Cloning and analysis of Trypanosoma (Nannomonas) congolense ILNat 2.1 VSG gene

Genes encoding various Trypanosoma (Trypanozoon) brucei variable surface glycoproteins (VSGs) show considerable conservation among different members of this species, known as isotypes. The occurrence of isotypes in other salivarian trypanosomes has not been well documented. We have cloned sequences encoding Trypanosoma (Nannomonas) congolense ILNat 2.1 VSG, and used it in DNA blot hybridization analyses of this and other T. congolense clones originating from geographically separate regions of East Africa. The data indicate that the expression of ILNat 2.1 VSG gene proceeds by duplicative transposition resulting in the presence of an extra expression-linked copy in the expressing clones examined. Furthermore the ILNat 2.1 VSG gene sequence is absent or has greatly diverged, in all other T. (N.) congolense clones that belong to different serodemes. This suggests that some T. (N.) congolense VSGs may be limited to their respective antigen repertoires. The data are discussed in the light of their implications for antigenic variation in T. (N.) congolense, and parasite epidemiology.     

Wg3h细胞系转染PSV_2-neo质粒前后生长特性及表面超微结构改变的研究

本文对转染PSV_2-neo质粒后的Wg3h细胞系(Wg3h-neo)在长期传代中的生长特性和表面超微结构与母系Wg3h细胞进行了比较研究。结果发现:转染后Wg3h细胞的DNA合成及生长速度明显高于母系Wg3h细胞,生长饱和密度增大。在软琼脂培养中不形成集落,接种在裸鼠不长肿瘤。在扫描电镜下,细胞表面的微绒毛较母系Wg3h细胞丰富。Southern印迹杂交实验证明PSV_2-neo质粒已整合到宿主细胞的基因组中。转染后Wg3h细胞的生长特性和表面超微结构均发生了某些转化特征。     

超抗原金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素基因B的原核表达

目的构建重组pET-30a-SEB原核表达载体,转化感受态大肠杆菌BL-21(DE3),诱导表达超抗原金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素B(staphylococcalenterotoxinB,SEB)。方法利用PCR技术从产SEB的金黄色葡萄球菌标准菌株CMCC-26075基因组DNA中克隆SEB全长序列,将其克隆到pGEM-TEasy载体中并进行测序。构建pET-30a-SEB原核表达质粒,转化感受态大肠杆菌BL21(DE3),异丙基硫代β-D半乳糖苷(isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside,IPTG)诱导表达,经镍离子螯合亲和层析纯化后免疫鉴定。结果PCR获得超抗原SEB基因片段,与克隆载体连接后经测序与文献报道的基本一致;成功构建了pET-30a-SEB原核表达质粒且成功诱导表达出相对分子质量(Mr)约31×103的蛋白。结论成功克隆了seb基因序列,并进行了原核表达和鉴定,获得了SEB蛋白,为后续对超抗原SEB的进一步研究奠定了基础。     

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (Hunter disease): Identification and characterization of eight point mutations in the iduronate-2-sulfatase gene in Japanese patients

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (Hunter disease) is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme iduronate-2-sulfatase. Varied clinical phenotypes of this disease have been described. To identify mutations in individual patients and to examine possible correlations between mutations and clinical phenotypes, we analyzed the iduronate-2-sulfatase gene in Japanese patients with different clinical phenotypes. Five missense mutations, S333L (severe), R468Q (severe), R468L (severe), W337R (intermediate), R48P (mild), and three nonsense mutations, W345X (severe), R443X (intermediate), Q531X (mild), were identified by the RT-PCR method. Transient expression in the enzyme-deficient fibroblasts revealed that all five missense mutant enzymes were synthesized as the normal-size precursor (73 kD), and the nonsense mutant enzymes were synthesized as truncated ones (W345X:54 kD, R443X:59 kD, and Q531X:69 kD), although stable mature enzymes (45–56 kD) were not detected by Western blot analysis. Further more, expression of the eight mutant cDNAs resulted in severe reductions of iduronate-2-sulfatase enzyme activity in comparison with a normal cDNA. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Changes of synapsin I messenger RNA expression during rat brain development

Synapsin I is a synaptic phosphoprotein that is involved in the short-term regulation of neurotransmitter release. In this report we present the first extensive study of the developmental expression of its corresponding messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) by in situ hybridization and northern blot analysis in rat brain. Synapsin I mRNA showed pronounced differences in expression in different brain regions during postnatal development. The early expression of synapsin I mRNA in ontogenetically older regions such as the thalamus, the piriform cortex and the hippocampus coincides with the earlier maturation of these regions, in contrast to its later expression in ontogenetically younger areas such as the cerebellum and the neocortex. An intriguing expression pattern was found in the hippocampus. In all hippocampal subregions synapsin I mRNA expression increased from postnatal day (PND) 1 to 17. After PND 17, however, there was a marked dissociation between persisting high expression levels in CA3 and the dentate gyrus and a strong decline in synapsin I mRNA expression in CA1. The persistence of synapsin I in some adult rat brain regions indicates that it plays a part in synapse formation during plastic adaption in neuronal connectivities.     

Vertical transmission of human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I): Detection of proviral DNA in HTLV-I carrier gravida

The seroprevalence rate of human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) in pregnant women in the Osaka district was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis. Twenty-one (1.0%) of 2192 samples tested were positive for both assays and the seropositive parturients were found to be integrated with HTLV-I proviral DNA in their mononuclear cells by a DNA dot blot hybridization assay using HTLV-I DNA probe or by a selective DNA amplification technique using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). On the other hand, proviral DNA was not detected in cord blood of the neonates born to the carrier mothers, indicating that transplacental infection of HTLV-I during pregnancy could be excluded. The results support the hypothesis that postpartum infection via breast milk plays a significant role among the possible perinatal transmission routes.     

Presence and distribution of ghrelin-immunopositive cells in the chicken gastrointestinal tract

The presence and distribution patterns of ghrelin, a gastric acylated peptide, were studied in the entire gastrointestinal tract of the chicken (Gallus domesticus) using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunohistochemical method, western blot analysis and a specific antibody against the C-terminal region of rat ghrelin. Ghrelin-immunopositive cells were observed in the mucosal layer of all segments examined. The largest numbers of ghrelin-positive cells were located at the base of lobuli of the proventriculus gland, along villi of the intestines and in crypts of the duodenum. Lower numbers of ghrelin-immunostained cells were located in crypts of jejunum and ileum and only few ghrelin-immunostained cells were detected at the base of crypts of the large intestine. Closed and open types of cells were observed in all segments. Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of ghrelin-like protein in the entire chicken gastrointestinal tract. The anatomical distribution patterns and the morphological characteristics of chicken ghrelin-positive cells suggest that they are endocrine cells. Furthermore, it is concluded that ghrelin shows a high degree of preservation during evolution from non-mammalian vertebrates to mammals.     

抗核糖体抗体阳性判断标准的探讨

目的 :分析针对分子量为 38kD和 或 15 16 5kD多肽抗原的抗核糖体抗体 (anti ribosomalantibodies)与SLE的关系 ,探讨抗核糖体抗体的阳性判断标准及其在SLE中的检出情况。方法 :收集病人血清 2 6 2例 ,包括SLE115例、RA5 7例、硬皮病 2 0例、MCTD39例及其他免疫性疾病 31例 ,用免疫印迹法 (Western blot)检测其抗ENA抗体谱。结果 :分别以同时出现 38kD和 16 5 15kD蛋白条带以及出现 38kD蛋白条带为判断抗核糖体抗体阳性的标准 ,则该抗体对诊断SLE的敏感性和特异性结果分别为 2 8 7% (33 115 )、96 6 % (14 2 14 7)及 17 4 % (2 0 115 )、97 3% (14 3 14 7) ,两者比较敏感性有显著性差异 (P <0 0 5 ) ,特异性无显著性差异 (P >0 0 5 ) ;仅 38kD分子阳性的 14例样本中 ,SLE占大多数 ,显著多于其它疾病 (71 4 %比 2 8 6 % ,P <0 0 5 ) ;38kD分子阳性同时伴抗Sm抗体阳性者多于抗Sm抗体阴性者 ,但无显著性差异 (6 4 3%比 35 7% ,P >0 0 5 )。结论 :抗核糖体抗体 38kD分子与SLE密切相关 ,而与抗Sm抗体相关性不强。以 38kD为主要抗原多肽判断抗核糖体抗体 ,不仅可以提高该抗体的阳性检出率 ,同时也不会降低其对SLE诊断的特异性 ,该判断方法值得推广应用。     

Development of a syncytia inhibition assay for the detection of antibodies to bovine leukemia virus in naturally infected cattle; comparison with Western blot and agar gel immunodiffusion

A syncytia inhibition assay (SIA) for the detection of antibodies to bovine leukemia virus is described. This test involves specific antibody-mediated inhibition of BLV-induced cytopathic effects in an indicator cell line. A total of 300 sera were screened commercially by agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) and were then screened by Western blot and SIA. The new assay system provided results which were comparable to Western blot and AGID. The results obtained suggest that SIA may be more sensitive than either of the other two assay systems examined for the determination of the infection status of cattle.     

Spatio-temporally differential expression of genes for three members of fatty acid binding proteins in developing and mature rat brains

The chronological changes in the gene expression for three species of cytosolic fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) in the rat brain were examined by Northern and in situ hybridization analyses. The expression for heart(H)-FABP became evident after birth, with a gradual increase and confined to the gray matter, suggesting that the expression of H-FABP mRNA is neuron-specific in postnatal brain. The expression for brain(B)-FABP was very intense in the ventricular germinal zone, without expression in the cerebellar external granule cell layer, suggesting the dominant expression in the cells of glial lineage. B-FABP mRNA was transiently expressed in perinatal gray as well as white matter and the expression in glial cells persists only in the olfactory nerve fiber layer at the adult stage. On the other hand, the expression for skin type(S)-FABP was evident in the both ventricular germinal zone and cerebellar external granule cell layer, suggesting the expression in cells of neuronal lineage. The expression for S-FABP was evident in the prenatal gray matter and S-FABP mRNA was expressed in glial cells at early postnatal stage, whereafter the expression decreased to, but remained at weak levels in the adult brain. Discrete functions of the three FABPs were suggested in neurons and glia differentially at various developmental stages.