Cloning and Bioinformatics Analysis of Rosa rugosa β-1,3-Glucanase Gene (RrGlu)

In order to reveal which role the callose played in R. rugosa pollination incompatibility, the full-length cDNA sequence of β-1,3-glucanase gene was cloned for the first time from the stylus of Rosa rugosa “Tanghong” with RT-PCR and RACE methods and named as RrGlu. The full-length cDNA is 1380 bp with an open reading frame of 1041 bp, encoding 346 amino acids. The derived protein has a molecular weight of 37.85 kD, a calculated pI of 9.12, a pfam00332 conserved domain at position 36 - 345, and belongs to glycosyl hydrolase family 17. The derived protein is a hydrophilic protein secreted into the vacuole. There is a signal peptide cleavage site at position 34 - 35, a transmembrane domain at position 13 - 32, six Ser phosphorylation sites, three Thr phosphorylation sites, three Tyr phosphorylation sites, one N-glycosylation site, and five O-glycosylation sites. There are 31.50% α-helixes, 30.92% random coil, 25.14% extended peptide chain, and 12.43% β-corner structure. This protein and the Glu protein from eight other species, including Prunus persica, share a sequence homology of greater than 72%;all of the proteins contain a pfam00332 conserved domain and a β-1,3-glucanase active center sequence (LIVM)-X-(LIVMFYW)3-(STAG)-E-(ST)-G-W-P-(ST)-X-G. Furthermore, their phylogenetic relationships are consistent with their traditional classifications. These results were meaningful to reveal the molecular mechanism of R. rugosa pollination incompatibility and improve the theory and techniques of breeding ornamental R. rugosa.

猪α-1,3-半乳糖转移酶基因打靶载体的构建

目的:构建猪α-1,3-半乳糖转移酶(GGTA1)基因的正负筛选打靶载体。方法:以原代猪胚胎成纤维细胞基因组DNA为模板,采用长程PCR方法扩增出GGTA1基因的2条片段;以长约2kb包含部分第9外显子的片段为同源短臂,在XbaⅠ和ClaⅠ位点插入pLoxP质粒正筛选标记neo基因的3'端;以长约5.4kb包括部分第8外显子、全部第8内含子及部分第9外显子的片段为同源长臂,于NotⅠ位点插入该质粒中neo基因的5'端;2.7kb的负筛选标记tk基因位于载体中同源短臂的3'端外侧。结果与结论:酶切、PCR及测序结果表明,同源臂被正确连接至质粒pLoxP,成功构建了猪GGTA1基因正负筛选打靶载体pSL/GT。

Transgenic Pigs Carrying a Synthesized Fatty Acid Desaturase Gene Yield High Level of ω-3 PUFAs

Polyunsaturated fatty acids （PUFAs） are essential for normal growth in mammals, especially the ω-3 PUFAs, which play important roles in preventing several life-threatening diseases, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the sFat-1 gene from Caenorhabditis briggsae could be functionally expressed in transgenic pigs, and whether the transgenic could synthesize high quality ω-3 PUFAs endogenously. In this study, a gene construct consisting of CMV promoter and 1.9 kb cDNA of ω-3 fatty acid desaturase gene （sFat-1） from C. briggsae was injected into the male pronucleus of pig embryos by microinjection. The piglets were screened for the transgene by PCR, Southern blot and reverse transcription-PCR analysis. Pigs that give positive results were mated with wild-type pigs to produce the next generation and the transmission of transgene was examined by PCR analysis. Fatty acids compositions of various tissues in the transgenic pigs were then analyzed by gas chromatograph. A total of 878 embryos were transferred into 42 recipients, among which 29 successfully got pregnant and gave birth to a total of 162 piglets, and 8 of them were identified to be transgenic. Fatty acid compositions in the transgenic pigs were altered, and the levels of ω-6：ω-3 ratios were decreased from 14.53 in the control to 2.62 in Fat-1 transgenic pigs. A number of primary sFat-1-transgenic pigs were bred in this study, which lays the foundation for cultivation of new varieties of transgenic pigs.

(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate enhances poly I:C-induced interferon-λ1 production and inhibits hepatitis C virus replication in hepatocytes

AIM To investigate the effect of(-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate(EGCG) on polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid(poly I:C)-triggered intracellular innate immunity against hepatitis C virus(HCV) in hepatocytes. METHODS A cell culture model of HCV infection was generated by infecting a hepatoma cell line, Huh7, with HCV JFH-1 strain(JFH-1-Huh7). Poly I:C with a high molecular weight and EGCG were used to stimulate the JFH-1-Huh7 cells. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression levels of intracellular m RNAs and of intracellular and extracellular HCV RNA. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to evaluate the interferon(IFN)-λ1 protein level in the cell culture supernatant. Immunostaining was used to examine HCV core protein expression in Huh7 cells.RESULTS Our recent study showed that HCV replication could impair poly I:C-triggered intracellular innate immune responses in hepatocytes. In the current study, we showed that EGCG treatment significantly increased the poly I:C-induced expression of Toll-like receptor 3(TLR3), retinoic acid-inducible gene I, and IFN-λ1 in JFH-1-Huh7 cells. In addition, supplementation with EGCG increased the poly I:C-mediated antiviral activity in JFH-1-Huh7 cells at the intracellular and extracellular HCV RNA and protein levels. Further investigation of the mechanisms showed that EGCG treatment significantly enhanced the poly I:C-induced expression of IFN-regulatory factor 9 and several antiviral IFNstimulated genes, including ISG15, ISG56, myxovirus resistance A, and 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase 1, which encode the key antiviral elements in the IFN signaling pathway. CONCLUSION Our observations provide experimental evidence that EGCG has the ability to enhance poly I:C-induced intracellular antiviral innate immunity against HCV replication in hepatocytes.

Study of Swine Leukocyte Antigen Class I-3 (SLA-3) Gene for Inbreeding Wuzhishan Pig

To elucidate the structure of SLA-3 alleles on inbred line of Wuzhishan pig （WZSP） population, we examined the partial exon 1, completed exon 2, and partial exon 3 of SLA-3 loci using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction （RT- PCR） and the sequencing-based method in 32 WZSPs. According to pedigree and amplification results, PCR products of 8 WZSPs were selected to clone and sequence. Nine different nucleotide sequences were obtained. After comparing the DNA and protein sequences of the WZSPs SLA-3 alleles with the published GenBank SLA sequences, it was found that the SLA-3 alleles in WZSPs were all novel, but there were very few variations among them. Comparision of SLA-3 and HLA-A protein sequences indicated that there was more sequence homology. Meanwhile, the construction of a phylogenetic tree using the nucleotide sequences of 23 SLA-3 alleles and 1 HLA-A allele represented that the WZSP population owns its unique genetics resource. In this study, the alleles of SLA-3 on WZSP group were successfully detected and analyzed, which provided the firm basis on the genotype of SLA-3 for breeding specific haplotypes WZSPs.

Study of the SH3-domain GRB2-1ike 2 gene expression in laryngeal carcinoma

Background Laryngeal carcinoma is a common malignant tumor of the upper respiratory tract, and in 95% of cases the tumor is laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma （LSCC）. The abnormity of SH3-domain GRB2-1ike 2 （SH3GL2） gene was found in LSCC. In order to clarify the relationship between SH3GL2 gene and LSCC, we evaluated the expression of the SH3GL2 gene in LSCC. Method Real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression and find the various rules of SH3GL2 gene in LSCC. Results The result of real-time PCR showed that the expression level of SH3GL2 mRNA in LSCC tissue was apparently down-regulated; immunohistochemical analysis showed that SH3GL2 protein was mainly located in cytoplasm, the rate of positive cells and SH3GL2 protein expression level were fluctuated with the pathological classification of LSCC; the result of Western blotting showed that SH3GL2 protein was down-regulated significantly in LSCC samples, especially in metastatic lymph nodes. Conclusions These results suggest that SH3GL2 is a LSCC related gene and its expression level is fluctuated with the pathological classification which indicate that SH3GL2 participates in the development and progression of LSCC. And it may be considered as a novel tumor marker to find both a new anti-oncogene and relative factors of invasion and metastasis of laryngeal carcinoma.

Free fatty acids, glucose, and insulin in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Xu et al used the HOMA2 model to estimate theβ-cell function and insulin resistance levels in an individual from simultaneously measured fasting plasma glucose and fasting plasma insulin levels.This method is based on the assumption that the glucose-insulin axis is central for the metabolic activities,which led to type 2 diabetes.However,significant downregulation of both the NKX2-1 gene and the TPD52L3 gene force an increase in the release of free fatty acids(FFAs)into the blood circulation,which leads to a marked reduction in membrane flexibility.These data favor a FFA-glucose-insulin axis.The authors are invited to extend their study with the introduction of the saturation index(number of carbon-carbon double bonds per 100 fatty-acyl chains),as observed in erythrocytes.