NS3 helicase domains involved in infectious intracellular hepatitis C virus particle assembly

A mutation within subdomain 1 of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 helicase (NS3-Q221L) (M. Yi, Y. Ma, J. Yates, and S. M. Lemon, J. Virol. 81:629-638, 2007) rescues a defect in production of infectious virus by an intergenotypic chimeric RNA (HJ3). Although NS3-Gln-221 is highly conserved across HCV genotypes, the Leu-221 substitution had no effect on RNA replication or NS3-associated enzymatic activities. However, while transfection of unmodified HJ3 RNA failed to produce either extracellular or intracellular infectious virus, transfection of HJ3 RNA containing the Q221L substitution (HJ3/QL) resulted in rapid accumulation of intracellular infectious particles with release into extracellular fluids. In the absence of the Q221L mutation, both NS5A and NS3 were recruited to core protein on the surface of lipid droplets, but there was no assembly of core into high-density, rapidly sedimenting particles. Further analysis demonstrated that a Q221N mutation minimally rescued virus production and led to a second-site I399V mutation in subdomain 2 of the helicase. Similarly, I399V alone allowed only low-level virus production and led to selection of an I286V mutation in subdomain 1 of the helicase which fully restored virus production, confirming the involvement of both major helicase subdomains in the assembly process. Thus, multiple mutations in the helicase rescue a defect in an early-intermediate step in virus assembly that follows the recruitment of NS5A to lipid droplets and precedes the formation of dense intracellular viral particles. These data reveal a previously unsuspected role for the NS3 helicase in early virion morphogenesis and provide a new perspective on HCV assembly.     

Salicylic-Acid-Induced Self-excision of the Marker Gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">npt</Emphasis>II from Transgenic Tomato Using the Cre–<Emphasis Type="Italic">loxP</Emphasis> System

The presence of antibiotic-resistant genes in genetically engineered crops together with the target gene has generated a number of environmental and consumer concerns. In order to alleviate public concerns over the safety of food derived from transgenic crops, marker gene elimination is desirable. Marker-free transgenic tomato plants were obtained by using a salicylic-acid-regulated Cre–loxP-mediated site-specific DNA recombination system in which the selectable marker neomycin phosphotransferase nptII and cre genes were flanked by two directly oriented loxP sites. Upon induction by salicylic acid, the cre gene produced a recombinase that eliminated sequences encoding nptII and cre genes, sandwiched by two loxP sites from the tomato genome. Regenerant plants with the Cre–loxP system were obtained by selection on kanamycin media and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening. Transgenic plants were screened for excision by PCR using nptII, cre, and PR-1a promoter primers following treatment with salicylic acid. The footprint of the excision was determined by sequencing the T-DNA borders after a perfect recombination event. The excision efficiency was 38.7%. A new plant transformation vector, pBLNSC (Genbank accession number EU327497), was developed, containing six cloning sites and the self-excision system. This provided an effective approach to eliminate the selectable marker gene from transgenic tomato, thus expediting public acceptance of genetically modified tomato.     

孕激素诱导cyclin G1在小鼠子宫内膜上皮细胞的表达及其对细胞增殖的影响

本文在体外培养条件下研究卵巢激素诱导小鼠子宫内膜上皮细胞cyclin G1的表达及细胞增殖和细胞周期进程的变化,以探讨孕激素依赖的细胞周期调控因子cyclin G1对子宫内膜上皮细胞增殖的负调控作用.原代培养小鼠子宫内膜上皮细胞,待其生长汇合后分为4组:对照组(C组)、雌激素组(E组)、孕激素组(P组)、雌、孕激素共同作用组(EP组).加入相应激素作用24 h后,用细胞免疫化学方法检测各组细胞cyclin G1的表达水平:四甲基偶氮唑蓝(MTT)比色法检测各组细胞活力,间接观察子宫内膜上皮细胞的增殖情况;用流式细胞仪检测分布在细胞周期各时相的子宫内膜上皮细胞所占百分数.细胞免疫化学结果显示,cyclin G1在C组和E组子宫内膜上皮细胞上无明显表达,而在P组和EP组子宫内膜上皮细胞中表达明显,且定位于细胞核内.MTT法结果显示,与C组相比,E组细胞活力明显增高,而P组和EP组的细胞活力均明显下降,表明雌激素能促进子宫内膜上皮细胞增殖,而孕激素则具有抑制子宫内膜上皮细胞增殖的作用.流式细胞术检测显示,与C组相比,E组中处于S期的子宫内膜上皮细胞百分数增多;P组与EP组中处于S期的子宫内膜上皮细胞百分数明显减少,而处于G1期的细胞百分数和G2/M期的细胞百分数则明显增加.上述结果提示,孕激素依赖的cyclin G1可能通过阻滞细胞周期进程来参与孕激素对子宫内膜上皮细胞增殖的负调控作用.     

热休克蛋白60与细胞凋亡

热休克蛋白60(heat shock protein 60, HSP60)是主要存在于线粒体内的分子伴侣蛋白,对于维持线粒体蛋白的正常结构和功能不可或缺.线粒体中的HSP60可作用于凋亡相关因子而抑制线粒体凋亡通路的激活,并且能够减少线粒体产生氧自由基;胞浆中的少量HSP60亦可通过与凋亡相关因子的相互作用等途径抑制细胞凋亡.相反,在某些刺激因素作用下或者HSP60细胞定位异常时,HSP60可产生促凋亡效应.HSP60在细胞凋亡中的双重作用及其对于肿瘤等疾病诊治的意义已引起高度关注.     

层析法去除重组人血清白蛋白干扰素α2b融合蛋白的内毒素

用柱层析方法在生产重组人血清白蛋白干扰素α2b融合蛋白过程中去除产品中的内毒素.所用柱层析组合为Blue-sepharose亲和柱层析、SOURCE 15 ISO疏水柱层析、Q Sepharose F.F.离子交换柱层析、Sephadex G25 Coarse凝胶过滤柱.采用鲎试剂法检测柱层析各阶段得到蛋白中的内毒素含量;并用RP-HPLC方法测定柱层析各阶段得到蛋白的纯度与浓度,求出每毫克蛋白的内毒素含量.结果为每步柱层析过程式均有去除内毒素的作用,最终所得蛋白的内毒素含量降为1 EU/mg,去除率达到99.9%.因而生产重组人血清白蛋白干扰素α2b融合蛋白所用分离纯化柱层析技术在纯化蛋白的同时能有效的去除产品中内毒素,所得产品内毒素的含量远低于药典对注射剂的内毒素含量要求.     

羊草种质资源筛选及RAPD遗传多样性分析

利用大安碱地生态试验站采集的天然羊草种子进行单株培养筛选具有典型表型特征的羊草（Leymus chinensis）个体,通过无性繁殖建立了30个无性株系。RAPD分析结果表明,13个随机引物在30个羊草无性系中共扩增出98条带,其中多态位点为88个,多态位点百分率为89.79%,平均每个引物可扩增出7条带。运用Nei和Shannon多样性指数计算30个羊草无性系的遗传相似性系数,其平均遗传距离为0.3355。应用软件NTSYS对其做聚类分析,以0.65为阈值可将其分为2个类群。     

Identification of tyrosine 972 as a novel site of Jak2 tyrosine kinase phosphorylation and its role in Jak2 activation

Jak2 is a 130 kDa tyrosine kinase that is important in a number of cellular signaling pathways. Its function is intrinsically regulated by the phosphorylation of a handful of its 49 tyrosines. Here, we report that tyrosine 972 (Y972) is a novel site of Jak2 phosphorylation and, hence, autoregulation. Specifically, we found that Y972 is phosphorylated and confirmed that this residue resides on the surface of the protein. Using expression plasmids that expressed either wild-type Jak2 or a full-length Jak2 cDNA containing a single Y972F substitution mutation, we investigated the consequences of losing Y972 phosphorylation on Jak2 function. We determined that the loss of Y972 phosphorylation significantly reduced the levels of both Jak2 total tyrosine phosphorylation and phosphorylation of Y1007/Y1008. Additionally, Y972 phosphorylation was shown to be important for maximal kinase function. Interestingly, in response to classical cytokine activation, the Jak2 Y972F mutant exhibited a moderately impaired level of activation when compared to the wild-type protein. However, when Jak2 was activated via a GPCR ligand, the ability of the Y972F mutant to be activated was completely lost, therefore suggesting a differential role of Y972 in Jak2 activation. Finally, we found that phosphorylation of Y972 enhances Jak2 kinase function via a mechanism that appears to stabilize the active conformation of the protein. Collectively, our results suggest that Y972 is a novel site of Jak2 phosphorylation and plays an important differential role in ligand-dependent Jak2 activation via a mechanism that involves stabilization of the Jak2 active conformation.