钙网蛋白与神经系统病变

钙网蛋白（calreticulin,CRT）是内质网中的一种多功能的分子伴侣,在协助蛋白质正确折叠和维持细胞Ca2＋稳态（Ca2＋信号）中发挥重要作用。近来的研究发现,钙网蛋白与神经系统病变包括阿尔茨海默氏病、帕金森病等有密切关系。     

钙网蛋白在水产动物中的应用研究

钙网蛋白(calreticulin,CRT)不仅是一种主要存在于内质网和肌浆网的可溶性Ca2+结合蛋白,而且在温度、氧气等胁迫、病原以及寄生虫感染等情况下都对细胞起到重要的保护作用。首先解析钙网蛋白的类型、结构与分布,其次分析钙网蛋白在调节细胞内Ca2+平衡、参与机体免疫反应、影响细胞凋亡与血管形成等过程中的生理功能,最后分析钙网蛋白在鱼类、虾类及贝类中的研究。综合分析发现,钙网蛋白可能作为水产养殖中一种分子生物标志物进而反应水产动物的生理状态。     

钙网蛋白在心肌肥大中的研究进展

钙网蛋白(calreticulin, CRT)是内质网中主要的Ca2+结合分子伴侣,具有调控细胞Ca2+稳态、蛋白质合成与修饰等作用,参与调节细胞凋亡、应激、心血管炎症反应等多种生理和病理生理过程.CRT属于心脏胚胎基因家族,通过调节心肌细胞肌原纤维形成、促进糖原分解、诱导肥大相关基因转录、调节心脏传导系统发育及心肌细胞凋亡等,在心脏发育及心肌肥大的发生、发展过程起重要作用,本文对CRT在心肌肥大中的作用及其信号转导途径予以综述.     

利用家蚕杆状病毒表达家蚕肌质网型钙离子ATP酶蛋白

肌质网型钙离子ATP酶(Sacro/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase,Serca)负责将细胞中多余的Ca2+转运并存储于内质网中,从而维持细胞内适宜的Ca2+环境。家蚕Serca创造的细胞内及细胞外Ca2+平衡对家蚕正常生命活动的维持具有重要作用。由于Serca分子量较大并具有10次跨膜结构,很难在大肠杆菌表达系统中表达。为了获得具有生物学活性的重组Serca蛋白,利用p Fast Bac Dual载体构建了用于表达egfp和serca的双元杆状病毒表达载体,转染细胞后获得重组病毒,将重组病毒感染细胞后,成功地在细胞中表达了EGFP和Serca。通过荧光观察及Western blotting分析表明,感染后细胞中Serca和EGFP表达模式一致,从感染后48 h开始表达,在感染后96 h表达量最大。对获得的重组蛋白进行酶活分析,发现感染后48 h至120 h的细胞Serca酶活显著提高。表明具有生物学活性的Serca在此系统中成功获得表达,为深入研究Serca蛋白的功能奠定了基础。     

热激蛋白gp96免疫学功能及在主动免疫治疗肿瘤和传染病中的应用

热激蛋白gp96可特异性结合来源于肿瘤和病毒的抗原肽,与抗原呈递细胞表面CD91等受体作用进入胞内,并在内质网中将结合的抗原通过抗原呈递链呈递给MHCI类分子,激活特异性T细胞。同时,与细胞表面Toll样受体(TLR)TLR2、TLR4等相互作用,激活天然免疫。近期研究发现调节性T细胞(Treg)对gp96免疫功能有显著抑制作用,随着对影响gp96免疫功能的免疫抑制机制的深入了解,以及利用汉逊酵母表达有免疫活性的全长gp96蛋白体系的建立,gp96将在治疗肿瘤及传染性疾病中发挥更大的作用。     

内质网应激响应在脂肪组织中的代谢调节作用

在真核细胞中,内质网是蛋白合成、加工及质量监控的关键细胞器,也是Ca2+储存及脂质合成的重要场所.细胞通过未折叠蛋白响应(unfolded protein response,UPR)感应外界不同刺激引发的内质网应激,在维持细胞功能稳态中发挥至关重要的作用.在哺乳动物中,三个位于内质网的跨膜蛋白——肌醇依赖酶la(ino...     

Ca~(2+)信号调控细胞死亡的亚细胞和分子机制

Ca2+在细胞死亡过程中起至关重要的作用。胞浆和/或线粒体(MT)内Ca2+超载不但是多种原因、多种方式细胞死亡的起始因素,也可通过激活蛋白酶、核酸酶、磷脂酶等酶,直接或间接通过与Bcl-2家族蛋白等重要调节因素的相互作用,全程参与死亡生化反应。内质网(ER)释放Ca2+与MT、溶酶体(LS)、细胞核相互作用,激活多种细胞死亡信号转导通路,导致细胞凋亡、坏死和自噬性细胞死亡。本文重点介绍Ca2+信号在亚细胞和分子水平调控细胞死亡的机制研究方面的最新进展。     

T细胞免疫球蛋白粘蛋白分子-4在免疫应答中作用及其与免疫疾病的关系

T细胞免疫球蛋白粘蛋白分子(T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain-containing molecule,TIM)基因是近年发现的新的基因家族。TIM家族蛋白在调节免疫应答中发挥重要作用。TIM-4是TIM家族一个成员,是一种I型跨膜糖蛋白分子。TIM-4仅表达在活化的树突状细胞(dendritic cell,DC)和巨噬细胞的表面,它是TIM-1的体内天然配体。TIM-1与TIM-4相互作用可调节T细胞活化增殖,调节Th1/Th2细胞平衡。此外,TIM-4可与磷脂酰丝氨酸结合,促进巨噬细胞对凋亡细胞的吞噬作用。因而,TIM-4与一些过敏疾病和自身免疫疾病存在相关性。     

内质网应激与抑郁症关系的研究进展

内质网（endoplasmic reticulum,ER）是细胞内负责蛋白质合成折叠、Ca2＋储存的主要场所,对应激极为敏感。其功能紊乱时出现错误折叠与未折叠蛋白在腔内聚集以及Ca2＋平衡紊乱的状态,称为内质网应激（endoplasmic reticulum stress,ERS）。ERS在细胞生理病理中发挥重要作用,但其具体作用机制目前尚未清楚。     

结核分枝杆菌MPT83的免疫原性及其奶牛结核病血清学检测方法的建立

【目的】利用大肠杆菌系统表达并纯化结核分枝杆菌MPT83蛋白,通过小鼠模型评价其免疫原性,建立血清学间接ELISA方法用于牛结核病临床检测,评价其应用潜能。【方法】构建p ET30a(+)-mpt83重组质粒,转化BL21(DE3)诱导表达并纯化,经细胞表面分子的流式细胞术(Flow Cytometry,FCM)分析、ELISPOT试验等分析其在小鼠中的免疫原性,建立间接ELISA方法,检测临床奶牛血样,评价其用于牛结核病血清学检测的潜能。【结果】SDS-PAGE显示目的蛋白成功表达,Western blot证实其对兔抗H37Rv多抗血清具有良好免疫反应性;FCM结果显示其下调树突状细胞表面CD80分子的表达,上调小鼠脾脏CD4+和CD8+T细胞表面CD69的表达,ELISPOT结果表明其诱导的特异性IL-4分泌细胞数显著高于IFN-γ分泌细胞数,表现为Th2型免疫应答;建立了ELISA方法,检测临床奶牛血样200份,与牛结核外周血γ-干扰素体外释放试验结果的阳性符合率和阴性符合率分别为48.6%和90%。【结论】在大肠杆菌系统中高效可溶性表达MPT83蛋白,其在小鼠模型中主要呈现Th2型免疫应答,并以该蛋白为抗原建立了牛结核病血清学检测的间接ELISA方法。     

ERP57 membrane translocation dictates the immunogenicity of tumor cell death by controlling the membrane translocation of calreticulin

Several pieces of experimental evidence indicate the following: 1) the most efficient antitumor treatments (this principle applies on both chemotherapy and radiotherapy) are those that induce immunogenic cell death and are able to trigger a specific antitumor immune response; and 2) the immunogenicity of cell death depends very closely on the plasma membrane quantity of calreticulin (CRT), an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress protein exposed to the cell membrane after immunogenic treatment. Nevertheless, the mechanisms implicated in CRT translocation are unknown. CRT is known to interact in the ER with ERP57, another ER stress protein. I sought to determine whether ERP57 would have any role in tumor immunogenicity. In this article I report that CRT exposure is controlled by ERP57 exposure. CRT and ERP57 are translocated together in the same molecular complex. ERP57 knockdown suppressed CRT exposure as well as phagocytosis by dendritic cells and abolished the immunogenicity in vivo. Knockdown or the absence of CRT abolishes ERP57 exposure. Administration of recombinant ERP57, unlike the administration of recombinant CRT, did not restore the immunogenicity of CRT or ERP57 small interfering RNA-transfected tumor cells. Together, these studies identify ERP57 as a key protein that controls immunogenicity by controlling CRT exposure and illustrate the ability of ERP57 to serve as a new molecular marker of immunogenicity.     

The therapeutic mavericks: Potent immunomodulating chaperones capable of treating human diseases

Two major chaperones, calreticulin (CRT) and binding immunoglobulin protein (GRP78/BiP) dependent on their location, have immunoregulatory or anti-inflammatory functions respectively. CRT induces pro-inflammatory cytokines, dendritic cell (DC) maturation and activates cytotoxic T cells against tumours. By contrast, GRP78/BiP induces anti-inflammatory cytokines, inhibits DC maturation and heightens T-regulatory cell responses. These latter functions rebalance immune homeostasis in inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Both chaperones are therapeutically relevant agents acting primarily on monocytes/DCs. Endogenous exposure of CRT on cancer cell surfaces acts as an ‘eat-me’ signal and facilitates improved elimination of stressed and dying tumour cells by DCs. Therefore, therapeutics that promote endogenous CRT translocation to the cell surface can improve the removal of cancer cells. However, infused recombinant CRT dampens this cancer cell eradication by binding directly to the DCs. Low levels of endogenous BiP appear as a surface biomarker of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in some types of tumour cells, a reflection of cells undergoing proliferation, in which resulting hypoxia and nutrient deprivation perturb ER homeostasis triggering the unfolded protein response, leading to increased expression of GRP78/BiP and altered cellular location. Conversely, infusion of an analogue of GRP78/BiP (IRL201805) can lead to long-term immune resetting and restoration of immune homeostasis. The therapeutic potential of both chaperones relies on them being relocated from their intracellular ER environment. Ongoing clinical trials are employing therapeutic interventions to either enhance endogenous cell surface CRT or infuse IRL201805, thereby triggering several disease-relevant immune responses leading to a beneficial clinical outcome.     

Wogonin Induced Calreticulin/Annexin A1 Exposure Dictates the Immunogenicity of Cancer Cells in a PERK/AKT Dependent Manner

In response to ionizing irradiation and certain chemotherapeutic agents, dying tumor cells elicit a potent anticancer immune response. However, the potential effect of wogonin (5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone) on cancer immunogenicity has not been studied. Here we demonstrated for the first time that wogonin elicits a potent antitumor immunity effect by inducing the translocation of calreticulin (CRT) and Annexin A1 to cell plasma membrane as well as the release of high-mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1) and ATP. Signal pathways involved in this process were studied. We found that wogonin-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production causes an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, including the phosphorylation of PERK (PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase)/PKR (protein kinase R) and eIF2α (eukaryotic initiation factor 2α), which served as upstream signal for the activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT, inducing calreticulin (CRT)/Annexin A1 cell membrane translocation. P22/CHP, a Ca²⁺-binding protein, was associated with CRT and was required for CRT translocation to cell membrane. The releases of HMGB1 and ATP from wogonin treated MFC cells, alone or together with other possible factors, activated dendritic cells and induced cytokine releases. In vivo study confirmed that immunization with wogonin-pretreated tumor cells vaccination significantly inhibited homoplastic grafted gastric tumor growth in mice and a possible inflammatory response was involved. In conclusion, the activation of PI3K pathway elicited by ER stress induced CRT/Annexin A1 translocation (“eat me” signal) and HMGB1 release, mediating wogonin-induced immunity of tumor cell vaccine. This indicated that wogonin is a novel effective candidate of immunotherapy against gastric tumor.     

Self-Oligomerization Is Essential for Enhanced Immunological Activities of Soluble Recombinant Calreticulin

We have recently reported that calreticulin (CRT), a luminal resident protein, can be found in the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and also that recombinant CRT (rCRT) exhibits extraordinarily strong immunological activities. We herein further demonstrate that rCRT fragments 18–412 (rCRT/18-412), rCRT/39-272, rCRT/120-308 and rCRT/120-250 can self-oligomerize in solution and are 50–100 fold more potent than native CRT (nCRT, isolated from mouse livers) in activating macrophages in vitro. We narrowed down the active site of CRT to residues 150–230, the activity of which also depends on dimerization. By contrast, rCRT/18-197 is almost completely inactive. When rCRT/18-412 is fractionated into oligomers and monomers by gel filtration, the oligomers maintain most of their immunological activities in terms of activating macrophages in vitro and inducing specific antibodies in vivo, while the monomers were much less active by comparison. Additionally, rCRT/18-412 oligomers are much better than monomers in binding to, and uptake by, macrophages. Inhibition of macrophage endocytosis partially blocks the stimulatory effect of rCRT/18-412. We conclude that the immunologically active site of CRT maps between residues 198–230 and that soluble CRT could acquire potent immuno-pathological activities in microenvironments favoring its oligomerization.     

Mechanisms of pre‐apoptotic calreticulin exposure in immunogenic cell death

Dying tumour cells can elicit a potent anticancer immune response by exposing the calreticulin (CRT)/ERp57 complex on the cell surface before the cells manifest any signs of apoptosis. Here, we enumerate elements of the pathway that mediates pre‐apoptotic CRT/ERp57 exposure in response to several immunogenic anticancer agents. Early activation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)‐sessile kinase PERK leads to phosphorylation of the translation initiation factor eIF2α, followed by partial activation of caspase‐8 (but not caspase‐3), caspase‐8‐mediated cleavage of the ER protein BAP31 and conformational activation of Bax and Bak. Finally, a pool of CRT that has transited the Golgi apparatus is secreted by SNARE‐dependent exocytosis. Knock‐in mutation of eIF2α (to make it non‐phosphorylatable) or BAP31 (to render it uncleavable), depletion of PERK, caspase‐8, BAP31, Bax, Bak or SNAREs abolished CRT/ERp57 exposure induced by anthracyclines, oxaliplatin and ultraviolet C light. Depletion of PERK, caspase‐8 or SNAREs had no effect on cell death induced by anthracyclines, yet abolished the immunogenicity of cell death, which could be restored by absorbing recombinant CRT to the cell surface.     

In vitro co-stimulation of anti-tumor activity by soluble B7 molecules

In order to investigate the anti-tumor activity of a soluble B7-1/immunoglobulin G fusion protein and explore an effective method to eliminate immune escape of tumor cells, a recombinant vector encoding this fusion protein was constructed and constitutively expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. After purification with protein G affinity chromatography, the soluble fusion protein was tested for bioactivity. Results showed that the fusion protein could significantly increase the density of B7-1 molecules on WEHI-3 cells, a mouse leukemia cell line. Through allogeneic mixed lymphocyte tumor cultures, it was demonstrated that, with the presence of the first signal, it could also significantly enhance T cell activation and killing activity against WEHI-3 cells and interleukin-2 secretion by activated mouse T lymphocytes. The conclusion can be drawn that the soluble B7-IgG fusion protein has a potent capacity to generate or enhance anti-tumor immune response in vitro, and its clinical value deserves further investigation.     

Endoplasmic reticulum calcium depletion impacts chaperone secretion, innate immunity, and phagocytic uptake of cells

A number of immunological functions are ascribed to cell surface-expressed forms of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone calreticulin (CRT). In this study, we examined the impact of ER stress-inducing drugs upon cell surface CRT induction and the resulting immunological consequences. We showed that cell surface expression of CRT and secretion of CRT, BiP, gp96, and PDI were induced by thapsigargin (THP) treatment, which depletes ER calcium, but not by tunicamycin treatment, which inhibits protein glycosylation. Surface expression of CRT in viable, THP-treated fibroblasts correlated with their enhanced phagocytic uptake by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells. Incubation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells with THP-treated fibroblasts enhanced sterile IL-6 production and LPS-induced generation of IL-1β, IL-12, IL-23, and TNF-α. However, extracellular CRT is not required for enhanced proinflammatory responses. Furthermore, the pattern of proinflammatory cytokine induction by THP-treated cells and cell supernatants resembled that induced by THP itself and indicated that other ER chaperones present in supernatants of THP-treated cells also do not contribute to induction of the innate immune response. Thus, secretion of various ER chaperones, including CRT, is induced by ER calcium depletion. CRT, previously suggested as an eat-me signal in dead and dying cellular contexts, can also promote phagocytic uptake of cells subject to ER calcium depletion. Finally, there is a strong synergy between calcium depletion in the ER and sterile IL-6, as well as LPS-dependent IL-1β, IL-12, IL-23, and TNF-α innate responses, findings that have implications for understanding inflammatory diseases that originate in the ER.     

IgE immunotherapy: A novel concept with promise for the treatment of cancer

The importance of antibodies in activating immune responses against tumors is now better appreciated with the emergence of checkpoint blockade antibodies and with engineered antibody Fc domains featuring enhanced capacity to focus potent effector cells against cancer cells. Antibodies designed with Fc regions of the IgE class can confer natural, potent, long-lived immune surveillance in tissues through tenacious engagement of high-affinity cognate Fc receptors on distinct, often tumor-resident immune effector cells, and through ability to activate these cells under tumor-induced Th2-biased conditions. Here, we review the properties that make IgE a contributor to the allergic response and a critical player in the protection against parasites, which also support IgE as a novel anti-cancer modality. We discuss IgE-based active and passive immunotherapeutic approaches in disparate in vitro and in vivo model systems, collectively suggesting the potential of IgE immunotherapies in oncology. Translation toward clinical application is now in progress.     

Molecular cloning of calnexin and calreticulin in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas and its expression in response to air exposure

Calnexin (CNX) and calreticulin (CRT) are endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperones. CNX is a type I transmembrane protein and CRT is a soluble CNX homologue. In the ER, CNX and CRT are important for Ca(2+) homeostasis and protein maturation. Here, we describe the full-length cDNA of the first mollusk CNX (cgCNX) and a second mollusk CRT (cgCRT) from the oyster Crassostrea gigas. CgCNX, containing 3255bp, was composed of a 1764bp open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a 588-amino acid protein. CgCRT, containing 1727bp, was composed of a 1242bp ORF that encodes a 414-amino acid protein. CgCNX and cgCRT contains an N-terminal 21- and 16-amino acid sequence, respectively, which is characteristic of a signal sequence. At the C-terminus, cgCRT also contains the KDEL (-Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu) peptide motif suggesting that cgCRT localizes in the ER. Northern blot analysis showed that both cgCNX and cgCRT mRNAs are induced by air exposure. The expression patterns of cgCNX mRNA differed from those of cgCRT during air exposure. This suggests that these two molecular chaperones have different roles in the response to air exposure.