The expression and meaning of Hippo signaling pathway in carotid artery ligation induced arterial remodeling model of rats / 中国应用生理学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To establish an arterial remodeling model of rats and to investigate the expression and role of Hippo signaling pathway in this model.@*METHODS@#In the model group (n=40), the left common carotid artery was removed through the median incision of the neck. The 6-0 non-absorbable line was used to ligate the carotid artery near the proximal end as far as possible, completely blocking the blood flow. The common carotid artery of rats in control group (n=20) was not ligated using the operative line. After 14 days, the animals were sacrificed and the common carotid arteries were separated through the original surgical pathway and the arteries from the ligature to the distal end were collected. Arterial morphology and fibrosis were observed by HE and MASSON staining. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expressions of anti-α smooth muscle actin (α-MSA) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the carotid artery. Western blot was used to detect the expressions of yes associated protein (YAP), transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ), TEAD1, Bcl-2-like protein 4 (Bax), and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2).@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control group, the HE staining showed that the vascular remodeling was obvious, the ratio of the neointima/middle membrane was increased significantly, and the MASSON staining indicated that the fibrosis was significantly increased in model group. The immunohistochemical staining suggested that the expressions of α-SMA and PCNA were increased significantly; Western blot suggested that the expressions of YAP, TAZ, TEAD1, and Bcl-2 were increased in carotid artery of the model group. While the expression of Bax and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 were decreased.@*CONCLUSION@#A rat model of arterial remodeling mediated by carotid artery ligation was established successfully in this study. Hippo signaling pathway was proved to be activated in the arterial remodeling model induced by carotid artery ligation in rats, and might regulate the change of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio related to proliferation and apoptosis, and subsequently involved in the proliferation of smooth muscle cells to promote vascular remodeling.

Eukaryotic expression of NS1 major antigen region of PPV and development of an indirect ELISA based on the expressed protein / 病毒学报

To construct secretory expression vector of PPV NS1 gene, the fragment of PPV NS1 gene coding for major antigen region of the NS1 protein was amplified by PCR and inserted into multiple clone site of eukaryotic expression vector pPICZalpha-A. The recombinant pPICZalpha-A-NS1 plasmid was transferred into P. pastoris strain GS115 mediated by electro transform. Recombinant P. pastoris strain GS115 was induced to express the fusion protein by methanol. The expressed and purified protein was analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western Blot. The recombinant protein was highly-expressed and showed a good immunoreactivity. The indirect ELISA method was developed for detecting antibodies against PPV by checkerboard titration assay. The result showed that the optimal concentration of coated antigen was 3.2 microg/mL and the best dilution of serum was 1 : 80. The positive cut-off value of the ELISA assay was OD450 > 0.4 and OD450 positive serum/OD450 negative serum > 2.0. Compared with HI and commercial ELISA kits, the assay revealed 94.2% and 92.1% agreement respectively. The assay demonstrates good specificity and sensitivity, and can be applied in the detection of porcine parvovirus.