Avian influenza virus infection induces differential expression of genes in chicken kidney

The pathogenic process of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) infection is poorly understood. To explore the differential expression of kidney genes as a result of HPAIV infection, two cDNA libraries were constructed from uninfected and infected kidneys by suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). Fifteen genes including IFN-stimulated genes (ISG12), lymphocyte antigen 6 complex locus E gene (LY6E), matrix Gla protein gene (MGP), lysozyme gene, haemopoiesis related membrane protein I gene, KIAA1259, MGC68696, G6pe-prov protein gene (G6PC), MGC4504, alcohol dehydrogenase gene (ADH), glutathione S-transferase gene (GST), sodium-dependent high-affinity dicarboxylate transporter gene (SDCT), Synaptotagmin XV (SytXV) and two novel genes were found significantly up-regulated or dramatically suppressed. Differential expression of these genes was further identified by Northern blot. Functional analysis indicated that the regulation of their expression might contribute to the pathogenic process of HPAIV infection. In contrast, the increased expression of three IFN-stimulated genes named ISG12, LY6E, and haemopoiesis related membrane protein 1 gene might reflect host defense responses. Further study showed that ISG12 protein failed to directly interact with NS1 protein of HPAIV which expressed simultaneously in the organs where HPAIV replication occurred, by use of BacterioMatch two-hybrid system. Therefore, our findings may provide new insights into understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the pathophysiological process of HPAIV infection in chicken. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

大鼠脑胶质瘤干细胞分离及作为树突状细胞治疗抗原来源的研究

脑胶质瘤是原发性恶性脑肿瘤中最常见的一类肿瘤，其具有较差的预后性和高致死率。尽管包括手术、化疗及放疗在内的综合治疗水平在不断提高，但由于胶质瘤细胞的高度侵袭性导致治疗结果仍未得到明显改善，病人常常在治疗后很短时间内发生复发。近年来在肿瘤发生的领域提出了一个新的理论，即肿瘤干细胞理论。这个理论认为，肿瘤干细胞是肿瘤中具有自我更新、无限增殖及分化潜能的细胞，这部分细胞虽然只占少部分，但却是肿瘤发生、发展的关键。本研究主要探讨了利用化疗药物秋水仙素分离大鼠胶质瘤细胞中的干细胞样肿瘤细胞（Stem-like Cancer Cell, SLCC）的可行性，负载胶质瘤SLCC的树突状细胞疫苗在体外对肿瘤细胞的杀伤能力，以及对秋水仙素处理胶质瘤细胞的基因组不稳定性的初步探索。 C6大鼠胶质瘤细胞经不同剂量水平（0、0.5、1.0、2.0μg/ml）的秋水仙素处理后，大部分细胞发生凋亡，剩下存活的细胞经过免疫荧光染色发现其表达干细胞标志分子Nestin，提示可能是SLCC。流式和RT-PCR实验表明，经过秋水仙素处理后的存活的C6细胞表达干细胞标志分子nestin，sox2和bmi1，并且其数量随着秋水仙素浓度的增加而增加。 树突状疫苗是一种脑肿瘤的生物治疗方法。本实验通过分离大鼠的树突状细胞和淋巴细胞，体外培养并用经不同剂量组处理分离的SLCC全蛋白刺激一周后，使用MTT法检测激活的细胞毒T淋巴细胞（cytotoxic T lymphocyte，CTL）体外对肿瘤细胞的杀伤效果。结果表明，经药物分离的SLCC组诱导的CTL效果明显大于对照组，提示脑胶质瘤SLCC可以作为树突状疫苗免疫治疗的新靶点。 此外RT-PCR证明经秋水仙素处理后的胶质瘤细胞中mad2水平明显升高，表明化疗药物可能增加了肿瘤细胞中基因组不稳定性，从而导致SLCC的聚集。 综上，本实验证明了利用化疗药物秋水仙素可以分离大鼠胶质瘤细胞C6中的SLCC细胞，且该分离可能与肿瘤细胞基因组不稳定性提高有关。同时，利用负载SLCC全蛋白的树突状细胞激活的T淋巴细胞在体外具备比对照组更强的细胞杀伤能力。这些结果为以脑胶质瘤SLCC最为靶点的免疫治疗方法开发提供了基础依据。

Interaction between human interleukin-16 and CD4 receptor of HIV-1

AIM: To study the interaction between human interleukin-16 (IL-16) and the receptor CD4 (T-lymphocyte differentiation antigen) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). METHODS: Two structurally con served regions (SCRs) of human IL-16 were built by the SYBYL/Biopolymer module using the corresponding transmembrane (TM) domain of human interleukin-1 (HIL-4) and HIL-2 as the templates. The coordinates for amino-terminal residue sequence, carboxyl-terminal residue sequences, and cytoplasm loops were generated using Biopolymer's LOOP SEARCH algorithm. RESULTS: HIL-16 first formed a homodimer, then contacted with CD4 dimer further forming a dimeric complex. Subsequently, the dimeric complex constructed the tetrameric complex by two disulfide bridges between the cysteines of HIL-16 (Cys31-Cys31). CONCLUSION: The interaction model is useful to propose the action mechanism of HIL-16 and is beneficial for rational designing of novel anti-HIV drugs.

Evaluation of Clonorchis sinensis recombinant 7-kilodalton antigen for serodiagnosis of clonorchiasis

The diagnostic applicability of the Clonorchis sinensis recombinant 7-kDa protein was evaluated. In enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and immunoblots, the protein showed high sensitivities (81.3 and 71.9%, respectively) and specificities (92.6 and 89.7%, respectively) for sera obtained from various helminthic infections. Some paragonimiasis sera showed cross-reactions. The antigen might be valuable in the serodiagnosis of human clonorchiasis.

Application of impedance spectroscopy for monitoring colloid Au-enhanced antibody immobilization and antibody-antigen reactions

We used colloidal An to enhance the amount of antibody immobilized on a gold electrode and ultimately monitored the interaction of antigen-antibody by impedance measurement. Self-assembly of 6 nm (diameter) colloidal An onto the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4-aminothiophenol modified gold electrode resulted in an easier attachment of antibody. The redox reactions of [Fe(CN)(6)](4-)/[Fe(CN)(6)](3-) on the gold surface were blocked due to the procedures of self-assembly of 4-aminothiophenol and antibody immobilization, which were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The interaction of antigen with grafted antibody recognition layers was carried out by soaking the modified electrode into a phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 with various concentrations of antigen at 37 degreesC for 30 min. The antibody recognition layers and their interactions with various concentrations of antigen could be detected by measurements of the impedance change. The results show that this method has good correlation for detection of Hepatitis B virus surface antigen in the range of 0.5-200 mug/l and a detection limit of about 50 ng/l.

Enhanced surface plasmon resonance immunoassay for human complement factor 4

Using an enhanced surface plasmon resonance (SPR) immunosensor, we have determined the concentration of human complement factor 4 (C4). Antibody protein was concentrated into a carboxymethyldextran-modified gold surface by electrostatic attraction force and a simultaneous covalent immobilization of antibody based on amine coupling reaction took place. The sandwich method was applied to enhance the response signal and the specificity of antigen binding assay. The antibody immobilized surface had good response to C4 in the range of 0.02-20 mug/ml by this enhanced immunoassay. The regeneration effect by pH 2 glycine-HC1 buffer was also investigated. The same antibody immobilized surface could be used more than 80 cycles of C4 binding and regeneration. In addition, the ability to determinate C4 directly from serum sample without any purification was investigated. The sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility of the enhanced immunoassay are satisfactory. The results clearly demonstrate the advantages of the enhanced SPR technique for C4 immunoassay.

STUDIES ON INCREASING THE ACTIVITY OF SELENIUM-CONTAINING ABZYME .1. SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND PROPERTIES OF HAPTEN AND ANTIGEN

The thiol group of glutathione (GSH) reacts specifically with 2,4-di-ni-trochlorobenzene to give S-substituted dinitrophenyl glutathione (GSH-S-DNP); two carboxyl groups of GSH-S-DNP were further esterified by n-butanol to produce the hapten, multisubstrate analog GSH-S-DNP Butyl Ester (GSH-S-DNP BE). The primary structure of the hapten was characterized by the free. amino group analysis, H-1 NMR, IR determinations and the elemental analysis. The hapten was then conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) in the presence of glutaraldehyde. The reaction mixture was purified by Ultrogel AcA54 colum chromatography to give the antigen. On an average, 25 haptens were bound to each BSA molecule. Electrophoresis analysis showed that the average molecular weight of the antigen was 87 KD. CD spectrum showed that the a-helix content of the antigen increased.

Expression of Scophthalmus maximus CD83 correlates with bacterial infection and antigen stimulation

CD83 is a transmembrane glycoprotein of the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily and a surface marker for fully matured dendritic cells (DCs) in humans and mice. In teleosts, DC-like cells and their molecular markers are largely unknown. In this report, we described the identification and expressional analysis of a CD83 homologue, SmCD83, from turbot Scophthalmus maximus. The open reading frame of SmCD83 is 639 bp, which is preceded by a S'-untranslated region (UTR) of 87 bp and followed by a 3'-UTR of 1111 bp. The SmCD83 gene is 4716 bp in length, which contains five exons and four introns. The deduced amino acid sequence of SmCD83 shares 40-50% overall identities with the CD83 of several fish species. Like typical CD83, SmCD83 possesses an Ig-like extracellular domain, a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic domain. The conserved disulfide bond-forming cysteine residues and the N-linked glycosylation sites that are preserved in CD83 are also found in SmCD83. Expressional analysis showed that constitutive expression of SmCD83 was high in gill, blood, spleen, muscle, and kidney and low in heart and liver. Bacterial infection and poly(I:C) treatment enhanced SmCD83 expression in kidney in time-dependent manners. Likewise, bacterial challenge caused significant induction of SmCD83 expression in cultured macrophages. Vaccination of turbot with a bacterin and a purified recombinant subunit vaccine-induced significant SmCD83 expression during the first week following vaccination. These results demonstrate that SmCD83 expression correlates with microbial challenge and antigen stimulation, which suggests the possibility that there may exist in turbot DC-like antigen-presenting cells that express SmCD83 upon activation by antigen uptake. In addition, these results also suggest that SmCD83 may serve as a marker for activated macrophages in turbot. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.