Cloning of cDNAs from a mammalian expression library by a direct selection-amplification method

A sensitive method was devised for cloning cDNAs from a mammalian expression library based on singlecell detection and selection of transfected cells. The method is applicable for cloning cell-surface or cytoplasmic proteins for which a detection assay, such as immunofluorescence or immunohistochemical reactivity, exists. The widely used eukaryotic expression vector cdm8 is utilized, and the method is demonstrated using the gene for C-CAM, a liver glycoprotein adhesion molecule. After transfection, cells are plated out on a collagen gel substrate to allow retrieval of selected cells. Simultaneous fixation and permeabilization with acetone permits immunological and histochemical detection of cell-surface and cytoplasmic proteins without loss of plasmid vector. Inserts of interest are recovered by PCR with vector primers. The first two authors contributed equally to this work.     

食管癌细胞抗失巢凋亡基因UBCH7的发现与鉴定

失巢凋亡(Anoikis)是细胞失去与细胞外基质(Extra-cellular matrix,ECM)粘附时发生的特殊形式的凋亡,是机体维持组织稳态的关键机制之一。抗失巢凋亡能力的获得是肿瘤细胞发生远处转移的前提条件之一。为了鉴定与食管癌细胞抗失巢凋亡相关的基因,文章首先构建食管癌细胞系的逆转录病毒文库,感染对失巢凋亡敏感的NIH3T3细胞,利用感染病毒cDNA文库的混合细胞系进行软琼脂集落形成实验,挑取在悬浮条件下仍可生长成为较大集落的细胞单克隆(潜在具有抗失巢凋亡能力的细胞),通过逆转录病毒载体特异的引物PCR扩增失巢凋亡抗性克隆基因组中的插入cDNA片段,以此获得食管癌细胞系cDNA文库中潜在的具有失巢凋亡抗性的基因。经测序发现其中一个失巢凋亡克隆中整合的cDNA片段包括人UBCH7/UBE2L3基因全长的编码序列(开放阅读框)。利用携带pMSCV-UBCH7的逆转录病毒感染NIH3T3细胞进行验证,结果显示细胞失巢凋亡抗性增强,并且在具有高转移潜能的食管癌细胞系MLuC1中降调UBCH7表达可减弱其失巢凋亡抗性。这些结果表明,UBCH7/UBE2L3是一个与食管癌失巢凋亡抗性相关的基因。     

Feasibility of ex vivo gene therapy for neurological disorders using the new retroviral vector GCDNsap packaged in the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein

Neuronal progenitor cells (NPC) are particularly suited as the target population for genetic and cellular therapy of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease or stroke. However, genetic modification of these cells using retroviral vectors remains a great challenge because of the low transduction rate and the need for fetal calf serum (FCS) during the transduction process that induces the cell differentiation to mature neurons. To overcome these problems, we developed a new retrovirus production system in which the simplified retroviral vector GCDNsap engineered to be resistant to denovo methylation was packaged in the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (VSV-G), concentrated by centrifugation, and resuspended in serum-free medium (StemPro-34 SFM). In transduction experiments using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as a marker, the concentrated FCS-free virus supernatant infected NPC at a high rate, while maintaining the ability of these cells to self-renew and differentiate in vitro. When such cells were grafted into mouse brains, EGFP-expressing NPC were detected in the region around the injection site at 8 weeks post transplantation. These findings suggest that the gene transfer system described here may provide a useful tool to genetically modify NPC for treatments of neurological disorders.     

食管癌细胞抗失巢凋亡基因UBCH7的发现与鉴定

失巢凋亡(Anoikis)是细胞失去与细胞外基质(Extra-cellular matrix, ECM)粘附时发生的特殊形式的凋亡, 是机体维持组织稳态的关键机制之一。抗失巢凋亡能力的获得是肿瘤细胞发生远处转移的前提条件之一。为了鉴定与食管癌细胞抗失巢凋亡相关的基因, 文章首先构建食管癌细胞系的逆转录病毒文库, 感染对失巢凋亡敏感的NIH3T3细胞, 利用感染病毒cDNA文库的混合细胞系进行软琼脂集落形成实验, 挑取在悬浮条件下仍可生长成为较大集落的细胞单克隆(潜在具有抗失巢凋亡能力的细胞), 通过逆转录病毒载体特异的引物PCR扩增失巢凋亡抗性克隆基因组中的插入cDNA片段, 以此获得食管癌细胞系cDNA文库中潜在的具有失巢凋亡抗性的基因。经测序发现其中一个失巢凋亡克隆中整合的cDNA片段包括人UBCH7/UBE2L3基因全长的编码序列(开放阅读框)。利用携带pMSCV-UBCH7的逆转录病毒感染NIH3T3细胞进行验证, 结果显示细胞失巢凋亡抗性增强, 并且在具有高转移潜能的食管癌细胞系MLuC1中降调UBCH7表达可减弱其失巢凋亡抗性。这些结果表明, UBCH7/UBE2L3是一个与食管癌失巢凋亡抗性相关的基因。     

利用SMART方法快速克隆异黄酮代谢途径多基因的研究

采用改进的酸酚法提取高质量的大豆叶片RNA,利用SMART思想和方法构建大豆叶片全长cDNA文库,直接以一级库液稀释液为模版进行PCR,快速克隆得到异黄酮代谢途径相关的5个基因。与传统的从DNA、RNA出发克隆基因,以及构建文库再进行基因筛选的克隆方法相比,该方法得到的基因均为全长基因,适用于快速、简便的进行多基因全长克隆。     

Targeted vectors for gene therapy of cancer and retroviral infections

Gene therapy has developed to a technology which rapidly moved from the laboratory bench to the bedside in the clinic. This implies safe, efficient and targeted gene transfer systems for suitable application to the patient. Beside the development of such gene transfer vectors of viral or nonviral origin, improvement of cell type specific and inducible gene expression is pivotal for successful gene therapy leading to targeted gene action. Numerous gene therapy approaches for treatment of cancer and retroviral infections utilize cell type specific and/or regulatable promoter and enhancer sequences for the selective expression of therapeutic genes in the desired cell populations and tissues. In this article the recent developments and the potential of expression targeting are reviewed for gene therapy approaches of cancer and retroviral infections.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel V-ATPase associated protein, DVA9.2, from human dendritic cells

The vacuolar proton-ATPase (V-ATPase) is a ubiquitous ATP-driven H(+) transporter that functions in numerous cell processes. Accumulating evidence shows important roles of V-ATPase in tumor metastasis and antigen presentation of dendritic cells (DC). A novel V-ATPase associated protein, designated as DVA9.2 (dendritic cell-derived V-ATPase associated protein of 9.2 kDa), has been identified from a human DC cDNA library by large-scale random sequencing. Full length cDNA of DVA9.2 encodes an 81-residue protein that shares 70-80% homology with human V-ATPase subunit M9.2. Distant relationship is also found with Vma21p, a yeast protein required for V-ATPase assembly. DVA9.2 contains a conserved domain, ATP synthase subunit H (pafm05493), and two membrane-spanning helices. DVA9.2 mRNA is detectable in several human tumor cell lines as well as some human normal cells and tissues. Moreover, the inducible expression of DVA9.2 mRNA in DC during maturation is observed. DVA9.2 displays integration with membrane and main localization in lysosome, endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi-associated organelles, only less at the plasma membrane. In addition, DVA9.2 is co-localized with V(0)-sector subunit a. Silencing of DVA9.2 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) does not affect the V-ATPase activity in cell membrane fractions or attenuate the migration and invasion in breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. These results indicate that DVA9.2, as a novel V-ATPase-associated protein, is not essential for the activity of V-ATPase complex and may be involved in functions of DC.     

用限制性cDNA文库制作K562细胞基因表达谱芯片探针

以人红白血病K562细胞为材料,应用限制性显示PCR（RD-PCR）技术构建cDNA文库,该文库通过PCR引物3′端延伸两个不同碱基形成136对引物对cDNA进行限制性扩增,得到136组不同的PCR扩增产物,纯化后与载体连接并转化细菌,即为限制性cDNA文库,根据不同的分组进行克隆的鉴定和分离。并进行大量扩增制备cDNA芯片探针,该方法构建的文库因经过了限制性分组扩增,每组均含有特定的cDNA,因而大大加快了随后克隆的分离 和鉴定的速度,为基因芯片探针制备提供了一个新方法。     

用RACE结合cDNA文库筛选的方法获取新的锌指蛋白基因

大多数有重要功能的蛋白质都含相应的由保守氨基酸顺序组成的功能结构域。本文首先根据蛋白质功能结构域保守氨基酸序列设计简并引物,用PCR方法扩增出基因EST序列,再利用改进的快速扩增cDNA末端（RACE）方法从cDNA文库中扩增出基因非同源部位,然后以非同源序列为探针,筛选cDNA文库。利用此方法成功地从人骨髓cDNA文库中克隆到几个编码锌指蛋白并代表原有EST的新的全长cDNA。这一策略也应适用于筛选编码具有其他序列保守性功能结构域蛋白的基因。Abstract:Most of the important functionally proteins contain the corresponding function domains that consist of conserved amino acid sequences.The study provided a method to identify novel genes that encode proteins containing important functionally domains with conserved sequences.First,primers were designed according to the sequence of the cDNA library vector and the ESTs that have been obtained by reverse PCR and degenerate primers encoding Zinc finger domain.The cDNA library DNA was used as template for PCR amplification.The amplified fragment that contains nonhomologous sequences of the cDNA was inserted into pGEM-T easy vector.The fragment was recovered and used as a probe for screening the cDNA library.Several cDNAs with full length that encode proteins with Zinc finger domain and represent the original ESTs have been successfully cloned from a human bone marrow cDNA library.This strategy can also be used in screening genes that encode proteins containing differential function domains with conserved sequences.     

凡纳滨对虾ANT2 基因的克隆及低温表达谱分析

为研究凡纳滨对虾适应低温的分子机理, 实验对从低温处理凡纳滨对虾抑制性消减文库中筛选出的一个360 bp EST 序列进行了研究。首先, 同源比对显示该EST 片段与其他物种的ANT2 基因高度同源, 命名为凡纳滨对虾ANT2 基因(LVANT2); 其次, 通过构建凡纳滨对虾肝胰腺全长cDNA 文库, PCR 扩增获得LVANT2 基因的全长cDNA1540 bp, 其中包括1011 bp 的完整开放阅读框, 编码336 个氨基酸残基。然后, 对基因进行了不同组织和低温处理的表达谱分析: (1)组织表达谱的结果显示, 该基因在凡纳滨对虾肌肉组织中表达量最高; (2)在不同低温处理下的表达结果显示, 该基因在15℃处理下基因表达量发生显著变化, 13℃开始呈下调表达, 11℃时表达量又升高; 13℃低温处理不同时间发现该基因在12h 内表达量发生显著变化,48h 后表达量最高。LVANT2 基因的低温诱导表达模式说明其可能在凡纳滨对虾低温适应中发挥作用     

DSN Depletion is a Simple Method to Remove Selected Transcripts from cDNA Populations

A novel DSN-depletion method allows elimination of selected sequences from full-length-enriched cDNA libraries. Depleted cDNA can be applied for subsequent EST sequencing, expression cloning, and functional screening approaches. The method employs specific features of the kamchatka crab duplex-specific nuclease (DSN). This thermostable enzyme is specific for double-stranded (ds) DNA, and is thus used for selective degradation of ds DNA in complex nucleic acids. DSN depletion is performed prior to library cloning, and includes the following steps: target cDNA is mixed with excess driver DNA (representing fragments of the genes to be eliminated), denatured, and allowed to hybridize. During hybridization, driver molecules form hybrids with the target sequences, leading to their removal from the ss DNA fraction. Next, the ds DNA fraction is hydrolyzed by DSN, and the ss fraction is amplified using long-distance PCR. DSN depletion has been tested in model experiments. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A new approach for the detection of multiple protein kinases using monoclonal antibodies directed to the highly conserved region of protein kinases

To explore the protein kinase family enzymes expressed in cells, we attempted to generate antibodies that could detect a wide variety of protein kinases. For the production of such antibodies, synthetic peptides corresponding to amino acid sequences of a highly conserved subdomain (subdomain VIB) of the protein kinase family were used for immunization. Among the various peptide antigens, a peptide with 16 amino acids, CVVHRDLKPENLLLAS, effectively produced polyclonal antibodies with broad cross-reactivities to protein kinases. Two monoclonal antibodies, designated M8C and M1C, detected a variety of protein kinases such as calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV, cAMP-dependent protein kinase, and mitogen-activated protein kinases, on Western blotting. The antibodies also immunoprecipitated various protein kinases in cell extracts. Furthermore, these antibodies could be used for detection of positive clones in the expression cloning of various protein kinases. Among 39 positive clones obtained from mouse brain cDNA library, 36 clones were identified as cDNA clones for various known and novel protein serine/threonine kinases, suggesting that the antibodies reacted highly specifically with various protein kinases. These results indicate that the present monoclonal antibodies directed to multiple protein kinases will be a powerful tool for the detection of a variety of known and novel protein kinases in cells.     

阿霉素肾病大鼠肌肉和静脉注射心钠素基因利尿作用的比较研究

为探讨心钠素基因经体细胞转移对阿霉素诱导的肾病动物泌尿功能的影响及其治疗肾病的潜力,采用肌肉或静脉内直接注射裸DNA的方法,将人心钠素基因的逆转录病毒载体分别导入阿霉素肾病动物体内,以期为其提供持续性的心钠素来源。结果发现,人心钠素基因经肌肉和静脉内直接注射这2 种途径导入后,均可使阿霉素肾病动物的尿量/体重比明显增加,有效利尿作用时间大于15d。试验期间,实验组肾病动物的体重明显增长,血浆中的心钠素浓度在基因转移5d 后明显升高,但动物尿中的K⁺和Na⁺浓度无明显变化。以上结果说明,心钠素基因经肌肉和静脉2 种途径导入均可明显改善肾病动物的泌尿功能,具有治疗肾病的潜力。     

人白细胞介素－2基因在人骨肉瘤细胞系内表达

从pHIG53质粒内切下人白细胞介素-2(IL-2)cDNA基因, 并经中间质粒pSP72转换成与pDOR-neo载体相匹配的酶切位点, 然后将IL-2cDNA定向连接入pDOR-neo载体, 构建成功人IL-2逆转录病毒载体, 经脂质体导入人骨肉瘤细胞系Ma中, 经G418筛选后测转基因肿瘤细胞培养上清中IL-2表达量, 每1×10⁵细胞24hIL-2表达量为50～800U, 为骨肉瘤的基因治疗创造条件.