Vaccination with BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Induces Cross-Reactive Anti-RBD IgG against SARS-CoV-2 Variants including Omicron

SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) have caused a significant increase in infections worldwide. Despite high vaccination rates in industrialized countries, the fourth VOC, Omicron, has outpaced the Delta variant and is causing breakthrough infections in individuals with two booster vaccinations. While the magnitude of morbidity and lethality is lower in Omicron, the infection rate and global spread are rapid. Using a specific IgG multipanel-ELISA with the spike protein’s receptor-binding domain (RBD) from recombinant Alpha, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants, sera from health-care workers from the Medical University of Vienna were tested pre-pandemic and post-vaccination (BNT162b2; ChAdOx1 nCoV-19). The cohort was continuously monitored by SARS-CoV-2 testing and commercial nucleocapsid IgG ELISA. RBD IgG ELISA showed significantly lower reactivity against the Omicron-RBD compared to the Alpha variant in all individuals (p < 0.001). IgG levels were independent of sex, but were significantly higher in BNT162b2 recipients <45 years of age for Alpha, Gamma, and Delta (p < 0.001; p = 0.040; p = 0.004, respectively). Pre-pandemic cross-reactive anti-Omicron IgG was detected in 31 individuals and was increased 8.78-fold after vaccination, regardless of vaccine type. The low anti-RBD Omicron IgG level could explain the breakthrough infections and their presence could also contribute to a milder COVID-19 course by cross-reactivity and broadening the adaptive immunity.     

The acquisition of cold sensitivity during TRPM8 ion channel evolution

To cope with temperature fluctuations, molecular thermosensors in animals play a pivotal role in accurately sensing ambient temperature. Transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) is the most established cold sensor. In order to understand how the evolutionary forces bestowed TRPM8 with cold sensitivity, insights into both emergence of cold sensing during evolution and the thermodynamic basis of cold activation are needed. Here, we show that the trpm8 gene evolved by forming and regulating two domains (MHR1-3 and pore domains), thus determining distinct cold-sensitive properties among vertebrate TRPM8 orthologs. The young trpm8 gene without function can be observed in the closest living relatives of tetrapods (lobe-finned fishes), while the mature MHR1-3 domain with independent cold sensitivity has formed in TRPM8s of amphibians and reptiles to enable channel activation by cold. Furthermore, positive selection in the TRPM8 pore domain that tuned the efficacy of cold activation appeared late among more advanced terrestrial tetrapods. Interestingly, the mature MHR1-3 domain is necessary for the regulatory mechanism of the pore domain in TRPM8 cold activation. Our results reveal the domain-based evolution for TRPM8 functions and suggest that the acquisition of cold sensitivity in TRPM8 facilitated terrestrial adaptation during the water-to-land transition.

Given that temperature influences all biological operations, the evolution of thermosensory adaptation is crucial in shaping the specialized temperature-dependent inhabitation of an organism. At the cellular level, thermosensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia or trigeminal ganglia innervate the skin and transmit temperature information to the spinal cord and the brain. To bestow such neurons with thermal sensitivity, animals have a toolkit of temperature-sensitive ion channels located on the cell membrane at the molecular level. Accordingly, several members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily with steep thermosensitivity (referred to as thermoTRP) have attracted the general interest in the field of thermal biology, as they sufficiently cause steep changes in depolarizing currents upon either heating or cooling and thus are considered as the primary molecular sensors of temperature (1–4). Therefore, the evolutionary strategy for directly tuning the thermal activation in thermoTRPs can be employed by animals for their specialized thermosensory adaptation, as seen in vampire bats, pit-bearing snakes, platypus, penguins, squirrels, and camels (5–9).As heat sensation (warmth and extreme heat) provides the precondition of a fundamental and conserved biological survival process, the genes that encode heat sensors are considered ancient in many metazoan organisms. The annotation of trpv1 is consistently available in the genomes of fishes, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Despite the species-specific temperature-sensitive ranges, a growing number of studies have reported the functional convergence of these heat-sensitive thermoTRP orthologs at the protein level (10), suggesting the essential role of these channels in heat perception across species. Compared to heat sensors, the cold-sensitive thermoTRP likely evolved late. As the most established cold sensor responsive to low temperatures and cooling compounds, transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) was found in somatosensory neurons, and genetic ablation of trpm8 either in the neurons or mice led to a largely decreased cold sensitivity (4, 11–13). Interestingly, cold activation of amphibian TRPM8 has been tested (14), while sequencing efforts indicated the absence of the trpm8 gene in 12 fish species from 10 different orders (15). Several specific domains that may alter TRPM8 cold activation have been reported, including the pore domain, voltage sensing apparatus, and C terminus (8, 16–19). Notably, although the efficacy of cold activation is largely altered by residue substitutions in the pore domain, the channel mutants are still cold sensitive (8). Therefore, these findings based on domain/residue swapping among cold-sensitive TRPM8 orthologs may not draw an overall picture in functionally important domains responsible for cold sensitivity. How did the trpm8 gene originate? How did TRPM8 integrate and modulate cold sensitivity throughout evolution? The answers to such questions probably lead us to understand the evolution of temperature perception and identify the essential structural elements that shape TRPM8 cold activation.In this study, we show the presence of the young trpm8 gene in lobe-finned fishes, believed to be the ancestors that gave rise to all land vertebrates (20). Such a young type of trpm8 derived from the trpm2 exon shuffling was originated and formed during the expansion of lobe-finned fish genomes. By detecting the positive selection-rich domains, we described the formation of the thermosensitive MHR1-3 domain in amphibian and reptile species that enables TRPM8 to undergo conformational changes at low temperatures. Furthermore, we found that the TRPM8 pore domain of terrestrial vertebrates evolved to tune the efficacy of cold activation, in which a cold-sensitive MHR1-3 domain is indispensable to achieve such a modulatory mechanism. Together, our findings suggest that the trpm8 gene origination and formation of the TRPM8 MHR1-3 domain contributed to the transition of vertebrate life from water to land and that the efficacy of cold activation tuned by the TRPM8 pore domain diversified the setting of temperature-adaptive phenotypes in terrestrial vertebrates.     

SARS病毒S蛋白受体结合区DNA疫苗及免疫效果研究

目的 研究SARS冠状病毒(SARS-CoV)靶细胞受体结合区所构建之DNA疫苗的免疫效果,为进一步的SARS-CoV免疫机理研究及疫苗研制奠定基础.方法 选取SARS-CoV S基因包含靶细胞受体结合区和S1亚单位C端2个基因片段作为目的基因,构建真核表达质粒pVAX-RBD(receptor binding domain)、pVAX-S1C作为DNA疫苗免疫BALB/c小鼠,检测其特异性体液免疫及细胞免疫情况.结果 体液免疫方面,以SARS全病毒裂解产物和原核表达的RBD蛋白作为诊断抗原,用ELISA均可检测到高滴度的小鼠血清抗体IgG的产生.而且,血清中和试验显示pVAX-RBD质粒激发了小鼠保护性中和抗体的产生.通过流式细胞分析和酶联免疫斑点实验(ELISPOT)检测,pVAX-RBD和pVAX-S1C两组质粒均诱导免疫小鼠产生了特异性细胞免疫反应.结论 证明SARS-CoV S蛋白受体结合区上中和表位的存在;体液免疫在抗SARS-CoV感染方面起到重要作用.     

Targeting whole body metabolism and mitochondrial bioenergetics in the drug development for Alzheimer's disease

Aging is by far the most prominent risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and both aging and AD are associated with apparent metabolic alterations. As developing effective therapeutic interventions to treat AD is clearly in urgent need, the impact of modulating whole-body and intracellular metabolism in preclinical models and in human patients, on disease pathogenesis, have been explored. There is also an increasing awareness of differential risk and potential targeting strategies related to biological sex, microbiome, and circadian regulation. As a major part of intracellular metabolism, mitochondrial bioenergetics, mitochondrial quality-control mechanisms, and mitochondria-linked inflammatory responses have been considered for AD therapeutic interventions. This review summarizes and highlights these efforts.     

Virus Hijacks Host Proteins and Machinery for Assembly and Budding,with HIV-1 as an Example

Viral assembly and budding are the final steps and key determinants of the virus life cycle and are regulated by virus–host interaction. Several viruses are known to use their late assembly (L) domains to hijack host machinery and cellular adaptors to be used for the requirement of virus replication. The L domains are highly conserved short sequences whose mutation or deletion may lead to the accumulation of immature virions at the plasma membrane. The L domains were firstly identified within retroviral Gag polyprotein and later detected in structural proteins of many other enveloped RNA viruses. Here, we used HIV-1 as an example to describe how the HIV-1 virus hijacks ESCRT membrane fission machinery to facilitate virion assembly and release. We also introduce galectin-3, a chimera type of the galectin family that is up-regulated by HIV-1 during infection and further used to promote HIV-1 assembly and budding via the stabilization of Alix–Gag interaction. It is worth further dissecting the details and finetuning the regulatory mechanism, as well as identifying novel candidates involved in this final step of replication cycle.     

人纤溶酶原kringle区缺失突变体的毕赤酵母表达、产物纯化及鉴定

目的研究人纤溶酶原kringle区缺失突变体（PLGAK）的毕赤酵母（Pichia pastoris）表达、产物纯化及理化性质鉴定。方法采用7．5L发酵罐对工程菌PLG△K／GS115进行高密度培养、甲醇诱导表达,培液经离心、超滤、离子交换层析、凝胶滤过、透析后冷冻干燥。等电聚焦电泳、HPLC、质谱分别检测PLG△K等电点、纯度和分子量;纤维蛋白平板、肽底物S-2403分别测定PLG△K激活后的纤维蛋白和酰胺水解活性。结果7．5L高密度发酵可获得约为400mg／L培液的表达量,经三步纯化后制备的PLG△K纯度大于96％。理化分析显示PLG△K的等电点为7．5～7．8,分子量：27．787kD,比活性：23．6U／mg。结论初步建立了PLG△K的酵母高密度发酵及纯化工艺,所制备半成品活性与血浆提取的PLG相近,具备放大生产和应用的潜力。     

大肠埃希菌表达的含PTD穿膜序列的融合蛋白3种复性方法比较

目的:探索融合蛋白PTD-NFATminiDBD-eGFP纯化以及复性的条件,以提高其复性效率,为后续融合蛋白生物学功能的研究做准备。方法:表达、提取并纯化包涵体形式的融合蛋白PTD-NFATminiDBD-eGFP,分别用稀释复性、透析复性、柱上复性的方法,对融合蛋白进行复性,分析不同方法的特点及包涵体复性率,采用流式细胞术检测融合蛋白的穿膜活性。结果:3种复性方法得到的融合蛋白复性率依次为:柱上复性得率最高,其次是透析复性,稀释复性得率最低。柱上复性后蛋白的穿膜效率最高,相对较低的是稀释复性,而未复性的融合蛋白穿膜效率极低。结论:3种复性方法均能对PTD穿膜蛋白复性,但以柱上复性最佳。     

Influence of Varying Tensile Stress on Domain Motion

Magnetic domain motion has been widely studied in the fields of spintronics, nanowires, and thin films. However, there is a lack of such studies on industrial steels, especially for domain motion under the action of varying stress. Understanding domain motion under stress is helpful for the improvement of evaluation accuracy and the establishment of theoretical models of passive, nondestructive testing technology. This paper presents the influence of varying tensile stresses on the magnetic domain motion of silicon steel sheets. Magnetic domain rotation and domain wall displacement were characterized using magnetic domain images, and their motion mechanisms under elastic and plastic stresses are presented. The results show that the domain rotation under stress involves reversible and irreversible changes. The effect of material rearrangement on domain rotation and domain wall displacement after plastic deformation is discussed. Based on the motion mechanism, a threshold stress value (TSV) required for the complete disappearance of the supplementary domains in the elastic range is proposed, enabling the classification of the elastic stress ranges in which the reversible and irreversible domain rotations occur. In addition, the effect of microstructure on TSV is also discussed, and the results show that the regions far away from the grain boundary need larger stresses to complete an irreversible domain rotation. Additionally, the domain width and orientation also affect the TSV. These findings regarding the domain motion mechanism and TSV can help to explain the sequence of domain rotation under stress and modify the stress assessment under dynamic loads in electromagnetic nondestructive evaluation, especially in the magnetic memory method.     

引导超声聚焦热消融的超高场磁共振射频电磁场匀场技术及人体组织比吸收率安全分析

目的 探究在超高场磁共振引导下的高强度聚焦超声手术中射频电磁场B1场匀场技术及人体组织比吸收率(SAR)安全性.方法 建立包含温度梯度的女性盆腔模型,分别仿真计算在正常模型匀场系数激励以及在温度梯度模型的匀场系数激励下的射频电磁场B1场的均匀性和局部比吸收率.结果 对包含温度梯度的女性盆腔模型采用正常模型的匀场系数激励,组织局部SAR最大值达到10.24 W/kg,超出了国际电工委员会(IEC)对局部SAR值规定的10 W/kg的安全阈值;对包含温度梯度的女性盆腔模型采用温度梯度模型的匀场系数激励,组织局部SAR最大值为9.65 W/kg在IEC的安全阈值内.结论 在进行超高场磁共振引导下的高强度聚焦超声手术时,需要考虑超声能量在人体形成的温度分布,在温度梯度的基础上重新进行匀场优化能将组织局部SAR值降低到安全阈值内.