To study non-structural carbohydrate character-istics and nutrient utilization strategies of Pinus yunnanen-sis under continuous drought conditions,2-year-old seed-lings were planted in pots with appropriate water,lig...To study non-structural carbohydrate character-istics and nutrient utilization strategies of Pinus yunnanen-sis under continuous drought conditions,2-year-old seed-lings were planted in pots with appropriate water,light and moderate and severe drought treatments[(80±5),(65±5),(50±5),and(35±5)%of field water-holding capacity].Non-structural carbohydrates,carbon(C),nitrogen(N),and phosphorus(P)concentrations were measured in each plant component.The results show that:(1)With increasing drought,non-structural carbohydrates gradually increased in leaves,stems,and coarse roots,while gradually decreased in fine roots;(2)C concentrations of all were relatively stable under different stress levels.Phosphorous utilization of each component increased under light and moderate drought conditions,while N and P utilization efficiency of each plant component decreased under severe drought.Growth was mainly restricted by N,first decreasing and then increasing with increased drought;(3)There was a correlation between the levels of non-structural carbohydrates and C,N,and P in each component.Changes in N concentration affected the interconversion between soluble sugar and starch,which play a regulatory role in the fluctuation of the concentration of non-structural carbohydrates;and,(4)Plasticity analysis showed that P.yunnanensis seedlings responded to drought mainly by altering starch concentration,the ratio of soluble sugar to starch in leaves and stems,and further by alter-ing N and P utilization efficiencies.Overall,these results suggest that the physiological activities of all organs of P.yunnanensis seedlings are restricted under drought and that trade-offs exist between different physiological indicators and organs.Our findings are helpful in understanding non-structural carbohydrate and nutrient adaptation mechanisms under drought in P.yunnanensis seedlings.展开更多
Primary Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a spontaneously fatal disease characterized by an obstruction of the hepatic venous outflow tract due to thrombosis or a primary disease of the venous wall. The primary form of BC...Primary Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a spontaneously fatal disease characterized by an obstruction of the hepatic venous outflow tract due to thrombosis or a primary disease of the venous wall. The primary form of BCS is extremely rare. This is a disease mainly affecting young adults of both sexes. Clinical manifestations are variable;they can be asymptomatic, acute, or subacute but mostly chronic. Several causes have been identified, such as myeloproliferative syndrome, antiphospholipid syndrome, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, and inherited thrombotic disorders. Data on primary BCS in Sub-Saharan Africa is rare as most publications available are case reports. In these reports, the causes are unknown with poor prognosis in most cases often leading to patient death. We herein present a case report of a male patient diagnosed with a primary BCS at Yaoundé General Hospital (Cameroon) caused by a Protein C deficiency who presented with ascites decompensating liver cirrhosis. Treatment was based on anticoagulants, diuretics and laxatives administration. Two years after the diagnosis, the patient is alive with clinical and paraclinical improvement.展开更多
Background: Preeclampsia is reported to complicate 2% - 8% of pregnancies globally and is an important cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The aetiology and pathogenesis are still poorly understoo...Background: Preeclampsia is reported to complicate 2% - 8% of pregnancies globally and is an important cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The aetiology and pathogenesis are still poorly understood and substantial improvement has not been made in the prediction, prevention and treatment of the disease. Objective: To compare the frequency of activated protein C resistance (APC-R) in patients with pre-eclampsia to that of normotensive pregnant women and to determine the correlation between activated protein ratio (APC-ratio) and the severity of pre-eclampsia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 100 pre-eclamptic patients and 100 normotensive pregnant controls. The APC-ratio was determined using the modified activated partial thromboplastin time. Study participants with APC-ratio of less than 2.0 were defined as having APC-R. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Results: Mean APC-ratio was significantly lower in pre-eclamptics (2.89 ± 1.70) compared to normotensive pregnant women (3.57 ± 1.06) (p = 0.0008) and the levels were also higher in mild (2.95 ± 1.15) compared to severe pre-eclamptics (2.62 ± 1.14). The frequency of APC-R was 26% among women with pre-eclampsia compared to 4% among normotensive controls (p = 0.000). Among 100 pre-eclamptic women 7 (21.2%) out of 33 with mild pre–eclampsia had APC-R, while 19 (28.4%) out of 67 with severe pre-eclampsia had APC-R. APC-ratio had a significant negative correlation with mean arterial blood pressure (r = −0.324;p = 0.000) and proteinuria (r = −0.379;p = 0.000) among study participants. Conclusion: The frequency of activated protein c resistance is significantly higher in pre-eclamptics compared to normotensive pregnant women and this is more pronounced in those with severe pre-eclampsia compared with those with mild disease. APC-R may therefore be used as a marker of severity in the disease.展开更多
Protein C(PC)is a key component of the vitamin K-dependent coagulation pathway.It exerts anticoagulant effects by inactivating factors V and VIII.Acquired or inherited PC deficiency results in a prothrombotic state,wi...Protein C(PC)is a key component of the vitamin K-dependent coagulation pathway.It exerts anticoagulant effects by inactivating factors V and VIII.Acquired or inherited PC deficiency results in a prothrombotic state,with presentations varying from asymptomatic to venous thromboembolism.However,there has been an increasing number of reports linking PC deficiency to arterial thromboembolic events,such as myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke.This editorial focuses on the association between PC deficiency and thromboembolism,which may provide some insights for treatment strategy and scientific research.展开更多
Ultraviolet radiation by its wavelength is divided into: UVA, UVB and UVC. Only UVA and UVB manage to penetrate the ozone layer, but due to anthropological activities, all of them are capable of interacting with human...Ultraviolet radiation by its wavelength is divided into: UVA, UVB and UVC. Only UVA and UVB manage to penetrate the ozone layer, but due to anthropological activities, all of them are capable of interacting with humans to a greater or lesser extent, and can generate adverse effects such as cellular stress when interacting with intra-and extracellular biomolecules. The skin is the first organ in contact with UV radiation, and the stress it generates can be analyzed by the expression of a bioindicator of cellular damage such as Hsp70. Therefore, the objective of the project was: to determine the effect of UVA, UVB and UVC radiation on HaCaT epithelial cells, by analyzing the expression of Hsp70. Materials and methods: HaCaT cells were cultured in vitro, which were irradiated with UVA, UVB and UVC light at different doses, to subsequently determine the degree of Hsp70 expression by Immunodetection by PAGE-SDS and Western Blot. Results: Basal expression of Hsp70 was observed in no irradiated HaCaT cells. When HaCaT cells were irradiated with UVA, UVB, UVC, an increase in this Hsp70 protein was observed. With UVA, a higher degree of expression was observed at a time of 30 minutes of irradiation. With UVB the highest expression shifted to a time of 20 minutes. With UVC, overexpression was observed after 10 minutes. Conclusion: UV radiation generates cellular stress on HaCaT cells, evaluated by the stress bioindicator Hsp70. According to the wavelength of UV radiation, those that have a shorter wavelength have a greater potential for cellular damage, such as UVC.展开更多
AIM: To study the epitope distribution of hepatitis G virus (HGV) and to seek for the potential recombinant antigens for the development of HGV diagnostic reagents. METHODS: Fourteen clones encompassing HGV gene fragm...AIM: To study the epitope distribution of hepatitis G virus (HGV) and to seek for the potential recombinant antigens for the development of HGV diagnostic reagents. METHODS: Fourteen clones encompassing HGV gene fragments from core to NS3 and NS5 were constructed using prokaryotic expression vector pRSET and (or) pGEX, and expressed in E.coli. Western blotting and ELISA were used to detect the immunoreactivity of these recombinant proteins. RESULTS: One clone with HGV fragment from core to E1 (G1), one from E2 (G31), three from NS3 (G6, G61, G7), one from NS5B (G821) and one chimeric fragment from NS3 and NS5B (G61-821) could be expressed well and showed obvious immunoreactivity by Western blotting. One clone with HGV framment from NS5B (G82) was also well expressed, but could not show immunoreactivity by Western blotting. No obvious expression was found in the other six clones. All the expressed recombinant proteins were in inclusion body form, except the protein G61 which could be expressed in soluble form. Further purified recombinant proteins G1, G31, G61, G821 and G61-821 were detected in indirected ELISA as coating antigen respectively. Only recombinant G1 could still show immunoreactivity, and the other four recombinant proteins failed to react to the HGV antibody positive sera. Western blotting results indicated that the immunoactivity of these four recombinant proteins were lost during purification. CONCLUSION: Core to E1, E2, NS3 and NS5 fragment of HGV contain antigenic epitopes, which could be produced in prokaryotically expressed recombinant proteins. A high-yield recombinant protein (G1) located in HGV core to E1 could remain its epitope after purification, which showed the potential that G1 could be used as a coating antigen to develop an ELISA kit for HGV specific antibody diagnosis.展开更多
BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus genotype 3a(HCV G3a)is highly prevalent in Pakistan.Due to the elevated cost of available Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs against HCV,medicinal natural products of potent antiv...BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus genotype 3a(HCV G3a)is highly prevalent in Pakistan.Due to the elevated cost of available Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs against HCV,medicinal natural products of potent antiviral activity should be screened for the cost-effective treatment of the disease.Furthermore,from natural products,active compounds against vital HCV proteins like non-structural protein 3(NS3)protease could be identified to prevent viral proliferation in the host.AIM To develop cost-effective HCV genotype 3a NS3 protease inhibitors from citrus fruit extracts.METHODS Full-length NS3 without co-factor non-structural protein 4A(NS4A)and codon optimized NS3 protease in fusion with NS4A were expressed in Escherichia coli.The expressed protein was purified by metal ion affinity chromatography and gel filtration.Citrus fruit extracts were screened using fluorescence resonance energy transfer(FRET)assay against the protease and polyphenols were identified as potential inhibitors using electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry(MS)/MS technique.Among different polyphenols,highly potent compounds were screened using molecular modeling approaches and consequently the most active compound was further evaluated against HCV NS4A-NS3 protease domain using FRET assay.RESULTS NS4A fused with NS3 protease domain gene was overexpressed and the purified protein yield was high in comparison to the lower yield of the full-length NS3 protein.Furthermore,in enzyme kinetic studies,NS4A fused with NS3 protease proved to be functionally active compared to full-length NS3.So it was concluded that co-factor NS4A fusion is essential for the purification of functionally active protease.FRET assay was developed and validated by the half maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)values of commercially available inhibitors.Screening of citrus fruit extracts against the native purified fused NS4A-NS3 protease domain showed that the grapefruit mesocarp extract exhibits the highest percentage inhibition 91%of protease activity.Among the compounds identified by LCMS analysis,hesperidin showed strong binding affinity with the protease catalytic triad having S-score value of-10.98.CONCLUSION Fused NS4A-NS3 protease is functionally more active,which is effectively inhibited by hesperidin from the grapefruit mesocarp extract with an IC50 value of 23.32μmol/L.展开更多
Objective: To study protein-protein interaction between heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H(hn RNP H) and Dengue virus(DENV) proteins. Methods: DENV proteins were screened against the host hn RNP H protein, in o...Objective: To study protein-protein interaction between heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H(hn RNP H) and Dengue virus(DENV) proteins. Methods: DENV proteins were screened against the host hn RNP H protein, in order to identify the host-viral protein-protein interactions in DENV infected THP-1 cells by co-immunoprecipitation. The co-localization of the interacting proteins was further confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy. Results: The host protein hn RNP H was found to interact with DENV nonstructural 1 protein and help the virus to multiply in the cell. Conclusions: The non-structural 1 glycoprotein is a key modulator of host immune response and is also involved in viral replication. Therefore, disruption of this key interaction between hn RNP H and DENV nonstructural 1 could be an important therapeutic strategy for management of DENV infection.展开更多
The non-structural protein 1 is an important molecule of the viruses in flavivirus group including to Zika virus. Recently, the NS1 of Zika virus was discovered. There is still no complete information of the molecular...The non-structural protein 1 is an important molecule of the viruses in flavivirus group including to Zika virus. Recently, the NS1 of Zika virus was discovered. There is still no complete information of the molecular interaction of NS1 of Zika virus which can be the clue for explanation for its pathogenesis and further drug search. Here the authors report the cleft analysis of NS1 of Zika virus and the result can be useful for future development of good diagnostic tool and antiviral drug finding for management of Zika virus.展开更多
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and associated liver diseases are still challenging and represent a significant health care burden around the world. Although, the treatment strategies have been improved by the devel...Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and associated liver diseases are still challenging and represent a significant health care burden around the world. Although, the treatment strategies have been improved by the development of novel direct-acting antivirals, but such therapeutic options are still expensive and beyond the financial range of the most infected individuals in developing or even in resource replete countries. It demands an urgent need to search novel and improved alternate treatment strategies to treat the infection. The present study was aimed to develop an in vitro stable cell culture system, persistently expressing HCV genotype 1a non-structural genes and to characterize the inhibitory effects of synthetic siRNAs (short interference RNA) directed against the most conserved regions of nonstructural genes in an in vitro cell culture model. The continuous expression of nonstructural genes for more than 30 days post transfection was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis in stable human hepatoma cell line (Huh-7). The gene expression studies revealed significantly reduced gene expression of HCV nonstructural genes (i.e., NS2, NS4A and NS5A) both at mRNA and protein levels when treated against genome specific synthetic siRNAs in stable cell lines (51%, 47% and 54% respectively, p < 0.05). Similarly, a vivid decrease in HCV viral titer was exhibited by synthetic siRNAs in an in vitro viral replicate cell culture model (58%, 48% and 50%, respectively, p < 0.05) determined by quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR). Our data indicate that siRNA mediated gene silencing may be considered a promising alternate treatment strategy against HCV in combination with other effective therapeutic regimens in future.展开更多
The gene of the non-structure protein 2 （NS2） was cloned by PCR from the genome ofBombyx mori densovirus Zhenjiang strain （BmDNV-Z）, inserted into prokaryotic expression vector pET28a to construct recombinant plas...The gene of the non-structure protein 2 （NS2） was cloned by PCR from the genome ofBombyx mori densovirus Zhenjiang strain （BmDNV-Z）, inserted into prokaryotic expression vector pET28a to construct recombinant plasmid pET28a-NS2 and then expressed in bacteria Escherichia coli BL21 （DE3）. The expressed recombinant protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Then, the recombinant protein was purified by Ni-NTA column, renatured and tested for enzyme activities. The purified NS2 protein exhibited a helicase activity unwinding double-stranded DNA substrates into single-strand primers, and higher unwinding activity to polarity substrate. Similarly, the purified NS2 protein possessed an ATPase activity and its enzyme activity was 0.276 μmol gg^-1 h^-1 in this study. The results indicated that the non- structure protein which encoded by the gene of BmDNV-Z NS2 possesses the biological activities of helicase and ATPase, and the helicase prefers to polarity substrates. Based on these results, it is speculated that the gene of BmDNV-Z NS2 plays an important role in the viral DNA replication.展开更多
Retraction note:Khan M,Rauf W,Habib F,Rahman M,Iqbal M.Screening and identification of bioactive compounds from citrus against non-structural protein 3 protease of hepatitis C virus genotype 3a by fluorescence resonan...Retraction note:Khan M,Rauf W,Habib F,Rahman M,Iqbal M.Screening and identification of bioactive compounds from citrus against non-structural protein 3 protease of hepatitis C virus genotype 3a by fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay and mass spectrometry.World J Hepatol 2020;12(11):976-992 PMID:33312423 DOI:10.4254/wjh.v12.i11.976.The online version of the original article can be found at https://www.wjgnet.com/1948-5182/full/v12/i11/976.htm.展开更多
A pair of specific primers was designed from the 2C gene sequence of foot-and-mouth disease virus(FMDV)for amplification of a fragment including 174bp of the 5'-end and 279bp of the 3'-end of the2C gene,which ...A pair of specific primers was designed from the 2C gene sequence of foot-and-mouth disease virus(FMDV)for amplification of a fragment including 174bp of the 5'-end and 279bp of the 3'-end of the2C gene,which encoded an abundance of known B-cell epitopes of the protein.The amplified fragment was inserted into pET-30a plasmid(Novagen)via two unique endonuclease restriction sites,Nco I and Sal I.Sequencing confirmed that the open reading frame of interest was correctly inserted into the positive recombinant plasmid.The positive plasmid was transformed into the host bacteria BL21(DE3)pLys for protein expression.After induction by IPTG at 37℃for 5 hours,the expressed product was analyzed by SDSPAGE and Western blotting,confirming successful expression.The product is a 23kDa fusion protein and was shown to react with sera derived from FMDV-infected animals.This approach provides an useful antigen for establishing an enzyme-linked immunoelectro-transfer blot assay(EITB)diagnostic method,useful for differentiating FMDV-infected animals from those that been vaccinated.展开更多
Objective：To investigate the effect of hepatitis C virus non-structural protein 4B（HCV NS4B） on c-Myc, P53, ras gene expression＂ and apoptosis in hepatic cells and study the possible role that NS4B played in the c...Objective：To investigate the effect of hepatitis C virus non-structural protein 4B（HCV NS4B） on c-Myc, P53, ras gene expression＂ and apoptosis in hepatic cells and study the possible role that NS4B played in the carcinogenesis of heparoma. Methods： The recombinant plasmid（PCXN2-NS4B, PCXN2-P53） and the empty, vector were transfected or co-transfected into Chang liver cells with liposome. Screening was performed with G418. Plasmid mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The pro rein expressions of c-Myc and ras genes were analyzed by immunocytochemistry. The expressions of wild-type P53 （wtp53） gene were detected by in situ hybridization. TUNEL（flow cytometry） was used for assessing the rate of apoptosis. Results：No expression of c-Myc gene was found in PCXN2 group. The expression of c-Myc gene in NS4B group was 21.3% ＋ 1.2%. The ex pression of ras gene in PCXN2 group was lower than that in NS4B group. Compared with PCXN2 group, the expression of P53 mRNA was not promoted or inhibited in NS4B group. But the expression of P53 mRNA in NS4B-P53 group was lower than that in P53 group. In PCXN2, NS4B, P53 and NS4B-P53 group, the rates of apoptosis were 17.02% ± 1.24%, 11.94% ± 2.24%, 25.84% ± 3.49% and 18.34% ± 1.55% respectively. Conclusion ：HCV NS4B induces the expression of c-Myc and ras gene. HCV NS4B may play a role in the inhibition of cell death through P53-dependent manner. Results from this study suggested that HCV NS4B might contribute to the viral carcinogenesis.展开更多
基金This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31960306).
文摘To study non-structural carbohydrate character-istics and nutrient utilization strategies of Pinus yunnanen-sis under continuous drought conditions,2-year-old seed-lings were planted in pots with appropriate water,light and moderate and severe drought treatments[(80±5),(65±5),(50±5),and(35±5)%of field water-holding capacity].Non-structural carbohydrates,carbon(C),nitrogen(N),and phosphorus(P)concentrations were measured in each plant component.The results show that:(1)With increasing drought,non-structural carbohydrates gradually increased in leaves,stems,and coarse roots,while gradually decreased in fine roots;(2)C concentrations of all were relatively stable under different stress levels.Phosphorous utilization of each component increased under light and moderate drought conditions,while N and P utilization efficiency of each plant component decreased under severe drought.Growth was mainly restricted by N,first decreasing and then increasing with increased drought;(3)There was a correlation between the levels of non-structural carbohydrates and C,N,and P in each component.Changes in N concentration affected the interconversion between soluble sugar and starch,which play a regulatory role in the fluctuation of the concentration of non-structural carbohydrates;and,(4)Plasticity analysis showed that P.yunnanensis seedlings responded to drought mainly by altering starch concentration,the ratio of soluble sugar to starch in leaves and stems,and further by alter-ing N and P utilization efficiencies.Overall,these results suggest that the physiological activities of all organs of P.yunnanensis seedlings are restricted under drought and that trade-offs exist between different physiological indicators and organs.Our findings are helpful in understanding non-structural carbohydrate and nutrient adaptation mechanisms under drought in P.yunnanensis seedlings.
文摘Primary Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a spontaneously fatal disease characterized by an obstruction of the hepatic venous outflow tract due to thrombosis or a primary disease of the venous wall. The primary form of BCS is extremely rare. This is a disease mainly affecting young adults of both sexes. Clinical manifestations are variable;they can be asymptomatic, acute, or subacute but mostly chronic. Several causes have been identified, such as myeloproliferative syndrome, antiphospholipid syndrome, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, and inherited thrombotic disorders. Data on primary BCS in Sub-Saharan Africa is rare as most publications available are case reports. In these reports, the causes are unknown with poor prognosis in most cases often leading to patient death. We herein present a case report of a male patient diagnosed with a primary BCS at Yaoundé General Hospital (Cameroon) caused by a Protein C deficiency who presented with ascites decompensating liver cirrhosis. Treatment was based on anticoagulants, diuretics and laxatives administration. Two years after the diagnosis, the patient is alive with clinical and paraclinical improvement.
文摘Background: Preeclampsia is reported to complicate 2% - 8% of pregnancies globally and is an important cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The aetiology and pathogenesis are still poorly understood and substantial improvement has not been made in the prediction, prevention and treatment of the disease. Objective: To compare the frequency of activated protein C resistance (APC-R) in patients with pre-eclampsia to that of normotensive pregnant women and to determine the correlation between activated protein ratio (APC-ratio) and the severity of pre-eclampsia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 100 pre-eclamptic patients and 100 normotensive pregnant controls. The APC-ratio was determined using the modified activated partial thromboplastin time. Study participants with APC-ratio of less than 2.0 were defined as having APC-R. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Results: Mean APC-ratio was significantly lower in pre-eclamptics (2.89 ± 1.70) compared to normotensive pregnant women (3.57 ± 1.06) (p = 0.0008) and the levels were also higher in mild (2.95 ± 1.15) compared to severe pre-eclamptics (2.62 ± 1.14). The frequency of APC-R was 26% among women with pre-eclampsia compared to 4% among normotensive controls (p = 0.000). Among 100 pre-eclamptic women 7 (21.2%) out of 33 with mild pre–eclampsia had APC-R, while 19 (28.4%) out of 67 with severe pre-eclampsia had APC-R. APC-ratio had a significant negative correlation with mean arterial blood pressure (r = −0.324;p = 0.000) and proteinuria (r = −0.379;p = 0.000) among study participants. Conclusion: The frequency of activated protein c resistance is significantly higher in pre-eclamptics compared to normotensive pregnant women and this is more pronounced in those with severe pre-eclampsia compared with those with mild disease. APC-R may therefore be used as a marker of severity in the disease.
文摘Protein C(PC)is a key component of the vitamin K-dependent coagulation pathway.It exerts anticoagulant effects by inactivating factors V and VIII.Acquired or inherited PC deficiency results in a prothrombotic state,with presentations varying from asymptomatic to venous thromboembolism.However,there has been an increasing number of reports linking PC deficiency to arterial thromboembolic events,such as myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke.This editorial focuses on the association between PC deficiency and thromboembolism,which may provide some insights for treatment strategy and scientific research.
文摘Ultraviolet radiation by its wavelength is divided into: UVA, UVB and UVC. Only UVA and UVB manage to penetrate the ozone layer, but due to anthropological activities, all of them are capable of interacting with humans to a greater or lesser extent, and can generate adverse effects such as cellular stress when interacting with intra-and extracellular biomolecules. The skin is the first organ in contact with UV radiation, and the stress it generates can be analyzed by the expression of a bioindicator of cellular damage such as Hsp70. Therefore, the objective of the project was: to determine the effect of UVA, UVB and UVC radiation on HaCaT epithelial cells, by analyzing the expression of Hsp70. Materials and methods: HaCaT cells were cultured in vitro, which were irradiated with UVA, UVB and UVC light at different doses, to subsequently determine the degree of Hsp70 expression by Immunodetection by PAGE-SDS and Western Blot. Results: Basal expression of Hsp70 was observed in no irradiated HaCaT cells. When HaCaT cells were irradiated with UVA, UVB, UVC, an increase in this Hsp70 protein was observed. With UVA, a higher degree of expression was observed at a time of 30 minutes of irradiation. With UVB the highest expression shifted to a time of 20 minutes. With UVC, overexpression was observed after 10 minutes. Conclusion: UV radiation generates cellular stress on HaCaT cells, evaluated by the stress bioindicator Hsp70. According to the wavelength of UV radiation, those that have a shorter wavelength have a greater potential for cellular damage, such as UVC.
基金Supported by National 863 Project,No.102-07-02-079th Five-Year Sci-Tech Plan,No.96-906A-03-08
文摘AIM: To study the epitope distribution of hepatitis G virus (HGV) and to seek for the potential recombinant antigens for the development of HGV diagnostic reagents. METHODS: Fourteen clones encompassing HGV gene fragments from core to NS3 and NS5 were constructed using prokaryotic expression vector pRSET and (or) pGEX, and expressed in E.coli. Western blotting and ELISA were used to detect the immunoreactivity of these recombinant proteins. RESULTS: One clone with HGV fragment from core to E1 (G1), one from E2 (G31), three from NS3 (G6, G61, G7), one from NS5B (G821) and one chimeric fragment from NS3 and NS5B (G61-821) could be expressed well and showed obvious immunoreactivity by Western blotting. One clone with HGV framment from NS5B (G82) was also well expressed, but could not show immunoreactivity by Western blotting. No obvious expression was found in the other six clones. All the expressed recombinant proteins were in inclusion body form, except the protein G61 which could be expressed in soluble form. Further purified recombinant proteins G1, G31, G61, G821 and G61-821 were detected in indirected ELISA as coating antigen respectively. Only recombinant G1 could still show immunoreactivity, and the other four recombinant proteins failed to react to the HGV antibody positive sera. Western blotting results indicated that the immunoactivity of these four recombinant proteins were lost during purification. CONCLUSION: Core to E1, E2, NS3 and NS5 fragment of HGV contain antigenic epitopes, which could be produced in prokaryotically expressed recombinant proteins. A high-yield recombinant protein (G1) located in HGV core to E1 could remain its epitope after purification, which showed the potential that G1 could be used as a coating antigen to develop an ELISA kit for HGV specific antibody diagnosis.
文摘BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus genotype 3a(HCV G3a)is highly prevalent in Pakistan.Due to the elevated cost of available Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs against HCV,medicinal natural products of potent antiviral activity should be screened for the cost-effective treatment of the disease.Furthermore,from natural products,active compounds against vital HCV proteins like non-structural protein 3(NS3)protease could be identified to prevent viral proliferation in the host.AIM To develop cost-effective HCV genotype 3a NS3 protease inhibitors from citrus fruit extracts.METHODS Full-length NS3 without co-factor non-structural protein 4A(NS4A)and codon optimized NS3 protease in fusion with NS4A were expressed in Escherichia coli.The expressed protein was purified by metal ion affinity chromatography and gel filtration.Citrus fruit extracts were screened using fluorescence resonance energy transfer(FRET)assay against the protease and polyphenols were identified as potential inhibitors using electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry(MS)/MS technique.Among different polyphenols,highly potent compounds were screened using molecular modeling approaches and consequently the most active compound was further evaluated against HCV NS4A-NS3 protease domain using FRET assay.RESULTS NS4A fused with NS3 protease domain gene was overexpressed and the purified protein yield was high in comparison to the lower yield of the full-length NS3 protein.Furthermore,in enzyme kinetic studies,NS4A fused with NS3 protease proved to be functionally active compared to full-length NS3.So it was concluded that co-factor NS4A fusion is essential for the purification of functionally active protease.FRET assay was developed and validated by the half maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)values of commercially available inhibitors.Screening of citrus fruit extracts against the native purified fused NS4A-NS3 protease domain showed that the grapefruit mesocarp extract exhibits the highest percentage inhibition 91%of protease activity.Among the compounds identified by LCMS analysis,hesperidin showed strong binding affinity with the protease catalytic triad having S-score value of-10.98.CONCLUSION Fused NS4A-NS3 protease is functionally more active,which is effectively inhibited by hesperidin from the grapefruit mesocarp extract with an IC50 value of 23.32μmol/L.
基金supported by the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied SciencesDefence Research and Development Organization+1 种基金Ministry of DefenceIndia in the form of TASK-177
文摘Objective: To study protein-protein interaction between heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H(hn RNP H) and Dengue virus(DENV) proteins. Methods: DENV proteins were screened against the host hn RNP H protein, in order to identify the host-viral protein-protein interactions in DENV infected THP-1 cells by co-immunoprecipitation. The co-localization of the interacting proteins was further confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy. Results: The host protein hn RNP H was found to interact with DENV nonstructural 1 protein and help the virus to multiply in the cell. Conclusions: The non-structural 1 glycoprotein is a key modulator of host immune response and is also involved in viral replication. Therefore, disruption of this key interaction between hn RNP H and DENV nonstructural 1 could be an important therapeutic strategy for management of DENV infection.
文摘The non-structural protein 1 is an important molecule of the viruses in flavivirus group including to Zika virus. Recently, the NS1 of Zika virus was discovered. There is still no complete information of the molecular interaction of NS1 of Zika virus which can be the clue for explanation for its pathogenesis and further drug search. Here the authors report the cleft analysis of NS1 of Zika virus and the result can be useful for future development of good diagnostic tool and antiviral drug finding for management of Zika virus.
文摘Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and associated liver diseases are still challenging and represent a significant health care burden around the world. Although, the treatment strategies have been improved by the development of novel direct-acting antivirals, but such therapeutic options are still expensive and beyond the financial range of the most infected individuals in developing or even in resource replete countries. It demands an urgent need to search novel and improved alternate treatment strategies to treat the infection. The present study was aimed to develop an in vitro stable cell culture system, persistently expressing HCV genotype 1a non-structural genes and to characterize the inhibitory effects of synthetic siRNAs (short interference RNA) directed against the most conserved regions of nonstructural genes in an in vitro cell culture model. The continuous expression of nonstructural genes for more than 30 days post transfection was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis in stable human hepatoma cell line (Huh-7). The gene expression studies revealed significantly reduced gene expression of HCV nonstructural genes (i.e., NS2, NS4A and NS5A) both at mRNA and protein levels when treated against genome specific synthetic siRNAs in stable cell lines (51%, 47% and 54% respectively, p < 0.05). Similarly, a vivid decrease in HCV viral titer was exhibited by synthetic siRNAs in an in vitro viral replicate cell culture model (58%, 48% and 50%, respectively, p < 0.05) determined by quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR). Our data indicate that siRNA mediated gene silencing may be considered a promising alternate treatment strategy against HCV in combination with other effective therapeutic regimens in future.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2005CB121004)
文摘The gene of the non-structure protein 2 （NS2） was cloned by PCR from the genome ofBombyx mori densovirus Zhenjiang strain （BmDNV-Z）, inserted into prokaryotic expression vector pET28a to construct recombinant plasmid pET28a-NS2 and then expressed in bacteria Escherichia coli BL21 （DE3）. The expressed recombinant protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Then, the recombinant protein was purified by Ni-NTA column, renatured and tested for enzyme activities. The purified NS2 protein exhibited a helicase activity unwinding double-stranded DNA substrates into single-strand primers, and higher unwinding activity to polarity substrate. Similarly, the purified NS2 protein possessed an ATPase activity and its enzyme activity was 0.276 μmol gg^-1 h^-1 in this study. The results indicated that the non- structure protein which encoded by the gene of BmDNV-Z NS2 possesses the biological activities of helicase and ATPase, and the helicase prefers to polarity substrates. Based on these results, it is speculated that the gene of BmDNV-Z NS2 plays an important role in the viral DNA replication.
文摘Retraction note:Khan M,Rauf W,Habib F,Rahman M,Iqbal M.Screening and identification of bioactive compounds from citrus against non-structural protein 3 protease of hepatitis C virus genotype 3a by fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay and mass spectrometry.World J Hepatol 2020;12(11):976-992 PMID:33312423 DOI:10.4254/wjh.v12.i11.976.The online version of the original article can be found at https://www.wjgnet.com/1948-5182/full/v12/i11/976.htm.
基金supported by the National Key Technolo-gies R&D Program(2006BAD06A12)the Key Project of Chinese National Programs for Fundamental Research and Development(2005CB523201)
文摘A pair of specific primers was designed from the 2C gene sequence of foot-and-mouth disease virus(FMDV)for amplification of a fragment including 174bp of the 5'-end and 279bp of the 3'-end of the2C gene,which encoded an abundance of known B-cell epitopes of the protein.The amplified fragment was inserted into pET-30a plasmid(Novagen)via two unique endonuclease restriction sites,Nco I and Sal I.Sequencing confirmed that the open reading frame of interest was correctly inserted into the positive recombinant plasmid.The positive plasmid was transformed into the host bacteria BL21(DE3)pLys for protein expression.After induction by IPTG at 37℃for 5 hours,the expressed product was analyzed by SDSPAGE and Western blotting,confirming successful expression.The product is a 23kDa fusion protein and was shown to react with sera derived from FMDV-infected animals.This approach provides an useful antigen for establishing an enzyme-linked immunoelectro-transfer blot assay(EITB)diagnostic method,useful for differentiating FMDV-infected animals from those that been vaccinated.
基金Scientific Research Fund of Sichuan Provincial Education Department(20003531)
文摘Objective：To investigate the effect of hepatitis C virus non-structural protein 4B（HCV NS4B） on c-Myc, P53, ras gene expression＂ and apoptosis in hepatic cells and study the possible role that NS4B played in the carcinogenesis of heparoma. Methods： The recombinant plasmid（PCXN2-NS4B, PCXN2-P53） and the empty, vector were transfected or co-transfected into Chang liver cells with liposome. Screening was performed with G418. Plasmid mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The pro rein expressions of c-Myc and ras genes were analyzed by immunocytochemistry. The expressions of wild-type P53 （wtp53） gene were detected by in situ hybridization. TUNEL（flow cytometry） was used for assessing the rate of apoptosis. Results：No expression of c-Myc gene was found in PCXN2 group. The expression of c-Myc gene in NS4B group was 21.3% ＋ 1.2%. The ex pression of ras gene in PCXN2 group was lower than that in NS4B group. Compared with PCXN2 group, the expression of P53 mRNA was not promoted or inhibited in NS4B group. But the expression of P53 mRNA in NS4B-P53 group was lower than that in P53 group. In PCXN2, NS4B, P53 and NS4B-P53 group, the rates of apoptosis were 17.02% ± 1.24%, 11.94% ± 2.24%, 25.84% ± 3.49% and 18.34% ± 1.55% respectively. Conclusion ：HCV NS4B induces the expression of c-Myc and ras gene. HCV NS4B may play a role in the inhibition of cell death through P53-dependent manner. Results from this study suggested that HCV NS4B might contribute to the viral carcinogenesis.
