Expression of active human factor IX in transfected cells

Factor IX is the precursor of a serine protease that functions in the intrinsic blood clotting pathway. Deficiencies in this plasma glycoprotein result in haemophilia B (or Christmas disease) and occur in about 1 in 30,000 males. Patients are currently treated with fresh frozen plasma or prothrombin complex concentrates prepared from pooled plasma from normal individuals. There are several problems with this method of treatment, including the probable exposure of the patients to contaminants such as the viral agents responsible for hepatitis and AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). As a first step towards an alternative source of pure human factor IX, we report here on the use of recombinant DNA techniques to produce biologically active factor IX in cultured mammalian cells. Stable cell lines were produced by cotransfecting a baby hamster kidney (BHK) cell line with a plasmid containing a gene for factor IX and a plasmid containing a selectable marker. Protein secreted by these cell lines reduces the clotting time of plasma from factor IX-deficient patients. We present additional evidence that this protein is authentic human factor IX.     

Expression of active human clotting factor IX from recombinant DNA clones in mammalian cells

Haemophilia B, or Christmas disease, is an inherited X-chromosome-linked bleeding disorder caused by a defect in clotting factor IX and occurs in about 1 in 30,000 males in the United Kingdom. Injection of factor IX concentrate obtained from blood donors allows most patients to be successfully managed. However, because of impurities in the factor IX concentrate presently in use, this treatment involves some risk of infection by blood-borne viruses such as non-A, non-B hepatitis and the virus causing acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Because of the recent concern about the increasing incidence of AIDS amongst haemophiliacs, a factor IX preparation derived from a source other than blood is desirable. Here, we report that after introduction of human factor IX DNA clones into a rat hepatoma cell line using recombinant DNA methods, we were able to isolate small amounts of biologically active human factor IX.     

凝血因子IX的体外检测方法研究

凝血因子ＩＸ的检测是血友病Ｂ基因治疗研究中的重要工作，在实验室原有基础上，发现和完善了凝血因子ＩＸ在蛋白质水平上的检测系统，为基因治疗血友病Ｂ提供了更为直观可靠的依据。首先，建立了以鼠抗人ＦＩＸ单克隆抗体Ａ－７为一抗的检测活性ＦＩＸ蛋白量的ＥＬＩＳＡ法，为检测活性ＦＩＸ提供了快速简便的方法。其次，实现了用Ｗｅｓｔｅｒｎｂｌｏｔ法检测转染细胞培养液上清中ＦＩＸ，确证了体外培养的转有人ＦＩＸｃＤＮＡ细     

Expression of active human factor VIII from recombinant DNA clones

DNA clones encoding the complete 2,351 amino acid sequence for human factor VIII have been isolated and used to produce biologically active factor VIII in cultured mammalian cells. The recombinant protein corrects the clotting time of plasma from haemophiliacs and has many of the biochemical and immunological characteristics of serum-derived factor VIII.     

乙型肝炎病毒x基因蛋白转导载体的构建

乙型肝炎病毒X蛋白在细胞转化和肝癌的发生发展中具有重要作用.为了深入研究X蛋白的致癌机理构建了pTAT-GFP-X载体.该研究以克隆在真核表达载体pCMV-X质粒中的x基因为模板,设计了x基因的PCR引物,采用PCR方法扩增x基因,回收PCR产物,以XhoI和EcoRI酶切位点将PCR产物连接到蛋白转导系统pTAT-GFP载体中,再用XhoI和EcoRI酶对筛选的重组子进行酶切鉴定,获得了510bp的目的片段,表明已成功地将目的片段克隆在pTAT-GFP载体中.经DNA序列分析检测,显示克隆的x基因无突变.经SDS-PAGE和Westernblot检测证实,将重组质料pTAT-GFP-X转化致大肠杆菌BL21中,可表达pTAT-GFP-X融合蛋白.该pTAT-GFP-X载体蛋白转导系统的构建,为进行X蛋白的蛋白转导实验奠定了基础.pTAT-GFP-X融合蛋白具有穿透细胞膜进入细胞的能力,进而在细胞内发挥作用,与转基因不同,无需细胞内基因表达的过程,使得X蛋白的定量实验成为可能,X蛋白的蛋白转导实验更有助于探讨x基因的致癌机理.     

Similarity between the vaccinia virus 19K early protein and epidermal growth factor

An analysis of the 1,217-amino acid residue sequence of the precursor of mouse epidermal growth factor (mEGF) revealed regions of considerable similarity with bovine factor X, a blood coagulation factor. Similarities of mEGF itself with factor X, pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor and, most strikingly, transforming growth factor I (TGF-I) have been observed. On the basis of the comparisons described here, it seems that the presumptive 140-residue 19K early protein (relative molecular mass (Mr) 19,000) of vaccinia virus from residues 40-91 shows an overall identity of 36% (19/53 residues) with both mEGF and urogastrone (human epidermal growth factor, hEGF); a single deletion is assumed for vaccinia virus 19K protein which allows the six Cys residues (positions 45-80) to be aligned with those of mEGF or hEGF. This protein is encoded in the 10.3-kilobase (kb) inverted terminal repeat. Because it is an early protein with an EGF-like central portion, the 19K vaccinia virus protein may have an autocrine function and may be required for DNA synthesis.     

Expression of biologically active human clotting factor IX (hF IX) in the mammary gland of transgenic mice

The DNA of human factor IX (hF IX) gene vector pMC IX m, which had been proven to be able to express inin vitro and living cells, was introduced into 586 zygotes of Kunming Whlte Mice by positive pressure microinjection technique with manual operation. The 499 survival embryos after microinjection were then transferred into pseudopregnant recipient mice and 216 F, pups were born. The analysis of PCR and Southern blot hybridization showed that, of the 216, 6 (2 females and 4 males) were integrated with foreign DNA in their genornes, giving an integration frequency of 3% (6/216). Two F₀ female transgenic mice could express hF IX protein in their milk and the content was over 100 ng/mL as measured with ELISA. The biological activities of hF IV in the milk of two F₀ mike were 44.67 % and 79.43 %, respectively.     

Cytotoxic T cells specific for the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum

Malaria is initiated by the inoculation of a susceptible host with sporozoites from an infected mosquito. The sporozoites enter hepatocytes and develop for a period as exoerythrocyte or hepatic stage parasites. Vaccination with irradiated sporozoites can provide protective immunity and a recent study shows that this can also be conferred by immunization with a recombinant salmonella expressing only the circumsporozoite protein that normally covers the sporozoites. Protection against infection is likely to be mediated by cytotoxic CD8+ cells, as depletion of CD8+ T cells in a sporozoite-immunized animal can completely abrogate immunity. Here we demonstrate directly the existence of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) that recognize the circumsporozoite protein. B10.BR mice immunized with sporozoites or with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the CS protein of Plasmodium falciparum contain CTL that specifically kill L cell fibroblasts transfected with the gene encoding the same CS protein. The peptide epitope from the CS protein that is recognized by CTL from this strain of mice is from a variant region of the protein.     

Recovery from autoimmunity of MRL/lpr mice after infection with an interleukin-2/vaccinia recombinant virus

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a T-cell derived molecule implicated in the clonal expansion of antigen-activated T cells and in T-cell development. IL-2 is also implicated in autoimmune disease, although its role is still controversial. Murine systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a good model for human SLE as most of the immunological abnormalities in the human disease also seem to be operative in the mouse. Among SLE mice, the MRL/lpr strain develops early in life autoimmune diseases such as immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis, arthritis and arteritis. Lymphoid abnormalities associated with those diseases in this strain are thymic atrophy and abnormal proliferation of CD3+ CD4- CD8- 'double-negative' T cells, resulting in massive generalized lymph node enlargement. We have therefore now examined the effects of IL-2 on the disease progression in MRL/lpr mice using live vaccinia recombinant viruses expressing the human IL-2 gene. Vaccinated mice showed prolonged survival, decreased autoantibody and rheumatoid factor titres, marked attenuation of kidney interstitial infiltration and intraglomerular proliferation, as well as clearance of synovial mononuclear infiltrates. Inoculation with the IL-2/vaccinia recombinant virus led, in addition, to drastic reduction of the double-negative T-cell population, improved thymic differentiation and restoration of normal values of mature cells in peripheral lymphoid organs.     

Molecular cloning and expression of human hepatocyte growth factor

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is the most potent mitogen for mature parenchymal hepatocytes in primary culture, and seems to be a hepatotrophic factor that acts as a trigger for liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy and liver injury. The partial purification and characterization of HGF have been reported. We have demonstrated that pure HGF from rat platelets is a new growth factor effective at concentrations as low as 1 ng ml-1. The effects of HGF and epidermal growth factor (EGF) are additive. The activity of HGF is not species-specific, although it does not stimulate growth in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts. HGF has a relative molecular mass (Mr) of 82,000 and is a heterodimer composed of a large alpha-subunit of Mr 69,000 and a small beta-subunit of Mr 34,000. Here we report the amino-acid sequence of human HGF determined by complementary DNA cloning and the expression of biologically active human HGF from COS-1 cells transfected with cloned cDNA. The nucleotide sequence of the human HGF cDNA reveals that both alpha- and beta-chains are contained in a single open reading frame coding for a pre-pro precursor protein of 728 amino acids.     

Key residues involved in calcium-binding motifs in EGF-like domains

Many extracellular proteins with diverse functions contain domains similar to epidermal growth factor (EGF), a number of which have a consensus Asp/Asn, Asp/Asn, Asp*/Asn*, Tyr/Phe (where the asterisk denotes a beta-hydroxylated residue). These include the coagulation factors IX and X, proteins with two EGF-like domains, the first of which contains the consensus residues. The first EGF-like domain of human factor IX contains a calcium-binding site, which is believed to be responsible for one of the high-affinity sites detected in this protein. Similar results have been obtained for bovine factor X. We have now used protein engineering and 1H-NMR techniques to investigate the importance of individual consensus residues for ligand binding. Measurement of a calcium-dependent Tyr 69 shift in the isolated first EGF-like domain from human factor IX demonstrates that Asp 47, Asp 49, and Asp 64 are directly involved in this binding. Gln 50, whose importance has previously been overlooked, is also involved in this binding. Two mutations in this domain, Asp 47----Glu, and Asp 64----Asn, present in patients with haemophilia B, reduce calcium binding to the domain greater than 4-fold and greater than 1,000-fold, respectively. Furthermore, the defective calcium binding of Asn 64 can be partially rescued by the compensatory mutation Gln 50----Glu. This latter mutation, when introduced singly more than doubles the affinity of the domain for calcium. This study thus defines residues involved in a new type of calcium-binding site and provides strong circumstantial evidence for calcium-binding motifs in many extracellular proteins, including the developmentally important proteins of Drosophila, notch, delta and crumbs.     

人B淋巴细胞刺激因子的真核表达以及表达条件的筛选

采用基因克隆、重组等方法，将人B淋巴细胞刺激因子（hsBLyS）基因从人胎盘cDNA文库中克隆出来，测序鉴定后得组构建成真核表达载体pcDNA3．1( )hsBLyS，然后用磷酸钙法和脂质体法分别转染真核宿主细胞COS－7，并在其中表达48h、36h、72h、96h；表达细胞经超声处理后离心，上清进行SDS－PAGE鉴定，结果表明：对于hsBLyS来说，磷酸钙法比脂质体法转染效果好，而且对于磷酸钙法，表达量是72h达到最高。     

重组痘苗病毒对不同哺乳动物细胞株的感染效率及EGFP表达水平研究

研究重组痘苗病毒对不同哺乳动物细胞的感染效率及表达水平，可为痘苗病毒表达系统宿主细胞的正确选择提供依据．本研究利用重组绿色荧光蛋白基因的痘苗病毒WR—EGFP同时感染不同的哺乳动物细胞株，利用流式细胞仪检测EGFP的表达强度．共使用20种哺乳动物细胞株，其中10种人类组织细胞，2种猴组织细胞。8种小鼠组织细胞．结果表明，重组痘苗病毒wR-EGFP对鼠细胞系BHK21和人细胞系A-549的感染效率和表达效率最佳；整体看，痘苗病毒对多数灵长类动物细胞的感染效率和表达效率优于鼠细胞；对贴壁细胞的感染效率和表达效率明显优于悬浮细胞；但没有特别的组织偏嗜性。     

Combined immunity of DNA vector and recombinant vaccinia virus expressing Gag proteins of equine infectious anemia virus

In order to develop a new vaccine candidate for equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), gag gene of Chinese donkey leukocyte attenuated strain (EIAV DLV) and its parental virulent strain (EIAV LN) were inserted respectively into the TK region of the Tiantan strain (VV) of vaccinia virus by homologous recombination and the positive clone was confirmed by blue plaque assay. Protein expression was examined by Western blot. Prime and prime-boost procedures were used to immunize mice with two DNA vectors and two recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing EIAV Gag proteins. The results showed that the specific lysis of CTL responses in the DNA rVV groups was stronger than those in the DNA groups, amounting to 31%. Although the levels of specific antibodies were not significantly different, we could conclude that the recombinant vaccinia virus could boost the cellular responses following DNA vector priming. There was no detectable difference between the immune responses induced by DLV and LN Gag proteins. This data demonstrates that the combined immunity of DNA vector and recombinant vaccinia virus expressing EIAV gag proteins, utilizing the prime-boost procedure, can drive immunized mice to produce powerful cellular responses. These results lay an important foundation for the development of a new EIAV genetic engineering vaccine.     

人穿孔素羧基端肽段的表达纯化与活性鉴定

穿孔素,即成孔蛋白（pore forming protein,PFP),其溶细胞作用与免疫调节和自身免疫病以及其它多种疾病过程中的免疫性病理损伤相关。为得到足够量的PFP建立与之相关的免疫学研究手段用于基础和临床研究,在已克隆人PFP cDNA的基础上,用基因工程方法表达了人PFP C端124个氨基酸肽段（hPFP-C),并通过谷胱甘肽琼脂糖新和层析获得纯化的GST/hPFP-C融合蛋白,经凝血酶酶切和再次北极和层析去除GST部分,得到了纯化的hPFP-C蛋白。纯化的hPFP-C蛋白与兔红细胞共育,呈现钙依赖的溶血活性。     

Stimulation of haematopoiesis in primates by continuous infusion of recombinant human GM-CSF

Certain proteins are known to play an important part in the proliferation, differentiation and functional activation of haematopoietic progenitor cells in vitro. These proteins include erythropoietin and various colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), one of which is granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Recently, both murine and human GM-CSF have been purified to homogeneity and complementary DNAs encoding them have been cloned. Although the in vitro activity of recombinant human GM-CSF has been investigated intensively, little is known about the functional activity of this protein in vivo. There is strong evidence that colony-stimulating activities produced by various human and murine tumour tissues and cell lines can stimulate granulopoiesis in mice, as can human urinary extracts. A partially purified preparation of human urinary colony-stimulating factor, however, proved only marginally effective in stimulating granulopoiesis in humans. All these studies suffer from the lack of a homogeneous preparation of colony-stimulating factor. It has recently been shown that recombinant murine multi-CSF or interleukin-3 can stimulate haematopoiesis in mice in vivo. Large-scale production of recombinant human GM-CSF now permits us to examine its effects in vivo using a primate model. We find that the continuous infusion of GM-CSF in healthy monkeys rapidly elicits a dramatic leukocytosis and a substantial reticulocytosis. A similar effect has been observed in one pancytopenic, immunodeficient rhesus macaque. These results suggest that GM-CSF could prove useful in several clinical situations.     

Formation of proinsulin by immobilized Bacillus subtilis

There has been an increasing interest in the use of immobilized cells for the production of pharmaceuticals as well as for products such as high fructose syrup or ethanol. Some of these compounds are now produced on an industrial scale whereby the cells are used in a resting or growing state or in a nonviable form as natural carriers of the enzyme(s) involved in the synthesis. The advantages of immobilized cell technology should also apply to microorganisms modified by recombinant DNA techniques to produce a variety of eukaryotic proteins such as hormones. We describe here the properties of immobilized Bacillus subtilis cells carrying plasmids encoding rat proinsulin. Cell proliferation normally coupled to DNA replication is undesirable in immobilized cell systems as "clogging' of the system occurs due to cells growing outside the beads. Therefore, different ways were investigated to inhibit cell division while allowing continued protein synthesis. We found that the addition of certain antibiotics in the growth medium, such as novobiocin which inhibits DNA replication, fulfills these requirements, allowing proinsulin synthesis and excretion to take place over a period of several days.     

Comparison of transformation efficiency of human active and inactive X-chromosomal DNA

The mechanism of X-chromosome inactivation has been investigated recently using DNA-mediated transformation of the X-linked hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (hprt) locus. Several experiments indicate that inactive X-chromosomal DNA does not function in HPRT transformation. Liskay and Evans used DNA from hamster or mouse cells which had an hprt- allele on the active X chromosome and an hprt+ allele on the inactive X chromosome. We and others used rodent-human hybrid cell lines which had an hprt+ allele on the inactive human X chromosome alone. DNA from all of these cells failed to transform HPRT- recipients. Recently, Chapman et al. have shown that inactive X-chromosome DNA from several tissues of adult female mice is strikingly inefficient in genetic transformation for the hprt gene. On the other hand, de Jonge et al., using simian virus 40 (SV40)-transformed fibroblasts from a human heterozygous for an HPRT deficiency, observed HPRT transformation regardless of whether the hprt+ allele was on the active or the inactive X chromosome of the donor cells. We have done an experiment similar to that of deJonge et al., and report here results which clearly indicate that DNA from the inactive X chromosome functions very poorly in HPRT transformation, thus supporting the original interpretation of Liskay and Evans that inactive X-chromosomal DNA is structurally modified.