DNA甲基化异常与肿瘤耐药

肿瘤耐药是导致肿瘤化疗失败的主要原因, 其产生机制复杂多样, 是多种因素共同作用的结果。近年来, 表观遗传改变在肿瘤耐药中的作用日益受到关注。DNA甲基化是一种重要的表观遗传修饰, 在调节基因表达和维持基因组稳定性中扮演着重要角色。原发性或获得性耐药的肿瘤细胞大多伴随DNA异常甲基化, 越来越多的证据显示, DNA甲基化异常是肿瘤细胞耐药表型产生的重要机制。文章就DNA甲基化异常与肿瘤细胞耐药的关系及相关作用机制进行了综述。     

猪源大肠杆菌耐药质粒图谱及耐药性分析

目的:探讨猪大肠杆菌的耐药质粒图谱、耐药性及耐药基因之间的关系。方法:从湖南省株洲、益阳的四个猪场分离出9株大肠杆菌,进行质粒电泳图谱分析、用PCR法检测耐喹诺酮类耐药基因Gyr A、Par C和耐四环素类耐药基因Tet A、Tet B,并采用Kirby-bauer法对这9株大肠杆菌进行药敏(18种抗生素)试验。结果:其中9株大肠杆菌含有三条或者三条以上的质粒条带,且其质粒谱型均不相同;9株大肠杆菌均检测出4种耐药基因Gyr A、Par C、Tet A和Tet B;9株大肠杆菌对所选用的抗生素存在不同程度的耐药性,其中7株大肠杆菌对10种或10种以上的抗生素耐药,最高对13种抗生素耐药,氨苄西林、青霉素、阿莫西林、红霉素的耐药率达100%,对四环素、多西环素的耐药率达到88.9%,而多粘菌素B、阿奇霉素、大观霉素耐药率较低。结论:耐药性与质粒条带数、耐药基因之间并无明显的相关性;猪大肠杆菌呈多重耐药之势,在治疗大肠杆菌病时最好根据药敏实验结果选用合适的抗生素。     

药物重定位的计算分析方法

全新结构药物的研发存在周期长、耗资大、风险高的问题.通过各种技术预测已有药物的新适应症,即药物重定位,可以缩短药物研发时间、降低研发成本和风险.由于疾病种类和已知药物的数量繁多,完全通过实验筛选已知药物的新用途仍然具有很高的成本.随着组学和药物信息学数据的积累,药物重定位进入到了理性设计和实验筛选相结合的阶段,药物重定位的计算预测已经成为计算生物学和系统生物学的重要研究方向.本文将目前药物重定位计算分析的策略归纳为药物-靶标关系分析、药物-药物关系分析和药物-疾病关系分析,对已报道的技术方法及其成功应用实例进行了综述.     

5-氟尿嘧啶敏感与非敏感的人胃癌BGC-823细胞基因表达谱差异分析

利用化疗药物5-氟尿嘧啶(5-Fu)对胃癌细胞株进行筛选和诱导,建立具有耐药性的胃癌细胞株.与亲代细胞株对比生长特性及基因表达谱,初步探讨胃癌细胞的耐药机制.采用四唑盐比色法(MTT)测定5-Fu对胃癌细胞株BGC-823的半数抑制浓度(IC50);根据IC50设计5-Fu剂量,用大剂量的5-Fu逐渐递增间歇给药的方法,反复筛选,获得5株胃癌耐药细胞株.比较耐药细胞株和亲本细胞株的形态和生长特性,继而再用人类肿瘤基因芯片(human cancer arrays)比较测试亲本与耐药细胞株的基因表达谱差异;对其中189个上调基因和133个下调基因采用Gene Ontology中的BP(Biological Process)分析这些基因相关的功能,并用MAS2.0分析这些基因可能涉及的信号通路.结果提示,胃癌细胞株耐药(5-Fu)相关基因可能与转录因子信号转导、TNF受体介导的细胞凋亡和抗凋亡、细胞周期调节、细胞粘附及MAP激酶类的功能相关.对细胞周期、信号转导相关的6个基因采用定量PCR验证,结果与基因表达芯片结果一致.上述结果有利于进一步发现胃癌细胞的耐药基因和相关信号通路,探索抗胃癌治疗的耐药机制.     

禽源多重耐药金黄色葡萄球菌耐药基因检测及分子分型

【背景】金黄色葡萄球菌是革兰氏阳性菌,在动物和人身上能引起一系列疾病。【目的】了解安徽省不同地区禽源多重耐药金黄色葡萄球菌耐药性的情况及基因分型特征。【方法】以安徽不同地区的病禽肝脏作为标本,分离鉴定得到103株多重耐药金黄色葡萄球菌,并进行耐药基因型检测和ERIC-PCR分子分型。【结果】耐药菌株从三重到八重耐药均有分布,主要集中在五重(43/103)、四重(21/103)和六重耐药(22/103)。药敏结果显示,β-内酰胺类的耐药率最高(79.6%),氨基糖苷类次之(71.8%)。耐药基因检出率由高到低分别为mec A(92.2%)、aac(6′)/aph(2″)(76.7%)、ermC(37.9%)、ermA(13.6%)和fem A(3.9%)。ERIC-PCR分子分型获得6种不同类群,优势流行菌群为类群Ⅱ(38/103)。【结论】安徽地区金黄色葡萄球菌存在较严重的耐药性,氨基糖苷类、β-内酰胺类和大环内酯类抗生素的耐药基因携带率较高。分型结果表明安徽部分区域耐药金黄色葡萄球菌具有遗传多样性,但耐药谱与ERIC-PCR分子分型无明显关联。     

抗菌肽的基因工程研究进展

近年来细菌耐药性问题日趋严峻,寻找新型抗生素已迫在眉睫。抗菌肽是生物体产生的一种阳离子短肽,具有天然的抗菌活性。由于抗菌肽具有与传统抗生素不同的作用机制,不产生耐药性,因而具有重要的临床应用价值。但实践表明,抗菌肽的开发并非易事。针对近年来抗菌肽开发的基因工程策略和实践,尤其是大肠杆菌表达系统和酵母表达系统,进行了简要综述。     

Microarray technology GEM microarrays and drug discovery

Incyte Genomics' GEM™ Gene Expression Microarray is a proven genomics tool used by a large number of pharmaceutical companies to speed up the drug discovery and development process. The development and integration of this technology, together with Incyte's sequence databases and clone resources, have resulted in GEM microarrays that span approximately 60,000 human genes as well as approximately 60,000 plant, rat, mouse, yeast, and bacterial genes. The technology underlying the use of these arrays and their application to the drug discovery process is highlighted. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2002) 28, 180–185 DOI: 10.1038/sj/jim/7000136 Received 16 November 2000/ Accepted in revised form 01 March 2001     

生物信息技术加速开发旧药新用途

传统的技术路线研发新药,不仅周期很长而且耗资巨大,开发已获批准药物新的治疗用途,又称为药物重定位,比传统的新药研发具有明显的优势．基于芯片的基因表达谱分析,已常规地广泛用于各种人类疾病的临床研究,提供了在全基因组水平描述疾病状态的特征信号．同时,基因芯片也广泛地用于对比药物处理前后细胞基因表达模式的变化,这也提供了反映药物效应的高质量信号．最近出版的Science Translational Medicine杂志同时发表了一个研究组的两篇论文,为我们展示了如何利用生物信息学手段重新解析和比较全基因组基因表达谱数据,以高效地预测药物的新用途．这两篇论文使用了公共数据库中的100种疾病基因表达谱数据,以及164种药物处理前后细胞基因表达谱数据,通过比较和配对疾病与药物基因表达谱,得到了一些可以逆转疾病异常表达基因的药物,其中证实了一些已知的药物-疾病组合,也预测了一些新的药物-疾病组合．最后通过实验验证了抗溃疡药可用于治疗肺癌,而抗癫痫药可治疗炎症性肠道疾病,进一步证实了他们所采用研究策略的正确性．于是,肺癌和炎性肠道疾病这两种临床上难治的疾病有了新的候选治疗药物,我们也有了一种挖掘已有数据快速发现药物新用途的思路和方法．     

Characterization of Cystathionine β-Synthase TtCbs1 and Cysteine Synthase TtCsa1 Involved in Cysteine Biosynthesis in Tetrahymena thermophila

Cysteine is implicated in important biological processes. It is synthesized through two different pathways. Cystathionine β-synthase and cystathionine γ-lyase participate in the reverse transsulfuration pathway, while serine acetyltransferase and cysteine synthase function in the de novo pathway. Two evolutionarily related pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-dependent enzymes, cystathionine β-synthase TtCBS1 (TTHERM_00558300) and cysteine synthase TtCSA1 (TTHERM_00239430), were identified from a freshwater protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. TtCbs1 contained the N-terminal heme binding domain, catalytic domain, and C-terminal regulatory domain, whereas TtCsa1 consisted of two α/β domains. The catalytic core of the two enzymes is similar. TtCBS1 and TtCSA1 showed high expression levels in the vegetative growth stage and decreased during the sexual developmental stage. TtCbs1 and TtCsa1 were localized in the cytoplasm throughout different developmental stages. His-TtCbs1 and His-TtCsa1 were expressed and purified in vitro. TtCbs1 catalyzed the canonical reaction with the highest velocity and possessed serine sulfhydrylase activity. TtCsa1 showed cysteine synthase activity with high K_m for O-acetylserine and low K_m for sulfide and also had serine sulfhydrylase activity toward serine. Both TtCbs1 and TtCsa1 catalyzed hydrogen sulfide producing. TtCBS1 knockdown and TtCSA1 knockout mutants affected cysteine and glutathione synthesis. TtCbs1 and TtCsa1 are involved in cysteine synthesis through two different pathways in T. thermophila.     

Improved efficacy for ezetimibe and rosuvastatin by attenuating the induction of PCSK9

Reducing circulating LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c) reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with hypercholesterolemia. Current approaches to reduce circulating LDL-c include statins, which inhibit cholesterol synthesis, and ezetimibe, which blocks cholesterol absorption. Both elevate serum PCSK9 protein levels in patients, which could attenuate their efficacy by reducing the amount of cholesterol cleared from circulation. To determine whether PCSK9 inhibition could enhance LDL-c lowering of both statins and ezetimibe, we utilized small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to knock down Pcsk9, together with ezetimibe, rosuvastatin, and an ezetimibe/rosuvastatin combination in a mouse model with a human-like lipid profile. We found that ezetimibe, rosuvastatin, and ezetimibe/rosuvastatin combined lower serum cholesterol but induce the expression of Pcsk9 as well as the Srebp-2 hepatic cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Pcsk9 knockdown in combination with either treatment led to greater reductions in serum non-HDL with a near-uniform reduction of all LDL-c subfractions. In addition to reducing serum cholesterol, the combined rosuvastatin/ezetimibe/Pcsk9 siRNA treatment exhibited a significant reduction in serum APOB protein and triglyceride levels. Taken together, these data provide evidence that PCSK9 inhibitors, in combination with current therapies, have the potential to achieve greater reductions in both serum cholesterol and triglycerides.     

Differential Gene Expression Analysis by DNA Microarray Technology and Its Application in Molecular Oncology

Accumulation of genetic and epigenetic aberrations leads to malignant transformation of normal cells. Functional studies of cancer using genomic and proteomic tools aim to reveal the true complexity of the processes leading to cancer development in humans. Until recently, diagnosis and prognosis of cancer was based on conventional pathologic criteria and epidemiological evidence. Certain tumors were divided only into relatively broad histological and morphological subcategories. Rapidly developing methods of differential gene expression analysis promote the search for clinically relevant genes changing their expression levels during malignant transformation. DNA microarrays offer a unique possibility to rapidly assess the global expression picture of thousands genes in any given time point and compare the results of detailed combinatory analysis of global expression profiles for normal and malignant cells at various functional stages or separate experimental conditions. Acquisition of such genetic portraits allows searching for regularity and difference in expression patterns of certain genes, understanding their function and pathological importance, and ultimately developing the molecular nosology of cancer. This review describes the basis of DNA microarray technology and methodology, and focuses on their application in molecular classification of tumors, drug sensitivity and resistance studies, and identification of biological markers of cancer.     

Selective reversal of drug resistance in drug-resistant lung adenocarcinoma cells by tumor-specific expression of MDR1 ribozyme gene mediated by retrovirus

According to the fact that CEA gene expressed only in lung adenocarcinoma and not in normal lung cells, a retroviral vector (pCEAMR) was constructed which carried the CEA promoter coupled to MDR1 ribozyme gene. pCEAMR was introduced into drug-resistant lung adenocarcinoma cells GAOK with CEA expression and HeLaK without CEA expression; the expression of pCEAMR and drug resistance in the infected cells were analyzed in vitro and in vivo ; pCEAMR expressed only in CEA-producing GAOK cells and not in non-CEA-producing HeLa cells. The drug resistance to doxorubicin (DOX) decreased 91.5% in the infected GAOK cells and did not change in the infected HeLa cells. In nude mice, DOX could obviously inhibit the growth of the infected GAOK tumors, and had no effect on the growth of the infected HeLa cells. These results indicated that MDR1 ribozyme gene regulated by CEA promoter expressed only in human adenocarcinoma cells and reversed their drug resistance selectively. This gene-drug therapy might serve as an effe