家蚕浓核病毒中国株非结构蛋白1(NS1)的表达

利用PCR技术扩增出BmDNV-3 NS1基因,将目的基因与原核表达载体pET-30a进行连接,转化BL21 star菌并在该菌中表达,经Western blot鉴定表达的产物为BmDNV-3 NS1蛋白,纯化NS1蛋白并制备兔多克隆抗体.同时BmDNV-3 NS1基因亚克隆到杆状病毒转移载体pFastBae-HTb-eGFP中,转化BmDH10BAC感受态细胞,提取的重组Bacmid通过脂质体包埋转染家蚕BmN细胞,再以收获的重组病毒感染家蚕幼虫.家蚕BmN细胞和幼虫感染重组病毒2d后均观察到绿色荧光,经SDS-PAGE分析真核表达的产物与预测的NS1-eGFP融合蛋白大小不一致,说明NS1-eGFP融合蛋白被昆虫内源性的蛋白酶降解.降解的产物用NS1蛋白抗体进行Western blot鉴定为BmDNV-3 NS1蛋白.     

30K蛋白对家蚕细胞及幼虫存活的作用

利用杆状病毒表达系统在家蚕BombyxmoriL.细胞BmN中表达家蚕30K蛋白,以亲本病毒BmPAK6为对照,将重组病毒Bm/r-30K分别感染BmN细胞及家蚕幼虫,观察其感染后不同时间的凋亡及存活率。与对照相比,重组病毒感染后的BmN细胞的存活率明显高于对照组,并且感染的家蚕幼虫存活时间也较长,表明体内过量表达家蚕30K蛋白有助于延长其细胞及幼虫的存活。     

家蚕表达人表皮生长因子gp67信号肽融合蛋白及生物活性的研究

人表皮生长因子(hEGF), 一种由53个氨基酸残基组成的单链多肽, 具有广阔的应用前景。本文主要探讨家蚕表达人表皮生长因子gp67信号肽融合蛋白的生物活性。采用家蚕杆状病毒表达系统来表达该信号肽融合蛋白。构建了重组质粒pBacPAKS-hEGF, 将该重组质粒与线性化病毒Bm-BacPAK6 DNA共转染家蚕细胞, 筛选获得重组病毒vBacPAK-SEGF, 用vBacPAK-SEGF感染家蚕BmN细胞和五龄蚕, Western blot检测表明在家蚕细胞、五岭幼虫的血淋巴和蛹中均有约12 kD的目的蛋白表达。ELISA检测发现在家蚕细胞中的表达量为23 mg/ 106细胞, 五龄幼虫中的表达量可达到82 mg/mL血淋巴。利用小鼠成纤维细胞Balb/c3T3分析家蚕表达的hEGF信号肽融合蛋白的生物活性, 结果表明表达产物能显著促进Balb/c3T3细胞的增值。另外, 研究还发现hEGF信号肽融合蛋白可使新生ICR小鼠体重增 加, 睁眼和萌齿时间提前。本研究为进一步开发利用家蚕表达的hEGF提供理论基础。     

创建可视化的家蚕杆状病毒表达系统表达家蚕二分浓核病毒非结构蛋白NS1

重组杆状病毒感染昆虫细胞是表达外源蛋白常用的一种方法。为有效鉴定转染的细胞中是否产生了重组病毒粒子,对质粒pFastBacI进行改造,构建了极早期基因ie1启动子控制的绿色荧光蛋白egfp基因表达盒,以及多角体基因启动子控制的外源DNA的一个通用型双表达载体;通过酶切、连接的方式,将家蚕二分浓核病毒ns1基因连接到多角体启动子下游;在转座酶的介导下,该供体质粒上部分序列可转座到穿梭载体Bm-Bacmid上,进而构建可同时表达egfp和ns1基因的重组杆粒。将构建的该重组杆粒DNA转染BmN细胞,通过观察可视化的绿色荧光信号,可迅速判定转染后的细胞中重组病毒粒子产生的情况,收集转染后的细胞培养上清,将其感染BmN细胞,对感染4 d后的细胞总蛋白进行Western blotting分析,结果表明能杂交到一条36 kDa大小的特异蛋白,表明NS1蛋白成功获得了表达,进而为深入研究ns1基因的功能奠定了基础。     

抗人CD28单链抗体基因的构建及在BmN细胞和家蚕中的表达

采用TP-PCR法,将抗人CD28单链抗体的重、轻链可变区基因和人工设计的昆虫杆状病毒多角体蛋白基因(ph)偏好的连接肽序列,拼接成抗人CD28单链抗体(抗CD28-ScFv)基因,并将其插入昆虫杆状病毒转移载体pBacPAK8的ph启动子,构建成重组转移载体pBacPAK8/CD28-ScFv。为便于表达产物的纯化,在CD28-ScFv的C端增加了6×Histag序列。通过脂质体介导法将重组转移载体pBacPAK8/CD28-ScFv和线性化病毒Bm-BacPAK6共转染BmN细胞,经空斑分析和蓝白斑筛选,获得重组杆状病毒Bm-BacPAK6 CD28-ScFv。将重组病毒Bm-BacPAK6 CD28-ScFv感染BmN细胞和5龄家蚕,SDS-PAGE和Western Blotting分析表明,在分子量约为28kD处有一表达带。BmN细胞的表达始于24h,表达峰在72h,96h时表达量开始下降,而5龄家蚕的表达始于48h,表达峰在120h。结果证明,抗人CD28单链抗体基因在BmN细胞和家蚕中得到了特异性表达。上述研究成果为抗人CD28基因工程抗体的研制奠定了基础。     

DC-SIGN蛋白在家蚕系统中的表达及生物活性研究

目的：构建人DC-SIGN基因片段的家蚕表达系统,进行目的产物表达、鉴定及生物活性分析。方法：从体外刺激分化的DC细胞中克隆出DC-SIGN cDNA,在家蚕表达载体pBacPAK8的BamHⅠ和EcoRⅠ位点构建成重组质粒pBacPAK8-DC-SIGN,与线性化的Bm-BacPAK6病毒基因组DNA共转染家蚕细胞,空斑筛选得到重组病毒Bm-BacPAK-DC-SIGN,重组病毒感染家蚕细胞BmN,Western blot检测表达产物;HIV-1包膜糖蛋白gp120与表达产物孵育检测其生物活性。结果：构建了稳定表达人DC-SIGN蛋白片段的家蚕杆状病毒表达系统;成功表达了DC-SIGN蛋白片段,且能特异性地与HIV-1包膜糖蛋白gp120结合。结论：成功地在家蚕杆状病毒表达系统中表达了人DC-SIGN蛋白片段,具有天然DC-SIGN蛋白样的生物活性,为其抗体制备及AIDS防治药物的研发奠定了基础。     

家蚕二分浓核病毒NS1蛋白的表达及定位

[目的]在Bm N细胞中表达家蚕二分浓核病毒(Bombyx mori bidensovirus,Bm BDV)非结构蛋白NS1,并分析其亚细胞定位。[方法]在病毒非结构蛋白NS1基因5'端加上kozak序列、3'端融合Flag标签序列;将重组序列克隆至昆虫细胞表达载体pIBV5/His上,转染BmN细胞,通过Western blot和免疫荧光检测NS1蛋白的表达和亚细胞定位。[结果]PCR和酶切鉴定显示重组表达载体构建正确;Western blot检测到一条大小约37 kDa的特异条带,免疫荧光分析显示表达的蛋白主要定位于细胞核中。[结论]构建的真核表达质粒能在BmN细胞中稳定表达NS1蛋白,该蛋白主要定位在细胞核中。     

利用BmNPV-家蚕表达系统包装重组腺相关病毒2型（rAAV2）研究

腺相关病毒（adeno-associated virus,AAV）是基因治疗中最常用的病毒载体之一,目前用于基因治疗的AAV多利用苜蓿银纹夜蛾核型多角体病毒表达系统（AcMNPV-sf9）包装,但较高的包装成本限制了AAV在基因治疗中的广泛应用。家蚕杆状病毒表达系统与AcMNPV-sf9系统相比,具有包装量更高、成本更低的优势,因此更适用于包装重组腺相关病毒（recombinant adeno-associated virus,rAAV）。首先,将AAV2功能基因cap和rep进行序列优化后合成,克隆到杆状病毒转移载体pVL1393上,将增强型绿色荧光蛋白（enhanced green fluorescent protein,EGFP）基因和荧光素酶（luciferase,Luc）基因分别作为报告基因克隆到含有巨噬细胞病毒IE（cytomegalovirus-IE,CMV-IE）启动子的病毒转移载体pVL1393-ITRs-MCS上。随后,将构建好的转移载体分别与缺陷型家蚕杆状病毒reBmBac共转染BmN细胞系,获得分别重组有cap、rep和报告基因的家蚕杆状病毒（Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus,BmNPV）。再将纯化的重组病毒（reBm-Cap2、reBm-Rep2）与reBm-EGFP、reBm-Luc分别混合后感染家蚕,收获其表达产物,纯化得到含有目的基因的rAAV病毒。利用rAAV病毒感染哺乳动物细胞后,通过检测EGFP、Luc的表达状态来验证rAAV包装成功与否。结果显示,利用家蚕杆状病毒系统成功包装了rAAV2,并且在哺乳动物细胞中实现了报告基因的表达。     

利用优化改造的家蚕杆状病毒表达系统提高NS1表达产量

为优化家蚕杆状病毒表达系统,提高外源基因的表达产量。文中通过同源重组技术,用串联的氯霉素基因(Cm)表达盒和绿色荧光蛋白基因(egfp)表达盒将其替换,从而获得Chitinase和Cystein Protease两个基因缺失的家蚕杆状病毒载体。通过转座,将多角体启动子控制的家蚕二分浓核病毒(Bm BDV)ns1基因表达盒,定点插入到改造后的该分子载体中。将重组载体转染Bm N细胞,获得能表达家蚕二分浓核病毒(Bm BDV)NS1的缺失型重组病毒;另外,将多角体启动子控制的ns1基因转座到野生型Bm-bacmid中,获得能表达Bm BDV NS1的野生型重组病毒。将这两种病毒分别皮下注射家蚕,对感染后的家蚕血液中NS1表达水平进行比较,发现缺失Chitinase和Cystein Protease重组病毒感染的家蚕血液中,NS1的表达量是对照组的3倍,从而建立了一种高效表达可溶性NS1蛋白的方法,为靶蛋白的结构与功能研究奠定基础。     

家蚕溶茧酶基因的真核表达及其产物的生物活性检测

为了研究家蚕 Bombyx mori 溶茧酶基因 （cocoonae）真核表达及其产物的生物活性,将溶茧酶基因（GenBank 登录号 EF428980）克隆至杆状病毒转移载体 pFastBac^TM 1 中获得 pFast-cocoonase,将其转化 DH10Bac 感受态细胞后,PCR 方法检测证实所分离的重组病毒 DNA 中含有目的片段溶茧酶基因。用脂质体法 转染家蚕 BmN 细胞,获得重组病毒。SDS-PAGE 分析显示,感染重组杆状病毒 Bac-cocoonase 的细胞表达产物在约为 27.6 kD 处出现特异性条带,这与预测的蛋白大小相符。用该表达产物与茧丝反应后,电镜下观察茧丝的形态,结果表明表达产物对茧丝的丝胶层有一定的水解作用。     

Bms1p, a G-domain-containing protein, associates with Rcl1p and is required for 18S rRNA biogenesis in yeast

Maturation of 18S rRNA and biogenesis of the 40S ribosomes in yeast requires a large number of trans-acting factors, including the U3 small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein (U3 snoRNP), and the recently characterized cyclase-like protein Rcl1p. U3 snoRNP is a key particle orchestrating early 35S rRNA cleavage events. A unique property of Rcl1p is that it specifically associates with U3 snoRNP, but this association appears to occur only at the level of nascent ribosomes and not with the U3 monoparticle. Here we report the characterization of Bms1p, a protein that associates with Rcl1p in multiple structures, including a specific complex sedimenting at around 10S. Like Rcl1p, Bms1p is an essential, evolutionarily conserved, nucleolar protein, and its depletion interferes with processing of the 35S pre-rRNA at sites A0, A1, and A2, and the formation of 40S subunits. The N-terminal domain of Bms1p has structural features found in regulatory GTPases and we demonstrate that mutations of amino acids implicated in GTP/GDP binding affect Bms1p activity in vivo. The results indicate that Bms1p may act as a molecular switch during maturation of the 40S ribosomal subunit in the nucleolus.     

利用荧光差异显示技术分离的家蚕抗NPV相关基因s3a

通过荧光差异显示技术,分析了家蚕Bombyx mori对BmNPV抗性品系NB、感性品系306和近等基因系306NNZZ添毒和未添毒处理区的基因表达的差异。根据差异显示的结果克隆了一条702 bp长度的cDNA片段,并用Northern blot进行了验证。该序列经过NCBI EST库的同源性比较获得了电子延伸。延伸后的序列用特异引物进行RT-PCR扩增获得了一条782 bp的序列,拼接后基因cDNA序列全长为827 bp,推导的氨基酸序列与草地夜蛾Spodoptera frugiperda S3A同源性最高达97.7％;其次是烟芽夜蛾Heliothis virescens S3A,同源性为94.0％;与黑腹果蝇Drosophila melanogaster S3A同源性为75.3%。比较结果显示这是一个新的家蚕基因,定名为家蚕s3a基因。本实验获得的s3a基因在家蚕感性和抗性品系以及添毒处理和未添毒处理中都具有差异表达,其中在抗性品系和近等基因系中的表达高于感性品系,在添毒处理中的表达高于未添毒组。因此推测它是一个与家蚕抗BmNPV相关的新基因。     

An essential GTPase promotes assembly of preribosomal RNA processing complexes

Ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes is a highly regulated process involving hundreds of transiently associated proteins and RNAs. Although most of these assembly factors have been genetically linked to specific step(s) in the biogenesis pathway, their biochemical functions are generally unknown. Bms1, an essential protein in yeast, is the only known GTPase required for biosynthesis of the 40S ribosomal subunit and interacts with Rcl1, an essential protein suggested to be an endonuclease. Here, we show thermodynamic coupling in the binding of Bms1 to GTP, Rcl1, and U3 small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA), an essential RNA that base pairs to pre-rRNA. Rcl1 binding to preribosomes is severely limited in yeast cells expressing a Bms1 mutant defective for Rcl1 binding. Additionally, we provide evidence that the C-terminal domain of Bms1 acts as an intramolecular GTPase-activating protein. Together, these data suggest that Bms1 functions as a GTP-regulated switch to deliver Rcl1 to preribosomes, providing molecular insight into preribosome assembly.     

Crucial role of the Rcl1p–Bms1p interaction for yeast pre-ribosomal RNA processing

The essential Rcl1p and Bms1p proteins form a complex required for 40S ribosomal subunit maturation. Bms1p is a GTPase and Rcl1p has been proposed to catalyse the endonucleolytic cleavage at site A₂ separating the pre-40S and pre-60S maturation pathways. We determined the 2.0 Å crystal structure of Bms1p associated with Rcl1p. We demonstrate that Rcl1p nuclear import depends on Bms1p and that the two proteins are loaded into pre-ribosomes at a similar stage of the maturation pathway and remain present within pre-ribosomes after cleavage at A₂. Importantly, GTP binding to Bms1p is not required for the import in the nucleus nor for the incorporation of Rcl1p into pre-ribosomes, but is essential for early pre-rRNA processing. We propose that GTP binding to Bms1p and/or GTP hydrolysis may induce conformational rearrangements within the Bms1p-Rcl1p complex allowing the interaction of Rcl1p with its RNA substrate.     

Bms1p, a novel GTP-binding protein, and the related Tsr1p are required for distinct steps of 40S ribosome biogenesis in yeast

Bms1p and Tsr1p define a novel family of proteins required for synthesis of 40S ribosomal subunits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both are essential and localize to the nucleolus. Tsr1p shares two extended regions of similarity with Bms1p, but the two proteins function at different steps in 40S ribosome maturation. Inactivation of Bms1p blocks at an early step, leading to disappearance of 20S and 18S rRNA precursors. Also, slight accumulation of an aberrant 23S product and significant 35S accumulation are observed, indicating that pre-rRNA processing at sites A0, A1, and A2 is inhibited. In contrast, depletion of Tsr1p results in accumulation of 20S rRNA. Because processing of 20S to 18S rRNA occurs in the cytoplasm, this suggests that Tsr1p is required for assembly of a transport- or maturation-competent particle or is specifically required for transport of 43S pre-ribosomal particles, but not 60S ribosome precursors, from the nucleus to the cytosol. Finally, Bms1p is a GTP-binding protein, the first found to function in ribosome assembly or rRNA processing.     

Elucidation of the assembly events required for the recruitment of Utp20, Imp4 and Bms1 onto nascent pre-ribosomes

The 90S pre-ribosome, also known as the small subunit (SSU) processome, is a large multisubunit particle required for the production of the 18S rRNA from a pre-rRNA precursor. Recently, it has been shown that the formation of this particle entails the initial association of the tUTP subunit with the nascent pre-RNA and, subsequently, the binding of Rrp5/UTP-C and U3 snoRNP/UTP-B subunits in two independent assembly branches. However, the mode of assembly of other 90S pre-ribosome components remains obscure as yet. In this study, we have investigated the assembly of three proteins (Utp20, Imp4 and Bms1) previously regarded as potential nucleating factors of the 90S particle. Here, we demonstrate that the loading of those three proteins onto the pre-rRNA takes place independently of Rrp5/UTP-C and, instead, occurs downstream of the tUTP and U3/UTP-B subcomplexes. We also demonstrate that Bms1 and Utp20 are required for the recruitment of a subset of proteins to nascent pre-ribosomes. Finally, we show that proteins associated through secondary steps condition the stability of the two assembly branches in partially assembled pre-ribosomes. These results provide new information about the functional relationships among 90S particle components and the events that are required for their stepwise incorporation onto the primary pre-rRNA.     

The Impact of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma on Human Nasal and Bronchial Epithelial Gene Expression

Background

The link between upper and lower airways in patients with both asthma and allergic rhinitis is still poorly understood. As the biological complexity of these disorders can be captured by gene expression profiling we hypothesized that the clinical expression of rhinitis and/or asthma is related to differential gene expression between upper and lower airways epithelium.

Objective

Defining gene expression profiles of primary nasal and bronchial epithelial cells from the same individuals and examining the impact of allergic rhinitis with and without concomitant allergic asthma on expression profiles.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 18 subjects (6 allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis; 6 allergic rhinitis; 6 healthy controls). The estimated false discovery rate comparing 6 subjects per group was approximately 5%. RNA was extracted from isolated and cultured epithelial cells from bronchial brushings and nasal biopsies, and analyzed by microarray (Affymetrix U133+ PM Genechip Array). Data were analysed using R and Bioconductor Limma package. For gene ontology GeneSpring GX12 was used.

Results

The study was successfully completed by 17 subjects (6 allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis; 5 allergic rhinitis; 6 healthy controls). Using correction for multiple testing, 1988 genes were differentially expressed between healthy lower and upper airway epithelium, whereas in allergic rhinitis with or without asthma this was only 40 and 301 genes, respectively. Genes influenced by allergic rhinitis with or without asthma were linked to lung development, remodeling, regulation of peptidases and normal epithelial barrier functions.

Conclusions

Differences in epithelial gene expression between the upper and lower airway epithelium, as observed in healthy subjects, largely disappear in patients with allergic rhinitis with or without asthma, whilst new differences emerge. The present data identify several pathways and genes that might be potential targets for future drug development.     

Local and Systemic Cytokine Expression in Patients with Postherpetic Neuralgia

Background

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the painful complication of a varicella zoster virus reactivation. We investigated the systemic and local gene expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine expression in patients with PHN.

Methods

Thirteen patients with PHN at the torso (Th4-S1) were recruited. Skin punch biopsies were obtained from the painful and the contralateral painless body area for intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) and cytokine profiling. Additionally, blood was withdrawn for systemic cytokine expression and compared to blood values of healthy controls. We analyzed the gene expression of selected pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF] and interleukins [IL]-1β, IL-2, and IL-8).

Results

IENFD was lower in affected skin compared to unaffected skin (p<0.05), while local gene expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines did not differ except for two patients who had 7fold higher IL-6 and 10fold higher IL-10 gene expression in the affected skin compared to the contralateral unaffected skin sample. Also, the systemic expression of cytokines in patients with PHN and in healthy controls was similar.

Conclusion

While the systemic and local expression of the investigated pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines was not different from controls, this may have been influenced by study limitations like the low number of patients and different disease durations. Furthermore, other cytokines or pain mediators need to be considered.     

Global State Measures of the Dentate Gyrus Gene Expression System Predict Antidepressant-Sensitive Behaviors

Background

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine are the most common form of medication treatment for major depression. However, approximately 50% of depressed patients fail to achieve an effective treatment response. Understanding how gene expression systems respond to treatments may be critical for understanding antidepressant resistance.

Methods

We take a novel approach to this problem by demonstrating that the gene expression system of the dentate gyrus responds to fluoxetine (FLX), a commonly used antidepressant medication, in a stereotyped-manner involving changes in the expression levels of thousands of genes. The aggregate behavior of this large-scale systemic response was quantified with principal components analysis (PCA) yielding a single quantitative measure of the global gene expression system state.

Results

Quantitative measures of system state were highly correlated with variability in levels of antidepressant-sensitive behaviors in a mouse model of depression treated with fluoxetine. Analysis of dorsal and ventral dentate samples in the same mice indicated that system state co-varied across these regions despite their reported functional differences. Aggregate measures of gene expression system state were very robust and remained unchanged when different microarray data processing algorithms were used and even when completely different sets of gene expression levels were used for their calculation.

Conclusions

System state measures provide a robust method to quantify and relate global gene expression system state variability to behavior and treatment. State variability also suggests that the diversity of reported changes in gene expression levels in response to treatments such as fluoxetine may represent different perspectives on unified but noisy global gene expression system state level responses. Studying regulation of gene expression systems at the state level may be useful in guiding new approaches to augmentation of traditional antidepressant treatments.