柔嫩艾美耳球虫HSP基因的克隆、表达及鉴定

为研究柔嫩艾美耳球虫热激蛋白(Heat shock proteins,HSPs)的生物学特性,应用RACE和RT-PCR技术,从柔嫩艾美耳球虫子孢子中首次克隆获得了EtHSP的全长cDNA(GenBank Accession No.FJ911605)。EtHSP包含一个1455 bp的开放阅读框,编码484个氨基酸,预测表达蛋白的分子量大小为53.5 kD。应用Real-time PCR对柔嫩艾美耳球虫不同发育阶段(未孢子化卵囊、孢子化卵囊、子孢子和裂殖子)表达量进行分析,发现该基因在子孢子阶段的表达明显高于其他阶段。同时,构建了原核表达重组质粒pET28a(+)-EtHSP,转化到大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中,经IPTG诱导表达后,对表达产物进行SDS-PAGE及Western blotting分析。结果显示,重组质粒pET28a(+)-EtHSP在大肠杆菌中以包涵体形式表达,经1 mmol/L IPTG诱导6 h后的表达量最高,该蛋白可被抗柔嫩艾美耳球虫的多克隆抗血清识别,表明该蛋白具有较好的反应原性。本研究结果为进一步研究该基因的生物学功能奠定了基础。     

原虫的蛋白质组学研究进展

随着“人类基因组计划”的完成,包括双向电泳和质谱技术的蛋白质组学作为基因组学研究的补充和终点,不断增加我们对基因功能的理解,逐渐成为医学研究的中心。原虫作为医学研究的对象和工具,研究内容十分广泛。本文将从原虫生活史、致病机理、潜在疫苗以及抗药性等方面对原虫的蛋白质组学进行综述。     

力学因素对肝星状细胞转移分化的影响

肝星状细胞(hepatic stellate cells,HSCs)存在于小叶内组织间隙(Disse间隙)内,肝纤维化过程中,肝星状细胞转移分化为纤维化的、具有增殖能力及收缩性的肌成纤维细胞(myofibro-blasts,MFB)。力学微环境的改变在肝星状细胞转移分化中有着非常重要的作用,其中基底的力学性质特别是基底硬度及力学加载对其的影响是研究的热点。该文就HSCs的转移分化、基质硬度和力学加载对其影响、可能的力学影响机制进行全面的综述。     

Mutations in the Catalytic Domain of Human Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) That Allow for Regulated Activity through the Use of Ca2+

Conditionally active proteins regulated by a physiological parameter represent a potential new class of protein therapeutics. By systematically creating point mutations in the catalytic and linker domains of human MMP-1, we generated a protein library amenable to physiological parameter-based screening. Mutants screened for temperature-sensitive activity had mutations clustered at or near amino acids critical for metal binding. One mutant, GVSK (Gly¹⁵⁹ to Val, Ser²⁰⁸ to Lys), contains mutations in regions of the catalytic domain involved in calcium and zinc binding. The in vitro activity of GVSK at 37 °C in high Ca²⁺ (10 mm) was comparable with MMP-1 (wild type), but in low Ca²⁺ (1 mm), there was an over 10-fold loss in activity despite having similar kinetic parameters. Activity decreased over 50% within 15 min and correlated with the degradation of the activated protein, suggesting that GVSK was unstable in low Ca²⁺. Varying the concentration of Zn²⁺ had no effect on GVSK activity in vitro. As compared with MMP-1, GVSK degraded soluble collagen I at the high but not the low Ca²⁺ concentration. In vivo, MMP-1 and GVSK degraded collagen I when perfused in Zucker rat ventral skin and formed higher molecular weight complexes with α2-macroglobulin, an inhibitor of MMPs. In vitro and in vivo complex formation and subsequent enzyme inactivation occurred faster with GVSK, especially at the low Ca²⁺ concentration. These data suggest that the activity of the human MMP-1 mutant GVSK can be regulated by Ca²⁺ both in vitro and in vivo and may represent a novel approach to engineering matrix-remodeling enzymes for therapeutic applications.     

Two Novel Potent α‐Amylase Inhibitors from the Family of Acarviostatins Isolated from the Culture of Streptomyces coelicoflavus ZG0656

Two novel aminooligosaccharides were separated from the culture filtrate of Streptomyces coelicoflavus ZG0656. Their chemical structures were determined by acidic hydrolysis, electrospray‐ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS/MS), and NMR spectroscopy. The compounds were named acarviostatins III0(?1) and III23 according to the nomenclature of this group of metabolites. The two novel acarviostatins were both mixed noncompetitive inhibitors of porcine pancreatic α‐amylase (PPA). The inhibition constants (K_i) for acarviostatins III0(?1) and III23 were 0.009 and 0.026 μM , respectively, 151 and 52 times more potent than acarbose.     

Enhanced secretion of adhesive recognition sequence containing hirudin III mutein in <Emphasis Type="Italic">E. coli</Emphasis>

It has been previously shown that Escherichia coli l-asparaginase II (l-ASP) signal peptide is capable of being utilized to direct extracellular secretion of hirudin III (HV3) in shake flask. In this study HV3 muteins R₃₃G₃₄D₃₅(S₃₆)-HV3 were generated by introduction of adhesive recognition sequence RGD(S) into the non-functional region of HV3. The resultant recombinants were cultivated on 30 l bioreactor scale using l-ASP signal peptide expression system and the optimized fed-batch cultivation was well established. After cultivation for approximately 11 h the secreted product accumulated up to ∼1 g l⁻¹, which means 17-fold increase in productivity compared to initial expression in shake flask. N-terminal analysis, pI measurement, and MALDI mass spectral analysis on mutein R₃₃G₃₄D₃₅S₃₆-HV3 confirmed the authenticity of the product. Compared to wild-type HV3 and R₃₃G₃₄D₃₅HV3, the mutein R₃₃G₃₄D₃₅S₃₆-HV3 exhibits the improved pharmacological activity. Collectively, a novel secretion strategy using l-ASP signal peptide for the rapid, efficient and cost-effective production of HV3 mutein possessing improved pharmacological activity on bioreactor scale has been well established. Using this expression system downstream processing becomes very simple because secreted product is mature, soluble, active, and without N-terminal extension of Met, which is quite critical for most therapeutic protein to reduce the side effect in clinic use. Thus, it provides a promising alternative for extracelluar production of other difficult-to-express protein for biopharmaceutical use.     

聚乳酸微柱阵列型拓扑结构基底上SH-SY5Y细胞VEGF和IL-8的分泌及表达

以紫外光光刻、硅蚀刻及复制模塑技术制备了聚乳酸 (PLLA) 微柱阵列型拓扑结构基底,考察了SH-SY5Y人神经母细胞瘤细胞在拓扑结构基底上的生长及血管内皮生长因子 (VEGF) 和白细胞介素-8 (IL-8) 的分泌及表达。细胞的形态及铺展采用扫描电子显微图像进行分析,细胞在拓扑结构基底上生长24 h后的VEGF及IL-8分泌量采用ELISA进行检测,VEGF及IL-8在mRNA水平的表达量以实时定量PCR进行评价。实验中成功制备了微柱名义直径为2 μm和4 μm、微柱名义间距为2 μm和7 μm的4种拓扑结构基底。研究发现,SH-SY5Y细胞在2-2 μm (微柱名义直径-名义间距)、4-2 μm、4-7 μm拓扑结构基底上的VEGF和/或IL-8分泌量和表达较之PLLA平面基底上相应值出现上调,而在2-7 μm拓扑结构基底上VEGF及IL-8二者均表现出表达和分泌量大幅度和明显的上调。与在PLLA平面基底上相比,SH-SY5Y细胞在拓扑结构基底上表现出细胞形态 (铺展面积及圆度) 的明显变化,细胞VEGF及IL-8分泌量和表达的上调伴随细胞铺展面积的明显降低。结果表明微柱阵列型拓扑结构是影响SH-SY5Y细胞VEGF、IL-8分泌及表达的重要微环境因素,VEGF和IL-8可能构成SH-SY5Y细胞在拓扑结构基底上生长的重要分泌物标志。     

Watching moving images specifically promotes development of medial area of secondary visual cortex in rat

It is generally accepted that the cortex can be divided into numerous regions depending on the type of information each processes, and that specific input is effective in improving the development of related regions. In visual cortex, many subareas are distinguished on the basis of their adequate information. However, whether the development of a subarea can be specifically improved by its particular input is still largely unknown. Here, we show the specific effects of motion information on the development of the medial area of secondary visual cortex (V2M), a subarea associated with processing the movement component of visual information. Although watching a moving or a still image had similar effects in primary visual cortex, the moving image induced multistage development of V2M in dark‐reared rats: both mRNA and protein levels of GluR2 were upregulated, the density and protein content of GluR2‐positive synapses increased, and the spine density and the frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) of pyramidal neurons in Layer 5 were elevated. Our results suggest that rats are able to identify motion information, distribute it to V2M, and then use this input to specifically improve the development of V2M. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 2009     

High glucose upregulates pantothenate kinase 4 (PanK4) and thus affects M2-type pyruvate kinase (Pkm2)

A new Rattus norvegicus PanK gene was isolated by mRNA differential display from high concentration glucose-stimulated rat, which encodes a human PanK4-like protein with KOG2201 and KOG4584 domain. Proteins that interact with rat PanK4 were identified by the application of the yeast two-hybrid system. One of the components, Pkm2, was found to be associated with rat PanK4 and its two domains under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Immunofluorescence staining and confocal scanning experiments showed that PanK4 could transiently co-express with Pkm2 in the cytoplasm of HeLa cell and HEK293T cell. These findings suggest that PanK4 interacts with Pkm2 and thereby may modulate the glucose metabolism through regulating the activity of Pkm2.