Cloning and Analysis of a Disease Resistance Gene Homolog from Soybean

Conserved domains e.g. nucleotide binding site (NBS) were found in several cloned plant disease resistance genes. Based on the NBS domain, resistance gene analogs (RGAs) have been isolated previously and were used as probes to screen a soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) cDNA library. A full-length cDNA, KR3, was obtained by screening the library and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method. Sequence analysis revealed that the cDNA is 2 353 bp in length and the open reading frame (ORF) codes for a polypeptide of 636 amino acids with a Toll-Interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) and a NBS domain. Sequence alignment showed that it was similar to N gene of tobacco. The phylogenetic tree analysis of R proteins with NBS from higher plants was performed. The KR3 gene has low copies in soybean genome and its expression was induced by exogenous salicylic acid (SA).

Novel Association of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor Genes with EBV-infectious Diseases in Children

Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors （KIRs） which are mainly expressed on natural killer （NK） cells are implicated in many virus infections. However, it is unclear whether or not KIRs are associated with susceptibility to Epstein-Barr virus （EBV） infection related diseases. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to investigate possible correlation between polymorphisms of KIR genes and infectious mononucleosis （IM）/EBV-associated hemophagocytic Iymphohistiocytosis （EBV-HLH）. The polymorphisms of KIR genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers （PCR-SSP）. The results would contribute to clarify the association of KIRs with EBV induced diseases, and provide new insights into the role of NK cells and innate immune response against viral infections and/or subsequent progression.

Transferring Translucent Endosperm Mutant Gene Wx-mq and Rice Stripe Disease Resistance Gene Stv-bi by Marker-Assisted Selection in Rice (Oryza sativa)

A high-yielding japonica rice variety, Wuyunjing 7, bred in Jiangsu Province, China as a female parent was crossed with a Japanese rice variety Kantou 194, which carries a rice stripe disease resistance gene Stv-b＇ and a translucent endosperm mutant gene Wx-mq. From F2 generations, a sequence characterized amplified region （SCAR） marker tightly linked with Stv-b＇ and a cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence （CAPS） marker for Wx-mq were used for marker-assisted selection. Finally, a new japonica rice line, Ning 9108, with excellent agronomic traits was obtained by multi-generational selection on stripe disease resistance and endosperm appearance. The utilization of the markers from genes related to rice quality and disease resistance was helpful not only for establishing a marker-assisted selection system of high-quality and disease resistance for rice but also for providing important intermediate materials and rapid selection method for good quality, disease resistance and high yield in rice breeding.

Liver expression of Nrf2-related genes in different liver diseases

BACKGROUND： The KEAP1-Nrf2 antioxidant signaling pathway is important in protecting liver from various insults. However,little is known about the expression of Nrf2-related genes in human liver in different diseases.METHODS： This study utilized normal donor liver tissues（n=35）, samples from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC, n=24）, HBV-related cirrhosis（n=27）, alcoholic cirrhosis（n=5） and end-stage liver disease（n=13）. All of the liver tissues were from the Oriental Liver Transplant Center, Beijing,China. The expressions of Nrf2 and Nrf2-related genes, including its negative regulator Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1（KEAP1）, its targeted gene NAD（P）H-quinone oxidoreductase 1（NQO1）, glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit（GCLC） and modified subunit（GCLM）, heme oxygenase 1（HO-1） and peroxiredoxin-1（PRDX1） were evaluated. RESULTS： The expression of Nrf2 was decreased in HCC, increased in alcoholic cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease. The expression of KEAP1 was increased in all of the liver samples.The most notable finding was the increased expression of NQO1 in HCC（18-fold）, alcoholic cirrhosis（6-fold）, endstage liver disease（5-fold） and HBV-related cirrhosis（3-fold）.Peri-HCC also had 4-fold higher NQO1 m RNA as compared to the normal livers. GCLC m RNA levels were lower only in HCC, as compared to the normal livers and peri-HCC tissues.GCLM m RNA levels were higher in HBV-related cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease. HO-1 m RNA levels were increased in all liver tissues except for HCC. Peri-HCC had higher PRDX1 m RNA levels compared with HCC and normal livers.CONCLUSION： Nrf2 and Nrf2-related genes are aberrantly expressed in the liver in different diseases and the increase of NQO1 was the most notable finding, especially in HCC.

Gene therapy in Parkinson's disease: targeting the endplasmic reticulum proteostasis network

Parkinson’s disease（PD）is the second most common neurodegenerative disease affecting 1%of the population over 60 years of age.The progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons at the substantia nigra pars compacta（SNpc）results in a severe and gradual depletion of dopamine content in the striatum,a phenomena that is responsible for the characteristic motor symptoms of this disease.

Interleukin-17A gene variants and risk of coronary artery disease:a large angiography-based study

Background Recent studies have also revealed that interleukin(IL)-17A plays a key role in atherosclerosis and its complication,but the relationship of its common variants with coronary artery disease(CAD) has not been extensively studied.Methods We systematically screened sequence variations in the IL17A gene and designed an angiog-raphy -based case-controlled study consisting of 1031 CAD patients and 935 control subjects to investigate the association between the selected polymorphisms of IL-17A gene and CAD risk in Chinese Han population.Results Frequencies of IL17A rs8193037 GG homozygote and G allele were significantly higher in the patient group than those in the control group(P【0.001;OR=0.68;95%CI=0.54-0.85).Stratification analysis showed that the IL17A rs8193037 G allele significantly increased the risk of CAD only among male subjects (P=0.001;OR=0.63;95%CI=0.47-0.83).After adjustment for conventional risk factors,binary logistic regression analysis showed that the G allele carriers(GG +AG) had significantly increased CAD risk compared with the AA homozygotes (adjusted P【0.001;OR 0.43;95%CI,0.33- 0.58).ELISA showed augmented IL17A production in plasma of the AMI patients.Conclusions Based on our data,we speculated that the SNP rs8193037 of IL17A gene is significantly associated with CAD risk in Chinese Han population and the rs8193037 G allele which is associated with increased expression of IL17A in AMI patients may be an independent predictive factor for CAD.

Neurodegenerative diseases and gene engineering

Totally three articles focusing on ＂molecular biological mechanism by which gene modification and RNA interference techniques interfere Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease＂ are published in three issues. We hope that our readers find these papers useful to their research.

Bioinformatics Analysis Raises Candidate Genes in Blood for Early Screening of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson＇s disease （PD） is a typical degenerative disease, which is characterized by the most obvious symptoms of movement dysfunction, including shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty in walking and gait. This disease can not be clearly identified through laboratory tests at present, thus application of high-throughput technique in studying the expression profiles of PD helps to find the genetic markers for its early diagnosis. Studies on expression profiles of neurodegenerative diseases have revealed the novel genes and pathways involved in the progress of illness. In this study, the expression profiles of PD in blood were compared, showing that 181 differentially expressed genes （DEG） exhibit a similar expression trend both in patients and in normal controls.

Pyramiding the disease resistant genes to southern rust and stalk rot in maize(Zea mays L.) with marker-assisted selection

Southern corn rust(SCR) caused by Puccinia polysora Underw and maize stalk rot caused by Pythium inflatum Matthews(MSR-2) are two destructive diseases of maize(Zea mays L.) in China.Our previous studies indicated that maize inbred line Qi319 is highly resistant to SCR but susceptible to MSR-2,while inbred line 1145 is highly resistant to MSR-2 but susceptible to SCR.The SCR resistant gene(RppQ) in Qi319 and MSR-2 resistant gene(Rpi1) in 1145 have been mapped on chromosome 10 and 4 respectively.In this research,through marker-assisted selection(MAS) with the molecular markers,bnlg1937 tightly linked to Rpi1 and phi041 tightly linked to RppQ,pyramid breeding of the two kinds of disease resistant genes were carried out from the year of 2003 to 2007.Two homozygotic inbred lines of F5 generation,DR94-1-1-1 and DR36-1-1-1 were identified.MAS result suggested DR94-1-1-1 and DR36-1-1-1 contained the two resistance genes RppQ and Rpi1.Field inoculation tests confirmed their high resistance to the two diseases.In addition,field investigation indicated that the two selected inbred lines,particularly DR94-1-1-1,had excellent agronomic traits such as plant height,ear height and yield-relating traits including ear length,ear diameter,ear weight,kernels per ear,kernels per row and kernel weight per ear.The two selected inbred lines DR94-1-1-1 and DR36-1-1-1 can either be directly developed into commercial variety or used as immediate donors of SCR and MSR resistance breeding programs in maize.

Transgenic Cotton and Disease Resistance Genes

Success in conventional breeding for resistance to mycotoxin-producing or other phytopathogenic fungi is dependent on the availability of resistance gene(s) in the germplasm.Even when it is available,breeding for disease-resistant crops is very time consuming,especially in perennial crops such

Gene therapy for Parkinson's disease: a decade of progress supported by posthumous contributions from volunteer subjects

Over the past decade,nine separate gene therapy clinical trials for advanced Parkinson’s disease（PD）have been launched and completed,involving the dosing of nearly 12-dozen PD volunteers who incurred significant risks to hopefully reduce symptoms and gain a better life.

Interleukin-35: A key player managing pre-diabetes and chronic inflammatory type 1 autoimmune diabetes

Interleukin-35(IL-35)is a novel protein comprising IL-12αand IL-27βchains.The IL12A and EBI3 genes are responsible for its production.The study of IL-35 has experienced a substantial increase in interest in recent years,as demonstrated by many research papers.Recent clinical studies have shown that individuals who do not have a C-peptide have notably reduced amounts of IL-35 in their blood serum.This is accompanied by a drop in the percentage of IL-35+Treg cells,regulatory B cells,and CD8+FOXP3+cells that produce IL-35.This article em-phasizes the potential significance of IL-35 expression in governing the immune response and its involvement in chronic inflammatory autoimmune diabetes in pancreatic inflammation.It demonstrates IL-35's ability to regulate cytokine proportions,modulate B cells,and protect against autoimmune diabetes.However,further investigation is necessary to ascertain the precise mechanism of IL-35,and meticulous planning is essential for clinical studies.

Analysis of TLR4 and TLR2 polymorphisms in inflammatory bowel disease in a Guangxi Zhuang population

AIM: To study the polymorphisms of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) gene Asp299Gly, Thr399Ile and TLR2 gene Arg753Gln, Arg677Trp and susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the Zhuang population from Guangxi, China. METHODS: A case-control study was performed from February 2007 to October 2011 which included 146 Zhuang patients with IBD in the experimental group and 164 healthy Zhuang subjects who acted as the control group. All patients and healthy subjects were from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. Genomic DNA was extracted from intestinal tissue by the phenol chloroform method. TLR4 gene Asp299Gly, Thr399Ile and TLR2 gene Arg753Gln, Arg677Trp were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and then detected by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). RESULTS: The TLR4 gene Asp299Gly was digested using Nco Ⅰ restriction enzyme, and a single band of 249 bp was observed which showed that it was a wild type (AA). The TLR4 gene Thr399Ile was digested using Hinf Ⅰrestriction enzyme and only the wild type (CC) was detected. In addition, the TLR2 gene Arg-677Trp was digested using Aci Ⅰ restriction enzyme and only the wild type (CC) was detected. The TLR2 gene Arg753Gln was digested using Pst Ⅰ restriction enzyme. Only the wild type (GG) as a single band of 254 bp was observed during RFLP. Overall, no heterozygous or homozygous single nucleotide polymorphism mutations were found in patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis both in the TLR4 gene Asp299Gly, Thr399Ile and the TLR2 gene Arg677Trp, Arg753Gln in the Zhuang population from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. CONCLUSION: The TLR4 gene Asp299Gly, Thr399Ile and TLR2 gene Arg753Gln, Arg677Trp polymorphisms may not be associated with IBD in the Zhuang population from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China.

Rice Blast Resistance of Transgenic Rice Plants with Pi-d2 Gene

Resistance to rice blast of transgenic rice lines harboring rice blast resistance gene Pi-d2 transformed from three different expression vectors of pCB6.3kb, pCB5.3kb and pZH01-2.72kb were analyzed. Nine advanced-generation transgenic rice lines with Pi-d2 gene displayed various resistance to 39 rice blast strains, and the highest disease-resistant frequency reached 91.7%. Four early-generation homozygous transgenic lines with Pi-d2 gene exhibited resistance to more than 81.5% of 58 rice blast strains, showing the characteristic of wide-spectrum resistance. The transgenic embryonic calli selected by the crude toxin of rice blast fungus showed that the callus induction rate of immature embryo from transgenic rice plants decreased as the concentration of crude toxin in the culture medium increased. When the concentration of crude toxin reached 40%, the callus induction rate of immature embryo from transgenic lines was 49.3%, and that of the receptor control was 5%. The disease incidence of neck blast of the transgenic rice lines in fields under induction was 0% to 50%, indicating that the rice blast resistance of transgenic rice lines is much higher than that of the receptor control.

Novel ATP7B gene mutations in Chinese Han patients with hepatolenticular degeneration

BACKGROUND： ATP7B gene exon 8 Arg778Leu and exon 12 Arg952Lys are gene mutation hot spots in Chinese Han patients with hepatolenticular degeneration, or Wilson＇s disease （WD）. However, the gene fragments are too short for detection and the mutation detection rate remains low. OBJECTIVE： To analyze DNA sequences of ATP7B gene exon 8-exon 9 and exon 10-exon 12 sections. DESIGN, TIME AND SE＇I-rlNG： A concurrent, non-randomized, controlled, genetic polymorphism study was performed at the Anhui Medical Genetics Center, Anhui, China from March to July in 2009. PARTICIPANTS： Fifty patients, who were admitted to the Department of Neurology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Traditional Chinese Medical College between March and July in 2009, were diagnosed with WD. The WD group comprised 32 males and 18 females, with an average age of （18.8 ± 8.3） years. WD was confirmed by clinical observation, as well as physical, imaging, and biochemical examinations, including testing for serum copper, ceruloplasmin, and copper oxidase. The control group comprised 20 normal subjects, who underwent physical examination at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Traditional Chinese Medical College, and included 13 males and 7 females, with an average age of （27.9 ± 2.4） years. All subjects were Chinese Han population. METHODS： Genomic DNA was extracted from 50 WD patients and 20 normal controls. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of ATP7B gene exon 8-exon 9 （about 1 100 bp） and exon 10-exon 12 （about 850 bp） segments was performed. DNA exon-intron amplification products from all subjects were processed through direct bidirectional sequencing, and sequencing results were analyzed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Sequence changes of ATPTB gene exon 8-exon 9 and exon 10-exon 12 segments. RESULTS： In the 50 included WD patients, ATP7B gene intron 8 nt53592A → G with nt53671G→ A homozygous mutation was detected between exon 8-exon 9 in seven cases; exon 8 Arg778Leu mutations with Leu770Leu synonymous mutation was detected in four cases; exert 11 Gly790Arg heterozygous missense mutation between exon 10-exon 12 was found in four cases; exon 12 Arg952Lys heterozygous missense mutation was seen in 11 cases; and two additional cases were associated with exon 1211e929Val polymorphism. CONCLUSION： ATP7B gene intron 8 mutation is a possible pathogenic mutation that is associated with WD pathogenesis. The exon 11 mutation rate accounts for 8% of all WD patients, and the very few previously reported cases deserve further study.

Neuroimaging in Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease(HD) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by an expanded tri-nucleotide CAG sequence in huntingtin gene(HTT) on chromosome 4. HD manifests with chorea, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms. Although advances in genetics allow identification of individuals carrying the HD gene, much is still unknown about the mechanisms underly-ing the development of overt clinical symptoms and the transitional period between premanifestation and mani-festation of the disease. HD has no cure and patients rely only in symptomatic treatment. There is an urgent need to identify biomarkers that are able to monitor disease progression and assess the development and efficacy of novel disease modifying drugs. Over the past years, neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) and positron emission tomog-raphy(PET) have provided important advances in our understanding of HD. MRI provides information about structural and functional organization of the brain, while PET can detect molecular changes in the brain. MRI and PET are able to detect changes in the brains of HD gene carriers years ahead of the manifestation of the dis-ease and have also proved to be powerful in assessingdisease progression. However, no single technique hasbeen validated as an optimal biomarker. An integrativemultimodal imaging approach, which combines differ-ent MRI and PET techniques, could be recommendedfor monitoring potential neuroprotective and preventivetherapies in HD. In this article we review the currentneuroimaging literature in HD.

Analysis of Resistance to Powdery Mildew in Wheat Based on Expressed Sequence Tags (EST) Technique

Powdery mildew is a serious disease of wheat in China. As part of ITEC (International Triteace EST cooperation), EST (expressed sequence tags) technique was used to explore the gene expression in leaf induced by Erysiphe graminis DC. A conventional cDNA library was constructed, and a total of 1 500 clones picked randomly from the library were sequenced, three hundred and eighty_seven ESTs of them were unique, which got the Accession Number in GenBank. About 49.4% ESTs showed significant similarity to functions of known sequences in GenBank. There are 196 ESTs' with functions not able to be determined, and eighty_four ESTs were demonstrated to be novel sequences. High_density dot membranes from unique clones were produced, and several disease resistance related genes were screened by differential hybridization.

Lack of correlation of vacA genotype, cagA gene of Helicobacter pylori and their expression products with various gastroduodenal diseases

Abstract:Objective To investigate the correlation among vacA genotypes, cagA gene, VacA, serum CagA antibodies of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and gastroduodenal diseases. Methods vacA genotypes and cagA gene of 62 H. pylori strains isolated from patients with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer were tested by polymerase chain reaction, and Hela cell assay for VacA activity in vitro. Serum CagA antibodies were measured by EIA method in the same patients.Results All 62 H. pylori strains possessed the vacA gene and vacA genotypes of all strains were type s1a/m2. Total positive rate of cagA gene was 56.45%; the positive rates of cagA gene of H. pylori strains isolated from patients with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer were 55.56%, 54.17% and 63.64%, respectively (P>0.05). The total positive rate of VacA was 37.10%; the positive rates of VacA produced by H. pylori strains isolated from patients with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer were 33.33%, 29.17% and 63.64%, respectively (P>0.05). The positive rates of CagA antibodies in patients with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer were 70.37%, 79.17% and 40.00%, respectively (P>0.05). The total positive rate of CagA antibodies was 68.85%.Conclusion There was no correlation among cagA gene and vacA genotypes of H. pylori, VacA, serum CagA antibodies and various gastroduodenal diseases.

Disease gene identification by using graph kernels and Markov random fields

Genes associated with similar diseases are often functionally related.This principle is largely supported by many biological data sources,such as disease phenotype similarities,protein complexes,protein-protein interactions,pathways and gene expression profiles.Integrating multiple types of biological data is an effective method to identify disease genes for many genetic diseases.To capture the gene-disease associations based on biological networks,a kernel-based Markov random field(MRF)method is proposed by combining graph kernels and the MRF method.In the proposed method,three kinds of kernels are employed to describe the overall relationships of vertices in five biological networks,respectively,and a novel weighted MRF method is developed to integrate those data.In addition,an improved Gibbs sampling procedure and a novel parameter estimation method are proposed to generate predictions from the kernel-based MRF method.Numerical experiments are carried out by integrating known gene-disease associations,protein complexes,protein-protein interactions,pathways and gene expression profiles.The proposed kernel-based MRF method is evaluated by the leave-one-out cross validation paradigm,achieving an AUC score of 0.771 when integrating all those biological data in our experiments,which indicates that our proposed method is very promising compared with many existing methods.

LMM5.1 and LMM5.4,two eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1Alike gene family members,negatively affect cell death and disease resistance in rice

Lesion mimic mutant（LMM） genes, stimulating lesion formation in the absence of pathogens, play significant roles in immune response. In this study, we characterized a rice lesion mimic mutant, lmm5,which displayed light-dependent spontaneous lesions. Additionally, lmm5 plants exhibited enhanced resistance to all of the tested races of Magnaporthe oryzae and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae（Xoo） by increasing the expression of defense-related genes and the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide. Genetic analysis showed that the lesion mimic phenotype of lmm5 was controlled by two genes, lmm5.1 and lmm5.4, which were isolated with a map-based cloning strategy. Remarkably, LMM5.1 and LMM5.4 share a 97.4% amino acid sequence identity, and they each encode a eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A（e EF1A）-like protein. Besides, LMM5.1 and LMM5.4 were expressed in a tissue-specific and an indicaspecific manner, respectively. In addition, high-throughput m RNA sequencing analysis confirmed that the basal immunity was constitutively activated in the lmm5 mutant. Taken together, these results suggest that the homologous e EF1A-like genes, LMM5.1 and LMM5.4, negatively affect cell death and disease resistance in rice.