Genomic heterogeneity and instability in colorectal cancer: spectral karyotyping, glutathione transferase-Ml and ras

Genomic instability in cancer is frequently described as being either chromosomal instability or microsatellite instability, although when events within chromosomes are monitored, extensive intrachromosomal instability is also found. Spectral karyotyping was used to visualize how extensively genomic instability gives rise to intratumor genomic heterogeneity in sporadic colorectal carcinomas. Two factors were then examined which might relate to intrachromosomal instability in colorectal cancers: the presence of the glutathione transferase-Ml gene to detoxify potential carcinogens, and the presence of activated ras which has been associated with chromosomal instability when first expressed. Intrachromosomal genomic instability was previously determined by inter-(simple sequence repeat) PCR (inter-SSR PCR) and by fractional allelic loss rate for 348 markers. GSTM1 status was determined for each of 49 tumors through use of specific PCR, and 28 of the tumors showed the GSTM1 null genotype. A significant association was found between GSTMl-null status and elevated inter-(simple sequence repeat) PCR instability. In contrast, no association was found with fractional allelic loss rate. The first exons of the K-ras and H-ras oncogenes were sequenced in 72 colorectal cancers; 19 of the tumors had a mutation in codon 12 of the K-ras gene (24.5%), but no H-ras mutations were found. A weak correlation (p=0.10) was observed between mutant K-ras and inter-(simple sequence repeat) PCR genomic instability, and no association existed with fractional allelic loss rate.     

枯草芽孢杆菌ccpA基因敲除及对其核黄素产量的影响

CcpA蛋白是介导枯草芽孢杆菌碳分解代谢物阻遏(CCR)的全局调控因子,由ccpA基因编码。CCR效应的存在影响B.subtilis对葡萄糖的利用,降低B.subtilis生产发酵产品的效率。采用基因重组技术敲除了核黄素发酵菌株B.subtilis24/pMX45的ccpA基因,构建了CcpA缺陷株B.subtilis24A1/pMX45。发酵结果显示:B.subtilis24A1/pMX45能够在70h内基本耗尽10%的葡萄糖,生物量达到1.5×109个细胞/mL,溢流代谢产物积累量减少,在8%和10%葡萄糖浓度下,B.subtilis24A1/pMX45核黄素产量分别比B.subtilis24/pMX45提高了62%和95%。CcpA的缺陷,可以缓解葡萄糖引起的CCR效应,显著提高菌株的核黄素产量。     

Polypyrimidine tract‐binding protein is required for the repression of gene expression by all‐trans retinoic acid

All‐trans retinoic acid is a key regulator of early development. High concentrations of retinoic acid interfere with differentiation and migration of neural crest cells. Here we report that a dinucleotide repeat in the cis‐element of Snail2 (previously known as Slug) gene plays a role in repression by all‐trans retinoic acid. We analyzed the cis‐acting regulatory regions of the Xenopus Snail2 gene, whose expression is repressed by all‐trans retinoic acid. The analysis identified a TG/CA repeat as a necessary element for the repression. By performing a yeast one‐hybrid screen, we found that a polypyrimidine tract‐binding protein (PTB), which is known to be a regulator of the alternative splicing of pre‐messenger RNA, binds to the TG/CA repeat. Overexpression and knockdown experiments for PTB in HEK293 cells and Xenopus embryos indicated that PTB is required for repression by retinoic acid. The green fluorescent protein‐PTB fusion protein was localized in the nucleus of 293T cells. In situ hybridization for PTB in Xenopus embryos showed that PTB is expressed at the regions including neural crest at the early stages. Our results indicate that PTB plays a role in the repression of gene expression by retinoic acid through binding to the TG/CA repeats.