In order to construct generally efficient cell immortalization vector, pTP-hTERT, we modified the traditional piggyBac (PB) transposon using artificial synthesis, PCR and enzyme digestion. The modified vector contained the necessary transposon elements, a PB transposase expression cassette, a co-expression selectable element and a human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression cassette. The co-expression selectable element had two markers, enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene and puromycin-resistance (Puro) gene, linked by porcine teschovirus-1 2A peptide (P2A). To validate the functionality of vector elements, we transfected pTP-hTERT into HEK293 cell, selected the positive cell clones and then conducted RT-PCR, Western blotting (WB) and Tail-PCR, methylene blue staining and statistic analysis on selected cells. The results of sequencing and cell culture show that the pTP-hTERT was constructed successfully and the positive cell could be selected by puromycin. The WB results, P2A cutting EGFP and Puro fusion protein with high efficiency, reflected the selectable element worked. The sequencing result of Tail-PCR confirmed the vector integrated into the genome through transposition. The results of methylene blue staining and statistic analysis indicated the clone of positive cells triggered by pTP-hTERT significantly increased (P < 0.01) compared with control group. The construction of pTP-hTERT provides an efficient tool for establishing immortalized cell lines and a demonstration for building other eukaryotic plasmids.
Cell Line ; DNA Transposable Elements ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Plasmids ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Telomerase ; genetics ; Transfection

Due to their potential application as novel antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides are attracting much attention. Large quantities of highly purified peptides are crucial to basic and clinical studies. Natural resources of antimicrobial peptides are limited and hard to purify, chemical synthesis is of high-cost and unstable, so recombinant expression of antimicrobial peptides is a cost-effective way. Escherichia coli has been the most widely used as host to express antimicrobial peptides with fusion protein, which can not only avoid the lethal effect towards the host, but also protect the peptide from degradation by proteases. Combined with our research, the present article reviews the progress of fusion vector, cleavage methods and optimization options for antimicrobial peptides production with fusion protein in Escherichia coli.
Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides ; biosynthesis ; Escherichia coli ; metabolism ; Genetic Vectors ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis

Carboxysomes are extremely efficient microcompartments committed to CO2 fixation due to tailored CO2-concentrating mechanism (CCM). In cyanobacteria and some chemoautotrophs, carboxysomes as organelle-like microbodies encapsulate ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) and carbonic anhydrase (CA). Together with active inorganic carbon uptake transporters, carboxysomes accumulate HCO3(-) in the cytoplasm, leading to high efficiency of carbon fixation. Based on the elucidation of structures and functionalities, heterologous production of carboxysomes has been achieved so far. In fact, the genes encoding either vacant carboxysome shell or only interior components have been characterized. This review summarizes the discovery along with types, showcases molecular structures and roles of carboxysomes in CCM, and presents their broad applications in metabolic engineering.
Biological Transport ; Carbon ; metabolism ; Carbon Cycle ; Carbon Dioxide ; metabolism ; Cyanobacteria ; metabolism ; Metabolic Engineering

In the last few years, high-throughput (or 'next-generation') sequencing technologies have delivered a step change in our ability to sequence genomes, whether human or bacterial. Further comparative genome analysis enables us to reveal detailed knowledge of genetics or physiology of industrial important strains obtained in laboratory, to analyze genotype-phenotype correlations of mutants with improved performance. Based on identified key mutations or mutation combinations, Inverse Metabolic Engineering (IME) can be performed by using accurate genetic modification system. Recently, IME has been successfully used for strain improvement and has become a research hotspot, including improving substrate utilization, engineering the robustness of industrial microbes and enhancing production of bio-based products. Here, we describe recent advances in research methods of IME, with an emphasis on characterization of genotype-phenotype and the latest advances and application of IME. Possible directions and challenges for further development of IME are also discussed.
Industrial Microbiology ; trends ; Metabolic Engineering ; trends ; Mutation

Protein is the executor of physiological function, and direct embodiment of the life phenomena. Proteomics aims to systematically clarify all or parts of proteins' role and function in life movement. In post genome era, proteomics began to play more important role in life science field. Actinobacteria are closely linked to human production and life, which have produced many clinically important secondary metabolites, including antibiotics, antitumorals and enzymes. Actinobacterial systematics and its model organism Streptomyces coelicolor in 2001 genome sequence laid the foundation for further functional genomic studies. Actinobacterial proteomics was more directly and exactly to interpret the activity of life than genomics and transcriptomics, which grew much faster and received so much attention from scientists in the near years. Complex morphological differention, stronge environment adaptiveness, nitrogen-fixing capacity, metabolic mechanism, pathogenicity and natural produces' discovery were systematically reviewed in this study, which was expected to be the basis for promoting Actinobacterial proteomics study in the near future.
Actinobacteria ; genetics ; metabolism ; Genomics ; Proteomics ; Streptomyces coelicolor ; genetics ; metabolism

In recent years, laser microdissection followed by mass spectrometry (LMD/MS) has been successfully applied to the proteomic studies of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) renal tissues. This new technique improves the diagnosis of kidney diseases and has a better potential for future clinical application. The review focuses on the use of this methodology for exploring the mechanisms, diagnosis and classification of kidney diseases including renal amyloidosis and membrane proliferative glomerulonephritis.
Formaldehyde ; Humans ; Kidney ; pathology ; Kidney Diseases ; diagnosis ; Laser Capture Microdissection ; Mass Spectrometry ; Proteomics ; Tissue Fixation

To compare two enrichment and preservation methods of urinary proteins, stored in polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane (Urimem) or direct freezing, we examined the differences between the two methods in time, space, costs of supplies and electricity, degree of protein degradation and convenience of the sample handling. The urimem method is superior in the storage space, the cost of electricity and the clinical convenience compared to the direct freezing method. However, the direct freezing method is superior in the time and the cost of supplies to the urimem method. The enrichment and preservation of urinary proteins using urimem have more cost-effective benefits compared to those of the direct freezing method.
Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Freezing ; Humans ; Polyvinyls ; Preservation, Biological ; methods ; Proteins ; chemistry ; Urine ; chemistry

Adaptor protein ClpS is an essential regulator of prokaryotic ATP-dependent protease ClpAP, which delivers certain protein substrates with specific amino acid sequences to ClpAP for degradation. However, ClpS also functions as the inhibitor of the ClpAP-mediated protein degradation for other proteins. Here, we constructed the clpS-overexpression Mycobacterium smegmatis strain, and showed for the first time that overexpression of ClpS increased the resistance of M. smegmatis to rifampicin that is one of most widely used antibiotic drugs in treatment of tuberculosis. Using quantitative proteomic technology, we systematically analyzed effects of ClpS overexpression on changes in M. smegmatis proteome, and proposed that the increased rifampicin resistance was caused by ClpS-regulated drug sedimentation and drug metabolism. Our results indicate that the changes in degradation related proteins enhanced drug resistance and quantitative proteomic analysis is an important tool for understanding molecular mechanisms responsible for bacteria drug resistance.
ATP-Dependent Proteases ; metabolism ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Endopeptidase Clp ; metabolism ; Mycobacterium smegmatis ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Proteolysis ; Proteomics ; Rifampin ; pharmacology

To explore the differential proteome pattern in mouse fibrosis liver in comparison to wild type. Mice were fed with carbon tetrachloride or olive oil vehicle for 15 weeks. Mouse livers from both groups were collected and submitted to MS platform for proteome screening. GO (Gene Ontology) biological process and KEGG (Kyoto Enyoolpedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway enrichment analysis were used to analyze differentially expressed proteins. As the results, we identified 17 382 and 20 486 unique peptides in control and carbon tetrachloride-induced groups, respectively. A total of 4 991 proteins (at least 1 unique peptide matched) were identified, of which 2 135 were differentially expressed (> or = 2 fold). In fibrosis mouse liver 1 264 proteins were up regulated and 871 proteins were down regulated. Proteins associated with DNA replication, cell cycle, ECM-receptor interaction, and splicesome were significantly increased in carbon tetrachloride-induced group. Proteins associated with small molecule metabolic process, protein transport, organonitrogen compound metabolic process, and tetrapyrrole biosynthetic processes were down regulated in carbon tetrachloride-induced mouse liver fibrosis tissue. Bioinformatics findings showed that fibrosis was closely related to the regulation of VEGF and T cell receptor signaling pathway, and further suggested that liver fibrosis was a complex signal transduction process that many biological processes such as liver metabolism, inflammation, and immune response are involved. Based this study, we can envision that protection of protein metabolism in liver parenchymal cells and blocking of inflammatory signaling transduction may be beneficial for liver fibrosis therapy.
Animals ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; Computational Biology ; Down-Regulation ; Inflammation ; metabolism ; Liver Cirrhosis ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; Mice ; Proteins ; metabolism ; Proteome ; metabolism ; Up-Regulation

As a statistical method integrating multi-features and multi-data, meta-analysis was introduced to the field of life science in the 1990s. With the rapid advances in high-throughput technologies, life omics, the core of which are genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics, is becoming the new hot spot of life science. Although the fast output of massive data has promoted the development of omics study, it results in excessive data that are difficult to integrate systematically. In this case, meta-analysis is frequently applied to analyze different types of data and is improved continuously. Here, we first summarize the representative meta-analysis methods systematically, and then study the current applications of meta-analysis in various omics fields, finally we discuss the still-existing problems and the future development of meta-analysis.
Genomics ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Proteomics ; Statistics as Topic