Construction of a eukaryotic expression vector for pEGFP-FST and its biological activity in duck myoblasts

Background Follistatin (FST), a secreted glycoprotein, is intrinsically linked to muscle hypertrophy. To explore the function of duck FST in myoblast proliferation and differentiation, the pEGFP-FST eukaryotic expression vector was constructed and identified. The biological activities of this vector were analyzed by transfecting pEGFP-FST into cultured duck myoblasts using Lipofectamine™ 2000 and subsequently determining the mRNA expression profiles of FST and myostatin (MSTN). Results The duck pEGFP-FST vector was successfully constructed and was confirmed to have high liposome-mediated transfection efficiency in duck myoblasts. Additionally, myoblasts transfected with pEGFP-FST had a higher biological activity. Significantly, the overexpression of FST in these cells significantly inhibited the mRNA expression of MSTN (a target gene that is negatively regulated by FST). Conclusions The duck pEGFP-FST vector has been constructed successfully and exhibits biological activity by promoting myoblast proliferation and differentiation in vitro.

BC047440 antisense eukaryotic expression vectors inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation and suppressed xenograft tumorigenicity

The biological functions of the BC047440 gene highly expressed by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are unknown. The objective of this study was to reconstruct antisense eukaryotic expression vectors of the gene for inhibiting HepG2 cell proliferation and suppressing their xenograft tumorigenicity. The full-length BC047440 cDNA was cloned from human primary HCC by RT-PCR. BC047440 gene fragments were ligated with pMD18-T simple vectors and subsequent pcDNA3.1(+) plasmids to construct the recombinant antisense eukaryotic vector pcDNA3.1(+)BC047440AS. The endogenous BC047440 mRNA abundance in target gene-transfected, vector-transfected and naive HepG2 cells was semiquantitatively analyzed by RT-PCR and cell proliferation was measured by the MTT assay. Cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were profiled by flow cytometry. The in vivo xenograft experiment was performed on nude mice to examine the effects of antisense vector on tumorigenicity. BC047440 cDNA fragments were reversely inserted into pcDNA3.1(+) plasmids. The antisense vector significantly reduced the endogenous BC047440 mRNA abundance by 41 percent in HepG2 cells and inhibited their proliferation in vitro (P < 0.01). More cells were arrested by the antisense vector at the G1 phase in an apoptosis-independent manner (P = 0.014). Additionally, transfection with pcDNA3.1(+)BC047440AS significantly reduced the xenograft tumorigenicity in nude mice. As a novel cell cycle regulator associated with HCC, the BC047440 gene was involved in cell proliferation in vitro and xenograft tumorigenicity in vivo through apoptosis-independent mechanisms.

Basal transcription machinery: role in regulation of stress response in eukaryotes.

The holoenzyme of prokaryotic RNA polymerase consists of the core enzyme, made of two alpha, beta, beta' and omega subunits, which lacks promoter selectivity and a sigma (sigma) subunit which enables the core enzyme to initiate transcription in a promoter dependent fashion. A stress sigma factor sigma(s), in prokaryotes seems to regulate several stress response genes in conjunction with other stress specific regulators. Since the basic principles of transcription are conserved from simple bacteria to multicellular complex organisms, an obvious question is: what is the identity of a counterpart of sigma(s), that is closest to the core polymerase and that dictates transcription of stress regulated genes in general? In this review, we discuss the logic behind the suggestion that like in prokaryotes,eukaryotes also have a common functional unit in the transcription machinery through which the stress specific transcription factors regulate rapid and highly controlled induction of gene expression associated with generalized stress response and point to some candidates that would fit the bill of the eukaryotic sigma(s).

Effect of antisense MBD1 gene eukaryotic expression plasmid on expression of MBD1 gene in human biliary tract carcinoma cells / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Hypermethylation of the promoter region is one of the major mechanism of tumor suppressor gene inactivation. In order to provide a research tool for the study on the function of MBD1 gene in DNA methylation and tumorigenesis, antisense MBD1 gene eukaryotic expression plasmid was constructed and transfected into human biliary tract carcinoma cell line QBC-939 to observe its effect on the expression of MBD1 mRNA and protein by using RT-PCR and FCM respectively. Following the transfection, the mRNA level of MBD1 gene decreased from 0. 912 +/- 0.022 to 0.215 +/- 0. 017, and the protein level of MBD1 gene also decreased from (80.19 +/- 5.05) % to (35.11 +/- 4.05) %. There were very significant differences in the expression both at the transcription and post-transcription levels of MBD1 gene between non-tranfection group and the antisense MBD1 gene eukaryotic expression plasmid transfection group (P < 0.01). It was suggested that transfection with the antisense MBD1 gene eukaryotic expression plasmid can significantly reduce the expression level of MBD1 gene in QBC-939, and this study may provide a valid tool for the investigation of the function of MBD1 gene and its role in biliary tract carcinoma.

Construction of eukaryotic expression plasmid of human PRX3 and its expression in HEK-293FT cells / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

To construct the eukaryotic expression plasmid of human PRX3 and measure its expression in the HEK-293FT cells, the full-length coding region of human PRX3 was cloned by PCR and inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA4-Xpress (A). HEK-293FT cells were transiently transfected with the recombinant plasmid. Western blot and immuofluorescence were used to detect the expression of the fusion protein. In the experiment, restriction analysis identified the construction of the recombinant plasmid and the inserted sequence was identical with that published on GenBank. Western blot and immunofluorescence confirmed the expression of the recombinant protein in transfected HEK-293FT cells. It was concluded that the eukaryotic expression plasmid of human PRX3 was constructed successfully and the recombinant could be expressed efficiently in HEK-293FT cells, which provides a sound basis for the further study on human PRX3.

Gene cloning of murine alpha-fetoprotein gene and construction of its eukaryotic expression vector and expression in CHO cells / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

To clone the murine alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene, construct the eukaryotic expression vector of AFP and express in CHO cells, total RNA were extracted from Hepa 1-6 cells, and then the murine alpha-fetoprotein gene was amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1. The recombinant of vector was identified by restriction enzyme analysis and sequencing. After transient transfection of CHO cells with the vector, Western blotting was used to detect the expression of AFP. It is concluded that the 1.8 kb murine alpha-fetoprotein gene was successfully cloned and its eukaryotic expression vector was successfully constructed.

Construction and expression of recombinant plasmid pCD-rbFGF in osteoblasts / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

To construct basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) eukaryotic expression vector and to evaluate the possibility of bFGF gene therapy in orthopedic disease, the pCD-rbFGF recombinant plasmid was constructed by cloning rat basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) cDNA into an eukaryotic expression vector, pcDNA3. Rat osteoblasts were transfected with pCD-rbFGF plasmid by lopofectin mediated gene transfer, the transient expression was detected by streptavidin-biotin-enzyme complex (SABC) method. It was observed that the expression of rat bFGF gene was detected 72 h after transfected distinctly. Basic fibroblast growth factor gene therapy is a method of potential for a wide array of orthopedic diseases.

Redox signaling: hydrogen peroxide as intracellular messenger

Although superoxide anions (O2.-) and H2O2 are generally considered to be toxic by-products of respiration, recent evidence suggests that the production of these reactive oxygen species (ROS) might be an integral component of membrane receptor signaling. In mammalian cells, a variety of extracellular stimuli have recently been shown to induce a transient increase in the intracellular concentration of ROS, and specific inhibition of the ROS generation resulted in a complete blockage of stimulant-dependent signaling. In the next few years, therefore, a flurry of research activity is expected in relation to the elucidation of ROS production in response to receptor stimulation, identification of ROS target molecules, and investigation of ROS elimination. The goal of this report is to review our current knowledge of ROS-regulated signal transduction and propose future directions.

Regulation of different proteolytic pathways in skeletal muscle in fasting and diabetes mellitus

1. Proteins in eukaryotic cells are continually degraded and replaced under precise control mechanisms. Although this continual proteolysis may seem wasteful, it serves several important functions: cells selectively degrade proteins with abnormal sequences or conformations, the accumulation of which could be harmful; the rapid degradation of regulatory peptides and enzymes is essential for the control of metabolic pathways and the cell cycle; and the breakdown of proteins in starvation provides amino acids for gluconeogenesis and energy metabolism. 2. Protein breakdown in eukaryotic cells occurs through distinct pathways: A) lysosomal (involves cathepsins B, H, L, etc.); B) Ca(2+)-dependent (involves Ca(2+)-dependent proteases calpains I and II); C) ATP-dependent, that require or not ubiquitin (comprises at least two large cytosolic proteases, UCDEN and proteasome), and D) ATP-independent (it is not known which proteases are involved in this degradative system). Despite recent dramatic progress, the relative contributions of these pathways to the accelerated proteolysis occurring in normal and pathological states is still largely unknown. 3. In order to identify the cellular mechanisms of skeletal muscle atrophy during fasting and diabetes mellitus, we have studied protein turnover in soleus and EDL muscles from control and fasted (for 24 h) or diabetic rats (1, 3, 5 and 10 days after streptozotocin injection). 4. The increase in muscle proteolysis during fasting seems to be attributable to an enhancement of the energy-requiring process. An increase in the ATP-dependent proteolytic pathway was evident 1 day after food restriction and probably accounted for all of the increased proteolysis demonstrated in the EDL muscles. In parallel with the alterations in the ATP-dependent process, an increase in the ubiquitin-mRNA and proteasome subunit-mRNA was detected. 5. In the acute phase of diabetes (1-3 days) there was an activation of Ca(2+)-dependent (soleus and EDL) and ATP-dependent (EDL) pathways. However, after 5 and 10 days of diabetes the activity of these two pathways fell to values even below control ones. No changes in the lysosomal proteolytic system were observed during diabetes. 6. Although appreciable progress has been made in this research, a large number of important questions remain to be answered, and some of them are discussed in the present paper.

Regulation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase during growth and differentiation of lower eukaryotes

cAMP-dependent protein kinases (PKA) are the primary mediators of cAMP action, binding of cAMP leading to the dissociation of an inactive tetrameric enzyme into a dimer of regulatory (R) subunits and two active catalytic (C) subunit monomers. The catalytic subunits then phosphorylate specific protein substrates, on serine and threonine residues, thereby altering the biochemical properties of these proteins. Changes in cAMP-dependent protein kinase levels have been reported in mammalian cells during differentiation and development, during progression through the cell cycle, and in transformed cells, suggesting a role for PKA in these processes. In lower eukaryotes similar results have been reported. The veast S. cerevisiae for instance, requires correct regulation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity for normal progression through the cell cycle, sporulation and starvation-induced growth arrest. Furrthermore, regulatory subunit levels increase 8-fold in stationary-phase yeast cells. In the slime mould D. Discoideum and the aquatic fungus B. Emersonii, nutrient starvation induces cell differentiation and development, and a drastic increase in cAMP-dependent protein kinase subunit levels is observed during these processes.