人胚肺二倍体成纤维细胞端区长度的代龄变化

以体外培养的不同代龄的人胚肺二倍体成纤维细胞为实验对象,ＨｅＬａ细胞为对照,分别观察其端区长度随代龄的变化。结果显示年轻２ＢＳ细胞端区长度约９．１３ｋｂ;衰老２ＢＳ细胞端区长度约７ｋｂ,丢失约２ｋｂ。２ＢＳ细胞端区长度随代的增长而缩短。     

不同代龄及生长状态下2BS细胞的酸性磷酸酶活性及氯酯醒对此的影响

实验以人胚肺二倍体成纤维细胞(2BS)为材料,分别测定了处于不同代龄及不同生长时期的2BS细胞酸性磷酸酶(ACPase)活性。结果发现随着代龄增高,细胞ACPase活性上升。处于同一代龄的细胞,则接触抑制期细胞的ACPase活性显著高于生长期细胞。接触抑制引起的酶活性增高甚至超过代龄增加而引起的ACPase活性上升。30μg/ml的氯酯醒有抑制细胞ACPase活性的作用。     

人衰老成纤维细胞经紫外线损伤后的DNA修复和细胞周期调控

 以体外培养的不同代龄的人胚肺二倍体成纤维细胞（２ Ｂ Ｓ）为对象,紫外线诱导 Ｄ Ｎ Ａ 损伤后,观察细胞形态、增殖特性、细胞周期、 Ｄ Ｎ Ａ 修复变化等细胞应答以及 ｇａｄｄ１５３、ｐ２１ Ｗ Ａ Ｆ１／ Ｃ Ｉ Ｐ１／ Ｓ Ｄ Ｉ１、ｐ５３ 等基因的转录水平的表达变化．结果显示：紫外线诱导 Ｄ Ｎ Ａ 损伤后,衰老（＞ ５５ 代）２ Ｂ Ｓ细胞形态及增殖能力的改变不如年轻细胞（＜ ３０ 代）显著;不同代龄的细胞损伤后均出现 Ｇ１ 期阻滞现象,年轻细胞 Ｇ１ 期阻滞率明显高于衰老细胞（ Ｐ＜ ００５）;衰老细胞总的修复能力较年轻细胞明显下降（ Ｐ＜ ００１）;同时,ｇａｄｄ１５３、ｐ２１、ｐ５３ 等的可诱导性均低于年轻 ２ Ｂ Ｓ细胞．由此,分别在细胞水平与基因水平反映了衰老细胞经紫外线照射损伤后的细胞应答变化与修复机能减退的关系．     

年轻与衰老2BS细胞中差异表达基因片段的筛选及特征分析

为探索人衰老机制 ,采用差异显示法分别从年轻和衰老 2BS细胞中筛选出特异的cDNA片段 .衰老相关细胞cDNA片段长 2 86bp ,命名为orc ,GenBank登录号为AI35 30 6 5 ;年轻相关的cDNA片段长 2 35bp ,命名为yrc ,GenBank登录号为AI35 30 6 4.Southernblot分析表明 ,yrc在衰老和年轻2BS细胞、BGC 82 3细胞中的BamHⅠ酶切图谱均出现约 3 0kb杂交带 .Northern印迹分析显示 ,yrc在年轻和衰老 2BS细胞中均有 1 0kb和 0 5kb杂交带 ,其中 1 0kb带在两种细胞间差异不大 ,而0 5kb带则在年轻细胞中明显高于衰老细胞 .在胎儿心、肺、肝中也可见 0 5kb和 1 0kb两条杂交带 ;而在胎盘及胎儿肌肉、肾、脑、皮肤中 ,则只可见 0 5kb杂交带 ,无 1 0kb带 .orc基因转录本长约 2 0kb ,在衰老 2BS细胞中的表达高于年轻细胞 .结果表明 ,orc和yrc分别与细胞衰老和年轻相关 ,yrc 0 5kb转录本在维持细胞年轻状态及胎儿组织发育过程中可能具有调节作用     

中国人外周血白细胞端区DNA长度随增龄缩短

中国人外周血白细胞端区ＤＮＡ长度随增龄缩短张宗玉范新青童坦君（北京医科大学生物化学与分子生物学系,北京１０００８３）一个细胞的端区ＤＮＡ长度取决于端区ＤＮＡ的延长与缩短的平衡,染色体ＤＮＡ半保留复制导致端区ＤＮＡ的缩短．端聚酶是自带ＲＮＡ引物的逆转录...     

5-氟尿嘧啶增强HeLa细胞对自然杀伤细胞敏感性研究

目的用5-氟尿嘧啶（5-fluorouracil,5-FU）处理HeLa细胞,检测其NKG2D配体MICA的表达及其对NK92细胞杀伤敏感性的变化。方法不同浓度的5-Fu处理HeLa细胞,在不同时间点用半定量PCR及流式细胞术检测HeLa细胞表面的NKG2D配体MICA在RNA及蛋白水平的表达变化情况,用MTT法检测NKG2D抗体封闭NK92细胞的NKG2D受体前后,NK92细胞对HeLa细胞的杀伤作用。结果不同浓度的5．Fu作用于HeLa细胞后,半定量RT—PCR结果显示MICA表达随5-Fu作用浓度增加逐渐增高。而且40μg／ml5．Fu作用于HeLa细胞后随着作用时间的延长（0、8、16、24h）MICA表达增加,流式细胞术检测结果表明,MICA表达的增加主要依赖于未凋亡细胞的MICA表达。在40μg／ml5-FU作用24h,效靶比为2．5：1,5：1,10：1,20：1时都检测到NK92细胞对HeLa细胞的杀伤增强,杀伤作用可部分被NKG2D抗体抑制。结论5-FU能够上调HeLa细胞表面NKG2D配体MICA的表达,增强HeLa细胞对NK92细胞的敏感性,提示化疗联合NK细胞免疫治疗宫颈癌可产生协同作用,提高治疗效果。     

重组人凋亡诱导因子基因的构建、表达及其对HeLa细胞的促凋亡作用

凋亡诱导因子（apoptosis-inducing factor, AIF）定位于细胞的线粒体膜间隙.当凋亡信号刺激时,AIF分子从线粒体释放到胞浆,然后转位到细胞核内,引起染色体核周边凝集和DNA呈大片段断裂（～50 kb）.用RT-PCR法分段克隆得到人全长AIF基因,经改造截去其N端线粒体定位信号编码序列,代之以不同长度的绿脓杆菌外毒素(PE)转膜结构域序列.把这些重组基因克隆入pIRES2-EGFP真核表达载体,脂质体法转染HeLa细胞,通过荧光显微镜观察、共聚焦显微镜观察、电镜观察等方法检测了多种重组人AIF基因的表达及其对细胞生长的影响.证明了重组人AIF基因的表达可引起HeLa细胞死亡,为肿瘤的杀伤提供了新的策略.     

表达红荧光蛋白的重组柯萨奇病毒B组3型基因组稳定性分析

本文旨在分析含红荧光蛋白mCherry基因的重组柯萨奇病毒B组3型（coxsackievirus B3,CVB3）基因组的稳定性。用重组质粒pCVB3-mCherry转染HeLa细胞,观察细胞病变和mCherry的表达。收获病毒后,用噬斑实验纯化病毒并测定病毒毒力。将重组病毒CVB3-mCherry在HeLa细胞中连续传代,提取第2~6代重组病毒总RNA,经反转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）扩增出报告基因mCherry及CVB3部分序列,进行测序分析。结果表明, CVB3-mCherry转染的HeLa细胞出现细胞病变并表达红荧光蛋白mCherry;从第2代开始, CVB3-mCherry出现报告基因mCherry及部分CVB VP4基因序列丢失,基因序列丢失导致病毒开放读码框架移位。本研究表明,mCherry基因序列的插入导致CVB3基因组不稳定,随着病毒的传代逐渐丢失插入的报告基因mCherry及CVB3基因组的部分序列,病毒读码框移位,产生致死性突变株。因此,应用CVB3-mCherry时,病毒的传代次数应不超过2代,否则应重新从重组质粒中收获病毒,并对每代重组病毒进行纯化和毒力测定。     

在Yunnanese(Aγδβ)~0-地贫3′缺失端点下游鉴别到两个增强子样顺序

利用荧光酶报告基因系统搜索了Yunnanese (Aγδβ) 0 地中海贫血缺失 3′端点下游 11 5kb区域内的调控顺序 .确定缺失 3′端点立即下游区 1 7kb片段 ,在人红白血病细胞K5 6 2及鼠红白血病细胞MELGM979中 ,可使γ 珠蛋白基因启动子驱动的荧光酶基因表达增加 3 8～ 4 0倍 ,而在HeLa细胞中仅增加 1 5倍 .位于缺失 3′端点约 10kb的一个长 1 4kb片段在K5 6 2和MELGM979中 ,可使γ 基因启动子驱动的荧光酶基因表达增加 2 4～2 9倍 ,而在HeLa细胞中无增加 .结果说明这两段顺序均有增强子活性 ,并且这种活性具有一定的红细胞特异性 .进一步证明 1 7kb片段内包含多个转录调节蛋白结合模体的 430bp片段包含了 1 7kb片段的大部分增强子活性 .这些结果为缺失导致增强子样顺序并入到接近Gγ 基因 ,是Yunnanese (Aγδβ) 0 地贫缺失突变体中胎儿Gγ 珠蛋白基因 ,在成人期持续活跃表达原因的假设提供了实验证据 .     

Unusual chromatin in human telomeres.

We report that human telomeres have an unusual chromatin structure characterized by diffuse micrococcal nuclease patterns. The altered chromatin manifested itself only in human telomeres that are relatively short (2 to 7 kb). In contrast, human and mouse telomeres with telomeric repeat arrays of 14 to 150 kb displayed a more canonical chromatin structure with extensive arrays of tightly packed nucleosomes. All telomeric nucleosomes showed a shorter repeat size than bulk nucleosomes, and telomeric mononucleosomal particles were found to be hypersensitive to micrococcal nuclease. However, telomeric nucleosomes were similar to bulk nucleosomes in the rate at which they sedimented through sucrose gradients. We speculate that mammalian telomeres have a bipartite structure with unusual chromatin near the telomere terminus and a more canonical nucleosomal organization in the proximal part of the telomere.     

Telomeric DNA allocation in chromosomes of common shrew (Sorex araneus, eulipotyphla)

Recently, we displayed an Iberian shrew species (Sorex granarius) with telomere structures unusual for mammals. Long telomeres on the short acrocentric arms contain an average of 213 kb of telomere repeats, whereas the other chromosomal ends have only 3.8 kb (Zhdanova et al., 2005; 2007). However, it is not clear whether these telomeres are typical for all shrew species or only for S. granarius. S. granarius and common shrew Sorex araneus are sibling species. In this study, using modified Q-FISH we demonstrated that telomeres in S. araneus from various chromosomal races distinguished by their number of metacentrics contain 6.8–15.2 kb of telomeric tracts. The S. araneus telomere lengths appear to correspond to telomere lengths in the majority of both shrew species and wild mammals, whereas S. granarius has telomeres with unique or rare structures. Using DNA and RNA high-specific modified probes to telomeric repeats (PNA and LNA), we showed that interstitial telomeric sites in S. araneus chromosomes contain mainly telomeric DNA and that their localization coincide with some evolutionary breakpoints. Interstitial telomeric DNA in S. granarius chromosomes was not revealed. Thus, the distribution of telomeric DNA may be significantly different, even in closely related species whose chromosomes are composed of almost identical chromosomal arms.     

Chinese hamster telomeres are comparable in size to mouse telomeres.

We report here the results of a telomere length analysis in four male Chinese hamsters by quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (Q-FISH). We were able to measure telomere length of 64 (73%) of 88 Chinese hamster telomeres. We could not measure telomere length in chromosome 10 or in the short arms of chromosomes 5, 6, 7 and 8 because of the overlaps between the interstitial and terminal telomeric signals. Our analysis in the 73% of Chinese hamster telomeres indicate that their average length is approximately 38 kb. Therefore, Chinese hamster telomeres are comparable in length to mouse telomeres, but are much longer than human telomeres. Similar to previous Q-FISH studies on human and mouse chromosomes, our results indicate that individual Chinese hamster chromosomes may have specific telomere lengths, suggesting that chromosome-specific factors may be involved in telomere length regulation.     

Effect of telomere length on telomeric gene expression.

Telomeres gradually shorten as human somatic cells divide and a correlation has been observed between the average telomere length and cell senescence. It has been proposed that the genes responsible for cell senescence are located near the telomere and are activated when telomere length reaches a critical point. This is consistent with evidence from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in which genes are regulated differently depending on their distance from the telomere. We investigated the possibility that differential gene expression is conferred by telomere length in human cells. A plasmid containing the neomycin phosphotransferase (neo) gene was transfected into the SV40-transformed human fibroblast cell line LM217. In one transfectant the plasmid was integrated at the telomere of chromosome 13. Subclones of this cell line that had various lengths of telomeric repeat sequences on the end of this chromosome were isolated. No effect on neo gene expression was found when the length of the telomere varied between 25 and 0.5 kb, as demonstrated by colony forming ability, growth rates and RNA blot analysis. These results therefore suggest that putative chromatin structural differences conferred by telomere length do not affect the expression of genes located near telomeres.     

Investigation of Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a cloning host for human telomere and alphoid DNA

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Sch. pombe) has been proposed as a possible cloning host for both mammalian artificial chromosomes (MACs) and mammalian genomic libraries, due to the large size of its chromosomes and its similarity to higher eukaryotic cells. Here, it was investigated for its ability to form telomeres from human telomere sequence and to stably maintain long stretches of alphoid DNA. Using linear constructs terminating in the telomere repeat, T2AG3, human telomere DNA was shown to efficiently seed telomere formation in Sch. pombe. Much of the human telomeric sequence was removed on addition of Sch. pombe telomeric sequence, a process similar to that described in S. cerevisiae. To investigate the stability of alphoid DNA in fission yeast, bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) containing 130 and 173 kb of alphoid DNA were retrofitted with the Sch. pombe ars1 element and ura4+ marker using Cre-lox recombination. These alphoid BACs were found to be highly unstable in Sch. pombe deleting down to less than 40 kb, whilst control BACs of 96 and 202 kb, containing non-repetitive DNA, were unrearranged. Alphoid DNA has been shown to be sufficient for human centromere function, and this marked instability excludes Sch. pombe as a useful cloning host for mammalian artificial chromosomes. In addition, regions containing repetitive DNA from mammalian genomes may not be truly represented in libraries constructed in Sch. pombe.     

Control of telomere length by a trimming mechanism that involves generation of t-circles

Telomere lengths are maintained in many cancer cells by the ribonucleoprotein enzyme telomerase but can be further elongated by increasing telomerase activity through the overexpression of telomerase components. We report here that increased telomerase activity results in increased telomere length that eventually reaches a plateau, accompanied by the generation of telomere length heterogeneity and the accumulation of extrachromosomal telomeric repeat DNA, principally in the form of telomeric circles (t-circles). Telomeric DNA was observed in promyelocytic leukemia bodies, but no intertelomeric copying or telomere exchange events were identified, and there was no increase in telomere dysfunction-induced foci. These data indicate that human cells possess a mechanism to negatively regulate telomere length by trimming telomeric DNA from the chromosome ends, most likely by t-loop resolution to form t-circles. Additionally, these results indicate that some phenotypic characteristics attributed to alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) result from increased mean telomere length, rather than from the ALT mechanism itself.     

Comparing telomere length of sister chromatids in human lymphocytes using three-dimensional confocal microscopy

BACKGROUND: The length of the terminal sequences of linear chromosomes changes dynamically during cellular proliferation. A crucial element in the study of telomere-related regulation mechanisms is the ability to measure telomere lengths of individual chromosomes. Individual telomere lengths can be measured using digital imaging fluorescence microscopy-based techniques. We extended this method using confocal microscopy for the acquisition of three-dimensional (3D) images. Consequently, variations in measured signal intensities due to erroneous focusing are avoided. METHODS: We employed our 3D telomere sizing method to compare telomere lengths of sister chromatids within metaphase preparations from human lymphocytes. The samples were treated following a quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (Q-FISH) protocol using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled telomeric peptidic nucleic acid (PNA) probes and propidium iodide (PI) counterstain. RESULTS: We demonstrated that the telomere lengths of two sister chromatids are not necessarily equal in human lymphocytes. Profound statistical analysis demonstrated significant differences in the distribution of the sister chromatid telomere lengths, but we were not able to prove a discrete distribution of telomere sister ratios. These telomere length differences were more apparent in older individuals. CONCLUSION: Whereas the majority of sister telomere pairs have equal lengths, surprisingly, a minority was significantly different in each individual studied. We are convinced that these observations are not linked to the methodology or the protocol applied. We suggest that a biological phenomenon might be involved.     

In situ analysis of changes in telomere size during replicative aging and cell transformation

Telomeres have been shown to gradually shorten during replicative aging in human somatic cells by Southern analysis. This study examines telomere shortening at the single cell level by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). FISH and confocal microscopy of interphase human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) demonstrate that telomeres are distributed throughout the nucleus with an interchromosomal heterogeneity in size. Analysis of HDFs at increasing population doubling levels shows a gradual increase in spot size, intensity, and detectability of telomeric signal. FISH of metaphase chromosomes prepared from young and old HDFs shows a heterogeneity in detection frequency for telomeres on chromosomes 1, 9, 15, and Y. The interchromosomal distribution of detection frequencies was similar for cells at early and late passage. The telomeric detection frequency for metaphase chromosomes also decreased with age. These observations suggest that telomeres shorten at similar rates in normal human somatic cels. T-antigen transformed HDFs near crisis contained telomere signals that were low compared to nontransformed HDFs. A large intracellular heterogeneity in telomere lengths was detected in two telomerase-negative cell lines compared to normal somatic cells and the telomerase-positive 293 cell line. Many telomerase-negative immortal cells had telomeric signals stronger than those in young HDFs, suggesting a different mechanism for telomere length regulation in telomerase-negative immortal cells. These studies provide an in situ demonstration of interchromosomal heterogeneity in telomere lengths. Furthermore, FISH is a reliable and sensitive method for detecting changes in telomere size at the single cell level.     

The telomeric 60 kb of chromosome arm 4p is homologous to telomeric regions on 13p, 15p, 21p, and 22p.

A telomere YAC clone containing the most distal 115 kb of chromosome arm 4p has been previously isolated. This clone is of particular interest as it spans a potential candidate region for the Huntington disease gene. The YAC was subcloned into a phage vector, and a high-resolution restriction map extending to within 13 kb of the telomere was constructed. In situ hybridization of the YAC to human metaphase spreads gives a peak of hybridization on 4pter but also an increase in the number of signals close to several other telomeres. Where possible, these results were investigated further by the hybridization of probes from the YAC to somatic cell hybrids containing single human chromosomes. This analysis indicates that the most telomeric 60 kb of chromosome arm 4p is homologous to telomeric regions on 13p, 15p, 21p, and 22p. The extent of this homology makes it less likely that the mutation for Huntington's disease is located within the telomere YAC clone.     

Normal telomere lengths of spermatozoa in somatic cell-cloned bulls

Interesting questions have been raised regarding cloned animals, including whether cloning restores cellular senescence undergone by donor cells, and how long cloned animals will be able to live. In this study, focusing our attention on the fact that telomere lengths of spermatozoa are longer than those of any somatic cells and that telomere length is maintained throughout aging in humans, we compared the telomere lengths of spermatozoa in normal and two somatic cell-cloned cattle. The telomere lengths of the spermatozoa in the normal cattle (22.42+/-0.32 kb) were maintained throughout aging as in humans. In the cloned cattle, telomere lengths of the spermatozoa (25.8 and 20.9 kb) were the same as or longer than those found in normal cattle. Considering that telomere lengths of the donor cells, which had been derived from the muscle tissue of an old bull, were reported to be 20.1 kb, the results suggested that the telomere lengths of the germ cell line had extended from nucleus transfer to spermatogenesis. Moreover, we produced offspring (nine calves) from a somatic cell-cloned bull and measured the telomere lengths of their leukocytes. In all of the offspring, the telomere lengths of leukocytes were normal, too. These results indicate the possibility that somatic cloned bulls could be used as breeding sires.