骨髓瘤细胞免疫球蛋白重链基因可变区的研究

为分析多发性骨髓瘤 (multiplemyeloma,MM )细胞对免疫球蛋白重链基因可变区 (VH)基因家族的取用 ;根据VH 基因突变特点 ,揭示MM细胞的起源。以重链基因可变区 (VH1 VH6 )基因家族特异性引物 ,用PCR法扩增骨髓瘤细胞系CZ 1细胞和 98例MM患者外周血单个核细胞VH 基因片段 ,纯化后的PCR产物和pMD18 T载体连接并转化JM10 9细菌 ,经克隆鉴定后 ,目的DNA片段用末端双脱氧法测定DNA序列 ,和其对应的胚系基因序列比较。结果表明MM细胞对各VH 基因家族的取用顺序为VH3>VH1>VH4 >VH2 >VH5 >VH6 ;MM细胞VH 基因互补决定区 (CDR )氨基酸替换性突变 (R突变 ) /氨基酸静寂性突变 (S突变 )等于 9 6 7,而骨架区 (FR )R/S等于 0 87,而且随着疾病的进展 ,IgVH 基因并不发生进一步的突变。结论是MM前体细胞在进行VDJ基因重排时 ,对VH 基因家族的取用和基因家族相对大小有关 ;MM细胞可能起源于已经发生抗原选择和体细胞突变的B记忆细胞或前浆细胞。     

Distribution of <Superscript>3</Superscript>H-Dopamine and <Superscript>3</Superscript>H-DAGO Binding Sites in the Central Part of Rat Sinoatrial Node

Distribution of ³H-dopamine and ³H-DAGO binding sites was studied by autoradiography on semithin sections of total preparations of rat sinoatrial node. The relative density of ³H-dopamine and ³H-DAGO binding sites in the functional nucleus of the sinoatrial node was minimum and increased in the cranial and caudal directions. The level of ³H-dopamine binding in the perinodal atrial myocardium was appreciably lower (22±6%), while binding of ³H-DAGO was similar (76±16%) to that in the periarterial zone of the sinoatrial node. __________ Translated from Byulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 140, No. 8, pp. 210–214, August, 2005     

Mapping of sporulation-specific functions in the yeast syntaxin gene<Emphasis Type="Italic"> SSO1</Emphasis>

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two closely related plasma membrane syntaxins, Sso1p and Sso2p, which together provide an essential function in vegetative cells. However, Sso1p is also specifically needed during sporulation; and this function cannot be provided by Sso2p. We used fusions between SSO1 and SSO2 to map the sporulation-specific function of SSO1. We found that the two N-terminal -helices Ha and Hb of Sso1p are important for sporulation, since it is reduced 8-fold for fusions where Ha and Hb are derived from Sso2p. In contrast, the C-terminal half of Sso1p does not seem to be specifically required for sporulation. Surprisingly, we further found that the 3 untranslated region (3UTR) of SSO1 is essential for sporulation. Western blots failed to reveal a preferential expression of Sso1p in sporulating cells, indicating that effects on gene expression are unlikely to explain why the SSO1 3UTR is needed for sporulation.Communicated by S. Hohmann     

Analysis of T cell repertoire in the liver of patients with chronic hepatitis C

Many T cells infiltrate into the liver of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CH-C). They are believed to play a crucial role in the immunopathogenesis of hepatic inflammation, but their clonality and specificity are unknown. The aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics of these T cells. We analysed the complementarity-determining region (CDR)3 size lengths of T cell receptor (TCR) beta-chains by size spectratyping, and determined the sequences of Vbeta CDR3 after subcloning Vbeta-specific polymerase chain reaction products. Spectratyping showed clonal expansions in all liver specimens, most of which showed more than two T cell clones. Moreover, many non-clonal T cells also accumulated in the liver. Clonality of the T cells suspected by spectratyping was confirmed by CDR3 sequencing. Although the sequences revealed no whole CDR3-shared clones among different patients, some common motif sequences were observed. Our data suggest that T cells are stimulated by several hepatitis C virus (HCV) epitopes, then accumulate in the liver of CH-C patients. Shared motifs of expanded T cell clones suggest that they might recognize the same regions of HCV peptides, but have differences due to HCV peptide mutational changes. These clones might also interact with non-clonal T cells and play a crucial role in the immunopathogenesis of CH-C.     

塞姆利基森林病毒翻译增强序列对HIV Gag DNA疫苗抗原表达和免疫原性的调节

目的 研究塞姆利基森林病毒（Semliki forest virus，SFV）衣壳蛋白5’翻译增强区对基于该病毒复制子的HIV Gag DNA疫苗抗原表达水平和免疫原性的影响：方法将SFV衣壳蛋白（capsid，C蛋白）基因的5’端102bp翻译增强区插入到SFT复制子DNA疫苗载体pCMV-Rep的SFV亚基因启动子下游，得到DNA疫苗载体pCMV-RepC。将删除ATG的HIV-1 gag基因插入pCMV-RepC，使gag编码区与翻详增强区融合，得到DNA疫苗质粒pCMV-RepC-gag。同时，构建携带未融合翻译增强序列的DNA疫苗质粒pCMV-Rep-gag。Western blot检测翻译增强序列对Gag表达水平的影响。用上述两种DNA疫苗分别免疫BALB／c雌性小鼠，ELISA检测Gag特片的抗体反应，ELISPOT和细胞内因子染色技术检测细胞免疫应答。结果衣壳蛋白5’翻译增强区增强了Gag表达水平，对体液免疫应答没有显著影响，但显著增强了特异性细胞免疫应答水平。结论SFVC蛋白翻译增强区能显著提高SFV复制子DNA疫苗的抗原表达和抗原特异性细胞免疫反心。     

Comparison of anatomical location of squamous cell carcinoma within the oral cavity and oropharynx with the incidence of in vitro hyperdiploidy

The anatomical location of the squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) within the oral cavity and oropharynx influenced the association of SCCA with the biomarker in vitro hyperdiploidy in human dermal fibroblast cultures (IVH). There was a strong association of IVH with the occurrence of SCCA in the anterior 2/3 of the tongue, floor of the mouth and lower alveolar ridge of the oral cavity and in the base of the tongue and pharyngeal wall of the oropharynx. There was a lower association of SCCA with IVH in the tonsillar region of the oropharynx. IVH showed no association with SCCA located in other anatomical parts of the oral region. The patient group whose diagnosis of SCCA in the anterior 2/3 of the tongue occurred prior to the age of 50 years were invariably IVH-, whereas those diagnosed after the age of 50 years were IVH+, providing evidence for heterogeneity. There was no such correlation of biomarker subgrouping with age of diagnosis demonstrated for SCCA at any other anatomical location within the oral cavity or oropharynx.     

Selective cytotoxic lesions of the retrohippocampal region produce a mild deficit in social recognition memory

Although a number of studies have implicated the hippocampal formation in social recognition memory in the rat, a recent study in this laboratory has demonstrated that selective cytotoxic lesions, confined to the hippocampus proper (encompassing the four CA subfields and the dentate gyrus), are without effect on this behaviour. This finding suggests that the hippocampus proper does not subserve social recognition memory in the rat, but does not preclude the possibility that other areas of the hippocampal formation, such as the entorhinal cortex or subiculum, could support this form of learning. The present study addressed this issue by examining the effects of selective cytotoxic retrohippocampal (RHR) lesions (including both the entorhinal cortex and subiculum) on social recognition memory in the rat. RHR lesions produced a mild social recognition memory impairment, although lesioned animals still displayed a reduction in investigation time between the first and second exposure to the juvenile. This result is consistent with other studies which have implicated the retrohippocampal or parahippocampal area in olfactory recognition memory processes. It also suggests, however, that other areas, out with the retrohippocampal region, are also likely to play an important role in social recognition memory.     

The haplotype block, NFKBIL1-ATP6V1G2-BAT1-MICB-MICA, within the class III-class I boundary region of the human major histocompatibility complex may control susceptibility to hepatitis C virus-associated dilated cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle disease with impaired stretch response that can result in severe heart failure and sudden death. A small proportion of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients may be predisposed to develop dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The molecular mechanisms involved in the predisposition remain unknown due in part to the lack of information on their genetic background. Because the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region has a pivotal role in controlling the susceptibility to HCV-induced liver disease, we hypothesized that particular HLA alleles and/or non-HLA gene alleles within the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genomic region might control the predisposition to HCV-associated DCM (HCV-DCM) and/or HCV-associated HCM (HCV-HCM). Here, we present mapping results of the MHC-related susceptibility gene locus for HCV-associated cardiomyopathy by analyzing microsatellite and single nucleotide polymorphism markers. To delineate the susceptibility locus, we genotyped 44 polymorphic markers scattered across the entire MHC region in a total of 59 patients (21 HCV-DCM and 38 HCV-HCM) and 120 controls. We mapped HCV-DCM susceptibility to a non-HLA gene locus spanning from NFKBIL1 to MICA gene loci within the MHC class III-class I boundary region. Our results showed that HCV-DCM was more strongly associated with alleles of the non-HLA genes rather than the HLA genes themselves. In addition, no significant association was found between the MHC markers and HCV-HCM. This marked difference in the MHC-related disease susceptibility for HCV- associated cardiomyopathy strongly suggests that the development of HCV- DCM and HCV-HCM is under the control of different pathogenic mechanisms.