Mutations in Hemagglutinin of a Novel Avian-Origin H7N9 Virus That Are Critical for Receptor Binding Specificity

A novel avian-origin H7N9 influenza virus was discovered in March in China and has caused a total of131 people infected including 39 deaths in China as of June 9, 2013. Adaptation of avian viruses to efficiently infect humans requires the viral hemagglutinin（HA） binding switches from avian to human type receptors with help of some mutations in HA. As such it is critical for pandemic assessment to discover these mutations as hallmarks of adaptation. To continue our previous study of this novel H7N9 virus, we identified two sets of mutations in HA. The first set of mutations are present in the current circulating strains of 2013 H7N9 in China, and the second set are potential mutations that were found when compared to the HAs of previous human H7 subtype. These two sets of mutations exhibited unique features. The first group of mutations, on average, enhanced the HA binding to human type receptors whereas reduced that to avian types. Further the reduction of avian binding was almost three times of the increase of the human binding. The second group increased the binding to both human and avian types.But the increase in human types was almost three times of that in the avian types. Though different in their way of changing the binding preference, these two sets of mutations both contained more mutations to decrease the avian binding and increase the human binding than those that did the opposite. Our research highlighted the pandemic potential of this novel virus by showing the important mutations that could potentially help it to adapt to human hosts. Our findings offered new insights into the current state of evolution of this virus, which might be helpful for the continued surveillance of the emergence of H7N9 strains having the ability of human-to-human transmission.

Studies of Site Specific DNA Binding of Small Peptides by Competitive Assays with Hoechst 33258

With a view to finding out precisely how small peptides recognize a particular binding site of DNA, we have accomplished DNA binding studies of two peptides, H-Tyr-Arg-OH (YR) and H-Gly-Gly-His-OH (GGH) by using measurements in comparison with the binding between DNA and Hoechst 33258. The inhibition mode by YR and GGH to DNA binding of Hoechst 33258 was analyzed by Lineweaver-Burk plot which shows the plot of typical competitive inhibition at concentration of Hoechst 33258 from 3.66 ( 10-9 mol / L to 1.09 ( 10-8 mol / L. And it is concluded that YR binds to DNA in its minor groove (AT rich regions) with a binding constant K = 1.02 ( 108 (mol / L)-1. The GGH(s specificity is reduced at high concentration because it can also bind GC base pair.

GPCR A2AAR Agonist Binding and Induced Conformation Changes of Functional Switches

Agonist binding of A2A adenosine receptor （A2AAR） shows protective effects against inflammatory and immune. Efforts are exerted in understanding the general mechanism and developing A2AAR selectively binding agonists. Using molecular dynamics （MD） simula- tions, we have studied the interactions between A2AAR and its agonist （adenosine）, and analyzed the induced dynamic behaviors of the receptor. Key residues interacting with adenosine are identified： A63^2.61,I66^2.64,V84^3.32,L85^3.33,T88^3.36,F168^5.29,M177^5.38,L249^6.51,H250^6.52 and N253^6.55 interacting with adenosine with affinities larger than 0.5 kcal/mol. Moreover, no interaction between adenosine and L167^5.28 is observed, which supports our previous findings that L1675^5.28 is an antagonist specific binding reside. The dynamic be- haviors of agonist bound A2AAR are found to be different from apo-A2AAR in three typical functional switches： （i） tight ＂ionic lock＂ forms in adenosine-A2AAR, but it is in equilibrium between formation and breakage in apo-A2AAR; （ii） the ＂rotamer toggle switch＂, T88^3.36/F242^6.44/W246^6.48, adopted different rotameric conformations in adenosin-A2AAR and apo-A2AAR; （iii） adenosine-A2AAR has a flexible intracellular loop 2 （IC2） and s-helical IC3, while apo-A2AAR preferred s-helical IC2 and flexible IC3. Our results indicate that agonist binding induced different conformational rearrangements of these characteristic functional switches in adenosine-A2AAR and apo-A2AAR.

Peritrophin-like protein from Litopenaeus vannamei (LvPT) involved in white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection in digestive tract challenged with reverse gavage

The peritrophic membrane plays an important role in the defense system of the arthropod gut. The digestive tract is considered one of the major tissues targeted by white spot syndrome virus （WSSV） in shrimp. In this study, the nucleotide sequence encoding peritrophin-like protein of Litopenaeus vannamei （LvPT） was amplified from a yeast two-hybrid library of L. vannamei. The epitope peptide of LvPT was predicted with the GenScript OptimumAntigenTM design tool. An anti-LvPT polyclonal antibody was produced and shown to specifically bind a band at -27 kDa, identified as LvPT. The LvPT protein was expressed and its concentration determined. LvPT dsRNA （4 pg per shrimp） was used to inhibit LvPT expression in shrimp, and a WSSV challenge experiment was then performed with reverse gavage. The pleopods, stomachs, and guts were collected from the shrimp at 0, 24, 48, and 72 h post-infection （hpi）. Viral load quantification showed that the levels of WSSV were significantly lower in the pleopods, stomachs, and guts of shrimp after LvPT dsRNA interference than in those of the controls at 48 and 72 hpi. Our results imply that LvPT plays an important role during WSSV infection of the digestive tract.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers with Bi-functional Monomers of Polymerizable Cyclodextrin Derivatives and 2-(Diethylamino)-ethyl Methacrylate for Recognition of Norfloxacin in Aqueous Media

A molecularly imprinted polymer was synthesized using 2-（diethylamino）ethylmethacry -late（DEM） and bismethacryloyl-β-cyclodextrin（BMA-β-CD） as bi-functional monomers and norfloxacin（NOF） as a template. The results of equilibrium binding experiments indicated that the polymer has affinity and specificity for NOF in aqueous media, and that its selective recognition ability for the template was higher than that of the imprinted polymers synthesized with a single functional monomer （BMA-β-CD or DEM）.

Preparation of Anti-HER2 Monoclonal Antibody-paclitaxel Immunoconjugate and Its Biological Evaluation

Anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody （Sc7301）-paclitaxel （TAX） immunoconjugate was pre- pared and its specific binding to tumor cells was investigated in this study. Sc7301 was conjugated to TAX by the active ester method and then the TAX-Sc7301 immunoconjugate was obtained. After purification and labeling by Cyano-fluorescein isothiocyanate （FITC）, the specific binding of TAX-Sc7301 to HER2-positive tumor cells （SKOV3） and HER2-negative tumor cells （HepG2） was evaluated respectively. TAX-Sc7301 （20 nmol/L） showed distinct specific binding to SKOV3 cells rather than HepG2 cells. And the uptake of the immunoconjugate by SKOV3 cells was increased with the TAX-So7301 concentration （3-48 nmol/L） and the incubation time （P〈0.05）. It was concluded that the TAX-Sc7301 immunoconjugate is ootentially applicable as a targeted agent against HER2-10ositive tumor cells.

Site- and orientation-specific binding of hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether to human serum albumin revealed by single spectral kinetic parameter

Interaction of a drug molecule with human serum albumin （HSA） is usually studied by fluorescence responses of the ligand or/and the single tryptophan residue （Trp-214） of the protein, but qualitative spectral information may lead to multiple conclusions. In this work, we report a study on the interaction of hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether （HMME） with human serum albumin （HSA）, using the environment-sensitive spectra of HMME and reaction-induced fluorescence response of Trp-214. Particularly, the single kinetic parameter, the linear slope, was derived from the concentration-dependent absorbance or fluorescence of HMME in a certain solvent. A quantitative change in the slope at [HMME]/[HSA] = 1 ： 1 clearly demonstrated a specific binding of HMME to site I. The microenvironment in site I may be comparable to that in DMSO solvent, because of the similarity of the slope. Linear correlation of the fluorescence to the absorbance of HMME in site I indicates that the energy transfer is not responsible for Trp-214 fluorescence quenching but an electron transfer may be possible. In addition, much higher rate observed for the binding of HMME or 2-taurine-substituted HB （THB） with HSA than that of hypocrellin B was due to the electrostatic attraction under physiological condition.

The Functional Characterization of Bat and Human P[3] Rotavirus VP8*s

P[3]rotavirus(RV)has been identified in many species,including human,simian,dog,and bat.Several glycans,including sialic acid,histo-blood group antigens(HBGAs)are reported as RV attachment factors.The glycan binding specificity of different P[3]RV VP8*s were investigated in this study.Human HCR3 A and dog P[3]RV VP8*s recognized glycans with terminal sialic acid and hemagglutinated the red blood cells,while bat P[3]VP8*showed neither binding to glycans nor hemagglutination.However,the bat P[3]VP8*mutant of C189 Y obtained the ability to hemagglutinate the red blood cells,while human P[3]HCR3 A/M2-102 mutants of Y189 C lost the ability.Sequence alignment and structural analysis indicated that residue 189 played an important role in the ligand recognition and may contribute to the cross-species transmission.Structural superimposition exhibited that bat P[3]VP8*model was quite different from the simian P[3]Rhesus rotavirus(RRV)P[3]VP8*,indicating that bat P[3]RV was relatively distinct and partially contributed to the no binding to tested glycans.These results promote our understanding of P[3]VP8*/glycans interactions and the potential transmission of bat/human P[3]RVs,offering more insight into the RV infection and prevalence.

Structural Basis of Glycan Recognition in Globally Predominant Human P[8]Rotavirus

Rotavirus(RV)causes acute gastroenteritis in infants and children worldwide.Recent studies showed that glycans such as histo-blood group antigens(HBGAs)function as cell attachment factors affecting RV host susceptibility and prevalence.P[8]is the predominant RV genotype in humans,but the structural basis of how P[8]RVs interact with glycan ligands remains elusive.In this study,we characterized the interactions between P[8]VP8~*s and glycans which showed that VP8~*,the RV glycan binding domain,recognized both mucin core 2 and H type 1 antigens according to the ELISA-based oligosaccharide binding assays.Importantly,we determined the structural basis of P[8]RV-glycans interaction from the crystal structures of a Rotateq P[8]VP8~*in complex with core 2 and H type 1 glycans at 1.82.3?,respectively,revealing a common binding pocket and similar binding mode.Structural and sequence analysis demonstrated that the glycan binding site is conserved among RVs in the P[Ⅱ]genogroup,while genotype-specific amino acid variations determined different glycan binding preference.Our data elucidated the detailed structural basis of the interactions between human P[8]RVs and different host glycan factors,shedding light on RV infection,epidemiology,and development of anti-viral agents.