百脉根Rac1蛋白多克隆抗体的制备与应用

Rop基因在豆科植物与根瘤菌共生互作过程中发挥重要作用。该研究以模式豆科植物百脉根根系cDNA为模板,扩增得到百脉根的1个Rop基因（Rac1）,将其连接到原核表达载体pET28a,转化获得Rac1基因的大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）工程菌。优化Rac1蛋白诱导表达条件,亲和吸附法纯化蛋白,制备Rac1多克隆抗体,并应用该抗体检测Rac1过表达转基因植株中Rac1蛋白的表达水平。结果显示：（1）经双酶切和测序鉴定,成功构建pET28a Rac1原核表达载体。（2）Rac1蛋白的最佳诱导表达条件为：IPTG浓度0.1 mmol/L、温度20 ℃、时间6 h,重组蛋白以可溶形式高效表达;纯化的Rac1蛋白经SDS PAGE检测,目的条带大小为25 kD左右,且条带清晰、单一无杂带。（3）Western blotting显示,制备的多克隆抗体能特异识别其对应的抗原,且效价较高。（4）通过农杆菌介导的毛根转化法获得Rac1过表达植株的阳性毛根,提取阳性毛根总蛋白,Western blotting分析显示过表达植株中Rac1蛋白表达量显著高于空载体对照,从翻译水平证实过表达载体构建的有效性。该研究制备的Rac1多克隆抗体能够高效特异地检测来源于百脉根体内的Rac1蛋白,这将为进一步开展Rac1在共生信号转导途径中的生物学功能研究提供有利工具。     

条索状透明质酸在乳腺肿瘤细胞BT549化疗耐药中的作用

目的观察透明质酸的新存在形式——条索状透明质酸在乳腺肿瘤细胞BT549表面的表达情况,探索该结构在BT549细胞耐受紫杉醇杀伤中的作用。方法采用免疫细胞荧光技术观察BT549细胞表面条索状透明质酸的分布情况;分别用流式细胞术和RT—PCR检测透明质酸的条索状结构被破坏前后,紫杉醇诱导的肿瘤细胞凋亡、坏死率的改变以及凋亡相关基因c-junmRNA表达的改变。结果BT549细胞天然表达大量的条索状透明质酸,条索状结构被破坏后,紫杉醇诱导BT549细胞的凋亡和坏死率显著增高（P〈0．05）,凋亡基因c扣n的表达水平也显著增高（P〈0．05）。结论乳腺肿瘤细胞BT-549高表达条索状结构的透明质酸,这种透明质酸的新存在形式可能在BT549细胞耐受紫杉醇的杀伤过程中起到一定的保护作用。     

肿瘤患者CD8+T细胞中CD28表达的研究进展

CD28与B7结合形成的共刺激信号是T细胞激活的第二信号,肿瘤患者CD8^＋T细胞上CD28分子在肿瘤免疫中发挥着重要作用。人体抗肿瘤免疫主要由CD8^＋T细胞介导,根据CD28的表达与否可将CD8^＋T细胞分为细胞毒T细胞（CD8^＋CD28^＋,CTL）和抑制性T细胞（CD8^＋C28^-,Ts）。CTL是体内杀伤肿瘤细胞的主要功能性细胞之一,当该细胞与肿瘤接触时,通过共刺激信号而被激活,发挥其对肿瘤细胞的杀伤作用;Ts在机体的免疫耐受中发挥作用。现就肿瘤患者CD8^＋T细胞上CD28的表达作一综述。     

PVAX-MAGE-1基因疫苗延缓小鼠肝癌细胞H22腹水瘤和实体瘤的生长

为观察重组基因疫苗PVAX-MAGE-1的抑瘤效应,构建黑色素瘤抗原-1(melanoma antigen-1,MAGE-1)真核基因表达载体--PVAX-MAGE-1.以重组质粒免疫C57BL/6小鼠后,ELISA法检测表明,与对照鼠(PVAX-1和生理盐水注射小鼠)比较,免疫小鼠脾淋巴细胞上清液中的细胞因子IL-2和IFN-γ明显升高(P0.05);淋巴细胞-肿瘤细胞混合培养证明,免疫小鼠外周血CD8+T细胞对靶细胞的特异性杀伤作用明显增强(P0.05).体内实验证明,PVAX-MAGE-1免疫C57BL/6小鼠,可显著延缓移植性H22腹水瘤及实体瘤在小鼠体内的生长.实验结果提示,重组基因疫苗PVAX-MAGE-1有明显的延缓肿瘤生长的作用,其抑瘤作用与提高T淋巴细胞IL和IFN表达,增强对肿瘤杀伤作用直接相关.     

Rac1蛋白活化加速缺氧诱导的人血管内皮细胞衰老

为阐明Rac1蛋白在人脐静脉内皮细胞（human umbilical vein endothelial cells,HUVECs）衰老中的作用及分子机制,我们采用持续缺氧的方法诱导内皮细胞衰老,检测缺氧前后内皮细胞衰老标志基因SA-β-Gal和PAI-1的表达、细胞周期分布和细胞增殖情况,同时分析缺氧前后细胞内Rac1蛋白的表达.结果显示,持续缺氧96 h后,HUVECs体积变大,细胞浆内颗粒和空泡增多,SA-β-Gal活性明显增加,PAI-1基因表达升高,细胞发生G1期阻滞,细胞增殖受抑,活化型Rac1蛋白表达上调,提示持续缺氧诱导的内皮细胞衰老可能与Rac1蛋白的活化有关.为进一步明确内皮细胞衰老与Rac1蛋白的关系,应用逆转录病毒将持续活化型Rac1（V12Rac1）和主导抑制型Rac1（N17Rac1）基因分别瞬时感染HUVECs,比较三种HUVECs（HUVECs,V12Rac1-HUVECs,N17Rac1-HUVECs）缺氧后的衰老变化,并分析其下游调控分子--血清反应因子（serum response factor,SRF）的表达和定位变化.研究发现,缺氧培养V12Rac1-HUVECs 48 h即可引起细胞衰老,表现为SA-β-Gal活性明显增加,PAI-1基因表达升高,细胞出现明显的G1期阻滞并且细胞增殖受抑,其改变与缺氧96 h的HUVECs相似;而N17Rac1明显抑制缺氧引起的内皮细胞衰老发生.上述结果说明,Rac1蛋白活化可以加速缺氧诱导的内皮细胞衰老,而抑制Rac1蛋白的活性则可抑制缺氧诱导的内皮细胞衰老.为进一步研究Rac1蛋白引起内皮细胞衰老的机制,通过免疫荧光染色及Western blot分析检测三种细胞缺氧处理后SRF的表达,发现：与HUVECs细胞比较,V12Rac1引起缺氧48 h HUVECs核蛋白中SRF的表达明显下降,SRF入核转位受到明显抑制;而N17Rac1感染后,缺氧HUVECs细胞核蛋白中SRF表达明显增多.上述结果提示：缺氧状态下Rac1蛋白活化能够明显加速HUVECs衰老,而抑制Rac1蛋白活性则明显抑制缺氧诱导的HUVECs衰老,SRF蛋白的核转位活化参与了Rac1蛋白调控HUVECs衰老的发生.     

采用sPD-1协同4-1BBL进行肿瘤免疫基因治疗的研究

目的 探讨采用sPD-1协同4-1 BBL进行肿瘤免疫基因治疗的效果及相关的免疫学机制.方法 以不同剂量的H22肝癌细胞接种于BALB/c小鼠右后腿肌肉内,建立小鼠肿瘤模型;采用可溶性PD-1 （sPD-1）和4-1 BBL真核表达质粒体内转染进行基因治疗;观察接种不同剂量肿瘤细胞、不同治疗时间小鼠的成瘤率及肿瘤治疗效果;RT-PCR检测肿瘤微环境中免疫调控相关基因的表达;组织切片检测肿瘤细胞浸润肌肉组织的组织学变化;流式细胞仪检测脾脏细胞毒性T细胞（CTLs）的杀瘤效率.结果 转染4-1 BBL/sPD-1基因治疗后,接种低剂量（1 × 104个/ml） H22肿瘤细胞的小鼠肿瘤生长完全受到抑制;接种高剂量（1×105个/ml） H22肿瘤细胞的小鼠肿瘤也受到显著抑制.通过延长基因治疗,荷瘤小鼠的成瘤率随着治疗时间的延长逐渐递减,至8周时成瘤率为0;基因治疗不仅促进IFN-γ和IL-2基因表达上调,而且也使TGF-p、IL-10的表达下调;瘤组织中CD8＋ T淋巴细胞数量增多和脾淋巴细胞的杀瘤效率显著增加.结论 利用体内存在的少量肿瘤可作为抗原刺激淋巴细胞的激活;基因治疗适用于对手术、化疗、放疗后体内残存的少量肿瘤细胞的清除;当体内存在大量肿瘤细胞时,适当延长基因治疗时间可获得较好的治疗效果.     

Rac1、Rac2参与调节人单核细胞趋化和NADPH氧化酶活性

为了探讨小分子GTP酶蛋白Rac1和Rac2在人单核细胞中趋化迁移以及还原型辅酶II（NADPH）氧化酶活性中的作用,采用小分子干扰siRNA对人单核细胞中RAC1、RAC2分别进行特异性抑制,采用实时定量PCR技术、免疫印迹技术在RNA和蛋白质水平上确认抑制效果,使用甲酰三肽(formyl-met-leu-phe,fMLP)、人单核细胞趋化因子（monocyte chemoattractant protein-1,MCP-1）诱导单核细胞趋化;用血清调理的酵母多糖（serum opsonized zymosan,ZOP)、佛波酯（phosphomolybdic acid, PMA）激活单核细胞NADPH氧化酶活性,诱导活性氧(Reactive oxygen species, ROS)产生,以此对Rac1和Rac2作用进行研究. 结果表明,小分子干扰siRNA能够在mRNA水平和蛋白质水平分别有效抑制目的基因表达;使用Chamber assay方法发现,仅Rac1参与了fMLP、MCP-1诱导的人单核细胞趋化. Rac激活实验确证,Rac1参与MCP-1诱导的趋化;细胞色素C还原法表明,Rac1和Rac2均参与PMA和ZOP诱导人单核细胞ROS生成. 在人单核细胞中,RAC1和RAC2基因沉默模型的成功建立以及初步研究显示,Rac1和Rac2的不同作用结果将为深入研究它们在人单核细胞中的功能奠定了良好基础.     

干扰素刺激基因IFIT1抑制蓝舌病病毒的复制

为了研究干扰素刺激基因1(Interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 1,IFIT1)在蓝舌病病毒1型（Bluetongue virus serotype 1,BTV1）感染复制过程中的作用，首先利用实时定量PCR检测到BTV1感染绵羊睾丸细胞后IFIT1基因的转录水平明显升高，利用RT-PCR方法扩增获得羊IFIT1基因，测序后进行生物信息学分析，将其克隆到质粒载体pcDNA3.1/（+）上，构建重组表达质粒pcDNA3.1-OV-IFIT1，将其转染BHK-21细胞，观察到IFIT1基因在细胞内的成功表达，然后利用BTV1感染质粒pcDNA3.1-OV-IFIT1转染的细胞，从病毒的mRNA转录、蛋白表达和病毒滴度的变化评价IFIT1对BTV1复制的影响。结果显示，IFIT1在细胞中的过表达可显著抑制BTV1复制，相反，敲低IFIT1的表达可促进BTV1的复制。本研究首次报道了干扰素刺激基因IFIT1在BTV1感染复制过程中的作用，这将有助于揭示BTV1和宿主细胞IFIT1的相互作用机制，同时也为抗病毒药物研发...     

脂蟾毒配基诱导人肝癌细胞凋亡作用的研究

目的 通过体外脂蟾毒配基对人肝癌细胞（Bel7402）的凋亡诱导作用,为研究其抑制肿瘤细胞生长的作用机制提供依据。方法 通过应用流式细胞光度术检测细胞凋亡;采用细胞免疫细胞化学显色检测和Western blotting分析凋亡相关基因蛋白的表达来研究脂蟾毒配基对人肝癌细胞（Bel7402）凋亡的诱导作用。结果 表明脂蟾毒配基能够诱导Bel7402细胞发生凋亡,凋亡率大于50%;脂蟾毒配基提取液(浓度1.0 μm）作用于Bel7402细胞24小时后,bc1-2蛋白的表达下调,到48、72小时后下调更明显;而Bax蛋白的表达从24小时后开始上调,到48、72小时后表达上调明显。使用方差分析法与对照组相比较,P<0.05 ,统计学有显著意义。结论 提示诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡可能是脂蟾毒配基抑制、杀伤人肝癌细胞的机制之一。     

Tiaml和Rac1在皮肤血管瘤组织中的表达及意义

目的 探讨Tiaml和Rac1在人皮肤血管瘤组织中的表达及其临床意义.方法 收集武汉大学人民医院病理科2008年-2011年皮肤毛细血管瘤存档蜡块40例,其中男性15例,女性25例.采用免疫组织化学S-P法检测40例皮肤血管瘤增生期、退化期及正常皮肤组织Tiaml和Rac1表达水平,采用HPIAS-1000图文报告管理系统对Tiaml和Rac1的表达进行定量分析,并用SPSS11.5软件对各组免疫组织化学反应阳性颗粒的平均光密度、阳性面积率做单因素方差分析和SNK（q）检验.结果 （1）增生期血管瘤血管内皮细胞中可见密集分布的棕黄色颗粒,Tiaml呈高表达,正常皮肤组及退化组血管内皮细胞中可见少量的棕黄色颗粒,Tiaml呈低表达.增生期组Tiaml的表达明显高于退化期组和正常皮肤组（P〈0.05）,而后两组比较差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）.（2）增生期血管瘤血管内皮细胞中可见密集分布的棕黄色颗粒,Rac1呈高表达,正常皮肤组及退化组血管内皮细胞中可见少量的棕黄色颗粒,Rac1呈低表达.增生期组Rac1的表达明显高于退化期组和正常皮肤组（P〈0.05）,而后两组比较差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）.结论 Tiaml和Rac1在血管瘤增生期均呈高表达,表明Tiaml和Rac1在血管瘤的发生和发展中起了重要作用.     

Prevalence of Heterotypic Tumor/Immune Cell-In-Cell Structure In Vitro and In Vivo Leading to Formation of Aneuploidy

Cell-in-cell structures refer to a unique phenomenon that one living cell enters into another living cell intactly, occurring between homotypic tumor cells or tumor (or other tissue cells) and immune cells (named as heterotypic cell-in-cell structure). In the present study, through a large scale of survey we observed that heterotypic cell-in-cell structure formation occurred commonly in vitro with host cells derived from different human carcinomas as well as xenotypic mouse tumor cell lines. Most of the lineages of human immune cells, including T, B, NK cells, monocytes as well as in vitro activated LAK cells, were able to invade tumor cell lines. Poorly differentiated stem cells were capable of internalizing immune cells as well. More significantly, heterotypic tumor/immune cell-in-cell structures were observed in a higher frequency in tumor-derived tissues than those in adjacent tissues. In mouse hepatitis models, heterotypic immune cell/hepatocyte cell-in-cell structures were also formed in a higher frequency than in normal controls. After in vitro culture, different forms of internalized immune cells in heterotypic cell-in-cell structures were observed, with one or multiple immune cells inside host cells undergoing resting, degradation or mitosis. More strikingly, some internalized immune cells penetrated directly into the nucleus of target cells. Multinuclear cells with aneuploid nucleus were formed in target tumor cells after internalizing immune cells as well as in situ tumor regions. Therefore, with the prevalence of heterotypic cell-in-cell structures observed, we suggest that shielding of immune cells inside tumor or inflammatory tissue cells implies the formation of aneuploidy with the increased multinucleation as well as fine-tuning of microenvironment under pathological status, which may define distinct mechanisms to influence the etiology and progress of tumors.     

Modeling cell-in-cell structure into its biological significance

Although cell-in-cell structure was noted 100 years ago, the molecular mechanisms of ‘entering'' and the destination of cell-in-cell remain largely unclear. It takes place among the same type of cells (homotypic cell-in-cell) or different types of cells (heterotypic cell-in-cell). Cell-in-cell formation affects both effector cells and their host cells in multiple aspects, while cell-in-cell death is under more intensive investigation. Given that cell-in-cell has an important role in maintaining homeostasis, aberrant cell-in-cell process contributes to the etiopathology in humans. Indeed, cell-in-cell is observed in many pathological processes of human diseases. In this review, we intend to discuss the biological models of cell-in-cell structures under physiological and pathological status.     

Competition between human cells by entosis

Human carcinomas are comprised of complex mixtures of tumor cells that are known to compete indirectly for nutrients and growth factors. Whether tumor cells could also compete directly, for example by elimination of rivals, is not known. Here we show that human cells can directly compete by a mechanism of engulfment called entosis. By entosis, cells are engulfed, or cannibalized while alive, and subsequently undergo cell death. We find that the identity of engulfing (“winner”) and engulfed (“loser”) cells is dictated by mechanical deformability controlled by RhoA and actomyosin, where tumor cells with high deformability preferentially engulf and outcompete neighboring cells with low deformability in heterogeneous populations. We further find that activated Kras and Rac signaling impart winner status to cells by downregulating contractile myosin, allowing for the internalization of neighboring cells that eventually undergo cell death. Finally, we compute the energy landscape of cell-in-cell formation, demonstrating that a mechanical differential between winner and loser cells is required for entosis to proceed. These data define a mechanism of competition in mammalian cells that occurs in human tumors.     

Rac3, but not Rac1, promotes ox-LDL induced endothelial dysfunction by downregulating autophagy

The endothelial dysfunction induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, which can lead to oxidative stress and inflammation. The role of autophagy in the process of atherosclerosis has drawn increasing attention. The human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), whose Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1) and Rac3 was knockdown, were used to detect whether the possible molecular mechanisms of Rac1 and Rac3 for anti-inflammatory in endothelial cells was effected by downregulation of autophagy. The HUVECs were incubated with ox-LDL. The inflammatory factors and autophagy proteins were evaluated to ascertain and compare the effect of Rac1 and Rac3 on autophagy. Then, 3-methyladenine (3-MA) as an inhibiter of autophagy was used to detect whether the effect of Rac1 and Rac3 was related to autophagy. ox-LDL-induced cell dysfunction in HUVECs was determined by testing the formation of foam cells, the expression of nuclear factor (NF)-κB and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 and NF-κB p65 and other inflammatory factors, the release of reactive oxygen species by oxidative stress and the dysfunction of the cytomembrane. And ApoE^−/− mice on a high-fat diet were used as an animal model to detect the effect of Rac1 and Rac3 in vivo. The results showed that when Rac1 and Rac3 were decreased in HUVECs, the cell dysfunction caused by ox-LDL was inhibited. If 3-MA was used to inhibit autophagy in Rac1 and Rac3 knockdown cells, the injury induced by ox-LDL on the cells was recovered. These results indicated that the effect of Rac1 and Rac3 was combined with ox-LDL, which was related to inhibition of autophagy. The effect of Rac3 was more significant than that of Rac1.     

Activation of H-Ras and Rac1 correlates with epidermal growth factor-induced invasion in Hs578T and MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cells

There is considerable experimental evidence that hyperactive Ras proteins promote breast cancer growth and development including invasiveness, despite the low frequency of mutated forms of Ras in breast cancer. We have previously shown that H-Ras, but not N-Ras, induces an invasive phenotype mediated by small GTPase Rac1 in MCF10A human breast epithelial cells. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) plays an important role in aberrant growth and metastasis formation of many tumor types including breast cancer. The present study aims to investigate the correlation between EGF-induced invasiveness and Ras activation in four widely used breast cancer cell lines. Upon EGF stimulation, invasive abilities and H-Ras activation were significantly increased in Hs578T and MDA-MB-231 cell lines, but not in MDA-MB-453 and T47D cell lines. Using small interfering RNA (siRNA) to target H-Ras, we showed a crucial role of H-Ras in the invasive phenotype induced by EGF in Hs578T and MDA-MB-231 cells. Moreover, siRNA-knockdown of Rac1 significantly inhibited the EGF-induced invasiveness in these cells. Taken together, this study characterized human breast cancer cell lines with regard to the relationship between H-Ras activation and the invasive phenotype induced by EGF. Our data demonstrate that the activation of H-Ras and the downstream molecule Rac1 correlates with EGF-induced breast cancer cell invasion, providing important information on the regulation of malignant progression in mammary carcinoma cells.     

Rac1 activation driven by 14-3-3ζ dimerization promotes prostate cancer cell-matrix interactions, motility and transendothelial migration

14-3-3 proteins are ubiquitously expressed dimeric adaptor proteins that have emerged as key mediators of many cell signaling pathways in multiple cell types. Its effects are mainly mediated by binding to selective phosphoserine/threonine proteins. The importance of 14-3-3 proteins in cancer have only started to become apparent and its exact role in cancer progression as well as the mechanisms by which 14-3-3 proteins mediate cancer cell function remain unknown. While protein 14-3-3σ is widely accepted as a tumor suppressor, 14-3-3ζ, β and γ isoforms have been shown to have tumor promoting effects. Despite the importance of 14-3-3 family in mediating various cell processes, the exact role and mechanism of 14-3-3ζ remain unexplored. In the current study, we investigated the role of protein 14-3-3ζ in prostate cancer cell motility and transendothelial migration using biochemical, molecular biology and electric cell-substrate impedance sensing approaches as well as cell based functional assays. Our study indicated that expression with wild-type protein 14-3-3ζ significantly enhanced Rac activity in PC3 cells. In contrast, expression of dimer-resistant mutant of protein 14-3-3ζ (DM-14-3-3) inhibited Rac activity and associated phosphorylation of p21 activated kinase-1 and 2. Expression with wild-type 14-3-3ζ or constitutively active Rac1 enhanced extracellular matrix recognition, lamellipodia formation, cell migration and trans-endothelial migration by PC3 cells. In contrast, expression with DM 14-3-3ζ or DN-Rac1 in PC3 cells significantly inhibited these cell functions. Our results demonstrate for the first time that 14-3-3ζ enhances prostate cancer cell-matrix interactions, motility and transendothelial migration in vitro via activation of Rac1-GTPase and is an important target for therapeutic interventions for prostate cancer.     

A non-genetic route to aneuploidy in human cancers

Aneuploidy is common in human tumours and is often indicative of aggressive disease. Aneuploidy can result from cytokinesis failure, which produces binucleate cells that generate aneuploid offspring with subsequent divisions. In cancers, disruption of cytokinesis is known to result from genetic perturbations to mitotic pathways or checkpoints. Here we describe a non-genetic mechanism of cytokinesis failure that occurs as a direct result of cell-in-cell formation by entosis. Live cells internalized by entosis, which can persist through the cell cycle of host cells, disrupt formation of the contractile ring during host cell division. As a result, cytokinesis frequently fails, generating binucleate cells that produce aneuploid cell lineages. In human breast tumours, multinucleation is associated with cell-in-cell structures. These data define a previously unknown mechanism of cytokinesis failure and aneuploid cell formation that operates in human cancers.