HIV-1 integrase enzyme is a 32kDa protein encoded by HIV pol gene. It is responsible for integration of viral cDNA into host chromosomal DNA, which is indispensable for HIV replication.Since there was no functional equivalent for this enzyme in human cells, inhibition of integrase will bring little side effect to human body. Thus HIV integrase has become an attractive and rational target for therapy of AIDS after reverse transcriptase and protease.The Recent research on HIV-1integrase structure,inhibitors and new therapeutic method target at HIV integrase was reviewed.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Hiccup ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Animals ; Cytoplasm ; metabolism ; Endoplasmic Reticulum, Rough ; metabolism ; Golgi Apparatus ; metabolism ; Humans ; Protein Transport ; Ricin ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo clone and produce ribosome inactivating protein MAP30 from the seeds of Momordica charantia L(bitter melon), and to evaluate the biological activity of the recombinant protein.

METHODSThe DNA sequence encoding MAP30 was cloned from the fresh seeds of Momordica charantia by PCR, the target DNA fragments were sequenced after T-A cloning. The expression plasmid was constructed by inserting the MAP30 fragment into vector pET30a. MAP30 was expressed in E.coli by addition of IPTG into final concentration of 1.0 mmol/L. The recombinant MAP30 was identified by SDS-PAGE, and the biological activity of MAP30 protein was evaluated by using MTT assay in cancer cells and normal cells following fluid-phase endocytosis.

RESULTThe nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the cloned MAP30 were identical with those of reported MAP30. The solubility of recombinant protein was analyzed by SDS-PAGE, and the MAP30 was mainly produced in soluble form. The recombinant MAP30 showed a greater cytotoxicity to cancer cells than that to normal cells.

CONCLUSIONThe gene of MAP30 has been successfully cloned.The recombinant MAP30 protein expressed by E.coli is bioactive.

Cloning, Molecular ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Genetic Vectors ; Momordica charantia ; chemistry ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, Type 2 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Seeds ; chemistry ; Transformation, Bacterial

OBJECTIVETo extract and purify ricin from castor beans and to evaluate its anti-cancer activity.

METHODSRicin was purified from castor beans according the modified method of Nicolson and Blaustin. The lectins were extracted in 0.01 mol/L phosphate buffered saline and isolated in the 40% to 80% fraction of ammonium sulfate precipitation. The dialyzed fractionated preparation was applied with a Sepharose 4B column. The lectins were eluted with a linear lactose gradient (0.01 mol/L approximately 0.5 mol/L). Ricin was separated from the ricinus agglutinin by gel filtration on a Sephadex G-100. MTT was applied to analyze the cytotoxicity with different dosage of ricin in different cancer cell lines.

RESULTSThere was no difference between the killing effect of normal cells and that of colon cancer cells by using the high dosage of ricin (5 x 10(-8) mol/L approximately 5 x 10(-10) mol/L). However, the cytotoxicity was significant different in those cells with the low dosage of ricin (5 x 10(-11) mol/L approximately 5 x 10(-13) mol/L). Meanwhile ricin had the similar cytotoxicity to leukemia cell K562 and colon cancer cell SW480.

CONCLUSIONRicin is able to kill tumor cells selectively at low concentration, but the selectivity does not appear at high concentrations.

Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Male ; Mice ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Ricin ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) belongs to the transmembrane glycoprotein receptor family. Overexpression of HER2 could directly lead to tumorigenesis and metastasis. This phenomenon could be observed in the breast cancer, ovarian cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer. Compared with the conventional chemotherapy, the targeted treatment of antibody is more specific and has lower side effects. This review describes the current status of monotherapy and combination therapies of anti-HER2 antibodies, trastuzumab and pertuzumab, with chemotherapeutic drugs. The development trends of new formats of anti-HER2 antibody drugs such as bispecific antibody, immunotoxin are also discussed.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Immunoconjugates ; therapeutic use ; Immunotoxins ; therapeutic use ; Neoplasms ; metabolism ; therapy ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Trastuzumab

Monoclonal antibody-targeted therapy has been a hot spot in current clinical cancer treatment. As current antibody drugs have large molecule sizes leading to poor tissue penetration, and high dosage in clinical application leading to high cost, to overcome the problems, the development of new antibody drugs with miniaturization and high potency has become a new trend. In recent years, the conjugates of monoclonal antibodies and cytotoxins, called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), have entered the arsenal of anti-cancer drugs, becoming a new format of antibody drugs and attracting extensive attentions. The ADC molecule usually consists of antibody, linker and effector molecule. According to different effector molecules, ADCs can be divided into three categories as chemo-conjugates, immunotoxins and radio-conjugates. When ADC molecules are internalized into cancer cells, cytotoxins will be released by chemical, enzyme degradation or by action of lysosomal proteases, then kill targeted cells by inhibiting protein synthesis, depolymerizing microtubules or breaking double-strand DNA. Recently, two ADC drugs have been approved by the US FDA and more ADC drug candidates are in clinical phase II or III trials which show significantly clinical effects and attracting much attention and competition of pharmaceutical enterprises. In this review, antibody conjugates in the past and present will be summarized and the future development trends and challenges of this type of antibody drugs will be discussed.
Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; therapy ; Humans ; Immunoconjugates ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Immunotherapy ; methods ; Immunotoxins ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Radioimmunotherapy ; methods

With the elucidation of structures and functions, antibodies are widely applied in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Today, therapeutic antibodies have played ever increasing roles in the treatment of cancers. In fact, there are over 20 monoclonal antibodies which have been approved by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the therapeutic use in cancers. For the gastric and colorectal cancers, there are at least 9 antibodies have been approved for cancer therapy or for clinical trials. These antibody drugs target to tumor associate antigens and can destroy the cancer cells through several mechanisms such as antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity, complement-dependent cytotoxicity, blockage of blood nutrition and crucial signaling pathways. With the progress in gene engineering technology, the diverse structures of antibodies can be created. In addition, the antibody-conjugates with radioisotopes, toxins and cytotoxins, are also designed for targeted therapy of gastric and colorectal cancers. In this article, we review the trends in the clinical development and application of antibody drugs for future research and development of the rapidly expanding therapeutic modality in gastric and colorectal cancers.
Antibodies ; therapeutic use ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; therapy ; Humans ; Immunization, Passive

PURPOSE: This study was undertaken to explore how miR-206 represses osteosarcoma (OS) development. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Expression levels of miR-206, PAX3, and MET mRNA were explored in paired OS and adjacent tissue specimens. A patient-derived OS cell line was established. miR-206 overexpression and knockdown were achieved by lentiviral transduction. PAX3 and MET overexpression were achieved by plasmid transfection. Treatment with hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was utilized to activate c-Met receptor. Associations between miR-206 and PAX3 or MET mRNA in OS cells were verified by AGO2-RNA immunoprecipitation assay and miRNA pulldown assay. OS cell malignancy was evaluated in vitro by cell proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis assays. PAX3 and MET gene expression in OS cells was assayed by RT-qPCR and Western blot. Activation of PI3K-AKT and MAPK-ERK in OS cells were assayed by evaluating Akt1 Ser473 phosphorylation and total threonine phosphorylation of Erk1/2, respectively. RESULTS: Expression levels of miR-206 were significantly decreased in OS tissue specimens, compared to adjacent counterparts, and were inversely correlated with expression of PAX3 and MET mRNA. miR-206 directly interacted with PAX3 and MET mRNA in OS cells. miR-206 overexpression significantly reduced PAX3 and MET gene expression in OS cells in vitro, resulting in significant decreases in Akt1 and Erk1/2 activation, cell proliferation, and metastasis, as well as increases in cell apoptosis, while miR-206 knockdown showed the opposite effects. The effects of miR-206 overexpression on OS cells were reversed by PAX3 or MET overexpression, but only partially attenuated by HGF treatment. CONCLUSION: miR-206 reduces OS cell malignancy in vitro by targeting PAX3 and MET gene expression.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Gene Expression ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; Immunoprecipitation ; In Vitro Techniques ; MicroRNAs ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Osteosarcoma ; Phosphorylation ; Plasmids ; RNA, Messenger ; Threonine ; Transfection

Objective To identify the isolates of Shewanella spp.from specimens of food poisoning based on biological and biochemical analysis.Methods Strains were obtained from the investigation on two food poisoning episodes in September and October,2007 in Ma'anshan city,Anhui province.In accordance with the national standard protocol(GB/T 4789),all specimens were enriched and isolated on selective medium,and the suspected strains were ldentified by the VITEK-32 and API20E systems.For Shewanella spp.identified by the biochemical system,more characteristics were analyzed using auxiliary biochemical,growth,hemolytic and drug-resistance tests.DNAs of Shewanella spp.were extracted,16S rDNA was PCR amplified and sequenced with universal 16S rDNA primers.Phylogenetic tree was constructed with MEGA 4.0.Results After enrichment, all specimens were inoculated to selective medium and Shewanella spp.strains were isolated from 8 samples with single colony on both TCBS and BP media.The characteristics of growth in the Triple Sugar Iron (TSI) agar appeared to have had hydrogen sulfide production but no gas production or positive oxidase.No Shewanella spp.strain was detected in WS,SS and EMB media.The 8 strains were identified as Shewanella algae(S.algae) or Shewanella putrefaciens(S.putrefaciens) by VITEK-32,as S.putrefaciens by API20E system.No other enteropathogenic bacteria,including Vibrio cholerae,Salmonella,Vibrio parahaemolyticus,Proteus vulgaris or Staphylococcus aureua,were detected from those 8 samples.From 16S rDNA phylogenetic trees,7 out of 8 ShewaneUa spp.were identified as S.algae.1 as S.putrefaeiens.Conclusion Strains of Shewanella spp.were lsolated from samples of the food poisoning episodes,providing a possible clue to investigate the role of Shewanella spp.on food poisoning