Transgenic Eimeria tenella expressing enhanced yellow fluorescent protein targeted to different cellular compartments stimulated dichotomic immune responses in chickens

Eimeria tenella, one of the seven species of chicken coccidia, elicits protective immunity against challenge infection with both homologous and heterologous strains. We endeavor to use recombinant E. tenella as a vaccine vehicle for expressing and delivering pathogen Ags and investigate immune responses against these foreign Ags. In this study, two lines of transgenic E. tenella expressing a model Ag, enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP), targeted to the micronemes and to the cytoplasm of the recombinant parasites were constructed to study the impact of Ag compartmentalization on immunogenicity. The MTT assay, intracellular cytokine staining, and real-time PCR were performed to detect the EYFP-specific proliferation and effector functions of splenic lymphocytes of immunized chickens. ELISA was used to measure anti-EYFP IgG and IgA responses. The results showed that both lines of transgenic parasites stimulated EYFP-specific lymphocyte proliferation and IFN-γ expression in CD4 and CD8 T cells, whereas a higher level of Ag-specific lymphocyte proliferation was elicited by the transgenic line expressing microneme-targeted EYFP. Furthermore, this line stimulated stronger IgA response than the one expressing cytoplasm-targeted EYFP after the second immunization. Our findings are encouraging for further investigation of the effect of Ag compartmentalization in transgenic Eimeria on immunogenicity and for the development of a eukaryotic vaccine vector using genetically modified Apicomplexa parasites.     

Sloppy bypass of an abasic lesion catalyzed by a Y-family DNA polymerase

DNA damage that eludes cellular repair pathways can arrest the replication machinery and stall the cell cycle. However, this damage can be bypassed by the Y-family DNA polymerases. Here, Dpo4, an archetypal Y-family member from the thermophilic Sulfolobus solfataricus, was used to extend our kinetic studies of the bypass of an abasic site, one of the most mutagenic and ubiquitous cellular lesions. A short oligonucleotide sequencing assay is developed to directly sequence DNA bypass products synthesized by Dpo4. Our results show that incorporation upstream of the abasic lesion is replicated error-free; yet dramatically, once Dpo4 encounters the lesion, synthesis became sloppy, with bypass products containing a myriad of mutagenic events. Incorporation of dAMP (29%) and dCMP (53%) opposite the abasic lesion at 37 degrees C correlates exceptionally well with our kinetic results and demonstrates two dominant bypass pathways via the A-rule and the lesion loop-out mechanism. Interestingly, the percentage of overall frameshift mutations increased from 71 (37 degrees C) to 87% (75 degrees C). Further analysis indicates that lesion bypass via the A-rule is strongly preferred over the lesion loop-out mechanism at higher temperatures and concomitantly reduces the occurrence of "-1 deletion" mutations observed opposite the lesion at lower temperatures. The bypass percentage via the latter pathway is confirmed by an enzymatic digestion assay, verifying the reliability of our sequencing assay. Our results demonstrate that an abasic lesion causes Dpo4 and possibly all Y-family members to switch from a normal to a very mutagenic mode of replication.     

Investigation on PEGylation strategy of recombinant human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist

Although PEGylation is a potential approach to prolong the half-lives and reduce the dosing frequency of therapeutic proteins, conjugation behaviors of polymer have pivotal effects on the remaining bioactivities of the derivatives. In this study, the PEGylation strategy of recombinant human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist was investigated. The random conjugation of polyethylene glycol to amino groups on the protein resulted in a severe loss of activity and only retained 9.8% of the activity. In contrast, the PEGylation at the thiol groups had moderate effects on the bioactivity of protein and 40% of activity was conserved. The results suggested that the thiol-target PEGylation was more beneficial for IL-1ra.     

人脐血间充质干细胞诱导分化为神经细胞的研究

目的探讨体外诱导人脐血间充质干细胞(MSCs)向神经细胞分化的条件,为治疗中枢神经系统损伤提供实用的干细胞来源。方法体外分离、纯化、扩增脐血MSCs,流式细胞仪检测细胞表面标志。采用脑源性神经营养因子BDNF 10ng/ml 维甲酸RA0.5μM 碱性成纤维生长因子bFGF 20ng/ml协同诱导脐血MSCs定向分化。免疫荧光染色检测诱导后细胞的星形胶质细胞特异标志GFAP及神经元特异标志MAP2的表达情况。建立大鼠脊髓横断损伤模型,将BrdU标记的诱导后的细胞移植入损伤的脊髓中,采用BBB运动功能评分标准在术后24h及1、2、3、4、5周各时间点对大鼠进行运动功能评分。用组织学和免疫组化方法检测移植到大鼠脊髓中的BrdU阳性细胞的存活、迁移、分化情况。结果脐血MSCs体外培养三代后,细胞表面CD11b、CD34、CD45和CD44表达阴性。诱导分化7d后,大部分细胞的形态类似神经元,免疫荧光染色检测MAP2阳性细胞占大多数,明显多于GFAP阳性细胞。5周后,细胞移植组大鼠的后肢运动功能恢复情况较对照组好。免疫组织化学结果显示植入的细胞可长时间在宿主脊髓中存活,并向损伤处两端迁移。结论人脐血MSCs于体外在特定的条件下可以诱导分化为神经元样细胞。移植脐血MSCs诱导后的神经细胞可在损伤的脊髓中存活、迁移,并能促进脊髓损伤后行为和功能恢复。     

Arabidopsis BIG1 and BIG5 are crucial for male gametophyte transmission

Arabidopsis contains five Brefeldin Ainhibited guanine nucleotide exchange factors(BIGs),which play a critical role in vesicle biogenesis for protein traffic from the Golgi to the plasma membrane.Biological processes regulated by BIG1-BIG4 are postulated to be distinct from those by BIG5. However, we show that the self-pollinated BIG1+/- big5 silique do not produce homozygous seeds, and some pollen tubes from BIG1+/- big5 anthers grew slowly in vitro and failed to target nearby ovules in vivo. We identified the big1 big5 homozygote from the progeny of BIG1+/- big5 plants transformed with BIG5, whose expression is driven by a pollen-specific promoter p Lat52, indicating that male gametophyte transmission is blocked in the double mutant. Confocal microscopy indicated that BIG1 and BIG5 are co-localized in trans Golgi network. Thus,our data indicate that BIG1 and BIG5 are crucial for male gametophyte transmission.     

Significant contribution of the 3′→5′ exonuclease activity to the high fidelity of nucleotide incorporation catalyzed by human DNA polymerase ?

Most eukaryotic DNA replication is performed by A- and B-family DNA polymerases which possess a faithful polymerase activity that preferentially incorporates correct over incorrect nucleotides. Additionally, many replicative polymerases have an efficient 3′→5′ exonuclease activity that excises misincorporated nucleotides. Together, these activities contribute to overall low polymerase error frequency (one error per 10⁶–10⁸ incorporations) and support faithful eukaryotic genome replication. Eukaryotic DNA polymerase ϵ (Polϵ) is one of three main replicative DNA polymerases for nuclear genomic replication and is responsible for leading strand synthesis. Here, we employed pre-steady-state kinetic methods and determined the overall fidelity of human Polϵ (hPolϵ) by measuring the individual contributions of its polymerase and 3′→5′ exonuclease activities. The polymerase activity of hPolϵ has a high base substitution fidelity (10⁻⁴–10⁻⁷) resulting from large decreases in both nucleotide incorporation rate constants and ground-state binding affinities for incorrect relative to correct nucleotides. The 3′→5′ exonuclease activity of hPolϵ further enhances polymerization fidelity by an unprecedented 3.5 × 10² to 1.2 × 10⁴-fold. The resulting overall fidelity of hPolϵ (10⁻⁶–10⁻¹¹) justifies hPolϵ to be a primary enzyme to replicate human nuclear genome (0.1–1.0 error per round). Consistently, somatic mutations in hPolϵ, which decrease its exonuclease activity, are connected with mutator phenotypes and cancer formation.     

Afatinib induces pro-survival autophagy and increases sensitivity to apoptosis in stem-like HNSCC cells

Afatinib, a second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), exerts its antitumor effects in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) by inducing intrinsic apoptosis through suppression of mTORC1. However, the detailed mechanism and biological significance of afatinib-induced autophagy in HNSCC remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that afatinib induced mTORC1 suppression-mediated autophagy in HNSCC cells. Further mechanistic investigation revealed that afatinib stimulated REDD1-TSC1 signaling, giving rise to mTORC1 inactivation and subsequent autophagy. Moreover, ROS generation elicited by afatinib was responsible for the induction of the REDD1-TSC1-mTORC1 axis. In addition, pharmacological or genetic inhibition of autophagy sensitized HNSCC cells to afatinib-induced apoptosis, demonstrating that afatinib activated pro-survival autophagy in HNSCC cells. Importantly, in vitro and in vivo assays showed that afatinib caused enhanced apoptosis but weaker autophagy in stem-like HNSCC cells constructed by CDH1 knockdown. This suggested that blocking autophagy has the potential to serve as a promising strategy to target HNSCC stem cells. In conclusion, our findings suggested that the combination treatment with afatinib and autophagy inhibitors has the potential to eradicate HNSCC cells, especially cancer stem cells in clinical therapy.Subject terms: Apoptosis, Targeted therapies, Macroautophagy     

CYP1A1 Ile462Val Polymorphism Contributes to Lung Cancer Susceptibility among Lung Squamous Carcinoma and Smokers: A Meta-Analysis

Many studies have examined the association between the CYP1A1 Ile462Val gene polymorphisms and lung cancer risk in various populations, but their results have been inconsistent. To assess this relationship more precisely, a meta-analysis was performed. Ultimately, 43 case-control studies, comprising 19,228 subjects were included. A significantly elevated lung cancer risk was associated with 2 Ile462Val genotype variants (for Val/Val vs Ile/Ile: OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.08–1.40; for (Ile/Val +Val/Val) vs Ile/Ile: OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.07–1.23) in overall population. In the stratified analysis, a significant association was found in Asians, Caucasians and lung SCC, not lung AC and lung SCLC. Additionally, a significant association was found in smoker population and not found in non-smoker populations. This meta-analysis suggests that the Ile462Val polymorphisms of CYP1A1 correlate with increased lung cancer susceptibility in Asian and Caucasian populations and there is an interaction with smoking status, but these associations vary in different histological types of lung caner.