双剪接型2.2kb乙型肝炎病毒基因组剪接变异体编码蛋白可反式激活GAL4反应元件

为研究双剪接型2.2kb乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)基因组剪接变异体特异性新蛋白—yTPds的功能,以酵母双杂交系统的诱饵质粒pGBKT7克隆yTPds基因并转化酵母细胞AH109获得相应重组子,滤纸法及液相分析法测酵母转化子内β-半乳糖苷酶(-βgal)的活性,证实yTPds蛋白可反式激活酵母GAL4反应元件(GAL4 responsive ele-ment)。在此基础上,为进一步探讨该蛋白反式激活作用的功能区域,以pGBKT7分段克隆yTPds基因,分别编码yTPds蛋白N端47个氨基酸(yTPds-N47)、N端75个氨基酸(yTPds-N75)、中部28个氨基酸(yTPds-M28)、C端92个氨基酸(yTPds-C92)、C端64个氨基酸(yTPds-C64)以及去除中部28个氨基酸的融合蛋白(yTPds-Fusion)。各重组载体转化酵母细胞AH109获得相应转化子。滤纸法定性检测酵母转化子内-βgal活性,结果显示yTPds-N75、yTPds-M28、yTPds-C92蛋白可反式激活GAL4反应元件,液相分析法显示酵母转化子内-βgal活性强弱为yTPds-M28>yTPds-N75>yTPds-C92>yTPds,提示yTPds蛋白反式激活作用的功能区域是其中部28个氨基酸,该区域对应于HBV preS1蛋白反式激活功能域。此研究证实双剪接型2.2kb乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)基因组剪接变异体特异性新蛋白具有反式激活作用,提示其可能具有重要的致病意义。     

Lysosome-associated protein 1 (LAMP-1) and Lysosome-associated protein 2 (LAMP-2) in a larger family carrier of Fabry disease

This study investigated the potential relationship between the expression levels of lysosome-associated membrane proteins (LAMP) 1 and 2 and responses to enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in the members of a single family with Fabry disease (FD). LAMP levels were assessed by flow cytometry in leukocytes from 17 FD patients who received an eight-month course of ERT course and 101 healthy individuals. We found that phagocytic cells from the FD patients had higher expression levels of both LAMP-1 and LAMP-2, relative to the levels in phagocytes from the healthy controls (p = 0.001). Furthermore, the LAMP-1 and LAMP-2 levels in phagocytes from the FD carriers continuously decreased with ERT administration to reach levels similar to those in healthy controls. We suggest that LAMP-1 and LAMP-2 could be used as additional markers with which to assess ERT effectiveness in FD.     

Monoubiquitination-dependent chromatin loading of FancD2 in silkworms, a species lacking the FA core complex

The Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway is required for activation and operation of the DNA interstrand cross-link (ICL) repair pathway, although the precise mechanism of the FA pathway remains largely unknown. A critical step in the FA pathway is the monoubiquitination of FANCD2 catalyzed by a FA core complex. This modification appears to allow FANCD2 to coordinate ICL repair with other DNA repair proteins on chromatin. Silkworm, Bombyx mori, lacks apparent homologues of the FA core complex. However, BmFancD2 and BmFancI, the putative substrates of the complex, and BmFancL, the putative catalytic E3 ubiquitin ligase, are conserved. Here, we report that the silkworm FancD2 is monoubiquitinated depending on FancI and FancL, and stabilized on chromatin, following MMC treatment. A substitution of BmFancD2 at lysine 519 to arginine abolishes the monoubiquitination, but not the interaction between the FancD2 and FancI. In addition, we demonstrated that depletion of BmFancD2, BmFancI or BmFancL had effects on cell proliferation in the presence of MMC. These results suggest that the FA pathway in B. mori works in the same manner as that in vertebrates.