To investigate the HBV quasispecies groups in the patients with chronic HBV infection. A set of specific primers was synthesized according to HBV DNA sequence of the Chinese strain, and the whole pre core/core region was amplified by PCR method from the serum of 4 patients with chronic HBV infection.Then the PCR products were subcloned into pGEM Teasy vectors. Clones were selected to be sequenced,and then sequence comparison was made to find the difference. Each sequence of selected clones was found to be different. The homology of the nucleic acid sequence from the same patient was above 98 0%. There were many mutation types in this region, including point substitution, core region internal deletion, as well as frame shift reading. The results indicated that there were HBV quasispecies groups in chronically infected patients. The mutation in this region may influence the prognosis of HBV infection.

T7 cDNA phage display method was employed to find the binding protein of PreSl protein. PreSl protein was coated in a 96-well ELISA plate, and then T7 cDNA library phages were bound to the target protein. Phages which did not bind to garget protein were washed away and the binding phages were eluted. Insertions from different clones were sequenced, and the deduced amino acid sequences were analyzed by Vector 6.0 software. Using BLAST software in GenBank, whole length of amino acid sequence of binding protein was obtained. After 4 rounds of biopanning, recombinant T7 phages with binding ablity were amplifed by infection to E. coli. One piece of amino acid sequence was found to be amino terminal of product of glioma tumor suppressor candidate region gene 2 (GLTSCR2). There was a binding domain KxPxKSGxxxL in these clones. T7 cDNA phage display technique can be used bo find the ligand. GLTSCR2 coding protein may be the binding protein to preSl protein of HBV.\;

To construct expressive vector for human ScFv against core protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV core ScFv),and to express soluble HCV core ScFv in E.coli JM109. Using phage display technique, the recombinant phages were panned by recombinant core antigen which was coated in a microtiter plate, and after five rounds of biopanning, 86 clones were identified specific to core antigen. 750 bp fragment could be released from the plasmid of positive phage clones, and the sequence analysis indicated that we have obrained the ScFv DNA fragment. Then DNA fragment was inserted into the expressive vector pCANTAB5E, and E. coli host JM109 was transformed and induced by IPTG. The specificity of ScFv in the culture medium was evaluated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The molecular weight of expressed HCV core ScFv protein is 28 000 dalton as determined with the aid of SDS polyacrymide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The expressed HCV core ScFv protein will be useful in the immunohistochemical study of liver tissue from patients with hepatitis C and gene therapy against HCV infection.

Alzheimer's disease(AD)and Parkinson's disease(PD)are common neurodegenerative diseases that seriously threaten the health of the elderly, involving various abnormalities in physiology and metabolism including the impairment of mitochondrial function, Ca 2+ homeostasis deregulation, oxidative stress, aggregation of misfolded proteins, autophagy and inflammation.However, mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of these diseases have not been clearly elucidated, thus impeding advances in their treatment.In recent years, it has been found that mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membranes(MAM)play an important role in the development of AD and PD and exert their effects by regulating the functions of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticula.This article reviews studies of the past decade related to the effects of MAM on AD and PD, aiming to generate insights for exploring the constituent proteins of MAM and the molecular mechanisms of AD and PD via endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria Ca 2+ transport and ER stress regulated by MAM.

Objective:To investigate the expression pattern of microRNA-146a in Brucella patients and its correlation with antibody titers.Methods: By using real time PCR assay, expression levels of microRNA-146a in sera samples from 20 brucellosis patients and 20 healthy volunteers were analyzed.The correlation between expression level of microRNA-146a and serum antibody titers were analyzed with SPSS17.0.Results: A quantification curve of microRNA-146a was constructed with synthesized standard.Expression levels of microRNA-146a among brucellosis patients were significantly lower than those in 20 healthy volunteers (P<0.001).For brucellosis patients,the expression level of microRNA-146a was negatively related with antibody titers (P<0.05). Conclusion:Expression of miRNA-146a in brucellosis patients was significantly inhibited and negatively related with antibody titer.

Wnt signaling is implicated in the control of cell growth and differentiation during neural stem cell(CNS) development.Wnt3a, one of wnt gene family members, has effect on regeneration neurospheres and differentiation into neurons.Wnt3a inhibits regeneration of neurospheres, and promotes its differentiation. In vitro neurosphere was cultured in a serum-free defined medium DMEM/F12 supplemented with bFGF and EGF. Dissociated cells were plated onto poly-d-lysine-coated coverslips and propagated in medium containing recombined Wnt3a-adenovirus. Plenty of Nurr1 were detected by RT-PCR after 3 days. Wnt3a combined AA would improve NSC differentiation into dopaminergic (DA) neuron. The quantity of DA neuron is obviously more than the AA alone group's. Moreover, the expression of TH mRNA is 1.86 fold in Wnt3a combined AA group. Induced cells were immunostained for TH and DAT. The proportion of TH-positive was (37.42 ? 2.54) % (P

OBJECTIVETo search for genomic DNA sequence of the augmenter of liver regeneration (ALR) of rat.

METHODSPolymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers was used to amplify the sequence from the rat genome.

RESULTSA piece of genomic DNA sequence and a piece of pseudogene of rat ALR were identified. The lengths of the gene and pseudogene are 1508 bp and 442 bp, respectively. The ALR gene of rat includes 3 exons and 2 introns. The 442 bp DNA sequence may represent a pseudogene or a ALR-related peptide. Predicted amino acid sequence analysis showed that there were 14 different amino acid residues between the gene and pseudogene. ALR-related peptide is 84 amino acid residues in length and relates closely to ALR protein.

CONCLUSIONThere might be a multigene family of ALR in rat.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Regeneration ; genetics ; Male ; Mice ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Proteins ; genetics ; Pseudogenes ; genetics ; Rats

The efficient clinical treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)is still a challenge that demands the development of effective new drugs.Phenformin has been shown to produce more potent anti-tumor activities than metformin on different tumors,however,not much is known about the influence of phenformin on OSCC cells.We found that phenformin suppresses OSCC cell proliferation,and promotes OSCC cell autophagy and apoptosis to significantly inhibit OSCC cell growth both in vivo and in vitro.RNA-seq analysis revealed that autophagy pathways were the main targets of phenformin and identified two new targets DDIT4(DNA damage inducible transcript 4)and NIBAN1(niban apoptosis regulator 1).We found that phenformin significantly induces the expression of both DDIT4 and NIBAN1 to promote OSCC autophagy.Further,the enhanced expression of DDIT4 and NIBAN1 elicited by phenformin was not blocked by the knockdown of AMPK but was suppressed by the knockdown of transcription factor ATF4(activation transcription factor 4),which was induced by phenformin treatment in OSCC cells.Mechanistically,these results revealed that phenformin triggers endoplasmic reticulum(ER)stress to activate PERK(protein kinase R-like ER kinase),which phosphorylates the transitional initial factor eIF2,and the increased phosphorylation of eIF2 leads to the increased translation of ATF4.In summary,we discovered that phenformin induces its new targets DDIT4 and especially NIBAN1 to promote autophagic and apoptotic cell death to suppress OSCC cell growth.Our study supports the potential clinical utility of phenformin for OSCC treatment in the future.

To report 7 Chinese children with characteristic hyperpigmented macules on the forehead and temples. Among the 7 cases, there were 2 males and 5 females, with the age at onset ranging from 9 to 24 months (12.43 ± 5.32 months), and the disease duration being 1 - 4 months (2.57 ± 1.27 months). Skin examination revealed that the children presented with varying numbers of irregular brown macules and patches scattered on their foreheads and temples, without obvious desquamation. Dermoscopic examination revealed multiple yellowish-brown patches with irregular borders, and linear vessels were observable in some skin lesions. A diagnosis of acquired facial hyperpigmented macules was made in these children. The children received no treatment. After 2 years of follow-up, hyperpigmented macules completely subsided in 2 cases and regressed to varying degrees in 4 cases, while 1 case exhibited no changes in the skin lesions. Considering the literature and the cases discussed in this article, it is hypothesized that acquired facial hyperpigmented macules in young children may represent an independent condition.

BACKGROUND: Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is considered a serious global threat. However, little is known regarding the multidrug resistance (MDR) mechanisms of CRKP. This study investigated the phenotypes and MDR mechanisms of CRKP and identified their clonal characteristics. METHODS: PCR and sequencing were utilized to identify antibiotic resistance determinants. Integron gene cassette arrays were determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were used for epidemiological analysis. Plasmids were typed by using a PCR-based replicon typing and analyzed by conjugation and transformation assays. RESULTS: Seventy-eight strains were identified as resistant to at least one carbapenem; these CRKP strains had a high prevalence rate (38.5%, 30/78) of carbapenemase producers. Additionally, most isolates harbored MDR genes, including Extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), AmpC, and quinolone and aminoglycoside resistance genes. Loss of porin genes was observed, and Class 1 integron was detected in 66.7% of the investigated isolates. PFGE and MLST results excluded the occurrence of clonal dissemination among these isolates. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of NDM-1 genes encoding carbapenem resistance determinants was demonstrated among the K. pneumoniae isolates. Importantly, this is the first report of bla(NDM-1) carriage in a K. pneumoniae ST1383 clone in China and of a MDR CRKP isolate co-harboring bla(NDM-1), bla(KPC-2), bla(CTX-M), bla(SHV), acc(6′)-Ib, rmtB, qnrB, and acc(6′)-Ib-cr.
China* ; Clone Cells ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Drug Resistance, Multiple* ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Genes, MDR ; Integrons ; Klebsiella pneumoniae* ; Klebsiella* ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Phenotype ; Plasmids ; Pneumonia ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Prevalence ; Replicon