含口蹄疫病毒IRES RNA病毒样颗粒表达载体的构建

利用PCR技术扩增大肠杆菌MS2噬菌体的外壳蛋白和成熟酶蛋白基因,将其克隆到pET32a中构建中间载体pET32a-CP。将FMDV的内部核糖体结合位点（IRES）保守序列连接到中间载体噬菌体基因的下游,构建原核表达载体pCPES。将重组质粒pCPES转化宿主菌BL21(DE3),1 mmol/L IPTG诱导表达。蔗糖密度梯度离心纯化表达产物。透射电镜观察到直径大约26 nm的圆形病毒样颗粒。检测病毒样颗粒的稳定性并进行RT-PCR鉴定。结果表明该病毒样颗粒含口蹄疫病毒IRES RNA序列,并且稳定性良好,本研究构建的病毒样颗粒可以作为RNA病毒检测时的标准品和质控品使用。     

Crystal structure of zinc-finger domain of Nanos and its functional implications

Nanos is an RNA-binding protein that is involved in the development and maintenance of germ cells. In combination with Pumilio, Nanos binds to the 3' untranslated region of a messenger RNA and represses its translation. Nanos has two conserved Cys-Cys-His-Cys zinc-finger motifs that are indispensable for its function. In this study, we have determined the crystal structure of the zinc-finger domain of zebrafish Nanos, for the first time revealing that Nanos adopts a novel zinc-finger structure. In addition, Nanos has a conserved basic surface that is directly involved in RNA binding. Our results provide the structural basis for further studies to clarify Nanos function.     

Transiently expressed short hairpin RNA targeting 126 kDa protein of tobacco mosaic virus interferes with virus infection

RNA-interference (RNAi) silences gene expression by'guiding mRNA degradation in asequence-specific fashion.Small interfering RNA (siRNA),an intermediate of the RNAi pathway,has beenshown to be very effective in inhibiting virus infection in mammalian cells and cultured plant cells.Here,wereport that Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient expression of short hairpin RNA (shRNA) couldinhibit tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) RNA accumulation by targeting the gene encoding the replication-asso-ciated 126 kDa protein in intact plant tissue.Our results indicate that transiently expressed shRNA efficientlyinterfered with TMV infection.The interference observed is sequence-specific,and time-and site-dependent.Transiently expressed shRNA corresponding to the TMV 126 kDa protein gene did not inhibit cucumbermosaic virus (CMV),an unrelated tobamovirus.In order to interfere with TMV accumulation in tobaccoleaves,it is essential for the shRNA constructs to be infiltrated into the same leaves as TMV inoculation.Ourresults support the view that RNAi opens the door for novel therapeutic procedures against virus diseases.We propose that a combination of the RNAi technique and Agrobacterium-mediated transient expressioncould be employed as a potent antiviral treatment in plants.     

Dissecting the multifunctional role of the N‐terminal domain of the Melon necrotic spot virus coat protein in RNA packaging,viral movement and interference with antiviral plant defence

The coat protein (CP) of Melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV) is structurally composed of three major domains. The middle S‐domain builds a robust protein shell around the viral genome, whereas the C‐terminal protruding domain, or P‐domain, is involved in the attachment of virions to the transmission vector. Here, we have shown that the N‐terminal domain, or R‐domain, and the arm region, which connects the R‐domain and S‐domain, are involved in different key steps of the viral cycle, such as cell‐to‐cell movement and the suppression of RNA silencing and pathogenesis through their RNA‐binding capabilities. Deletion mutants revealed that the CP RNA‐binding ability was abolished only after complete, but not partial, deletion of the R‐domain and the arm region. However, a comparison of the apparent dissociation constants for the CP RNA‐binding reaction of several partial deletion mutants showed that the arm region played a more relevant role than the R‐domain in in vitro RNA binding. Similar results were obtained in in vivo assays, although, in this case, full‐length CPs were required to encapsidate full‐length genomes. We also found that the R‐domain carboxyl portion and the arm region were essential for efficient cell‐to‐cell movement, for enhancement of Potato virus X pathogenicity, for suppression of systemic RNA silencing and for binding of small RNAs. Therefore, unlike other carmovirus CPs, the R‐domain and the arm region of MNSV CP have acquired, in addition to other essential functions such as genome binding and encapsidation functions, the ability to suppress RNA silencing by preventing systemic small RNA transport.     

Macro Domain from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) Is an Efficient ADP-ribose Binding Module: CRYSTAL STRUCTURE AND BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES*

The newly emerging Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) encodes the conserved macro domain within non-structural protein 3. However, the precise biochemical function and structure of the macro domain is unclear. Using differential scanning fluorimetry and isothermal titration calorimetry, we characterized the MERS-CoV macro domain as a more efficient adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose binding module than macro domains from other CoVs. Furthermore, the crystal structure of the MERS-CoV macro domain was determined at 1.43-Å resolution in complex with ADP-ribose. Comparison of macro domains from MERS-CoV and other human CoVs revealed structural differences in the α1 helix alters how the conserved Asp-20 interacts with ADP-ribose and may explain the efficient binding of the MERS-CoV macro domain to ADP-ribose. This study provides structural and biophysical bases to further evaluate the role of the MERS-CoV macro domain in the host response via ADP-ribose binding but also as a potential target for drug design.     

RNA干扰技术抑制内源性绿色荧光蛋白的表达

目的建立稳定表达绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)的细胞株;构建短发夹RNA(shRNA)表达质粒并观察其对内源性GFP的抑制作用。方法转染pEGFP-N1至HepG2细胞,利用G418筛选获得稳定表达GFP的细胞株(HepG2.GFP);设计合成针对GFP基因的siRNA对应的DNA片段,插入转录载体pTZU6 1,构建shRNA表达载体pSHGFP,转染HepG2.GFP,荧光显微镜观察细胞荧光强度,以western blot检测GFP蛋白水平,以RT-PCR检测mRNA水平。结果利用PCR方法从HepG2.GFP细胞基因组DNA中检测到GFP基因;pSHGFP能够显著抑制该细胞中GFP的表达。结论GFP基因成功整合至HepG2细胞基因组中,pSHGFP能够显著抑制内源性GFP的表达,该系统能够用于RNA干扰机制等研究中。     

Tethering of proteins to RNAs by bacteriophage proteins

Many steps in the control of gene expression are dependent on RNA-binding proteins, most of which are bi-functional, in as much as they both bind to RNA and interact with other protein partners in a functional complex. A powerful approach to study the functional properties of these proteins in vivo, independently of their RNA-binding ability, is to attach or tether them to specifically engineered reporter mRNAs whose fate can be easily followed. Two tethering systems have been mainly used in eukaryotic cells, namely the MS2 coat protein system and the lambda N-B box system. In this review, we firstly describe several studies in which these tethering systems have been used and provide an overview of these applications. We next describe the major features of these two systems, and, finally, we highlight a number of points that should be considered when designing experiments using this approach.     

Interactions of ribosomal protein L1 with ribosomal and messenger RNAs

The crystal structures of unbound protein L1 and its complexes with ribosomal and messenger RNAs were analyzed. The apparent association rate constants for L1-RNA complexes proved to depend on the conformation of unbound L1. It was suggested that L1 binds to rRNA with a higher affinity than to mRNA, owing to additional interactions between domain II of L1 and the loop rRNA region, which is absent in mRNA. Published in Russian in Molekulyarnaya Biologiya, 2006, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 650–657. The article was translated by the authors.     

翻译和非翻译马铃薯Y病毒外壳蛋白基因介导的抗病性比较

利用RT－PCR方法克隆获得马铃薯Y病毒烟草叶脉坏死株系（PVY^N）的可翻译和不可翻译外壳蛋白（CP）基因,并分别插入pROKⅡ质粒中获得重组双元表达载体。通过根癌农杆菌（Agrobacterium tumefaciens）介导的基因转化方法,将可翻译和不可翻译的PVY^N-CP基因分别导入烟草栽培品种NC89叶片组织中,得到抗卡那霉素的再生植株,对所得到的抗卡那霉素的再生苗进行PCR检测表明,被导入可翻译和不可翻译CP基因的植株分别占卡那霉素抗性植株的95％和98％。攻毒实验表明,两种类型的转基因烟草对PVY^N的抗病性具有相似性,其表现型为：免疫、抗病和感病。免疫型转基因植株的抗病性不受接种物类型及其剂量的影响。Southern印迹杂交结果显示,目的基因已经整合到烟草基因组中。Northern印迹杂交证明,两种类型的CP基因都已在RNA水平上得到了表达,但细胞内RNA的积累量与转基因植株的抗病强度成负相关。Western印迹杂交表明,在表达不可翻译PVY^N－CP基因的转基因植株内 以CP蛋白,而在导入可翻译的PVY^N-CP基因的植株内检测到了CP蛋白,且CP蛋白含量与抗病性不存在正相关。本研究结果证明,表达可翻译与不可翻译PVY^N-CP基因的转基因烟草对PVY^N的抗病性均为RNA介导的抗病性。     

Ⅱ类囊膜病毒膜融合的分子机制

病毒囊膜与宿主细胞膜的膜融合是囊膜病毒入侵的重要过程,病毒囊膜融合糖蛋白的一系列结构变化引发此过程.综述了Ⅱ类囊膜病毒、弹状病毒及疱疹病毒融合蛋白结构与功能研究的最新进展,介绍了软件分析并定位融合蛋白功能区域的方法.Ⅱ类病毒与Ⅰ类病毒融合蛋白的融合前结构不同,但融合后结构(发夹三聚体结构)相似.弹状病毒与疱疹病毒的融合蛋白集合了Ⅰ/Ⅱ类融合蛋白的某些特征,但其结构变化及融合过程各不相同,被归为新型融合蛋白.上述研究为基础设计的以病毒融合过程为靶标的抑制子,可为抗病毒新药的研制提供新思路.     

Kinetic stability and crystal structure of the viral capsid protein SHP

SHP, the capsid-stabilizing protein of lambdoid phage 21, is highly resistant against denaturant-induced unfolding. We demonstrate that this high functional stability of SHP is due to a high kinetic stability with a half-life for unfolding of 25 days at zero denaturant, while the thermodynamic stability is not unusually high. Unfolding experiments demonstrated that the trimeric state (also observed in crystals and present on the phage capsid) of SHP is kinetically stable in solution, while the monomer intermediate unfolds very rapidly. We also determined the crystal structure of trimeric SHP at 1.5A resolution, which was compared to that of its functional homolog gpD. This explains how a tight network of H-bonds rigidifies crucial interpenetrating residues, leading to the observed extremely slow trimer dissociation or denaturation. Taken as a whole, our results provide molecular-level insights into natural strategies to achieve kinetic stability by taking advantage of protein oligomerization. Kinetic stability may be especially needed in phage capsids to allow survival in harsh environments.     

Recognition of diverse RNAs by a single protein structural framework

The coat proteins of different single-strand RNA phages utilize a common structural framework to recognize different RNA targets, making them suitable models for studies of RNA-protein recognition generally, especially for the class of proteins that bind RNA on a beta-sheet surface. Here we show that structurally distinct molecules are capable of satisfying the requirements for binding to Qbeta coat protein. Although the predicted secondary structures of the RNAs differ markedly, we contend that they are approximately equivalent structurally in their complexes with coat protein. Based on our prior observations that the RNA-binding specificities of Qbeta and MS2 coat proteins can be interconverted with as few as one amino acid substitution each, and taking into account details of the structures of complexes of MS2 coat protein with wild-type and aptamer RNAs, we propose a model for the Qbeta coat protein-RNA complex.