Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored protein deficiency serves as a reliable reporter of Pig‐a gene Mutation: Support from an in vitro assay based on L5178Y/Tk+/− cells and the CD90.2 antigen

Lack of cell surface glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)‐anchored protein(s) has been used as a reporter of Pig‐a gene mutation in several model systems. As an extension of this work, our laboratory initiated development of an in vitro mutation assay based on the flow cytometric assessment of CD90.2 expression on the cell surface of the mouse lymphoma cell line L5178Y/Tk^+/?. Cells were exposed to mutagenic and nonmutagenic compounds for 24 hr followed by washout and incubation for an additional 7 days. Following this mutant manifestation time, cells were labeled with fluorescent antibodies against CD90.2 and CD45 antigens. These reagents indicated the presence of GPI‐anchored proteins and general cell surface membrane receptor integrity, respectively. Instrument set‐up was aided by parallel processing of a GPI anchor‐deficient subclone. Results show that the mutagens reproducibly caused increased frequencies of mutant phenotype cells, while the nonmutagens did not. Further modifications to the method, including application of a viability dye and an isotype control for instrument set‐up, were investigated. As a means to verify that the GPI‐anchored protein‐negative phenotype reflects bona fide Pig‐a gene mutation, sequencing was performed on 38 CD90.2‐negative L5178Y/Tk^+/? clones derived from cultures treated with ethyl methanesulfonate. All clones were found to have mutation(s) within the Pig‐a gene. The continued investigation of L5178Y/Tk^+/? cells, CD90.2 labeling, and flow cytometric analysis as the basis of an in vitro mutation assay is clearly supported by this work. These data also provide evidence of the reliability of using GPI anchor‐deficiency as a valid reporter of Pig‐a gene mutation. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 59:18–29, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Health effects of soy-biodiesel emissions: bioassay-directed fractionation for mutagenicity

Abstract

Context: Soy biodiesel is the predominant biodiesel in the USA, but there is little understanding of the classes of chemicals responsible for the mutagenicity of its emissions.

Objective: We determined some of the chemical classes responsible for the mutagenicity of the particulate matter (PM) of the emissions from petroleum diesel (B0) and biodiesel containing increasing concentrations of soy methyl esters (B20, B50, and B100).

Materials and methods: We subjected organic extracts of the PM to bioassay-directed fractionation by sequential elution on silica gel with solvents of increasing polarity to produce four fractions per fuel. We injected these onto high performance liquid chromatography to produce 62 sub-fractions per fraction based on chemical polarity and evaluated all fractions and sub-fractions for mutagenicity in Salmonella. We correlated the results with the concentrations of 32 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the fractions.

Results: The mutagenicity-emission factors of the fractions generally decreased with increasing concentrations of soy in the fuel. Despite the different chemical compositions of the fuels, the extractable organics of all four emissions had similar features: ～60% of the mass was nonpolar, non-mutagenic compounds; most of the PAHs were polar; and most of the mutagenicity was due to weakly polar and polar compounds. Some of the mutagenicity of B20 was due to highly polar compounds.

Conclusions: The PM from soy biodiesel emissions was less mutagenic than that from petroleum diesel, and this reduction was associated with reduced concentrations of various weakly polar, polar, and highly polar mutagens, including PAHs, aromatic amines, nitroarenes, and oxy-PAHs.     

Loss of Dynamin 2 GTPase function results in microcytic anaemia

In a dominant mouse ethylnitrosurea mutagenesis screen for genes regulating erythropoiesis, we identified a pedigree with a novel microcytic hypochromia caused by a V235G missense mutation in Dynamin 2 (Dnm2). Mutations in Dnm2, a GTPase, are highly disease‐specific and have been implicated in four forms of human diseases: centronuclear myopathy, Charcot‐Marie Tooth neuropathy and, more recently, T‐cell leukaemia and Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, but red cell abnormalities have not been reported to date. The V235G mutation lies within a crucial GTP nucleotide‐binding pocket of Dnm2, and resulted in defective GTPase activity and incompatibility with life in the homozygous state. Dnm2 is an essential mediator of clathrin‐mediated endocytosis, which is required for the uptake of transferrin (Tf) into red cells for incorporation of haem. Accordingly, we observed significantly reduced Tf uptake by Dnm2^+/V235G cells, which led to impaired endosome formation. Despite these deficiencies, surprisingly all iron studies were unchanged, suggesting an unexplained alternative mechanism underlies microcytic anaemia in Dnm2^+/V235G mice. This study provides the first in vivo evidence for the requirements of Dnm2 in normal erythropoiesis.     

白念珠菌14-α脱甲基酶K143Q氨基酸置换与氟康唑耐药形成的相关性研究

目的研究临床耐氟康唑白念珠菌14-α脱甲基酶的K143Q氨基酸置换与氟康唑耐药形成的关系。方法运用体外定点突变技术构建ERG11基因A427C突变型重组质粒,并利用酶切、连接构建YES2/CT酵母表达质粒。通过构建成的表达质粒在酿酒酵母中的异源性表达及体外药物敏感性表型的检测,分析其致K143Q氨基酸置换与白念珠菌对氟康唑产生耐药的关系。结果真菌体外药物敏感性表型检测显示,含氨基酸置换的表达质粒转染于酿酒酵母INVSc1后,氟康唑最低抑菌浓度(MIC)增加16倍。结论 K143Q可增强白念珠菌对氟康唑的耐药性。     

Bt Toxin Modification for Enhanced Efficacy

Insect-specific toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) provide a valuable resource for pest suppression. Here we review the different strategies that have been employed to enhance toxicity against specific target species including those that have evolved resistance to Bt, or to modify the host range of Bt crystal (Cry) and cytolytic (Cyt) toxins. These strategies include toxin truncation, modification of protease cleavage sites, domain swapping, site-directed mutagenesis, peptide addition, and phage display screens for mutated toxins with enhanced activity. Toxin optimization provides a useful approach to extend the utility of these proteins for suppression of pests that exhibit low susceptibility to native Bt toxins, and to overcome field resistance.     

EGFR基因G719S和T790M突变载体的构建及临床应用研究

目的构建与宫颈癌组织表皮生长因子受体(epidermal growth factor receptor,EGFR)基因G719S和T790M位点突变型重组载体,利用其建立分子开关平台检测宫颈癌EGFR基因突变。方法以野生型重组质粒为模板,利用重叠PCR技术,得到突变型融合目的 DNA片段,再将此目的片段连接入p MD19-T质粒中,构建成突变型重组载体,将其转化入大肠埃希菌E.coli DH5α感受态细胞进行表达,用菌液PCR和基因组测序进行鉴定。设计特异性检测引物,建立分子开关检测平台用于临床宫颈癌样本的检测。结果通过基因组测序证实G719S和T790M突变位点成功引入,定点突变载体构建成功。成功建立了分子开关检测平台用于宫颈癌组织DNA的检测。结论利用重叠PCR技术简便、高效地构建了EGFR基因突变重组载体,并建立了分子开关检测平台,为基因定点突变及临床上检测EGFR基因突变提供了新的技术手段。     

Efficient transposition of the Tol2 transposable element from a single-copy donor in zebrafish

The Tol2 transposable element is a powerful genetic tool in model vertebrates and has been used for transgenesis, insertional mutagenesis, gene trapping, and enhancer trapping. However, an in vivo transposition system using Tol2 has not yet been developed. Here we report the in vivo Tol2 transposition system in a model vertebrate, zebrafish. First, we constructed transgenic zebrafish that carried single-copy integrations of Tol2 on the genome and injected transposase mRNA into one-cell stage embryos. The Tol2 insertions were mobilized efficiently in the germ lineage. We then mobilized an insertion of the Tol2 gene trap construct in the nup214 gene, which caused a recessive lethal mutant phenotype, and demonstrated that this method is applicable to the isolation of revertants from a transposon insertional mutant. Second, we constructed transgenic fish carrying the transposase cDNA under the control of the hsp70 promoter. Double-transgenic fish containing the transposase gene and a single-copy Tol2 insertion were treated with heat shock at the adult stage. We found that transposition can be induced efficiently in the male germ cells. We analyzed new integration sites and found that the majority (83%) of them were mapped on chromosomes other than the transposon donor chromosomes and that 9% of local hopping events mapped less than 300 kb away from the donor loci. Our present study demonstrates that the in vivo Tol2 transposition system is useful for creating genome-wide insertions from a single-copy donor and should facilitate functional genomics and transposon biology in vertebrates.