Myc/his-TDP-43融合蛋白对tau外显子10可变剪接的影响

目的:构建带myc/his标签的pcDNA3.1/TDP-43及其截断体质粒,探讨myc/his-TDP-43融合蛋白对tau外显子10可变剪接的影响。方法:采用PCR法扩增TDP-43基因及其各截断体,将扩增产物和载体pcDNA3.1双酶切后回收,连接载体和目的片段,获得重组质粒。在HEK-293FT细胞中转染pcDNA3.1/TDP-43·myc·his及其截断体质粒,Western印迹法检测相关蛋白的表达。TDP-43或siTDP-43和tau迷你基因SI9/SI10共转,RT-PCR检测TDP-43对tau外显子10可变剪接的影响。结果:成功构建了pcDNA3.1/TDP-43·myc·his全长及各截断体质粒,并在HEK-293FT细胞中检测到其蛋白表达。Myc/his-TDP-43融合蛋白可呈剂量依赖性促进4R-tau的表达(P0.05或0.01)。结论:Myc/his-TDP-43融合蛋白可促进4R-tau的表达,携带myc/his标签不影响TDP-43对tau外显子10可变剪接的促进作用,为后续研究奠定了基础。     

Skeletal muscle stem cells do not transdifferentiate into cardiomyocytes after cardiac grafting

Skeletal muscle cell-derived grafts in the heart may benefit myocardial performance after infarction. Several studies have suggested that skeletal muscle stem cells (satellite cells) from adult muscle undergo transdifferentiation into cardiomyocytes after grafting into the heart, but expression of cardiac markers in graft cells has not been rigorously confirmed. To determine the fate of satellite cell-derived grafts in the heart, adult rat satellite cells were tagged in vitro with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and grafted into normal hearts of syngeneic rats. At 4 and 12 weeks the graft cells formed multinucleated, cross-striated myofibers that expressed fast skeletal myosin heavy chain (MHC), thus indicating a mature skeletal muscle phenotype. Double staining for the BrdU tag and cardiac-specific markers was employed to identify transdifferentiation. Aside from four questionable cells, none of the 11 grafts examined expressed alpha-MHC, cardiac troponin I, or atrial natriuretic peptide. At 4 weeks, grafts expressed beta -MHC, a hallmark of slow twitch myofibers. By 12 weeks, however, the myofibers had atrophied and downregulated beta-MHC. Grafts never expressed the intercalated disk proteins N-cadherin or connexin43, hence electromechanical coupling did not occur. In conclusion, satellite cells differentiate into mature skeletal muscle and do not express cardiac-specific genes after grafting into the heart. Thus, transdifferentiation into cardiomyocytes did not occur.     

The natural history of a genetic subtype of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy caused by a p.S358L mutation in TMEM43

To determine the phenotype and natural history of a founder genetic subtype of autosomal dominant arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) caused by a p.S358L mutation in TMEM43. The age of onset of cardiac symptoms, clinical events and test abnormalities were studied in 412 subjects (258 affected and 154 unaffected), all of which occurred in affected males significantly earlier and more often than unaffected males. Affected males were hospitalized four times more often than affected females (p ≤ 0.0001) and died younger (p ≤ 0.001). The temporal sequence from symptoms onset to death was prolonged in affected females by 1–2 decades. The most prevalent electrocardiogram (ECG) manifestation was poor R wave progression (PRWP), with affected males twice as likely to develop PRWP as affected females (p ≤ 0.05). Left ventricular enlargement (LVE) occurred in 43% of affected subjects, with 11% fulfilling criteria for dilated cardiomyopathy. Ventricular ectopy on Holter monitor was common and occurred early: the most diagnostically useful clinical test. No symptom or test could rule out diagnosis. This ARVC subtype is a sex‐influenced lethal arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, with a unique ECG finding, LV dilatation, heart failure and early death, where molecular pre‐symptomatic diagnosis has the greatest clinical utility.     

RNF43 is a tumour suppressor gene mutated in mucinous tumours of the ovary

Mucinous carcinomas represent a distinct morphological subtype which can arise from several organ sites, including the ovary, and their genetic characteristics are largely under‐described. Exome sequencing of 12 primary mucinous ovarian tumours identified RNF43 as the most frequently somatically mutated novel gene, secondary to KRAS and mutated at a frequency equal to that of TP53 and BRAF. Further screening of RNF43 in a larger cohort of ovarian tumours identified additional mutations, with a total frequency of 2/22 (9%) in mucinous ovarian borderline tumours and 6/29 (21%) in mucinous ovarian carcinomas. Seven mutations were predicted to truncate the protein and one missense mutation was predicted to be deleterious by in silico analysis. Six tumours had allelic imbalance at the RNF43 locus, with loss of the wild‐type allele. The mutation spectrum strongly suggests that RNF43 is an important tumour suppressor gene in mucinous ovarian tumours, similar to its reported role in mucinous pancreatic precancerous cysts. Copyright © 2012 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel temporal‐predominant neuro‐astroglial tauopathy associated with TMEM106B gene polymorphism in FTLD/ALS‐TDP

Polymorphisms in TMEM106B, a gene on chromosome 7p21.3 involved in lysosomal trafficking, correlates to worse neuropathological, and clinical outcomes in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with TDP‐43 inclusions. In a small cohort of C9orf72 expansion carriers, we previously found an atypical, neuroglial tauopathy in cases harboring a TMEM106B rs1990622 A/A genotype. To test whether TMEM106B genotype affects the risk of developing atypical tauopathy under a recessive genotype model (presence versus absence of two major alleles: A/A vs. A/G and G/G). We characterized the atypical tauopathy neuropathologically and determined its frequency by TMEM106B rs1990622 genotypes in 90 postmortem cases with a primary diagnosis of FTLD/ALS‐TDP [mean age at death 65.5 years (±8.1), 40% female]. We investigated the effect of this new atypical tauopathy on demographics and clinical and neuropsychological metrics. We also genotyped TMEM106B in an independent series with phenotypically similar cases. Sixteen cases (16/90, 17.7 %) showed the temporal‐predominant neuro‐astroglial tauopathy, and 93.7% of them carried an A/A genotype (vs. ~35% in a population cohort). The odds ratio of FTLD/ALS‐TDP individuals with the A/A genotype showing neuro‐astroglial tauopathy was 13.9. Individuals with this tauopathy were older at onset (p = 0.01). The validation cohort had a similarly high proportion of rs1990622 A/A genotype. TDP‐43 and tau changes co‐occur in a subset of neurons. Our data add to the growing body of evidence that TMEM106B polymorphisms may modulate neurodegeneration. A distinctive medial temporal predominant, 4‐repeat, neuro‐astroglial tauopathy strongly correlates to TMEM106B A/A genotype in FTLD/ALS‐TDP cases.     

急性染镉对大鼠心肌细胞闰盘超微结构和连接蛋白43表达的影响及黄芪甲苷的拮抗作用

目的:观察急性染镉对大鼠心肌细胞闰盘超微结构和连接蛋白43(Cx43)表达的影响,探讨黄芪甲苷的保护机制.方法:SD大鼠随机分为正常组、镉处理组、镉加黄芪甲苷处理组,取心室肌组织,分别作光镜、透射电镜观察和免疫组织化学检测.结果:与正常组相比,镉组心肌细胞连接蛋白43的表达量明显降低,心肌纤维和闰盘超微结构破坏严重;而镉加黄芪甲苷组心肌细胞连接蛋白43的表达量较镉组显著增加,心肌纤维和闰盘超微结构的损伤也明显减轻.结论:镉能破坏心肌细胞闰盘超微结构,影响连接蛋白43的表达及分布,黄芪甲苷能在一定程度上拮抗镉对心肌细胞闰盘超微结构和连接蛋白43的毒性损伤.     

间隙连接蛋白43在舌黏膜癌变过程中的表达

目的 研究间隙连接蛋白43(connexin 43,Cx43)在口腔黏膜癌变过程中的表达变化,探寻其与口腔黏膜癌变的关系及意义.方法 用4亚基硝氧喹啉(4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide,4NQO)诱导SD大鼠口腔黏膜癌变,应用免疫组化方法检测Cx43在口腔黏膜癌变过程中各阶段的动态变化,分析Cx43与口腔黏膜癌变的关系.结果 Cx43蛋白主要表达于大鼠舌黏膜上皮细胞的胞膜、上皮基底层、棘层和颗粒层呈阳性染色,角质层未见表达.随着舌黏膜上皮异常增生程度的增加,Cx43的表达明显下降.在口腔鳞状细胞癌组织中,Cx43染色分布于癌细胞胞质以及鳞癌组织的角化珠内.Cx43在正常舌黏膜、轻度上皮异常增生、中度上皮异常增生、重度上皮异常增生、口腔鳞癌组织中阳性表达率分别为100.00％(10/10)、85.71％(12/14)、66.67％(8/12)、40.00％(4/10)、33.33％(4/12),差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).结论 4NQO诱发舌黏膜癌变的过程中,Cx43蛋白表达水平随病变程度加重而显著下降,提示Cx43表达异常参与了口腔黏膜的癌变过程.Cx43表达下降是口腔黏膜癌变的早期事件.     

Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia Type 43 (SPG43) is Caused by Mutation in C19orf12

We report here the genetic basis for a form of progressive hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG43) previously described in two Malian sisters. Exome sequencing revealed a homozygous missense variant (c.187G>C; p.Ala63Pro) in C19orf12, a gene recently implicated in neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA). The same mutation was subsequently also found in a Brazilian family with features of NBIA, and we identified another NBIA patient with a three‐nucleotide deletion (c.197_199del; p.Gly66del). Haplotype analysis revealed that the p.Ala63Pro mutations have a common origin, but MRI scans showed no brain iron deposition in the Malian SPG43 subjects. Heterologous expression of these SPG43 and NBIA variants resulted in similar alterations in the subcellular distribution of C19orf12. The SPG43 and NBIA variants reported here as well as the most common C19orf12 missense mutation reported in NBIA patients are found within a highly conserved, extended hydrophobic domain in C19orf12, underscoring the functional importance of this domain.     

Decreased intercellular coupling improves the function of cardiac pacemakers derived from mouse embryonic stem cells

The aim of this study was to determine if embryonic stem cell derived cardiomyocyte aggregates (ESdCs) can act as pacemakers in spontaneously active cardiomyocyte preparations when their connexin isoform expression is tuned toward a more sinus nodal phenotype. Using microelectrode array recordings (MEAs), we demonstrate that mouse ESdCs establish electrical coupling with spontaneously active cardiomyocyte preparations (HL-1 monolayer) and obtain pacemaker dominance. WT- and Cx43(−/−)-ESdCs comparably established intercellular coupling with cardiac host tissue (Cx43(−/−): 86% vs. WT: 91%). Although both aggregates had a 100% success rate in pacing quiescent cardiac preparations, Cx43(−/−)-ESdCs had an increased likelihood of gaining pacemaker dominance (Cx43(−/−): 40% vs. WT: 13%) in spontaneously active preparations. No differences in size, beating frequency, V_m, or differentiation were detected between WT- and Cx43(−/−)-ESdCs but the intercellular coupling resistance in Cx43(−/−)-ESdCs was significantly increased (Cx43(−/−): 1.2nS vs. WT: 14.8nS). Lack of Cx43 prolonged the time until Cx43(−/−)-ESdCs established frequency synchronization with the host tissue. It further hampered the excitation spread from the cardiomyocyte preparation into the ESdC. However rectifying excitation spread in these co-cultures could not be unequivocally identified. In summary, ESdCs can function as dominant biological pacemakers and Cx43 expression is not a prerequisite for their electrical integration. Maintenance of pacemaker dominance depends critically on the pacemaker's gap junction expression benefiting those with increased intercellular coupling resistances. Our results provide important insight into the design of biological pacemakers that will benefit the use of cardiomyocytes for cell replacement therapy.