Validation and application of a high fidelity mRNA linear amplification procedure for profiling gene expression

The need for microgram quantities of RNA for microarray experiments has hindered application of this novel technology in cell types/tissue samples with limited abundance of RNA. In this study, potential application of T7-based linear RNA amplification was investigated for use in gene expression profiling experiments where starting material is limited. Yield and integrity of amplified antisense RNA (aaRNA), microarray hybridization intensities, and fidelity of differential gene expression detected were determined for arrays generated for unamplified versus amplified RNA from the same homogenous starting pools. Total RNA was extracted from bovine spleen and fetal ovary, serially diluted to concentrations ranging from 2 microg to 500 pg and amplified. Quality and quantity of total input RNA and aaRNA were assessed by spectrophotometry, gel electrophoresis and bioanalyzer. In experiment 1, we determined the optimal amounts of aaRNA generated from 20, 40, 200 ng and 2 microg input total RNA for use in cDNA synthesis, labeling and array hybridization that would yield robust and consistent hybridization signals on a bovine oocyte cDNA microarray. In experiment 2, comparison of microarray hybridization intensities and fidelity of differential gene expression between aaRNA generated from 2, 20 and 40 ng input total RNA versus unamplified RNA (uRNA) were conducted. The hybridization intensities for each of the 7000 spots per slide for microarrays conducted using aaRNA versus uRNA were highly correlated (2 ng = 0.84, 20 ng = 0.88, 40 ng = 0.90; P < 0.01). The false positive rate was low and similar (4.0% versus 4.4%) for arrays done with uRNA and aaRNA. Ninety-seven ESTs were detected as differentially expressed in the fetal ovary versus spleen at > 1.5- or < 0.5-fold using uRNA (P < 0.05). However, the number of genes detected in arrays using aaRNA was approximately 1.5-2.5 times greater than with uRNA. Approximately, 65-70% of differentially expressed genes were common between uRNA and aaRNA arrays. Relative fold-expression (Cy3/Cy5 ratios) for 25 overlapping abundant genes was comparable for uRNA versus aaRNA arrays with 2 and 20 ng total RNA as input. Results demonstrate that T7-based linear amplification of small amounts of input RNA and use of aaRNA in microarray experiments retains fidelity of detection of differential gene expression that is relatively comparable to experiments done with uRNA and provides a potentially viable approach to facilitate gene expression profiling using limited amounts of starting material.     

Differentially expressed genes associated with Staphylococcus aureus mastitis of Canadian Holstein cows

To study pathway specific gene expression within the immune-endocrine axis of dairy cows with Staphylococcus aureus mastitis, mRNA was collected from blood mononuclear cells (BMCs) and milk somatic cells (MSCs) of cows (n = 7) identified as culture positive for S. aureus and their matched negative control cows (n = 7) with no evidence of S. aureus mastitis. Labeled cDNA probes derived from BMCs and MSCs of infected and healthy cows were applied to a bovine immune-endocrine cDNA array containing 167 genes. Genes with a log₂ ratio ≥ 0.5 were considered to be up-regulated and genes with a log₂ ratio ≤ −0.5 to be down-regulated. In total, 22 genes were differentially displayed in BMCs and 16 genes in MSCs of case versus controls. Expression of selected genes in BMCs and MSCs were confirmed by real-time PCR. The RT-PCR results were highly correlated with microarray measurements. Some of these genes, such as interleukin (IL)-8 have been previously implicated in other bacterial diseases, and are known to regulate immune responses; whereas, others may reflect novel pathways or genes involved in progressive mammary gland disease. For example, IL-18 was up-regulated in BMCs but not MSCs of mastitic quarters, while IL-17 was more highly expressed in MSCs compared to BMCs. This study identified a number of differentially expressed genes associated with bovine S. aureus mastitis and demonstrates the intricacy of the patterns of gene expression that influence host response to a complex pathogen of significant relevance to both human and veterinary medicine.     

牛Fas基因的组织表达分析及其功能预测

采用RT-PCR技术从中国西门塔尔牛睾丸组织总RNA中反转录FascDNA,将其克隆于pMD19-Tvector后进行测序分析,并对其表达的蛋白结构功能进行预测、分析。结果表明:牛的FascDNA序列为1109bp,编码323个氨基酸残基,在氨基酸序列上与羊、猪、人、小鼠的相似性分别为90.5%、65.3%、56.7%和48.6%。Fas蛋白的胞外区有2个糖基化位点和3个富含半胱氨酸残基的结构亚域,对Fas蛋白的定位及凋亡信号识别有重要作用。牛与羊、猪、人、小鼠Fas的死亡结构域(Death domain,DD)氨基酸序列的相似性分别为94.3%、68.5%、59.6%和70.8%,体现了该结构在各物种间较强的保守性及接受凋亡信号诱导靶细胞凋亡的重要性。组织表达谱发现,Fas不仅表达于牛的淋巴、脾等淋巴系统,而且高表达于牛生殖系统的睾丸中,这对于进一步阐明Fas在公牛精子发生过程中的调控作用奠定基础。     

Development and validation of an oligonucleotide microarray for immuno-inflammatory genes of ruminants

This report describes the development of small DNA microarrays of fully defined genes suitable for projects requiring detailed analysis of gene expression in sheep and/or cattle. Two arrays have been developed; the first is a small reference microarray (RIGRA) that has been used to validate experimental design and methodology; the second, a larger array (RIGUA) containing probes for 516 ruminant immuno-inflammatory genes, each represented by non-overlapping 75mer oligonucleotides. Experiments used to validate this microarray were: (1) a comparison of gene expression profiles from sheep broncho-alveolar macrophages before and after in vitro activation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), using the RIGRA; (2) the differential gene expression between five in vitro unstimulated sheep keratinocyte cultures; (3) LPS/interferon γ stimulated and unstimulated blood monocytes purified from Holstein-Friesians (Bos taurus) and Sahiwals (Bos indicus) cattle using the RIGUA. Real-time, quantitative RT-PCR was used to validate the gene expression profiles obtained with the RIGUA microarrays. The potential for using such an immunological tool in understanding the relative gene expression corresponding to immune-inflammatory responses of sheep and cattle is discussed. Supplementary information for this article may be found at (login: watkins and password: PuBm7t)     

应用cDNA微阵列芯片技术筛选猪蛔虫性别差异表达基因的研究

采用cDNA微阵列芯片技术，从所构建的猪蛔虫雌、雄成虫cDNA消减文库分别挑取1044和1119个克隆，PCR扩增其插入片段，经纯化后点样于预先处理好的基片上（双点杂交），制备成cDNA微阵列芯片。将分别标记荧光素Cy3-dUTP和Cy5-dUTP的雌虫和雄虫cDNA探针，与制备好的cDNA芯片杂交（平行进行反标杂交试验）。根据每个点杂交后的Ratio值，筛选出双点杂交和正反标中都同时具有表达差异的基因克隆共1559个。将表达差异最明显的前831个克隆进行测序，获得720个有效序列，经生物信息学分析发现，雄虫特异表达的主要精于蛋白和雌虫特异表达的卵巢信息蛋白的基因序列多数与新杆属线虫存在同源性，有31个可能是新的ESTs。性别差异表达基因及其相关生物信息的获得为下一步研究基因功能奠定了基础。     

Genetic characterisation of antibiotic resistance and virulence factors in vanA-containing enterococci from cattle, sheep and pigs subsequent to the discontinuation of the use of avoparcin

The prevalence of vancomycin resistant-enterococci (VRE) in faecal samples from cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered for human consumption was evaluated. Enterococci containing the vanA gene were detected in 25.3% and 2.7% of the porcine and ovine samples, respectively, and were identified as Enterococcus faecium. No vanA-containing enterococcal strains were detected in bovine samples. Enterococcal strains with intrinsic vancomycin resistance were detected in seven (9.9%) faecal samples from pigs and in two samples from both cattle and sheep (3.7% and 2.7%, respectively). All vanA-positive isolates from pigs were resistant to tetracycline and erythromycin, and the mobile element Tn916/Tn1545-like transposon was detected in 90.5% of the tetracycline-resistant isolates that contained the tet(M) gene. Although gelatinase and haemolytic activity were not detected, the hyl and cylB virulence genes were found within the VRE strains isolated.     

Cloning of Carp Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Full-length cDNA and its Differential Expression Analysis in Peripheral Blood Leukocytes

The study was aimed to obtain carp iNOS cDNA full-length sequence, and investigate the changes in peripheral blood leukocyte expression of iNOS in the stimulation of different mitogens.Based on EST sequences of iNOS that obtained from carp normal peripheral blood leukocytes cDNA library, full-length cDNA sequence of carp iNOS was successfully amplified by using gene library screening and rapid-amplification of cDNA 5'ends (5'-RACE) method.Carp peripheral blood leukocytes were divided into control and experimental groups and cultured.The experimental groups were stimulated by LPS (1.0 μg/mL) and ConA (1.0 μg/mL) for 4 and 12 h, respectively.And control groups were in the same cultured conditon time without mitogen stimulated.Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of iNOS in peripheral blood leukocytes of each group.The results showed that the cDNA fragment was total 3 704 bp containing 74 bp 5'untranslated region (UTR), 246 bp 3'UTR and a 3 384 bp ORF encoding 1 127 amino acids.Sequence homology analysis showed that the amino acid sequence of carp iNOS shared 100% identity with Carassius auratus.After LPS and ConA stimulation, the iNOS expression of peripheral blood leukocytes in the experimental groups were increased, and the expression in the short time stimulation condition (4 h) was higher than the long time (LPS 12 h; ConA 24 h).In conclusion, iNOS expression of peripheral blood leukocytes was raised after LPS and ConA stimulation, suggesting that there were dynamic changes in the inflammation.     

延边黄牛白细胞介素18基因的克隆及序列分析

本试验旨在扩增延边黄牛白细胞介素18(IL-18)全长cDNA,并对其序列进行进化分析。根据GenBank中已公布的牛IL-18 cDNA序列设计1对引物,利用RT-PCR从刀豆蛋白(ConA)和植物分裂素(PHA)双重刺激36 h活化的延边黄牛脾淋巴细胞中扩增出牛IL-18全长cDNA,进行PCR、酶切和测序鉴定,并做进化分析及二级结构预测。扩增出延边黄牛IL-18全长cDNA,大小为760 bp,其中有两个氨基酸突变。进化分析结果显示,延边黄牛IL-18与牛、山羊、绵羊、马和猪的同源性较高,均大于90%,与同种群牛的同源性最高,而与原鸡的同源性最低,为51.1%。本研究确定了IL-18的种群差异,并预测了二级结构特性,为进一步研究延边黄牛IL-18的基因表达、生物活性及其作为佐剂的应用奠定了基础。     

鲤鱼诱导型一氧化氮合成酶全长cDNA克隆及其在外周血白细胞中的差异表达分析

试验旨在获得鲤鱼诱导型一氧化氮合成酶(inducible nitric oxide synthase,iNOS)cDNA全长序列,并以此为基础探讨在丝裂原刺激下外周血白细胞中iNOS的表达变化。以从鲤鱼正常外周血白细胞cDNA文库中获得的iNOS的EST序列为基础,采用基因文库筛选和cDNA5'末端快速扩增技术(5'-RACE)相结合的方法,成功扩增出鲤鱼iNOScDNA全长序列,然后进行鲤鱼外周血白细胞原代培养,分成对照组和试验组,其中试验组分别为脂多糖(LPS,1.0μg/mL)刺激4、12h,刀豆蛋白A(ConA,1.0μg/mL)刺激4、24h,对照组为相同培养时间无丝裂原刺激的外周血白细胞,根据得到的iNOScDNA全长序列和鲤鱼β-actin序列分别设计特异性引物,应用实时荧光定量PCR方法检测各组外周血白细胞中iNOS在mRNA水平上的表达情况并进行分析。序列分析结果显示,最后获得的cDNA片段共3704bp,包含74bp的5'端非编码区,246bp的3'端非编码区,一个3384bp的完整的开放阅读框(ORF),共编码1127个氨基酸。序列同源性分析结果显示,该序列与鲫鱼iNOS基因同源性高达100%;实时荧光定量PCR结果显示,经LPS、ConA刺激的试验组外周血白细胞中iNOS表达量均升高,且短时间(4h)刺激的表达量高于长时间(LPS12h;ConA24h)刺激的表达量。综上所述,在LPS、ConA刺激过程中,iNOS在外周血白细胞中表达量均有上调,结果提示存在炎症反应的动态变化。     

Biological characteristics of Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with bovine Prnp

A normal prion protein (PrP^c) is converted to a protease-resistant isoform by an apparent self-propagating activity in transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease. The cDNA encoding open reading frame (ORF) of the bovine prion protein gene (Prnp) was cloned from Korean cattle by PCR, and was transfected into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells using lipofectamine. The gene expression of the cloned cDNA was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blotting with the monoclonal antibody, 6H4. Cellular changes in the transfected CHO-K1 cells were investigated using parameters such as MTT, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, as well as nitric oxide (NO) production, and an apoptosis assay. In the MTT and LDH assays, the bovine PrnP-transfectant showed a lower proliferation rate than the wild-type (p < 0.05). Production of NO, after LPS or ConA stimulation, was not detected in either transfectants or CHO-K1 cells. In SOD assay under ConA stimulation, the SOD activity of transfectants was 10 times higher than that of CHO-K1 cells at 6 h after treatment (p < 0.05). The genomic DNA of both the transfectants and control cells began to be fragmented at 6 h after treatment with cyclohexamide. Caspase-3 activity was reduced by transfection with the bovine Prnp (p < 0.05). Conclusively, the viability of transfectants expressing exogenous bovine Prnp was decreased while the capacities for cellular protection against antioxidative stress and apoptosis were increased.     

cDNA cloning, sequencing and characterization of bovine pim-1

The cDNA clone of bovine pim-1 has been isolated from phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) and concanavalin A (ConA)-activated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). The full-length cDNA contains a 411bp 5' untranslated region (5'-UTR), followed by a 939bp coding region and a 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) that contains 1403bp. Comparison of the bovine pim-1 coding sequence with the human, rat, mouse, frog and zebrafish counterparts reveals 94, 90, 89, 67 and 40% homology at the nucleotide level, respectively. The predicted amino acid sequence of bovine Pim-1 shares 98.7, 97.1, 93.3, 68.8, and 52.4% similarity with the sequences of human, rat, mouse, frog, and zebrafish, respectively. The 5'-UTR of bovine pim-1 shares high sequence similarity to the human and mouse counterparts and is G/C-rich (75%) which may promote a high degree of secondary structure. The 3'-UTR of bovine pim-1 contains two potential polyadenylation sites and an A/T-rich motif which has been shown to decrease the stability of polyA mRNA molecules. Southern blot results indicate that a single copy of the gene exists in the bovine genome. Northern blot results show that PMA stimulation of PBLs increases the expression of the pim-1 mRNA. In addition, examination of Pim-1 protein expression in PBLs stimulated with a variety of mitogens including ConA, PMA, anti-CD3 and purified protein derivative (PPD) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, reveals two different types of expression patterns during the course of a 24h period of stimulation. ConA and PPD gave a biphasic pattern of expression while PMA and anti-CD3 gave single transient pattern of expression suggesting that expression is controlled by more than one signaling pathway.     

藏系绵羊VEGF基因的克隆、同源性分析及其表达水平的实时荧光定量PCR检测

采用PCR技术从藏系绵羊皮肤组织细胞中扩增出了血管内皮细胞生长因子(VEGF)基因,长度为573 bp,共编码190个氨基酸;序列比对发现,VEGF基因在所选择的多个物种之间具有高度同源性,相似性在100%～74.5%之间,其中藏系绵羊与普通绵羊的VEGF基因序列完全相同,其次为牛和猪,相似性分别为99.1%和96.2%,而与鸡的同源性最低,相似性为74.5%。采用实时荧光定量PCR SYBR Green I荧光染料法,对藏系绵羊皮肤组织细胞中VEGF基因的表达水平进行了相对定量分析,建立了快速检测VEGF基因表达量的方法。检测结果表明:给妊娠后期藏系母羊补饲自制的营养舔砖和颗粒饲料后,所产羔羊体内VEGF基因的表达水平分别为对照组的11.5倍和0.85倍。为提高羔羊皮肤组织中VEGF基因mRNA的表达水平,对妊娠后期藏系母羊补饲自制的营养舔砖,效果优于补饲颗粒饲料。     

Molecular epidemiology of Echinococcosis from food producing animals in north India

Echinococcosis is an important medical, veterinary and economic concern in India. Ten cysts were randomly selected from each intermediate host species (cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pigs). Either the germinal layer (sterile cysts) or protoscoleces (fertile cysts) were collected for molecular characterization. A 434 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase-1 gene was amplified using PCR from each isolate. Ten representative samples (2 from each intermediate host species) were sequenced in both the directions from which readable sequences were obtained from nine for phylogenetic analysis (NCBI, Blast). Phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome oxidase I gene revealed that seven (77.7%) isolates, from cattle (2), pigs (2), buffaloes (1) and goat (2) were clustered with the Indian Buffalo (G3) strain of Echinococcus granulosus, while two (22.2%) isolates from sheep were clustered with the sheep strain (G1) of E. granulosus. Phylogenetic analysis of the cytochrome oxidase-1 gene revealed that the buffalo strain (G3) and common sheep strain (G1) are cycling among livestock in north India and that these strains are highly adapted to cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs.     

内江猪γ干扰素基因的克隆、序列分析及真核表达载体的构建

将内江猪的外周血淋巴细胞在刀豆素（ConA）的刺激下培养24 h后，提取总RNA,应用一步法RT-PCR扩增γ干扰素（IFN-γ）cDNA,克隆到PMD18-T载体，命名为pMD-N-IFN-γ，测序结果证明克隆的cDNA全长603 bp，其ORF为501 bp，编码166个氨基酸，与Genbank公布的IFN-γ比对，核苷酸同源性在99.4%以上，从而证实成功地克隆了内江猪IFN-γ基因。以pMD-N-IFN-γ质粒为模板亚克隆完整ORF区,连接到真核表达质粒pcDNA3.1(+)的EcoRI、XhoI两位点之间，经单双酶切鉴定，成功的构建了IFN-γ真核表达载体pcDNA3.1(+)-N-IFN-γs。     

STAT3基因对广西黄牛肌肉干细胞成肌诱导分化的调控研究

研究旨在检测信号转导与转录激活因子3（STAT3）的表达规律，克隆STAT3基因，构建真核表达载体，并探索STAT3基因对广西黄牛肌肉干细胞（MuSCs）分化的调控作用。采集6、12、18月龄广西黄牛肌肉组织以及生长期（GM）和分化期（DM）肌肉干细胞，分别提取RNA并反转录为cDNA，通过实时荧光定量PCR检测STAT3基因和成肌相关基因的表达规律；克隆黄牛STAT3基因完整编码区序列，构建过表达载体pCD-STAT3并检测其对黄牛肌肉干细胞分化的影响。实时荧光定量PCR结果表明，STAT3基因在6、12、18月龄黄牛肌肉组织中均有表达，且在18月龄中表达量最高，12月龄中表达量最低；STAT3和成肌调节因子6（MYF6）基因在分化期肌肉干细胞中表达量均极显著高于生长期（P<0.01）。广西黄牛STAT3基因编码区全长2 313 bp，与空载体pCDNA3.1相连成功构建过表达载体pCD-STAT3，将pCD-STAT3转入体外培养广西黄牛肌肉干细胞，肌肉干细胞中STAT3基因及成肌决定蛋白（MyoD1）、骨骼肌肌球蛋白重链（MyHC）基因表达量极显著升高（P<0.01），肌细胞生成素（MyoG）基因表达量显著升高（P<0.05），且肌管数量、大小均显著高于pCDNA3.1组（P<0.05）。本研究检测了转录因子STAT3在广西黄牛背最长肌中的表达规律；且过表达STAT3基因显著促进了广西黄牛肌肉干细胞的成肌分化，为深入研究STAT3基因在肌肉生长发育中的作用及其分子调控机制奠定基础。