REVERSAL OF THE DOUBLE－STRANDED－RNA－INDUCED INHIBITION OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS BY A CATALYTICALLY INACTIVE MUTANT OF THE PROTEIN

The interferon-inducible-stranded-RNA-depedet protein kinase PKR has been implicated in both the antiviral aand cell growth-regulatory effects of the interferons.Over-expression of the wild-type form of this protein inhibits cell proliferation,whereas over-expression of inactive mutant forms transforms cells to a tumouri-genie phenotype.It has been suggested that mutant PKR exerts a dominant negative effect on the activity of the wild-type protein kinase.We have investigated this possibility using the rabbbit reticulocyte cell-free translation system in which protein synthesis is inhibited by dsRNA due to activation of PKR and phosphorylation of initiation factor elF-2. Addition of a highly purified inactive PKR mutant,synthesised in a baculovirus-infected insect cell system, rescues protein synthesis from inhibition by the low concentrations of dsRNA in a dose-dependent manner. The PKR mutant has no effect on protein synthesis in the absence of dsRNA of in the presence of another inhibitory protein kinase,the haem-controlled repressor.Inhibition of translation can be re-established in the presence of the mutant PKR by adding a higher concentration of dsRNA.These results suggest that inactive mutant PKR does exert a dominant negative effect on wild-type PKR and that this may be due to competition for dsRNA binding.

Analysis of SSLP and Soluble Protein Contents in Leaves of Mutants Induced by High Pressure in Rice (Oryza sativa)

Rice variety Yuexiangzhan and its mutants induced by high pressure were studied using microsatcllite markers and soluble protein content analyses. Eleven of the 88 microsatellite primer pairs showed evident polymorphisms repeatedly, and the polymorphic frequencies were 3.4-11.3% between the mutants and Yuexiangzhan. The polymorphic markers were randomly located on chromosomes. The more similar the plant types of the mutants like their original variety, the less polymorphic loci were detected. In addition, there was variation in the soluble protein contents among the leaves of mutants, and the contents were significantly lower than those of the original variety.

Molecular Cloning,Expression,and Characterization of an Adenylyl Cyclase-associated Protein from Gossypium arboreum Fuzzless Mutant

CAP,an adenylyl cyclase-associated protein,is predicted to be involved in cytoskeletal organization and signal transduction.Recently,we found that CAP may play an important role in fuzz-like fiber cell initiation in cotton.For the further research,we isolated two CAP homologues from wild

Isolation and Characterization of Storage Protein Subunit-null-dwarf Mutants in Soybean(Glycine max(L.) Merr.)

Dwarfing is useful to reduce plant height,when breeding high-yielding and non-lodging crops.In this study,a set of natural storage protein subunit-null dwarf mutants of soybean was reported that showed strongly reduced plant stature and deficiency in various 7S and 11S subunits,designated as snd1 mutants.Under normal growth conditions,the snd1 mutants showed a severe dwarf phenotype,with plant height of about 25 cm.Compared with wild-type DN47,the mutant snd1 exhibited no obvious morphological differences at the early stage of development.All the snd1 mutants examined had fewer nodes and shorter than normal internodes;the leaves were similar in shape to normal parents,but were dark-green at the mature stage.The flower size was similar to DN47;however,the flowering period was shorter than in the wild-type.Significant variation was noted for protein content,oil content of the seeds and size of seeds(weight of 100 seeds)among 17 snd1 dwarf lines.Genetic analysis indicated that the dwarfism of snd1 was controlled by a single recessive gene.The snd1 dwarf mutant had markedly different dynamic levels of the endogenous hormones gibberellin(GA),brassinosteroid,indole-3-acetic acid and abscisic acid,at the seedling stage.Exogenous GA3 treatment led to recovery of the plant height phenotype of the snd1 mutant;GA3 at 0.1 mm had the largest effect on enhancing plant height.Using molecular markers,snd1 gene was approximately mapped in an interval of 603 kb between markers Satt166 and Satt561 on chromosome 19.Snd1 mutant provided valuable material for hypoallergenic soybean breeding and the snd1 gene might be a novel gene related to plant height in soybean.

Screening proteins that interact with mutant superoxide dismutase 1 from familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using a yeast two-hybrid system

The present study screened a human fetal brain cDNA library to find the proteins that interact with mutant superoxide dismutase 1 （SOD1） using a yeast two-hybrid system. Using BLAST software, 15 real proteins which interacted with mutant SOD1 were obtained, including 8 known proteins （protein tyrosine-phosphatase non-receptor type 2, TBCl D4, protein kinase family, splicing factor, arginine/serine-rich 2, SRC protein tyrosine kinase Fyn, β-sarcoglycan; glycine receptor a2, microtubule associated protein/microtubule affinity-regulating kinase 1, ferritin H chain）, and 7 unknown proteins. Results demonstrated interaction of mutant SOD1 with microtubule associated protein/microtubule affinity-regulating kinase 1 and β-sarcoglycan.

Induction of Silencing Effect of Swedish Mutant Amyloid Precursor Protein by RNA interference

Summary： Over-expression of APP and Swedish mutation could cause some familial early onset AD. In this study, a primary screening was conducted of effective small interference RNAs （siRNAs） targeted wild type APP （APPwt） and Swedish mutant APP （APPswe）. One siRNA targeting APPwt and the other siRNA targeting APPswe were designed, All these siRNAs were endogenously expressed by siRNAs expressing plasmids, COS-7 cells were transiently co-transfected with APP-GFP recombinant plasmids and siRNA expression vector, The silencing effect of each siRNA was quantitatively assessed by the level of expression of green fluorescent protein （GFP）. It was found that the siRNAs silenced APPwt and APPswe to different degrees, siRNA directed against APPswe was more effective in suppressing the expression of fusion gene of APPswe than that of APPwt. The silencing effect of siRNA directed against APPswe indicating allele-specific silencing property of the siRNAs. Therefore, siRNAs directed against APP play an important role both in the therapeutic study of Alzheimer disease and functional exploration ofAPP gene.

骨形态发生蛋白10及其突变体在CHO细胞中的表达

为了解决骨形态发生蛋白10(bone morphogenetic protein 10,BMP10)前体蛋白proBMP10在中国仓鼠卵巢(CHO)细胞中由于Furin导致的表达产物不均一问题,构建了proBMP10在Furin酶切识别位点处的突变体proBMP10-1(R313K)和proBMP10-2(R316K),并分别将目的基因定点整合进CHO-K1-BAK-/BAX-基因组,成功构建了稳定表达目标蛋白质的重组CHO细胞株。结果表明,proBMP10-2 (R316K)不再被Furin切割,且具有生物活性,而proBMP10-1(R313K)仍然会被Furin切割。

靶向突变p53蛋白的抗肿瘤药物

p53蛋白是人体内十分重要的肿瘤抑制因子,通过调节细胞周期阻滞、诱导细胞凋亡等作用发挥肿瘤抑制功能。突变后的p53蛋白不仅具有显性负性效应(dominant negative effect,DN)抑制野生型p53蛋白功能,而且还通过功能获得性效应(gain of function,GOF)调节细胞代谢、侵袭、迁移等方式促进肿瘤的发生。p53蛋白在超过50%的肿瘤组织中发生突变,是肿瘤细胞区别于正常细胞的一个特异性药物靶点。因此,针对突变p53蛋白开发新型抗癌药物一直是研究的热点。长期以来,由于突变p53蛋白表面较为光滑,缺乏药物结合口袋,使其被认为是一个不可成药的靶点。随着高通量筛选技术的发展以及对突变p53蛋白结构的深入了解,许多靶向突变p53蛋白的小分子化合物被报道并在体外展现出较好的抗肿瘤活性,多款基于突变p53蛋白研发的化合物已经进入临床试验阶段。本文就靶向p53蛋白治疗肿瘤的直接和间接策略进行综述,重点针对突变p53蛋白重激活剂与降解突变p53蛋白的小分子化合物作用机制进行梳理,以期为后续开发靶向突变p53蛋白药物的创新提供帮助。

Heterotrimeric G protein α subunit is involved in rice brassinosteroid response

Heterotrimeric G proteins are known to function as messengers in numerous signal transduction pathways.The nullmutation of RGA(rice heterotrimeric G protein α subunit),which encodes the α subunit of heterotrimeric G proteinin rice,causes severe dwarfism and reduced responsiveness to gibberellic acid in rice.However,less is known aboutheterotrimeric G protein in brassinosteroid(BR)signaling,one of the well-understood phytohormone pathways.In thepresent study,we used root elongation inhibition assay,lamina inclination assay and coleoptile elongation analysis todemonstrated reduced sensitivity of dl mutant plants(caused by the null mutation of RGA)to 24-epibrassinolide(24-epiBL),which belongs to brassinosteroids and plays a wide variety of roles in plant growth and development.Moreover,RGA transcript level was decreased in 24-epiBL-treated seedlings in a dose-dependent manner.Our results show thatRGA is involved in rice brassinosteroid response,which may be beneficial to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of Gprotein signaling and provide a novel perspective to understand BR signaling in higher plants.

A suppressed gene in integument cells of a fiberless seed mutant in upland cotton

A fiberless seed mutant(fl) was identified in a commercial cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.) variety Xu-Zhou 142(FL).THis phenotype is associated with lack of fiber cell initiation in the outer integument of the ovule,as was characterized by analysis of genes related to fiber differentiation and development.Two genes,fl-E6 and FL-E6,were cloned from fl-integument cells and FL-fiber or integument cells,respectively.Compared with FL-E6,fl-E6 showed a dramatic change in nucleotide sequence:(1) FL-E6 contained a tandem repetitive sequence in which GGCTCA( Gly-Ser) is repeated five times between the 82nd and the 93rd codon from the first ATG codon,while in fl-E6 the same sequence is repeated four times;(2) The fl-E6 gene encodes a polypeptide of 241 amino acids but lacks two codons between the 90th and 93rd codon and three between the 171st and 174th relative to FL-E6;(3) There are also 12 nucleotide substitutions which would result in 7 amino acid differences between fl-E6 and FL-E6.Analysis of RT-PCR and Northern Blot showed that expression of the fl-E6 gene is suppressed in the fl-integument cells.but highly expressed in FL-fiber cells.The difference between fl-E6 and FL-E6 may be associated with lower expression of fl-E6 in the fli-inbackbones of two arabinogalactan-proteins(AGPs),one from the filtrate of suspension-cultured cells of Pyrus communis (AGPPc2) and the other from Nicotiana alata(AGPNa2),Although the function of the FL-E6 protein in differentation and development of cotton fiber cells is not known,the data indicate that the mutation of fl-E6 gene from FL-E6 gene may inhibit the fiber cell initiation from epidermal cells of the outer integument of the ovule.

Hepatitis B virus,HBx mutants and their role in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the leading causes of death induced by cancer in the modern world and majority of the cases are related to chronic hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection.HBV-encoded X protein(HBx)is known to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of viral induced HCC.HBx is a multifunctional protein of17 kDa which modulates several cellular processes by direct or indirect interaction with a repertoire of host factors resulting in HCC.HBX might interfere with several cellular processes such as oxidative stress,DNA repair,signal transduction,transcription,protein degradation,cell cycle progression and apoptosis.A number of reports have indicated that HBx is one of the most common viral ORFs that is often integrated into the host genome and its sequence variants play a crucial role in HCC.By mutational or deletion analysis it was shown that carboxy terminal of HBx has a likely role in protein-protein interactions,transcriptional transactivation,DNA repair,cell,signaling and pathogenesis of HCC.The accumulated evidence thus far suggests that it is difficult to understand the mechanistic nature of HBx associated HCC,and HBx mediated transcriptional transactivation and signaling pathways may be a major determinant.This article addresses the role of HBx in the development of HCC with particular emphasis on HBx mutants and their putative targets.

Hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis B surface protein

The tumorigenesis of hepatitis B virus(HBV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) has been widely studied. HBV envelope proteins are important for the structure and life cycle of HBV, and these proteins are useful for judging the natural disease course and guiding treatment. Truncated and mutated pre S/S are produced by integrated viral sequences that are defective for replication. The pre S/S mutants are considered "precursor lesions" of HCC. Different pre S/S mutants induce various mechanisms of tumorigenesis, such as transactivation of transcription factors and an immune inflammatory response, thereby contributing to HCC. The pre S2 mutants and type Ⅱ "Ground Glass" hepatocytes represent novel biomarkers of HBVassociated HCC. The pre S mutants may induce the unfolded protein response and endoplasmic reticulum stress-dependent and stress-independent pathways. Treatments to inhibit hepatitis B surface antigen(HBs Ag) and damage secondary to HBs Ag or the pre S/S mutants include antivirals and antioxidants, such as silymarin, resveratrol, and glycyrrhizin acid. Methods for the prevention and treatment of HCC should be comprehensive.

Construction and Genetic Analysis of Murine Hepatitis Virus Strain A59 Nsp16 Temperature Sensitive Mutant and the Revertant Virus

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are generally associated with respiratory and enteric infections and have long been recognized as important pathogens of livestock and companion animals. Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is a widely studied model system for Coronavirus replication and pathogenesis. In this study,we created a MHV-A59 temperature sensitive (ts) mutant Wu"-ts18(cd) using the recombinant vaccinia reverse genetics system. Virus replication assay in 17C1-1 cells showed the plaque phenotype and replication characterization of constructed Wu"-ts18(cd) were indistinguishable from the reported ts mutant Wu"-ts18. Then we cultured the ts mutant Wu"-ts18(cd) at non-permissive temperature 39.5°C,which "forced" the ts recombinant virus to use second-site mutation to revert from a ts to a non-ts phenotype. Sequence analysis showed most of the revertants had the same single amino acid mutation at Nsp16 position 43. The single amino acid mutation at Nsp16 position 76 or position 130 could also revert the ts mutant Wu"-ts18 (cd) to non-ts phenotype,an additional independent mutation in Nsp13 position 115 played an important role on plaque size. The results provided us with genetic information on the functional determinants of Nsp16. This allowed us to build up a more reasonable model of CoVs replication-transcription complex.

1-DE/MS Analysis of the Proteins Related to Spathe Color Variation in Anthurium andraeanum 'Madural'

In order to understand the mechanism of spathe color variation in Anthurium andraeanum at the protein level, the leaves, inflorescences and spathes of the wild type and two mutants of A. andraeanum 'Madural' were used as research objects in which the differential expression of proteins related to flower color mutants was analyzed by one-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry(1-DE/MS). The 1-DE patterns showed that the protein components expressed highly in spathes were mainly concentrated in the molecular weight range of 20-42 kD, and differential bands were detected between the wild type and the mutant, while no significant differences were detected in the leaf and inflorescence proteins. According to the results of mass spectrometry analysis of the differential bands, 21 known functional proteins involved in life processes such as glucose metabolism, resistance, cytoskeleton, gene regulation and signal transduction were identified. It showed that in addition to the influences from anthocyanidins, the spathe color variation of A. andraeanum 'Madural' is also regulated by a variety of metabolic pathway-related proteins.

Protein phosphatase 4 is involved in the late development of <i>Dictyostelium discoideum</i>

A cDNA clone SSJ337 (accession no. AF161253) of 1230 bp, encoding a catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 4, was selected as one of the clones expressed specifically in prestalk cells from a cDNA library of D. discoideum slugs. Cells transformed with a knockout construct of SSJ337 showed an aberrant and tiny fruiting-body formation with a short stalk. A knockout mutant, SSJ337KO was allowed to develop much slower than a wild-type AX2 after the post-aggregation stage. This suggested that the SSJ337 cDNA clone has played an important role especially in the later development of Dictyostelium discoideum. Results from Northern blotting, analysis showed that transcripts for SSJ337 were accumulated at 16 h to 24 h after starvation began.

Autophagic induction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosislinked Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 G93A mutant in NSC34 cells

Previous studies have confirmed that the beclin 1 complex plays a key role in the initial stage of autophagy and deregulated autophagy might involve in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, the mechanism underlying altered autophagy associated with the beclin 1 complex remains un- clear. In this study, we transfected the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 G93A mutant protein into the motor neuron-like cell line NSC34 cultured in vitro. Western blotting and co-immunopre- cipitation showed that the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 G93A mutant enhanced the turnover of autophagic marker microtubule-associated protein light chain 3II （LC3Ⅱ） and stimulated the conversion of EGFP-LC3Ⅰ to EGFP-LC3Ⅱ, but had little influence on the binding capacity of the autophagy modulators ATG14L, rubicon, UVRAG, and hVps34 to beclin 1 during auto- phagosome formation. These results suggest that the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-linked Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase I G93A mutant can upregulate autophagic activity in NSC34 cells, but that this does not markedly affect beclin 1 complex components.

Alexander disease:the road ahead

Alexander disease is a rare neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the glial fibrillary acidic protein,a type III intermediate filament protein expressed in astrocytes.Both early(infantile or juvenile)and adult onsets of the disease are known and,in both cases,astrocytes present characteristic aggregates,named Rosenthal fibers.Mutations are spread along the glial fibrillary acidic protein sequence disrupting the typical filament network in a dominant manner.Although the presence of aggregates suggests a proteostasis problem of the mutant forms,this behavior is also observed when the expression of wild-type glial fibrillary acidic protein is increased.Additionally,several isoforms of glial fibrillary acidic protein have been described to date,while the impact of the mutations on their expression and proportion has not been exhaustively studied.Moreover,the posttranslational modification patterns and/or the protein-protein interaction networks of the glial fibrillary acidic protein mutants may be altered,leading to functional changes that may modify the morphology,positioning,and/or the function of several organelles,in turn,impairing astrocyte normal function and subsequently affecting neurons.In particular,mitochondrial function,redox balance and susceptibility to oxidative stress may contribute to the derangement of glial fibrillary acidic protein mutant-expressing astrocytes.To study the disease and to develop putative therapeutic strategies,several experimental models have been developed,a collection that is in constant growth.The fact that most cases of Alexander disease can be related to glial fibrillary acidic protein mutations,together with the availability of new and more relevant experimental models,holds promise for the design and assay of novel therapeutic strategies.

乳腺癌组织COX-2蛋白c-erbB-2 P53 VEGF-C蛋白表达及其与临床病理参数和预后的关系

目的:分析乳腺癌组织环氧化酶-2(COX-2)蛋白、人表皮生长因子受体2(c-erbB-2)、突变型P53蛋白、血管内皮生长因子C(VEGF-C)蛋白表达及其与临床病理参数和预后的关系。方法:选取2017年3月至2019年5月到我院就诊103例乳腺癌患者的手术切除标本。免疫组化法测定患者入组时的COX-2、c-erbB-2、P53、VEGF-C蛋白阳性率;比较上述各指标水平与患者TNM分期、分化程度等病理参数的关系;随访患者术后3年生存资料,Kaplan-Meier分析COX-2、c-erbB-2、P53、VEGF-C蛋白水平对预后生存的影响。结果:患者TNM分期、分化程度与COX-2阳性相关(P<0.05);肿瘤直径≥3cm、淋巴结转移与c-erbB-2阳性相关(P<0.05);TNM分期、分化程度、淋巴结转移与P53阳性相关(P<0.05);淋巴结转移与VEGF-C阳性相关(P<0.05)。103例患者随访3年,随访率为100%,截止至2022年5月死亡20例(19.42%),存活83例(80.58%);根据死亡情况将阳性患者分为存活亚组及死亡亚组,死亡亚组患者入组时的组化评分均明显高于存活亚组(P<0.05)。Log-rank χ^(2)检验显示随访3年P53、VEGF-C阳性及阴性的累积存活率比较差异有统计学意义(χ^(2)=14.000、5.206,P均<0.05);COX-2、c-erbB-2阳性及阴性患者的累积存活率比较差异无统计学意义(χ^(2)=1.761、2.830,P=0.184、0.093)。结论:乳腺癌组织中COX-2、c-erbB-2、P53、VEGF-C蛋白阳性率与TNM分期、淋巴结转移、分化程度等病理参数相关,在患者预后评估中具有一定指导意义。

水稻光温敏不育系gy157S的叶色表型鉴定与候选基因分析

为探明光温敏不育系gy157S黄绿叶基因gy157S(t)调控水稻叶色的分子机制及应用潜力,本研究对水稻光温敏核不育系gy157S进行不同温度处理,观察其表型、叶绿素含量以及叶肉细胞的变化情况,并对其进行遗传分析、基因定位和候选基因分析。表型鉴定结果发现,与对照C815S相比,20℃条件下gy157S叶片呈现黄绿色表型,光合色素含量极显著降低,叶绿体发育缺陷严重;30℃条件下gy157S叶片呈现淡绿色表型,光合色素含量仍然显著降低,仍有部分叶绿体发育畸形。遗传分析结果表明,gy157S的黄绿叶表型受一对隐性核基因控制;群体分离分析(BSA)和连锁分析结果将该基因定位于第3号染色体RM15678和RM15824之间,物理距离为2.4Mb;候选基因功能分析、测序和实时荧光定量PCR(qRT-PCR)结果显示,编码铁氧还蛋白OsFdC2的基因OsR498G0306815500.01在第7外显子上存在单核苷酸多态性(SNP)变异,导致编码氨基酸发生改变,可能是引起黄绿叶突变表型的位点。本研究结果为阐明gy157S(t)基因对叶绿体发育和叶绿素合成的分子调控机制奠定了基础。

EMS诱导红阳猕猴桃耐寒突变体的筛选及转录组分析

红阳猕猴桃(Actinidia chinensis var.chinensis‘Hongyang’)具有较高的经济价值和营养价值,以及较好的市场开发前景。但近年红阳猕猴桃产区如云南、四川等多地多次遭遇倒春寒等极端天气,其抗寒性差的缺点限制了发展空间。该研究通过在组培的过程中使用甲基磺酸乙酯(EMS)诱导红阳猕猴桃突变体,进而筛选出耐寒突变体,并通过转录组分析探究其胁迫响应机制。该研究以红阳猕猴桃叶片为实验材料,在组培时(4.4 g·L^(-1) MS+4.5 g·L^(-1)琼脂+1.5 mg·L^(-1)6-BA+0.1 mg·L^(-1) NAA+15 g·L^(-1)蔗糖+0.01~0.10 g·L^(-1)EMS)利用EMS诱导技术诱导突变体,并在低温环境下筛选出耐寒突变体。选出的耐寒突变体和正常红阳猕猴桃组培苗先进行4℃12 h寒胁迫处理,再进行转录组测序分析。结果表明:(1)通过初步的表型鉴定,当EMS处理浓度为0.06 g·L^(-1)时诱导的部分突变体具有一定的耐寒性;(2)在转录组测序数据GO功能富集分析中,富集条目最多的是生物学过程;(3)利用KEGG数据库分析时,共筛选到21个差异表达基因在15条通路中得到注释且均为上调表达,其中内质网中的蛋白质加工通路(ath04141)中富集的差异表达基因最多,并且该通路内的sHSF、Hsp70和NEF可能与耐寒机制调控有关。综上研究结果为红阳猕猴桃耐寒种质资源的研究与利用提供了材料基础及理论依据。