半胱天冬酶家族的研究进展

半胱天冬酶（Caspases）是一类存在于细胞内的天冬氨酸特异性的半胱氨酸蛋白酶（IL-1β转化酶相关蛋白酶）。迄今,在哺乳动物已发现至少13种caspase成员。Caspases在胞内通常以无活性的酶原形式存在,在其内部特定的天冬氨酸残基部位蛋白质裂解加工后可导致酶原激活,引发细胞凋亡。作为效应因子的caspase在绝大多数细胞凋亡过程中具有十分重要的作用。     

Caspase家族与细胞凋亡的关系

凋亡是导致细胞死亡的调节性生理过程。Caspase半胱氨酸蛋白酶家族引发的级联反应是细胞凋亡过程的中心环节,其激活主要包括线粒体依赖途径和死亡受体介导的信号转导途径,激活后的下游Caspase,通过切割特异性底物,导致细胞凋亡。现以Caspase家族与细胞凋亡的关系为主,对Caspase基因家族生物学特性、调控细胞凋亡的分子机制进行综述。     

对T-2毒素造成细胞凋亡的研究探索

<正>T-2可引起细胞发生毒性作用,抑制DNA、RNA及蛋白质合成,还可造成细胞活性下降,细胞内LDH、ALT外漏。T-2可诱导DNA损伤,进而导致DNA碎片化,而DNA碎片化是检测细胞凋亡的指标之一。对于细胞凋亡的机制,尚未研究透彻,但已发现与细胞凋亡相关的蛋白有Caspases家族、Bcl-2     

细胞凋亡的研究进展

细胞凋亡(apoptosis,APO)是受到包括基因在内的多种因素调节的细胞主动死亡的过程。对细胞凋亡的发生起着关键性作用的因素涉及到一组半胱氨酸蛋白酶家族(Caspas-es),通过激活或者抑制Caspases的活性,即可促进或抑制细胞发生凋亡,这就为疾病的防治提供了可能性。目前人们对于AP     

新城疫病毒疫苗株F蛋白裂解位点改造对诱导HepG2细胞发生自噬的影响

新城疫病毒(NDV)通过启动不依赖p53的内源性凋亡通路特异性诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡.最新研究表明NDV可以引起U251肿瘤细胞发生自噬,并在后期导致细胞凋亡,但其机理尚不清楚.本研究通过反向遗传操作技术对NDV Clone30疫苗株F蛋白的碱性裂解位点进行突变,将F蛋白的裂解位点由弱毒株的GGRQGR ↓ L突变为强毒株的GRRQRR ↓ F基序,并成功拯救出突变改造病毒rC30-FmF.分别将Clone30野生型病毒株rC30-wt与rC30-FmF感染HepG2肝癌细胞,通过透射电镜检测细胞超微结构显示,rC30-FmF感染4h后细胞内出现大量自噬小体及自噬溶酶体.通过westem blot检测自噬标志蛋白LC-3 Ⅱ表明,rC30-FmF感染4h后LC3Ⅱ表达量显著上调,与rC30-wt对照组相比差异极显著(p＜0.01).研究表明,rC30-FmF可以在感染早期增加HepG2细胞自噬程度.从而初步证明F蛋白的裂解位点在诱导HepG2细胞自噬过程中具有关键作用.     

浅谈鸡新城疫

新城疫所引起的蛋鸡产蛋率下降、肉仔鸡的后期大批死亡在我国日益突出。可以说，鸡新城疫仍然是目前危害我国养鸡业的严重疫病。一、病原及变异新城疫病毒为副粘病毒科副粘病毒属的单股ＲＮＡ病毒，有囊膜。囊膜上有纤突，含Ｈ（血凝素）、Ｎ（神经氨酸酶）糖蛋白和Ｆ糖蛋白。ＨＮ糖蛋白能识别唾液酸受体，与受体结合（非特异性），促进细胞融合（特异性）。Ｆ糖蛋白前体Ｆ０无活性由宿主细胞蛋白酶水解分裂成亚单位Ｆ１和Ｆ２后具有膜融合活性，与新城疫病毒穿透细胞、溶解红细胞等致病作用有关。Ｆ糖蛋白的Ｆ１／Ｆ２多肽裂解位点（１…     

鸡chUSP1 His594Ala突变使其去泛素化酶活性丧失

泛素特异性蛋白酶1(ubiquitin-specific proteases 1,USP1)是一种去泛素化酶,它在DNA损伤修复应答过程中发挥重要功能。已证明USP1与UAF1(USP1-associated factor 1)形成复合物后,其酶活性会得到极大的提升。chUSP1为在鸡细胞中发现的一种去泛素化酶,生物信息学分析发现它与人USP1同源性高达72%。本研究以本室扩增的chUSP1基因和chUAF1基因,使用bac-to-bac系统表达了chUSP1GG680,681AA单体及chUSP1GG680,681AA/chUAF1复合体。并根据人USP1预测将chUSP1一个可能的活性中心位点第594位组氨酸突变为丙氨酸,并纯化了此突变型的单体和复合体。应用底物Di-Ub/Ub2 WT Chains(K63-linked)及Di-Ub/Ub2 WT Chains(K48-linked)对chUSP1GG680,681AA和突变型chUSP1HGG594,680,681AA进行酶活性分析。试验结果表明chUSP1具有切割Ub链底物的酶活性,且第594位组氨酸残基突变影响chUSP1的去泛素化酶活性。而chUAF1可以与chUSP1相互作用形成复合体,并且明显提高chUSP1酶活性。     

裂解酶LysGH15的CHAP片段与底物互作的关键位点

金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体裂解酶LysGH15对金葡菌表现出广谱高效的抗菌活性,本课题组已深入研究其三维结构,其中CHAP片段是LysGH15起催化作用的关键活性片段。本试验进一步通过分子模拟和对接的方法预测出CHAP与底物多肽DGlnNH2-LLys-DAla-5Gly结合的"口袋"结构,该结构由D33、S35、F36、Y50、R71、T72及N75这些氨基酸位点组成。由于脂肪族非极性氨基酸丙氨酸侧链最短且不带电荷,因此将这些位点均突变为丙氨酸,逐一研究它们对CHAP片段催化活性的影响:圆二色谱试验结果说明突变体二级结构并未发生变化;酶谱试验结果定性的说明F36突变为丙氨酸后突变体蛋白F36A的活性完全丧失,而其他位点的氨基酸突变后蛋白活性并未发生明显改变;细菌浊度测定和菌落计数试验进一步证明突变体F36A活性完全丧失,而其他突变体活性不变;鉴于F36位于"口袋"结构的"口"的部位,36位氨基酸很可能参与到CHAP与底物多肽的结合。本试验鉴定了LysGH15的CHAP与底物多肽互作过程中起关键作用的氨基酸位点。     

人白细胞介素18原核表达载体的构建及其表达

白细胞介素18(IL-18)是一种新发现的具有多种活性的细胞因子,最初被命名为IFN-γ诱导因子(IG IF)[1],1996年,日本研究者U sh io[2]等从正常人肝细胞cDNA文库得到人IG IF基因克隆,将其正式命名为IL-18。hIL-18基因编码193个氨基酸前体蛋白,N端有36个氨基酸前导序列,无N端糖基化位点和亲水信号肽位点。在IL-1β转换酶(ICE)酶切下,成为含157个氨基酸残基的成熟有活性的蛋白,分子量为18kD[2]。IL-18通过与其受体[3](IL-18R)相结合发挥生物学活性,其最具特征的活性是诱导IFN-γ的产生,促进T细胞和NK细胞的增殖,刺激Th1细胞分泌I…     

脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇诱导血管内皮细胞凋亡及其凋亡相关因子的初步研究

脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇（DON）是由镰刀菌属病原真菌产生的真菌毒素之一,在自然界广泛存在,可引起人畜中毒。为了解DON对血管内皮细胞的危害及其可能机制,本试验采用不同浓度的DON（0.25-10μg/mL）作用于猪髋动脉内皮细胞（PIEC）和人脐静脉内皮细胞（HUVEC）2种细胞24 h,倒置显微镜下观察其形态变化,MTT法测定细胞增殖的变化,TUNEL法检测细胞凋亡率,免疫组织化学染色方法测定细胞凋亡过程中Caspase-9和Bax表达的变化。结果显示,高浓度DON可明显改变细胞的形态;不同浓度的DON均可抑制细胞的增殖;TUNEL凋亡检测结果显示,不同浓度的DON对这2种细胞均有诱导凋亡的作用;对于PIEC细胞,在DON浓度为0.5μg/mL时,凋亡率达到最高（71.74%）;HUVEC细胞则在DON浓度为5μg/mL时,凋亡率达到最高（26.61%）,此后随浓度的升高,凋亡率下降,可能与凋亡细胞崩解脱离细胞片有关。根据试验结果初步推断,DON诱导PIEC凋亡可能与Caspases途径有关,Bax在其中起到了一定的凋亡促进作用;而在诱导HUVEC细胞凋亡的过程中未检测到Caspase-9和Bax的变化,故认为DON诱导HUVEC细胞凋亡与Caspases途径和促凋亡因子Bax均无关。     

病毒感染细胞过程中caspases介导的病毒蛋白自剪切研究概况

很多宿主细胞在病毒感染下通常会启动caspases通路凋亡途径导致细胞死亡,避免病毒的进一步扩增和传播.但最近的一些研究表明,病毒能利用激活的caspase蛋白酶对自身(非)结构蛋白进行特异性剪切,以利于病毒在细胞内的复制或参与病毒或宿主其他基因的转录调控等过程.作为一个病毒与宿主细胞相互作用关系的新的研究领域,论文对...     

Caspase activation in equine influenza virus induced apoptotic cell death.

Equine influenza virus (EIV) is the leading cause of acute respiratory infection in horses worldwide. In recent years, the precise mechanism by which influenza infection kills host cells is being re-evaluated. In this report, we examined whether caspases, a group of intracellular proteases, are activated following EIV infection and contribute to EIV-mediated cell death. Western blotting analysis indicated that a nuclear target of caspase-3, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) was proteolytically cleaved in EIV-infected MDCK cells, but not in mock-infected cells. In comparison with caspase-3 specific inhibitor Ac-DEVD-CHO, a general caspase inhibitor Boc-D-FMK provided much stronger inhibition of EIV-induced cytopathic effect and apoptosis. Our results suggest that EIV may activate more than one caspase. Caspase activation and cleavage of its cellular targets may play a critical role in EIV-mediated cytotoxicity.     

Relationship between group II caspase activity of bovine preimplantation embryos and capacity for hatching

The occurrence of apoptosis in a fraction of blastomeres in the preimplantation embryo is well known but the consequences of this phenomenon for the developmental potential of the blastocyst has not been well established. Here we demonstrate that blastocysts with low amounts of activated group II caspase activity have increased potential for development to the hatched blastocyst stage. Bovine blastocysts produced in vitro were assayed using a non-invasive fluoregenic substrate that is cleaved by activated group II caspases (i.e., caspase-2, -3 and -7). Subsequently, blastocysts were cultured until Day 10 post-insemination and the proportion undergoing hatching determined. In Experiment 1, blastocysts were cultured without respect to stage of development (expanded or non-expanded); blastocysts classified as having low caspase activity had higher hatching rates than blastocysts with medium or high caspase activity. In Experiment 2, embryos were categorized as nonexpanded or expanded blastocysts. Caspase activity was lower and hatching rate higher for expanded blastocysts than for nonexpanded blastocysts. For nonexpanded blastocysts, embryos classified as having low caspase activity had higher hatching rates as compared to embryos with medium or high caspase activity. In conclusion, the capacity for blastocysts to undergo further development is related to degree of group II caspase activity. Conditions that enhance the incidence of apoptosis in blastocysts may reduce developmental competence. In addition, determination of caspase activity may be useful for selection of embryos for transfer into recipients.     

No caspase activation but overexpression of Bcl-2 in bovine cells infected with noncytopathic bovine virus diarrhoea virus

Cytopathic bovine viral diarrhoea viruses (cp BVDV) induce apoptosis in permissible cell cultures via the intrinsic pathway, which involves the mitochondria as key organelles. An important event is the irreversible opening of the permeability transition pore (PTP) and the breakdown of the transmembrane potential DeltaPsi(m). The resulting release of cytochrome C from the mitochondria serves as a trigger to form the apoptosome which then leads to caspase activation and cell death. In contrast, noncytopathic (ncp) BVDV do not seem to affect cells in vivo or in vitro, suggesting that they inhibit apoptosis. Interestingly, inhibition of caspases in cells infected with cp BVDV delayed the apoptotic cascade but did not prevent the cytopathic effect (CPE). This suggests that the induction of apoptosis and the processes finally leading to the CPE may proceed separately, implying that the inhibition of apoptosis by ncp BVDV has to start earlier in the cascade. In this study we show that in fact apoptosis inhibition in cells infected with ncp BVDV must occur at the mitochondrial level, before the activation of the caspase cascade occurs. To elucidate the role of mitochondria after infection of cells with ncp BVDV, expression of Bcl-2 and Bax were analysed. It was shown that while Bax expression was not affected, the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein was upregulated, presumably suppressing initiation of cell death and enabling persistent infection in vitro.     

Assessment of apoptosis in epidermal lamellar cells in clinically normal horses and those with laminitis

OBJECTIVE: To determine and compare the number, type, location, and distribution of apoptotic epidermal cells in the laminae of clinically normal horses and horses with laminitis. SAMPLE POPULATION: Formalin-fixed samples of digital lamellar tissue from 47 horses (including clinically normal horses [controls; n = 7], horses with acute [4] and chronic [7] naturally acquired laminitis, and horses with black walnut extract-induced [11] or carbohydrate overload-induced [18] laminitis). PROCEDURE: Blocks of paraffin-embedded lamellar tissues were stained for DNA fragmentation with the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) technique. Differential immunohistochemical staining for caspases 3 and 14 were used to confirm apoptosis. RESULTS: The number of TUNEL-positive epidermal cells per 0.1 mm of primary laminae was significantly greater in the acute laminitis group than in the other groups. In the acute laminitis group, there were 17 and 1,025 times as many TUNEL-positive basal layer cells and keratinocytes, respectively, compared with the control group. Apoptosis of TUNEL-positive basal layer cells was confirmed by results of caspase 3 immunohistochemical staining. The TUNEL-positive keratinocytes did not stain for caspases 3 or 14. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The large number of apoptotic basal layer cells detected in the lamellar tissue of horses with acute naturally acquired laminitis suggests that apoptosis may be important in the development of acute laminitis. The role of the large number of TUNEL-positive keratinocytes detected in the interface of primary and secondary epidermal laminae of horses with acute laminitis remains to be elucidated.     

Changes in caspase activity during the postmortem conditioning period and its relationship to shear force in porcine longissimus muscle

The objective of this study was to investigate the protease family caspases in skeletal muscle and their potential contribution to postmortem proteolysis and meat tenderization. Ten Large White gilts were slaughtered, and samples of LM were taken at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 192 h after slaughter and immediately snap frozen in liquid nitrogen. Samples were subsequently analyzed for caspase 3/7 and caspase 9 activity, protein levels of known caspase substrates, alpha II spectrin and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), as well as, at 192 h, shear force. Specific degradation products of alpha II spectrin and PARP, which are known indicators of caspase activity, and apoptosis were detected on immunoblots of muscle samples taken over the postmortem period. The relationships between the changes observed in caspase activities and protein levels of PARP and spectrin across the entire postmortem conditioning period were investigated (n = 70). Protein levels of alpha II spectrin cleavage products across the conditioning period were found to correlate positively to caspase 3/7 activity (r = 0.38, P = 0.003) and caspase 9 activity (r = 0.32, P = 0.012), indicating that caspase-mediated cleavage was occurring in situ. There was a negative relationship between shear force and the 0 to 32 h ratio of caspase 3/7 (r = -0.62, P = 0.053) and caspase 9 activities (r = -0.68, P = 0.044). In addition, there was also a negative relationship between shear force and the level of the caspase-generated alpha II spectrin 120 kDa degradation product (r = -0.75, P = 0.012). The findings of this study indicate that changes in caspase activity and caspase-mediated cleavage take place in muscle during the conditioning period, and this could be associated with the development of tender meat.     

Chicken anemia virus induced apoptosis: underlying molecular mechanisms

In 1990, the chicken anemia virus (CAV) genome was cloned by us and proven to be representative for CAV isolates worldwide. This genome contains unique promoter/enhancer replication elements and genes. Upon infection of its target cells, CAV replicates via a double-stranded (ds) DNA intermediate. From this ds CAV molecule, a single mRNA is transcribed, which encodes for three distinct proteins VP1, VP2, and VP3 or apoptin. Its capsid contains only the VP1 protein. However, for the production of the neutralizing epitope, co-synthesis of VP1 and VP2 are needed. CAV genomes with mutations in the 12 bp insert of the promoter/enhancer region were shown to produce immunogenic functional CAV particles. Mutations in these and other regulatory elements of CAV might also decrease its virus load resulting in a reduced pathogenic effect. CAV causes fatal cytopathogenic effects in e.g. chicken thymocytes via apoptosis. Under in vitro conditions, CAV replicates only in transformed chicken cell lines, which indicates that at least a part of the CAV life-cycle requires transformed-like cellular events. In these transformed cell lines, the synthesis of the apoptin protein alone mimics the CAV-induced apoptosis, whereas the VP2 protein also harbors some apoptotic activity. Extensive studies on apoptin resulted in the characterization of domains essential for its apoptotic activity and nuclear localization, which seems to be related with its ability to induce apoptosis. Therefore, both VP2 and apoptin are of interest in reducing the pathogenicity of CAV infections. A series of biomedical studies on apoptin have been carried out in human cell systems, which are informative about the mechanism of CAV-induced apoptosis in chicken (transformed) cells. Synthesis of apoptin alone induces apoptosis in various human transformed and/or tumorigenic cell lines, but not in normal human diploid cells. A striking difference in the cellular localization of apoptin was observed in human normal diploid cells versus tumor cells. In all tumor cells, apoptin is located mainly in the heterochromatic regions of the nucleus, whereas in normal cells it is present in peri-nuclear structures. Apoptin contains a bipartite nuclear localization signal, and one domain that resemble a nuclear export signal. Elucidation of parts of the apoptin-induced apoptotic pathway revealed unique characteristics: apoptin-induced apoptosis is independent of the tumor suppressor p53. The anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 does not inhibit but even accelerates apoptin-induced apoptosis in tumor cells, whereas over expression of Bcl-2 in normal cells has no effect on the apoptin activity. Upstream caspases are not involved, whereas downstream caspase 3 is, but seems not to be essential. A number of novel proteins were shown to interact with apoptin in transformed cells. Future studies of apoptin, VP2 and related cellular proteins in chicken cells will unravel the regulatory aspects of CAV-induced apoptosis.     

Caspase-mediated apoptosis in chicken postovulatory follicle regression

Chicken postovulatory follicle (POF) regression occurs via the process of apoptosis. However, the signals and initiator pathways responsible for regression of the POF are unknown. In the current study, we examined gene expression patterns of various caspases (caspase-1, -2 and -3) involved in apoptosis by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The percentage of apoptotic cells during POF regression was also quantified by flow cytometry. Expression of caspase-3 mRNA was noted in the largest preovulatory follicle (F1). However, the initiator caspases (caspase-1 and -2) were not expressed in F1. During the regression of the POF, caspase-3 was activated during initial stages, whereas the initiator caspases were upregulated at the later stages (POF4 and POF5).The percentage of apoptotic cells was significantly higher during the regression of the POF. It might be possible that levels of caspase-3 mRNA do not necessarily reflect the cell’s potential for facilitating apoptosis, as activation of the caspase-3 by initiator caspases is required for its function. We presume that both caspase-1 and caspase-2 were key initiators in the regression of chicken POF and that the apoptosis-mediated regression of POFs might be similar to mammalian corpus luteum involution.     

Equine coronavirus induces apoptosis in cultured cells

Equine coronavirus (ECoV) was first isolated from a diarrheic foal and was found genetically similar to group II coronaviruses. However, its pathological characteristics were not adequately investigated. In our preliminary in vitro investigation, ECoV-induced cell death was observed in bovine kidney-derived MDBK cells. Based on this finding, we investigated whether the ECoV-induced CPE was apoptosis. Following ECoV infection, MDBK cells showed morphological changes such as cell rounding and detachment from the culture surface. Moreover, syncytium formation was observed as the other type of cytopathic effect in ECoV infection. Morphologic and biochemical features of apoptosis, such as nuclear fragmentation and DNA ladder formation, were also detected in ECoV-infected cells. Moreover, as is commonly observed in coronavirus infection in other animals, the activities of effecter caspases – caspase-3/7 – and initiator caspases – caspase-8 and caspase-9 – that are representative factors in the death receptor-mediated apoptotic pathway and mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, respectively, were increased in ECoV-infected MDBK cells. Therefore, it was suggested that ECoV can induce apoptosis in MDBK cells via a caspase-dependent pathway. Apoptotic death of infected cells is detrimental because it causes cell and tissue destruction and inflammatory responses. Although the pathological characteristics of ECoV are largely unknown, apoptosis may be the pathological basis of lesions of the digestive system in ECoV infection.