Nucleotide sequence of the fixABC region of Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571: similarity of the fixB product with eukaryotic flavoproteins, characterization of fixX, and identification of nifW.

Summary The nucleotide sequence of a 4.1 kb DNA fragment containing the fixABC region of Azorhizobium caulinodans was established. The three gene products were very similar to the corresponding polypeptides of Rhizobium meliloti. The C-terminal domains of both fixB products displayed a high degree of similarity with the -subunits of rat and human electron transfer flavoproteins, suggesting a role for the FixB protein in a redox reaction. Two open reading frames (ORF) were found downstream of fixC. The first ORF was identified as fixX on the basis of sequence homology with fixX from several Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium strains. The second ORF potentially encoded a 69 amino acid product and was found to be homologous to a DNA region in the Rhodobacter capsulatus nif cluster I. Insertion mutagenesis of the A. caulinodans fixX gene conferred a Nif^– phenotype to bacteria grown in the free-living state and a Fix^– phenotype in symbiotic association with the host plant Sesbania rostrata. A crude extract from the fixX mutant had no nitrogenase activity. Furthermore, data presented in this paper also indicate that the previously identified nifO gene located upstream of fixA was probably a homologue of the nifW gene of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Azotobacter vinelandii.     

RAD51 homologues in Xenopus laevis: two distinct genes are highly expressed in ovary and testis

The RAD51 gene is a eukaryotic counterpart of the Escherichia coli recA gene which is involved in genetic recombination. Two distinct Xenopus laevis RAD51 cDNA clones (XRAD51.1 and XRAD51.2) were isolated from an oocyte cDNA library using the human RAD51 cDNA (HsRAD51) as a probe. Sequence analysis revealed that 98.2% of the amino-acid residues were identical between XRAD51.1 and XRAD51.2, and that both were 95% identical to HsRAD51. Both of the XRAD51 genes were expressed at a higher level in ovary and testis than in other somatic tissues, suggesting their involvement in meiotic recombination. The expression of XRAD51.1 was about eightfold in excess of that of XRAD51.2 in all of the tissues examined. Analysis of the rates of synonymous substitution in the coding sequences of the two XRAD51 suggests that these two genes diverged about 50 million years ago. The structural similarities of the XRAD51 proteins to RecA in E. coli and Rad51 in yeasts or vertebrates are discussed.     

子宫内膜癌组织残疾基因同源物2、核连蛋白-2、黏蛋白4的表达及与预后的关系研究

目的:研究子宫内膜癌组织残疾基因同源物2(DAB2)、核连蛋白-2(nucleobindin-2)、黏蛋白4(MUC4)的表达及与预后的关系。方法:将我院从2015年1月2017年1月收治的子宫内膜癌患者82例纳入研究。分别采集所有患者的子宫内膜癌组织以及癌旁正常组织,以免疫组化法检测不同子宫内膜组织中的DAB2、nucleobindin-2、MUC4表达情况并进行对比。分析子宫内膜癌组织DAB2、nucleobindin-2、MUC4阳性率与临床病理特征的关系。此外,通过Kaplan-Merier生存曲线分析上述蛋白表达与预后的关系,并以Cox比例风险回归模型分析子宫内膜癌患者预后的影响因素。结果:子宫内膜癌组织DAB2阳性率低于癌旁正常组织,而nucleobindin-2、MUC4阳性率均高于癌旁正常组织(均P<0.05)。TNM分期ⅢⅣ期、淋巴结转移子宫内膜癌患者的DAB2阳性率低于TNM分期ⅠⅡ期、无淋巴结转移患者,而nucleobindin-2、MUC4阳性率均高于TNM分期ⅠⅡ期、无淋巴结转移患者(均P<0.05)。所有患者均进行时长360个月的随访,中位随访时间为31个月,至随访结束,DAB2蛋白阳性患者的无进展生存率分别为66.67%(20/30),明显高于DAB2蛋白阴性患者的19.23%(10/52);而nucleobindin-2、MUC4蛋白阳性患者的无进展生存率分别为22.95%(14/61)、24.56%(14/57),明显低于nucleobindin-2、MUC4蛋白阴性患者的76.19%(16/21)、64.00%(16/25),差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.05)。Cox比例风险回归模型分析结果可得:TNM分期、淋巴结转移以及DAB2蛋白阴性、nucleobindin-2蛋白阳性、MUC4蛋白阳性均是子宫内膜癌患者预后的影响因素(均P<0.05)。结论:子宫内膜癌组织DAB2存在异常低表达,而nucleobindin-2、MUC4均存在异常高表达,联合检测上述三项蛋白表达情况可能有助于子宫内膜癌的诊断和预后评估。     

Long non-coding RNA MEG3 promotes autophagy and apoptosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells via PTEN up-regulation by binding to microRNA-21

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been highlighted as attractive markers for diagnosis and prognosis as well as new therapeutic targets in multiple cancers, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Here, we attempted to investigate the underlying regulatory role of the lncRNA maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) in NPC development. As determined by RT-qPCR, MEG3 expression was down-regulated in NPC cells. Online RNA crosstalk analysis predicted the binding of miR-21 to MEG3 and PTEN, respectively. MEG3 was validated to bind to miR-21 while PTEN was identified as a target of miR-21 by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. Exogenous transfection was done to change the levels of MEG3, miR-21 and PTEN in HK-1 cells to investigate their effects on the autophagy and apoptosis of NPC cells. The results suggested that MEG3 overexpression in HK-1 cells up-regulated PTEN and down-regulated miR-21, by which MEG3 further inhibited autophagy and apoptosis ability of NPC cells. The tumour formation ability was tested after injecting the HK-1 cells into nude, mice and tumour growth was monitored. Consistently, MEG3 overexpression inhibited the tumour formation in vivo. Collectively, MEG3 promotes the autophagy and apoptosis of NPC cells via enhancing PTEN expression by binding to miR-21.     

The hMLH1 promoter polymorphisms and cancer susceptibility in Asian populations: A meta-analysis

Background

A variety of studies have evaluated the associations between polymorphisms in the promoter regions of the hMLH1 and cancer risk. However, the results remain inconclusive. To better understand the roles of the hMLH1 polymorphisms and cancer risk, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to investigate the association between the hMLH1 − 93G/A and 1151T/A (Val384Asp) polymorphisms and cancer risk in Asian population.

Methods

We performed a meta-analysis by conducting searches of the published studies in Pub Med, CNKI, CBM, ISI web of knowledge and Google scholar search databases. Finally, 12 studies were included into our meta-analysis. Overall and subgroup analyses were performed. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the associations between hMLH1 polymorphisms and cancer risk. Statistical analysis was performed with Review Manager 5.0.

Results

Twelve studies addressing two hMLH1 polymorphisms were analyzed among a total of 4128 cancer cases and 4678 controls. For hMLH1 − 93G/A, there was no evidence that the hMLH1 − 93G/A polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased cancer risk (P > 0.05) in Asian populations (heterozygote comparison: OR = 0.89 [95% CI (0.75, 1.060)] P = 0.20; dominant model comparison: OR = 0.98 [95% CI (0.83, 1.15)] P = 0.79). In subgroup analysis based on cancer types and the sources of control, no associations were found in colorectal cancer, gastric cancer and “other cancers” under the any gene model except for lung cancer (recessive model comparison: OR = 1.69 [95% CI (1.30, 2.19)] P < 0.0001). For hMLH1 1151T/A, the polymorphism significantly associated with an increased cancer risk in Asians: OR = 1.88 [95% CI (1.49, 2.25)], P < 0.0001, and OR = 1.87 [95% CI (1.49, 2.25)], P < 0.0001.

Conclusions

Our investigations demonstrated that the hMLH1 − 93G/A polymorphism is not a candidate for susceptibility to overall cancers, and that the hMLH1 1151T/A polymorphism is significantly associated with higher cancer risk in Asian populations. Further studies with large sample size for hMLH1 should be conducted.     

Orthology,paralogy and proposed classification for paralog subtypes

The paper clears up confusions about the concepts of orthology and paralogy, particularly in cases involving gene family expansions. The terms ‘inparalog’ and ‘outparalog’ are defined to distinguish ancient paralogs from lineage-specific ones.     

DUG is a novel homologue of translation initiation factor 4G that binds eIF4A

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of cell death, we have cloned a new gene, designated death-upregulated gene (DUG), from rat insulinoma cells. DUG is constitutively expressed at very low levels in normal cells but is dramatically upregulated in apoptotic cells following serum/glucose starvation or death receptor ligation by Fas ligand. The DUG mRNA is present in two splicing forms: a long form that encodes a protein of 469 amino acids and a short form that gives rise to a polypeptide of 432 amino acids. The predicted DUG protein sequence contains two putative nuclear localization signals and multiple phosphorylation sites for protein kinases and two conserved MA3 domains. Importantly, DUG is homologous to eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF) 4G and binds to eIF4A presumably through MA3 domains. Upon transfection, DUG inhibits both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis. Thus, DUG is a novel homologue of eIF4G that regulates apoptosis.