一种基于单分子纳米操纵的有序化测序策略

尽管包括人类在内的许多生物物种的基因组测序工作已经完成,但由于现有测序技术的限制,大部分复杂基因组还存在很多大大小小的缺口.缺口的填补以及对其他重复序列区域的测序迫切需要全新的思路和技术.基于在DNA单分子定位切割和拾取方面的实验进展,提出了一种基于原子力显微镜纳米操纵技术的单分子有序化测序策略.计算机模拟的结果表明,这一方法和策略是可行的,有助于解决目前测序工作中所遇到的一些棘手问题.     

Intercellular protein-protein interactions at synapses

Chemical synapses are asymmetric intercellular junctions through which neurons send nerve impulses to communicate with other neurons or excitable cells. The appropriate formation of synapses, both spatially and temporally, is essential for brain function and depends on the intercellular protein-protein interactions of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) at synaptic clefts. The CAM proteins link pre- and post-synaptic sites, and play essential roles in promoting synapse formation and maturation, maintaining synapse number and type, accumulating neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels, controlling neuronal differentiation, and even regulating synaptic plasticity directly. Alteration of the interactions of CAMs leads to structural and functional impairments, which results in many neurological disorders, such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the functions of CAMs during development and in the mature neural system, as well as in the pathogenesis of some neurological disorders. Here, we review the function of the major classes of CAMs, and how dysfunction of CAMs relates to several neurological disorders.     

Mining marine shellfish wastes for bioactive molecules: chitin and chitosan--Part A: extraction methods

Legal restrictions, high costs and environmental problems regarding the disposal of marine processing wastes have led to amplified interest in biotechnology research concerning the identification and extraction of additional high grade, low-volume by-products produced from shellfish waste treatments. Shellfish waste consisting of crustacean exoskeletons is currently the main source of biomass for chitin production. Chitin is a polysaccharide composed of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine units and the multidimensional utilization of chitin derivatives including chitosan, a deacetylated derivative of chitin, is due to a number of characteristics including: their polyelectrolyte and cationic nature, the presence of reactive groups, high adsorption capacities, bacteriostatic and fungistatic influences, making them very versatile biomolecules. Part A of this review aims to consolidate useful information concerning the methods used to extract and characterize chitin, chitosan and glucosamine obtained through industrial, microbial and enzymatic hydrolysis of shellfish waste.     

The role of microvesicles and its active molecules in regulating cellular biology

Cell‐derived microvesicles are membrane vesicles produced by the outward budding of the plasma membrane and released by almost all types of cells. These have been considered as another mechanism of intercellular communication, because they carry active molecules, such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. Furthermore, these are present in circulating fluids, such as blood and urine, and are closely correlated to the progression of pathophysiological conditions in many diseases. Recent studies have revealed that microvesicles have a dual effect of damage and protection of receptor cells. However, the nature of the active molecules involved in this effect remains unclear. The present study mainly emphasized the mechanism of microvesicles and the active molecules mediating the different biological effects of receptor cells by affecting autophagy, apoptosis and inflammation pathways. The effective ways of blocking microvesicles and its active molecules in mediating cell damage when microvesicles exert harmful effects were also discussed.     

Formation and dimerization of the phosphodiesterase active site of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa MorA,a bi-functional c-di-GMP regulator

Diguanylate cyclases (DGC) and phosphodiesterases (PDE), respectively synthesise and hydrolyse the secondary messenger cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP), and both activities are often found in a single protein. Intracellular c-di-GMP levels in turn regulate bacterial motility, virulence and biofilm formation. We report the first structure of a tandem DGC–PDE fragment, in which the catalytic domains are shown to be active. Two phosphodiesterase states are distinguished by active site formation. The structures, in the presence or absence of c-di-GMP, suggest that dimerisation and binding pocket formation are linked, with dimerisation being required for catalytic activity. An understanding of PDE activation is important, as biofilm dispersal via c-di-GMP hydrolysis has therapeutic effects on chronic infections.     

DISCO--a general computer program for the computation of acid dissociation constants of polyprotic molecules in water and biological fluids,from nuclear magnetic resonance data: application to polyamines

A new computer program, DISCO, running under Windows, has been developed under the project CSA98P22 falling within the Competitive Support Activities initiative launched within the EU 4th Framework Programme. DISCO allows the calculation of the stepwise acid dissociation constants of polyprotic molecules in water and in complex media (i.e., biofluids, etc.) from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data (chemical shifts) by means of two derivative-free methods: Pit-mapping and Simplex. DISCO performances were tested using simulated-unaffected by experimental error-data sets, for systems having up to seven equilibrium constants and experimental NMR data of spermine, 6-monofluorospermine, and 6,6-difluorospermine, dissolved in D(2)O and in physiological solution (D(2)O/NaCl). Results demonstrated that (i) DISCO enables the determination of pK(A) values with high precision even when small-sized raw data sets are employed, when chemical shifts are measured with low precision (the usual condition in biofluids due to the impossibility to obtain narrow line shape), and when the guess solution, necessary as an initial step of the mathematical iterative process, is fixed within a large interval of variation; (ii) DISCO always converges to the root; (iii) DISCO permits the calculation of pK(A) values which lie within the observed pH range, independent of the narrowness of the pH range.     

CD200: a putative therapeutic target in cancer

CD200 was recently described as a new prognosis factor in multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia. CD200 is a membrane glycoprotein that imparts an immunoregulatory signal through CD200R, leading to the suppression of T-cell-mediated immune responses. We investigated the expression of CD200 in cancer using publicly available gene expression data. CD200 gene expression in normal or malignant human tissues or cell lines was obtained from the Oncomine Cancer Microarray database, Amazonia database and the ITTACA database. We found significant overexpression of CD200 in renal carcinoma, head and neck carcinoma, testicular cancer, malignant mesothelioma, colon carcinoma, MGUS/smoldering myeloma, and in chronic lymphocytic leukemia compared to their normal cells or their tissue counterparts. Moreover, we show that CD200 expression is associated with tumor progression in various cancers. Taken together, these data suggest that CD200 is a potential therapeutic target and prognostic factor for a large array of malignancies.     

Alcohol exposure alters the expression pattern of neural cell adhesion molecules during brain development

Neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAMs) play critical roles during development of the nervous system. The aim of this study is to investigate the possible effect of ethanol exposure on the pattern of expression and sialylation of NCAM isoforms during postnatal rat brain development because alterations in NCAM content and distribution have been associated with defects in cell migration, synapse formation, and memory consolidation, and deficits in these processes have been observed after in utero alcohol exposure. The expression of NCAM isoforms in the developing cerebral cortex of pups from control and alcohol-fed mothers was assessed by western blotting, ribonuclease protection assay, and immunocytochemistry. The highly sialylated form of NCAM [polysialic acid (PSA)-NCAM] is mainly expressed during the neonatal period and then is down-regulated in parallel with the appearance of NCAM 180 and NCAM 140. Ethanol exposure increases PSA-NCAM levels during the neonatal period, delays the loss of PSA-NCAM, decreases the amount of NCAM 180 and NCAM 140 isoforms, and reduces sialyltransferase activity during postnatal brain development. Neuraminidase treatment of ethanol-exposed neonatal brains leads to more intense band degradation products, suggesting a higher content of NCAM polypeptides carrying PSA in these samples. However, NCAM mRNA levels are not changed by ethanol. Immunocytochemical analysis demonstrates that ethanol triggers an increase in PSA-NCAM immunolabeling in the cytoplasm of astroglial cells, accompanied by a decrease in immunogold particles over the plasma membrane. These findings indicate that ethanol exposure during brain development alters the pattern of NCAM expression and suggest that modification of NCAM could affect neuronal-glial interactions that might contribute to the brain defects observed after in utero alcohol exposure.