慢病毒载体介导不同内部启动子驱动绿色荧光蛋白表达效率

目的在人类免疫缺陷病毒-1(HIV-1)慢病毒载体中引入三种不同的内部启动子来驱动绿色荧光蛋白基因(GFP)的表达,初步比较内部启动子的效率。方法慢病毒载体三质粒系统中,转移质粒的构建采用限制性内切酶酶切、T4DNA连接酶连接方法和内切酶酶切鉴定。磷酸钙沉淀法将三质粒共转染293T包装细胞。病毒滴度的测定采用6孔板培养感染细胞,荧光显微镜计数GFP阳性细胞。通过荧光显微镜观察绿色荧光的表达情况判断启动子的效率。结果构建了含PPT元件和含不同内部启动子和GFP的质粒。转染293T细胞后均观察到较强的绿色荧光。表达荧光的293T细胞数以巨细胞病毒(CMV)启动子最多,肝细胞特异性启动子(LSP)较少,泛醌启动子(PUB)介于两者之间。CMV为内部启动子的慢病毒载体滴度5×106I U/ml,其他二种启动子的滴度(1~2)×105I U/ml。结论在所选择的三种内部启动子中,CMV启动子的效率最高,LSP较强,PUB介于两者之间。     

Lifespan extension by n-butanol extract from seed of Platycladus orientalis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Aim of the study

As a traditional Chinese medicine, seed of Platycladus orientalis(Linnaeus) Franco has been extensively used as a tonic and sedative remedy. The present study was conducted to investigate whether lifespan was extended and the mechanisms of n-butanol extract from seed of Platycladus orientalis (BSPO) in Caenorhabditis elegans. The findings could provide the pharmacological basis for a treatment in traditional medicine.

Materials and methods

Lifespan extension by BSPO was evaluated under normal culture conditions and in a stress test. A possible mechanism of the anti-aging effect of BSPO, a change in the stress-resistance of related proteins, was also investigated in C. elegans.

Results

It has been shown that BSPO could significantly extend lifespan of C. elegans in a concentration dependent manner under normal culture conditions and stress. Further studies demonstrated that BSPO treatment significantly decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, up-regulated resistance to stress of related proteins, including glutathione S-transferase-4 (GST-4) and heat shock protein-16.2 (HSP-16.2), and reduced the amount of lipofuscin in transgenic C. elegans.

Conclusion

These results indicated that BSPO extended the lifespan, which could be attributed to its direct ROS scavenging activity, reducing the amount of lipofuscin and increasing the expression of gens associated with resistance to stress. These obtained data provided valuable support for traditional clinical practice to extend lifespan and to provide tonic remedy.     

Establishment of canine macrophages stably expressing GFP-tagged canine LC3 protein for effectively detecting autophagy

Autophagy plays a crucial role in eliminating protein aggregates, damaged organelles and invading pathogens. Genetically engineered cell line stably expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) is extensively used to test autophagy through observing GFP puncta formation in the cells by fluorescence imaging. However, canine LC3 (cLC3) gene has not been cloned, therefore, GFP-tagged canine LC3 (GFP-cLC3) detection system has not been established. To generate GFP-cLC3 stably expressing canine-derived macrophages, the cLC3 cDNA was first amplified by RT-PCR and inserted into pEGFP-C1 plasmid to create GFP-cLC3 gene fusion. This genetic element was then transducted into canine macrophages mediated by lentivirus vector to generate the canine macrophages stably expressing fusion protein. Results showed that the sequence of cLC3 cloned in this study is highly homologous with other animals (80–95% homology). Phenotypic and functional analysis of these engineered cells revealed that GFP-cLC3 was indeed stably expressed and rapamycin or starvation can effectively induce GFP puncta formation in the cells, indicative of autophagosome formation. These GFP-cLC3-expressing cells may thus be useful to study autophagy in canine.     

Identification of competitive inhibitors of the human taurine transporter TauT in a human kidney cell line

Background

The osmolyte and antioxidant taurine plays an important role in regulation of cellular volume, oxidative status and Ca²⁺-homeostasis. Taurine uptake in human cells is regulated by the Na⁺- and Cl^?-dependent taurine transporter TauT. In order to gain deeper structural insights about the substrate binding pocket of TauT, a HEK293 cell line producing a GFP-TauT fusion protein was generated.

绿色荧光蛋白报道基因在鼠C6胶质瘤细胞中的应用研究

目的 :探讨绿色荧光蛋白 (GFP)报道基因转染C6鼠胶质瘤细胞的体内外表达及对细胞生物学性状的影响。方法 :荧光相差显微镜筛选稳定表达GFP的克隆 ,流式细胞术分析细胞周期。将已转染和未转染瘤细胞植入SD大鼠脑内 ,建立动物模型 ,定期随机处死大鼠 ,鼠脑标本行病理学、增殖与凋亡的检测 ,激光共聚焦显微镜检查肿瘤细胞内荧光强度及其分布。结果 :GFP在C6瘤细胞的体外和体内均获得长期稳定表达 ,检测肿瘤细胞的敏感性及特异性优于HE染色。结论 :GFP对肿瘤细胞生物学性状无影响是比较理想的报道基因     

Development of Caco-2 cells co-expressing CYP3A4 and NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase using a human artificial chromosome for the prediction of intestinal extraction ratio of CYP3A4 substrates

The Caco-2 cells co-expressing cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 and NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) were developed using a human artificial chromosome (HAC) vector. The CYP3A4 and CPR genes were cloned into the HAC vector in CHO cells using the Cre-loxP system, and the microcell-mediated chromosome transfer technique was used to transfer the CYP3A4-CPR-HAC vector to Caco-2 cells. After seeding onto semipermeable culture inserts, the CYP3A4-CPR-HAC/Caco-2 cells were found to form tight monolayers, similar to the parental cells, as demonstrated by the high transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) value and comparable permeability of non-CYP3A4 substrates between parent and CYP3A4-CPR-HAC/Caco-2 cell monolayers. The metabolic activity of CYP3A4 (midazolam 1′-hydroxylase activity) in the CYP3A4-CPR-HAC/Caco-2 cells was constant from 22 to 35 passages, indicating that HAC vectors conferred sufficient and sustained CYP3A4 activity to CYP3A4-CPR-HAC/Caco-2 cells. The strong relationship between the metabolic extraction ratios (ER) obtained from the CYP3A4-CPR-HAC/Caco-2 cells and calculated intestinal extraction ratios in humans (Eg) from reported intestinal availability (Fg) was found for 17 substrates of CYP3A4 (r² = 0.84). The present study suggests that the CYP3A4-CPR-HAC/Caco-2 cell monolayer can serve as an in vitro tool that facilitates the prediction of intestinal extraction ratio (or availability) in humans.     

Drosophila under the lens: imaging from chromosomes to whole embryos

Microscopy has been a very powerful tool for Drosophila research since its inception, proving to be essential for the evaluation of mutant phenotypes, the understanding of cellular and tissue physiology, and the illumination of complex biological questions. In this article we review the breadth of this field, making note of some of the seminal papers. We expand on the use of microscopy to study questions related to gene locus and nuclear architecture, presenting new data using fluorescence in-situ hybridization techniques that demonstrate the flexibility of Drosophila chromosomes. Finally, we review the burgeoning use of fluorescence in-vivo imaging methods to yield quantitative information about cellular processes. Electronic Supplementary Material Electronic Supplementary Material is available for this article at and accessible for authorized users.     

Denaturant-dependent folding of GFP

We use molecular simulations using a coarse-grained model to map the folding landscape of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), which is extensively used as a marker in cell biology and biotechnology. Thermal and Guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) induced unfolding of a variant of GFP, without the chromophore, occurs in an apparent two-state manner. The calculated midpoint of the equilibrium folding in GdmCl, taken into account using the Molecular Transfer Model (MTM), is in excellent agreement with the experiments. The melting temperatures decrease linearly as the concentrations of GdmCl and urea are increased. The structural features of rarely populated equilibrium intermediates, visible only in free energy profiles projected along a few order parameters, are remarkably similar to those identified in a number of ensemble experiments in GFP with the chromophore. The excellent agreement between simulations and experiments show that the equilibrium intermediates are stabilized by the chromophore. Folding kinetics, upon temperature quench, show that GFP first collapses and populates an ensemble of compact structures. Despite the seeming simplicity of the equilibrium folding, flux to the native state flows through multiple channels and can be described by the kinetic partitioning mechanism. Detailed analysis of the folding trajectories show that both equilibrium and several kinetic intermediates, including misfolded structures, are sampled during folding. Interestingly, the intermediates characterized in the simulations coincide with those identified in single molecule pulling experiments. Our predictions, amenable to experimental tests, show that MTM is a practical way to simulate the effect of denaturants on the folding of large proteins.     

Isolation of neuronal precursors from differentiating P19 embryonal carcinoma cells by neuronal Tα1-promoter-driven GFP

The induction of pluripotent P19 embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells with retinoic acid results in their differentiation into cells that resemble neurons, glia, and fibroblasts. To isolate and enrich the developing neurons from heterogeneously differentiating P19 EC cells, we used a recently introduced protocol combining the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) driven by a tissue-specific promoter and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Cells were transfected with the gene for GFP, which is under the control of the neuronal Tα1 tubulin promoter. After four days of retinoic acid treatment, GFP was specifically detected in cells undergoing neuronal differentiation. Sorting of fluorescent differentiating P19 EC transfectants yielded populations highly enriched in neuronal precursors and neurons. Immunoreactivity for nestin and neurofilament was observed in 80 and 25% of the sorted cell population, respectively. These results demonstrate that differentiated neuronal precursor cells can be efficiently isolated from differentiating pluripotent embryonic cells in vitro, suggesting that this method can reproducibly provide homogeneous materials for further studies on neurogenesis.     

Perfusion fixation preserves enhanced yellow fluorescent protein and other cellular markers in lymphoid tissues

Fluorescent proteins are increasingly being used to analyze cellular gene expression and to facilitate tracking of cell lineages in vivo. One of these, enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) has several properties such as intense fluorescence and little to no toxicity in cells, which makes it an excellent molecule to label proteins and cells of interest. In live cells, visualization of EYFP has been highly successful; however, detection of EYFP in lymphoid tissue sections, particularly in combination with other markers of interest has been difficult. This is because of the enhanced solubility of EYFP in the absence of fixation. When extended fixation protocols are employed, EYFP is preserved but detection of other cellular antigens becomes problematic due to over fixation. Here we demonstrate that EYFP-expressing T and B cells can be efficiently visualized in lymphoid tissue sections without compromising the ability to detect other cellular markers.