With the pollution of heavy metals becoming more and more serious, hu- man health suffers from great harms, making the detoxification in human body admit of no delay. This paper summarized the heavy metals used for de...With the pollution of heavy metals becoming more and more serious, hu- man health suffers from great harms, making the detoxification in human body admit of no delay. This paper summarized the heavy metals used for detoxification in hu- man body in recent years, including metallothionein, polyphenols, dietary fibers from seaweed, GTS, and explored the detoxification mechanism of these heavy metals in human body.展开更多
AIM: The incorporation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS1 region into epitope-based vaccines against HBV has been accepted widely, but the incorporate site and size of preS1 sequence is controversial. Therefore our purp...AIM: The incorporation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS1 region into epitope-based vaccines against HBV has been accepted widely, but the incorporate site and size of preS1 sequence is controversial. Therefore our purpose was to further investigate its immunogenic domains for the epitopebased hepatitis B vaccine design.METHODS: Eight GST fusion proteins containing overlapping preS1 fragments in preS1 (21-119) region were expressed in E.coli. Using these purified fusion proteins, the immunogenic domains in preS1 region were identified in detail in mice and humans by Western blot analysis and ELISA.RESULTS: The results in mice showed that the immunogenic domains mainly existed in preS1 (21-59) and preS1 (95-109). Similarly, these fragments had strong immunogenicity in humans; whereas the other parts except for preS1 (60-70) also had some immunogenicity.More importantly, a major immunogenic domain, preS1 (34-59), which has much stronger immunogenicity, was identified. Additionally, the antibodies against some preS1 fragments, especially preS1 (34-59), were speculated to be virus-neutralizing.CONCLUSION: Eight GST fusion proteins containing overlapping preS1 fragments were prepared successfully. They were used for the study on the immunogenic domains in preS1 (21-119) region. The preS1 (34-59) fragments were the major immunogenic domains in the preS1 region, and the antibodies against these fragments were speculated to be virus-neutralizing. Therefore, the incorporation of preS1 (34-59) fragments into epitopebased HBV vaccines may be efficient for enhancement of immune response. Additionally, the results also imply that there are more complex immune responses to preS1 region and more abundant immunogenic domains in humans.展开更多
Flaviviruses are positive-sense RNA viruses, and many are important human pathogens. Nonstructural protein 2B and 3 of the flaviviruses(NS2BNS3) form an endoplasmic reticulum(ER) membrane-associated hetero-dimeric com...Flaviviruses are positive-sense RNA viruses, and many are important human pathogens. Nonstructural protein 2B and 3 of the flaviviruses(NS2BNS3) form an endoplasmic reticulum(ER) membrane-associated hetero-dimeric complex through the NS2B transmembrane region. The NS2BNS3 complex is multifunctional. The N-terminal region of NS3, and its cofactor NS2B fold into a protease that is responsible for viral polyprotein processing, and the C-terminal domain of NS3 possesses NTPase/RNA helicase activities and is involved in viral RNA replication and virus particle formation. In addition, NS2BNS3 complex has also been shown to modulate viral pathogenesis and the host immune response. Because of the essential functions that the NS2BNS3 complex plays in the flavivirus life cycle, it is an attractive target for antiviral development. This review focuses on the recent biochemical and structural advances of NS2BNS3 and provides a brief update on the current status of drug development targeting this viral protein complex.展开更多
Viruses including baculoviruses are obligatory parasites, as their genomes do not encode all the proteins required for replication. Therefore, viruses have evolved to exploit the behavior and the physiology of their h...Viruses including baculoviruses are obligatory parasites, as their genomes do not encode all the proteins required for replication. Therefore, viruses have evolved to exploit the behavior and the physiology of their hosts and olden coevolved with their hosts over millions of years. Recent comparative analyses of complete genome sequences of baculoviruses revealed the patterns of gene acquisitions and losses that have occurred during baculovirus evolution. In addition, knowledge of virus genes has also provided understanding of the mechanism of baculovirus infection including replication, species-specific virulence and host range. The Bm8 gene of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus （NPV） and its homologues are found only in group I NPV genomes. The Autographa californica NPV Ac 16 gene is a homologue of Bm8 and, encodes a viral structural protein. It has been shown that BmS/Ac 16 interacts with baculoviral and cellular proteins. BmS/Ac 16 interacts with baculoviral IE1 that is facilitated by coiled coil domains, and the interaction with IE1 is important for Bin8 function. Acl6 also forms a complex with viral FP25 and cellular actin and associates with membranes via palmitoylation. These data suggested that this gene family encodes a multifunctional protein that accomplishes specific needs of group I NPVs.展开更多
Objective: To study the physical and chemical properties of an arginine ester hydrolase from the venom of Trimeresurus mucrosqumatus in Hunan province of China.Methods:The arginine ester hydrolase(AEH) was isolated fr...Objective: To study the physical and chemical properties of an arginine ester hydrolase from the venom of Trimeresurus mucrosqumatus in Hunan province of China.Methods:The arginine ester hydrolase(AEH) was isolated from the venom of Chinese Trimeresurus mucrosqumatus by a combination of ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, CM-Sepharose Cl-6B and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100.Results: The purified protein named TM-AEH,a glycoprotein with carbohydrate content of 0.5% neutral hexose and 0.75% sialic acid,a relative molecular mass of 29.0 kDa,and an isoelectric point(pI) of 5.2. It shares with an extinction coefficient(E 0.1%/cm) of 1.332 at 280 nm,consisted of 225 amino acid residues,and migrated as a band under reduced or non-reduced condition in basic PAGE.TM-AEH was a highly thermostable protein and was stable to pH changes between 5 and 9.The optimum temperature and optimum pH were 55℃ and 8.4 for its catalytic activity respectively,which was inhibited by Fe 3+ and Cu 2+.Conclusion:This protein can exhibit higher BAEE-hydrolysing activity and fibrinogenolytic activity as compared to that of whole venom.展开更多
Traditional Chinese medicines(TCMs)have been used to prevent and treat various diseases for thousands of years.Promoting efficacy and reducing toxicity by the compatibility theory of TCMs has attracted increasing atte...Traditional Chinese medicines(TCMs)have been used to prevent and treat various diseases for thousands of years.Promoting efficacy and reducing toxicity by the compatibility theory of TCMs has attracted increasing attention,especially for the toxicity of herbs.Studies have pointed out the interactions between the active compounds of herbs and transporters in the detoxification process of toxic compounds.Here,we summarize data on five toxic herbs commonly used in TCMs and their related efflux transporters to reduce toxicity to offer a scientific rationale for the compatibility principle of TCMs and provide guidance for the rational clinical use of TCMs.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Key Technology R&D Program(2013BAD10B03)National High-tech R&D Program of China(2011AA100901)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31201340,31201402)~~
文摘With the pollution of heavy metals becoming more and more serious, hu- man health suffers from great harms, making the detoxification in human body admit of no delay. This paper summarized the heavy metals used for detoxification in hu- man body in recent years, including metallothionein, polyphenols, dietary fibers from seaweed, GTS, and explored the detoxification mechanism of these heavy metals in human body.
文摘AIM: The incorporation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS1 region into epitope-based vaccines against HBV has been accepted widely, but the incorporate site and size of preS1 sequence is controversial. Therefore our purpose was to further investigate its immunogenic domains for the epitopebased hepatitis B vaccine design.METHODS: Eight GST fusion proteins containing overlapping preS1 fragments in preS1 (21-119) region were expressed in E.coli. Using these purified fusion proteins, the immunogenic domains in preS1 region were identified in detail in mice and humans by Western blot analysis and ELISA.RESULTS: The results in mice showed that the immunogenic domains mainly existed in preS1 (21-59) and preS1 (95-109). Similarly, these fragments had strong immunogenicity in humans; whereas the other parts except for preS1 (60-70) also had some immunogenicity.More importantly, a major immunogenic domain, preS1 (34-59), which has much stronger immunogenicity, was identified. Additionally, the antibodies against some preS1 fragments, especially preS1 (34-59), were speculated to be virus-neutralizing.CONCLUSION: Eight GST fusion proteins containing overlapping preS1 fragments were prepared successfully. They were used for the study on the immunogenic domains in preS1 (21-119) region. The preS1 (34-59) fragments were the major immunogenic domains in the preS1 region, and the antibodies against these fragments were speculated to be virus-neutralizing. Therefore, the incorporation of preS1 (34-59) fragments into epitopebased HBV vaccines may be efficient for enhancement of immune response. Additionally, the results also imply that there are more complex immune responses to preS1 region and more abundant immunogenic domains in humans.
文摘Flaviviruses are positive-sense RNA viruses, and many are important human pathogens. Nonstructural protein 2B and 3 of the flaviviruses(NS2BNS3) form an endoplasmic reticulum(ER) membrane-associated hetero-dimeric complex through the NS2B transmembrane region. The NS2BNS3 complex is multifunctional. The N-terminal region of NS3, and its cofactor NS2B fold into a protease that is responsible for viral polyprotein processing, and the C-terminal domain of NS3 possesses NTPase/RNA helicase activities and is involved in viral RNA replication and virus particle formation. In addition, NS2BNS3 complex has also been shown to modulate viral pathogenesis and the host immune response. Because of the essential functions that the NS2BNS3 complex plays in the flavivirus life cycle, it is an attractive target for antiviral development. This review focuses on the recent biochemical and structural advances of NS2BNS3 and provides a brief update on the current status of drug development targeting this viral protein complex.
文摘Viruses including baculoviruses are obligatory parasites, as their genomes do not encode all the proteins required for replication. Therefore, viruses have evolved to exploit the behavior and the physiology of their hosts and olden coevolved with their hosts over millions of years. Recent comparative analyses of complete genome sequences of baculoviruses revealed the patterns of gene acquisitions and losses that have occurred during baculovirus evolution. In addition, knowledge of virus genes has also provided understanding of the mechanism of baculovirus infection including replication, species-specific virulence and host range. The Bm8 gene of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus （NPV） and its homologues are found only in group I NPV genomes. The Autographa californica NPV Ac 16 gene is a homologue of Bm8 and, encodes a viral structural protein. It has been shown that BmS/Ac 16 interacts with baculoviral and cellular proteins. BmS/Ac 16 interacts with baculoviral IE1 that is facilitated by coiled coil domains, and the interaction with IE1 is important for Bin8 function. Acl6 also forms a complex with viral FP25 and cellular actin and associates with membranes via palmitoylation. These data suggested that this gene family encodes a multifunctional protein that accomplishes specific needs of group I NPVs.
文摘Objective: To study the physical and chemical properties of an arginine ester hydrolase from the venom of Trimeresurus mucrosqumatus in Hunan province of China.Methods:The arginine ester hydrolase(AEH) was isolated from the venom of Chinese Trimeresurus mucrosqumatus by a combination of ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, CM-Sepharose Cl-6B and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100.Results: The purified protein named TM-AEH,a glycoprotein with carbohydrate content of 0.5% neutral hexose and 0.75% sialic acid,a relative molecular mass of 29.0 kDa,and an isoelectric point(pI) of 5.2. It shares with an extinction coefficient(E 0.1%/cm) of 1.332 at 280 nm,consisted of 225 amino acid residues,and migrated as a band under reduced or non-reduced condition in basic PAGE.TM-AEH was a highly thermostable protein and was stable to pH changes between 5 and 9.The optimum temperature and optimum pH were 55℃ and 8.4 for its catalytic activity respectively,which was inhibited by Fe 3+ and Cu 2+.Conclusion:This protein can exhibit higher BAEE-hydrolysing activity and fibrinogenolytic activity as compared to that of whole venom.
基金We thank for the funding support from the Science and Technology Development Fund,Macao SAR(No.0040/2020/A and No.0075/2019/AMJ).
文摘Traditional Chinese medicines(TCMs)have been used to prevent and treat various diseases for thousands of years.Promoting efficacy and reducing toxicity by the compatibility theory of TCMs has attracted increasing attention,especially for the toxicity of herbs.Studies have pointed out the interactions between the active compounds of herbs and transporters in the detoxification process of toxic compounds.Here,we summarize data on five toxic herbs commonly used in TCMs and their related efflux transporters to reduce toxicity to offer a scientific rationale for the compatibility principle of TCMs and provide guidance for the rational clinical use of TCMs.
