Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is an essential regulator of heart function

Cardiovascular diseases are predicted to be the most common cause of death worldwide by 2020. Here we show that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ace2) maps to a defined quantitative trait locus (QTL) on the X chromosome in three different rat models of hypertension. In all hypertensive rat strains, ACE2 messenger RNA and protein expression were markedly reduced, suggesting that ace2 is a candidate gene for this QTL. Targeted disruption of ACE2 in mice results in a severe cardiac contractility defect, increased angiotensin II levels, and upregulation of hypoxia-induced genes in the heart. Genetic ablation of ACE on an ACE2 mutant background completely rescues the cardiac phenotype. But disruption of ACER, a Drosophila ACE2 homologue, results in a severe defect of heart morphogenesis. These genetic data for ACE2 show that it is an essential regulator of heart function in vivo.     

Stormwater Management in Hong Kong

IntroductionStormwater management(SWM) in Hong Kong isthe responsibility of the drainage servicesdepartment (DSD) of the Governmentof the HongKong Special Administrative Region.Thedepartment is charged with the formulation ofpolicy and the design,construction,operation andmaintenance of all public stormwater drainagesystems,as well as approving private drainsthrough an administrative framework.　 The principal concern of SWM is the reductionof the risk and extent of flooding.Thus,thesuc…     

HIV-1复合多表位基因的原核表达和多克隆抗体制备

为表达HIV-1复合多表位基因并制备其多克隆抗体.设计引物,以HIV-1标准株全长cDNA序列为模板,PCR扩增获得p24基因片段;合成改造后的多个表位基因MEG并且与p24片段相连接,克隆入大肠杆菌.将测序正确的p24MEG基因克隆入原核表达载体pET32a并诱导表达.采用Ni2 -NTA亲和柱纯化目的蛋白,以p24抗体对纯化蛋白进行Western-blot分析.将纯化的融合蛋白免疫家兔制备多克隆抗体.通过PCR成功获得长度为651 bp的HIV-1的p24片段,获得了与多表位基因连接后的p24MEG基因,通过诱导表达,显示在相对分子量约45 000处有预计大小的特异性条带,表明成功表达出融合蛋白.经此纯化的融合蛋白免疫的家兔能产生特异性抗体,其滴度达到1:3 200.纯化的融合蛋白和多克隆抗体为研究新型HIV疫苗奠定一定的理论和实践基础.     

Ankyrin and spectrin associate with voltage-dependent sodium channels in brain

The segregation of voltage-dependent sodium channels to specialized regions of the neuron is crucial for propagation of an action potential. Studies of their lateral mobility indicate that sodium channels are freely mobile on the neuronal cell body but are immobile at the axon hillock, presynaptic terminal and at focal points along the axon. To elucidate the mechanisms that regulate sodium channel topography and mobility, we searched for specific proteins from the brain that associate with sodium channels. Here we show that sodium channels labelled with 3H-saxitoxin (STX) are precipitated in the presence of exogenous brain ankyrin by anti-ankyrin antibodies and that 125I-labelled ankyrin binds with high affinity to sodium channels reconstituted into lipid vesicles. The cytoplasmic domain of the erythrocyte anion transporter competes for the latter interaction. Neither the neuronal GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptor channel complex nor the dihydropyridine (DHP) receptor bind brain ankyrin. The results indicate that brain ankyrin links the voltage-dependent sodium channel to the underlying cytoskeleton and may help to maintain axolemmal membrane heterogeneity and control sodium channel mobility.     

Structure of tumour necrosis factor

Tumour necrosis factor is a trimeric molecule, each subunit of which consists of an antiparallel beta-sandwich. Individual subunits from the trimer by a novel edge-to-face packing of beta-sheets. A comparison of the subunit fold with that of other proteins reveals a remarkable similarity to the 'jelly-roll' structural motif characteristic of viral coat proteins.     

Structure, expression and divergence of T-cell receptor beta-chain variable regions

Analysis of three new T-cell receptor beta-chain variable regions together with those in the literature indicates that they have both remarkable similarities and differences with those of immunoglobulin. Less than 10 V regions appear to predominate in the thymus. V beta sequences are much more heterogeneous at the amino acid level than are immunoglobulin V regions and they appear to diverge between species much more quickly, apparently the result of additional hypervariable regions. Three of these putative new hypervariable regions lie outside of the classical immunoglobulin binding site, an indication that important interactions may be occurring in these regions with polymorphic MHC determinants.