p38丝裂原激活蛋白激酶对人胚胎肾293细胞一氧化氮合酶基因转录的调控

目的探讨p38 丝裂原激活蛋白激酶(MAPK)家族四种亚型对诱导型一氧化氮合酶(iNOS)基因的转录调控。方法以人胚胎肾293(HEK 293)细胞为靶细胞,采用脂质体(LPS)介导的细胞基因共转染技术、荧光素酶报告基因技术,分别将FLAG-tagged p38 MAPK 4种亚型、含有鼠iNOS基因启动子区的荧光素酶报告基因质粒(piNOS-Luc)、空载体(pcDNA3)、β-半乳糖苷酶表达质粒(pCMV-β)共转染,检测并比较荧光素酶相对活性。结果(1)未加刺激时,在HEK 293细胞中,p38 MAPK中仅有p38α能够诱导iNOS基因启动子的转录活性;(2)在LPS刺激下,p38 MAPK 4种亚型均能够诱导iNOS启动子的转录活性,其中,p38β所诱导的转录活性最高,p38α的诱导作用亦很明显。结论(1)LPS能够在HEK 293细胞中诱导iNOS基因转录活性;(2)在HEK 293细胞中,p38 MAPK参与了静息时及LPS刺激下对iN-OS基因的转录调控。     

Hepatitis B virus genetic diversity and its impact on diagnostic assays

Summary.  Hepatitis B virus (HBV) circulates in blood as closely related, but genetically diverse molecules called quasispecies. During replication, HBV production may approach 10¹¹ molecules/day, although during peak activity this rate may increase 100–1000 times. Generally, DNA polymerases have excellent fidelity in reading DNA templates because they are associated with an exonuclease which removes incorrectly added nucleotides. However, the HBV-DNA polymerase lacks fidelity and proofreading function partly because exonuclease activity is either absent or deficient. Thus, the HBV genome and especially the envelope gene, is mutated with unusually high frequency. These mutations can affect more than one open reading frame because of overlapping genes. The S gene contains an exposed major hydrophilic region (residues 110–155), which encompasses the 'a' determinant that is important for inducing immunity. Nucleotide substitutions in this region are common and result in reduced binding or failure to detect hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in diagnostic assays. Adaptive immunity also depends on the recognition of HBsAg by specific antibody and variants pose a threat if they interfere with binding to antibody. Finally, genomic hypervariability allows HBV to escape selection pressures imposed by antiviral therapies, vaccines and the host immune system, and is responsible for creating genotypes, subgenotypes and subtypes.     

基因转移FasL治疗人黑素瘤的实验研究

目的探讨体内外基因转移F as配体(F as-ligand,F asL)对恶性人黑素瘤细胞凋亡的影响。方法用携带人F asL cDNA的缺陷型重组腺病毒(A d-F asL),在体外转导两株黑素瘤细胞,并使其表达;通过流式细胞仪、RT-PCR法进行F as/F asL表达检测,TUNEL法及荧光显微镜相关凋亡检测、分析。建立人黑素瘤裸鼠模型,并对其进行体内疗效观察及病理学检查。结果流式细胞仪和RT-PCR检测两株黑素瘤细胞表面均表达F as,不表达F asL,而A d-F asL转导的两株黑素瘤细胞均能表达F asL;A d-F asL能显著诱导两株黑素瘤细胞在体外凋亡或抑制其生长。体内疗效观察黑素瘤荷瘤鼠模型治疗组瘤重(0.48±0.16)g与对照组瘤重(1.02±0.19)g相比,差异有显著性(P<0.05)。肿瘤组织形态学检查,治疗组可见肿瘤细胞凋亡坏死区及炎性细胞浸润。结论F asL基因重组腺病毒在体内外均具有显著诱导人黑素瘤细胞凋亡的效果。     

Implicit memory is independent from IQ and age but not from etiology: evidence from Down and Williams syndromes

Background In the last few years, experimental data have been reported on differences in implicit memory processes of genetically distinct groups of individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID). These evidences are relevant for the more general debate on supposed asynchrony of cognitive maturation in children with abnormal brain development. This study, comparing implicit memory processes in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS), was planned to verify the ‘etiological specificity’ hypotheses pertaining to the skill learning abilities of individuals with ID. Method A modified version of Nissen and Bullemer's (1987) Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task was used. The performances of three group were evaluated. The first group consisted of thirty‐two people with WS (18 males and 14 females). The second group was comprised of twenty‐six individuals with DS (14 males and 12 females). The two groups of individuals with ID were selected so that the groups were comparable as for mental age and chronological age. The third group consisted of forty‐nine typically developed children with a mental age similar to that of the groups with WS and DS. Results The two groups of individuals with ID demonstrated different patterns of procedural learning. WS individuals revealed poor implicit learning of the temporal sequence of events characterizing the ordered blocks in the SRT task. Indeed, differently from normal controls, WS participants showed no reaction time (RT) speeding through ordered blocks. Most importantly, the rebound effect, which so dramatically affected normal children's RTs passing from the last ordered to the last block, had only a marginal influence on WS children's RTs. Differently from the WS group, the rate of procedural learning of the participants with DS was comparable to that of their controls. Indeed, DS and typically developed individuals showed parallel RT variations in the series of ordered blocks and, more importantly, passing from the last ordered to the last block. Therefore, a substantial preservation of skill learning abilities in this genetic syndrome is confirmed. Conclusions The results of the present study document that procedural learning in individuals with ID depends on the aetiology of the syndrome, thus supporting the etiological specificity account of their cognitive development. These results are relevant for our knowledge about the qualitative aspects and the underlying neurobiological substrate of the anomalous cognitive development in mentally retarded people.     

Non-genetic surrogacy: no cure but problems for infertility?

Non-genetic surrogacy characterizes a situation where the gestational mother is not the genetic mother. It further widens a circle that started with the introduction of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and creates problems in defining motherhood and identifying at birth the mother who will have the rights and responsibilities of rearing the child.     

D1S549等6个短串重复序列基因座在河南汉族群体的遗传多态性

目的　探讨河南汉族群体的D1S5 49、D3S175 4、D2 2S683和CSF1PO、TPOX、TH0 1基因座遗传多态性分布。方法　ACD抗凝血样采自 2 19名无血缘关系汉族个体 ,酚 氯仿法提取DNA ,应用复合扩增技术对D1S5 49等 6个短串重复序列 (STR)基因座进行扩增 ,采用高分辨率的聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳分离、银染法显影技术。统计各基因频率、计算杂合度、多态信息含量、个人识别概率及亲权否定概率。结果　 6个STR基因座基因频率的分布均符合Hardy Weinberg平衡 ,各基因座的杂合度分别为 0 .7964、0 .72 3 1、0 .815 9、0 .75 81、0 .65 2 3、0 .6816;非父排除概率为 0 .62 46、0 .4914、0 .65 0 1、0 .5 2 3 6、0 .40 98、0 .42 87;个人识别机率为 0 .8996、0 .8781、0 .92 3 1、0 .8896、0 .8167、0 .83 92 ;多态信息含量为 0 .72 16、0 .6994、0 .742 1、0 .7169、0 .65 17、0 .710 6。结论　D1S5 49等 6个STR基因座是一组高度多态性的遗传标记系统 ,在人类遗传学及法医学研究中具有重要意义     

Polymorphism in the promoter region of the apolipoprotein AI gene associated with differences in apolipoprotein AI levels: The European Atherosclerosis Research Study

The effect associated with the substitution of adenine (A) for guanidine (G) in the promoter region of the apolipoprotein AI gene (?75 bp) with plasma apo AI and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels was investigated in the European Atherosclerosis Research Study (EARS). This is a study of healthy offspring (cases) of fathers who had suffered premature myocardial infarction (MI) before age 55 years (n = 565) and age- and sex-matched controls (n = 1,078) from 12 European countries, divided into 5 regions based on geography and language. The frequency of the polymorphism was not significantly different among the regions and the relative frequency of the rare A allele was similar in cases and controls (0.159 vs. 0.142) combining data from all regions. Individuals with one or more A allele had significantly higher plasma apo AI levels (P < 0.05) than individuals homozygous for the G allele. This effect was consistent in all regions. The data were analyzed separately in males and females. In females, those with one or more A allele had significantly higher apo AI levels (P = 0.05) than individuals homozygous for the G allele, and this raising effect of the A allele was greater in cases than controls for both apo AI (5.23% vs. 1.56%) and HDL (4.48% vs. 1.89%). In males, the A allele was associated with higher levels of apo AI and HDL, but the effect was much smaller and the differences did not reach statistical significance. In the females, where the effect of the A allele was strongest, the effect on apo AI associated with genotype was evident in non-smokers, and individuals with one or two A alleles had 3.6% higher apo AI and 3.14% higher HDL levels than individuals homozygous for the G allele. However, in the female smokers the raising effect of the A allele was greatly reduced (0.56%). Thus genetic variation in the promoter region of the apo AI gene is associated with differences in apo AI and HDL levels in healthy individuals throughout Europe, but the effect is modulated by gender, environmental factors such as smoking, and a family history of MI.     

The behavioral genetics of colony defense in honeybees: Genetic variability for guarding behavior

Guard honeybees stand at the entrance of colonies and facilitate the exclusion of nonnestmates from the colony. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that genetic variability among individuals in colonies might explain variability in guarding activity. To do this, we cross-fostered honey bees between colonies with high-defensive responses and colonies with low-defensive responses in alarm pheromone tests. Individuals from high-defensive colonies were more likely to guard in their own colonies (controls) than cross-fostered bees from low-defensive colonies. Cross-fostered high-defensive bees also were more likely to guard in low-defense colonies. These results support the hypothesis that interindividual differences in guarding behavior are at least partially under genetic control. A positive correlation between number of guards and response to alarm pheromone demonstrates a link between behaviorally separated components of the overall defensive response.This work was supported by NSF Grant BNS 8605604.     

A genetic and environmental time series analysis of blood pressure in male twins

Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured on 254 monozygotic (MZ) and 260 dizygotic (DZ) male twin pairs, during middle age (average age 48 years) and at two later age points. Genetic and environmental components of covariation were modeled by time series. For both measures, shared environmental influences were absent and specific environmental influences were largely time-specific. Although heritability was about 0.5 at each time point, genetic variation present at middle age contributed only about 60% to that present 9 years later, the remaining 40% being new. Fifteen years later, at the third time point, no new genetic variation was evident, variation in individual differences being entirely attributable to genetic differences laid down at the two earlier ages. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.