Molecular cloning, characterization and mRNA expression of peroxiredoxin in Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri

Peroxiredoxin V (PRX V) is known as an atypical 2-cysteine peroxiredoxin that protects the organisms against various oxidative stresses and functions in signal transduction. The cDNA of a PRX V gene (designated as CfPRX) was cloned from scallop Chlamys farreri. The full-length sequence of CfPRX cDNA was of 2,179 bp with a 564 bp open reading frame encoding a peptide of 187 amino acids. Sequence comparison showed that CfPRX shared higher identities with PRX Vs than that with other isoforms of PRX, indicating CfPRX was a member of the PRX V family. Fluorescent real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed the presence of CfPRX transcripts in gill filaments, adductor muscle, heart, gonad, kidney and hemocytes, and the stimulation of Listonella anguillarum significantly (P < 0.01) enhanced the mRNA expression of CfPRX in hemocyte. These results indicated that CfPRX was a constitutive and inducible acute-phase protein which was involved in the immune resistance to L. anguillarum stimulation.

CDNA cloning and mRNA expression of the lipopolysaccharide- and beta-1,3-glucan-binding protein gene from scallop Chlamys farreri

Lipopolysaccharide and beta-1,3-glucan-binding protein (LGBP) play a crucial role in the innate immune response of invertebrates as a pattern recognition protein (PRP). The scallop LGBP gene was obtained from Chlamys farreri challenged by Vibrio anguillarum by randomly sequencing cDNA clones from a whole body cDNA library, and by fully sequencing a clone with homology to known LGBP genes. The scallop LGBP consisted of 1876 nucleotides with a canonical polyadenylation signal sequence AATAAA and a poly(A) tail, encoding a polypeptide of 440 amino acids with the estimated molecular mass of 47.16 kDa and a predicted isoelectric point of 5.095. The deduced amino acid sequence showed a high similarity to that of invertebrate recognition proteins from blue shrimp, black tiger shrimp, mosquito, freshwater crayfish, earthworms, and sea urchins, with conserved features including a potential polysaccharide-binding motif, a glucanase motif, and N-glycosylation sites. The temporal expression of LGBP genes in healthy and V. anguillarum-challenged C farreri scallop, measured by real-time semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR), showed that expression was up-regulated initially, followed by recovery as the stimulation cleared. Results indicated that scallop LGBP was a constitutive and inducible acute-phase protein that could play a critical role in scallop-pathogen interaction. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The cDNA cloning and mRNA expression of a potential selenium-binding protein gene in the scallop Chlamys farreri

Selenium binding proteins (SeBP) represent a family of proteins that are believed to be involved in controlling the oxidation/reduction in many physiological processes. The cDNA of Zhikong Scallop Chlamys farreri selenium binding protein (zSeBP) was cloned by expressed sequence tag (EST) and RACE techniques. The high similarity of zSeBP deduced amino acid sequence with the SeBP in other organisms, such as bird, fish, frog, mosquito, fruit fly, mammalian, and even nematode and microorganism indicated that zSeBP should be a member of SeBP family. The temporal expression of zSeBP in the hemocytes was measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR after scallops were stimulated by either oxidative stress or microbial challenge. The expression of zSeBP was up-regulated progressively after stimulation, and then dropped gradually to the original level. Meanwhile, malondialdehyde (MDA) measured by the colorimetric method in the microbial challenged scallops increased immediately after scallops was challenged by microbes, and was significantly higher than that in the control scallops. Results indicated that the microbial infection could incense the disorder of oxidation/reduction and may result in high MDA production. The negative correlation between the expression level of zSeBP and the MDA content suggested that zSeBP could play an important role in mediating the anti-oxidation mechanisms and immune response in marine invertebrates. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The cDNA cloning and mRNA expression of heat shock protein 70 gene in the haemocytes of bay scallop (Argopecten irradians, Lamarck 1819) responding to bacteria challenge and naphthalin stress

Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is an important member of the heat shock protein superfamily, and it plays a key role in the process of protecting cells, facilitating the folding of nascent peptides and responding to stress. The cDNA of bay scallop Argopecten irradians HSP70 (designated AIHSP70) was cloned by the techniques of homological cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE). The full length of AIHSP70 cDNA was 2651 bp in length, having a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 96 bp, a 3' UTR of 575 bp, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 1980 bp encoding a polypeptide of 659 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 71.80 kDa and an estimated isoelectric point of 5.26. BLAST analysis revealed that the AIHSP70 gene shared high identity with other known HSP70 genes. Three classical HSP signature motifs were detected in AIHSP70 by InterPro, analysis. 3-D structural prediction of AIHSP70 showed that its N terminal ATPase activity domain and,C terminal substrate-binding domain shared high similarity with that in human heat shock protein 70. The results indicated that the AIHSP70 was a member of the heat shock protein 70 family. A semi-quantitive RT-PCR method was used to analyse the expression of AIHSP70 gene after the treatment of naphthalin which is one kind of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and the challenge of bacteria. mRNA expression of AIHSP70 in scallop was up-regulated significantly after the stimulation of naphthalin and increased with increasing naphthalin concentration. A clearly time-dependent expression pattern of AIHSP70 was observed after the scallops were infected by Vibrio anguillarum, and the mRNA expression reached a maximum level at 8 h and lasted to 16 h, and then dropped progressively. The results indicated that AIHSP70 could play an important role in mediating the environmental stress and immune response in scallop. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two-Dimensional Kinetics Of Beta(2)-Integrin And Icam-1 Bindings Between Neutrophils And Melanoma Cells In A Shear Flow

Cell adhesion, mediated by specific receptor-ligand interactions, plays an important role in biological processes such as tumor metastasis and inflammatory cascade. For example, interactions between beta(2)-integrin ( lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 and/or Mac-1) on polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) and ICAM-1 on melanoma cells initiate the bindings of melanoma cells to PMNs within the tumor microenvironment in blood flow, which in turn activate PMN-melanoma cell aggregation in a near-wall region of the vascular endothelium, therefore enhancing subsequent extravasation of melanoma cells in the microcirculations. Kinetics of integrin-ligand bindings in a shear flow is the determinant of such a process, which has not been well understood. In the present study, interactions of PMNs with WM9 melanoma cells were investigated to quantify the kinetics of beta(2)-integrin and ICAM-1 bindings using a cone-plate viscometer that generates a linear shear flow combined with a two-color flow cytometry technique. Aggregation fractions exhibited a transition phase where it first increased before 60 s and then decreased with shear durations. Melanoma-PMN aggregation was also found to be inversely correlated with the shear rate. A previously developed probabilistic model was modified to predict the time dependence of aggregation fractions at different shear rates and medium viscosities. Kinetic parameters of beta(2)-integrin and ICAM-1 bindings were obtained by individual or global fittings, which were comparable to respectively published values. These findings provide new quantitative understanding of the biophysical basis of leukocyte-tumor cell interactions mediated by specific receptor-ligand interactions under shear flow conditions.

冬小麦春化过程中低温诱导的开花特异mRNA及蛋白质的合成

本实验以冬小麦“农大139”（T. aestivum L. cv. Nongda 139）为材料对春化作用诱导开花的分子机制作了一些探讨，主要结果如下： 1. 应用SDS-PAGE及高分辨双向电泳技术，比较了冬小麦给予春化、脱春化及超期春化处理后的电泳图谱，并结合对春小麦对照样品的分析，结果发现有一些蛋白质和春化作用紧密相关，它们随春化而出现、随脱春化而消失，并在不经低温处理即可以开花的春小麦对照中存在。也就是说，这些开花特异的蛋白质（FSPs）的存在或在诱导下的合成和小麦抽穗开花能力的获得存在一种正相关，因此推测它们在冬小麦由营养生长状态向生殖生长状态转变的过程中起了关键性的作用。 2. 从不同处理的及对照样品中提取mRNA进行体外翻译的结果表明：春化作用过程中低温诱导了mRNA组分的变化，其中一些新产生的mRNA种类与春化诱导的开花能力的获得呈高度相关，即它们是开花特异的（Flower Specific），它们中有的只在春化的特定时期存在并起作用。 3．比较体内分析及体外翻译的结果发现，一些开花特异蛋白质（FSPs）可以同时在体内提取物及体外翻译产物中检测到，因此，春化作用中开花特异蛋白质诱导合成的调节很可能发生在转录水平上。 4．基于以上结果的分析可以推测春化诱导开花是低温导致了开花特异基因表达的结果，超期春化的效应不能被脱春化所逆转则系编码这些开花特异蛋白质的基因在长期低温条件下转变成了组成性表达所致。 有关低温诱导产生的开花特异蛋白质的性质与功能及编码这些蛋白质的基因尚需进一步研究。

光敏核不育水稻中光敏色素A mRNA的丰度分析及光敏色素A和B生物功能的分析

本文以光敏色素A (phyA)的特异性基因片段RPA3为探针，利用RNA斑点杂交的方法对光敏核不育水稻农垦58S及对照农垦58叶片中phyA mRNA的丰度进行了分析。结果显示：在育性转换敏感期，光周期处理O天时，农垦58S (NK 58S) phyA mR-NA的丰度比农垦58 (NK 58) phyA mRNA的高。光周期处理5天（雌雄蕊原基形成期）及10天（花粉母细胞形成期）时，短日照条件下(SD)，NK 58S phyA mRNA的丰度均比NK58高。进一步比较3天龄NK58S及NK58黄化苗中phyA基因表达的差异，发现NK58S phyA mRNA的丰度比NK58高，并且两品种均符合黄化苗中phyA对其mRNA丰度的负调控作用。这一结果进一步证实：甲基化水平低的NK58S phyA基因比NK58 phyA基因更活跃地表达，进而导致转录水平与翻译水平上的差异，最终参与调节NK 58S的育性转换。 另外，通过持续远红光和红光照射黄化水稻幼苗诱导叶绿素合成的实验，分析了NK58S与NK58之间光敏色素生物功能的差异。持续远红光高辐照度反应(FR-HIR)由phyA负责调节，持续红光高辐照度反应(R-HIR)由phyB负责调节。实验结果显示：持续FR使NK58S与NK58合成叶绿素的含量在12 h时达到最高，并且NK58中叶绿素合成的相对效应比NK585高。持续R使NK58S及NK58中叶绿素的含量在24小时连续处理下持续增加，而且在此时间进程中，NK58中叶绿素合成的相对效应也都比NK58S高。这些结果说明在NK58S和NK58中phyA和phyB均参与了叶绿素合成的调节，并且phyA，phyB在NK58S和NK58黄化苗转绿过程中的作用存在差异。

Melanoma cell growth inhibition by beta gamma-CAT, which is a novel non-lens betagamma-crystallin and trefoil factor complex from frog Bombina maxima skin

In vertebrates, non-lens beta gamma-crystallins are widely expressed in various tissues but their functions are unknown. The molecular mechanisms of trefoil factors, initiators of mucosal healing and being greatly involved in tumorigenesis, have remained

Anti-thrombosis Repertoire of Blood-feeding Horsefly Salivary Glands

Blood-feeding arthropods rely heavily on the pharmacological properties of their saliva to get a blood meal and suppress immune reactions of hosts. Little information is available on antihemostatic substances in horsefly salivary glands although their sal

Composition and evolution of the V2r vorneronasal receptor gene repertoire in mice and rats

Pheromones are chemicals produced and detected by conspecifics to elicit social/sexual physiological and behavioral responses, and they are perceived primarily by the vomeronasal organ (VNO) in terrestrial vertebrates. Two large superfamilies of G protein-coupled receptors, V1rs and V2rs, have been identified as pheromone receptors in vomeronasal sensory neurons. Based on a computational analysis of the mouse and rat genome sequences, we report the first global draft of the V2r gene repertoire, composed of similar to 200 genes and pseudogenes. Rodent V2rs are subject to rapid gene births/deaths and accelerated amino acid substitutions, likely reflecting the species-specific nature of pheromones. Vertebrate V2rs appear to have originated twice prior to the emergence of the VNO in ancestral tetrapods, explaining seemingly inconsistent observations among different V2rs. The identification of the entire V2r repertoire opens the door to genomic-level studies of the structure, function, and evolution of this diverse group of sensory receptors. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Secondary structural analysis of the mRNA regions encoding the hemagglutinin cleavage site basic amino acids of the avian influenza virus H5N1 subtype samples

Here we report the codon bias and the mRNA secondary structural features of the hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage site basic amino acid regions of avian influenza virus H5N1 subtypes. We have developed a dynamic extended folding strategy to predict RNA secondar

Effects of rhFSH regimen and time interval on ovarian responses to repeated stimulation cycles in rhesus monkeys during a physiologic breeding season

We studied the effects of repeated stimulation by recombinant human FSH (rhFSH) at various time intervals during a physiologic breeding season in rhesus monkeys. Ovarian recovery and responses were assessed by ultrasonography, serum steroid concentrations

Dynamic changes in ovarian follicles measured by ultrasonography during gonadotropin stimulation in rhesus monkeys

The objective was to study dynamic changes of ovaries in rhesus macaques stimulated by gonadotropins to identify an indicator for predicting ovarian response to stimulation. Twenty-one cycling monkeys were given 36 IU/d recombinant human follicle-stimulat

Ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation in juvenile rhesus monkeys

The objective of this study was to investigate juvenile rhesus monkeys responding to various gonadotropin regimen Stimulations. Thirty-two prepubertal rhesus monkeys were randomly allocated into five groups for ovarian stimulation as follows: Groups I, II