Association study of dopamine D3 receptor gene and schizophrenia

Several groups have reported an association between schizophrenia and the MscI polymorphism in the first exon of the dopamine D3 receptor gene (DRD3). We studied this polymorphism using a North American sample (117 patients plus 188 controls) and an Italian sample (97 patients plus 64 controls). In the first part of the study, we compared allele frequencies of schizophrenia patients and unmatched controls and observed a significant difference in the total sample (P = 0.01). The second part of the study involved a case control approach in which each schizophrenia patient was matched to a control of the same sex, and of similar age and ethnic background. The DRD3 allele frequencies of patients and controls revealed no significant difference between the two groups in the Italian (N = 53) or the North American (N = 54) matched populations; however, when these two matched samples were combined, a significant difference was observed (P = 0.026). Our results suggest that the MscI polymorphism may be associated with schizophrenia in the populations studied. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Molecular cloning and complete nucleotide sequence of the genome of Japanese encephalitis virus Beijing-1 strain

The genomic RNA of the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) Beijing-1 strain was reversely transcribed and the synthesized cDNA was molecularly cloned. Six continuous cDNA clones that cover the entire virus genome were established and sequenced to determine the complete nucleotide sequence of the JEV RNA. The precise genomic size was estimated as 10,965 bases long. With flanking 95 bases at the 5 and 583 bases at the 3 non-coding regions, one long open reading frame (ORF) was revealed encoding a virus polyprotein with 3,429 amino acid residues. Because of sequence homologies observed between JEV and other flaviviruses, the genome organization of JEV appears to be identical with other flaviviruses. Genetic variation detected among flavivirus genomes is consistent with the established serological relatedness between JEV and other members of flaviviruses. The secondary structure of the JEV genome is deduced and discussed concerning its involvement in genome replication.     

Molecular epidemiology of adenoviruses isolated from hospitalized children with severe lower acute respiratory infection in Santiago, Chile

Genome analysis was performed on 69 adenovirus isolates from pharyngeal secretions of young children hospitalized with severe lower acute respiratory disease in Santiago, Chile, between 1984 and 1986. As expected, most isolated strains belonged to subgenus B (68.1%). Among the isolates of 1984, Ad7c was the dominant genotype (12 out of 23). The majority of isolates of 1986 were of the recently described genomic variant 3f.     

金黄色葡萄球菌 eap 基因的克隆与表达

 目的 构建携带 eap 基因的原核表达载体，诱导表达具有活性的重组 EAP 融合蛋白。 方法 PCR 法扩增金黄色葡萄球菌基因组 DNA，回收、 纯化的扩增产物与 pMD18-T 载体相连接得重组质粒 pMD18-T-EAP，转化 E.coli BL21（DE3）感受态细胞，酶切鉴定；未酶切组作为对照组重组质粒 pMD18-T-EAP 和 pET28a（+）表达载体分别用 Nde I 和 Xho I 限制性内切酶双酶切、连接，转化 E.coli BL21（DE3）感受态细胞，酶切鉴定；空载体作为对照组。用不同浓度（终浓度 1、2、4、8 mmol/L）和不同诱导时间（1、2、3、4、5、6 h）的异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷（IPTG）对阳性重组菌进行表达优化，分别取 E.coli上清液和沉淀做电泳分析。应用 MagneHis^TM 蛋白纯化系统纯化重组 EAP 融合蛋白，并通过薄层扫描测定蛋白质的浓度。 结果 所获 eap 基因与 GeneBank 的基因序列同源性 > 99%；氨基酸同源性达 100%。重组质粒经 IPTG 诱导，阳性重组菌转化子均有表达；当吸光度（A ）值等于 0.6 ~ 0.8 时，相对分子质量约 70 000 处出现目的蛋白条带。破碎的重组菌 pET28a-EAP上清液中目的蛋白条带较清楚，沉淀中几乎看不到。终浓度 1 mmol/L 为最佳蛋白表达工作浓度。IPTG 诱导 1 h 重组 EAP 融合蛋白有一定量的表达，随着时间的延长，表达量增加不明显，3 h 时的表达量达最高，之后，蛋白表达量变化不明显。表达的重组 EAP 融合蛋白含量占全菌体蛋白的 29.6%。 结论 成功地克隆和表达了金黄色葡萄球菌重组 EAP 融合蛋白，为进一步研究以 EAP 蛋白作为免疫原预防和治疗由金黄色葡萄球菌引起的疾病奠定基础。     

Hepatitis B virus-DNA in the serum of patients followed-up longitudinally with acute and chronic hepatitis B

Sera from 79 patients with acute self-limiting hepatitis, 17 patients with acute hepatitis B evolving into chronic HBsAg carriership, and 43 chronic HBsAg carriers without a history of acute hepatitis were analyzed for presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA by a molecular hybridization technique. In acute self-limiting hepatitis, HBV-DNA was cleared within a few weeks after the onset of clinical symptoms. The longest period of DNA positivity observed in this group was 42 days. In 29 of 52 patients HBV-DNA was cleared before HBeAg disappeared. Among 17 patients who became chronic HBsAg carriers, HBV-DNA was present for more than 6 months in all but one. Most of the HBsAg carriers eventually cleared HBV-DNA. The DNA clearance frequently preceeded the conversion of HBeAg to anti-HBe. Thus, in many patients there was a transitional period with HBeAg but without HBV-DNA. HBV-DNA was found to be a better index of impending chronicity than HBeAg since persistence of HBeAg for more than 42 days was noted in 10% of the patients who nevertheless cleared HBsAg within 6 months. By that time all those patients had turned negative for HBV-DNA. On the other hand, in 16 of the 17 patients who became chronic carriers of HBsAg, HBV-DNA as well as HBeAg persisted for more than 6 months. The present results also suggest that infectivity in acute hepatitis B is a feature mainly of the presymptomatic and early symptomatic period.     

氧离子注入增强人工关节软骨材料-UHMWPE的耐磨性

用高能离子注入机对超高分子量聚乙烯 (U HMWPE)进行了 O+注入改性 ,注入能量为 4 5 0 ke V和 10 0ke V,剂量分别为 1× 10 1 5/cm2 ,5× 10 1 5/cm2和 1× 10 1 6 /cm2。以 Si3N4 球为上销样 ,UHMWPE为下盘样组成摩擦副 ,在销盘摩擦试验机上评价它们在干摩擦和蒸馏水润滑条件下的磨损性能。结果表明 ,几种注入工艺均增强了UHMWPE的耐磨性 ,但提高了其摩擦系数 ,其中以能量为 4 5 0 Ke V,剂量为 5× 10 1 5/cm2的注入样品耐磨性最好。未注入 U HMWPE的磨损主要表现为黏着、塑性变形和犁沟 ,注入 U HMWPE的磨损主要为表面硬化层疲劳裂纹的萌生、扩展、剥落及磨粒磨损     

Evaluation and application of denaturing HPLC for mutation detection in Marfan syndrome: Identification of 20 novel mutations and two novel polymorphisms in the FBN1 gene

Mutations in the human fibrillin 1 gene (FBN1) cause the Marfan syndrome (MFS), an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder. Knowledge about FBN1 mutations is important for early diagnosis, management, and genetic counseling. However, mutation detection in FBN1 is a challenge because the gene is very large in size ( approximately 200 kb) and the approximately 350 mutations detected so far are scattered over 65 exons. Conventional methods for large-scale detection of mutations are expensive, technically demanding, or time consuming. Recently, a high-capacity low-cost mutation detection method was introduced based on denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). To assess the sensitivity and specificity of this method, we blindly screened 64 DNA samples of known FBN1 genotype exon-by-exon using exon-specific DHPLC conditions. Analysis of 682 PCR amplicons correctly identified 62 out of 64 known sequence variants. In three MFS patients of unknown FBN1 genotype, we detected two mutations and eight polymorphisms. Overall, 20 mutations and two polymorphisms are described here for the first time. Our results demonstrate 1) that DHPLC is a highly sensitive (89-99%, P = 0.05) method for FBN1 mutation detection; but 2) that chromatograms with moderate and weak pattern abnormalities also show false positive signals (in all 45-59%, P = 0.05); 3) that the difference in the chromatograms of heterozygous and homozygous amplicons is mostly independent of the type of sequence change; and 4) that DHPLC column conditions, additional base changes, and the amounts of injected PCR products influence significantly the shape of chromatograms. A strategy for FBN1 mutation screening is discussed.     

Genomic characterization of KIR2DL4 in families and unrelated individuals reveals extensive diversity in exon and intron sequences including a common frameshift variation occurring in several alleles

The KIR2DL4 gene including a portion of exon 1 through exon 9 was sequenced from two families and eight cell lines from the International Histocompatibility Workshop (IHWS). Two known alleles and eight variants were detected. Overall, there were five synonymous and three non-synonymous changes when the variants were compared to the coding sequences of the most closely related known alleles plus a common frameshift change in five of the variant alleles. Alignment of the new variants with all known alleles showed that the regions encoding the extracellular region and the cytoplasmic tail were the most polymorphic. Two non-synonymous changes, P146H and L161V, occurred in an extracellular immunoglobulin-like domain. Five of the eight variants had a single adenine deletion in the exon encoding the transmembrane region, potentially resulting in a truncated protein lacking the cytoplasmic tail. The distribution of the deletion variant among many KIR2DL4 alleles may explain the high frequency of this variation in the population. Four of the eight consanguineous IHWS cell lines were found to be heterozygous for KIR2DL4 carrying two alleles that differed from one another by a few nucleotide substitutions. Analysis of intron sequences in the families revealed the nature and distribution of interspersed repeat elements which comprise 46% of the KIR2DL4 nucleotide sequence and consist of 12 elements including six SINEs (13.73% of the total length), one LINE (12.41%), and five LTR elements (19.51%). The results revealed the presence of extensive diversity in the KIR2DL4 gene. This is the first extensive report providing both exon and intron data in related individuals.     

Propylene Polymerization Behavior of Fluorinated Bis(phenoxy‐imine) Ti Complexes with an MgCl2‐Based Compound (MgCl2‐Supported Ti‐Based Catalysts)

Summary: Fluorinated bis(phenoxy‐imine)Ti complexes 1 – 3 combined with MgCl₂/i‐Bu_nAl(OR)_3−n (MgCl₂‐supported catalysts) were able to polymerize propylene in a living fashion at room temperature to provide slightly to highly syndiotactic poly(propylenes) (PPs) with extremely narrow distributions of molecular weight. These represent the first examples of MAO‐ and borate‐free group 4 metal‐based living catalysts. The supported complexes 2 and 3 formed PPs with higher syndiotacticity and T_m's than the corresponding homogeneous MAO‐activation systems (e.g., 3 : rr 97%, T_m 155 °C; MAO activation: rr 93%, T_m 152 °C). The measured T_m of 155 °C represents the highest known T_m for syndiotactic PPs synthesized at room temperature.

Polymerization of propylene to poly(propylene) with supported Ti‐based catalysts.     

“Smart” Materials for Biosensing Devices: Cell-Mimicking Supramolecular Assemblies and Colorimetric Detection of Pathogenic Agents

Mimicking cell membrane and the biomolecular recognition associated with membranes represents a great technical challenge, yet it has opened doors to innovative diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Our work has focused on design and synthesis of a class of smart materials exploiting biological principals for use in biosensors: these materials are functional polymeric assemblies that mimic the cell membrane and conveniently report the presence of pathogens with a color change. Biologically active cell membrane components are incorporated into conjugated polymers with desirable optical properties and the binding of the target molecules onto the material triggers conformational and electronic shifts that are reflected in a chromatic change (a so-called biochromic shift) that is conveniently observed and recorded. Langmuir–Blodgett thin films and vesicle bilayers provide ideal configurations for precise delivery of the biological binding entity to the sensing interface, and for control of molecular orientation for effective biomolecular interaction. Polydiacetylenic membrane-mimicking materials containing cell surface receptor gangliosides and sialic acid residues, respectively were formulated into these architectures and used for colorimetric detection of bacterial toxins and influenza virus. One advantage of these biochromic conjugated polymer (BCP) sensors is that their molecular recognition and signal transduction functionalities are resident in a single functional unit, making them amenable to convenient microfabrication and use.