2D differential in-gel electrophoresis for the identification of esophageal scans cell cancer-specific protein markers

The reproducibility of conventional two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis can be improved using differential in-gel electrophoresis (DIGE), a new emerging technology for proteomic analysis. In DIGE, two pools of proteins are labeled with 1-(5-carboxypentyl)-1'-propylindocarbocyanine halide (Cy3) N-hydroxy-succinimidyl ester and 1-(5-carboxypentyl)-1'-methylindodi-carbocyanine halide (Cy5) N-hydroxysuccinimidyl ester fluorescent dyes, respectively. The labeled proteins are mixed and separated in the same 2D gel. 2D DIGE was applied to quantify the differences in protein expression between laser capture microdissection-procured esophageal carcinoma cells and normal epithelial cells and to define cancer-specific and normal-specific protein markers. Analysis of the 2D images from protein lysates of approximately 250,000 cancer cells and normal cells identified 1038 protein spots in cancer cell lysates and 1088 protein spots in normal cell lysates. Of the detected proteins, 58 spots were up-regulated by >3-fold and 107 were down-regulated by >3-fold in cancer cells. In addition to previously identified down-regulated protein annexin I, tumor rejection antigen (gp96) was found up-regulated in esophageal squamous cell cancer. Global quantification of protein expression between laser capture-microdissected patient-matched cancer cells and normal cells using 2D DIGE in combination with mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for the molecular characterization of cancer progression and identification of cancer-specific protein markers.     

Neutralization of acidic residues in helix II stabilizes the folded conformation of acyl carrier protein and variably alters its function with different enzymes

Acyl carrier protein (ACP), a small protein essential for bacterial growth and pathogenesis, interacts with diverse enzymes during the biosynthesis of fatty acids, phospholipids, and other specialized products such as lipid A. NMR and hydrodynamic studies have previously shown that divalent cations stabilize native helical ACP conformation by binding to conserved acidic residues at two sites (A and B) at either end of the "recognition" helix II. To examine the roles of these amino acids in ACP structure and function, site-directed mutagenesis was used to replace individual site A (Asp-30, Asp-35, Asp-38) and site B (Glu-47, Glu-53, Asp-56) residues in recombinant Vibrio harveyi ACP with the corresponding amides, along with combined mutations at each site (SA, SB) or both sites (SA/SB). Like native V. harveyi ACP, all individual mutants were unfolded at neutral pH but adopted a helical conformation in the presence of millimolar Mg(2+) or upon fatty acylation. Mg(2+) binding to sites A or B independently stabilized native ACP conformation, whereas mutant SA/SB was folded in the absence of Mg(2+), suggesting that charge neutralization is largely responsible for ACP stabilization by divalent cations. Asp-35 in site A was critical for holo-ACP synthase activity, while acyl-ACP synthetase and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase (LpxA) activities were more affected by mutations in site B. Both sites were required for fatty acid synthase activity. Overall, our results indicate that divalent cation binding site mutations have predicted effects on ACP conformation but unpredicted and variable consequences on ACP function with different enzymes.     

Yeast two hybrid analyses reveal novel binary interactions between human cytomegalovirus-encoded virion proteins

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the largest human herpesvirus and its virion contains many viral encoded proteins found in the capsid, tegument, and envelope. In this study, we carried out a yeast two-hybrid (YTH) analysis to study potential binary interactions among 56 HCMV-encoded virion proteins. We have tested more than 3,500 pairwise combinations for binary interactions in the YTH analysis, and identified 79 potential interactions that involve 37 proteins. Forty five of the 79 interactions were also identified in human cells expressing the viral proteins by co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) experiments. To our knowledge, 58 of the 79 interactions revealed by YTH analysis, including those 24 that were also identified in co-IP experiments, have not been reported before. Novel potential interactions were found between viral capsid proteins and tegument proteins, between tegument proteins, between tegument proteins and envelope proteins, and between envelope proteins. Furthermore, both the YTH and co-IP experiments have identified 9, 7, and 5 interactions that were involved with UL25, UL24, and UL89, respectively, suggesting that these "hub" proteins may function as the organizing centers for connecting multiple virion proteins in the mature virion and for recruiting other virion proteins during virion maturation and assembly. Our study provides a framework to study potential interactions between HCMV proteins and investigate the roles of protein-protein interactions in HCMV virion formation or maturation process.     

慢性低O_2高CO_2性肺动脉高压大鼠脑超微结构改变与MDA、SOD变化及培哚普利的治疗作用

目的 :探讨慢性低O2 高CO2 时神经元线粒体及髓鞘的改变与氧自由基的变化关系及培哚普利的治疗作用。方法 :采用慢性低O2 高CO2 肺动脉高压模型 ,应用培哚普利治疗 ,电镜观察大鼠脑超微结构并测定MDA和SOD。结果 :观察到脑血管内皮细胞锯齿状突起 ,管腔狭窄 ,神经元线粒体空泡变及髓鞘分层断裂 ,测得实验大鼠MDA升高 ,SOD降低 ,用药组大鼠脑血管和神经元结构损害明显减轻。结论 :提示慢性低O2 高CO2 时神经元线粒体及髓鞘改变与MDA升高有关 ,培哚普利对慢性低O2 高CO2 时脑损害有保护作用。     

~（60）Co－γ射线诱变钝顶螺旋藻的研究

用不同剂量的６０Ｃｏ－γ射线诱变钝顶螺旋藻Ｓｐｉｒｕｌｉｎａｐｌａｔｅｎｓｉｓ出发株（Ｓｐ）ＩＳ－９００１０,筛选获得两株抗高光抑制突变株（Ｓｐ）ＡＩｐ－９００１０和（Ｓｐ）ＡＩｐ－９００１１,然后比较出发株和突变株的一般形态和生理生化特性。出发株和突变株的一般形态有较大的差异,与出发株相比,两个突变株藻丝体显著变短,螺旋数目大大减小。出发株是对高光敏感的品系,而突变株表现明显的抗高光抑制,１３０００ｌｘ光强下出发株和两个突变株的代时分别为２９．４、２０．８和２２．２ｈ。（Ｓｐ）ＡＩｐ－９００１１的光合作用和呼吸作用与出发株相似,而（Ｓｐ）ＡＩｐ－９００１０明显地表现出高光合、低呼吸作用。突变株和出发株都属于中温品系,最适温度为２８℃,具有较广的温度适应范围（２３～３５℃）以及相同的耐盐性,但突变株的生长速率比出发株快、代时短。此外三者的蛋白质含量、氨基酸组成差别不大：（Ｓｐ）ＡＩｐ－９００１１的可溶性多糖比出发株减少４０％。而在（Ｓｐ）ＡＩｐ－９００１０中其含量提高６０％。     

Pretreatment with recombinant bovine somatotropin enhances the superovulatory response to FSH in heifers

One of the primary limiting factors to superovulation and embryo transfer in cattle has been the large variability in response, both between and within animals. It appears that the primary source of this problem is the variability in the population of gonadotropin-responsive follicles present in ovaries at the time of stimulation. We have shown that treatment of heifers with recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbGH) increases the number of small antral follicles (2 to 5 mm) and, therefore, enhances the subsequent superovulatory response to eCG. To investigate further the potential of using this approach to improve superovulatory regimens in cattle, the effect of rbGH pretreatment on the response to pituitary FSH was studied. The estrous cycles of 16 heifers were synchronized using PGF2alpha. On Day 7 of the synchronized cycle, half of the animals were injected with 320 mg sustained-release formulated rbGH, while the other half received 10 ml saline. Five days later, all heifers were given a decreasing-dose regimen of twice daily injections of oFSH for 4 d, incorporating an injection of PGF2alpha with the fifth FSH treatment, to induce superovulation. All animals were artificially inseminated twice with semen from the same bull during estrus. Ova/embryos were recovered nonsurgically on Days 6 to 8 of the following estrous cycle, and the ovulation rate assessed on Day 9 by laparoscopy. Using the same animals as described above, the experiment was repeated twice, 3 and 6 mo later, with no laparoscopy in the third experiment. The animals were randomized both between experiments and for the day of ova/embryo collection. Pretreatment of heifers with rbGH significantly (P < 0.01) increased the number of ovulations, total number of ova/embryos recovered and the number of transferable embryos. The percentage of transferable embryos was significantly (P < 0.05) increased by rbGH pretreatment. In addition, the incidence (2/16) of follicular cysts with a poor ovulatory response (< 6 ovulations) for the rbGH-pretreated heifers was significantly lower (P < 0.05) when compared with the incidence (7/16) in the control animals. It is concluded that pretreatment with rbGH may provide a useful approach for improving superovulatory response in cattle.     

Effect of Protease Inhibitors on Early Events of Apoptosis

Proteolysis is an early event of apoptosis which appears to be associated with activation of the endonuclease which is responsible for internucleosomal DNA cleavage. The present study was designed to reveal the possible role of proteolysis in other early events, such as chromatin condensation, nuclear breakdown, and destabilization ofin situDNA double-stranded structure. Apoptosis of human leukemic HL-60 cells and rat thymocytes was induced by different agents, including DNA topoisomerase inhibitors, an RNA antimetabolite, and the glucocorticosteroid, prednisolone. DNA degradation was evaluated by pulsed field and conventional gel electrophoresis and by the presence ofin situDNA strand breaks. DNA stability was estimated by the measure of its sensitivityin situto denaturation. Chromatin condensation, nuclear breakdown, and other morphological changes were monitored by interference contrast and UV microscopy following cell staining with the DNA-specific fluorochrome 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. Several irreversible or reversible serine protease inhibitors prevented internucleosomal DNA degradation, nuclear breakdown, and destabilization of DNA double-stranded structure. The effective inhibitors, however, did not prevent the onset of chromatin condensation, nor the loss of the fine structural framework, nor the initial step of DNA cleavage generating DNA fragments of ≥50 kb in size. The data indicate that in both cell systems the activity of proteases sensitive to the inhibitors tested is needed for internucleosomal DNA cleavage to occur. The data also suggest that these proteases may be involved in dissolution of the nuclear envelope. Because nuclear matrix proteins and histones stabilize DNAin situ,and the decrease in DNA stability which occurs during apoptosis is precluded by the inhibitors, it is likely that serine proteases may degrade DNA stabilizing proteins. The activity of these proteases, however, appears needed neither for DNA cleavage to ≥50-kb fragments nor for the onset of chromatin condensation which is associated with dissolution of the structural framework of the nucleus.     

钙对生长素诱导的玉米胚芽鞘切段延长生长的影响

１０μｇ／ｇ的ＩＡＡ溶液强烈地促进玉米胚芽鞘切段的延长生长和质子分泌,但这两种效应的启动时间有别．Ｃａ２＋在高浓度下（２—５ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ）强烈抑制ＩＡＡ诱导的延长生长,但在低浓度下（０．５ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ）则有轻微的促进作用．ＩＡＡ增大质膜相对透性,而Ｃａ２＋则有稳定膜的作用,且适宜的浓度较低（０．５ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ）．