Identification of an Edwardsiella tarda surface antigen and analysis of its immunoprotective potential as a purified recombinant subunit vaccine and a surface-anchored subunit vaccine expressed by a fish commensal strain

Edwardsiella tarda is the etiological agent of edwardsiellosis, a systematic disease that affects a wide range of marine and freshwater fish cultured worldwide. In order to identify E. tarda antigens with vaccine potential, we in this study conducted a systematic search for E. tarda proteins with secretion capacity. One of the proteins thus identified was Esa1, which contains 795 amino acid residues and shares extensive overall sequence identities with the D15-like surface antigens of several bacterial species. In silico analyses indicated that Esa1 localizes to outer membrane and possesses domain structures that are conserved among bacterial surface antigens. The vaccine potential of purified recombinant Esa1 was examined in a Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) model, which showed that fish vaccinated with Esa1 exhibited a high level of survival and produced specific serum antibodies. Passive immunization of naive fish with antisera raised against Esa1 resulted in significant protection against E. tarda challenge. Taking advantage of the secretion capacity of Esa1 and the natural gut-colonization ability of a fish commensal strain, we constructed an Esa1-expressing recombinant strain, FP3/pJsa1. Western immunoblot and agglutination analyses showed that FP3/pJsa1 produces outer membrane-localized Esa1 and forms aggregates in the presence of anti-Esa1 antibodies. Vaccination analyses showed that FP3/pJsa1 as an intraperitoneal injection vaccine and an oral vaccine embedded in alginate microspheres produced relative percent survival rates of 79% and 52%, respectively, under severe challenging conditions that resulted in 92-96% mortality in control fish. Further analyses showed that following oral vaccination, FP3/pJsa1 was able to colonize in the gut but unable to disseminate into other tissues. Together these results indicate that Esa1 is a protective immunogen and an effective oral vaccine when delivered by FP3/pJsa1 as a surface-anchored antigen. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expression, purification of recombinant flounder MRF4 protein in Escherichia coli and analysis of its polyclonal antibodies

MRF4 is one of muscle regulatory factors and plays critical roles during skeletal muscle development. The muscle development is important for the fish growth which is an important economic factor for the fish culture. To analyze the function of MRF4 in fish, the founder MRF4 antibody was prepared. The flounder MRF4 was cloned, ligated into prokaryotic expression vector pET-30b and expressed in strain E. coli BL21 (130). The recombinant flounder MRF4 fusion protein was soluble and purified with cobalt IMAC resins. To prepare MRF4 polyclonal antibodies, rabbits were immunized with the soluble protein and the increasing level of antibodies was determined by Western blot. Also, the endogenous flounder MRF4 was recognized by the anti-serum. The result further proved the existence of the anti-MRF4 antibody in the anti-serum, which will be useful for studies on the function of flounder MRF4.

Intracellular copper/zinc superoxide dismutase from bay scallop Argopecten irradians: Its gene structure, mRNA expression and recombinant protein

Superoxide dismutases are an ubiquitous family of enzymes that function to efficiently catalyze the dismutation of superoxide anions. Two unique and highly compartmentalized bay scallop Argopecten irradians superoxide dismutases: MnSOD and ecCuZnSOD, have been molecularly characterized in our previous study. To complete characterize the SOD family in A. irradians, a novel intracellular copper/zinc SOD from the A. irradians (Ai-icCuZnSOD) was obtained and characterized. The full-length cDNA of Ai-icCuZnSOD was 1047 bp with a 459 bp open reading frame encoding 152 amino acids. The genomic length of the Ai-icCuZnSOD gene was about 4279 bp containing 4 exons and 3 introns. The promoter region containing many putative transcription factor binding sites were analyzed. Furthermore, quantitative reverse transcriptase real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that the highest expression of the Ai-icCuZnSOD was detected in gill and the expression profiles in hemocytes of bay scallops challenged with bacteria Vibrio anguillarum and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were different. The result presented an increased expression after injection with LPS whereas no significant changes were observed after V. anguillarum injection. A fusion protein containing Ai-icCuZnSOD was produced in vitro. The rAi-icCuZnSOD is a stable enzyme, retaining more than 80% of its activity between 10 and 60 degrees C and keeping above 88% of its activity at pH values between 5.8 and 9. Ai-icCuZnSOD is more stable under alkaline than acidic conditions. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purification and characterization of recombinant truncated human interleukin-11 expressed as fusion protein in Escherichia coli

Mature human interleukin-11 (HuIL-11) is a cytokine consisting of 178 amino acid residues that results from scission of the N-terminal signal peptide, consisting of 21 amino acid residaues, from the corresponding nascent polypeptide. A DNA fragment encoding a truncated HuIL-11 (trHuIL-11), with an additional 5 amino acid residues removed from the N-terminus, was cloned into vector pGEX-2T between the BamHI site and the EcoRI site. Upon transformation with Escherichia coli BL21, the construct over-produced a glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fused protein in a soluble form after IPTG induction. The fusion protein was initially fractionated with butyl-Sepharose 4 fast flow column and by affinity chromatography using a GSH-Sepharose 4B column. On-site enzymatic release with thrombin gave the target protein at 96% purity as judged by SDS-PAGE and HPLC. Expression of the interleukin as a GST-fused protein thus greatly improved downstream processing. Subsequent biological activity assay suggested that trHuIL-11 had similar activity profile to the naturally produced sample and may be a promising candidate for further development as biopharmaceutical.

固氮蓝藻与非固氮蓝藻谷氨酰胺酶的基因克隆、表达及其特性分析

蓝藻是唯一可以进行有氧光合作用的原核生物，是水生食物链主要的初级生产者。氮素是蓝藻细胞必需的大量营养元素之一，揭示蓝藻如何应对环境中氮素的变化、维持自身碳氮平衡的分子机理，对深刻理解蓝藻与环境的相互作用、有效促进或控制蓝藻的生长与繁殖，有重要的理论和实践意义。已有的研究发现，蓝藻细胞的碳氮平衡主要是通过调控氨同化途径中的关键酶类实现。但先前的研究主要集中在固氮蓝藻谷氨酰胺合成酶（GS）-谷氨酸合成酶(GOGAT)循环的特性分析方面，而对催化谷氨酰胺水解生成谷氨酸和氨的主要酶之一谷氨酰胺酶的报道极少，其分子特性及生理学意义尚不明了。因此，本论文以模式固氮蓝藻鱼腥藻7120 和非固氮蓝藻集胞藻6803 为材料，采用分子生物学和生物化学方法，对蓝藻谷氨酰胺酶进行体外研究，并对其生物学功能进行了初步探讨，获得了如下主要结果：1）对体外重组蛋白的酶活性检测发现，两类蓝藻基因组编码的假定性谷氨酰胺酶，均具有谷氨酰胺酶催化活性，表明基因组注释是准确的；2）固氮蓝藻重组酶（All2934、All4774）与非固氮蓝藻重组酶（Slr2079）酶学特征差异显著，具有不同的最适pH、温度及底物亲和力；3）固氮蓝藻重组酶All2934 催化活性受磷酸盐的激活，而非固氮蓝藻重组酶Slr2079 在高Na+浓度下活性更高；4）RT-PCR 分析结果表明，在正常培养条件下，两类蓝藻的谷氨酰胺酶基因在细胞内均有表达；5）在缺氮培养条件下，固氮蓝藻谷氨酰胺酶基因all2934 的表达水平发生明显变化，而all4774 保持相对稳定，表明前者可能在这类细胞应对氮饥饿过程中起重要作用；6）在正常培养条件下，非固氮蓝藻谷氨酰胺酶基因的缺失突变体(Δslr2079)与野生型表型相似，但在盐胁迫条件下，突变体生长速率及光合放氧活性均高于野生型，表明该基因可能在提高非固氮蓝藻细胞高盐耐受力方面起负调控作用。上述重要发现，不仅初步揭示了光合自氧生物谷氨酰胺酶体外重组酶的分子特征，也为进一步研究谷氨酰胺酶在蓝藻细胞内的专一性功能奠定了重要基础。

重组人甲状旁腺素(rhPTH(1-84))的原核表达及发酵条件初步优化

下载PDF阅读器甲状旁腺激素(Parathyroid Hormone,PTH)是治疗骨质疏松症的药物之一.将人工合成全长人PTH(hPTH(1-84))的核苷酸序列插入pThioHis A载体中,然后转化大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli.),在IPTG的诱导下,成功实现了rhPTH(1-84)的原核表达.通过发酵条件的优化,初步确定1:40接种.LB+30% M9盐溶液的发酵培养基,37℃培养至OD600nm=0.8时,加入终浓度为0.6 mmol/L的IPTG,诱导8 h的较优发酵程序.

Construction, characterization and chromosomal mapping of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library of Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti)

We constructed a high redundancy bacterial artificial chromosome library of a seriously endangered Old World Monkey, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) from China. This library contains a total of 136 320 BAC clones. The average insert size of BAC clones was estimated to be 148 kb. The percentage of small inserts (50-100 kb) is 2.74%, and only 2.67% non-recombinant clones were observed. Assuming a similar genome size with closely related primate species, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey BAC library has at least six times the genome coverage. By end sequencing of randomly selected BAC clones, we generated 201 sequence tags for the library. A total of 139 end-sequenced BAC clones were mapped onto the chromosomes of Yunnan snub-nosed monkey by fluorescence in-situ hybridization, demonstrating a high degree of synteny conservation between humans and Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys. Blast search against human genome showed a good correlation between the number of hit clones and the size of the chromosomes, an indication of unbiased chromosomal distribution of the BAC library. This library and the mapped BAC clones will serve as a valuable resource in comparative genomics studies and large-scale genome sequencing of nonhuman primates. The DNA sequence data reported in this paper were deposited in GenBank and assigned the accession number CG891489-CG891703.

人精液凝固蛋白SgI-52的表达与抗菌活性研究

以人精囊腺cDNA为模板,用嵌套式PCR技术扩增出编码成熟人精液凝固蛋白I(semenogelin I,SgI)第85-136位氨基酸(SgI-52)的核苷酸序列并将其插入载体pMAL-p2X,成功构建的表达载体pMAL-p2Z/SgI-52转化大肠杆菌DH5 α后,重组融合蛋白诱导表达于大肠杆菌周质中.经第X因子剪切及超滤处理,得到表达的重组SgI-52.质谱分析结果证明重组SgI-52为目的肽.重组人SgI-52对大肠杆菌ATCC 25922标准株以及耐氨苄标准株ML-35P的最低抑制浓度MIC分别为32.45以及46.30μg/mL.我们的结果及相关研究提示在人精液液化过程中人精液凝固蛋白I的不同降解产物可能行使不同的生物学功能,值得进行深入研究.

A novel heme-containing protein with anti-HIV-1 activity from skin secretions of Bufo andrewsi

A novel protein, named BAS-AH, was purified and characterized from the skin of the toad Bufo andrewsi. BAS-AH is a single chain protein and the apparent molecular weight is about 63 kDa as judged by SDS-PAGE. BAS-AH was determined to bind heme (0.89 mol heme/mol protein) as determined by pyridine haemochrome analysis. Fifty percentage cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of BAS-AH on C8166 cells was 9.5 mu M. However, at concentrations that showed little effect oil cell viability, BAS-AH displayed dose dependent inhibition oil HIV-1 infection and replication. The antiviral selectivity indexes corresponding to the measurements of syncytium formation and HIV-1 p24 (CC50/EC50) were 14.4 and 11.4, respectively, corresponding to the . BAS-AH also showed an inhibitory effect on the activity of recombinant HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (IC50 = 1.32 mu M). The N-terminal sequence of BAS-AH was determined to be NAKXKADVIGKISILLGQDNLSNIVAM, which exhibited little identity with other known anti-HIV-1 proteins. BAS-AH is devoid of antibacterial, protcolytic, trypsin inhibitory activity, (L)-amino acid oxidase activity and catalase activity. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

More evidence for non-maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA?

Background: A single case of paternal co-transmission ofmitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in humans has been reported so far. Objective: To find potential instances of non-maternal inheritance of mtDNA. Methods: Published medical case studies (of single patients) were searched for irregular mtDNA patterns by comparing the given haplotype information for different clones or tissues with the worldwide mtDNA database as known to date-a method that has proved robust and reliable for the detection of flawed mtDNA sequence data. Results: More than 20 studies were found reporting clear cut instances with mtDNAs of different ancestries in single individuals. As examples, cases are reviewed from recent published reports which, at face value, may be taken as evidence for paternal inheritance of mtDNA or recombination. Conclusions: Multiple types (or recombinant types) of quite dissimilar mitochondrial DNA from different parts of the known mtDNA phylogeny are often reported in single individuals. From re-analyses and corrigenda of forensic mtDNA data, it is apparent that the phenomenon of mixed or mosaic mtDNA can be ascribed solely to contamination and sample mix up.

HIV-1 C亚型密码子优化gp120基因重组腺病毒载体的构建及表达

目的 构建含有HIV-1 C亚型gp120基因重组腺病毒载体,并在293细胞中表达gp120蛋白.方法 PCR扩增,获得HIV-1 C亚型gp120片段,定向克隆入腺病毒转移载体pTrack-CMV,线性化后转化至含有腺病毒骨架载体pAd-easy-1的大肠埃希菌BJ5183,获得重组子prAd-gp120,PacⅠ酶切纯化后转染293细胞,包装成复制缺陷型重组腺病毒vAd-gp120.结果 经PCR、酶切及DNA测序,插入片段大小、方向正确,获得了具有感染力的vAd-gp120重组腺病毒;通过Western 印迹检测,重组腺病毒在293细胞中表达出分子量为120 kD的蛋白.结论 成功构建了含有HIV-1 C亚型gp120基因重组腺病毒载体,并获得该基因的表达.

Xanthohumol, a novel anti-HIV-1 agent purified from Hops Humulus lupulus

Xanthohumol, prenylchacone flavonoid, is a natural product with multi-biofunctions purified from Hops Humulus lupulus. Its anti-HIV-1 activity was tested in the present study. Results showed that xanthohumol inhibited HIV-1 induced cytopathic effects, the production of viral p24 antigen and reverse transcriptase in C8166 lymphocytes at non-cytotoxic concentration. The EC50 values were 0.82, 1.28 and 0.50 mug/ml, respectively. The therapeutic index (TI) was about 10.8. Xanthohumol also inhibited HIV-1 replication in PBMC with EC50 value of 20.74 mug/ml. The activity of recombinant HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and the HIV-1 entry were not inhibited by xanthohumol. The results from this study suggested that xanthohumol is effective against HIV-1 and might serve as an interesting lead compound. It may represent a novel chemotherapeutic agent for HIV-1 infection. However, the mechanism of its anti-HIV-1 effect needs to be further clarified. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Zinc coupling potentiates anti-HIV-1 activity of baicalin

Baicalin (BA) has been shown with anti-HIV-1 activity. Zinc is a nutrient element. The anti-HIV-1 activity of zinc complex of baicalin (BA-Zn) in vitro was studied and compared with the anti-HIV-1 activities between BA and BA-Zn in the present study. Our results suggested that BA-Zn has lower cytotoxicity and higher anti-HIV-1 activity compared with those of BA in vitro. The CC(50)s of BA-Zn and BA were 221.52 and 101.73 muM, respectively. The cytotoxicity of BA-Zn was about 1.2-fold lower than that of BA. The BA and BA-Zn inhibited HIV-1 induced syncytium formation, HIV-1 p24 antigen and HIV-1 RT production. The EC(50)s of BA-Zn on inhibiting HIV-1 induced syncytium formation (29.08 muM) and RT production (31.17 muM) were lower than those of BA (43.27 and 47.34 muM, respectively). BA-Zn was more effective than BA in inhibiting the activities of recombinant RT and HIV-1 entry into host cells. Zinc coupling enhanced the anti-HTV-1 activity of baicalin. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The anti-HIV-1 effect of scutellarin

Scutellarin was purified from the plant Erigeron breuiscapus (Vant.) Hand.-Mazz. The activity against 3 strains of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was determined in vitro in this study. These were laboratory-derived virus (HIV-I-IIIB), drug-resistant virus (HIV-I-74V), and low-passage clinical isolated virus (HIV-1(KM018)). From syncytia inhibition study, the EC50 of scutellarin against HIV-I-IIB direct infection in C8166 cells was 26 mu M with a therapeutic index of 36. When the mode of infection changed from acute infection to cell-to-cell infection, this compound became even more potent and the EC50 reduced to 15 mu M. This suggested that cell fusion might be affected by this compound. By comparing the inhibitory effects on p24 antigen, scutellarin was also found to be active against HIV-1(74V) (EC50 253 mu M) and HIV-1(KM018) (EC50 136 mu M) infection with significant difference in potency. The mechanism of its action was also explored in this study. At a concentration of 433 mu M, scutellarin inhibited 48% of the cell free recombinant HIV-1 RT activity. It also caused 82% inhibition of HIV-1 particle attachment and 45% inhibition of fusion at the concentrations of 54 mu M. In summary, scutellarin was found to inhibit several strains of HIV-1 replication with different potencies. It appeared to inhibit HIV-1 RT activity, HIV-1 particle attachment and cell fusion. These are essential activities for viral transmission and replication. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.