Sputum induction as a research tool for the study of human respiratory mucus

The study objectives were to compare in vitro transportability and physical properties of respiratory mucus, obtained invasively by direct collection (DC) right after endotracheal intubation and non-invasively by sputum induction with 3% hypertonic saline solution inhalation (SI) 24 h before the anesthesia. Twenty-two patients with no pulmonary disease scheduled for elective abdominal surgical procedures were studied. The parameters analyzed and the main results are as follows. (1) Transportability by cilia (MCT), SI was higher than DC (0.94+/-0.25 and 0.62+/-0.25; P<0.001). There was a significant correlation between the two methods and DC could be estimated by: DC=0.21+(0.44 SI) (r=0.44; P<0.001). (2) Transportability by cough (CC), SI was higher than DC (68.23+/-32.1 and 33.58+/-19.04 mm; P=0.002). (3) Contact angle (CA), SI was lower than DC (10+/-3 degrees and 22+/-14 degrees ; P=0.025). (4) Rheological properties (no significant difference obtained between SI and DC). These results indicated that SI changes mucus physical properties and transportability in non-expectorators.     

IL—6基因转染的瘤苗体内诱导的抗肿瘤免疫功能与效果

经丝裂霉素C体外处理后,将IL-6基因转染的、高分泌的IL-6的B16黑色素瘤细胞制成瘤苗。结果发现,体内注射IL-6基因转染的瘤苗后,小鼠脾脏CTL活性、NK活性及IL-2诱导的LAK活性显著升高。经IL-6基因转染瘤苗体内治疗后,荷瘤小鼠的皮下肿瘤生长显著减慢、肺转移结节数显著降低、存活期显著延长,若同时合用低剂量IL-2,则上述治疗效果更好。可见IL-6基因转染的瘤苗能有效地通过诱导机体抗肿瘤免疫功能而发挥抗肿瘤作用,与低剂量IL-2合用后,IL-6基因转染的瘤苗的抗肿瘤效果更佳。     

Non-redundancy of cytidine deaminases in class switch recombination

Class switch recombination (CSR), somatic hypermutation, and gene conversion are immunoglobulin diversification mechanisms that are strictly dependent on the activity of the activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). The precise role and substrate(s) of AID in these processes remain to be well defined. The closest homologue of AID is APOBEC-1, a bona fide mRNA-editing enzyme, which shares with AID the ability to deaminate cytidines within single-stranded DNA in vitro and in prokaryotic cells. To determine whether APOBEC-1 can therefore substitute for AID in activated B cells, we expressed human AID, a catalytic mutant thereof, and rat APOBEC-1 in AID-deficient murine B cells. Whereas AID rescued CSR, neither the inactive mutant nor APOBEC-1 could complement AID deficiency. This indicates that cytidine deaminase activity is necessary but not sufficient to initiate CSR, and suggests that AID is specifically targeted to its cognate substrate, the immunoglobulin genes or a distinct mRNA, by an as-yet-unknown mechanism.     

基因探针监测巨细胞病毒潜伏感染的母儿间传播

本文采用基因探针检测孕妇静脉血及新生儿脐静脉血白细胞中CMVDNA，同时应用ELISA检测其血清中IgG、IgM．结果：10例孕妇CMV-DNA阳性，占8．7％(10／115)，这10例孕妇血IgG均阳性，IgM均阴性；17例新生儿CMV—DNA阳性．占14．3％(17／119)，其中IgM阳性2例，占1．7％(2／119)。本次研究中配对者79例，母儿CMV—DNA均阳性者8例，新生儿CMV—DNA阳性而母亲阴性者4例。上述CMV-DNA阳性者均无临床症状。研究结果提示基因探针可监测CMV的潜伏感染，从而进一步研究CMV感染的母儿传播机制。     

Inhibition of HIV-1 expression by HIV-2

HIV-1 and HIV-2 are co-endemic in certain geographic areas. HIV-2 is more weakly pathogenic than HIV-1, and progression to AIDS occurs less frequently and over a longer period of time. Recent epidemiologic studies suggest that individuals infected with HIV-2 have a lower risk of HIV-1 infection. Both immune mechanisms and various modes of viral interference have been proposed to account for these results. Our findings, described in this paper, suggest that HIV-2 inhibits HIV-1 replication. To study the molecular interactions between HIV-1 and HIV-2, proviral clones were transfected alone or in combination into the human T cell line CEM. LTR-CAT indicator constructs were included for the purpose of monitoring viral promoter activity. Viral replication in transfected cells was monitored by p24 antigen capture assay of cell culture supernatants and Western blot analysis of cell extracts. HIV-2 inhibited HIV-1 replication as determined by intracellular and extracellular p24 antigen levels. Similar results were obtained with simultaneous virus infection using HIV-1 and HIV-2, rather than transfections of proviral DNA. Using cotransfection of HIV-1 and HIV-2 LTR indicator gene constructs, the mechanism of inhibition was found to be suppression of the HIV-1 LTR by HIV-2. The inhibitory effect of HIV-2 is not due to Tat-2, but appears to discriminate between the HIV-1 and HIV-2 LTRs based on differences in the Tat activation response element, TAR. These results suggest both a molecular mechanism for HIV-2 interference with HIV-1 replication and a potential molecular approach to therapy.     

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor gene transfer into tumor cells induces macrophage infiltration but not tumor suppression

In order to analyze the effect of a high local concentration of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF; CSF-1) on tumor growth, the plasmacytoma cell line J558L was transfected with the human M-CSF gene and injected into syngeneic BALB/c mice. In contrast to the parental tumors, M-CSF transfectants were heavily infiltrated by macrophages as evidenced by immunohistochemistry with antibodies to Mac-1 and Mac-3 and by isolation of the macrophages from the tumor. Nevertheless, tumor growth was only slightly affected by M-CSF and M-CSF-producing cells grew as tumor in all cases. The growth retardation of M-CSF-producing cells varied depending on the experiment and seemed to be due to an indirect effect because the growth rate of the cells in vitro had not changed upon gene transfer. Attempts to activate the tumor-infiltrating macrophages for tumor suppression by systemic application of interferon-γ and/or lipopolysaccharide were not successful. Altogether, our results suggest that M-CSF is a potent chemoattractant for macrophages in vivo but alone is not sufficient to activate these macrophages for tumoricidal activity.     

Chloroplast DNA from lettuce and Barnadesia (Asteraceae): structure,gene localization,and characterization of a large inversion

Summary We have cloned into plasmids 17 of 18 lettuce chloroplast DNA SacI fragments covering 96% of the genome. The cloned fragments were used to construct cleavage maps for 10 restriction enzymes for the chloroplast genomes of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and Barnadesia caryophylla, two distantly related species in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Both genomes are approximately 151 kb in size and contain a 25 kb inverted repeat. We also mapped the position and orientation of 37 chloroplast DNA genes. The mapping studies reveal that chloroplast DNAs of lettuce and Barnadesia differ by a 22 kb inversion in the large single copy region. Barnadesia has retained the primitive land plant genome arrangement, while the inversion has occurred in a lettuce lineage. The endpoints of the derived lettuce inversion were located by comparison to the well-characterized spinach and tobacco genomes. Both endpoints are located in intergenic spacers within tRNA gene clusters; one cluster being located downstream from the atpA gene and the other upstream from the psbD gene. The endpoint near the atpA gene is very close to one endpoint of a 20 kb inversion in wheat (Howe et al. 1983; Quigley and Weil 1985). Comparison of the restriction site maps gives an estimated sequence divergence of 3.7% for the lettuce and Barnadesia genomes. This value is relatively low compared to previous estimates for other angiosperm groups, suggesting a high degree of sequence conservation in the Asteraceae.     

Characterization of genomic rearrangements of the alpha1-acid glycoprotein/orosomucoid gene in Ghanaians

In this study, the structure of the α₁-acid glycoprotein (AGP), or orosomucoid (ORM), gene was investigated in a Ghanaian mother and her child, who shared an unusual variant, ORM1 S2(C), found by isoelectric focusing. Three remarkable changes of nucleotide sequence were observed: (1) The two ORM1 alleles, ORM1 ^* S and ORM1 ^* S2(C), had the AGP2 gene-specific sequence at one and three regions, respectively, in exon 5 to intron 5. The variant allele originating from ORM1 ^* S was characterized by a G-to-A transition, resulting in an amino acid change from valine to methionine, which is also detected in ORM1 F2, a form that is common in Europeans. (2) The AGP2 gene of the child, inherited from the father, was duplicated, as revealed by long-range polymerase chain reaction. (3) Three new mutations were observed in two exons of the AGP2 genes of the mother and child. All of these novel genomic rearrangements, which were not observed in Japanese subjects, may have arisen through point mutation, gene conversion, and unequal crossover events. It is likely that the rearrangement of the AGP gene has often occurred in Africans. Received: June 15, 2001 / Accepted: July 10, 2001