In vivo studies on toxin accumulation in liver and ultrastructural changes of hepatocytes of the phytoplanktivorous bighead carp i.p.-injected with extracted microcystins

Phytoplanktivorous bighead carp were injected i.p. with extracted microcystins (mainly MC-RR and -LR) at two doses, 200 and 500 MC-LReq. mu g kg(-1) bw, and the changes in extractable MCs in liver and in the ultrastructure of hepatocytes were studied at 1, 3, 12, 24 and 48 h after injection. Quantitative and qualitative determinations of MCs in the liver were conducted by HPLC and LC-MS, respectively. MC concentration in the liver reached the maxima at 12 It (2.89 mu g MCs g(-1) dry weight at the lower dose) or at 3 h (5.43 mu g MCs g(-1) dry weight at the higher dose) post-injection, followed by sharp declines afterwards, whereas the ultrastructural changes of hepatocytes in both dose groups suggest progressive increases in severity toward the directions of apoptosis and necrosis from I to 24 h, respectively. There were two new findings in fish: widening of intercellular spaces was among the early ultrastructural changes induced by MCs and ultrastructural recovery of hepatocytes was evident at 48 h post-injection in both dose groups. Both the present and previous studies suggest that with in vivo or in vitro exposure to microcystins, hepatocyte damage in fish tends to proceed toward the direction of apoptosis at lower MC concentrations but toward the direction of necrosis at high MC concentrations. The temporal dynamics of MCs in the liver suggest that bighead carp may have a mechanism to degrade or bind MC-LR actively after it enters the blood system. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discovery and characterization of two types of liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP-2) genes in rainbow trout

The sequences and gene organisation of two LEAP-2 molecules (LEAP-2A and LEAP-2B) from rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss are presented. Both genes consist of a 3 exon/2 intron structure, with exon sizes comparable to known mammalian genes. LEAP-2A notably differs from LEAP-2B in having larger introns and a larger 3'UTR. The predicted proteins contain a signal peptide and prodomain, followed by a mature peptide of 41 aa containing four conserved cysteines. The RXXR cleavage site to release the mature peptide was also conserved. Both genes were found to be constitutively expressed in the liver, with expression in the intestine, and to a lesser extent the skin, evident after bacterial challenge. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Total and subcellular distribution of trace elements in the liver of a mother-fetus pair of Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli)

Total and subcellular hepatic Zn, Cu, Se, Mn, V, Hg, Cd, and Ag were determined in a mother-fetus pair of Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli). Except for higher fetal Cu concentration, all maternal elements were higher. Elements existed mostly in the cytosol of both animals except in the case of maternal Ag in the microsome and fetal Cu and Ag in the nuclei and mitochondria. In the maternal cytosol, Zn, Mn, Hg, and Ag were present in the high-molecular-weight substances (HMW); Se and V were present in the low-molecular-weight substances (LMW); Cu and Cd were mostly sequestered by metallothionein (MT). In the fetal cytosol, Zn, Se, Mn, Hg, Cd, and Ag were present in the HMW and V in the LMW, while Cu and Ag were mostly associated with MT. MT isoforms were characterized using the HPLC/ICP-MS. Two and four obvious peaks appeared in the maternal and fetal MT fractions, respectively. The highest elemental ion intensities were at a retention time of 7.8 min for the mother, and for the fetus the peak elemental ion intensities occurred at a retention time of 4.3 min, suggesting that different MT isoforms may be involved in elemental accumulation in maternal and fetal hepatocytosols. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isolation of a lethal rhabdovirus from the cultured Chinese sucker Myxocyprinus asiaticus

A rhabdovirus was found to be associated with a lethal hemorrhagic disease in the cultured Chinese sucker Myxocyprinus asiaticus Bleeker. The rhabdovirus was amplified and isolated from the infected GCO, (grass carp ovary) cells. In ultrathin sections of liver cells from the diseased fish, the virus particles exhibited the characteristic bacilliform morphology, and budded through vesicle membranes of the infected cells. The isolated rhabdovirus particles were found to have a bacilliform morphology with 2 rounded ends rather than a typical flat base. The virus particles were measured and ranged in size from 150 to 200 nm in length and 50 to 60 nm in diameter. Most other characteristics, including their size, extensive virus infectivity to fish cell Lines, strong cytopathogenic effects, stability at high temperatures, vesicle formation in infected cells, structure protein electrophoretic patterns and the presence of an RNA genome, very closely resembled those of other fish rhabdoviruses. At present it is not known if this is a novel virus species or if it is an isolate of a known fish rhabdovirus. Until a confirmed identification can be made, we will temporarily refer to this virus as Chinese sucker rhabdovirus (CSRV).

人载脂蛋白APOA5的克隆表达纯化及相互作用蛋白研究

人类的载脂蛋白A5（apolipoprotein A5，APOA5）是一个新近发现的载脂蛋白家族成员。它在血浆中的含量比其他载脂蛋白低1-2个数量级，但能显著影响血浆三酰甘油水平，对血脂代谢具有重要意义，可以作为降血脂药物治疗中一个强有力的潜在靶标。 由于APOA5在血浆中含量低，直接从血浆中分离纯化很困难，国内一直没有报道简易可靠的纯化方法。为进一步研究APOA5的生物学特性，探讨其与TG代谢中的其它关键成分之间的相互关系，揭示其在脂类代谢相关疾病中的重要地位，必须有大量的蛋白和抗体用于基础研究。因此本研究首先利用基因工程技术，诱导表达纯化APOA5蛋白，免疫动物制备多克隆抗体，为进一步研究人肝脏细胞中APOA5的相互作用蛋白，研究APOA5蛋白在肝脏细胞中的功能奠定基础。 为了深入研究APOA5在肝脏中如何行使功能，我们采用细菌双杂交技术寻找与APOA5相互作用的蛋白因子。并采用Pull-down技术，免疫荧光及免疫共沉淀技术进一步确证其在体外和体内的相互作用关系，为进一步阐明APOA5在体内的生理功能提供了新的线索。 第一部分 APOA5基因的克隆、原核表达、纯化及其多克隆抗体的制备 本研究首先应用基因克隆技术，从人肝癌细胞系SMMC-7721的cDNA中扩增出1.1 kb的ApoA5基因全长序列。然后将其克隆至表达载体pThioHisD，构建原核表达载体pTH-APOA5。该重组质粒转化至大肠杆菌 BL21（DE3），成功实现人APOA5融合蛋白在大肠杆菌中的表达。经发酵得到高效表达的融合蛋白。 融合蛋白在 IPGT 诱导下以包涵体的形式大量表达。利用融合蛋白上的一段组氨酸序列，用镍离子亲和柱进行纯化和复性后，获得较高纯度的人APOA5融合蛋白。利用该融合蛋白免疫新西兰大耳白兔，获得了高效价的兔抗人APOA5多克隆抗体，Western Blot结果显示此多克隆抗体与APOA5特异性结合。 第二部分 细菌双杂交筛选与APOA5相互作用的蛋白 本实验首先构建了pBT-APOA5重组质粒，经双酶切、PCR和测序鉴定证明重组诱饵质粒构建成功，并进行了表达、自激活鉴定。Western Blot鉴定证实报告菌株中表达了分子量为 68 kD左右的重组融合蛋白，与预测的分子量APOA5（41 kD）/lamda cI （27 kD）一致。自激活实验证明诱饵蛋白不能单独激活报告基因，可用于筛选人肝脏cDNA文库。经过双重抗性筛选和回复筛选，分离出10个阳性克隆。对结果进行生物信息学分析，得到7个与APOA5相互作用的蛋白，其中BI1为细胞凋亡调节因子；ATP6、CYTB、ND2、COX-1为线粒体表达蛋白； ALB、TTR为血清蛋白。 第三部分 APOA5与BI1相互作用的确证 首先构建了BI1的原核表达载体pGEX-5X-3-BI1，利用Pull-down实验检测了APOA5与BI1在体外具有相互作用。然后构建了BI1的真核表达载体pCDNA3.1-HA-BI1和APOA5的真核表达载体pCDNA3.1-APOA5，并验证其表达。通过免疫荧光细胞内共定位研究发现，靶蛋白APOA5主要分布于胞浆，与BI1在HEK293细胞有共定位，即APOA5与BI1存在相互作用的可能。最后利用免疫共沉淀手段，在HEK293细胞中确证了靶蛋白APOA5与BI1在体内的相互作用。 上述研究结果，为深入研究APOA5在体内的生物学功能提供了新的思路。 Apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) is a newly discovered protein belongs to apolipoprotein family. APOA5’s concentration is 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than other apolipoproteins in the circulation. APOA5 significantly affected plasma triglyceride levels, which is important on lipid metabolism. APOA5 has strong potential to be used as a hypolipidemic drug target. Large amount of APOA5 protein and antibodies are needed in basic research, such as biological characteristics study of the APOA5, its relationship with other key components in TG metabolism, its role played in Lipid metabolism-related diseases. Due to its low concentration in plasma, separation and purification of APOA5 from the plasma is very difficult. Until now no report on simple and reliable method for purification has been published in China. In this study, we firstly got APOA5 recombinant protein using genetic engineering technology. The purified recombinant protein was used to immunize rabbits to get antiserum. It is important for further study of the APOA5 protein-interacting protein. And it lays the foundation for studing APOA5 function in liver. In order to study APOA5 function in liver, we used bacterial two-hybrid technology to find the APOA5 protein interactor. Pull-down, immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation techniques were used to further confirm the interaction between APOA5 with its interactor in vitro and in vivo. All of these stdudies provided new clues on its physiological functions in vivo. Part I: Cloning, prokaryotic expression, purification and polyclonal antibody preparation of APOA5 First of all, we amplified APOA5 CDS sequence from the human hepatoma cell line SMMC-7721, and subcloned into Expression vector pThioHisD, and got the recombinants named pTH-APOA5. The plasmid was transformed to BL21 (DE3). E. coli BL21(DE3) cells bearing the pTH-APOA5 plasmid were cultured and APOA5 protein synthesis was induced by the addition of IPTG. Recombinant protein was expression in the form of inclusion. Inclusion bodies were dissolved in phosphate-buffered saline containing 8 M urea and 40 mM imidazole, then applied to a Ni2+ affinity column, and were eluted in a buffer containing 4 M urea and 200 mM imidazole. Fractions containing the APOA5 protein were pooled and dialyzed against buffer containing phosphate-buffered saline. Antiserum to recombinant human APOA5 was generated by immuning rabbit. Western Blot showed that this antiserum specific binding with APOA5. Part II Two-hybrid system screening protein interactions with the APOA5 The coding sequence of human APOA5 was amplified using synthetic oligonucleotide primers from pTH-APOA5 vector and was subcloned into the pBT plasmidc to yield pBT-APOA5 vector. DNA sequencing was performed to verify that no unwanted mutations occurred during the process of plasmid vector construction. We verified recombinant protein expression and tested self-activation by pBT-APOA5 prior to screening. Western Blot verified inducing a 68 kD band, consistent with the predicted molecular weight (APOA5 41 kD, lamda cI 27 kD). pBT-APOA5 can be used for screening human liver cDNA library because it can not self-activation. Totally 10 positive clones were isolated. The nucleotide sequence of the positive clones were determined and compared to NCBI nucleotide sequence databases. We got 7 protein which interact with APOA5, included BI1(Apoptosis regulator); ATP6, CYTB, ND2, COX-1(Mitochondrial protein) and ALB, TTR(Serum protein). Part III Confirming of interaction between APOA5 with BI1 pGEX-5X-3-BI1 vector was subcloned at first. Pull-down experiments were used to detect the interaction between APOA5 with BI1 in vitro. Later, pCDNA3.1-HA-BI1 and pCDNA3.1-APOA5 were subcloned. Through immunofluorescence co-localization study, we found APOA5 mainly distributed in the cytoplasm. APOA5 is co-localization with BI1 in HEK293 cells. Finally, we verified interaction between APOA5 with BI1 in vivo through immunoprecipitation.

Radiosensitivity of hepatoma cell lines and human normal liver cell lines exposed in vitro to carbon ions and argon ions at the HIRFL

Human hepatoma (SMMC-7721) and normal liver (L02) cells were irradiated with c-rays, 12C6+ and 36Ar18+ ion beams at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL). By using the Calyculin-A induced premature chromosome condensation technique, chromatid-type breaks and isochromatid-type breaks were scored separately. Tumor cells irradiated with heavy ions produced a majority of isochromatid break, while chromatid breaks were dominant when cells were exposed to c-rays. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for irradiation-induced chromatid breaks were 3.6 for L02 and 3.5 for SMMC-7721 cell lines at the LET peak of 96 keVlm 1 12C6+ ions, and 2.9 for both of the two cell lines of 512 keVlm 1 36Ar18+ ions. It suggested that the RBE of isochromatid-type breaks was pretty high when high-LET radiations were induced. Thus we concluded that the high production of isochromatid-type breaks, induced by the densely ionizing track structure, could be regarded as a signature of high-LET radiation exposure.

Antioxidant N-acetylcysteine attenuates the acute liver injury caused by X-ray in mice

The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effects of different doses and administration modes of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) against X-ray-induced liver damage in mice. Kun-Ming mice were divided into four groups, each composed of six animals: two control groups and two NAC-treated groups. An acute study was carried out to determine alterations in lipid peroxidation (determined by measuring malondiadehyde (MDA) level), glutathione (GSH) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity (assayed by colorimetric method), and DNA damage (characterized by DNA-single strand break using with comet assay) as well as cell apoptosis (measured by flow cytometry) at 12 h after irradiation. The results showed that there were dose-related decreases in MDA level, DNA damage and cell apoptosis, and dose-dependent increases in GSH content and SOD activity in all NAC-treated groups compared to control groups, indicating that pre-treatment or post-treatment with NAC significantly attenuates the acute liver damage caused by X-ray. In addition, significant positive correlations were observed between MDA level and DNA damage or cell apoptosis, implying that lipid peroxidation plays a major role in X-ray-induced liver injury. The data suggest that NAC exerts its radioprotective effect by counteracting accumulated reactive oxygen species in the liver through its properties as a direct antioxidant and a GSH precursor, when administered before or after X-ray irradiation.

Radiobiological response of human hepatoma and normal liver cells exposed to carbon ions generated by Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou

Human hepatoma and normal liver cells were irradiated with C-12(6+), ion beams (LET= 96.05 keV/mu m) and gamma-rays at Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL). The chromatid breaks and break types were detected using the premature chromosome condensation technique. Our experimental results showed that chromatid breaks seem to have a good relation with C-12(6+) absorbed dose and C-12(6+) are more effective to induce chromatid breaks as compared to they-rays. For C-12(6+) ion irradiation the major break was isochromatid break, while chromatid breaks were dominant for gamma-ray irradiation. We also observed that the Relative Biology Effectiveness (RBE) of C-12(6+) ion is about 2.5 times higher than that of gamma-rays.

两种保护剂对C离子诱导小鼠急性肝损伤的应答；Response of Two Protective Agents to Acute Injury Induced by ~(12)C~(6+) Ions in Mouse Liver

比较了N-乙酰半胱氨酸(NAC)及乙酰左旋肉毒碱(ALCAR)对12C6+离子照射小鼠的损伤效应,并探讨了其可能的作用机制。利用4Gy剂量的12C6+离子束对预先给予NAC(100mg/kg)和ALCAR(100mg/kg)保护的昆明小鼠进行单次全身照射。随后检测肝组织中总抗氧化能力(TAC)、DNA单链断裂和细胞凋亡率。结果显示,与照射对照组相比,提前给予NAC和ALCAR均极显著地增强了肝组织的抗氧化能力(P<0.001),减轻了12C6+离子导致的肝组织中DNA断裂(P<0.001)和细胞凋亡(P<0.001)。此外,还发现ALCAR组抗重离子辐照损伤的能力显著地高于NAC组(P<0.05)。实验结果提示了NAC和ALCAR可通过抵御组织内的氧化胁迫,阻止DNA链的断裂和细胞的凋亡,实现对C离子辐照损伤的保护效应。而且ALCAR比NAC可能更适合成为有潜力、有希望的抗C重离子辐射药物。