利用嗜神经病毒跨突触追踪神经网络研究进展

解析大脑神经网络的连接图谱是认识大脑功能的前提。发展追踪大脑神经环路结构的技术,已成为神经科学研究中的迫切需求。基于嗜神经病毒发展而来的跨突触追踪技术,是揭示大脑神经网络结构的最有效手段,也是神经科学研究中发展十分迅速的领域。不同的嗜神经病毒类型或毒株,都有其独特的分子生物学特性、跨突触标记特性、改造方式。通过使用遗传重组改造的嗜神经病毒追踪神经环路,可以获得特定区域或特定类型神经元多级输出网络、输入网络及单级输入或输出网络。主要介绍神经科学研究中常用的神经病毒及相关的辅助工具病毒特性,及嗜神经病毒介导的各种神经回路标记技术。     

博尔纳病毒的研究现状

博尔纳病毒是一种嗜神经性病毒.研究表明博尔纳病毒能引起从马、羊等家畜,啮啮类动物到灵长目几乎所有温血动物的自然和实验性感染,并可能参与了人类某些精神神经性疾病的发生.本文就目前博尔纳病毒对人及动物致病性及免疫性的研究近况作一综述.     

神经科学：脑研究的综合学科

目录一、神经科学对社会和科学发展的意义（一）神经科学对社会健康的意义（二）神经科学对社会发展的意义（三）神经科学发展的科学意义（四）国际社会和国际科技界对神经科学的重视二、神经科学前沿简介（一）脑的高级功能（二）脑和神经系统的疾病（三）脑发育的分子原...     

溶瘤I型单纯疱疹病毒的研究进展

溶瘤病毒(Oncolytic virus,OV)是可以靶向感染并杀伤肿瘤细胞的一类病毒,其中溶瘤I型单纯疱疹病毒(Oncolytic herpes simplex virus type 1,OHSV-1)是目前研究最多的溶瘤病毒之一,可通过多种策略进行构建,已有多种OHSV-1进入临床试验,大量结果显示其具有较好的安全性和有效性。本文主要介绍OHSV-1的分子生物学特性与优势、主要的开发及靶向性策略、各类OHSV-1的研究进展以及目前存在的问题等。     

光纤记录系统在神经科学研究中的应用

近年来,光纤记录系统作为一种记录自由活动动物大脑特定核团神经元活动的技术,在神经科学领域研究中广受欢迎,是研究动物神经元活动与行为关系的重要技术手段.本文综述了单通道光纤记录系统、多通道光纤记录系统及多色光纤记录系统在认知、行为学、心理学等神经科学基础及神经疾病中的应用,并简述了光纤记录系统与功能磁共振成像技术结合、光...     

人类疱疹病毒7型体外生长特点的研究

研究了人类疱疹病毒7型(HHV-7)南京株YY5在脐血单个核细胞(CBMCs)及SUPT1细胞株上生长特点.观察病毒感染细胞后不同时间病变效应程度,记数死亡细胞百分率,间接免疫荧光染色记数抗原表达阳性细胞数,并用透射电镜观察病毒感染细胞超微结构变化及病毒复制不同时期的特点.结果发现:HHV-7在CBMCs及SUPT1上出现CPE时间迟于HHV-6,且CPE程度也低于HHV-6;HHV-7在SUPT1细胞上尽管有CPE及抗原表达,但很难找到成熟的病毒颗粒;电镜下,病毒主要存在于肿胀的病变细胞内,且病毒感染细胞常出现核染色质聚集,核固缩,及胞浆细胞器空泡化,细胞裂解等特点;成熟的HHV-7颗粒直径约170-190 nm,核衣壳约90-100 nm,核衣壳内致密核心约40 nm,核衣壳与包膜之间是丰富的被膜约30-35 nm,包膜上有刺突.HHV-7常发现无核心的病毒颗粒.     

溶瘤疱疹病毒表达的病毒融膜糖蛋白抗食管癌的实验研究

为了探讨溶瘤疱疹病毒表达病毒融膜糖蛋白对食管癌细胞的杀伤效果,采用基因酶切技术构建携带GALV．fus基因的致融性溶瘤疱疹病毒Synco-l和Synco-2以及非致融性溶瘤疱疹病毒Baco－1,通过体内外实验观察三种病毒对食管癌细胞Eca－109的杀伤效果。结果发现,Synco－1和Synco－2能引起食管癌细胞融合,有效地杀灭食管癌细胞。体外实验Synco－1和Synco－2能分别使Eca-109细胞存活率降低至28％和25％,体内实验能使实体肿瘤体积明显缩小,接种4周后,均能使小鼠70％的癌细胞完全消失,其杀伤食管癌细胞的效果明显强于非致融性溶瘤疱疹病毒Baco－1。实验结果提示,溶瘤疱疹病毒通过表达病毒融膜糖蛋白能显著增强其抗肿瘤效果,Synco－1和Synco－2有可能成为治疗食管癌的有效工具。     

疱疹病毒的示踪技术：看到了什么？还能看到什么？

病毒感染宿主细胞是一个非常复杂的过程,涉及病毒与多种宿主成分的相互作用。目前通过可视化病毒示踪技术可对病毒复制周期的各个过程进行实时、原位观察。疱疹病毒是一类有囊膜的DNA病毒,在自然界中广泛存在,对人类和动物健康构成严重威胁。文中综述了病毒示踪技术在疱疹病毒研究中的应用。这些研究为认识疱疹病毒的感染、复制机制以及病毒与宿主相互作用的过程开拓了新的视野。但该技术还不是十分完善,包括标记物最佳插入位点的选择、无法示踪病毒生命周期的全过程等。相信随着相关技术的发展与进步,会实现对疱疹病毒复制周期更加详细地追踪,从而更为详尽地揭示其复制机制。     

妇女生殖道单纯疱疹病毒Ⅱ型和人乳头瘤病毒的感染及其相关关系的研究

为探讨妇女生殖道单纯疱疹病毒Ⅱ型（ＨｅｒｐｅｓＳｉｍｐｌｅｓＶｉｒｕｓ２,ＨＳＶ２）和人乳头瘤病毒（ＨｕｍａｎＰａｐｉｌａｍａｖｉｒｕｓ,ＨＰＶ）的感染及其相关关系,我们应用聚合酶链反应（ＰＣＲ）对４８例患有性病、生殖道感染的妇女和３９例正常妇女进行了下生道ＨＳＶ２、ＨＰＶ的检测。ＨＳＶ２在实验组和对照组妇女中的感染率分别是７２９％和２５６％,两组有极显著性差异（Ｐ＜００１）;ＨＰＶ在实验组和对照组妇女中的感染率分别是５３３％和３３３％,两组无显著性差异（Ｐ＞００５）;两组中ＨＳＶ２、ＨＰＶ双阳性率分别是４５８％（２２／４８）和２３１％（９／３９）,有显著性差异（Ｐ＜００５）;在两组共８７份标本中,ＨＳＶ２和ＨＰＶ双阳性者占３１例,阳性率是３５６％。统计学分析表明：ＨＳＶ２和ＨＰＶ感染之间有极显著的相关性（Ｘ２＝２４０８,Ｐ＜００１）。研究表明：患有生殖系感染和性病妇女其ＨＳＶ２或ＨＰＶ和ＨＳＶ２混和感染的机率显著高于正常妇女,ＨＳＶ２和ＨＰＶ的感染具有协同作用。由于这两种病毒均与宫颈癌的发生有关,它们在生殖道中感染的相互作用机理有待于进一步研究。     

Intellectual Property: a powerful tool to develop biotech research

Today biotechnology is perhaps the most important technology field because of the strong health and food implications. However, due to the nature of said technology, there is the need of a huge amount of investments to sustain the experimentation costs. Consequently, investors aim to safeguard as much as possible their investments. Intellectual Property, and in particular patents, has been demonstrated to actually constitute a powerful tool to help them. Moreover, patents represent an extremely important means to disclose biotechnology inventions. Patentable biotechnology inventions involve products as nucleotide and amino acid sequences, microorganisms, processes or methods for modifying said products, uses for the manufacture of medicaments, etc. There are several ways to protect inventions, but all follow the three main patentability requirements: novelty, inventive step and industrial application.     

Bean pod mottle virus: a new powerful tool for functional genomics studies in Pisum sativum

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important legume worldwide. The importance of pea in arable rotations and nutritional value for both human and animal consumption have fostered sustained production and different studies to improve agronomic traits of interest. Moreover, complete sequencing of the pea genome is currently underway and will lead to the identification of a large number of genes potentially associated with important agronomic traits. Because stable genetic transformation is laborious for pea, virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS) appears as a powerful alternative technology for determining the function of unknown genes. In this work, we present a rapid and efficient viral inoculation method using DNA infectious plasmids of Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV)‐derived VIGS vector. Six pea genotypes with important genes controlling biotic and/or abiotic stresses were found susceptible to BPMV carrying a GFP reporter gene and showed fluorescence in both shoots and roots. In a second step, we investigated 37 additional pea genotypes and found that 30 were susceptible to BPMV and only 7 were resistant. The capacity of BPMV to induce silencing of endogenes was investigated in the most susceptible genotype using two visual reporter genes: PsPDS and PsKORRIGAN1 (PsKOR1) encoding PHYTOENE DESATURASE and a 1,4‐β‐D‐glucanase, respectively. The features of the ‘one‐step’ BPMV‐derived VIGS vector include (i) the ease of rub‐inoculation, without any need for biolistic or agro‐inoculation procedures, (ii) simple cost‐effective procedure and (iii) noninterference of viral symptoms with silencing. These features make BPMV the most adapted VIGS vector in pea to make low‐ to high‐throughput VIGS studies.     

Second harmonic generation microscopy: a powerful tool for bio-imaging

Second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy is an important optical imaging technique in a variety of applications. This article describes the history and physical principles of SHG microscopy and its more advanced variants, as well as their strengths and weaknesses in biomedical applications. It also provides an overview of SHG and advanced SHG imaging in neuroscience and microtubule imaging and how these methods can aid in understanding microtubule formation, structuration, and involvement in neuronal function. Finally, we offer a perspective on the future of these methods and how technological advancements can help make SHG microscopy a more widely adopted imaging technique.     

Recombineering: a powerful new tool for mouse functional genomics

Highly efficient phage-based Escherichia coli homologous recombination systems have recently been developed that enable genomic DNA in bacterial artificial chromosomes to be modified and subcloned, without the need for restriction enzymes or DNA ligases. This new form of chromosome engineering, termed recombinogenic engineering or recombineering, is efficient and greatly decreases the time it takes to create transgenic mouse models by traditional means. Recombineering also facilitates many kinds of genomic experiment that have otherwise been difficult to carry out, and should enhance functional genomic studies by providing better mouse models and a more refined genetic analysis of the mouse genome.     

Cryo-EM as a powerful tool for drug discovery

The recent revolution in cryo-EM has produced an explosion of structures at near-atomic or better resolution. This has allowed cryo-EM structures to provide visualization of bound small-molecule ligands in the macromolecules, and these new structures have provided unprecedented insights into the molecular mechanisms of complex biochemical processes. They have also had a profound impact on drug discovery, defining the binding modes and mechanisms of action of well-known drugs as well as driving the design and development of new compounds. This review will summarize and highlight some of these structures. Most excitingly, the latest cryo-EM technology has produced structures at 1.2 Å resolution, further solidifying cryo-EM as a powerful tool for drug discovery. Therefore, cryo-EM will play an ever-increasing role in drug discovery in the coming years.