Treatment of canine haemangiosarcoma with suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, a histone deacetylase inhibitor

A case report is presented by describing the treatment of a 12‐year‐old dog – diagnosed with haemangiosarcoma (HSA) – with suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor. The drug was administered orally, on a daily basis, approximately 2 weeks post‐splenectomy at a dose of 3 mg kg^?1. HSA is a lethal malignancy of the endothelium, which is usually disseminated by the time it is diagnosed. Median survival time, usually, is no longer than 80 days. Following treatment with SAHA, no sign of malignant growth could be discerned by means of diagnostic abdominal ultrasound, chest X‐ray or with the help of clinical symptoms, over a period of >1000 days. The precise mechanism by which HDAC inhibitors exert their anti‐cancer effects is uncertain, but evidence suggests that exposure to SAHA generates hyperacetylated chromosomal histones, which, in turn, facilitates the expression of tumour suppressor genes turned off by epigenetic mechanisms during neoplastic transformation of the endothelium.     

Regulatory effect of Panax notoginseng saponins on the oxidative stress and histone acetylation induced by porcine circovirus type 2

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) exists widely in swine populations worldwide, and healthy PCV2 virus carriers have enhanced the severity of the infection, which is becoming more difficult to control. This study investigated the regulatory effect of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on the oxidative stress and histone acetylation modification induced by PCV2 in vitro and in mice. In vitro, PNS significantly increased the scavenging capacities of superoxide anion radicals (O₂^•-) and hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) and reduced the content of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) induced by PCV2 in porcine alveolar macrophages (3D4/2). In addition, PNS decreased the protein expression level of histone H4 acetylation (Ac-H4) by increasing the activity of histone deacetylase (HDAC) in PCV2-infected 3D4/2 cells. In vivo, PNS enhanced the scavenging capacities of ^•OH and O₂^•− and reduced the content of H₂O₂ in the spleens of PCV2-infected mice. PNS also reduced the protein expression level of histone H3 acetylation (Ac-H3) by reducing the activity of histone acetylase (HAT) and increasing the activity of HDAC in the spleens of PCV2-infected mice. PCV2 infection activated oxidative stress and histone acetylation in vitro and in mice, but PNS ameliorated this oxidative stress. The research can provide experimental basis for exploring the antioxidant effect and the regulation of histone acetylation of PNS on PCV2-infected 3D4/2 cells and mice in vitro and in vivo, and provide new ideas for the treatment of PCV2 infection.     

云南、广西三七黑斑病病原链格孢菌的鉴定

正黑斑病是三七栽培生产中常见的一大病害,叶片受害产生近圆形或不规则水浸状病斑,常导致成株落叶、幼苗生长点及茎秆顶端腐烂枯死。其病原一般认为是链格孢属真菌人参链格Alternaria panax Whetzel~([1,2]),也有相关研究证明黑斑病病原为细链格孢Alternaria tenuis Nees~([3]),后定名为链格孢Alternaria alternata Keissl~([4])。本研究利用ITS序列和histone 3部分编码序列的PCR鉴定,结合形态学鉴定,分析三七主产区黑斑病菌的组成和分布情况及几种病原菌的致病力差异,以期为三七黑斑病防治提供理论依据。     

玉米组蛋白H_3和H_4基因的克隆

本文以λEMBL3为克隆栽体,构建了玉米(Zea mays)基因组文库,通过人工合成的探针进行原位杂交和斑点杂交,从文库中筛选到4个含有组蛋白H_3基因的阳性克隆。另外,通过多聚酶链式反应(PCR),从玉米核DNA中扩增了组蛋白H_4基因。这些基因可以在转基因植物研究中作为辅助序列提高外源基因的整合频率。     

水稻着丝粒特异组蛋白CENH3抗体的制备与应用

【目的】着丝粒是真核生物染色体的基本功能元件之一,其功能是在细胞有丝分裂和减数分裂时期精确地调控染色体配对和分离并维持染色体的稳定。着丝粒结构是由DNA和蛋白质形成的一种复合体。着丝粒特异组蛋白(centromere-specific histone H3,CENH3)是功能着丝粒是否具有活性的最基本特征。所以制备CENH3的相关抗体是进行着丝粒结构与功能研究的前提条件之一。【方法】通过设计短肽进行兔免疫实验,制备了水稻着丝粒特异组蛋白CENH3兔源抗体,利用ELISA和蛋白免疫荧光(immunofluorescence,IF)等检测方法对抗体有效性进行了鉴定。【结果】ELISA检测显示制备的CENH3抗体有效稀释度为1:40万,并且蛋白免疫荧光信号在水稻体细胞每条染色体的着丝粒区域均能检测到。同时,该抗体也可以应用于玉米等其他物种。通过染色质免疫沉淀(ChIP)技术获得与CENH3相结合的DNA分子,并进行PCR扩增和FISH定位分析,结果显示相应的Ch IP-DNA位于水稻功能着丝粒区域。【结论】本研究制备的水稻CENH3兔源抗体能满足着丝粒研究中相关实验的要求,可进一步应用于着丝粒的结构与功能研究。     

昆虫组蛋白修饰的研究进展

组蛋白修饰作为表观遗传修饰的一种主要形式,对基因表达和表型调控具有重要作用。组蛋白修饰的N端尾区可通过乙酰化、甲基化、磷酸化等修饰来改变染色质的状态以及调控基因的表达。与脊椎动物相比,昆虫种类繁多,且有变态发育、表型复杂等特征,可以成为探索动物社会行为、发育调控和毒理作用等表观遗传基础的模型。本文总结了昆虫组蛋白修饰的主要类型(乙酰化和甲基化修饰)及修饰酶的研究进展,对染色质免疫共沉淀测序技术(chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing,ChIP-seq)、染色质转座酶可及性测序技术(assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing,ATAC-seq)、转录组测序技术(RNA-seq)、组蛋白修饰酶功能验证以及Western blot、免疫细胞化学(immunocytochemistry,ICC)、免疫组织化学(immunohistochemistry,IHC)、酶联免疫吸附测定(enzyme linked immunosor...     

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid,a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor,improves the development and acetylation level of miniature porcine handmade cloning embryos

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) can change the histone acetylation and significantly enhance the developmental competence of the pre‐implantation SCNT embryo. To select a proper histone deacetylase inhibitor to improve the success rate and potentially developmental ability of handmade cloning (HMC) embryos of miniature porcine, we compared the effect of two histone deacetylase inhibitors (SAHA vs. VPA) on HMC embryo development, their histone acetylation level and the expression level of relevant genes. The blastocyst rate and number of blastocyst cells of HMC embryos treated with SAHA (SAHA‐HMC) or VPA (VPA‐HMC) were significantly higher than those of control (Control‐HMC), respectively, but there were no significant difference between SAHA‐HMC and VPA‐HMC groups. In addition, the acetylation level (AcH4K8) of Control‐HMC and VPA‐HMC embryos at the blastocyst stage, respectively, was significantly lower than that of in vitro fertilized (IVF) and SAHA‐HMC embryos. However, the acetylation H4K8 of the blastocysts had no significant difference between SAHA‐HMC and the IVF groups. The SAHA‐HMC blastocysts indicated comparative expression levels of Oct4 and HDAC1 (histone deacetyltransferase gene) with those of IVF blastocysts. In contrast, the expression levels of Oct4 were lower and those of HDAC1 were higher in the VPA‐HMC and Control‐HMC blastocysts, respectively, compared to those of the IVF blastocysts. Our results demonstrated that the HMC embryos treated by SAHA could promote the pre‐implantation development and increase the levels of histone H4K8 acetylation and the expression of the OCT4 gene, yet decrease the expression of the HDAC1 gene to the comparable level of the IVF embryos. Our results proved that SAHA may be a better histone deacetylase inhibitor for porcine HMC compared to VPA, and furthermore, it may indicate that SAHA can effectively correct the abnormal histone acetylation during the HMC embryo development and subsequently improve the full‐term developmental potential of the HMC embryos after embryo transplantation.     

营养素对动物表观遗传的影响及其机制

表观遗传是环境因素和细胞内的遗传物质相互作用的结果.表观遗传学是在DNA碱基序列不变的前提下引起的基因表达或细胞表观型变化的一种遗传现象,具体表现在以下3个既相互独立又相互作用的方面:DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和microRNA (miRNA)调控.本文就表观遗传的研究进展及营养素对动物表观遗传的影响及其机制进行综述.     

DNA甲基化与细胞分化

DNA甲基化与DNA遗传信息的传递及组织特异性基因的正确表达存在着十分密切的关系。DNA甲基化受组蛋白H 3和DNA甲基化转移酶的调控;甲基化的DNA与许多的蛋白质共同相互作用,调控基因转录,从而导致基因印迹和基因沉默,使细胞向特定方向分化。本文重点综述了DNA甲基化位点、甲基化转移酶及DNA甲基化相关的蛋白质;DNA甲基化与基因印记、基因沉默的关系及其对细胞分化的影响。