Protective effect of interferon-α on the DNA- and RNA-degrading pathway in anti-Fas-antibody induced apoptosis

Aim: Fas membrane-associated polypeptide antigen is a receptor molecule responsible for apoptosis-mediated signals. In animal models of acute viral hepatitis, apoptosis of hepatocytes is mediated by Fas-death receptors; therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of interferon (IFN)-alpha on apoptotic markers and nuclease activity against different coding and non-coding single and double stranded RNAs during Fas-induced liver apoptosis. Methods: An in vivo experiment was performed with simultaneous administration of anti-Fas (CD95) antibodies and IFN-alpha, and an in vitro experiment was performed in hepatocyte cultures treated with anti-Fas antibodies and IFN-alpha. Results: Detection of apoptosis using Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide, Bcl-2 and Bax expression in hepatocyte cultures confirmed the appearance of early apoptotic events and progression toward late apoptosis after anti-Fas antibody treatment. IFN-alpha had a tendency to retard the apoptosis process in Fas-induced apoptosis by increasing the number of viable cells and decreasing the number of cells in late apoptosis, by increasing the percentage of Bcl-2 positive cells, by decreasing the percentage of Bax positive cells, and by decreasing the nuclease activity compared to the anti-Fas antibody treated group. Total DNA and RNA concentration was much reduced in the Fas group and DNA fragmentation assay provided evidence for increased DNA degradation. Enhanced nuclease activity against DNA, rRNA, poly(A), poly(C), poly(U), poly(I:C), and poly(A:U) was manifested in the anti-Fas antibody treated group, except for the inhibitory-bound alkaline RNase. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that the RNA-degrading pathway in Fas-induced apoptosis can accelerate the liberation of the latent enzyme from the inhibitor complex. IFN-alpha prevented enormous, Fas-ligand induced degradation of all the substrates used in this experimental study, most probably due to similarities in the signal transduction pathways. Investigations of death receptor-induced apoptosis may lead to novel treatment combinations for patients with acute or chronic liver diseases.     

dsRNA和RNA干扰技术

dsRNA在细胞内诱导同源序列的基因表达受抑的现象称为RNA干扰。其机的阐明使它有可能在基因敲除 ,基因功能测定等方面成为一项成熟的技术 ,这将在生命科学领域中引起深刻变化。本文就dsRNA和RNA干扰的关系 ,RNA干扰的机制和特点 ,RNA干扰技术的应用前景等作一综述     

Cell cycle dependent intracellular distribution of two spliced isoforms of TCP/ILF3 proteins

TCP80 is an approximately 80kDa mammalian cytoplasmic protein that binds to a set of mRNAs and inhibits their translation in vitro and ex vivo. This protein has high sequence similarity to interleukin-2 enhancer-binding factors (NF90/ILF3) and the M-phase phosphoprotein (MPP4)/DRBP76. A 110kDa immunologic isoform of TCP80/NF90/MPP4/DRBP76, termed TCP110, also is present in cytoplasm and nuclei of many types of cells. A cDNA sequence coding for TCP110 was derived by 5(')RACE. The TCP110 sequence is identical to ILF3. The gene coding for TCP110/ILF3 mapped to human chromosome 19 and the gene organization was analyzed using TCP80 and TCP110/ILF3 cDNA sequences. The TCP/ILF3 gene spans >34.8kb and contains 21 exons. At least one alternatively spliced product involving exons 19-21 exists and predicts the formation of either TCP80 or TCP110/ILF3. However, the functional relationships of TCP80 and TCP110/ILF3 required elucidation. The metabolic turnover rates and subcellular distribution of TCP80 and TCP110/ILF3 during the cell cycle showed TCP80 to be relatively stable (t(1/2)=5 days) in the cytoplasmic compartment. In comparison, TCP110/ILF3 migrated between the cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments during the cell cycle. The TCP110 C-terminal segment contains an additional nuclear localizing signal that plays a role in its nuclear translocation. This study indicates that the multiple cellular functions, i.e., translation control, interleukin-2 enhancer binding, or cell division, of TCP/ILF3 are fulfilled by alternatively spliced isoforms.     

Complete Nucleotide Sequence and Phylogenetic Analyses of Hepatitis B Virus Isolated from Two Pileated Gibbons

Virus-like particles (VLPs, named HmTV1-17), about 40nm in diameter were found in the violet root rot fungus Helicobasidium mompa Tanaka strain No. 17, which had been isolated from an apple tree. Purified preparations of HmTV1-17 contained two species of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), designated 17L and 17S. cDNAs were constructed from HmTV1-17 genomic dsRNAs purified using CF-11 cellulose column chromatography. The sequences of 17L and 17S cDNA comprised 5207 and 2096bp, respectively. Although 17S has no large open reading flame (ORF) on either strand, 17L has two large overlapping ORFs. The 5 located ORF1 encodes the coat protein (CP, 788 amino acids), whereas the gene product of ORF2, which is in the –1 frame relative to ORF1, shows the typical features of a RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RDRP, 845 amino acids). Phylogenetic analysis based on RDRP showed that HmTV1-17 is closely related to Sphaeropsis sapinea SsRV1, a member of the genus Totivirus from filamentous fungus S. sapinea.     

RNA干扰及其在基因治疗研究中的应用

RNAi是1998年由Fire在丽线虫中首次发现并命名的一种转录后基因沉默机制[1 ] 。RNAi在多种生物中,包括植物、真菌、果蝇、线虫、锥虫及哺乳动物中都存在,是生物界一种古老、进化上高度保守的现象。RNAi的重要生物学意义在于它能监控异常的或外源的遗传物质在机体内的水平,从而调控基因的表达,使机体保持基因自稳。RNAi在真核生物中起着遗传监视器的作用。RNAi技术已经成为研究基因功能、新基因筛选、基因治疗和寻找药物靶点的重要工具。在基因治疗领域,RNAi为病毒感染、肿瘤以及其它很多疾病的治疗提供了新的治疗思路,应用前景极为…     

The thymus in autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis: Paradigm for a tertiary lymphoid organ

In autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis (MG), a neuromuscular disease generally mediated by autoantibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR), the muscle is the target organ of the autoimmune attack, while the thymus seems to be the primary production site of the autoantibodies. In the majority of patients with anti-AChR antibodies, it is characterized by the presence of germinal centers, which contain B cells that produce anti-AChR antibodies. In this review, we summarize recent results regarding neoangiogenic processes, cell infiltration and modified chemokine expression in the MG thymus, which are typical features of secondary lymphoid organs. The structural and functional changes in the MG thymus therefore allow us to declare it to be an archetype for tertiary lymphoid neogenesis providing optimal settings for the interaction between lymphocytes and antigen presenting cells in order to elicit an immune response. We further discuss factors that may have a key role in the transformation of the MG thymus into a tertiary lymphoid organ, such as IFN type I and dsRNA signaling. These factors could also be of importance in other autoimmune diseases, especially those characterized by tertiary lymphoid neogenesis.     

Safety assessment of food and feed from biotechnology-derived crops employing RNA-mediated gene regulation to achieve desired traits: A scientific review

Gene expression can be modulated in plants to produce desired traits through agricultural biotechnology. Currently, biotechnology-derived crops are compared to their conventional counterparts, with safety assessments conducted on the genetic modification and the intended and unintended differences. This review proposes that this comparative safety assessment paradigm is appropriate for plants modified to express mediators of RNA-mediated gene regulation, including RNA interference (RNAi), a gene suppression mechanism that naturally occurs in plants and animals. The molecular mediators of RNAi, including long double-stranded RNAs (dsRNA), small interfering RNAs (siRNA), and microRNAs (miRNA), occur naturally in foods; therefore, there is an extensive history of safe consumption. Systemic exposure following consumption of plants containing dsRNAs that mediate RNAi is limited in higher organisms by extensive degradation of ingested nucleic acids and by biological barriers to uptake and efficacy of exogenous nucleic acids. A number of mammalian RNAi studies support the concept that a large margin of safety will exist for any small fraction of RNAs that might be absorbed following consumption of foods from biotechnology-derived plants that employ RNA-mediated gene regulation. Food and feed derived from these crops utilizing RNA-based mechanisms is therefore expected to be as safe as food and feed derived through conventional plant breeding.     

阴道毛滴虫病毒衣壳蛋白基因cap2037的克隆与表达

目的对阴道毛滴虫病毒衣壳蛋白基因的克隆与原核表达。方法提取阴道毛滴虫总核酸为模板，根据所克隆的阴道毛滴虫病毒部分序列和GenBank中发表的阴道毛滴虫病毒TvV—T1序列设计一对引物，经RT—PCR得到与预计大小一致的PCR特异性产物，将其克隆到pMD-18T载体后测序，并与GenBank中核苷酸序列进行同源性搜索与分析，再将其克隆至表达载体pET28a。并以异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷（IPTG）诱导表达。结果目的基因片段长度为2037bp，与阴道毛滴虫病毒T1株（U08999）的同源性最高为82．9％，构建原核表达载体pET—Cap2037；IPTG诱导后，SDS—PAGE显示表达产物的大小约75kDa。结论成功克隆出阴道毛滴虫病毒衣壳蛋白基因序列，与TVV—T1株序列有82．9％的同源性，经IPTG诱导，SDS-PAGE分析表明，75kDa蛋白基因在大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）中得到高效表达。