In Vitro and In Vivo Antigen Presentation and Diagnosis Development of Recombinant Overlapping Peptides Corresponding to Mtb ESAT-6/CFP-10.

Cellular immunity in Mycobacteria tuberculosis (Mtb) infection is important for the pathogenesis and final clearance of intracellular Mtb infection. In addition, it is valuable for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. In this pioneering work, we tested in vitro and in vivo antigen presentation and diagnostic application of a recombinant overlapping peptide-protein derived from two Mtb RD1 antigens ESAT-6 and CFP-10 (ROP-TB). The overlapping peptide sequence of ROP-TB is cleaved by the cathepsin S enzyme and covers the entire length of the two proteins. ROP-TB can be expressed and purified from E. coli. Once taken in by antigen-presenting cells, ROP-TB can be cleaved into a peptide pool by cathepsin S within the cells. We found that in dendritic cells, ROP-TB can be processed in 6 hours of co-culture, while the ESAT-6/CFP-10 fusion protein remained in the endosomal compartment. In Mtb-infected mice, ROP-TB stimulated stronger specific T cell responses than pooled synthetic peptides derived from ESAT-6 and CFP-10. With regard to the presentation of in vivo antigens, in a guinea pig model infected with Mtb, ROP-TB induced delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses comparable to those of the tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) and ESAT-6/CFP-10 fusion protein. In Mycobacterium bovis (Bovine TB)-infected cattle, ROP-TB elicited DTH responses. Finally, in Mtb infected patients, ROP-TB stimulated cellular immune responses in majority of patients (16/18) of different HLA phenotypes while a single peptide derived from the same proteins did not elicit the immune responses in all patients. In summary, in vitro and in vivo data suggest that ROP-TB stimulates a strong cellular immune response irrespective of HLA phenotypes and is therefore suitable for use in vitro and in vivo diagnostics.

A fragment activity assay reveals the key residues of TBC1D15 GTPase-activating protein (GAP) in Chiloscyllium plagiosum.

BACKGROUND: GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) with a TBC (Tre-2/Bub2/Cdc16) domain architecture serve as negative regulators of Rab GTPases. The related crystal structure has been studied and reported by other members of our research group in 2017 (Chen et al. in Protein Sci 26(4):834-846, 2017). The protein crystal structure and sequencing data accession numbers in Protein structure database (PDB) are 5TUB (Shark TBC1D15 GAP) and 5TUC (Sus TBC1D15 GAP), respectively. In this paper, we analyzed the Rab-GAP specificity of TBC1D15 in the evolution and influence of key amino acid residue mutations on Rab-GAP activity. RESULTS: Sequence alignment showed that five arginine residues of the TBC1D15-GAP domain are conserved among the species Sus/Mus/Homo but have been replaced by glycine or lysine in Shark. A fragment activity assay was conducted by altering the five residues of Shark TBC1D15-GAP to arginine, and the corresponding arginine in TBC1D15 GAP domains from Sus and Homo species were mutated to resemble Shark TBC1D15-GAP. Our data revealed that the residues of G28, K45, K119, K122 and K221 in the Shark TBC1D15-GAP domain had a key role in determining the specificity for Rab7 and Rab11. Mutation of the five residues significantly altered the Shark TBC1D15-GAP activity. CONCLUSIONS: These results revealed that the substrate specificity of TBC1D15 has had different mechanisms across the evolution of species from lower-cartilaginous fish to higher mammals. Collectively, the data support a different mechanism of Shark TBC1D15-GAP in substrate selection, which provides a new idea for the development of Marine drugs.

Crystal structure of TBC1D15 GTPase-activating protein (GAP) domain and its activity on Rab GTPases.

TBC1D15 belongs to the TBC (Tre-2/Bub2/Cdc16) domain family and functions as a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for Rab GTPases. So far, the structure of TBC1D15 or the TBC1D15·Rab complex has not been determined, thus, its catalytic mechanism on Rab GTPases is still unclear. In this study, we solved the crystal structures of the Shark and Sus TBC1D15 GAP domains, to 2.8 Å and 2.5 Å resolution, respectively. Shark-TBC1D15 and Sus-TBC1D15 belong to the same subfamily of TBC domain-containing proteins, and their GAP-domain structures are highly similar. This demonstrates the evolutionary conservation of the TBC1D15 protein family. Meanwhile, the newly determined crystal structures display new variations compared to the structures of yeast Gyp1p Rab GAP domain and TBC1D1. GAP assays show that Shark and Sus GAPs both have higher catalytic activity on Rab11a·GTP than Rab7a·GTP, which differs from the previous study. We also demonstrated the importance of arginine and glutamine on the catalytic sites of Shark GAP and Sus GAP. When arginine and glutamine are changed to alanine or lysine, the activities of Shark GAP and Sus GAP are lost.

Differential expression and miRNA regulation of the GSTP1 gene in the regenerating liver of Chiloscyllium plagiosum.

Liver regeneration is a complicated process, and understanding the regulatory mechanism will be helpful in the treatment of diseases associated with liver. In this study, the one-third liver resection model was established in Chiloscyllium plagiosum, and the whole transcriptome of the C. plagiosum was generated using the Illumina-Solexa sequencing platform. Differentially expressed genes were analyzed using bioinformatics methods and verified using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Using miRanda and TargetScan, we screened the microRNA library for miRNAs that target the glutathione S-transferase P1(GSTP1) gene. Dual-luciferase reporter assays were used to confirm binding between the miRNA and GSTP1. Finally, we used western blotting analysis to determine expression of the GSTP1 protein. As a result, 65,356 unigenes were obtained in normal and damaged liver tissues, with mean length of 955 bp. A total of 359 differentially expressed genes were acquired; 217 of which were upregulated, and 142 were downregulated, including the GSTP1 gene, following liver resection. The presence of the GSTP1 protein in C. plagiosum was shown for the first time. Luciferase reporter assay revealed that GSTP1 messenger RNA was targeted by ipu-miR-143. The discovery and differential expression analysis of GSTP1 in C. plagiosum will be a valuable resource to explain the molecular mechanism of GSTP1 regulation of liver repair.

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Stilbene Derivatives as Novel Inhibitors of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B.

By imitating the scaffold of lithocholic acid (LCA), a natural steroidal compound displaying Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitory activity, a series of stilbene derivatives containing phenyl-substituted isoxazoles were designed and synthesized. The structures of the title compounds were confirmed by ¹H-NMR, 13C-NMR and HRMS. Activities of the title compounds were evaluated on PTP1B and the homologous enzyme TCPTP by using a colorimetric assay. Most of the target compounds had good activities against PTP1B. Among them, compound 29 (IC50 = 0.91 ± 0.33 µM), characterized by a 5-(2,3-dichlorophenyl) isoxazole moiety, exhibited an activity about 14-fold higher than the lead compound LCA and a 4.2-fold selectivity over TCPTP. Compound 29 was identified as a competitive inhibitor of PTP1B with a Ki value of 0.78 µM in enzyme kinetic studies.

Detection of piRNAs in whitespotted bamboo shark liver.

Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are 26 to 31-nt small non-coding RNAs that have been reported mostly in germ-line cells and cancer cells. However, the presence of piRNAs in the whitespotted bamboo shark liver has not yet been reported. In a previous study of microRNAs in shark liver, some piRNAs were detected from small RNAs sequenced by Solexa technology. A total of 4857 piRNAs were predicted and found in shark liver. We further selected 17 piRNAs with high and significantly differential expression between normal and regenerative liver tissues for subsequent verification by Northern blotting. Ten piRNAs were further identified, and six of these were matched to known piRNAs in piRNABank. The actual expression of six known and four novel piRNAs was validated by qRT-PCR. In addition, a total of 401 target genes of the 10 piRNAs were predicted by miRanda. Through GO and pathway function analyses, only five piRNAs could be annotated with eighteen GO annotations. The results indicated that the identified piRNAs are involved in many important biological responses, including immune inflammation, cell-specific differentiation and development, and angiogenesis. This manuscript provides the first identification of piRNAs in the liver of whitespotted bamboo shark using Solexa technology as well as further elucidation of the regulatory role of piRNAs in whitespotted bamboo shark liver. These findings may provide a useful resource and may facilitate the development of therapeutic strategies against liver damage.

Studies on land application of sewage sludge and its limiting factors.

Field experiments were conducted to study the effect of sewage sludge application on the heavy metal content in soils and grasses. The sewage sludge was obtained from Northern Shenyang Wastewater Treatment Plant, China, and applied at 0, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 150tha(-1). Native grasses Zoysia japonica and Poa annua were chosen as experimental plants. The experimental results showed that nutrient content of the soil, especially organic matter, was increased after sewage sludge application. The grass biomass was increased and the grass growing season was longer. Heavy metal concentrations in the soil also increased; however, the Zn content did not exceed the stringent Chinese environmental quality standard for soil. Pb and Cu did not exceed the standard for B grade soil, but Cd concentration in soil amended by sewage sludge has exceeded the B grade standard. Therefore, it is suggested that the sewage sludge produced from the wastewater treatment plant should not be applied to farmland, for which B grade soil or better is required. The sludge is suitable for application to forestry and grasslands or nurseries where food chain contamination with cadmium is not a concern.

[Effects of land utilization of sewage sludge on grass and soils].

Effects of land disposal of sewage sludge on grass and soil environment were studied. The sewage sludge used was from Northern Shenyang Wastewater Treatment Plant. The results showed that contents of nutrient in the soil were increased after sewage sludge application, especially for organic matter. Grass biomass were increased and the green period were extended with a better growth of the lawn. The heavy metal contents in the soil were increased with Cd contents beyond 2nd grade national environmental quality standard for soils. However, Pb, Cu, Zn contents not accumulated heavily. Poa annua had better ability of absorbing and accumulating Pb from the sewage sludge. When the application rate of sewage sludge capacity was at 25, 30, 60 t.hm-2, Zoysia japonica expressed significant absorption and accumulation of Cd, Cu, Zn.