植物转录抑制子的结构特征及其作用机理

转录因子依转录调控能力可分为激活子和抑制子。植物转录抑制蛋白的分类依据很多,从作用方式上可分为主动抑制子和被动抑制子两大类：根据与DNA结合的方式则可分为锌指类、MYB类、AP2／EREBP类、bHLH类和bZlP类等。植物主动抑制子通过其含有的抑制域对转录直接起抑制作用。抑制域又可分很多类,但多数为含有类似EAR基序的保守性基序,其上具有几个保守性亮氨酸残基。植物转录抑制子主要通过对激活子或基本转录复合物产生作用及改变染色体结构3种方式来抑制目标基因的转录。有关植物转录抑制子的研究虽很欠缺,但以拟南芥SUPERMAN等抑制子的EAR基序为代表的研究表明,抑制域是阐明植物转录抑制子功能和下游基因表达调控机理的核心对象,而融合抑制子沉默技术（CRES-T）也为人为调控基因沉默带来了新的技术手段。     

siRNA介导的NFBD1表达沉默对HeLa细胞增殖与凋亡的影响

NFBD1,也称MDC1,是1个参与细胞内DNA损伤后细胞应答反应的重要分子．为探讨NFBD1在细胞增殖和凋亡中的作用及其作为分子靶点用于肿瘤治疗的潜在价值,本研究采用siRNA技术抑制NFBD1的表达,并观察了其对人宫颈癌细胞HeLa细胞增殖和细胞凋亡的影响．半定量RT-PCR和蛋白质印迹分析结果表明,筛选到的短链NFBD1 siRNA能有效抑制内源NFBD1的表达,抑制程度约100％．细胞生长曲线分析结果表明,siRNA介导的NFBD1表达沉默导致HeLa细胞生长增殖的显著抑制．FACS分析结果表明,NFBD1表达抑制导致sub-G₁峰的出现,同时蛋白质印迹分析观察到了caspase 3和PARP（poly-ADP-ribose polymerase）的剪接激活,表明NFBD1表达抑制诱发了细胞凋亡．在该凋亡过程中,P-53及其下游靶分子Bax和Puma的表达水平均没有发生明显变化,但Noxa的表达在mRNA和蛋白质水平上均显著上调,强烈提示该凋亡过程很可能是1个不依赖P53的凋亡途径,且Noxa的转录激活在该凋亡过程中可能起着重要作用．这些结果表明,NFBD1参与细胞生长增殖和凋亡的调节,是一个潜在的肿瘤治疗新靶点．     

颗粒裂解肽G13结构域的重组表达及蛋白质结构预测

基因工程构建表达是获得抗菌肽的一种成本较低的方法,本实验人工合成G13结构域编码DNA序列,PCR扩增后,用T-A克隆法与pBAD/TOPO ThioFusion表达载体连接,通过PCR鉴定筛选出正确重组质粒,在大肠杆菌Top10中对目的蛋白进行表达,大肠杆菌工程菌经阿拉伯糖诱导后取样,用SDS-PAGE检测表达情况,采用生物信息学方法对表达蛋白的结构特征进行模拟分析。结果显示：目的蛋白在原核系统中实现了高效表达,表达量高达67%以上,主要以包涵体形式表达。蛋白结构预测结果显示,目的蛋白原有的α螺旋活性结构无改变,从而为抗菌肽高效生产提供了有效可靠的研究途径。     

Lipid droplet proteins and metabolic diseases

Lipid droplets (LDs) are ubiquitous cellular organelles for lipid storage which are composed of a neutral lipid core bounded by a protein decorated phospholipid monolayer. Although lipid storage is their most obvious function, LDs are far from inert as they participate in maintaining lipid homeostasis through lipid synthesis, metabolism, and transportation. Furthermore, they are involved in cell signaling and other molecular events closely associated with human disease such as dyslipidemia, obesity, lipodystrophy, diabetes, fatty liver, atherosclerosis, and others. The last decade has seen a great increase in the attention paid to LD biology. Regardless, many fundamental features of LD biology remain obscure. In this review, we will discuss key aspects of LD biology including their biogenesis, growth and regression. We will also summarize the current knowledge about the role LDs play in human disease, especially from the perspective of the dynamics of the associated proteins. This article is part of a Special issue entitled Cardiac adaptations to obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance, edited by Professors Jan F.C. Glatz, Jason R.B. Dyck and Christine Des Rosiers.     

Structural and Functional Characterisation of a Conserved Archaeal RadA Paralog with Antirecombinase Activity

DNA recombinases (RecA in bacteria, Rad51 in eukarya and RadA in archaea) catalyse strand exchange between homologous DNA molecules, the central reaction of homologous recombination, and are among the most conserved DNA repair proteins known. RecA is the sole protein responsible for this reaction in bacteria, whereas there are several Rad51 paralogs that cooperate to catalyse strand exchange in eukaryotes. All archaea have at least one (and as many as four) RadA paralog, but their function remains unclear. Herein, we show that the three RadA paralogs encoded by the Sulfolobus solfataricus genome are expressed under normal growth conditions and are not UV inducible. We demonstrate that one of these proteins, Sso2452, which is representative of the large archaeal RadC subfamily of archaeal RadA paralogs, functions as an ATPase that binds tightly to single-stranded DNA. However, Sso2452 is not an active recombinase in vitro and inhibits D-loop formation by RadA. We present the high-resolution crystal structure of Sso2452, which reveals key structural differences from the canonical RecA family recombinases that may explain its functional properties. The possible roles of the archaeal RadA paralogs in vivo are discussed.     

人类新基因WDR70的克隆及初步研究

运用基于基因组数据库的特定基因同源新基因的克隆策略得到一个人类新基因WDR70 ,该基因编码一个包含 12个WD4 0结构域的蛋白。WDR70的cDNA序列长 2 2 6 6bp ,预测编码蛋白含 6 30个氨基酸 ,理论分子量为 70× 10 3 u ,染色体定位为 17p13.1。以小鼠胚胎为模型进行整体原位杂交 ,结果显示WDR70基因在 8.5d小鼠胚胎中没有表达 ,而在 9.5d和 10 .5d的小鼠胚胎的脑部有特异表达。由此推断该基因对胚胎期脑部的发育有重要的影响。     

猪瘟病毒E2蛋白A/D抗原区基因在酵母中的分泌表达与鉴定

基于猪瘟病毒主要保护性抗原E2囊膜糖蛋白有两个相对独立的抗原结构单位-B/C抗原区和A/D抗原区,设计一对特异性的引物扩增猪瘟病毒E2蛋白的A/D抗原区基因,并将PCR产物克隆入含有强启动子PAox1和α-MF信号肽序列的巴斯德毕赤酵母表达载体pPICZαC中,构建成重组质粒pPICZα-AD,酶切线性化后电穿孔导入巴斯德毕赤酵母X33菌中,经ZeocinTM筛选得到5株高拷贝转化子,甲醇诱导表达.SDS-PAGE和Westernblot试验表明酵母培养上清液中含有具有良好反应原性的E2蛋白,蛋白表达量达175.8μg/mL.N-糖基化分析显示该表达蛋白在分泌过程中发生糖基化.该研究为研制防治猪瘟的亚单位疫苗与诊断试剂盒奠定基础.