转基因本氏烟草中CtDXR基因拷贝数及耐盐耐高温功能的初步分析

评估转基因本氏烟草中CtDXR基因的拷贝数,并初步分析其耐盐与耐高温能力。首先利用Southern Blot技术确定野生型本氏烟草中Actin基因的拷贝数,并以Actin基因为内参基因,以转CtDXR基因本氏烟草为材料,采用实时荧光定量PCR方法,检测转基因植株中CtDXR基因的拷贝数。最后,初步分析转基因植株的耐盐与耐高温能力。基于PCR方法,随机检测10株T1代转基因本氏烟草植株均能扩增出目的条带,表明它们均已成功转入目的基因CtDXR;Actin基因在本氏烟草基因组中为单拷贝基因;以Actin基因为内参基因,最终确定80%的转CtDXR基因植株为单拷贝或低拷贝株系;盐胁迫下,转CtDXR基因植株的株高(P<0.01)、侧根数(P<0.01)与鲜重(P<0.001)优于野生型植株,高温胁迫下,转CtDXR基因植株的株高(P<0.01)、叶片数(P<0.01)与鲜重优于野生型植株,表明转基因植株具有更强的耐盐和耐高温能力。利用研究建立的转基因本氏烟草外源基因拷贝数的检测方法,对转CtDXR基因植株完成外源基因拷贝数的鉴定,且初步鉴定了CtDXR基因具有耐盐与耐高温功能。

小花棘豆Alternaria oxytropis内生真菌酵母氨酸还原酶基因的Southern blot检测分析

用Southern blot技术检测小花棘豆Alternaria oxytropis内生真菌野生株(OW7.8)和酵母氨酸还原酶基因(sac)敲除株(M1),为研究基因功能奠定基础。以OW7.8和M1为材料,利用PCR法制备地高辛(DIG)标记探针,进行基因组Southern blot检测。用PvuⅡ切割M1基因组DNA后,用sac特异性探针对其进行Southern blot,杂交结果呈阴性,表明M1中sac已被敲除;用Eco RⅤ和PstⅠ切割OW7.8基因组DNA,杂交结果呈阳性,说明野生株有sac;用hph特异性探针与M1的PvuⅡ酶切产物进行Southern blot,M1杂交结果呈阳性,说明标记基因hph成功整合到M1基因组中;用hph特异性探针与Eco RⅤ和PstⅠ切割的OW7.8基因组DNA杂交,结果呈阴性。Southern blot检测到OW7.8中有sac中间序列,在M1中被hph替换,证明sac被敲除。sac基因以单拷贝形式存在于OW7.8基因组。

DETECTION OF BREAST CANCER MICROMETASTASES IN BONE MARROW USING REVERSE-TRANSCRIPTASE CHAINREACTION AND SOUTHERN HYBRIDIZATION

Objective: The aim of this study was to detect micrometastases in bone marrow of primary breast cancer patients, and compare with other clinical parameters. Methods: Cytokeratin 19 (CK-19) gene mRNA expression was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Southern blot hybridization. Human breast cancer cell line T47D was mixed with bone marrow cells in different proportions. The positive detection rate was compared among RT-PCR, Southern blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) methods. Results: Cytokeratin 19 gene was expressed in all 6 positive control samples while the expression was not seen in 8 negative control samples. In all 54 patients 14 cases were CK-19 positive (25.9%) by RT-PCR, another positive signal was obtained in 5/54 (9.3%) of bone marrow samples by Southern blotting. The total positive cases are 19/54 (35.2%). CK-19 IHC+ cells were detected at a dilution of one T47D cell in 5×104 bone marrow cells, while the sensitivity detected by PCR and Southern blot hybridization was at 1∶5×105 and 1∶1×106, respectively. This demonstrates that RT-PCR and Southern blotting was at least 20 times more sensitive than the IHC method. The micrometastases positive rate of the larger tumor size group (>5.0 cm) was significantly (P<0.05) greater than that of the smaller tumor size group (0–2.0 cm). Conclusion: detection of micrometastases in bone marrow by RT-PCR and Southern blotting, using CK-19 as a biological marker, is highly sensitive and it is a method to be used for anticipating the prognosis of breast cancer patients.

COMBINED DETECTION OF BREAST CANCER MICROMETASTASES IN THE LYMPH NODES AND BONE MARROW USING REVERSETRANSCRIPTASE CHAIN REACTION AND SOUTHERN HYBRIDIZATION

Objective: The presence of lymph nodes and bone marrow micrometastases of patients with breast carcinoma by immunohistochemistry (IHC) methods has been strongly correlated to early recurrence and shorter overall survival. The aim of this study was to detect micrometastases in matched sample pairs of lymph nodes and the bone marrow of primary breast cancer patients using a more sensitive method, and compare with other clinical parameters. Methods: Cytokeratin 19 (CK-19) gene mRNA expression was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Southern blot hybridization. Human breast cancer cell line T47D was mixed with bone marrow cells at different proportions. The positive detection rate was compared among RT-PCR, Southern blotting and IHC methods. Results: Cytokeratin 19 gene was expressed in all 6 positive control samples, while the expression wasn’t seen in 18 negative control samples. CK-19 IHC positive cells were detected at a dilution of one T47D cell in 5×105 bone marrow cells, while the sensitivity detected by PCR and Southern blot hybridization was at 1:5×104 and 1:106, respectively. In the samples from the 35 patients, we found CK-19 positive cells in 2 cases (5.7%) by IHC. CK-19 gene expression signal was detected in 14/35 (40%) by RT-PCR, and 17/35 (48.6%) by southern blotting. Four cases were micrometastases positive both in lymph node and bone marrow (11.4%). There was no correlation between CK-19 detection and other clinical parameters. Conclusion: combined detection of micrometastases in lymph node and bone marrow by RT-PCR and Southern blotting, using CK-19 as a biological marker, is a highly sensitive method for breast cancer.

Identification Transgenic DNA of Transformed Arabidopsis Using PCR and Southern Blot

For identification of transgenic DNA of Arabidopsis plant material, the followed methods are transformation and growing of seeds after bleaching them for sterilization should be performed then using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for amplification the gene before making gel electrophoresis to be ready for southern blot analysis, this method is possible because the length of the given primers, there are slightly modifications in the methods as ligating PCR technique developed for amplification of the unknown DNA after extracting it to determine its transgenicity. The methods were specific and reproducible for many different plants from transgenic and non-transgenic cell lines. Furthermore, the number of products of PCR result can be considered as a good estimation of transgenic DNA, during comparison to southern blot analysis, the results obtained by the PCR give information about DNA of Arabidopsis, applications of the approach to Arabidopsis plants after transformation with an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation will be described.

INACTIVATION OF THE CDKN2/pl6 GENE INDUCED BY METHYLATION AT 5'-CpG ISLAND AND ITS RELATION TO LUNG CANCER

Objectives: To investigate the methylation status of the CDKN2/pl6 gene 5′-CpG island, and study the relationship between the CDKN2/pl6 gene inactivation by methylation and lung cancer. Methods: Genomic DNA extracted from the specimens of lung cancer and normal lung tissue was digested with methylation-sensitive endonucleases, and Southern blotting was used to analyze the methylation status of the CDKN2/pl6 gene in 89 cases of lung cancer and 10 cases of normal lung tissue. Results: In 89 cases of lung cancer studied, the CDKN2/pl6 gene was shown to be methylated in 21 cases with the total methylation rate of 23.6% (21/89), in which there were 15 cases (16.9%) methylated atSmaI sites, 12 cases (13.5%) atSmaI sites and 6 cases at bothSmaI andSacII sites. The methylation of the CDKN2/pl6 gene occurred in 17 among 42 of pl6 protein negative cases of lung cancer with a rate of 40.5% (17/42), and in 3 among 47 of pl6 protein positive cases with a rate of 6.4% (3/47). The CDKN2/pl6 gene was not methylated in 10 cases of normal lung tissue. Conclusion: The aberrant methylation of the CDKN2/pl6 gene 5′-CpG island is probably an important mechanism of the gene inactivation, it may be involved in the genesis and progress of lung cancer.

Identification of CpTI Gene Integration for 2-year-old Transgenic Poplars at DNA Level

The putative transgenic hybrid triploid poplars [(P. tomentosa P. bolleana) P. tomentosa] with CpTI gene have been outplanted in test field for 2 years. Although the authors previous studies have proved that they are highly resistant to 3 species of poplar-threatening insect pests and contain high content of CpTI protein in foliage, incorporation status of foreign CpTI gene in poplar genome is uncertain. In this present study, the incorporation of foreign CpTI gene in genome of 5 transgenic poplars was confirmed by PCR and Southern blotting analysis. DNA amplification showed that there were clear DNA bands of about 450bp specific to CpTI gene in transgenic lanes, while no corresponding band in non-transgenic lane was observed. Correspondingly, clear DNA hybridization signals and no signal were exhibited on film for DNA Southern blotting analysis in transgenic lanes and non-transgenic lane, respectively, which further confirmed the stable integration of foreign CpTI gene in genome of 2-year-old transgenic poplar.

Expression of a Tobacco Glycosyltransferase Gene Driving Promoter in Transgenic Tobacco

[Objective]The study was to analyze the expression of the deletion fragments from the promoter of a glycosyltransferase gene induced both by MeJA and SA cloned from tobacco W38（sm-Ngt） in transgenic tobacco plants.[Method]Using T1 seedlings of sm-Ngt transgenic tobacco lines containing Gus gene controlled by five 5＇ flank deletion promoter fragments different in length as experimental materials,GUS histochemical staining and fluorometric analysis of T1 seedlings treated with MeJA and SA for 16 h were conducted to analyze the effect of MeJA and SA treatment on the expression of 5＇ flank deletion promoter fragments.[Result]Of five 5＇ flank deletion promoter fragments transgenic plant lines,30 d old T1 seedlings containing 220-0 bp promoter fragment performed worst in GUS staining（showing least staining spots）,those containing-524-0 bp and-468-0 bp promoter fragment both performed best.In the plants not treated with MeJA and SA,activities of GUS driven by-524-0 bp and-468-0 bp deletion promoter fragments were enormously higher than that driven by-1 150-0,-800-0 or-220 0 bp,and which were proved to be not resulted from insert copy number by Southern blot.For GUS expression,promoter fragment-800-0 bp expression was doubly induced by both MeJA and SA,while fragment-1 150-0 was induced by MeJA.[Conclusion]There are activity enhancement elements within-524--220 bp of the sm-Ngt in promoter and activity down regulation elements within-1 150--524 bp region,as well as MeJA and SA doubly inducing activity regulation elements in this promoter.

Genetic transformation of loblolly pine using mature zygotic embryo explants by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 carrying pBI121 plasmid was used to transform mature zygotic embryos of three genotypes (E-Hb, E-Ma, and E-Mc) of loblolly pine. The results demonstrated that the expression frequency of (-glucuronidase reporter gene (GUS) varied among genotypes after mature zygotic embryos were infected with Agrobacterium tumefaciens cultures. The highest frequency (27.8%) of GUS expressing embryos was obtained from genotype E-Mc with mean number of 21.9 blue GUS spots per embryo. Expression of (-glucuronidase reporter gene was observed on cotyledons, hypocotyls, and radicles of transformed mature zygotic embryos, as well as on organogenic callus and regenerated shoots derived from co-cultivated mature zygotic embryos. Nineteen regenerated transgenic plants were obtained from GUS expression and kanamycin resistant calli. The presence and integration of the GUS gene was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot analysis. These results suggested that an efficient Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation protocol for stable integration of foreign genes into loblolly pine has been developed and that this transformation system could be useful for the future studies on transferring economically important genes to loblolly pine.

Methylation status of c-fms oncogene in HCC and its relationship with clinical pathology

INTRODUCTIONThe mechanism that DNA hypomethylation leads toactivation of oncogene and occurrence of malignantneoplasm is being increasingly recognized byresearchers. Normal DNA methylation playsimportant role in stabilizing the phenotype of cell.DNA methylation status reduction and/or patternalteration are related to activation and abnormallyhigh expression of some oncogenes and cellularmalignancy[1-6]. c-fms oncogene encodes for colonystimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R)[7], c-fms/CSF-1R was highly expressed in hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC) tissue, but the mechanismremained obscure[8,9].

Quantitation of Genital Herpes Virus DNA by Polymerase Chain Reaction and ELISA

Objective: To detect and quantitate genital herpes simplexvirus (HSV) DNA in specimens from 100 patients clinicallydiagnosed with genital herpes. Methods: Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) andenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used witha standard curve of DNA copies of HSV as quantitativecontrast. Results: Ninety-three cases were confirmed HSV positiveand 7 cases were found to be negative. There were 58 cases ofHSV-2 (62.4%) and 35 cases of HSV-1(37.6%) among the 93positive cases. The number of DNA plasmids ranged from 115to 1.1×10~5 per 250μL among the 93 positive samples (mean=7.1×10~4/250μL). The number of HSV DNA plasmids rangedfrom 136 to 1.1×10~5 copies per 250μL(mean=7.6×10~4) amongthose with HSV-2, and 115 to 9.4×10~4 per 250μL(mean=6.3×10~4) among those with HSV-1. Meanwhile 10μL ofextracted and dissolved DNA randomly taken from 8 each ofHSV-2 and HSV-1 samples were tested. The number of HSV-2DNA plasmids ranged from 35 copies to 2.7×10~4 (Mean=1.8×10~4) and the number of HSV-1 DNA ranged from 29 to2.5×10~4 (Mean=1.6×10~4). In the 7 negative cases, the quantityof HSV plasmids was zero. Conclusion: The sensitivity of ELISA quantitation (93%) isequal to that of Southern blot. The sensitivity of PCR fordiagnosis is 91%, and 88% for PCR typing.

Overexpression of heme oxygenase-1 protects smooth muscle cells against oxidative injury and inhibits cell proliferation

To investigate whether the expression of exogenous heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) gene within vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) could protect the cells from free radical attack and inhibit cell proliferation, we established an in vitro transfection of human HO-1 gene into rat VSMC mediated by a retroviral vector. The results showed that the profound expression of HO-1 protein as well as HO activity was 1.8- and 2.0-fold increased respectively in the transfected cells compared to the non-transfected ones. The treatment of VSMC with different concentrations of H2O2 led to the remarkable cell damage as indicated by survival rate and LDH leakage. However, the resistance of the HO-1 transfected VSMC against H2O2 was significantly raised. This protective effect was dramatically diminished when the transfected VSMC were pretreated with ZnPP-IX, a specific inhibitor of HO, for 24 h. In addition, we found that the growth potential of the transfected cells was significantly inhibited directly by increased activity of HO-1, and this effect might be related to decreased phosphorylation of MAPK. These results suggest that the overexpression of introduced hHO-1 is potentially able to reduce the risk factors of atherosclerosis, partially due to its cellular protection against oxidative injury and to its inhibitory effect on cellular proliferation.

Retrovirus-mediated herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene therapy approach for hepatocellular carcinoma

The therapeutic effect of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSV-tk/GCV) system on hepatocellular carcinoma was studied in this experiment. The tk-containing retroviral recombinants were used to infect hepatoma cells (BEL-7402) and the cells were treated with ganciclovir (0-1000 microg/ml). The results showed that HSV-tk gene could be efficiently transferred in vitro into hepatoma cells and stably expressed. The growth potential of the tk-containing cells was significantly inhibited by GCV (P

RFLP Analysis of Nov Gene in Tumor and Normal Cells

Using human nov (nephroblastoma overexpressed,nov) DNA as probe,hybridization to total cellular DNAs of tumor and normal cells digested by restriction enzymes BamHI or EcoRI respectively was carried out through Southern blot. It was observed that nov gene in these cells is not only highly conserved, but also certains RFLP characteristic . The correlation between RFLP characteristic of nov gene and its function was analyzed .

RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM（RFLP） ANALYSIS OF GENOMIC DNA OF 5 STRAINS OF TRICHINELLA SPIRALIS IN CHINA

Five restriction endonucleases were used to digest genomic DNA from 5 isolates of Trichinella spiralis obtained from Changchun, Tianjin, Xian, Henan and Yunnan. All the isolates were secured from pigs except the Changchun strain which came from dog. The DNA fragments digested by endonuclease were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis. The Changchun isolate had a EcoRI band at 1. 12kb and a DraI band at 1. 97kb which were unique to this isolate. A cloned specific repetitive DNA sequence (1. 12kb) from the Changchun strain was selected to prepare a probe for the Southern blotting of EcoRI restriction DNA fragments for the 5 isolates. The 1.12kb hybridizing band did not appear except in the Changchun isolate.These results seem to indicate that there are differences between the isolates obtained from hosts in different geographical regions.

Preliminary Research on the p53 Gene Rearrangements in the Evolution of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia to Blast Crisis

DNA from 36 patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) at various clinical stages and 6 cases of acute leukemia was investigated for alterations of the p53 gene by Southern blot analysis.Rearrangements of the p53 gene were seen in 3 of 12 (25.00%) cases of blast crisis and accelerated phase (AP) of CML and in only one of 18 chronic phrase (CP),just as has been reported previously. Meanwhile,by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis the Bgl II site polymorphism in the p53 gene was also found. The frequency in Chinese people detected here was 0.392,which was strikingly higher than that in some other countries(P<0. 001).These results suggested that the alterations of the p53 gene, for example,p53 rearrangements,were probably responsible for the progression of BC in some CML patients, and that the frequency of Bgl II polymorphism in the p53 gene might be related to the population distribution.

Preliminary Study on bcr Rearrangement in Leukemia

Southern blot analysis was conducted in 15 patients by using a 1.2 Kb Hind 1 Ⅲ/Bgl Ⅱfragment from the 3'end of the bcr region and a 2.0 Kb Bgl Ⅱ/Hind Ⅲ fragment from the 5' end of the bcr as probes.Of the 15 patients in our group,11 with chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML),3 with Ph-negative acute lymphocytic leukenma(ALL).one with myelodysplastic syndrome ZMDS).Bcr rearrangements were detected in 9 patients with CML and were negative in the rest of the patients.The results showed that the identification of bcr rearrangement was very important in the diagnosis of Ph-positive leukemias.

Transgenic Date Palm Containing Endotoxin Cry3Aa Gene

Date palm, like all other crops, is very sensitive to the injury by many insect pests, which may lead to the death of the affected plant and causes decrease in yield. In the present study, an efficient Agrobacterium for genetic transformation was successfully achieved for well known date palm （Phoenix dactylifera L.） cv. Medjool and Khalas using callus as explant. Embryogenic callus were recorded 100% mortality when cultured on MS medium containing 100 mg/L kanamycin with different cultivars, thus it was chosen for the selection of transformed explants. Embryogenic callus of Medjool and Khalas were incubated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 for 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 24 h on LB medium. After the incubation periods, embryogenic callus was transferred to MS medium with 0.1 mg/L NAA, 0.05 mg/L BA, 250 mg/L carbenicillin and 100 mg/L kanamycin for detection of transgenic embryogenic callus. Polymerase chain reaction （PCR） was used for the rapid screening of Cry3Aa gene. For screening, total genomic DNA was isolated from transformants. Using primer specific to Cry3Aa gene （forward and reverse）, a PCR product with a size of about 2,000 bp was amplified when all nucleic acid from the transformants were utilized as templates. PCR analysis confirmed the appearance of the transgene of 2,000 bp in one individual plantlet. Presence and integration of foreign Cry3Aa gene in regenerated kanamycin resistant embryogenic callus was also confirmed by Southern blot hybridization. It was found that one transgenic embryogenic callus for both Medjool and Khalas showed a single copy of gene integration. These results signify the successful transfer of Cry3Aa gene into date palm plant.

Preliminary Report of Molecular Detection of Retinoblastoma Gene Mutations

To develop gene diagnosis for retinoblastoma predisposition, it is necessary to disclose the retinoblastoma gene mutations or deletions in detail. Genomic DNA from tumor and peripheral white blood cells in 33 patients with retinoblastoma was detected with 3.8kb probe derived from 3' end of retinoblastoma gene cDNA. The gene abnormalities, including deletion, partial deletion and rearrangement, were found in 18 patients. Further research will be aimed at microdeletions or mutations for those patients wti...

Detection of hepatitis C virus RNA sequences in cholangiocarcinomas in Chinese and American patients

To investigate the role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the malignant transformation of bile duct cells Tissues from 6 Chinese patients and 6 American patients with cholangiocarcinoma were studied Methods RNA was extracted from the selected tumor areas of formalin fixed, paraffin embedded sections, followed by reverse transcription double polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) and Southern blotting Results Positive and negative strand HCV RNA sequences were detected in seven out of twelve patients with cholangiocarcinoma A high positive rate was found in Chinese patients (83%) as compared to US patients (33%) Conclusion Our finding suggests HCV may play a role in the malignant transformation of bile duct cells