Reductase activity of human thioredoxin-like protein and its effects on cell apoptosis

Thioredoxin is a ubiquitous dithiol oxidoreductase found in many organisms and involved in numerous biochemical processes. Human thioredoxin-like protein (hTRXL) is differentially expressed at different development stages of human fetal cerebrum and belongs to an expanding family of thioredoxins. Recombinant hTRXL and truncated hTRXLs corresponding to the N-terminal (hTRXL-N) and C-terminal (hTRXL-C) domains are expressed and purified. In insulin disulfide reduction assay, both full-length hTRXL and hTRXL-N show reducing activity for the insulin disulfide bonds. As expected, the hTRXL-C failed to reduce insulin. MCF-7 cell stably transfected with hTRXL cDNA exhibits increased sensitivity to apoptosis induced by phorbol myristic acetate (PMA) and ionomysin.     

Isolation and cloning of a novel cDNA LDBl encoding human LIM domain binding protein

Primers for screening cDNA library have been designed according to EST AA453734 which is corresponding to the mouse LIM domain binding protein Ldb1. Arrayed human fetal brain cDNA library has been screened by PCR and routine hybridization method. A 2398 bp-cD-NA clone has been obtained. The cDNA encodes a 347 amino acids protein highly homologous to the mouse Ldb1, Xenopus Xldb1 and Drosophila Chip. It also contains an LIM binding domain and a nuclear localization signal. It has been named LDB1 (LIM domain binding protein 1), GenBank accession number is AF052389. Northern blot showed a 2.4 kb band, and the expression amounts of LDB1 in heart, brain and lung were considerably higher than those in other tissues.     

Cloning and sequence analysis of a gene encoding polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein from cotton

Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIP) play important roles in plant defense of pathogen, especially fungi. A pair of degenerated primers is designed based on the conserved sequence of 20 other known pgip genes and used to amplify Gossypium barbadense cultivation 7124 cDNA library by touch-down PCR. A 561 bp internal fragment of the pgip gene is obtained and used to design the primers for rapid amplification of cDNA ends. A composite pgip gene sequence is constructed from the products of 5′ and 3′ RACE, which are 666 bp and 906 bp respectively. Analysis of nucleic acid sequence shows 69.2% and 68.7% similarity to Citrus and Poncirus pgip genes, respectively. Its open reading frame of the gene encodes a polypeptide of 330 amino acids, in which 10 leucine-rich repeats arrange tandemly. A new set of primers is designed to the 5′ and 3′ ends of the gene, which allows amplification of the full-length gene from the cotton cDNA library. Genomic DNA analysis reveals that this gene has no intron.     

Cloning of a down-regulated gene encoding small GTP binding protein in hybrid wheat

Previous studies showed that differential gene expression between wheathybrids and their parents was responsible for the heterosis. To provide an insight into the molecular basis of wheat heterosis, one cDNA, designated TaRab, was identified from the cDNA library of wheat seedling leaves. The sequence comparison in GenBank revealed that TaRab is homologous to a group of genes encoding Rab-GTP binding protein. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis indicated that TaRab was expressed in all plant tissues examined, but at slightly higher level in leaves. Further analysis exhibited that TaRab displayed lower expression in hybrid than in its patents in both roots and leaves, which was in agreement with the original results of suppression subtractive hybridization. TaRab was located on chromosome 7B and C-7DS5-0.36 by in silico mapping. The relationship between differential expression of TaRab and the molecular basis of wheat heterosis was also discussed.     

Cloning of a novel gene associated with human nasopharyngeal carcinoma

One EST N27741 with high expression in normal adult nasopharynx tissues but low expression in adult poorly differentiated squamous nasopharyngeal carcinoma has been selected out by the high-density cDNA array expression profiling technique. The differential expression has been confirmed by RT-PCR. One novel gene of 1096 bp has been cloned based on this EST. Bioinformatics analysis found that the new gene sequence contains a whole reading frame encoding 256 amino acids. There is a stop codon TAA in front of the 5′ end start codon, and a tailing signal AATAAA and poly A tail at the 3′ end. There is no homologous known gene found after searching by blasting this sequence to non-redundancy nucleotide database. Therefore it is considered a novel gene related to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.     

人Megalin基因四个结构域的cDNA克隆

以人肾脏组织cDNA为模板,用PCR技术克隆了编码人Megalin基因四个结构域的cDNA,并对其进行了测序.结果表明,编码人Megalin基因四个结构域的cDNA长度分别为863bp、1,008 bp、1,247 bp及1,359 bp.编码第一结构域的cDNA序列与GenBank报道的序列有99.9%的同源性,其中两个位点有差异(第457位和605位分别为C和G,而非G和A);其余三个结构域对应的基因序列与GenBank报道的序列完全相同.     

Cloning and characterization of a gene encoding phage-related tail protein (PrTP) of endosymbiont Wolbachia

Wolbachia is an obligatory, maternally inherited intracellular bacterium, known to infect a wide range of arthropods. It has been implicated in causing cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), parthenogenesis, the feminization of genetic males and male-killing in different hosts. However, the molecular mechanisms by which this fastidious bacterium causes these reproductive abnormalities have not yet been determined. In this study, we report on the cloning and characterization of the gene encoding phage-related tail protein (PrTP) from Wolbachia in Drosophila melanogaster CantonS (wMelCS) and from Wolbachia in Drosophila melanogaster yw67c23 (wMel) by representational difference analysis (RDA) and ligation-mediated PCR (LM-PCR). The functionality of a bipartite nuclear localization signal sequence (NLS) of the gene was also successfully tested in Drosophila S2 cells. PrTP expression in various strains of Wolbachia was investigated. Our results suggest that PrTP may not induce CI directly. However, the existence of prtp provided direct evidence of phage-mediated horizontal gene transfer (HGT) that might play an important role in a variety of reproductive abnormalities of Wolbachia.     

Cloning and characterization of a gene encoding phagerelated tail protein (PrTP) of endosymbiont Wolbachia

Wolbachia is an obligatory, maternally inherited intracellular bacterium, known to infect a wide range of arthropods. It has been implicated in causing cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), parthenogenesis, the feminization of genetic males and male-killing in different hosts. However, the molecular mechanisms by which this fastidious bacterium causes these reproductive abnormalities have not yet been determined. In this study, we report on the cloning and characterization of the gene encoding phage-related tail protein (PrTP) from Wolbachia in Drosophila melanogaster CantonS (wMelCS) and from Wolbachia in Drosophila melanogaster yw67c23 (wMel) by representational difference analysis (RDA) and ligation-mediated PCR (LM-PCR). The functionality of a bipartite nuclear localization signal sequence (NLS) of the gene was also successfully tested in Drosophila S2 cells. PrTP expression in various strains of Wolbachia was investigated. Our results suggest that PrTP may not induce CI directly. However, the existence of prtp provided direct evidence of phage-mediated horizontal gene transfer (HGT) that might play an important role in a variety of reproductive abnormalities of Wolbachia.     

一个与油菜黄化相关的未知功能基因克隆及表达

以构建的油菜幼叶黄化突变体Cr3529消减文库中一个未知功能的差异表达基因片段为基础,应用RACE-PCR技术,扩增并克隆到两个cDNA全序列,分别命名为BnCr4和Bn-Cr4-1.测序结果显示,BnCr4编码区序列大小为1395 bp,编码465个氨基酸,而BnCr4-1编码区序列长1311 bp,编码437个氨基酸.BLAST结果表明它们与拟南芥中的一个未知功能基因的cDNA同源性分别为87%和80%.功能预测显示它们含有与蛋白质的修饰作用有关的多个活性位点,如磷酸化、糖基化、酰胺化以及磷酸泛酰巯基乙胺结合位点,可能是一种新的与cAMP介导的蛋白质磷酸化与去磷酸化作用有关的蛋白.Northen杂交结果显示该基因在Cr3529子叶期和幼叶期的表达高于野生型油菜,显示该基因的表达与突变性状紧密相关.最后,原核表达了BnCr4,得到了与预计分子量相同的融合蛋白.     

Amplification of a gene encoding a p53-associated protein in human sarcomas.

Despite extensive data linking mutations in the p53 gene to human tumorigenesis, little is known about the cellular regulators and mediators of p53 function. MDM2 is a strong candidate for one such cellular protein; the MDM2 gene was originally identified by virtue of its amplification in a spontaneously transformed derivative of mouse BALB/c cells and the MDM2 protein subsequently shown to bind to p53 in rat cells transfected with p53 genes. To determine whether MDM2 plays a role in human cancer, we have cloned the human MDM2 gene. Here we show that recombinant-derived human MDM2 protein binds human p53 in vitro, and we use MDM2 clones to localize the human MDM2 gene to chromosome 12q13-14. Because this chromosomal position appears to be altered in many sarcomas, we looked for changes in human MDM2 in such cancers. The gene was amplified in over a third of 47 sarcomas, including common bone and soft tissue forms. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that MDM2 binds to p53, and that amplification of MDM2 in sarcomas leads to escape from p53-regulated growth control. This mechanism of tumorigenesis parallels that for virally-induced tumours, in which viral oncogene products bind to and functionally inactivate p53.     

Cloning and identification of a novel human glioma differentiation related gene GDR1

In order to identify the genes associated with glioblastoma differentiation, some ESTs, expressed differentially in the control cell and the differentiated human glioblastoma cell line BT-325 induced by the all-trans retinoid acid, have been isolated by the method of DDRT-PCR. Of the 46 ESTs sequenced, 19 are from new genes. A full-length 1 535-bp cDNA, termed gene GDR1, has been isolated from the human cDNA library using the probe designed according to one of the novel ESTs, HGBB098. The open reading frame of GDR1 gene encodes a putative protein containing 334 amino acid residues. Blast against the current GenBank DNA and protein sequence database did not reveal significant homology with any known proteins. RT-PCR shows that GDR1 mRNA level increased in the differentiated BT-325 cells after being treated with RA. The different expression patterns of GDR1 mRNA in human tissues have been detected through the multiple tissue Northern blot hybridization.     

Isolation and cloning of a novel cDNALDB1 encoding human LIM domain binding protein

Primers for screening cDNA library have been designed according to EST AA453734 which is corresponding to the mouse LIM domain binding protein Ldbl. Arrayed human fetal brain cDNA library has been screened by PCR and routine hybridization method. A 2398 bp-cD-NA clone has been obtained. The cDNA encodes a 347 amino acids protein highly homologous to the mouse Ldbl,Xenopus Xldbl andDrosophila Chip. It also contains an LIM binding domain and a nuclear localization signal. It has been namedLDB1 ( LIM domain binding protein 1), GenBank accession number is AF052389. Northern blot showed a 2.4 kb band, and the expression amounts ofLDBI in heart, brain and lung were considerably higher than those in other tissues.     

梅花鹿骨形态发生蛋白BMP4基因的克隆与序列分析

通过提取梅花鹿肝脏总RNA以及采用RT-PCR技术,成功克隆梅花鹿骨形态发生蛋白BMP4基因序列,并对其核酸序列、蛋白质序列,功能保守区、亲疏水性进行生物信息学分析,同时构建序列进化树以及部分结构的三维模型.该序列已提交Genbank(索取号:HQ877675).该研究可为日后通过基因工程手段表达重组梅花鹿BMP蛋白并探究其药理作用提供基础.     

睾丸组织高表达新基因THE的克隆及表达特征分析

以Homo.sapiens brain为库,选取编号为CA423810的EST序列,联网到NCBI调用Blast服务器分析,该EST序列是一个代表新基因的未知序列.以该序列作为电子探针,通过Internet采用Blast软件进行GenBank的EST数据库检索,获得了该序列的电子延伸产物EST重叠群.经与人类基因组草图进行序列校正,获得了全长为2 232bp的cDNA序列.利用NCBI的ORFfinder服务器,分析发现该序列具有完整的阅读框架,从而确定了基因的全长cDNA序列.该基因定位于染色体上的5q22,编码由388个氨基酸组成,分子量为44859的蛋白质.运用RTP-CR技术,以新基因电子克隆全长cDNA序列设计基因特异性引物,以11例癌组织及相应的正常组织的cDNA、人胎脑cDNA文库和人睾丸cDNA文库为模板扩增目的片段,并以看家基因GAPDH为内对照,检测目的基因的mRNA表达水平.研究结果表明,新基因只在睾丸组织中高表达,在直肠癌、结肠癌、宫颈癌、胃癌等的癌组织及相应的正常组织中都无明显的表达.因此将该新基因命名为睾丸组织高表达基因(testis high expression,THE).以上结果提示,THE基因可能是在人脑中表达的同一基因的不同剪接本.关键词检索UniGene数据.     

A yeast gene encoding a protein homologous to the human c-has/bas proto-oncogene product

Organisms amenable to easy genetic analysis should prove helpful in assessing the function of at least those proto-oncogene products which are highly conserved in different eukaryotic cells. One obvious possibility is to pursue the matter in Drosophila melanogaster DNA, which has sequences homologous to several vertebrate oncogenes. Another is to turn to the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, if it contains proto-oncogene sequences. Here we report the identification of a gene in S. cerevisiae which codes for a 206 amino acid protein (YP2) that exhibits striking homology to the p21 products of the human c-has/bas proto-oncogenes and the transforming p21 proteins of the Harvey (v-rasH) and Kirsten (v-rasK) murine sarcoma viral oncogenes. The YP2 gene is located between the actin and the tubulin gene on chromosome VI and is expressed in growing cells. The protein it encodes might share the nucleotide-binding capacity of p21 proteins.     

A novel human gene spindlin1, encoding a protein localized in the cell nucleus and inducing NIH3T3 cell''s transformation

A novel human gene, spindlin1, recently cloned in our laboratory, is highly expressed in the tissue of ovary cancer. To study its biological function, a vector expressing green fluorescent-spindlin1 fusion protein was constructed and transfected into COS-7 and NIH3T3 cells by lipofectamine methods. The results showed that the fusion protein pEGFP-N1-spindlin1 was localized in the nucleus of COS-7 and NIH3T3 cells. NIH3T3 cells which could stably express spindlin1 as a result of RT-PCR analysis compared with the parental NIH3T3 cells displayed a complete morphological change, improved the cell growth and increased the percentage of cells in G2/M phase (12.6% vs control cells at 3.4%). Furthermore, overexpressed spindlin1 cells formed colonies in soft agar, more motile in migration assay in vitro and formed tumors in nude mice. Our findings provide direct evidence that spindlin1 gene may be a prooncogene which is associated with tumorigenesis.