Reagentless amperometric immunosensor for human chorionic gonadotrophin based on direct electrochemistry of horseradish peroxidase

A novel amperometric immunosensor for determination of human serum chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) was constructed by immobilization of HCG with titania sol-gel on a glassy carbon electrode and the direct electrochemistry of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled to HCG antibody (HRP-anti-HCG). The morphologies of the HCG membrane were characterized to be chemically clean, porous and homogeneous. HRP-anti-HCG was functionally conjugated with the immobilized HCG after incubation in phosphate buffer (PBS) containing HRP-anti-HCG. A direct electron transfer of HRP with a rate constant of 1.35+/-0.40 s(-1) was observed at the HRP-anti-HCG-HCG/titania sol-gel membrane modified electrode in 0.1 M PBS pH 7.0. With a competitive mechanism the differential pulse voltammetric peak current of the immobilized HRP decreased linearly with an increasing HCG concentration from 2.5 to 12.5 mIU/ml in the incubation solution. The HCG immunosensor showed a detection limit of 1.4 mIU/ml, a good accuracy and acceptable precision and reproducibility with an intra-assay CV of 4.7% at 5.0 mIU/ml and an inter-assay precision of 8.1% obtained at 10 mIU/ml. The biosensor displayed a good stability in a storage period of 30 days.     

SARS病毒核蛋白基因的克隆及其表达研究

从一例输入性传染性非典型性肺炎病人血清中提取病毒RNA,通过RT-PCR方法扩增出SARS病毒核蛋白基因片段,克隆入质粒载体pUCm-T后,进行核苷酸序列的测定及分析,与已公布的SARS病毒基因序列进行比较,证实为SARS冠状病毒核蛋白基因.为了解该病毒核蛋白的抗原特性,将核蛋白基因插入表达载体,构建重组质粒pET28a-SN,转导大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)后,加IPTG诱导表达.产物经SDS-PAGE电泳分析,表达出相对分子量约为50kDa的蛋白,占整个菌体的45%左右.Western-blot分析表明,表达产物仅与SARS阳性病人血清起反应,而与正常血清不起反应.间接ELISA免疫检测,抗原滴度达112500.表明表达的核蛋白为SARS特异性抗原,这为SARS病毒的诊断试剂的研制提供了方便而安全的抗原来源.     

Identification and characterization of antifungal active substances of Streptomyces hygroscopicus BS-112

An antifungal Actinomyces BS-112 strain, with Aspergillus flavus as the target pathogen, was isolated from soil in the forest land of Mountain Tai. This strain showed a strong antagonistic activity against various mold fungi in food and feed. Strain BS-112 was identified as Streptomyces hygroscopicus based on its morphologic, cultural, physiological, biochemical characteristics, cell wall components and 16S rDNA sequence. Four active components were separated and purified from strain BS-112. These four antifungal components were identified as tetrins A and B and tetramycins A and B using spectroscopic analysis including mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Tetrins A and B and tetramycins A and B strongly inhibited the growth of A. flavus, A. alutaceus, A. niger, and A. fumigatus in vitro.     

通气对乳酸发酵过程的影响

对拟干酪乳杆菌发酵产乳酸的过程进行研究,通过改变不同的通气量(不通气、0.1vvm、0.2 vvm、0.5 vvm)确定0.1vvm的通气量最有利于产生乳酸;再通过优化通气策略,在发酵0～15 h不通空气,15～50 h通0.1 vvm空气使得乳酸的产量比全程通0.1 vvm空气又提高了11.7%,同时乳酸产率也提高了16.2%。最后通过对胞内NAD~+、NADH、乳酸脱氢酶和NADH氧化酶活性、以及发酵过程氧化还原电位(Oxidation-reduction potential,ORP)变化进行分析,阐述了通气影响乳酸发酵过程的机理。     

含铬重组液激活部分缺失金属原子簇的钼铁蛋白的研究

棕色固氮菌（Ａｚｏｔｏｂａｃｔｅｒ ｖｉｎｅｌａｎｄｉｉ）固氮酶钼铁蛋白经邻菲口罗啉和Ｏ２ 处理后,变为部分缺失ＦｅＭｏｃｏ 和Ｐ－ｃｌｕｓｔｅｒ的失活蛋白。与由Ｋ２ＣｒＯ４、高柠檬酸铁、Ｎａ２Ｓ和二硫苏糖醇组成的重组液保温后,处理蛋白对乙炔和质子还原的活性都得以显著恢复;然而,它的吸收光谱和圆二色谱虽有明显恢复,但仍与还原钼铁蛋白有所不同。这表明,激活蛋白中也许存在功能与钼铁蛋白相似,而结构则有所差异的含铬（ＣｒＦｅ）蛋白     

猪Ⅱ型圆环病毒浙江株的分离及全基因组结构分析

用PCR方法对从浙江省猪场收集的、以淋巴结肿大和生长迟缓为特征的患猪腹股沟淋巴结进行PCV2检测.将检测为阳性的病料研磨、离心、过滤除菌后,接种PCV-free PK-15细胞进行病毒分离,分离获得3株病毒,命名为HZ0201、HZ0202、NB0301.PK-15细胞增殖所得病毒离心纯化后,在电镜下可观察到直径约为17～20nm,呈二十面体对称的病毒粒子.以组织和病毒的细胞DNA为模板进行PCV2的全基因扩增,测序结果显示,3株病毒分离物全基因序列均由1767bp组成,直接来自病料与细胞分离毒株的核苷酸同源性为100%.基因组内含有11个ORF.通过比较发现,分离毒株与PCV2参考株的同源性介于94.2%～99.7%之间;与PCV1参考株的同源性为77.2%～77.9%.     

9-polylysine protein transduction domain: enhanced penetration efficiency of superoxide dismutase into mammalian cells and skin

Antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), have been considered to have a beneficial effect against various diseases that are mediated by the reactive oxygen species (ROS). Although a variety of modified recombinant antioxidant enzymes have been generated to protect against oxidative stresses, the lack of their transduction ability into cells resulted in a limited ability to detoxify intracellular ROS. To render the SOD enzyme capable of detoxifying intracellular ROS when added extracellularly, cell-permeable recombinant SOD proteins were generated. A human Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) gene was fused with a gene fragment that encodes the 9 amino acids Tat protein transduction domain (RKKRRQRRR) of HIV-1 and lysine rich peptide (KKKKKKKKK) in a bacterial expression vector in order to produce a genetic in-frame Tat-SOD and 9Lys-SOD fusion protein, respectively. The expressed and purified Tat-SOD and 9Lys-SOD fusion proteins can transduce into human fibroblast cells, and they were enzymatically active and stable for 24 h. The cell viability of the fibroblast cells that were treated with paraquat, an intracellular superoxide anion generator, was increased by the transduced Tat-SOD or 9Lys-SOD. The transduction efficacy of 9Lys-SOD was more efficient than that of Tat-SOD. We evaluated the ability of the SOD fusion pmteins to transduce into animal skin. This analysis showed that Tat-SOD and 9Lys-SOD fusion proteins efficiently penetrated into the epidermis as well as the dermis of the subcutaneous layer, when sprayed on mice skin (judged by the immunohistochemistry and specific enzyme activities). The enzymatic activity of the transduced 9Lys-SOD was higher than that of Tat-SOD, indicating that the penetration of 9Lys-SOD was more efficient when put into the skin. These results suggest Tat-SOD and 9Lys-SOD fusion proteins can be used as anti-aging cosmetics, or in protein therapy, for various disorders that are related to this antioxidant enzyme and ROS.     

Detection of an intermediate during the unfolding process of the dimeric ketosteroid isomerase

Failure to detect the intermediate in spite of its existence often leads to the conclusion that two-state transition in the unfolding process of the protein can be justified. In contrast to the previous equilibrium unfolding experiment fitted to a two-state model by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopies, an equilibrium unfolding intermediate of a dimeric ketosteroid isomerase (KSI) could be detected by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and analytical ultracentrifugation. The sizes of KSI were determined to be 18.7A in 0M urea, 17.3A in 5.2M urea, and 25.1A in 7M urea by SAXS. The size of KSI in 5.2M urea was significantly decreased compared with those in 0M and 7M urea, suggesting the existence of a compact intermediate. Sedimentation velocity as obtained by ultracentrifugation confirmed that KSI in 5.2M urea is distinctly different from native and fully-unfolded forms. The sizes measured by pulse field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were consistent with those obtained by SAXS. Discrepancy of equilibrium unfolding studies between size measurement methods and optical spectroscopies might be due to the failure in detecting the intermediate by optical spectroscopic methods. Further characterization of the intermediate using (1)H NMR spectroscopy and Kratky plot supported the existence of a partially-folded form of KSI which is distinct from those of native and fully-unfolded KSIs. Taken together, our results suggest that the formation of a compact intermediate should precede the association of monomers prior to the dimerization process during the folding of KSI.     

Analysis of rhamnolipid biosurfactants by methylene blue complexation

Rhamnolipids, produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, represent an important group of biosurfactants having various industrial, environmental, and medical applications. Current methods for rhamnolipid quantification involve the use of strong hazardous acids/chemicals, indirect measurement of the concentration of sugar moiety, or require the availability of expensive equipment (HPLC-MS). A safer, easier method that measures the whole rhamnolipid molecules would significantly enhance strain selection, metabolic engineering, and process development for economical rhamnolipid production. A semi-quantitative method was reported earlier to differentiate between the rhamnolipid-producing and non-producing strains using agar plates containing methylene blue and cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). In this study, a rapid and simple method for rhamnolipid analysis was developed by systematically investigating the complexation of rhamnolipids and methylene blue, with and without the presence of CTAB. The method relies on measuring the absorbance (at 638 nm) of the rhamnolipid−methylene blue complex that partitions into the chloroform phase. With P. aeruginosa fermentation samples, the applicability of this method was verified by comparison of the analysis results with those obtained from the commonly used anthrone reaction technique.