Corticosterone inhibits LPS-induced expression of NLRP3 in mouse macrophages and its relation with XO

AIM: To investigate the inhibitory effect of corticosterone (CORT) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and its relation with xanthine oxidase (XO). METHODS: An inflammatory model of mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 was established by stimulating with LPS. Total cellular protein was extracted after the macrophages were treated with CORT at different concentrations (0~900 μg/L). The protein levels of NLRP3 and caspase-1 were determined by Western blot. According to the treatments, the macrophages were divided into control group, LPS group, LPS+CORT group and LPS+allopurinol group. Cell components were extracted at 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 h. The protein levels of NLRP3 and XO were determined by Western blot,and the mRNA expression of NLRP3 and XO was detected by real-time PCR. RESULTS: CORT at 700 μg/L and above significantly inhibited the expression of NLRP3 and the activation of caspase-1 in the macrophages induced by LPS (P<0.05). Compared with LPS group, the expression of NLRP3 and XO in LPS+CORT group was inhibited (P<0.05), and the expression of NLRP3 in LPS+allopurinol group was also reduced (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: High concentration of CORT inhibits the expression of NLRP3 in LPS-induced mouse macrophages, which is associated with XO. The inhibitory effect of CORT may be related to the reduction of XO expression.     

绵羊BMP15和GDF9基因多态性与产羔性能间的关系

本研究采用PCR-RFLP和PCR-SSCP技术分别对骨形态发生蛋白15（BMP15）基因FecXG突变和FecXL突变、生长分化因子9（GDF9）基因外显子Ⅰ、外显子Ⅱ部分核苷酸多态性及其与小尾寒羊、中国美利奴（新疆型）绵羊多胎品系、肉用品系、体大品系、萨福克、无角陶赛特、中国美利奴（新疆型）和德国肉用美利奴产羔数间的关系进行了分析,结果发现：（1）利用PCR-RFLP技术分析了小尾寒羊等8个品种BMP15 FecXG突变,在该位点未发现多态性;（2）利用PCR-SSCP技术分析了小尾寒羊等8个品种BMP15 FecXL所在区域的多态性,在BMP15基因存在G1047A转换,但并不引起BMP15氨基酸序列的改变,该突变与FecXL（G962A）不同,是在BMP15中新发现的一个突变。G1047A突变对小尾寒羊等7个品种的平均产羔数无显著影响;（3）在小尾寒羊等8个群体的GDF9外显子Ⅰ均未发现多态性;（4）在小尾寒羊等8个群体中发现存在G4突变,该突变对绵羊平均产羔数均无显著影响。以上结果提示：上述2个基因的4个分析区域不宜用于小尾寒羊等7个品种绵羊多羔性状的分子标记位点。     

A combined application of molecular docking technology and indirect ELISA for the serodiagnosis of bovine tuberculosis

BackgroundThere is an urgent need to find reliable and rapid bovine tuberculosis (bTB) diagnostics in response to the rising prevalence of bTB worldwide. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) recognizes components of bTB and initiates antigen-presenting cells to mediate humoral immunity. Evaluating the affinity of antigens with TLR2 can form the basis of a new method for the diagnosis of bTB based on humoral immunity.ObjectivesTo develop a reliable and rapid strategy to improve diagnostic tools for bTB.MethodsIn this study, we expressed and purified the sixteen bTB-specific recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. The two antigenic proteins, MPT70 and MPT83, which were most valuable for serological diagnosis of bTB were screened. Molecular docking technology was used to analyze the affinity of MPT70, MPT83, dominant epitope peptide of MPT70 (M1), and dominant epitope peptide MPT83 (M2) with TLR2, combined with the detection results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to evaluate the molecular docking effect.ResultsThe results showed that interaction surface Cα-atom root mean square deviation of proteins (M1, M2, MPT70, MPT83)-TLR2 protein are less than 2.5 A, showing a high affinity. It is verified by clinical serum samples that MPT70, MPT83, MPT70-MPT83 showed good diagnostic potential for the detection of anti-bTB IgG and M1, M2 can replace the whole protein as the detection antigen.ConclusionsMolecular docking to evaluate the affinity of bTB protein and TLR2 combined with ELISA provides new insights for the diagnosis of bTB.     

荷斯坦乳牛乳腺和乳腺上皮细胞中Toll样受体及辅助因子编码基因的检测

参照牛TLR4、TLR2、CD14、MD-2基因序列设计了相应基因的引物。采用RT-PCR技术检测了体外培养的荷斯坦乳牛乳腺和乳腺上皮细胞中Toll样受体TLR4、TLR2及辅助因子CD14、MD-2基因。结果显示,乳腺上皮细胞中存在TLR4、TLR2、CD14和MD-2四个基因的表达,而乳腺中除MD-2未检测到外,其余3个基因均扩增成功。说明该受体及辅助因子可能参与了乳腺的先天性免疫防御。该研究为探讨乳腺的先天性免疫及乳腺上皮细胞在乳腺先天性免疫中的作用奠定了基础。     

Exendin-4的研究进展

在介绍Exendin-4的基础上,综述了目前最新的Exenatide用于治疗糖尿病的研究进展,并基于大量临床前数据,阐释了其功能、作用机制和毒理学研究。     

Adenovirus-mediated mPPARγ1 gene overexpression inhibits IFN-γ-induced galectin-9 gene and protein expression in ECV304

AIM:To investigate whether adenovirus-mediated mPPARγ1 gene overexpression inhibits IFN-γ-induced galectin-9 gene and protein expression in ECV304. METHODS:A replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus expression vector of mPPARγ1 was constructed by using the AdEasy system. ECV304 were incubated for 24 h with 1×104 U/L, 5×104 U/L, 1×105 U/L and 2×105 U/L IFN-γ, respectively. ECV304 stimulated with 1×105 U/L IFN-γ were divided into 4 groups in random: P group (PPARγ1 gene overexpression), T group (treated with troglitazone 40 μmol/L in DMSO), PT group (PPARγ1 gene overexpression+troglitazone treatment) and control group. Changes of PPARγ and galectin-9 in mRNA and protein levels in different groups and subgroups were investigated by RT-PCR and immunoblotting. RESULTS: Galectin-9 expression was very few in normal ECV304. IFN-γ induced the expression of galectin-9 in ECV304. Degree of galectin-9 expression increased with the dose of IFN-γ. PPARγ1 gene overexpression inhibited IFN-γ-induced galectin-9 expression in ECV304. Galectin-9 mRNA and protein expressions from PT group and P group were inhibited in similar degree (P>0.05). However, this effect was not observed in troglitazone intervention (P>0.05). PPARγ expression was also very few in normal ECV304. PPARγ1 gene overexpression/activation had no effect on endogenous mPPARγ expression. CONCLUSION: This may partly contributed to the anti-inflammatory and immuno-regulatory effect of PPARγ1 gene overexpression by inhibiting IFN-γ-induced galectin-9 gene and protein expression in ECV304.     

大黄鱼C型凝集素受体Clec4e的分子鉴定及凝集特性

C型凝集素受体（C-type lectin receptor，CTLR）是可以特异性结合糖类病原体相关分子模式（pathogen-associated molecular patterns，PAMPs）的模式识别受体（pattern recognition receptors，PPRs），在先天性免疫中发挥着重要作用。为了揭示硬骨鱼CTLR的生物学功能，本研究以从大黄鱼（Larimichthys crocea）转录组数据库中筛选出的一个CTLR基因—C型凝集素结构域家族4成员E基因（C-type lectin domain family 4 member E gene，Clec4e）为研究对象，研究其分子特征、表达分布和凝集特性。结果显示，LcClec4e cDNA全长1546 bp，开放阅读框（open reading frame，ORF）771 bp，编码254个氨基酸。LcClec4e的N端有一个跨膜区，无信号肽，C端含有一个糖识别结构域（carbohydrate recognition domain，CRD），其中含有糖结合位点EPN和WFD以及6个可形成二硫键的保守半胱氨酸。系统发育分析表明，LcClec4e与多种鲈形目鱼类Clec4e具有较近的亲缘关系。荧光定量PCR结果显示，LcClec4e在所检测的10种组织中呈组成型分布，且在肝脏中表达量最高；LcClec4e在来源于大黄鱼头肾组织的原代巨噬细胞、淋巴细胞和粒细胞中均有表达，且在巨噬细胞中表达量最高；经灭活溶藻弧菌刺激后，LcClec4e在3种免疫细胞中的表达均极显著上调。原核表达的重组LcClec4e胞外段（recombinant LcClec4e-extracellular domain，rLcClec4e-ex）具有Ca2+依赖性的凝集活性，可凝集小鼠、家兔的红细胞，以及嗜水气单胞菌、变形假单胞菌、溶藻弧菌和坎氏弧菌等4种水产常见的革兰氏阴性菌。D-葡萄糖、D-果糖、D-甘露糖、D-麦芽糖、α-乳糖和脂多糖均可抑制rLcClec4e-ex对大黄鱼重要病原菌变形假单胞菌的凝集作用，说明LcClec4e可能与变形假单胞菌表面的糖类物质结合。这些研究结果提示，LcClec4e可能作为一种PPR，通过结合病原菌表面的糖类PAMPs来识别病原，参与大黄鱼抗细菌感染的免疫防御。     

Characterization of an intravenous lipopolysaccharide inflammation model in calves with respect to the acute-phase response

Our objective was to develop a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) inflammation model in calves to evaluate the acute-phase response with respect to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and acute-phase proteins, fever development and sickness behaviour. Fourteen 4-week-old male Holstein Friesian calves were included and randomly assigned to a negative control group (n = 3) and an LPS-challenged group (n = 11). The latter received an intravenous bolus injection of 0.5 μg of LPS/kg body weight. Blood collection and clinical scoring were performed at 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 18, 24, 28, 32, 48, 54 and 72 h post LPS administration (p.a.). In the LPS group, the following clinical signs were observed successively: tachypnoea (on average 18 min p.a.), decubitus (29 min p.a.), general depression (1.75 h p.a.), fever (5 h p.a.) and tachycardia (5 h p.a.). Subsequent to the recovery from respiratory distress, general depression was prominent, which deteriorated when fever increased. One animal did not survive LPS administration, whereas the other animals recovered on average within 6.1 h p.a. Moreover, the challenge significantly increased plasma concentrations of tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin 6, serum amyloid A and haptoglobin, with peaking levels at 1, 3.5, 24 and 18 h p.a., respectively. The present LPS model was practical and reproducible, caused obvious clinical signs related to endotoxemia and a marked change in the studied inflammatory mediators, making it a suitable model to study the immunomodulatory properties of drugs in future research.