Cdc37 Expression in Multiple Myeloma and Its Role in Cell Proliferation / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the expression of cell division cycle protein 37 (Cdc37) in multiple myeloma (MM) and its effect on MM cell proliferation.@*METHODS@#The expression of Cdc37 mRNA in CD138@*RESULTS@#Cdc37 was highly expressed in newly diagnosed CD138@*CONCLUSION@#Cdc37 is highly expressed in newly diagnosed MM patients. Inhibition of Cdc37 results in decreased proliferation activity and G

Variante patogénica homocigótica del gen BBS10 en un paciente con síndrome de Bardet-Biedl / A pathogenic homozygous variant of the BBS10 gene in a patient with Bardet Biedl syndrome

Resumen El síndrome de Bardet-Biedl es una enfermedad hereditaria, autosómica recesiva, con gran heterogeneidad de locus, que pertenece a las denominadas ciliopatías, denominadas así por la deficiencia funcional presente y porque las proteínas afectadas se localizan en el cilio primario. El síndrome afecta múltiples sistemas, con compromiso visual, renal, cognitivo, esquelético y gonadal, y obesidad. Este síndrome presenta una gran variabilidad intrafamiliar e interfamiliar. Se presenta el caso clínico de un paciente adolescente con diagnóstico de síndrome de Bardet-Biedl, así como su manejo, los resultados de la secuenciación de 22 genes y el análisis actualizado de la literatura médica. Se recopiló la información clínica y, previo consentimiento informado, se hizo la prueba de panel de secuenciación multigénica de los genes implicados. El paciente es hijo de la unión de personas consanguíneas. Fue el primer afectado en la familia y presentaba polidactilia posaxial, obesidad, micropene, retinitis pigmentaria y dificultades de aprendizaje. En el panel multigénico, se identificó la variante patogénica homocigótica c.39_46del en el gen BBS10 y otras variantes de genes BBS asociadas con la obesidad. Dado que el síndrome de Bardet-Biedl es una enfermedad huérfana rara, interpretar el pleiotropismo y la heterogeneidad de locus y de alelos, constituye un reto. La confirmación molecular permite el manejo adecuado de los pacientes, así como el seguimiento y el asesoramiento genético apropiados.

Abstract The Bardet-Biedl syndrome is an autosomal recessive hereditary disorder with vast locus heterogeneity that belongs to the so-called ciliopathies, whose proteins are localized in the primary cilia and present functional deficiency. The multisystemic features of the disease include ocular, renal, cognitive, skeletal, as well as gonadal involvement and obesity, among others, with high inter- and intrafamilial variability. We describe the clinical case of an adolescent male patient with Bardet-Biedl syndrome, including the approach, the results from a 22-gene sequencing panel, and the analysis of updated scientific literature. We collected the clinical data of the patient and, after obtaining the informed consent, we conducted a multigenic sequencing panel oriented to known implicated genes. The patient was born to consanguineous parents and was the first affected member of the family. He presented with postaxial polydactyly, obesity, micropenis, retinitis pigmentosa, and learning disability. The multigenic panel allowed the identification of the homozygous pathogenic variant c.39_46del in the BBS10 gene and in other BBS genes variants associated with obesity. As the Bardet-Biedl syndrome is a rare disease, it is challenging to interpret its pleiotropism and gene/allelic heterogeneity. Its confirmation by molecular tests allows an adequate approach, follow-up, and genetic counseling of the patient and the family.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis epitope-specific interferon-g production in healthy Brazilians reactive and non-reactive to tuberculin skin test

The interferon (IFN)-γ response to peptides can be a useful diagnostic marker of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) latent infection. We identified promiscuous and potentially protective CD4+ T-cell epitopes from the most conserved regions of MTB antigenic proteins by scanning the MTB antigenic proteins GroEL2, phosphate-binding protein 1 precursor and 19 kDa antigen with the TEPITOPE algorithm. Seven peptide sequences predicted to bind to multiple human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR molecules were synthesised and tested with IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 16 Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST)-positive and 16 TST-negative healthy donors. Eighty-eight percent of TST-positive donors responded to at least one of the peptides, compared to 25% of TST-negative donors. Each individual peptide induced IFN-γ production by PBMCs from at least 31% of the TST-positive donors. The magnitude of the response against all peptides was 182 ± 230 x 106 IFN-γ spot forming cells (SFC) among TST-positive donors and 36 ± 62 x 106 SFC among TST-negative donors (p = 0.007). The response to GroEL2 (463-477) was only observed in the TST-positive group. This combination of novel MTB CD4 T-cell epitopes should be tested in a larger cohort of individuals with latent tuberculosis (TB) to evaluate its potential to diagnose latent TB and it may be included in ELISPOT-based IFN-γ assays to identify individuals with this condition.

Hepatitis B virus replication and viral gene expressions do not affect CDC37 level in hepatocytes in vitro / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the influence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and expressions of different viral genes on CDC37 level in hepatocytes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We amplified and cloned 6 HBV genes (P, preS1, preS2, S, C and X) into pCMV expression vectors, which were transfected in Huh7 and HepG2 hepatoma cell lines, and CDC37 expression level in the cells was detected using Western blotting. Wealso cloned the promoter sequence of CDC37 into pGL3 vector, and co-transfected pGL3 with pCMV recombinant plasmids into Huh7 and HepG2 cells and the fluorescent signals were detected. To study the influence of HBV replication on CDC37 expression, we constructed 1.28-copy overlength genomes of HBV genotypes B, C, D and CD recombinant. The overlength HBV genomes were transformed into Adeasier-1 cells for recombination and into 293 cells for packaging. Huh7 and HepG2 cell lines infected with the packaged HBV recombinant adenoviruses were examined for CDC37 expression with Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Western blotting showed that the expression of different HBV genes did not obviously affect the protein level of CDC37 in the hepatocytes. The protein expression of HBV genes had no effect on the activity of CDC37 promoter. Huh7 and HepG2 cells infected with 1.28-copy HBV replicon showed no significant changes in the expression level of CDC37.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>HBV replication and its gene expression have no effect on the level of CDC37 in hepatocytes in vitro.</p>

Autorreatividade humoral a peptídeos da miosina cardíaca e proteína de choque térmico 60: estudo sequencial em pacientes transplantados cardíacos e indivíduos sadios / HUMORAL AUTOREACTIVITY TO PEPTIDES FROM CARDIAC MYOSIN AND HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN 60: SEQUENTIAL STUDY IN HEART TRANSPLANTED PATIENTS AND HEALTHY SUBJECTS

A resposta imune dirigida a autoantígenos pode contribuir para a patogênese das doenças autoimunes. Porém, também é discutido o papel imunorregulador da autoimunidade em processos inflamatórios e na rejeição do aloenxerto. Nós pesquisamos os autoanticorpos IgG e IgM reativos a peptídeos da miosina cardíaca (MC) e da proteína de choque térmico 60 (Hsp60) no soro de indivíduos sadios (IS, n=30; 3 momentos com intervalos de 6 meses) e indivíduos transplantados cardíacos (Tx, n=65, > 2 amostras/indivíduo, de diferentes períodos Tx: pré-Tx, T1: 5 anos), por ensaio imunoenzimático (ELISA). Todos os sujeitos do estudo tiveram anticorpos IgG ou IgM que reconheceram pelo menos um dos peptídeos avaliados. Os anticorpos IgG de indivíduos Tx reconheceram mais peptídeos do que dos IS, para a MC (12,2 ± 8,5, intervalo: 1–32 peptídeos versus 5,2 ± 3,0, intervalo: 0-14; p<0,0001), e para a Hsp60 (6,0 ± 4,4, intervalo: 0-18 versus 3,9 ± 3,0, intervalo: 0-12; p=0,0208). A frequência de indivíduos positivos para os anticorpos IgG foi maior no grupo Tx do que nos sadio (p<0,05), com reatividade para a maioria dos peptídeos da MC e da Hsp60. Em contraste, a frequência de indivíduos positivos para os anticorpos IgM foi maior no grupo de IS do que no Tx (p<0,05), principalmente para a reatividade dirigida aos peptídeos da MC...

Influência do biofármaco DNA-hsp65 na lesão pulmonar induzida por bleomicina / Influence of a DNA-hsp65 vaccine on bleomycin-induced lung injury

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a influência do biofármaco DNA-hsp65 em um modelo de distúrbio fibrosante pulmonar experimental. MÉTODOS: Foram estudados 120 camundongos machos C57BL/6, divididos em quatro grupos: grupo SS, animais tratados com salina (placebo) e injetados com salina intratraqueal (IT); grupo SB, tratados com salina (placebo) e injetados com bleomicina IT; grupo PB, tratados com plasmídeo, sem gene bacteriano, e injetados com bleomicina IT; e grupo BB, tratados com DNA-hsp65 e injetados com bleomicina IT. A bleomicina foi injetada 15 dias após a última imunização, e os animais sacrificados seis semanas após o uso da droga IT. O pulmão esquerdo retirado foi utilizado para análise morfológica, e o pulmão direito para dosagens de hidroxiprolina. RESULTADOS: A proporção de camundongos que apresentaram morte não-programada depois de 48 h da injeção IT foi maior no grupo SB em comparação ao grupo SS (57,7% vs. 11,1%). A área percentual média de interstício septal foi maior nos grupos SB e PB (53,1 ± 8,6% e 53,6 ± 9,3%, respectivamente) em comparação aos grupos SS e BB (32,9 ± 2,7% e 34,3 ± 6,1%, respectivamente). Os grupos SB, PB e BB mostraram aumentos nos valores médios da área de interstício septal corada por picrosirius em comparação ao grupo SS (SS: 2,0 ± 1,4%; SB: 8,2 ± 4,9%; PB: 7,2 ± 4,2%; e BB:6,6±4,1%).O conteúdo pulmonar de hidroxiprolina no grupo SS foi inferior ao dos demais grupos (SS: 104,9 ± 20,9 pg/pulmão; SB: 160,4 ±47,8 pg/pulmão; PB:170,0 ± 72,0 pg/pulmão; e BB: 162,5 ± 39,7 pg/pulmão). CONCLUSÕES: A imunização com o biofármaco DNA-hsp65 interferiu na deposição de matriz não-colágena em um modelo de lesão pulmonar induzida por bleomicina.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of immunization with a DNA-hsp65 vaccine in an experimental model of pulmonary fibrosis. METHODS: A total of 120 male C57BL/6 mice were distributed into four groups: SS, injected with saline (placebo) and then receiving intratracheal (IT) instillation of saline; SB, injected with saline (placebo) and then receiving IT instillation of bleomycin; PB, treated with plasmid only, without bacterial genome, and then receiving IT instillation of bleomycin; and BB, treated with the vaccine and then receiving IT instillation of bleomycin. Bleomycin was instilled 15 days after the last immunization, and the animals were killed six weeks thereafter. The left and right lungs were removed, the former for morphological analysis and the latter for hydroxyproline measurements. RESULTS: The proportion of deaths within the first 48 h after the IT instillation (deaths attributed to the surgical procedure) was higher in the SB group than in the SS group (57.7% vs. 11.1%). The mean area of pulmonary interstitial septa was greater in the SB and PB groups (53.1 ± 8.6% and 53.6±9.3%, respectively) than in the SS and BB groups (32.9 ± 2.7% and 34.3 ± 6.1%, respectively). The mean area of interstitial septa stained by picrosirius was greater in the SB, PB and BB groups than in the SS group (8.2 ± 4.9%, 7.2 ± 4.2% and 6.6 ± 4.1%, respectively, vs. 2.0±1.4%). The total hydroxyproline content in the lung was significantly lower in the SS group (104.9 ± 20.9 pg/lung) than in the other groups (SB: 160.4 ± 47.8 pg/lung; PB: 170.0 ± 72.0 pg/lung; and BB: 162.5 ± 39.7 pg/lung). CONCLUSIONS: Immunization with the DNA-hsp65 vaccine reduced the deposition of noncollagen matrix in a model of bleomycin-induced lung lesion.

Improved efficacy of P277 fused to heat shock protein 65 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis against diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice / 生物工程学报

To improve the efficacy of peptide P277 in preventing autoimmune diabetes, heat shock protein 65 kD (HSP65) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis var. bovis was fused with linear polypeptide epitope of P277 and expressed as soluble protein in Escherichia coli. The fusion protein HSP65-P277 was purified by anion exchange column chromatography and then used to immunize prediabetic NOD mice with three ip inoculations in absence of adjuvants. Serum samples from the immunized mice were collected monthly and the concentration of blood glucose was measured. The study showed that administration of HSP65-P277 to NOD mice could prevent the development of diabetes more efficiently than the peptide P277 itself or HSP65. Fused to heat shock protein 65 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis could improve the efficacy of diabetes prevention of P277 in nonobese diabetic mice. The results suggest the fusion protein of HSP65-P277 would be useful for treating insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Th1 polarized response induced by intramuscular DNA-HSP65 immunization is preserved in experimental atherosclerosis

We previously reported that a DNA vaccine constructed with the heat shock protein (HSP65) gene from Mycobacterium leprae (DNA-HSP65) was protective and also therapeutic in experimental tuberculosis. By the intramuscular route, this vaccine elicited a predominant Th1 response that was consistent with its protective efficacy against tuberculosis. It has been suggested that the immune response to Hsp60/65 may be the link between exposure to microorganisms and increased cardiovascular risk. Additionally, the high cholesterol levels found in atherosclerosis could modulate host immunity. In this context, we evaluated if an atherogenic diet could modulate the immune response induced by the DNA-HSP65 vaccine. C57BL/6 mice (4-6 animals per group) were initially submitted to a protocol of atherosclerosis induction and then immunized by the intramuscular or intradermal route with 4 doses of 100 mug DNA-HSP65. On day 150 (15 days after the last immunization), the animals were sacrificed and antibodies and cytokines were determined. Vaccination by the intramuscular route induced high levels of anti-Hsp65 IgG2a antibodies, but not anti-Hsp65 IgG1 antibodies and a significant production of IL-6, IFN-g and IL-10, but not IL-5, indicating a Th1 profile. Immunization by the intradermal route triggered a mixed pattern (Th1/Th2) characterized by synthesis of anti-Hsp65 IgG2a and IgG1 antibodies and production of high levels of IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-g. These results indicate that experimentally induced atherosclerosis did not affect the ability of DNA-HSP65 to induce a predominant Th1 response that is potentially protective against tuberculosis.

Usefulness of Multiplex Real-Time PCR and Melting Curve Analysis in Identification of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria / 대한진단검사의학회지

BACKGROUND: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) should be correctly identified to the species level, because of different treatment plans among NTM species. This study was performed to assess the usefulness of real-time PCR and melting curve analysis in the identification of NTM. METHODS: One hundred fifty-two clinical NTM isolates were identified to the species level by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PRA). Those strains were then identified by multiplex real-time PCR and melting curve analysis on the 16S rRNA gene and hsp65 gene. RESULTS: In the 16S rRNA gene fragment analysis, M. abscessus-M. chelonae group showed melting point at temperatures above 65 degrees C and M. avium complex (MAC; M. avium and M. intracelluare) below 48 degrees C, which differentiated M. abscessus-M. chelonae group and MAC from other NTM. In the hsp65 gene fragment analysis, M. abscessus-M. chelonae group was clearly divided into M. abscessus type I, M. abscessus type II, and M. chelonae according to the melting points at 61.25 degrees C, 66.06 degrees C, and 57.58 degrees C, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: With the multiplex real-time PCR and melting curve analysis of 16S rRNA and hsp65 genes, M. abscessus and M. chelonae were readily identified and MAC were differentiated from other NTM. Especially, M. abscessus and M. chelonae, which were not differentiated from each other with the 16S rRNA gene fragment analysis, were identified with hsp65 gene fragment analysis.

Characterization of mycobacteria isolated from bovines by PRA-targetting hsp 65 gene region.

Bovine tuberculosis caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis is a major infectious disease of animals and has zoonotic importance for humans. Even though the incidence is believed to be very low in India, human tuberculosis caused by M. bovis has been increasingly recognized in many other countries of the world. As differentiation of mycobacterial species take long time, a method for the rapid identification of mycobacteria isolated from bovine samples to the species level was used, which is based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the gene encoding for the 65-kD protein followed by restriction analysis. The method involves restriction enzyme analysis of PCR products obtained with primers common to all mycobacteria and generate M. tuberculosis complex specific pattern. PRA was performed on 33 bovine isolates of which 90.9% (30/33) isolates were identified clearly as M. tuberculosis complex, M. fortuitum, M. phlei and M. smegmatis using restriction enzyme Hae III.

Detection of Mycobacterium avium & M. tuberculosis from human sputum cultures by PCR-RFLP analysis of hsp65 gene & pncA PCR.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Identification of mycobacteria by conventional methods is slow, labour intensive and may at times fail to produce precise results. Molecular techniques developed in the recent past, overcome these disadvantages facilitating rapid identification of most species. We undertook this study to characterize mycobacteria isolated from sputa of human patients suspected to have tuberculosis by conventional methods and later, by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PRA) of hsp65 gene and pncA PCR. METHODS: Twenty two mycobacteria isolated from 30 sputum samples were identified based on growth rate, pigmentation, cultural and biochemical properties and subjected to PRA of hsp65 gene involving amplification of hsp65 gene and digestion of the product with BstEII and HaeIII in separate reactions and analysis of digests by 3 per cent agarose gel electrophoresis. The mycobacteria were simultaneously evaluated by M. tuberculosis-specific and M. bovis-specific pncA PCR assays in separate reactions. RESULTS: With the conventional biochemical tests, the 22 sputum culture isolates were identified as M. tuberculosis (19) and M. avium complex (MAC) (3). PCR of hsp65 gene yielded 439 bp product in all the mycobacteria tested. The RFLP patterns of three MAC isolates with BstEII and HaeIII were identical to reference M. avium strain with two fragments in each of the digest. M. intracellulare reference strain showed a distinct pattern with 3 fragments each in both enzyme digests. The PRA of hsp65 confirmed MAC isolates as M. avium. M. tuberculosis isolates including H37Rv and M. bovis strains could not be discriminated by PRA of hsp65. The two pncA PCR assays (M. bovis-specific and M. tuberculosis-specific) detected specifically the respective organisms with an amplification product of 185 bp. The MAC strains yielded no amplification product in both the pncA PCR assays. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: PRA profiles of hsp65 could differentiate MAC isolates into M. avium and M. intracellulare but could not distinguish between M. tuberculosis and M. bovis. pncA PCR assays were found specific in detecting the respective mycobacterial species. The study confirms utility of pncA PCR assays in differential identification of M. tuberculosis and M. bovis and that of PRA of hsp65 in the identification of M. avium.

Identification of Mycobacterium marinum 65 kD heat shock protein gene by polymerase chain reaction restriction analysis from lesions of swimming pool granuloma / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) had been reported to cause cutaneous infections which are difficult to interpret due to the variability of the clinical manifestations. Among NTM infections, Mycobacterium marinum (M. marinum) are mostly seen to cause skin infection. It is therefore important to establish a rapid approach for detection and identification of M. marinum from lesions of patients with suspected M. marinum infections.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Specimens were obtained from 5 patients with swimming pool granuloma. DNA was extracted and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed. PCR products were digested with Hae III and BstE II, then analysed by pattern restriction analysis to detect heat shock protein (hsp) 65 kD gene.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The 65 kD hsp gene was found in all specimens from patients with swimming pool granuloma. PCR restriction analysis (PRA) identified all 5 samples to be M. marinum infections, and the result was consistent with that of routine bacteriological identification. The lesions subsided or markedly improved upon treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>PRA is a sensitive, specific and rapid method in identification of mycobacteria. Application of this method will be helpful for early diagnosis of mycobacterial skin infections.</p>

Evaluation of polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme analysis for routine identification of mycobacteria: accuracy, rapidity, and cost analysis.

Polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme analysis (PCR-REA) of the hsp65 gene was evaluated for use as a routine identification method for identifying mycobacteria. The accuracy, rapidity, and cost were assessed compared with the conventional biochemical method. Five hundred and forty-one mycobacterial clinical isolates obtained from the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, were submitted for PCR-REA and biochemical identification. PCR-REA showed high concordant result with 100, 96.2, and 94.1% for identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, rapid- and slow-growing mycobacteria, respectively. Discordant results were obtained from 24 (4.4%) out of 541 isolates, consisting of 9 rapid growers (6 M. chelonae, 2 M. abscessus, and 1 M. fortuitum) and 15 slow growers (9 M. scrofulaceum, 2 M. gordonae, 1 M. avium, 1 M. kansasii, 1 M. malmoense, and 1 M. terrae complex). PCR-REA demonstrated not only accurate results but was also less expensive (2.1 US dollars/sample). This method was rapid with a turn-around time of 30 hours compared with 2-4 weeks for the conventional method.

Construction of a secreting prokaryotic shuttle expressing plasmid pBCG-sP-HSP65 and its expression in Mycobacterial smegmatis / 生物工程学报

To construct the secretive prokaryotic shuttle expression plasmid pBCG-SP-HSP65, the signal peptide sequence of antigen 85B amplified from Bacillus Calmette-guérin (BCG) genome by PCR and the whole HSP65 DNA sequence of human M. tuberculosis obtained from the plasmid pCMV-MTHSP65 by PCR were cloned into the plasmid pBCG-2100 under the control of the promoter of Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) from human M. tuberculosis. Recombinants were electroporated into Mycobacterial smegmatis and induced by heating. Results of the induced expression were detected by SDS-PAGE and the biological activity of the expressed protein was tested by Western-blot analysis. Results showed pBCG-SP-MTHSP65 was constructed successfully and confirmed by restriction endonuclease analysis, PCR detection and DNA sequencing analysis. After it was electroporated into Mycobacterial smegmatis and induced by heating, the percentage of expressed 65kD protein in Mycobacterial smegmatis detected by SDS-PAGE was 20% in total bacterial protein. But the percentage of expressed 65kD protein in recombibinant Mycobacterial smegmatis was up to 34.46% in total bacterial protein and 68.56% in the total protein of cell lysate supernants, Which demonstrated the recombinant HSP65 gene could express in recombinant with high efficiency and the expressed proteins were mainly soluble. Western-blot showed that the secretive proteins could specially combine with antibody against human M. tuberculosis HSP65. Orally, pBCG-SP-HSP65 was successfully constructed; HSP65 gene could express in Mycobacterial smegmatis with high efficiency via it. And the expressed proteins possess the biological activity. So it provids experimental evidence for the application of the recombinant Mycobacterial smegmatis and the development of the vaccine against tuberculosis.

Construction, expression and identification of a recombinant BCG vaccine encoding human Mycobacterium tuberculosis heat shock protein 65 / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Heat shock protein 65 (HSP65) is one of the most important protective immunogens against the tuberculosis infection. The signal sequence of antigen 85B and the whole HSP65 DNA sequence of human Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) were amplified from BCG genome and plasmid pCMV-MTHSP65 respectively by polymerase chain reactions (PCR). These two sequences were cloned into the plasmid pBCG-2100 under the control of the promoter of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) from human M. tuberculosis, yielding the prokaryotic shuttle expression plasmid pBCG-SP-HSP65. Results of restriction endonuclease analysis, PCR detection and DNA sequencing analysis showed that the two cloned DNA sequences were consistent with those previously reported, and the direction of their inserting into the recombinant was correct and the reading frame had been maintained. The recombinants were electroporated into BCG to construct the recombinant BCG vaccine and induced by heating. The induced expression detected by SDS-PAGE showed that the content of 65 kD protein expressed in recombinant BCG was 35.69% in total bacterial protein and 74.09% in the cell lysate supernatants, suggesting that the recombinant HSP65 gene could express in BCG with high efficiency and the expressed proteins were mainly soluble. Western-blot showed that the secretive recombinant proteins could specifically combine with antibody against M. tuberculosis HSP65, indicating that the recombinant proteins possess the biological activity of HSP65.

Hsp65 PCR-restriction enzyme analysis (PRA) for identification of mycobacteria in the clinical laboratory

More than 70 species of mycobacteria have been defined, and some can cause disease in humans, especially in immunocompromised patients. Species identification in most clinical laboratories is based on phenotypic characteristics and biochemical tests and final results are obtained only after two to four weeks. Quick identification methods, by reducing time for diagnosis, could expedite institution of specific treatment, increasing chances of success. PCR restriction-enzyme analysis (PRA) of the hsp65 gene was used as a rapid method for identification of 103 clinical isolates. Band patterns were interpreted by comparison with published tables and patterns available at an Internet site (http://www.hospvd.ch:8005). Concordant results of PRA and biochemical identification were obtained in 76 out of 83 isolates (91.5 percent). Results from 20 isolates could not be compared due to inconclusive PRA or biochemical identification. The results of this work showed that PRA could improve identification of mycobacteria in a routine setting because it is accurate, fast, and cheaper than conventional phenotypic identification

Induction of stress proteins in response to hypoxia.

Hypoxia is a severe stress factor to which man and most other mammalian species are capable of adapting. However, the cellular mechanism which enable cells to adapt are still unknown. Effect of hypoxia was studied on the synthesis of hypoxia induced proteins in rat kidney and in vero cell line (monkey kidney). These were exposed to hypoxia at 240 mmHg pressure for 1 hr. The induction of stress protein was determined by probing with monoclonal antibodies against 65 kDa heat shock protein (hsp65). The induction of a 65 kDa protein was 3.6 fold higher to the total cellular protein, both in cell lines and kidney of rats. In vivo response was predominantly observed in renal cortical region particularly in glomeruli. The induction of stress proteins during hypoxia suggests their importance in the maintenance of cellular integrity under hypoxia.