禽传染性支气管炎病毒Nsp2蛋白与宿主蛋白eIF2α的互作鉴定

Nsp2蛋白是冠状病毒的非结构蛋白,在病毒早期感染中具有重要作用。【目的】为初步筛选可能与禽传染性支气管炎病毒(avian infectious bronchitis virus,IBV) Nsp2蛋白互作的宿主蛋白,鉴定Nsp2蛋白与真核翻译起始因子2α亚基(eIF2α)的相互作用。【方法】以pCAGGs-Flag-Nsp2和pCAGGs-Flag载体转染后的鸡胚肾(CEK)细胞为研究对象,利用免疫共沉淀(Co-IP)和液相色谱-串联质谱(LC-MS/MS)技术筛选出可能与IBVNsp2蛋白发生互作的宿主蛋白eIF2α,通过免疫共沉淀和间接免疫荧光试验进一步验证二者相互作用。【结果】经免疫共沉淀与质谱分析后筛选到97个可能与Nsp2蛋白互作的宿主蛋白,其中宿主抗病毒反应的关键蛋白eIF2α与Nsp2蛋白的相互作用通过免疫共沉淀和间接免疫荧光试验,表明二者存在直接互作关系,并共定位于细胞质中;此外,Nsp2蛋白表达和IBV感染都能显著提高宿主内源性eIF2α的转录水平。【结论】利用免疫共沉淀联合质谱技术筛选到CEK细胞中存在的97种可能与IBV Nsp2互作的候选蛋白,利用免疫共沉淀与...     

肠出血性大肠杆菌0157:H7 TCCP蛋白研究进展

TCCP(内膜素受体偶联细胞骨架蛋白,Tir couple cytoskeleton protein)是近年研究新发现的EHEC(肠出血性大肠杆菌)0157:H7致病分子,它经大肠杆菌Ⅲ型分泌系统转导人宿主细胞内,结合并活化宿主蛋白N-WASP(神经威奥综合症蛋白),引起肌动蛋白的聚集,最终诱导特征病理改变黏附、擦拭(A/E)损伤的形成.本文就近年来对它的研究情况作一简要综述.     

肠出血性大肠杆菌O157:H7 TCCP蛋白研究进展

TCCP(內膜素受体偶联细胞骨架蛋白,Tir couple cytoskeleton protein)是近年研究新发现的EHEC(肠出血性大肠杆菌)O157∶H7致病分子,它经大肠杆菌Ⅲ型分泌系统转导入宿主细胞内,结合并活化宿主蛋白N-WASP(神经威奥综合症蛋白),引起肌动蛋白的聚集,最终诱导特征病理改变黏附、擦拭(A/E)损伤的形成。本文就近年来对它的研究情况作一简要综述。     

弧菌外膜蛋白OmpU的免疫交叉反应性和交叉保护性北大核心CSCD

【目的】通过对弧菌外膜蛋白Omp U的克隆、表达以及免疫学特性分析,明确外膜蛋白Omp U是否为弧菌的共同抗原,并具有免疫交叉反应性和交叉保护性。【方法】对弧菌外膜蛋白omp U基因进行克隆和生物信息学分析。分别制备副溶血弧菌、溶藻弧菌、创伤弧菌、拟态弧菌和霍乱弧菌的Omp U重组蛋白抗血清,对Omp U的免疫交叉反应特性以及抗原表位定位情况进行比较分析。以霍乱弧菌的Omp U重组蛋白免疫小鼠后,再以多种弧菌进行攻毒,分析其交叉免疫保护作用。【结果】外膜蛋白Omp U在弧菌种内和种间相似性分别为73.0%–100%和58.6%–89.0%,并至少存在9个保守的B细胞抗原表位。Omp U重组蛋白抗血清在弧菌种内和种间均产生显著的免疫交叉反应,识别弧菌中分子量35–40 k Da的同源蛋白。副溶血弧菌ATCC17802、创伤弧菌ATCC27562和拟态弧菌ATCC33653来源的Omp U重组蛋白抗体能识别供试菌株,提示这些菌株的Omp U抗原表位定位于细胞表面。Omp U重组蛋白对免疫后的小鼠具有交叉免疫保护作用,攻毒实验后小鼠相对存活率(RPS)为43.0%–100%。【结论】上述结果表明,外膜蛋白Omp U是弧菌中一种保守的共同抗原,具有免疫交叉保护性,可以作为弧菌广谱疫苗的候选抗原。     

链霉亲和素-藻胆蛋白的融合表达及其在液相芯片检测中应用

[目的]重组表达制备链霉亲和素-藻胆蛋白融合蛋白,并应用于致病性弧菌液相芯片的检测体系中.[方法]在大肠杆菌中构建链霉亲和素-藻胆蛋白融合蛋白的生物合成途径,通过发酵和亲和层析纯化,制备融合蛋白;设计副溶血弧菌、霍乱弧菌、创伤弧菌和溶藻弧菌等四种致病性弧菌特异性检测引物和核苷酸探针,以融合蛋白为荧光标志物,建立四种致病...     

炭疽芽胞杆菌BslA(260－652)蛋白的表达纯化与黏附功能鉴定

【目的】克隆表达炭疽芽胞杆菌BlsA的功能区片段并对其生物学功能进行鉴定。【方法】以炭疽芽胞杆菌A16R基因组DNA为模板PCR扩增bslA(260-652)基因片段,克隆至pET-28a(+)载体。将成功构建的重组质粒转化入大肠杆菌Rosetta(DE3)中,诱导表达后收集菌体经超声破碎后,对可溶表达部分用镍柱进行亲和层析纯化。以纯化后的蛋白为抗原,免疫BALB/c小鼠制备该蛋白的多抗,用ELISA和Western blot检测抗血清;使用间接免疫荧光实验和细菌黏附实验研究目标蛋白及其抗体的生物学功能。【结果】BslA(260-652)获得了可溶性表达,纯化后纯度约为87.4%。以纯化蛋白为抗原,免疫BALB/c小鼠制备的抗血清ELISA效价可达1∶20000。将BslA(260-652)蛋白与Hela细胞共孵育后,能够直接和Hela的细胞膜结合。细菌黏附实验表明BslA(260-652)蛋白及其相应的多抗血清都能够显著地抑制炭疽芽胞杆菌A16R对Hela细胞的黏附。【结论】大肠杆菌表达得到的炭疽芽胞杆菌BslA(260-652)蛋白具有与天然蛋白相似的生物活性,为深入研究BslA蛋白在炭疽芽胞杆菌致病过程中的作用奠定实验基础。     

胸膜肺炎放线杆菌三聚体自转运黏附素茎部功能区表达及其与猪肺组织结合蛋白的筛选分析

【目的】胸膜肺炎放线杆菌(Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae,APP)可引发猪的传染性胸膜肺炎,给世界养猪业造成了巨大损失。黏附是APP在致病过程中的第一步,新型黏附分子——三聚体自转运黏附素(Trimeric autotransporter adhesin,TAA)是该菌感染肺组织的重要毒力因子,茎部区2 464-2 574氨基酸(BD3)序列区域在细菌的黏附中发挥重要作用,但其如何结合肺脏组织尚属未知。本文表达TAA的茎部功能区,筛选其在肺组织中的结合蛋白。【方法】原核表达及纯化TAA功能区BD3蛋白,与猪肺组织共孵育,通过免疫共沉淀技术捕获BD3的结合蛋白并质谱鉴定。构建猪c DNA文库获取该蛋白核酸序列,进行生物信息学分析。【结果】经质谱分析获得与BD3结合的猪肺组织蛋白的肽段,数据库搜寻比对发现角蛋白1为TAA BD3区与猪肺组织结合的蛋白;构建c DNA文库筛选并测序后获知其基因序列。生物信息学分析显示该序列与猪源及人源角蛋白核酸序列相似性低,猪源细胞角蛋白1作为一个单独的进化分支,与其他角蛋白差异较大;该蛋白在8-100 aa处有一个跨膜区;主要二级结构元件为α螺旋和β折叠;该蛋白在82-362 aa处存在一个G蛋白α亚单位,在515-552 aa处存在一个TSP1区域(凝血酶敏感蛋白1型重复区域)。【结论】与TAA茎部BD3结合的猪肺组织角蛋白1的发现,为TAA黏附肺组织细胞的研究奠定基础,有助于揭示APP专嗜肺组织的致病机制。     

副溶血性弧菌脂蛋白定位系统转运蛋白结构与功能的生物信息学分析

【目的】副溶血性弧菌是一种重要的人畜共患病原菌,脂蛋白定位系统(Localization of lipoprotein system,Lol)负责该菌脂蛋白的转运与定位,与其致病力及耐药性密切相关,对Lol系统转运蛋白进行系统的生物信息学分析,有助于推动副溶血性弧菌致病与耐药机理的进一步研究。【方法】本文通过生物信息学分析技术,结合ExPASy在线工具、SignalP 4.0 Server、TMHMM-2.0、STRING、SWISS-MODEL等软件,分析了副溶血性弧菌Lol系统转运蛋白LolA-E及LolCD_2E的基本性质、蛋白互作关系及三级结构。【结果】LolA和LolB为酸性亲水蛋白,含信号肽位点,无跨膜区域。LolC和LolE为碱性疏水膜蛋白,LolCD_2E为中性疏水膜蛋白,LolC-E及LolCD_2E均无显著的信号肽位点。蛋白相互作用网络显示,LolA–E五个蛋白的编码基因均共表达,负责脂蛋白的合成与转运,并与BamA、Pal、MacB、CmeC等外膜蛋白具有密切的互作关系。三级结构同源建模发现,副溶血性弧菌与大肠杆菌拥有相似的LolA和LolB结构,LolC-E含有MacB蛋白的同源结构,赋予了该系统消耗ATP运输脂蛋白的重要功能。此外,本研究还首次发现了副溶血性弧菌LolC和LolE中存在一段保守的Hook结构,是LolCD_2E复合物与LolA结合并转运脂蛋白的关键区域。【结论】本研究为副溶血性弧菌Lol系统转运蛋白的表达纯化、结构与功能的研究提供了重要的数据基础,为后续抗菌药物的研发提供了新型作用靶点。     

利用酵母双杂交技术筛选鉴定与番茄环纹斑点病毒NSs蛋白互作的西花蓟马蛋白

【目的】筛选鉴定西花蓟马Franiklinella ocicdentalis体内与番茄环纹斑点病毒(tomato zonate spot virus, TZSV)NSs蛋白互作的介体因子。【方法】利用酵母双杂交技术筛选与TZSV NSs互作的西花蓟马蛋白;进行序列分析鉴定后,将捕获的蛋白与NSs基因回转到酵母细胞,利用营养缺陷型培养基鉴定蛋白互作情况。再利用GST Pull-down技术验证TZSV NSs与鉴定出的西花蓟马蛋白的体外互作关系。【结果】构建了TZSV NSs的酵母双杂交诱饵质粒pGBKT7-NSs,确定了诱饵质粒对酵母AH109细胞无毒性,并且无自激活活性。序列分析发现与TZSV NSs互作的西花蓟马蛋白为类电压依赖性阴离子通道(voltage-dependent anion-selective channel-like, VDAC)。酵母回转实验显示TZSV NSs与西花蓟马VDAC在酵母细胞内存在特异性互作。GST Pull-down结果表明TZSV NSs与西花蓟马VDAC在体外存在相互作用。【结论】通过酵母双杂交和GST Pull-down技术,分别在酵母细胞内...     

Calponin蛋白家族在细胞骨架重构中的作用

Calponin蛋白家族包括calponin(CaP)和平滑肌(SM)22α,此家族的重要结构特征是由单一CH结构域和CLR结构域组成。CaP和SM22α属于肌动蛋白细胞骨架结合蛋白,可通过与F-肌动蛋白相互作用来调节肌动蛋白细胞骨架重构,影响细胞的生物学行为,进而影响相关疾病的发生与发展。     

The heat capacity of proteins

The heat capacity plays a major role in the determination of the energetics of protein folding and molecular recognition. As such, a better understanding of this thermodynamic parameter and its structural origin will provide new insights for the development of better molecular design strategies. In this paper we have analyzed the absolute heat capacity of proteins in different conformations. The results of these studies indicate that three major terms account for the absolute heat capacity of a protein: (1) one term that depends only on the primary or covalent structure of a protein and contains contributions from vibrational frequencies arising from the stretching and bending modes of each valence bond and internal rotations; (2) a term that contains the contributions of noncovalent interactions arising from secondary and tertiary structure; and (3) a term that contains the contributions of hydration. For a typical globular protein in solution the bulk of the heat capacity at 25°C is given by the covalent structure term (close to 85% of the total). The hydration term contributes about 15 and 40% to the total heat capacity of the native and unfolded states, respectively. The contribution of non-covalent structure to the total heat capacity of the native state is positive but very small and does not amount to more than 3% at 25°C. The change in heat capacity upon unfolding is primarily given by the increase in the hydration term (about 95%) and to a much lesser extent by the loss of noncovalent interactions (up to ～5%). It is demonstrated that a single universal mathematical function can be used to represent the partial molar heat capacity of the native and unfolded states of proteins in solution. This function can be experimentally written in terms of the molecular weight, the polar and apolar solvent accessible surface areas, and the total area buried from the solvent. This unique function accurately predicts the different magnitude and temperature dependences of the heat capacity of both the native and unfolded states, and therefore of the heat capacity changes associated with folding/unfolding transitions. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Characterization of membrane association of Rinderpest virus matrix protein

Paramyxovirus matrix protein is believed to play a crucial role in the assembly and maturation of the virus particle by bringing the major viral components together at the budding site in the host cell. The membrane association capability of many enveloped virus matrix proteins has been characterized to be their intrinsic property. In this work, we have characterized the membrane association of Rinderpest virus matrix (M) protein. The M protein of Rinderpest virus when expressed in the absence of other viral proteins is present both in the cytoplasm and plasma membrane. When expressed as GFP fusion protein, the M protein gets localized into plasma membrane protrusions. High salt and alkaline conditions resulted in partial dissociation of M protein from cell membrane. Thus, M protein behaves like an integral membrane protein although its primary structure suggests it to be a peripheral membrane protein.     

Improvement of protein stability in protein microarrays

Protein stability in microarrays was improved using protein stabilizers. PEG 200 at 30% (w/v) was the most efficient stabilizer giving over 4-fold improvement in protein stability compared to without the stabilizer. PEG 200 above 10% (w/v) in the array solution prevented the evaporation of water in the sample and thereby improved protein stability in the microarray. When the streptavidin-biotin binding reaction was performed under optimized conditions, biotin-BSA-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) was detected from 1 ng ml^–1 to 5 g ml^–1 by fluorescence analysis.     

A large scale test of computational protein design: folding and stability of nine completely redesigned globular proteins

A previously developed computer program for protein design, RosettaDesign, was used to predict low free energy sequences for nine naturally occurring protein backbones. RosettaDesign had no knowledge of the naturally occurring sequences and on average 65% of the residues in the designed sequences differ from wild-type. Synthetic genes for ten completely redesigned proteins were generated, and the proteins were expressed, purified, and then characterized using circular dichroism, chemical and temperature denaturation and NMR experiments. Although high-resolution structures have not yet been determined, eight of these proteins appear to be folded and their circular dichroism spectra are similar to those of their wild-type counterparts. Six of the proteins have stabilities equal to or up to 7kcal/mol greater than their wild-type counterparts, and four of the proteins have NMR spectra consistent with a well-packed, rigid structure. These encouraging results indicate that the computational protein design methods can, with significant reliability, identify amino acid sequences compatible with a target protein backbone.     

Characterization of the impact of alternative splicing on protein dynamics: the cases of glutathione S-transferase and ectodysplasin-A isoforms

Recent studies have shown how alternative splicing (AS), the process by which eukaryotic genes express more than one product, affects protein sequence and structure. However, little information is available on the impact of AS on protein dynamics, a property fundamental for protein function. In this work, we have addressed this issue using molecular dynamics simulations of the isoforms of two model proteins: glutathione S-transferase and ectodysplasin-A. We have found that AS does not have a noticeable impact on global or local structure fluctuations. We have also found that, quite interestingly, AS has a significant effect on the coupling between key structural elements such as surface cavities. Our results provide the first atom-level view of the impact of AS on protein dynamics, as far as we know. They can contribute to refine our present view of the relationship between AS and protein disorder and, more importantly, they reveal how AS may modify structural dynamic couplings in proteins.     

A review of visualisations of protein fold networks and their relationship with sequence and function

Proteins form arguably the most significant link between genotype and phenotype. Understanding the relationship between protein sequence and structure, and applying this knowledge to predict function, is difficult. One way to investigate these relationships is by considering the space of protein folds and how one might move from fold to fold through similarity, or potential evolutionary relationships. The many individual characterisations of fold space presented in the literature can tell us a lot about how well the current Protein Data Bank represents protein fold space, how convergence and divergence may affect protein evolution, how proteins affect the whole of which they are part, and how proteins themselves function. A synthesis of these different approaches and viewpoints seems the most likely way to further our knowledge of protein structure evolution and thus, facilitate improved protein structure design and prediction.     

A solubility-enhancement tag (SET) for NMR studies of poorly behaving proteins

Protein-fusion constructs have been used with great success for enhancing expression of soluble recombinant protein and as tags for affinity purification. Unfortunately the most popular tags, such as GST and MBP, are large, which hinders direct NMR studies of the fusion proteins. Cleavage of the fusion proteins often re-introduces problems with solubility and stability. Here we describe the use of N-terminally fused protein G (B1 domain) as a non-cleavable solubility-enhancement tag (SET) for structure determination of a dimeric protein complex. The SET enhances the solubility and stability of the fusion product dramatically while not interacting directly with the protein of interest. This approach can be used for structural characterization of poorly behaving protein systems, and would be especially useful for structural genomics studies.