Recent Advances in Understanding Proteins Involved in Lipid Droplet Formation,Growth and Fusion

Lipid droplets （LDs） were once viewed as simple, inert lipid micelles. However, they are now known to be organelles with a rich proteome involved in a myriad of cellular processes. LDs are heterogeneous in nature with different sizes and compositions of phospholipids, neutral lipids and proteins. This review takes a focused look at the roles of proteins involved in the regulation of LD formation, expansion, and morphology. The related proteins are summarized such as the fat-specific protein （Fsp27）, fat storage-inducing trans- membrane （FIT） proteins, seipin and ADP-ribosylation factor 1-coat protein complex I （Arf-COPI）. Finally, we present important challenges in LD biology for a deeper understanding of this dynamic organelle to be achieved.     

人血清蛋白质组学方法的比较和优化

目的:对人未做处理的血清以及去除白蛋白和免疫球蛋白G(IgG)血清的蛋白质组学方法进行比较和优化。方法:应用双向电泳(2-DE)方法分离了未做处理的以及去除白蛋白和免疫球蛋白G(IgG)的血清,比较优化了高温变性、水化液成份组成及泡胀方式等影响血清2-DE分离效果的因素,并用质谱分析鉴定未做处理和已处理血清的2-DE谱图中部分差异蛋白点。结果:得到了分辨率和重复性较好的2-DE谱图,未做处理的血清、去除白蛋白及IgG血清的平均蛋白质点分别为(482±18)个和(523±29)个,质谱分析了9个差异蛋白点,鉴定为8种蛋白质,其中7种为功能蛋白质。仅出现在未做处理血清中的蛋白有4种,分别是维生素A结合蛋白、可溶性尿激酶血纤维蛋白溶酶原激活剂受体、蛋白激酶1抗原、血清白蛋白。4种蛋白仅出现在去除白蛋白和IgG的血清中,分别是NADH脱氢酶辅酶β亚基、肌动蛋白结合蛋白M1、T细胞活性受体β链、血小板生长因子C。结论:去除高丰度蛋白可增加一些低丰度蛋白质的检出,但非特异性吸附会导致部分功能蛋白质的丢失。     

应用PAMAM dendrimers作为DNA运送载体的体外研究

Starburst^TM PAMAM dendrimers分子是一类新型的高分枝、辐射状对称的树状高分子,在生理条件下其表面具有高密度的正电荷,可以通过静电相互作用与核酸形成复合物后,介导遗传物质进入细胞.研究了G3, G3.5, G5, G7, G7.5, G9各代dendrimers分子与DNA结合后介导其转染细胞的能力,并初步评价这种复合物转染对细胞活力的影响.实验证实,全代的PAMAM dendrmers皆可与DNA结合,并可在体外培养的细胞中介导高效的DNA转染.PAMAM dendrimer/DNA复合物很稳定,在较大的pH值变化范围内(pH 2～10)不解离.PAMAM dendrimers可保护与之复合的DNA分子免受限制性内切酶的降解.在一定的电荷比范围内,高代数的dendrimers分子与DNA形成的复合物对培养细胞的转染效率高于低代数dendrimer分子,复合物所介导的转染效率在不同的细胞系之间也有差异.在有效作用浓度范围内（≤1.3×10^-1 g/L）,PAMAM dendrimers/DNA复合物对被转染细胞无毒性.但是,未与DNA复合的dendrimers分子在较低浓度时则表现出毒性,表明Starburst^TM PAMAM dendrimers分子可作为新型的低毒非病毒DNA载体,用于介导DNA对体外培养细胞的转染. 这些前期观察,为将纳米级高分子聚合物dendrimers分子作为基因转运载体应用于体内提供了初步的实验依据.     

High Conformational Variability in the GluK2 Kainate Receptor Ligand-Binding Domain

1. Download high-res image (277KB)
2. Download full-size image

     

Development of a fluorescent probe hydrolysis-insulated isothermal PCR for rapid and sensitive on-site detection of African swine fever virus

Highlights
1. A probe-based insulated isothermal PCR (iiPCR) assay was developed for rapid and onsite detection of ASFV.
2. The developed iiPCR showed similar sensitivity and specificity with OIE recommended real-time PCR.
3. Blood samples could be directly applied as PCR template in iiPCR without DNA extraction.     

急性早幼粒细胞白血病维甲酸耐药性的双向电泳分析

目的:研究急性早幼粒细胞白血病(APL)对全反式维甲酸(ATRA)治疗敏感和耐药患者的外周血淋巴细胞在蛋白质组水平上的差异。方法:采用双向凝胶电泳(2-DE)对敏感和耐药患者的外周血淋巴细胞进行蛋白质组差异分析。结果:ATRA敏感和耐药患者外周血淋巴细胞的2-DE平均蛋白质点分别为(746±57)和(617±41),敏感与耐药患者的2-DE相比,有16个蛋白点表达明显上调,22个明显下调。另有4个蛋白点(Mr/pI:24.6kD/8.05,32.3kD/5.17,22.3kD/6.51,25.1kD/7.09)在敏感患者中特异表达,5个蛋白点(Mr/pI:21.9kD/5.45,23.4kD/6.27,22.9kD/6.65,23.9kD/7.39,24.7kD/7.65)在耐药患者中特异表达。结论:结果提示这些差异表达的蛋白质可能与APL对ATRA耐药的机制有关,该研究有助于揭示APL对ATRA耐药机理和发现新的临床分子标志物。     

CCL5/CCR5 axis promotes the motility of human oral cancer cells

CCL5 (previously called RANTES) is in the CC‐chemokine family and plays a crucial role in the migration and metastasis of human cancer cells. On the other hand, the effect of CCL5 is mediated via CCR receptor. RT‐PCR and flow cytometry studies demonstrated CCR5 but not CCR1 and CCR3 mRNA in oral cancer cell lines, especially higher in those with high invasiveness (SCC4) as compared with lower levels in HSC3 cells and SCC9 cells. Stimulation of oral cancer cells with CCL5 directly increased the migration and metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) production. MMP‐9 small interfering RNA inhibited the CCL5‐induced MMP‐9 expression and thereby significantly inhibited the CCL5‐induced cell migration. Activations of phospholipase C (PLC), protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ), and NF‐κB pathways after CCL5 treatment was demonstrated, and CCL5‐induced expression of MMP‐9 and migration activity was inhibited by the specific inhibitor of PLC, PKCδ, and NF‐κB cascades. In addition, migration‐prone sublines demonstrate that cells with increasing migration ability had more expression of MMP‐9, CCL5, and CCR5. Taken together, these results indicate that CCL5/CCR5 axis enhanced migration of oral cancer cells through the increase of MMP‐9 production. J. Cell. Physiol. 220: 418–426, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Crystal structure of type VI effector Tse1 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The type VI secretion systems (T6SS) have emerging roles in interspecies competition. In order to have an advantage in defense against other organisms, this system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa delivers a peptidoglycan amidase (Tse1) to the periplasmic space of a competitor. An immune protein (Tsi1) is also produced by the bacterium to protect itself from damage caused by Tse1. Tsi1 directly interacts with Tse1. We report that the crystal structure of Tse1 displays a common CHAP protein fold. Strikingly, our structures showed that the third residue in the catalytic triad may be novel as this residue type has not been observed previously.     

The CHD3 remodeler PICKLE associates with genes enriched for trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27

In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler PICKLE (PKL) determines expression of genes associated with developmental identity. PKL promotes the epigenetic mark trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) that facilitates repression of tissue-specific genes in plants. It has previously been proposed that PKL acts indirectly to promote H3K27me3 by promoting expression of the POLYCOMB REPRESSIVE COMPLEX2 complex that generates H3K27me3. We undertook expression and chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses to further characterize the contribution of PKL to gene expression and developmental identity. Our expression data support a critical and specific role for PKL in expression of H3K27me3-enriched loci but do not support a role for PKL in expression of POLYCOMB REPRESSIVE COMPLEX2. Moreover, our chromatin immunoprecipitation data reveal that PKL protein is present at the promoter region of multiple H3K27me3-enriched loci, indicating that PKL directly acts on these loci. In particular, we find that PKL is present at LEAFY COTYLEDON1 and LEAFY COTYLEDON2 during germination, which is when PKL acts to repress these master regulators of embryonic identity. Surprisingly, we also find that PKL is present at the promoters of actively transcribed genes that are ubiquitously expressed such as ACTIN7 and POLYUBIQUITIN10 that do not exhibit PKL-dependent expression. Taken together, our data contravene the previous model of PKL action and instead support a direct role for PKL in determining levels of H3K27me3 at repressed loci. Our data also raise the possibility that PKL facilitates a common chromatin remodeling process that is not restricted to H3K27me3-enriched regions.     

Inhibition of mutation and combating the evolution of antibiotic resistance

The emergence of drug-resistant bacteria poses a serious threat to human health. In the case of several antibiotics, including those of the quinolone and rifamycin classes, bacteria rapidly acquire resistance through mutation of chromosomal genes during therapy. In this work, we show that preventing induction of the SOS response by interfering with the activity of the protease LexA renders pathogenic Escherichia coli unable to evolve resistance in vivo to ciprofloxacin or rifampicin, important quinolone and rifamycin antibiotics. We show in vitro that LexA cleavage is induced during RecBC-mediated repair of ciprofloxacin-mediated DNA damage and that this results in the derepression of the SOS-regulated polymerases Pol II, Pol IV and Pol V, which collaborate to induce resistance-conferring mutations. Our findings indicate that the inhibition of mutation could serve as a novel therapeutic strategy to combat the evolution of antibiotic resistance.