绵羊肺腺瘤病毒pEGFP-C1/exJSRV-env构建及引起NIH3T3细胞恶性转化的研究

Research on Construction of Sheep Lung Adenomas Virus pEGFP-C1/exJSRV-env and Induction of Malignant Transformation in NIH3T3

为了构建绵羊肺腺瘤病毒囊膜基因真核表达质粒并观察绵羊肺腺瘤病毒囊膜蛋白在293T细胞中的定位情况以及探讨是否可诱导NIH3T3细胞发生恶性转化,本研究采用RT-PCR技术从自然感染绵羊肺腺瘤病的病羊肺组织中克隆完整的外源性绵羊肺腺瘤病毒囊膜基因(exJSRV-env),并将其亚克隆到真核表达载体pEGFP-C1中。构建好真核表达质粒经PCR、酶切和测序鉴定。同时对exJSRV-env基因进行生物信息学分析。采用脂质体法将该重组质粒转染293T细胞,观察其在真核细胞中的表达及定位情况。将该重组质粒转染NIH3T3细胞,观察细胞是否发生恶性转化。用软琼脂集落实验检查转染重组质粒的NIH3T3细胞的生长状态。结果显示真核表达质粒构建成功并命名为pEGFP-C1/exJSRV-env。exJSRV囊膜蛋白的氨基酸序列与参考株比对发现该囊膜基因的跨膜区(TM区)的胞质尾区具有外源性病毒特有的YXXM基序。系统进化树也表明我们克隆的exJSRV-env基因属于致病性的外源性病毒。运用生物信息学技术分析env基因编码的蛋白质的基本性质,并预测其可能的结构。亚细胞定位表明exJSRV囊膜蛋白主要分布于细胞膜。转染pEGFP-C1/exJSRV-env质粒的NIH3T3细胞接触抑制性消失,可在软琼脂中形成集落。说明绵羊肺腺瘤病毒的囊膜蛋白可引起NIH3T3细胞发生恶性转化。研究结果为进一步探讨exJSRV囊膜蛋白的结构和功能及其致病机理提供了实验基础。

This study aims to construct a eukaryotic expression system for envelope gene of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus, observes its localization in 293T cells, and investigates the potential in inducing malignant transformation of NIH3T3 cells. By RT-PCR, the full-length cDNA of envelope gene of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus （exJSRV-env） was amplified from the extract of naturally infected sheep lung. The clone of target gene was sub-cloned into eukaryotic expression system pEGFP-C1, and validated by PCR, restriction endonuclease, and sequencing. Bioinformatic analysis concerning biological function and cellular localization of exJSRV-env was also performed. The recombinant clone of exJSRV-env was transfected into 293T cells and NIH3T3 cells by Lipofectamine^R LTX. The expression and celluar localization in 293T cells were validated by confocal microscopy. Soft agar colony formation assay was employed to test the anchorage-independent growth of NIH3T3. DNA sequencing and restriction enzyme digestion with Kpn I and HindⅢ indicated the correct construction of the recombinant plasmid, which was named pEGFP-C1/exJSRV-env. Amino acid sequence alignment of exJSRV-env with reference sequences found 85%-100% homogeneity. A YRNM motif was discovered at the cytoplasmic tail of envelope gene, which is exclusively found in exogenous viruses. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that our clone of exJSRV-env clustered closely with pathogenic exogenous Jaagsiekte sheep retroviruses. Fluorescence microscopy indicated typical membrane localization of exJSRV-env protein. NIH3T3 cells transfected with exJSRV-env lost contact inhibition, and acquired colony forming ability in soft agar. This study indicated that envelope protein of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus can induce malignant transformation of mouse fibroblast cell NIH3T3. Discoveries of this study provide a basis for further structural and functional research on Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus envelope pro-tein.