神经节神经突起生长作用

为了探讨激活素(activin)促进鸡胚背根神经节(dorsal root ganglia,DRG)突起生长、维持神经节细胞生存作用及其与一氧化氮(NO)释放的关系,实验采用8 d的鸡胚分离背根神经节,原代培养法,观察鸡胚背根神经节的体外生长情况。研究结果表明,添加激活素A培养的背根神经节有明显的神经突起生长,形成密集的网络,背根神经节可存活8~10 d;而阴性对照组几乎无神经突起生长,背根神经节可存活3~4 d。添加激活素A的背根神经节单层培养神经节细胞也可长期存活;而阴性对照组在培养第5 d几乎无神经节细胞生存。NO检测结果显示,添加激活素A培养的背根神经节上清NO分泌水平明显降低,与阴性对照组比较差异显著(P<0.05);激活素A与神经生长因子(nerve growth factor,NGF)具有协同抑制背根神经节NO分泌作用。激活素结合蛋白(follistatin)明显抑制激活素A诱导的背根神经节神经突起生长。研究结果提示,激活素可维持鸡胚神经节细胞存活并刺激神经突起生长,其作用与抑制神经损伤因子NO的释放有关。     

鸡胚背根神经节培养法测定神经生长因子活性的条件优化

鸡胚背根神经节培养法是测定神经生长因子(NGF)和神经营养因子活性的重要方法。我们通过考察培养基、鸡血浆和鸡胚浸液的比例、背根神经节部位、培养时间等条件对NGF刺激神经节生长的影响,从而建立了一套检测NGF活性的优化条件。在含20％鸡血浆和15％鸡胚浸液的DMEM的培养基中,利用伊莎褐鸡胚腰部的背根神经节,在终浓度为30ng/ml的蛇毒NGF的刺激下,培养36h可以得到理想的实验结果。该条件重复性好、分辨率高、简单实用。     

鸡胚背根神经节培养法测定神经生长因子(NGF)活性的条件优化

目的探索一套稳定可靠的鸡胚背根神经节测定NGF活性的实验条件.方法通过观察培养基、鸡血浆和鸡胚浸液的比例、背根神经节部位、培养时间等条件对NGF刺激神经节生长的影响,从而建立一套该培养法检测NGF活性的优化条件.结果以DMEM为母液,在含20%鸡血浆和15%鸡胚浸液的培养基中,利用伊莎褐鸡胚腰椎背根神经节,在终浓度为30 ng/ml的蛇毒NGF的刺激下,培养36h可以得到较好的实验结果.结论该条件简单实用、分辨率高、重复性好.     

神经生长因子样免疫反应在鸡胚脊髓发育期的配布

探讨神经生长因子（NGF）对脊髓和背根节（DRG）发育的影响。取Hamburger 30期和40期鸡胚腰段脊髓及DRG。制作20μm厚冰冻切片。用2.5S NGF抗体进行ABC免疫组化染色,观察NGF样免疫阳性反应（NGF－IR）在两时相脊髓和DRG的配布,结果在30期,强NGF－IR呈现在白质,且腹侧较强,灰质未阳生细胞。40期时,除白质显NGF－IR和背侧白质NGF－IR增强外,脊髓灰质和DRG内亦出现了一些NGF阳性细胞,特别是在背角细胞可见强NGF－IR。结果表明NGF与脊髓和DRG的发育有关。     

鸡胚宫颈癌模型的建立及其生物学特性

目的建立人宫颈癌鸡胚模型,探讨其形态学及生物学特性。方法将Hela细胞接种于鸡胚绒毛尿囊膜,观察影响宫颈癌鸡胚移植瘤成活可能的因素、移植瘤生长特性、形态、生物学特性。结果成功建立了人宫颈癌鸡胚移植瘤模型。移植后瘤易于生长,具有较强的血管诱导作用。光镜下显示移植后瘤具有与人宫颈癌相似的组织结构。结论该模型容易建立,能动态观察宫颈癌诱导血管生成的全过程,可用于宫颈癌的实验研究。     

鸡胚模型在生物研究中的应用进展

实验动物模型在预防、诊断、治疗疾病和探讨疾病的发生机制等方面起到了至关重要的作用。鸡胚发育过程清楚,利用鸡胚本身的结构特点,可作为研究与胚胎发育相关的生物学实验模型。另外,鸡胚绒毛尿囊膜（CAM）血管丰富,是天然免疫缺陷宿主,可作为血管药理学、肿瘤学等方面研究的一个较为理想的实验模型。本文综述了鸡胚模型在生物实验研究中的应用进展。     

鸡胚内抗氧化物质的分布与变化

生物体内存在多种内源性抗氧化物质,在生命过程中发挥着基本的防御功能,是人们十分关注的研究领域。本文综述了近年来鸡胚内抗氧化物质的形成与来源等研究成果,分析了鸡胚孵育过程中维生素(A、C、E)、类胡萝卜素、硒、过氧化氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶等主要抗氧化物质的分布与变化,及内源性抗氧化系统的形成,旨在为今后的研究提供有益的科学依据。     

全胚连续消化制备鸡胚成纤维细胞技术研究

在一定条件下,将全胚置胰酶消化液中搅拌连续消化,建立了全胚连续消化制备鸡胚成纤维细胞（ＣｈｉｃｋｅｎＥｍｂｒｙｏＦｉｂｒｏｂｌａｓｔ,ＣＥＦ）技术,用该技术制备ＣＥＦ,每胚细胞产量达２．０亿个以上,是传统技术的２～３倍．所制备的细胞活性高,贴壁性强,分散度好,培养的单层均匀．以这种细胞单层为基质增殖病毒,病毒产量不低于传统方法制备的细胞单层的水平．     

“观察鸡卵的结构和鸡胚的发育”的实验教学

对"观察鸡卵的结构和鸡胚的发育"实验在实验材料的选择、实验装置的改进等方面进行优化。通过实验观察鸡胚的完整发育过程,有助于理解鸡卵的结构和鸡胚的发育,帮助学生构建动物个体发育的概念。     

人大肠癌鸡胚尿囊膜移植模型的建立及血管生成特征的观察

目的研究人大肠癌腺癌细胞株HT-29鸡胚尿囊膜移植模型建立的方法,观察和分析其血管生成的特征。方法将不同浓度的人大肠癌腺癌细胞株HT-29接种于鸡胚尿囊膜（chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane,CAM）,观察影响大肠癌鸡胚移植模型瘤体成活的因素、瘤体生长特征和血管生成情况。结果建立了人大肠癌CAM移植模型。移植模型瘤体易于生长,具有较强的血管生成作用。结论该模型易于复制,能动态观察大肠癌的血管生成过程,可用于大肠癌的生物学行为、药物筛选等领域的研究。     

Gene silencing in chick embryos with a vector-based small interfering RNA system

In this paper, the use of vector-based RNA interference (RNAi) to specifically interfere with gene expression in chick embryos is reported. In ovo electroporation was carried out to transfer a small interfering RNA (siRNA) expression vector into chick embryos. En2 was chosen for the target gene because the family gene, En1, is expressed in a similar pattern. Four sets of 19-mer sequences were designed with the En2 open reading frame region connected to a sequence of short hairpin RNA (shRNA), which exerts siRNA effects after being transcribed, and inserted into pSilencer U6-1.0 vector. En2 and En1 expression were suppressed by the siRNA whose sequence completely matched En2 and En1. Suppression occurred when the siRNA sequence differed by up to two nucleotides from the target sequence. The sequence that differed by four nucleotides from the target gene did not show siRNA effects. One set that completely matched the En2 target did not show siRNA effects, which may be due to location of the siRNA in the target gene. Thus, multiple sets of shRNA must be prepared if we are to consider. This system will greatly contribute to the analysis of function of genes of interest, because the target gene can be silenced in a locally and temporally desired manner.     

Visualization of bHLH transcription factor interactions in living mammalian cell nuclei and developing chicken neural tube by FRET

Members of the basic helix-loop-helix （bHLH） gene family play important roles in vertebrate neurogenesis. In this study, confocal microscopy-based fluorescence resonance energy transfer （FRET） is used to monitor bHLH protein-protein interactions under various physiological conditions. Tissue-specific bHLH activators, NeuroD 1, Mash 1, Neurogenin 1 （Ngn 1）, Neurogenin2 （Ngn2）, and ubiquitous expressed E47 protein are tagged with enhanced yellow fluorescence protein （EYFP） and enhanced cyan fluorescence protein （ECFP）, respectively. The subcellular localization and mobility ofbHLH fusion proteins are examined in HEK293 cells. By transient transfection and in ovo electroporation, four pairs of tissue-specific bHLH activators and E47 protein are over-expressed in HEK293 cells and developing chick embryo neural tube. With the acceptor photobleaching method, FRET could be detected between these bHLH protein pairs in the nuclei of transfected cells and developing neural tubes. Mashl/E47 and Ngn2/E47 FRET pairs show higher FRET efficiencies in the medial and the lateral half of chick embryo neural tube, respectively. It suggests that these bHLH protein pairs formed functional DNA-protein complexes with regulatory elements of their downstream target genes in the specific regions. This work will help one understand the behaviours of bHLH factors in vivo.     

Stable integration and conditional expression of electroporated transgenes in chicken embryos

The in ovo electroporation in chicken embryos has widely been used as a powerful tool to study roles of genes during embryogenesis. However, the conventional electroporation technique fails to retain the expression of transgenes for more than several days because transgenes are not integrated into the genome. To overcome this shortcoming, we have developed a transposon-mediated gene transfer, a novel technique in chicken manipulations. It was previously reported that the transposon Tol2, originally found in medaka fish, facilitates an integration of a transgene into the genome when co-acting with Tol2 transposase. In this study, we co-electroporated a plasmid containing a CAGGS-EGFP cassette cloned in the Tol2 construct along with a transposase-encoding plasmid into early presomitic mesoderm or optic vesicles of chicken embryos. This resulted in persistent expression of EGFP at least until embryonic day 8 (E8) and E12 in somite-derived tissues and developing retina, respectively. The integration of the transgene was confirmed by genomic Southern blotting using chicken cultured cells. We further combined this transposon-mediated gene transfer with the tetracycline-dependent conditional expression system that we also developed recently. With this combined method, expression of a stably integrated transgene could be experimentally induced upon tetracycline administration at relatively late stages such as E6, where a variety of organogenesis are underway. Thus, the techniques proposed in this study provide a novel approach to study the mechanisms of late organogenesis, for which chickens are most suitable model animals.     

Misexpression of genes in brain vesicles by in ovo electroporation

Transfection to living chick embryos in ovo by electroporation has been recently developed. In this mini-review, misexpression in brain vesicles is introduced. To transfect, expression plasmid is inserted in the brain vesicle, and the square pulse of 25 V, 50 ms was charged five times. The translation product of the transfected gene is detected 2 h after electroporation, and reaches the peak at 24 h after electroporation. Transfection is so effective that this method is contributing greatly to the study of the molecular mechanisms of morphogenesis.     

Deciphering Axonal Pathways of Genetically Defined Groups of Neurons in the Chick Neural Tube Utilizing in ovo Electroporation

Employment of enhancer elements to drive expression of reporter genes in neurons is a widely used paradigm for tracking axonal projection. For tracking axonal projection of spinal interneurons in vertebrates, germ line-targeted reporter genes yield bilaterally symmetric labeling. Therefore, it is hard to distinguish between the ipsi- and contra-laterally projecting axons. Unilateral electroporation into the chick neural tube provides a useful means to restrict expression of a reporter gene to one side of the central nervous system, and to follow axonal projection on both sides ^{1 ,2-5}. This video demonstrates first how to handle the eggs prior to injection. At HH stage 18-20, DNA is injected into the sacral level of the neural tube, then tungsten electrodes are placed parallel to the embryo and short electrical pulses are administered with a pulse generator. The egg is sealed with tape and placed back into an incubator for further development. Three days later (E6) the spinal cord is removed as an open book preparation from embryo, fixed, and processed for whole mount antibody staining. The stained spinal cord is mounted on slide and visualized using confocal microscopy.     

Retrovirus vector-mediated gene transfer into the chick optic vesicle by in ovo electroporation

Owing to its external position in the embryo, the chick eye has been used as a readily accessible model for studying the molecular mechanisms behind the patterning of the central nervous system. Although methods of genetic analysis have not been established as in the mouse, the chick is convenient for analyzing the functions of genes by in ov o electroporation of retroviral vectors. In this review, we describe the retroviral vector-mediated transfer of genes into the chick optic vesicle by in ovo electroporation. A rapid, efficient, and sustained expression of transgenes is achieved by this approach.     

RNA干扰在哺乳动物卵母细胞及早期胚胎发育研究中的应用

RNA干扰(RNAinterference,RNAi)是一种真核生物体内由特定双链RNA介导的转录后基因沉默现象。近年来,RNAi的作用机制已基本阐明,并广泛的应用于基因功能的研究。现对RNAi在哺乳动物卵母细胞及早期胚胎研究中的作用特点、应用情况、存在问题等几方面进行综述。     

Organotypic slice culture based on in ovo electroporation for chicken embryonic central nervous system

Organotypic slice culture is a living cell research technique which blends features of both in vivo and in vitro techniques. While organotypic brain slice culture techniques have been well established in rodents, there are few reports on the study of organotypic slice culture, especially of the central nervous system (CNS), in chicken embryos. We established a combined in ovo electroporation and organotypic slice culture method to study exogenous genes functions in the CNS during chicken embryo development. We performed in ovo electroporation in the spinal cord or optic tectum prior to slice culture. When embryonic development reached a specific stage, green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐positive embryos were selected and fluorescent expression sites were cut under stereo fluorescence microscopy. Selected tissues were embedded in 4% agar. Tissues were sectioned on a vibratory microtome and 300 μm thick sections were mounted on a membrane of millicell cell culture insert. The insert was placed in a 30‐mm culture dish and 1 ml of slice culture media was added. We show that during serum‐free medium culture, the slice loses its original structure and propensity to be strictly regulated, which are the characteristics of the CNS. However, after adding serum, the histological structure of cultured‐tissue slices was able to be well maintained and neuronal axons were significantly longer than that those of serum‐free medium cultured‐tissue slices. As the structure of a complete single neuron can be observed from a slice culture, this is a suitable way of studying single neuronal dynamics. As such, we present an effective method to study axon formation and migration of single neurons in vitro.