Effects of magnesium ions on two EMCV IRES key activity fragments

Using NMR magnetization transfer from water and ammonia-catalyzed exchange of the imino protons, changes have been monitored in base-pair kinetics induced by Mg^2 + in two key activity fragments r(CACCUGGCGACAGGUG) and r(GGCCAAAAGCC) of the encephalomyocarditis virus internal ribosome entry site. For r(CACCUGGCGACAGGUG), the addition of Mg^2 + reveals two types of base-pairs: r(U⁵⁴⁵·A) and r(G⁵⁴⁶·C), in the first category, have lifetimes only slightly higher in the presence of Mg^2 +, whereas their dissociation constants are substantially reduced. This behavior has been termed proximal. The base-pairs r(G⁵⁵³·C) and r(G⁵⁵⁴·C), in the second category, have lifetimes substantially higher in the presence of Mg^2 +, whereas their dissociation constants remain almost constant. This behavior has been termed distal. Mg^2 + has a specific effect on r(CACCUGGCGACAGGUG), the magnitude of which is progressively modulated from the proximal region of the 16-mer towards its distal region. For r(GGCCAAAAGCC), an intermediate behavior is found for base-pairs r(G⁵⁶⁵·C) and r(G⁵⁷²·C). Their lifetimes are slightly higher in the presence of Mg^2 + and their dissociation constants are significantly lower, a behavior resembling that of the 16-mer proximal region. These results indicate that Mg^2 + diffusively moves around r(GGCCAAAAGCC).     

A-kinase anchoring protein-Lbc promotes pro-fibrotic signaling in cardiac fibroblasts

In response to stress or injury the heart undergoes an adverse remodeling process associated with cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and fibrosis. Transformation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts is a crucial event initiating the fibrotic process. Cardiac myofibroblasts invade the myocardium and secrete excess amounts of extracellular matrix proteins, which cause myocardial stiffening, cardiac dysfunctions and progression to heart failure. While several studies indicate that the small GTPase RhoA can promote profibrotic responses, the exchange factors that modulate its activity in cardiac fibroblasts are yet to be identified. In the present study, we show that AKAP-Lbc, an A-kinase anchoring protein (AKAP) with an intrinsic Rho-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) activity, is critical for activating RhoA and transducing profibrotic signals downstream of type I angiotensin II receptors (AT₁Rs) in cardiac fibroblasts. In particular, our results indicate that suppression of AKAP-Lbc expression by infecting adult rat ventricular fibroblasts with lentiviruses encoding AKAP-Lbc specific short hairpin (sh) RNAs strongly reduces the ability of angiotensin II to promote RhoA activation, differentiation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts, collagen deposition as well as myofibroblast migration. Interestingly, AT₁Rs promote AKAP-Lbc activation via a pathway that requires the α subunit of the heterotrimeric G protein G12. These findings identify AKAP-Lbc as a key Rho-guanine nucleotide exchange factor modulating profibrotic responses in cardiac fibroblasts.     

Rootstock‐to‐scion transfer of transgene‐derived small interfering RNAs and their effect on virus resistance in nontransgenic sweet cherry

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are silencing signals in plants. Virus‐resistant transgenic rootstocks developed through siRNA‐mediated gene silencing may enhance virus resistance of nontransgenic scions via siRNAs transported from the transgenic rootstocks. However, convincing evidence of rootstock‐to‐scion movement of siRNAs of exogenous genes in woody plants is still lacking. To determine whether exogenous siRNAs can be transferred, nontransgenic sweet cherry (scions) was grafted on transgenic cherry rootstocks (TRs), which was transformed with an RNA interference (RNAi) vector expressing short hairpin RNAs of the genomic RNA3 of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV‐hpRNA). Small RNA sequencing was conducted using bud tissues of TRs and those of grafted (rootstock/scion) trees, locating at about 1.2 m above the graft unions. Comparison of the siRNA profiles revealed that the PNRSV‐hpRNA was efficient in producing siRNAs and eliminating PNRSV in the TRs. Furthermore, our study confirmed, for the first time, the long‐distance (1.2 m) transfer of PNRSV‐hpRNA‐derived siRNAs from the transgenic rootstock to the nontransgenic scion in woody plants. Inoculation of nontransgenic scions with PNRSV revealed that the transferred siRNAs enhanced PNRSV resistance of the scions grafted on the TRs. Collectively, these findings provide the foundation for ‘using transgenic rootstocks to produce products of nontransgenic scions in fruit trees'.     

转病毒来源发夹RNA小麦表现对大麦黄矮病毒的抗性

将大麦黄矮病毒GPV株系的复制酶基因片段和CP基因片段构建成可在植物细胞内表达含有双链复制酶RNA(茎)和反义CP RNA(环)的复合发夹RNA结构, 希望能够诱发植物体针对病毒的RNA干扰作用, 从而达到抗病毒目的。利用基因枪法将该结构导入小麦幼胚愈伤组织细胞后, 通过在幼苗再生阶段进行以叶片为模板的快速PCR来加速阳性植株的筛选过程, 最终共获得基因组整合有外源基因的小麦再生植株21株。对再生植株接种不同剂量的病毒, 其中9株对BYDV-GPV有低度抗性, 表现在低接毒量时无症状, 接毒量提高时发病且严重; 6株具中度抗性, 表现在低接毒量时无症状, 接毒量提高时局部有不严重症状; 6株具高度抗性, 两种情况下均无症状。抗性实验结果表明, hpRNA介导对BYDV的抗性可能受到BYDV含量的影响, 具有剂量效应的特点。     

一种新的等温单向生长基因合成法初步探索

基因合成正日益成为基因获取的一种有效手段。两种常用的基因合成方法是基于PCR的基因合成（P法）和基于连接酶的基因合成(L法)。这两种方法都不是独立于所合成基因的序列内容的。文章首次提出了一种新的基因合成策略—等温单向生长法(Isothermal Unidirectional Elongation Method, IUEM), 在3种酶的作用下, DNA链在等温状态下单向串行延伸, 直到获得目标基因。由于引物设计成特殊的发夹结构, 该方法可以做到合成过程独立于或部分独立于目标基因的序列内容。本文探索了该策略的实验可行性, 检测了影响基因合成的各种因素, 并利用该方法成功地合成了一段254 bp和一段300 bp的DNA序列。     

利用转hpRNA基因水稻抗水稻矮缩病毒

具有发夹结构的双链RNA(hairpin RNA,hpRNA)能高效诱导转录后基因沉默的发生.以水稻(Oryza sativaL.)矮缩病毒(RDV)基因组中第八片段编码区128～754 bp的序列为臂构建hpRNA,并克隆到植物表达载体pROK-2上.通过农杆菌介导的方法转化水稻"中花11".Southern blot分析表明,共获得12株阳性转化体.用带有RDV的叶蝉(Nephotettix cincticeps)接种Tl代转hpRNA水稻,结果表明转基因水稻对RDV具有高抗性或表现为症状延迟.而相同序列的有义链的转基因水稻和空载体的转基因水稻表现为典型的RDV侵染症状.HpRNA在转基因水稻中对RDV高抗性发挥重要作用.     

The metabolic capacity of lipid droplet localized acyl-CoA synthetase 3 is not sufficient to support local triglyceride synthesis independent of the endoplasmic reticulum in A431 cells

ACSL3 is the only long chain fatty acyl-CoA synthetase consistently found on growing and mature lipid droplets (LDs), suggesting that this specific localization has biological relevance. Current models for LD growth propose that triglycerides are synthesized by enzymes at the LD surface, with activated fatty acids provided by LD localized ACSL3, thus allowing growth independent of the ER. Here, we tested this hypothesis by quantifying ACSL3 on LDs from human A431 cells.RNAi of ACSL3 reduced the oleoyl-CoA synthetase activity by 83%, suggesting that ACSL3 is by far the dominant enzyme of A431 cells. Molar quantification revealed that there are 1.4 million ACSL3 molecules within a single cell. Metabolic labeling indicated that each ACSL3 molecule contributed a net gain of 3.1 oleoyl-CoA/s. 3D reconstruction of confocal images demonstrated that 530 individual lipid droplets were present in an average oleate fed A431 cell. A representative single lipid droplet with a diameter of 0.66?μm contained 680 ACSL3 molecules on the surface. Subcellular fractionation showed that at least 68% of ACSL3 remain at the ER even during extensive fatty acid supplementation. High resolution single molecule microscopy confirmed the abundance of cytoplasmic ACSL3 outside of LDs. Model calculations for triglyceride synthesis using only LD localized ACSL3 gave significant slower growth of LDs as observed experimentally.In conclusion, although ACSL3 is an abundant enzyme on A431 LDs, the metabolic capacity is not sufficient to account for LD growth solely by the local synthesis of triglycerides.     

RNA interference technology to improve the baculovirus-insect cell expression system

The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is a popular manufacturing platform for the production of recombinant proteins, antiviral vaccines, gene therapy vectors, and biopesticides. Besides its successful applications in the industrial sector, the system has also played a significant role within the academic community given its extensive use in the production of hard-to-express eukaryotic multiprotein complexes for structural characterization for example. However, as other expression platforms, BEVS has to be continually improved to overcome its limitation and adapt to the constant demand for manufacturing processes that provide recombinant products with improved quality at higher yields and lower production cost.RNA interference, or RNAi, is a relatively recent technology that has revolutionized how scientist study gene function. Originally introduced as a tool to study biological and disease-related processes it has recently been applied to improve the yield and quality of recombinant proteins produced in several expression systems. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the impact that RNAi-mediated silencing of cellular or viral genes in the BEVS has on the production of recombinant products. We also propose a critical analysis of several aspects of the methodologies described in the literature for the use of RNAi technology in the BEVS with the intent to provide the reader with eventually useful guidance for designing experiments.     

Role of p38γ MAPK in regulation of EMT and cancer stem cells

p38γ is a member of p38 MAPK family which contains four isoforms p38α, p38β, p38γ, and p38δ. p38γ MAPK has unique function and is less investigated. Recent studies revealed that p38γ MAPK may be involved in tumorigenesis and cancer aggressiveness. However, the underlying cellular/molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process that epithelial cancer cells transform to facilitate the loss of epithelial features and gain of mesenchymal phenotype. EMT promotes cancer cell progression and metastasis, and is involved in the regulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) which have self-renewal capacity and are resistant to chemotherapy and target therapy. We showed that p38γ MAPK significantly increased EMT in breast cancer cells; over-expression of p38γ MAPK enhanced EMT while its down-regulation inhibited EMT. Meanwhile, p38γ MAPK augmented CSC population while knock down of p38γ MAPK decreased CSC ratio in breast cancer cells. MicroRNA-200b (miR-200b) was down-stream of p38γ MAPK and inhibited by p38γ MAPK; miR-200b mimics blocked p38γ MAPK-induced EMT while miR-200b inhibitors promoted EMT. p38γ MAPK regulated miR-200b through inhibiting GATA3. p38γ MAPK induced GATA3 ubiquitination, leading to its proteasome-dependent degradation. Suz12, a Polycomb group protein, was down-stream of miR-200b and involved in miR-200b regulation of EMT. Thus, our study established an important role of p38γ MAPK in EMT and identified a novel signaling pathway for p38γ MAPK–mediated tumor promotion.