氯霉素抗性融合蛋白报告系统的建立与验证

利用氯霉素乙酰基转移酶(CAT)N端融合了可溶性蛋白细胞所表现出的氯霉素抗性高于不溶性蛋白这一特点,建立了一种能在大肠杆菌中方便地检测到目的蛋白可溶性的报告系统。以pMalp2X高效表达载体为基础,采用PCR法扩增CAT基因,并通过引物向CAT中引入所需的多克隆位点、终止密码子及linker,将扩增得到的CAT片段插入到pMalp2X中,构建pCAR报道质粒并作测序鉴定;PCR分别扩增IGF1、IL3、Trx基因,连接到pCAR载体上,导入大肠杆菌原核表达系统中进行诱导表达,SDSPAGE分析、氯霉素抗性试验对表达目的蛋白的可溶性和表现出的氯霉素抗性的相关性加以验证。结果显示用该载体表达的重组蛋白的可溶性与氯霉素抗性具有很强的相关性。本报告系统能通过直观的平板氯霉素抗性高低正确指示位于CATN端的目的蛋白的可溶性,为其在生物工程和蛋白质构象相关疾病研究等领域的应用打下了基础。     

人促红细胞生成素基因在番茄中的表达

通过子叶与农杆菌（ＡｇｒｏｂａｃｔｅｒｉｕｍｔｕｍｅｆａｃｉｅｎｓＡＧＬ１）共培养,将表达载体ｐＨＬＰＥ中的人促红细胞生成素（ｈＥＰＯ,一种人来源的典型糖蛋白）基因（ｅｐｏ）导入番茄,然后用卡那霉素进行筛选,获得了抗性植株。经点杂交和Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ印迹分析,证明部分抗性植株中整合了ｅｐｏ基因。通过对转基因番茄植株叶片的粗提蛋白进行ＥＰＯＥＬＩＳＡ检测,结果表明,ｈＥＰＯ在番茄中的表达量为约４００ｐｇ／ｇ叶片。经用转基因植株叶片粗提蛋白饲喂依赖于ＥＰＯ的ＴＦ１细胞,表明番茄ＥＰＯ具有体外（ｉｎｖｉｔｒｏ）生物活性,这暗示用植物生产的ＥＰＯ可作为体外药物加以应用。     

人乳头瘤病毒HPV31型宫颈癌细胞模型的建立

宫颈癌与人乳头瘤病毒感染密切相关,建立宫颈癌实验模型可为宫颈癌的研究提供理想的模拟实验条件。我们通过应用基因重组技术,分别以HPV31型E6和E7基因为目的基因,通过原核表达、蛋白纯化和免疫小鼠等获得其特异性检测抗体。我们还通过构建E6和E7基因真核表达载体、转染C33A细胞、博莱霉素抗性筛选和表达检测等步骤,获得一种稳定的体外宫颈癌细胞系。经酶切鉴定及测序证实细胞基因组已重组插入质粒中的目的基因。我们已成功筛选到稳定的目的mRNA和蛋白表达的阳性细胞系,建立了稳定的人乳头状瘤病毒31型(HPV31)的宫颈癌细胞株,为研究宫颈癌提供了体外实验模型。     

以STAT3为靶标的抗肿瘤药物高通量筛选模型的建立和应用

旨在建立稳定可靠的以转导与转录激活子(STAT3)为靶标的抗肿瘤高通量筛选模型,应用该模型筛选潜在的抗癌药物。利用基因重组、蛋白表达纯化技术,获得STAT3目的蛋白,使用酶联免疫吸附法(ELISA)进行高通量药物筛选,将筛选出的抑制剂在细胞水平上利用MTT比色法测定化合物对癌细胞增殖的影响。结果显示,成功构建表达载体pET-28a-STAT3;所建立的模型稳定可行,可用于以STAT3为靶标的抗肿瘤药物的高通量筛选;用该模型对8 248个样品进行筛选,在500μmol/L药物浓度下,化合物MDC6抑制率为92%,另外,进行IC50值的测定时,分子水平上最低达到3.37μmol/L,在细胞水平上可达到15.92μmol/L。建立的高通量药物筛选模型,具有操作方便、成本低、结果稳定等特点,可用于STAT3抑制剂的大规模筛选。     

可溶性三聚化CD40-异亮氨酸拉链融合蛋白的制备及鉴定

以克隆的CD40cDNA为模板,经多步PCR构建羧基端融合异亮氨酸拉链(isoleucine zipper,IZ)三聚化基序和His6标签的可溶性CD40融合蛋白(sCD40IZ)的原核表达载体,在大肠杆菌中获得高效表达,分子量为27kD,与理论大小相符,表达产物主要存在于包涵体中,对包涵体蛋白进行稀释复性和纯化得到可溶性的sCD40IZ重组蛋白,该蛋白在溶液中的分子量为91kD,表明最有可能以三聚体形式存在。活性分析显示该蛋白能够与细胞上的CD40L结合,并且其结合活性与不含IZ基序的可溶性CD40相比明显提高。这些结果表明,在可溶性CD40羧基端融合IZ基序能够促进形成三聚体,并且具有增强的配基结合活性。     

基于4-1BBL和CD3双信号的融合蛋白协同抗肿瘤作用研究

旨在研究4-1BBL/CD20融合蛋白增强抗CD3/抗CD20 diabody介导的特异性靶向杀伤活性。采用亲和层析法纯化本室构建的抗-CD3/抗-CD20 diabody和4-1BBL/CD20融合蛋白可溶性表达产物;采用calcein释放试验测定其介导的体外靶向杀伤活性;采用人B淋巴瘤细胞系Raji裸鼠移植瘤模型测定其介导的体内靶向杀伤活性。纯化4-1BBL/CD20融合蛋白在体外能增强抗-CD3/抗-CD20 diabody介导激活的T细胞杀伤Raji细胞;在人B淋巴瘤细胞系Raji裸鼠移植瘤模型联合人T淋巴细胞4-1BBL/CD20融合蛋白增强抗-CD3/抗-CD20 diabody高效抑制Raji细胞裸鼠移植瘤的生长,明显延长荷瘤裸鼠的生存时间。在体外和体内4-1BBL/CD20融合蛋白均能增强抗-CD3/抗-CD20 diabody介导激活的T细胞杀伤表达CD20抗原的肿增细胞,是一个有望用于B细胞恶性肿瘤临床治疗的特异性融合蛋白。     

多聚精氨酸融合增强型绿色荧光蛋白制备方法及穿膜效果

为了方便细胞穿膜肽R9融合蛋白的可溶性表达及功能上的研究,构建了pSUMO (小分子泛素样修饰蛋白) -R9-EGFP (增强型绿色荧光蛋白) 原核表达载体。分别纯化EGFP及R9-EGFP蛋白后,作用于HepG2,细胞经流式细胞仪及激光共聚焦检测R9细胞穿膜肽的作用效果。实验结果显示在SUMO分子伴侣的作用下,R9-EGFP融合蛋白获得可溶性表达。经流式细胞仪检测,R9细胞穿膜肽可以快速有效的携带目的蛋白进入细胞内部且呈时间、剂量依赖性,大约1.5 h以后荧光强度进入平台期。共聚焦显微镜检测结果表明R9细胞穿膜肽可以有效携带EGFP进入HepG2细胞,并显示主要聚集在细胞浆内。同时体外经肝素抑制实验显示,肝素抑制R9-EGFP穿膜的效率达到50％。这些结果表明,可以利用pSUMO-R9/Ni-NTA表达纯化系统,快速、有效地表达出可溶性多聚精氨酸融合蛋白,同时R9细胞穿膜肽可以有效地携带目的蛋白进入细胞内,为进一步研究多聚精氨酸的穿膜机制提供了基础。     

利用Red重组系统对大肠杆菌ClpP基因的敲除

利用含有质粒pKD4 6的菌株BW2 5 113,在阿拉伯糖诱导后 ,表达λ噬菌体的 3个重组蛋白 ,宿主菌就具有了同源重组的能力 .设计的引物 5′端有 5 0bp的拟敲除基因的同源臂 ,3′端为扩增引物 ,以pKD3为模板 ,扩增两侧含FRT位点的氯霉素抗性基因 ,将此线性片段电转入具重组功能的感受态细胞 ,利用氯霉素平板就可以筛选到阳性转化体 .再利用表达Flp重组酶的质粒pCP2 0 ,可将FRT位点之间的氯霉素抗性基因删除 .利用该重组系统 ,构建了ClpP蛋白酶缺失的大肠杆菌工程菌株 ,可望在减少外源蛋白的降解方面发挥一定的作用 .     

组胺H3受体激活剂高通量筛选细胞模型的研究

摘 要 目的 建立基于报告基因的组胺H3受体（H3R）激活剂的高通量筛选模型,用此模型对收集到的中草药化合物组分进行筛选,以发现新的组胺H3R激活剂。 方法 将H3R基因质粒（H3R/pCDNA3.1-hygro）与报告基因质粒（3XCRE-LUC）按3：1的比例共转染入HEK293细胞,建立了稳定的H3R配体的报告基因筛选细胞株。激活剂与细胞表面H3R结合后,激活相应的信号通路,调节Forskolin刺激后的报告基因的表达,通过测定荧光素酶报告基因表达水平的变化,评估激活剂影响H3受体的生物活性。 结果 通过对筛选条件,如激活剂孵育时间、Forskolin终浓度、化合物溶剂的选择、溶剂DMSO终浓度等的优化,建立了可靠的筛选方法,并对多种中草药萃取物进行了筛选,找到了两种对H3R有活性的中药组分。结论 建立的细胞模型可以有效的应用于以组胺H3受体为靶点的高通量药物筛选。     

粘着斑激酶在bFGF引起细胞迁移中的动态变化及意义

本文旨在观察不同浓度碱性成纤维细胞生长因子(basic fibroblast growth factor,bFGF)引起体外培养的ECV-304细胞迁移时粘着斑激酶(focal adhesion kinase,FAK)的动态变化及FAK与细胞迁移的关系。建立体外培养的ECV-304细胞划痕损伤模型,观察经不同剂量(0、5、10、15 ng/ml)bFGF作用12-24 h内细胞迁移距离(电脑图像测定)和FAK蛋白含量(Western blot)、活性(免疫沉淀加Western blot)和mRNA(RT-PCR)的动态变化。用免疫细胞化学(ABC法)染色研究整合素α3表达。结果发现,低浓度(5 ng/ml)bFGF促进细胞迁移,FAK蛋白含量增加42.07±2.02％、活性增加71.37±1.85％,与对照组比,差异显著(P<0.05),并与迁移距离呈正相关(P<0.05)。高浓度(15 ng/ml)bFGF抑制细胞迁移,FAK的变化相反。FAK mRNA的变化比蛋白变化早出现6 h。与对照细比,各实验组整合素α3表达无明显差异。由此可见,不同剂量bFGF对ECV-304细胞迁移的双相调节作用与FAK含量、活性与mRNA表达呈正相关,FAK在bFGF引起的细胞迁移的信号转导途径中起着重要作用。     

Architecture of Polyglutamine-containing Fibrils from Time-resolved Fluorescence Decay

The disease risk and age of onset of Huntington disease (HD) and nine other repeat disorders strongly depend on the expansion of CAG repeats encoding consecutive polyglutamines (polyQ) in the corresponding disease protein. PolyQ length-dependent misfolding and aggregation are the hallmarks of CAG pathologies. Despite intense effort, the overall structure of these aggregates remains poorly understood. Here, we used sensitive time-dependent fluorescent decay measurements to assess the architecture of mature fibrils of huntingtin (Htt) exon 1 implicated in HD pathology. Varying the position of the fluorescent labels in the Htt monomer with expanded 51Q (Htt51Q) and using structural models of putative fibril structures, we generated distance distributions between donors and acceptors covering all possible distances between the monomers or monomer dimensions within the polyQ amyloid fibril. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we systematically scanned all possible monomer conformations that fit the experimentally measured decay times. Monomers with four-stranded 51Q stretches organized into five-layered β-sheets with alternating N termini of the monomers perpendicular to the fibril axis gave the best fit to our data. Alternatively, the core structure of the polyQ fibrils might also be a zipper layer with antiparallel four-stranded stretches as this structure showed the next best fit. All other remaining arrangements are clearly excluded by the data. Furthermore, the assessed dimensions of the polyQ stretch of each monomer provide structural evidence for the observed polyQ length threshold in HD pathology. Our approach can be used to validate the effect of pharmacological substances that inhibit or alter amyloid growth and structure.     

Sir2 is induced by oxidative stress in a yeast model of Huntington disease and its activation reduces protein aggregation

Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of CAG trinucleotide repeats, leading to an elongated polyglutamine sequence (polyQ) in the huntingtin protein. Misfolding of mutant polyQ proteins with expanded tracts results in aggregation, causing cytotoxicity. Oxidative stress in HD has been documented in humans as important to disease progression. Using yeast cells as a model of HD, we report that when grown at high glucose concentration, cells expressing mutant polyQ do not show apparent oxidative stress. At higher cell densities, when glucose becomes limiting and cells are metabolically shifting from fermentation to respiration, protein oxidation and catalase activity increases in relation to the length of the polyQ tract. Oxidative stress, either endogenous as a result of mutant polyQ expression or exogenously generated, increases Sir2 levels. Δ sir2 cells expressing expanded polyQ lengths show signs of oxidative stress even at the early exponential phase. In a wild-type background, isonicotinamide, a Sir2 activator, decreases mutant polyQ aggregation and the stress generated by expanded polyQ. Taken together, these results describe mutant polyQ proteins as being more toxic in respiring cells, causing oxidative stress and an increase in Sir2 levels. Activation of Sir2 would play a protective role against this toxicity.     

Defining genetic factors that modulate intergenerational CAG repeat instability in Drosophila melanogaster

Trinucleotide repeat instability underlies >20 human hereditary disorders. These diseases include many neurological and neurodegenerative situations, such as those caused by pathogenic polyglutamine (polyQ) domains encoded by expanded CAG repeats. Although mechanisms of instability have been intensely studied, our knowledge remains limited in part due to the lack of unbiased genome-wide screens in multicellular eukaryotes. Drosophila melanogaster displays triplet repeat instability with features that recapitulate repeat instability seen in patients with disease. Here we report an enhanced fly model with substantial instability based on a noncoding 270 CAG (UAS-CAG(270)) repeat construct under control of a germline-specific promoter. We find that expression of pathogenic polyQ protein modulates repeat instability of CAG(270) in trans, indicating that pathogenic-length polyQ proteins may globally modulate repeat instability in the genome in vivo. We further performed an unbiased genetic screen for novel modifiers of instability. These studies indicate that different aspects of repeat instability are under independent genetic control, and identify CG15262, a protein with a NOT2/3/5 conserved domain, as a modifier of CAG repeat instability in vivo.     

Quantitative connection between polyglutamine aggregation kinetics and neurodegenerative process in patients with Huntington's disease

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Despite enormous progress in elucidating the biophysics of aggregation, no cause-and-effect relationship between protein aggregation and neurodegenerative disease has been unequivocally established. Here, we derived several risk-based stochastic kinetic models that assess genotype/phenotype correlations in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat. Fascinating disease-specific aspects of HD include the polyglutamine (polyQ)-length dependence of both age at symptoms onset and the propensity of the expanded polyQ protein to aggregate. In vitro, aggregation of polyQ peptides follows a simple nucleated growth polymerization pathway. Our models that reflect polyQ aggregation kinetics in a nucleated growth polymerization divided aggregate process into the lengthdependent nucleation and the nucleation-dependent elongation. In contrast to the repeatlength dependent variability of age at onset, recent studies have shown that the extent of expansion has only a subtle effect on the rate of disease progression, suggesting possible differences in the mechanisms underlying the neurodegenerative process. RESULTS: Using polyQ-length as an index, these procedures enabled us for the first time to establish a quantitative connection between aggregation kinetics and disease process, including onset and the rate of progression. Although the complexity of disease process in HD, the time course of striatal neurodegeneration can be precisely predicted by the mathematical model in which neurodegeneration occurs by different mechanisms for the initiation and progression of disease processes. Nucleation is sufficient to initiate neuronal loss as a series of random events in time. The stochastic appearance of nucleation in a cell population acts as the constant risk of neuronal cell damage over time, while elongation reduces the risk by nucleation in proportion to the increased extent of the aggregates during disease progression. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that nucleation is a critical step in gaining toxic effects to the cell, and provide a new insight into the relationship between polyQ aggregation and neurodegenerative process in HD.     

A Highlights from MBoC Selection: Praja1 ubiquitin ligase facilitates degradation of polyglutamine proteins and suppresses polyglutamine-mediated toxicity

A network of chaperones and ubiquitin ligases sustain intracellular proteostasis and is integral in preventing aggregation of misfolded proteins associated with various neurodegenerative diseases. Using cell-based studies of polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases, spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) and Huntington’s disease (HD), we aimed to identify crucial ubiquitin ligases that protect against polyQ aggregation. We report here that Praja1 (PJA1), a Ring-H2 ubiquitin ligase abundantly expressed in the brain, is diminished when polyQ repeat proteins (ataxin-3/huntingtin) are expressed in cells. PJA1 interacts with polyQ proteins and enhances their degradation, resulting in reduced aggregate formation. Down-regulation of PJA1 in neuronal cells increases polyQ protein levels vis-a-vis their aggregates, rendering the cells vulnerable to cytotoxic stress. Finally, PJA1 suppresses polyQ toxicity in yeast and rescues eye degeneration in a transgenic Drosophila model of SCA3. Thus, our findings establish PJA1 as a robust ubiquitin ligase of polyQ proteins and induction of which might serve as an alternative therapeutic strategy in handling cytotoxic polyQ aggregates.     

Quantitative connection between polyglutamine aggregation kinetics and neurodegenerative process in patients with Huntington’s disease

Background

Despite enormous progress in elucidating the biophysics of aggregation, no cause-and-effect relationship between protein aggregation and neurodegenerative disease has been unequivocally established. Here, we derived several risk-based stochastic kinetic models that assess genotype/phenotype correlations in patients with Huntington??s disease (HD) caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat. Fascinating disease-specific aspects of HD include the polyglutamine (polyQ)-length dependence of both age at symptoms onset and the propensity of the expanded polyQ protein to aggregate. In vitro, aggregation of polyQ peptides follows a simple nucleated growth polymerization pathway. Our models that reflect polyQ aggregation kinetics in a nucleated growth polymerization divided aggregate process into the length-dependent nucleation and the nucleation-dependent elongation. In contrast to the repeat-length dependent variability of age at onset, recent studies have shown that the extent of expansion has only a subtle effect on the rate of disease progression, suggesting possible differences in the mechanisms underlying the neurodegenerative process.

Results

Using polyQ-length as an index, these procedures enabled us for the first time to establish a quantitative connection between aggregation kinetics and disease process, including onset and the rate of progression. Although the complexity of disease process in HD, the time course of striatal neurodegeneration can be precisely predicted by the mathematical model in which neurodegeneration occurs by different mechanisms for the initiation and progression of disease processes. Nucleation is sufficient to initiate neuronal loss as a series of random events in time. The stochastic appearance of nucleation in a cell population acts as the constant risk of neuronal cell damage over time, while elongation reduces the risk by nucleation in proportion to the increased extent of the aggregates during disease progression.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that nucleation is a critical step in gaining toxic effects to the cell, and provide a new insight into the relationship between polyQ aggregation and neurodegenerative process in HD.     

Biophysical Underpinnings of the Repeat Length Dependence of Polyglutamine Amyloid Formation

There are now 10 expanded CAG repeat diseases in which both disease risk and age of onset are strongly dependent on the repeat length of the polyglutamine (polyQ) sequence in the disease protein. Large, polyQ-rich inclusions in patient brains and in cell and animal models are consistent with the involvement of polyQ aggregation in the disease mechanism. This possibility is reinforced by studies showing strong repeat length dependence to the aggregation process, qualitatively mirroring the repeat length dependence of disease risk. Our understanding of the underlying biophysical principles that mediate the repeat length dependence of aggregation, however, is far from complete. A previous study of simple polyQ peptides showed that N*, the size of the critical nucleus that controls onset of aggregation, decreases from unfavorable tetramer to favorable monomer over the range Q₂₃ to Q₂₆. These data, however, do not explain why, for all peptides exhibiting N* ∼ 1, spontaneous aggregation rates continue to increase with increasing repeat length. Here we describe a novel kinetics analyses that maps out the nonlinear dependence with repeat length of a nucleation efficiency term that is likely related to aspects of nucleus structure. This trend accounts for why nucleus size increases to tetrameric at repeat lengths of Q₂₃ or below. Intriguingly, both aggregation and age of onset trend with repeat length in similar ways, exhibiting large changes per added Gln at low repeat lengths and small changes per added Gln at relatively long repeat lengths. Fibril stability also increases with repeat length in a nonlinear fashion.     

Inhibition of calpain cleavage of huntingtin reduces toxicity: accumulation of calpain/caspase fragments in the nucleus

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a polyglutamine (polyQ) tract expansion near the N terminus of huntingtin (Htt). Proteolytic processing of mutant Htt and abnormal calcium signaling may play a critical role in disease progression and pathogenesis. Recent work indicates that calpains may participate in the increased and/or altered patterns of Htt proteolysis leading to the selective toxicity observed in HD striatum. Here, we identify two calpain cleavage sites in Htt and show that mutation of these sites renders the polyQ expanded Htt less susceptible to proteolysis and aggregation, resulting in decreased toxicity in an in vitro cell culture model. In addition, we found that calpain- and caspase-derived Htt fragments preferentially accumulate in the nucleus without the requirement of further cleavage into smaller fragments. Calpain family members, calpain-1, -5, -7, and -10, have increased levels or are activated in HD tissue culture and transgenic mouse models, suggesting they may play a key role in Htt proteolysis and disease pathology. Interestingly, calpain-1, -5, -7, and -10 localize to the cytoplasm and the nucleus, whereas the activated forms of calpain-7 and -10 are found only in the nucleus. These results support the role of calpain-derived Htt fragmentation in HD and suggest that aberrant activation of calpains may play a role in HD pathogenesis.