DNA/metabolism* ; Gene Editing ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans

To explore the immobilization of target proteins for screening libraries of ligand mixtures, magnetic submicron particles (MSP) functionalized with Ni²⁺-NTA and carboxyl were compared for the immobilization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis dihydrofolate reductase (MtDHFR). MtDHFR fused with 6×His was expressed, purified and characterized for kinetics. MtDHFR was immobilized on Ni²⁺-NTA-functionalized MSP directly and carboxyl-functionalized MSP upon activation. The immobilization capacity, residual activity, thermostability and affinities for putative inhibitors were characterized. MtDHFR immobilized on Ni²⁺-NTA-functionalized MSP retained about 32% activity of the free one with the immobilization capacity of (93±12) mg/g of MSP (n=3). Ni²⁺ and EDTA synergistically inhibited MtDHFR activity, while Fe³⁺ had no obvious interference. MtDHFR immobilized on carboxyl-functionalized MSP retained (87±4)% activity of the free one with the immobilization capacity of (8.6±0.6) mg/g MSP (n=3). In 100 mmol/L HEPES (pH 7.0) containing 50 mmol/L KCl, there was no significant loss of the activities of the free and immobilized MtDHFR after storage at 0 °C for 16 h, but nearly 60% and 35% loss of their activities after storage at 25 °C for 16 h, respectively. The inhibition effects of methotrexate on the immobilized and free MtDHFR were consistent (P>0.05). The immobilization of MtDHFR on carboxyl-functionalized MSP was thus favorable for higher retained activity and better thermostability, with promise for rapid screening of its ligand mixtures.
Enzyme Stability ; Enzymes, Immobilized ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Kinetics ; Ligands ; Magnetite Nanoparticles ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Temperature ; Tetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase

Objective To clone and fuse the cDNA of human cytokeratin 9 in prokaryotic expression system,and purify and identify the fusion protein.Methods The cDNA fragment of human cytokeratin 9 was amplified from human keratinocyte (HaCaT) total RNA with specific primers.The PCR products were cloned into vector pET-28a,then the fusion protein of his-CK9 was induced by IPTG.The expressed fusion protein of his-CK9 was purified by nickel ion affinity chromatography and identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot.Results The sequencing proved that the recombinant vector of the cDNA of CK9 was correct.The fusion protein of his-CK9 was induced to be expressed in E.coli.The fusion protein of his-CK9 was highly purified and his-CK9 showed specific binding to the commercialized antibodies of CK9.Conclusion The recombinant vector of pET-28a-CK9 has been successfully constructed,and the fusion protein of his-CK9 has been successfully expressed and purified.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the reversal effects of different concentrations of DNA methylation inhibitor, 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine, on the hypermethylation of maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) gene promoter, and then the inhibitory effect of restoration of MEG3 expression on the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells.

METHODSHuman ovarian cancer OVCAR3 cells were treated with various concentration of 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (0, 1, 5, 10, 20 µmol/L, respectively) for 6 days. Then the methylation status of MEG3 promoter was detected by methylation specific PCR (MSP). The alteration of MEG3 gene expression was detected by RT-PCR. Cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay and EdU incorporation assay.

RESULTSAfter treated with 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine, the methylation status of MEG3 in the 0, 1, 5, 10, 20 µmol/L 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine groups were 1.00 ± 0.00, 0.79 ± 0.00, 0.67 ± 0.00, 0.65 ± 0.03 and 0.61 ± 0.01 folds, respectively (P < 0.05 for all). The relative expressions of MEG3 mRNA in the 0, 1, 5, 10, 20 µmol/L 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine groups were 1.00 ± 0.00, 2.04 ± 0.16, 2.44 ± 0.17, 3.19 ± 0.34 and 5.34 ± 0.39, respectively (P < 0.05 for all). In contrast to the negative control, the inhibition rates of the OVCAR3 cell growth were increased significantly when treated with 1, 5, 10, 20 µmol/L 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine in 2, 4 and 6 days. There were (40.78 ± 0.80)%, (35.65 ± 0.33)%, (31.81 ± 0.66)%, (27.33 ± 1.27)% and (17.75 ± 1.85)% of EdU-positive cells in the 0, 1, 5, 10 and 20 µmol/L 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine groups (P < 0.01 for all).

CONCLUSIONSMaternally expressed gene 3 promoter hypermethylation is reversed by 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine in ovarian cancer cells. The downregulation of MEG3 gene might be resulted from the methylation, and the re-expression of MEG3 partly contribute to the growth inhibition of epithelial ovarian cancer cells.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic ; pharmacology ; Azacitidine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Humans ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; RNA, Messenger

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and the clinical value of extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in treatment of localized prostate cancer.Methods Clinical data of 26 patients with localized prostate cancer treated with extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy were analyzed retrospectively.All patients were pathologic diagnosed with prostate cancer by preoperative prostate biopsy or transurethral resection of prostate surgery.Gleason grade was from 6-8.Results Twenty-six operations were successfully accomplished ,without converting to open approach.The operative time was 120-270 min(mean was 165 min) ,the intraoperative blood loss was 180-650 ml (mean was 320 ml) ,indwelling catheter time 12-19 d (mean was 14 d).There were 6 cases with little uroclepsia, satisfactory with urination after contract urethral sphincter for 1-3 Months.Pathologically confirmed all prostate cancer;2 cases of positive margins after surgery plus endocrine therapy.All the cases were followed up from 2 to 36 months.The biochemical recurrence was 5 cases who had undergone endocrine therapy.Conclusion Extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is a safe and feasible procedure with little trauma, small bleeding and fast recovery which is well worth popularizing.Replace open surgery may become frist choice therapeutic method for localized prostate cancer.

Objective To understand the plasma protein differential expression before and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)through conducting the comparative proteomics study on rats in order to find the plasma markers with potential value in the early diagnosis of CPB resulted complications.Methods 10 adult male SD rats were divided into the experiment group and the con-trol group randomly (n=5),and took food and water freely before operation.The rat models of CPB were constructed in the experi-ment group.But no any CPB operation was administered in the control group in addition to anesthesia induction,arterial and venous puncture procedure.1 mL of blood sample was extracted for separating plasma before CPB and at the end of CPB in the two groups. The total plasma protein was purified.Then the 2-dimensional electrophoresis and the scanning imaging by ImageScanner were per-formed.The protein spots verified to be differential expression were performed the cutting,enzymolysis and peptide fragment ex-traction.Finally the mass spectrometer was adopted to conduct the analysis and identification.Results The number of visualized spots was increased significantly after CPB.17 protein spots with up-regulated expression were identified as differential expression caused by CPB.5 proteins were verified by mass spectrometer analysis and database research.They were gelsolin,haptoglobin,apo-lipoprotein A-1,immunoglobulin gamma-2b and Ba1-647 respectively.Conclusion CPB can cause the differential expression of plas-ma proteins in rat model.According to the function analysis,gelsolin,haptoglobin and apolipoprotein A-1 have the potentiality of be-ing the plasma markers for studying CPB complications.

Objective To evaluate the expression of metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT-1) in ovarian cancer cell lines, and to investigate the biological effects of down-regulated MALAT-1 on OVCAR3 cells.Methods qRT-PCR analysis was used to examine the expression level of MALAT-1 gene in ovarian cancer cells, including ES-2, A2780, SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cell lines.For functional research, four shRNA oligos specially targeting MALAT-1 and a empty vector were designed and constructed into pGPU6/GFP/Neo, then transfected into OVCAR3 cells.qRT-PCR was used to confirm the effective suppression of MALAT-1.Changes of proliferation and adhesion of cells were analyzed by CCK-8 and adhesion assays.Wound-healing, transwell migration and invasion assays were used to examine migration and invasion of MALAT-l-silencing cells in vitro.Results The expression of MALAT-1 gene in OVCAR3 cells was high, and qRT-PCR results confirmed successfully the knockdown of MALAT-1 after transient transfection.After successful suppression of MALAT-1, the proliferation, wound-healing and adhesion ability in vitro were inhibited to some degree.In transwell migration assay, the number of migration cells in MALAT-1-silencing group was 52.17±4.48, which is much less than that in the negative and control groups (286.50± 12.23 and 295.67±6.96, respectively).In invasion assay, the number of invasion cells passing the transwell membrane in MALAT-1-silencing group (37.33±2.40) was also decreased significantly, compared to that in the negative and control groups (239.00±15.72 and 222.67±20.85, P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions shRNA-mediated silence of MALAT-1 can effectively inhibit the proliferation, adhesion, migration and invasion abilities of ovarian cancer cell line OVCAR3 in vitro, indicating MALAT-1 is expected to be a target gene for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Objective To investigate the cytotoxic effects of IL-2 combined with different dosages of sorafenib on renal cellular carcinoma cell line 786-0. Methods Renal carcinoma cell 786-0 was cultured. Then , IL-2 (20 μmol/L) combined with different dosages of sorafenib (6.9, 13.8, 20.8 μmol/L) were used to treat tumor cell 786-0. The inhibitory effect on cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay. Cell apoptosis was measured by Annexin V-FITC kit. The tumor-bearing mice models were established and divided into four groups. Results The tumor cell growth was inhibited with the time-course correlation in all groups. In the 48-hour high doses group, the inhibitory rate was up to (74.67±1.87) %. The rates of cell proliferation inhibition and cell apoptosis were higher in the high dosages group than those in the other groups. Conclusions Immunotherapy combined with target therapy could significantly inhibit the growth of renal cellular carcinoma. But we should find a proper dosage, which could improve the clinical effect and reduce the adverse effect.

Objective To study the relationship between the methylation status of CPG islands in MEG3 gene promoter region of epithelial ovarian cancer and its clinical and pathological features. Methods The promoter methylation status was evaluated by MSP (methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction ) in 47 cases of ovarian cancer tissue and 15 cases of normal control. Results The methylation ratio (42.6%) of the MEG3 genes in the ovarian cancer was statistically significantly higher (P = 0.035 ) than that (13.3%) in the normal control. The methyation rate of the group with an age > 60 years old was slightly higher than that of the group with an age≤60 years old, without statistically significant (P > 0.05), so was observed in ovarian cancers of stage Ⅰ andⅡ than that in stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ. There were also no significant differences in MEG3 gene methylation positive rate neither in different pathological grading nor in various ovarian cancer tissues (P > 0.05). Conclusion Abnormal methylation in MEG3 gene may be associated with epithelial ovarian cancer , but no relation to its clinical pathology.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the changes of Mu-opioid receptor (Mor) and neuron-restrictive silencer factor (NRSF) in periaquductal gray (PAG) in mouse models of remifentanil-induced postoperative hyperalgesia. METHODS: Thirty-two Kun-Ming mice were randomly divided into 4 groups (8 mice in each group): Group C (mice underwent a sham procedure and saline was infused subcutaneously over a period of 30 min), Group I (mice underwent a surgical incision and the same volume of saline), Group R (mice underwent a sham procedure and remifentanil was infused subcutaneously at the moment of surgical incision over a period of 30 min), and group IR (mice underwent a surgical incision and remifentanil). Paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) and paw withdrawal thermal latency (PWTL) tests were performed 24 h before the operation and 2, 6, 24, and 48 h after the operation. The specimens were collected after behavioral testings at 48 h. The expressions of Mor and NRSF in mice's PAG neurons were determined by Western blot. RESULTS: Mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia developed in Group I, R and IR (P<0.01). Intraoperative infusion of remifentanil enhanced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in mice with planta incision (P<0.01). In Group R and Group IR, the expression of Mor was significantly lower (P<0.01) and NRSF was significantly higher (P<0.01) when compared with Group C and Group I. CONCLUSION Intraoperative infusion of remifentanil induces postoperative hyperalgesia in mouse models, accompanied with decreased expressions of Mor and increased of NRSF level in PAG neurons, which may be involved in remifentanil induced hyperalgesia.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hyperalgesia ; chemically induced ; Mice ; Pain, Postoperative ; Periaqueductal Gray ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Piperidines ; administration & dosage ; Receptors, Opioid, mu ; metabolism ; Remifentanil ; Repressor Proteins ; metabolism