Epitope peptides of influenza H3N2 virus neuraminidase gene designed by immunoinformatics

The virus surface protein neuraminidase (NA) is a main subtype-specific antigen in influenza type A viruses. Neuraminidase functions as an enzyme to break the bonds between hemagglutinin (HA) and sialic acid to release newly formed viruses from infected cells. In this study, NA genes from the H3N2 subtype virus were sequenced and NA proteins were screened for B-cell epitopes and assessed based on immunoinformatics. Based on this information, three peptides ES8, RR9, and WK7 (covering amino acid residues 221-228, 292-300, and 383-389, respectively) of the NA protein were selected and synthesized artificially. These peptides were used to immunize New Zealand rabbits subcutaneously to raise antisera. Results showed that these three peptides were capable of eliciting antibodies against H3N2 viruses in a specific and sensitive manner, detected in vitro by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Furthermore, hemadsorption anti-releasing effects occurred in three antisera mixtures at a dilution of 1:40. Alignment using database software showed that amino acid residues in these three epitope peptides were substituted at specific sites in all the NAs sequenced in this study. We suggest that these NA epitope peptides might be used in conjunction with HA proteins as vaccine antigens.     

松江鲈(Trachiderm usfasciatus)髓样分化因子MyD88基因克隆与组织表达分析

髓样分化因子(My D88)是TOLL样受体介导的信号通路中的一个关键接头分子,通过激活核转录因子(nuclear factor-kappa B,NF-κB)而参与机体的先天免疫。克隆了松江鲈的My D88基因(命名为Tf My D88),并对该基因进行了生物信息学和表达模式分析。结果显示,Tf My D88 c DNA序列全长1 555 bp,5'UTR长89 bp,3'UTR长599 bp;开放阅读框长度为867 bp,编码288个氨基酸。SMART软件预测Tf My D88分子的N端为一个保守的死亡结构域(death domain,DD),C端存在典型的TIR(Toll/interleukin-1 receptor)结构域。Tf My D88与其它脊椎动物My D88的氨基酸相似性达57.58%-82.64%,系统进化树分析表明Tf My D88与同属鲈形总目的花鲈和鳜鱼聚在一起,所有鱼类My D88聚为一支。Real-time PCR检测显示Tf My D88广泛表达于松江鲈各组织,但在鳃中的相对表达量最高;其次为脾脏和皮肤。LPS(lipopolysaccharide)刺激后,Tf My D88在松江鲈的血液、肝脏、皮肤、脾脏均出现明显上调。刺激2 h后,在血液Tf My D88表达量升高了近60倍,在皮肤中的表达量也升高了27倍。上述结果表明Tf My D88可能参与松江鲈先天免疫。     

东北大小兴安岭地区梅衣科岛衣类和袋衣类地衣物种多样性

东北大小兴安岭地区是中国地衣的重要分布地之一, 蕴藏着丰富的地衣生物多样性。本研究基于259份标本馆馆藏及采集自东北大小兴安岭31个保护区的新鲜地衣标本, 结合形态学、解剖学、化学和DNA片段的综合分析, 鉴定并报道了该地区梅衣科岛衣类和袋衣类地衣11属31种, 包括环北极成分13种, 东亚成分11种, 世界广布成分3种, 中国特有成分3种, 欧亚成分1种。与之前记录和报道的该地区同类地衣物种组成进行对比, 结果显示隶属于2属的6种地衣在该地区未被重新发现, 表明这些地衣在该地区的分布可能大大萎缩乃至消失, 尤其是属于东亚成分的袋衣属2种: 粉袋衣(Hypogymnia farinacea)和日光山袋衣(H. nikkoensis), 自最初以东北大小兴安岭标本为凭证在中国报道分布后, 30余年未再新增任何标本信息, 日光山袋衣在近期中国大型真菌红色名录评估中被推测处于易危状态。     

一株野生离褶伞菌株的ITS序列分析及其生物学特性的研究

本研究以1株野生离褶伞属真菌为研究对象,通过扩增rD NA-ITS序列并测序分析后确定该野生菌株为暗褐离褶伞(Lyophyllum loricatum)。进一步对该菌株进行生物学特性研究,结果表明,其菌丝可生长温度范围为10~35℃,最适生长温度为25℃,可生长的pH范围为4.0~9.5,最适生长pH为5.5,最适生长碳源为麦芽糖,最适生长氮源为蛋白胨,最适生长因子为肌醇。本研究对暗褐离褶伞菌株的初步探索,为暗褐离褶伞的驯化栽培提供了重要的理论基础。     

Stereoselective pharmacokinetics of diniconazole enantiomers in rabbits

Diniconazole [(E)-(RS)-1-(2,4,-dichlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-yl)pent-1-en-3-ol)] is a potent triazole fungicide. The enantioselective pharmacokinetics of diniconazole enantiomers in rabbits was studied via intravenous (i.v.) injection. The pharmacokinetics and the enantiomer fraction (EF) were determined using normal high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and a cellulose-tris-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)-based chiral stationary phase (CDMPC-CSP). The time-concentration curves in plasma were fitted by a two-compartment open mode. The results showed that the concentration of S-diniconazole in plasma decreased faster than that of R-diniconazole, and EFs increased with time after administration of racemic diniconazole (rac-diniconazole). The R-/S-enantiomer ratio of the area under the time-plasma concentration curve (AUC(0-infinity)) after administration was 1.52. The total plasma clearance value of S-enantiomer was 1.57-fold higher than that of the R-diniconazole. These results indicate substantial stereoselectivity in the kinetics of diniconazole enantiomers in rabbit.     

φC31 integrase and liver-specific regulatory elements confer high-level,long-term expression of firefly luciferase in mouse liver

To improve the efficiency of expression of reporter transgenes delivered by hydrodynamic injection, we generated expression cassettes carrying different liver-specific regulatory elements using the firefly luciferase gene as a reporter. From our studies the human alpha-antitrypsin promoter together with the apolipoprotein E/C-I and albumin enhancer was the combination of choice for prolonged transgene expression, but reporter gene expression in vivo lasted for no more than 7 weeks. Subsequently, phage φC31 integrase was introduced as a potential tool to improve further the efficiency of expression of the delivered transgene. Long-term transgene expression in vivo was achieved by specific integration of the target gene into mouse livers. This study demonstrates the use of a combination of phage φC31 integrase and liver-specific regulatory elements for generation of transgenic mice.     

Expression and Purification of Human Keratinocyte Growth Factor 2 by Fusion with SUMO

Small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) fusion system has been shown to be efficient for enhancing expression and preventing degradation of the target protein. We showed herein that SUMO fusion to human keratinocyte growth factor 2 (hKGF-2) gene was feasible and it significantly enhanced protein expression and its efficiency. The fusion DNA fragment composed of SUMO gene, which was fused to hexahistidine tag, and hKGF-2 gene was amplified by PCR and inserted into the expression vector pET28a to construct the recombinant plasmid, pET28a-SUMO-hKGF-2. The plasmid was then transformed into Escherichia coli Rosetta^TM2(DE3), and the recombinant fusion protein SUMO-hKGF-2 was expressed at 30°C for 6 h, with the induction of IPTG at the final concentration of 0.4 mM. The expression level of the fusion protein was up to 30% of the total cellular protein. The fusion protein was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. After desalting by Sephadex G-25 size exclusion chromatography, the hexahistidine-SUMO-hKGF-2 was digested by SUMO proteases. The recombinant hKGF-2 was purified again with Ni-NTA column and the purity was about 95% with a total yield of 13.9 mg/l culture. The result of mitogenicity assay suggests that the recombinant hKGF-2 can significantly promote the proliferation of normal rat kidney epithelial (NRK-52E) cells. Xiaoping Wu, and Changjun Nie contributed equally to the work.     

Development of a sandwich ELISA for evaluating soluble OX40L (CD252) in human sera of different ages or with Graves' disease

OX40 ligand (CD252), a molecule originally identified as human gp34, is an important costimulatory molecule during immune response. Here, we describe a sandwich ELISA for the detection and quantification of soluble OX40L using anti-OX40L monoclonal antibodies 1G1 and 4C12 as capture and detecting antibody, respectively. With this ELISA, the existence and concentration of soluble forms of OX40L (sOX40L) was demonstrated for the first time. It was found that soluble OX40L is detectable in the sera of elderly persons (above 60 years old) and patients with Graves' disease which has the highest mean serum concentration of sOX40L, suggesting the potential diagnostic significance of sOX40L in the disease. Surprisingly, the quantitation of sOX40L was correlated with the age and among these subjects, those of 70s and 80s have much higher sOX40L concentration than those of 60s.     

新生儿大脑皮质含小白蛋白(Parvalbumin)神经元的免疫组织化学研究

小白蛋白(parvaibumin PV)是一种水溶性低分子量的钙结合蛋白,本实验用免疫疫组化法研究了新生儿大脑皮质含 PV 神经元的分布。PV 阳性神经元为非锥体型,主要分布于中央后回、听皮质及视皮质(17区),在中央前回,wernicke's 区与海马 PV 阳性神经元的数目较少,前额叶很少见到 PV 阳性神经元。在听皮质及中央后回,阳性神经元主要集中于Ⅳ层,少数在Ⅴ、Ⅵ层;在视皮质则分布在Ⅴ、Ⅵ、层及ⅣB 层;wernieke's 区深层(Ⅴ、Ⅵ层)及海马锥体细胞层可见部分阳性神经元。在上述皮质区第Ⅰ层亦可观察到阳性纤维与散在阳性神经元.此外,在中央后回及听皮质的白质内有许多 PV 阳性纤维和终末样结构.