Purification of group 2 Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus allergen and prevalence of its specific IgE in asthmatics

Group 2 allergens are a major cause of sensitization in patients allergic to house dust mites. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of hypersensitivity to group 2 allergens (Der p 2) of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp) in asthmatic patients in Taiwan. To facilitate the analysis of Der p 2-specific IgE, we raised a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) to Der p 2 antigens. Purified Der p 2 was obtained after MoAb affinity column purification. There were 82 asthmatic patients (41 adults and 41 children) with hypersensitivity to Dp who were analyzed for hypersensitivity to Der p 2. All of them were both skin test- and serology test-reactive to Dp. Using purified Der p 2, 87.8% (72/82) of patients had a skin-test-positive reaction. Six adults (6/41) and 4 children (4/41) had negative skin tests for Der p 2. Ten families (both parents and children were asthmatics) of the 82 patients were selected for Der p 2 skin testing and Der p 2-specific IgE determination using immunoblot analysis. Results showed that 90% (18/20) of patients' skin reactions to Der p 2 and serum contained specific IgE to Der p 2. Because 87.8% (85.4% of adults and 90.2% of children) of the asthmatic patients with Dp hypersensitivity were allergic to Der p 2, its role in the pathogenesis of asthma in Taiwan appears to be important. Purified Der p 2 allergens can be further used for allergen skin testing and immunotherapy.     

PAT1, a new member of the GRAS family, is involved in phytochrome A signal transduction

Light signaling via the phytochrome A (phyA) photoreceptor controls basic plant developmental processes including de-etiolation and hypocotyl elongation. We have identified a new Arabidopsis mutant, pat (phytochrome A signal transduction)1-1, which shows strongly reduced responses in continuous far-red light. Physiological and molecular data indicate that this mutant is disrupted at an early step of phyA signal transduction. The PAT1 gene encodes a cytoplasmic protein of 490 amino acids with sequence homologies to the plant-specific GRAS regulatory protein family. In the pat1-1 mutant, a T-DNA insertion introduces a premature stop codon, which likely results in the production of a truncated PAT1 protein of 341 amino acids. The semidominant phenotype of this mutant can be recapitulated by overexpression of an appropriately truncated PAT1 gene in the wild type. The results indicate that the truncated PAT1 protein acts in a dominant-negative fashion to inhibit phyA signaling.     

Isolation of a peptide inhibitor of human rhinovirus

Cell culture-based transdominant genetic techniques provide new methods for discovering peptide/RNA modulators of cellular pathways. We applied this technology to isolate a peptide inhibitor of human rhinovirus. A green fluorescent protein (GFP)-scaffolded library of cDNA fragments was expressed in HeLa cells from a retroviral vector and screened for inhibitors of rhinovirus-mediated cell killing. A DNA clone, I421, increased cell survival in an HRV14 challenge assay from less than 0.5% to greater than 60%. It encodes a 53-amino-acid C-terminal extension of the GFP scaffold. Particular subclones of Hela cells expressing I421 (exemplified by I421dp3) show a delay in virus production and a 50-fold decrease in viral RNA levels at 6-8 h postinfection. HRV2, HRV14, and HRV16 show a dramatic decrease in plaque-forming ability on I421dp3 while Coxsackievirus B3 showed a small reduction. Levels of ICAM-1, the receptor for the main rhinovirus serotype, are not altered in I421dp3.     

Identification of enterovirus 71 isolates from an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) with fatal cases of encephalomyelitis in Malaysia

Thirteen enterovirus 71 (EV71) isolates were obtained from both fatal and non-fatal infections of patients seen in Peninsula Malaysia and in Sarawak during an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Malaysia in 1997, with incidences of fatal brainstem encephalomyelitis. The isolates were identified using immunofluorescence staining, neutralization assays, and partial sequencing of the 5' untranslated regions (UTR). Assessment of the potential genetic relationships of the isolates using the partial 5'UTR sequences suggested clustering of the isolates into at least two main clusters. Isolates from Peninsula Malaysia were found in both clusters whereas Sarawak-derived isolates clustered only in cluster II. Isolates derived from fatal infections, however, occurred in both clusters and no distinctive nucleotide sequences could be attributed to the fatal isolates. Examination of the nucleotide sequences revealed at least 13 nucleotide positions in all the isolates which differ completely from the previously reported EV71 5'UTR sequences. In addition, at least 11 nucleotide position differences within the 5'UTR were noted which differentiated cluster I from cluster II. Predicted secondary RNA structures drawn using the nucleotide sequences also suggested differences between isolates from the two clusters. These findings suggest the presence of at least two potentially virulent EV71 co-circulating in Malaysia during the 1997 HFMD outbreak.     

生物组织微阵列芯片自动制备仪的研制

介绍了一种新型生物组织微阵列芯片自动制备仪的研制。分析了组织微阵列制备过程中的操作任务和实现目标,进行了制备仪的结构设计和各功能模块研究开发。制备仪从结构上分为蜡块承载定位模块和三工位操作模块,控制系统的组成有操作空间精密定位子系统,组织蜡块图像识别子系统,蜡块打孔填埋作业子系统等。研制成功的制备仪样机具备了图像自动识别、精密定位、自动打孔填埋等功能,实现了生物组织微阵列芯片的自动化制备。     

罗格列酮对2型糖尿病心肌能量底物代谢的影响

目的：探讨在2型糖尿病中胰岛素抵抗(IR)对心肌能量底物代谢以及心功能的影响。 方法： 采用高脂喂养(40％脂肪、42％碳水化合物和18％蛋白)4周及链脲佐菌素(STZ，35 mg/kg)1次性腹腔注射建立2型糖尿病大鼠模型，成模后随机分为2组：实验对照组(fat-fed/STZ)继续高脂喂养，实验治疗组(fat-fed/STZ/RSG)给予罗格列酮(RSG) 3 mg·kg-1·d-1治疗2周；正常对照组(chow-fed)为普通饮食喂养(12％脂肪、60％碳水化合物和28％蛋白)。左室插管检测心功能后进行30 min等容离体心脏灌注，灌注液含100 μU胰岛素、3％BSA、5 mmol/L葡萄糖、0.4 mmol/L［3H］软脂酸，测定样品葡萄糖摄取量及［3H2O］计数，评估葡萄糖和脂肪酸氧化率。 结果： 高脂喂养加小剂量STZ所制备模型鼠的血糖、血浆胰岛素及FFA水平均高于正常鼠,与临床2型糖尿病的代谢特征相似。成模2周后，fat-fed/STZ组大鼠与chow-fed组比较，30 min心肌葡萄糖总氧化量明显减少［(54.7±6.2 vs 69.0±5.7)μmol/g干重，P<0.01］。葡萄糖氧化率由25％降至18％，脂肪酸氧化率由75％增加到82％；同时，心功能检查显示左室EDP明显增加［(14.3±1.8 vs 10.5±1.1) mmHg，P<0.05］，-dp/dtmax降低［(550±57 vs 650±42) mmHg/s，P<0.01］，而+dp/dtmax无明显改变。与fat-fed/STZ组比较，fat-fed/STZ/RSG组大鼠的血糖明显改善［(9.0±4.6 vs 15.1±3.3) mmol/L，P<0.01］，血浆胰岛素减少(P<0.05)，FFA降低［(2.2±0.8 vs 3.3±0.8) mmol/L, P<0.05］；心肌葡萄糖的总氧化量升高到(63.5±6.4)μmol/g。干重，葡萄糖和脂肪酸的氧化率分别为24％和76％，基本达到chow-fed组水平(P>0.05)；EDP和-dp/dtmax均得到明显的改善(P<0.05)。 结论： IR导致2型糖尿病心肌能量底物代谢的异常和左室舒张功能的降低，早期使用RSG改善IR，不仅能提高心肌对葡萄糖的利用、降低脂肪酸氧化，也有助于改善心功能。     

NR2B反义寡核苷酸对脑缺血海马CA1区NR2BmRNA表达的影响

为研究NMDA受体2B亚单位(NR2B)反义寡核苷酸(antisense oligonucleotide to NR2B,ANR2B)对短暂性脑缺血后海马CA1区NR2B mRNA表达的影响,分别向成年SD大鼠海马CA1区内立体定位注射ANR2B、NR2B正义寡核苷酸(SNR2B)、无菌生理盐水(NS),或者插针不注射(NSNO),24h后行四动脉阻断前脑缺血手术(缺血15min、再灌注24h),经心冲灌固定取脑,连续冰冻切片,原位杂交组织化学方法染色,光镜下观察各组每侧鼠脑NR2B mRNA的表达变化,并用LEICAQWin进行图像分析。结果显示,单纯缺血组海马各区的NR2B mRNA显色强度明显增加;缺血再灌组、假手术组和正常组海马CA1区内ANR2B注射点及其周围的NR2B mRNA显色明显下降;而在注射SNR2B、NS或NSNO的各组海马切片上,NR2B mRNA显色均无明显变化。结果表明ANR2B可以特异性地在体局部防止缺血后NR2B mRNA的高水平表达。     

Antiplatelet agents isolated from medicinal plants.

Platelet-vessel wall interaction is an important process in physiological hemostasis and pathological thrombosis. In oriental countries, some medicinal plants have been claimed for uses to improve circulation, induce fibrinolysis or prevent thrombosis. In cooperation with chemists using bioassay-based step-by-step purification, some antiplatelet agents were isolated from plant sources. According to their effects on platelet aggregation, release reaction and signal transductions involved, these antiplatelet agents can be classified into eight groups: 1. platelet-activating factor (PAF) antagonists, 2. collagen-receptor antagonists, 3. thromboxane-receptor antagonists, 4. ADP-receptor agonists, 5. inhibitors of phosphoinositide breakdown, 6. inhibitors of thromboxane formation, 7. agents increasing cyclic nucleotides, and 8. protein kinase C activators. These new pharmacological agents derived from medicinal plant sources may be useful as leads to develop as effective cardiovascular drugs.     

Amyloid and nonfibrillar deposits in mice transgenic for wild-type human transthyretin: a possible model for senile systemic amyloidosis

The human serum protein transthyretin (TTR) is highly fibrillogenic in vitro and is the fibril precursor in both autosomal dominant (familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy [FAP] and familial amyloidotic cardiomyopathy [FAC]) and sporadic (senile systemic amyloidosis [SSA]) forms of human cardiac amyloidosis. We have produced mouse strains transgenic for either wild-type or mutant (TTRLeu55Pro) human TTR genes. Eighty-four percent of C57BI/6xDBA/2 mice older than 18 months, transgenic for the wild-type human TTR gene, develop TTR deposits that occur primarily in heart and kidney. In most of the animals, the deposits are nonfibrillar and non-Congophilic, but 20% of animals older than 18 months that bear the transgene have human TTR cardiac amyloid deposits identical to the lesions seen in SSA. Amino terminal amino acid sequence analysis and mass spectrometry of the major component extracted from amyloid and nonamyloid deposits revealed that both were intact human TTR monomers with no evidence of proteolysis or codeposition of murine TTR. This is the first instance in which the proteins from amyloid and nonfibrillar deposits in the same or syngeneic animals have been shown to be identical by sequence analysis. It is also the first time in any form of amyloidosis that nonfibrillar deposits have been shown to systematically occur temporally before the appearance of fibrils derived from the same precursor in the same tissues. These findings suggest, but do not prove, that the nonamyloid deposits represent a precursor of the fibril. The differences in the ultrastructure and binding properties of the deposits, despite the identical sizes and amino terminal amino acid sequences of the TTR and the dissociation of deposition and fibril formation, provide evidence that in vivo factors, perhaps associated with aging, impact on both systemic precursor deposition and amyloid fibril formation.