信号肽和辅助性T细胞表位增强HBV核心抗原DNA疫苗诱导的免疫应答

为增强HBVDNA疫苗的免疫效率 ,于HBV核心抗原 (HBcAg)基因 5′末端引入人IL 2信号肽和一个通用型辅助性T淋巴细胞表位基因 ,并构建成DNA疫苗 ,转染COS7细胞后经ELISA检测出分泌型HBcAg。通过肌肉注射途径分别将这种DNA疫苗和编码天然HBcAg的DNA疫苗免疫BALB/c小鼠 ,检测小鼠的血清抗体、T细胞增殖和细胞毒性T淋巴细胞反应 ,结果表明前者诱导细胞和体液免疫应答的强度均明显超过后者 ,且更趋向于T辅助细胞 1(Th1)型免疫应答 ,故其对慢性HBV感染的治疗可能有潜在的应用价值     

Discovery of novel scaffolds for γ-secretase modulators without an arylimidazole moiety

Gamma-secretase modulators (GSMs) selectively inhibit the production of amyloid-β 42 (Aβ42) and may therefore be useful in the management of Alzheimer’s disease. Most heterocyclic GSMs that are not derived from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs contain an arylimidazole moiety that potentially inhibits cytochrome P450 (CYP) activity. Here, we discovered imidazopyridine derivatives that represent a new class of scaffold for GSMs, which do not have a strongly basic end group such as arylimidazole. High-throughput screening identified 2-methyl-8-[(2-methylbenzyl)oxy]-3-(pyridin-4-yl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine (3a), which inhibited the cellular production of Aβ42 (IC₅₀?=?7.1?µM) without changing total production of Aβ. Structural optimization of this series of compounds identified 5-[8-(benzyloxy)-2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl]-2-ethylisoindolin-1-one (3m) as a potent inhibitor of Aβ42 (IC₅₀?=?0.39?µM) but not CYP3A4. Further, 3m demonstrated a sustained pharmacokinetic profile in mice and sufficiently penetrated the brain.     

Toll样受体(TLRs)的信号转导与免疫调节

Toll样受体(Toll-like receptors,TLRs)是进化中比较保守的一个受体家族,至少包括10个成员.TLRs能特异地识别病原相关的分子模式(PAMPs),不仅在激活天然免疫中发挥重要的作用,而且还调节获得性免疫,是连接天然免疫和获得性免疫的桥梁.近年来,TLRs信号转导的研究,特别是在负调控研究领域,进展非常迅速.对TLRs信号通路新进展以及TLRs在抗感染免疫中的作用进行了综述.     

抗菌肽VIP在毕赤酵母中的高效表达及鉴定

基于人抗菌肽VIP(Vasoactive intestinal peptide)基因序列,按照毕赤酵母密码子偏好性设计引物;用SOE-PCR法扩增目的基因;然后将目的基因克隆至毕赤酵母分泌型表达载体pPICZαA上,构建VIP分泌表达菌株GS115-p PICZαA-vip。用甲醇诱导96 h收集上清,用质谱进行鉴定,结果显示分泌表达产物与人抗菌肽VIP理论值(3 326.82 Da)完全一致,表明人抗菌肽VIP成功得到分泌表达。琼脂糖凝胶扩散法实验结果显示,重组VIP对大肠杆菌Escherichia coli ATCC25922和金黄色葡萄球菌Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923都有很强的抗菌活性,MIC(Minimal inhibitory concentration)分别为8 mmol/L和16 mmol/L。进一步细胞毒性和溶血性实验结果显示,重组VIP对正常细胞NCM460和IPEC-J2没有毒性,其对SD大鼠红细胞不具有溶血活性。通过透射电镜观察了VIP的抗菌机制,结果显示VIP主要通过破坏细胞膜的方式抑杀细菌。本研究为人抗菌肽VIP的开发应用和大量生产奠定了基础。     

特异腐质霉角质酶-锚定肽融合蛋白的特性及在处理再生纸胶黏物中的应用

随着森林木材资源的减少,废纸回收利用越来越受到人们的重视.然而,废纸回收利用过程中产生的胶黏物会对再生纸的生产造成严重影响.生物法控制胶黏物主要是通过酶断裂胶黏物组分之间的酯键,防止胶黏物的絮凝,具有高效、专一、无污染等优势.角质酶是一种丝氨酸酯酶,可降解胶黏物中的部分成分.相关研究表明,锚定肽tachystatin ...     

Calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity in airway epithelial cells of the human fetus and infant

Summary Calcitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactive cells were identified within the epithelium of distal conducting airways in the human fetus and infant. Several peptides and amines, including calcitonin, have been identified previously within a specific population of airway epithelial cells. These cells, referred to as pulmonary neuroendocrine cells, are postulated to be airway chemoreceptors responsible for changes in ventilation and perfusion in response to changes in airway gas composition. Calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactive cells could be identified throughout the period of development studies (20 weeks gestation to 3 months of age), but were present in only limited numbers in less than 50% of individuals (n=23). In contrast, large numbers of calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactive cells were identified in 100% of infants (1–3 months, n=5) with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The differential processing of mRNA transcribed from the calcitonin gene in neural and non-neural tissue suggests that calcitonin, rather than calcitonin gene-related peptide, is the primary product of translation in pulmonary neuroendocrine cells. However, considering the potent vasodilatory and bronchoconstrictive effects of calcitonin gene-related peptide, its presence in pulmonary neuroendocrine cells, even in small amounts, may be important in controlling pulmonary vaso- and/or bronchomotor tone. The presence of large numbers of calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactive cells in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia suggests that calcitonin gene-related peptide may be one further agent contributing to the pulmonary pathophysiology seen in this disease.     

Design and synthesis of plant cyclopeptide Astin C analogues and investigation of their immunosuppressive activity

To further investigate on the structure-activity relationships of immunosuppressive Astin C, seventeen analogues 1–17 were designed and synthetized via amino acid substitution strategy by the solid-phase peptide synthesis method for the first time. In comparison with Astin C (IC₅₀?=?12.6?±?3.3?μM), only compounds 2 (IC₅₀?=?38.4?±?16.2?μM), 4 (IC₅₀?=?51.8?±?12.7?μM), 5 (IC₅₀?=?65.2?±?15.6?μM), and 8 (IC₅₀?=?61.8?±?12.4?μM) exhibited immunosuppressive activity in the Lymph node cells of mice. These results showed that the Astin C analogues containing _D-amino acid residues, hydrophobic long-chain alkyl substituents, and aryl substituents performed better than those carrying hydrophilic amino acid residues and short-chain alkyl substituents. Moreover compounds 15, 16, and 17 had no immunosuppressive activity, which suggested that cis-3,4-dichlorinated proline played an important role in the immunosuppressive activity of Astin C.     

植物对干旱胁迫的分子反应

干旱胁迫是影响植物生长发育的主要因子,渗透保护剂的合成和积累,脱水伤害的修复,自由基清除酶和LEA蛋白基因表达的增量调节能增加植物的耐干旱性。植物在干旱条件下至少有4条信号转导途径,其中2条信号途径是依赖ABA的,另外2条途径是不依赖ABA的,在植物干旱胁迫的信号转导中,双组分的组氨酸激酶可能起渗透感受器的作用,Ca^2 和IP3可能是脱水信号的第2信使,转基因植物是一种评价编码蛋白功能的良好系统。     

杂合抗菌肽CecA-mil的改造及在毕赤酵母中的分泌表达

参照毕赤氏巴斯德酵母(Pichia pastorts)偏好密码子,改造并化学合成杂合抗菌肽CecA-mil基因,改造后的CecA-mil基因克隆到pPICZα-A载体中,构建分泌型重组酵母表达载体pPICZα-A-CM,转化Pichia pastoris受体菌X-33。在醇氧化酶(AOX)启动子调控下,分子量约1．9kD的CecA-mil杂合抗菌肽获得表达,经表达条件优化,重组酵母菌的摇瓶发酵产率可达到245μg／mL。抗菌特性研究表明,该表达产物具有广谱抗菌活性,对多数G^-菌及G^ 菌均有较好的抑菌活性,特别是对氨苄青霉素抗性菌和卡那霉素抗性菌抑杀效果更好;具有热稳定性和酸稳定性。这些特点使得重组抗菌肽CecA-mil在食品防腐、疾病防治和动物饲料添加剂等方面显露出很好的应用前景。