[The role of peptidyl-prolyl-Cis/trans-isomerase Genes of Arabidopsis thaliana in plant defense during the course of Xanthomonas campestris infection].

Experimental data obtained in this study showed the involvement of A. thaliana immunophilin genes At2g16600, At4g33060, and At5g48570 in plant defense responses to the Xanthomonas campestris invasion. We found not only that the expression levels of these genes changed upon bacterial infection, but also that the plant's resistance to the pathogen was increased if the expression levels of the immunophilin genes were elevated in the host cells.

[Genetically predetermined limitation in the use of HaCaT cells that affects their ability to serve as an experimental model of psoriasis].

Proinflammatory cytokines TNF, IFNG and ILl7 play an important role in eruption of psoriasis. The activation of epidermal keratinocytes with the named cytokines alters their terminal differentiation program and causes their hyperproliferation in the diseased skin. HaCaT cells, which are immortalized human keratinocytes, are often used as a cellular model of psoriasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in gene expression and the proliferation rates in cultured HaCaT cells treated with TNF, IFNG and IL17. We found that HaCaT cells decrease their proliferation rate in response to either IL17 or a combination TNF and IF-NG. The analysis of microarray data discovered a group of 12 genes, which were downregulated in HaCaT after treatments with the named cytokines and upregulated in psoriatic lesional skin. Eight genes were important for DNA replication and they also contributed to two larger networks that regulated cell progression through the cell cycle. We conclude that HaCaT cells have a sufficient limitation as a cellular model of psoriasis due to their treatment with proinflammatory cytokines, namely TNF, IFNG and IL17 does not increase their proliferation rate. Thus, the studies of psoriasis based on HaCaT cells as an experimental model shall take in account this important phenomenon.

Pharmacological control of receptor of advanced glycation end-products and its biological effects in psoriasis.

Receptor for advanced glycation end-products is implicated in a development of chronic inflammatory response. Aim of this paper is to provide a review on commercial and experimental medicines that can interfere with RAGE and signaling through RAGE. We searched three bibliographical databases (PubMed, Web of Science and MEDLINE) for the publications from 2005 to March 2012 and identified 5 major groups of agents that can interfere with RAGE biological effects. In the first part of this paper, we discuss AGE crosslink breakers. These chemicals destroy advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that are crosslinked to the extracellular matrix proteins and can interact with RAGE as ligands. Then, we describe two non-conventional agents SAGEs and KIOM-79 that abolish certain biological effects of RAGE and have a strong anti-inflammatory potential. In the third part, we evaluate the inhibitors of the signaling cascades that underlie RAGE. Particularly, we discuss two groups of kinase inhibitors tyrphostins and the inhibitors of JAK kinases. Considering RAGE as a potential master regulator of processes that are crucial for the pathogenesis of psoriasis, we propose that these medicins may help in controlling the disease by abolishing the chronic inflammation in skin lesions.

[Expression of bioinformatically identified genes in skin of psoriasis patients].

Gene expression analysis for EPHA2 (EPH receptor A2), EPHB2 (EPH receptor B2), S100A9 (S100 calcium binding protein A9), PBEF(nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase), LILRB2 (leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor, subfamily B (with TM and ITIM domains), member 2), PLAUR (plasminogen activator, urokinase receptor), LTB (lymphotoxin beta (TNF superfamily, member 3)), WNT5A (wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 5A) has been conducted using real-time polymerase chain reaction in specimens affected by psoriasis versus visually intact skin in 18 patients. It was revealed that the expression of the nine examined genes was upregulated in the affected by psoriasis compared to visually intact skin specimens. The highest expression was observed for S100A9, S100AS, PBEF, WNT5A2, and EPHB2 genes. S100A9 and S100A8 gene expression in the affected by psoriasis skin was 100-fold higher versus visually intact skin while PBEF, WNT5A, and EPHB2 gene expression was upregulated more than five-fold. We suggested that the high expression of these genes might be associated with the state of the pathological process in psoriasis. Moreover, the transcriptional activity of these genes might serve a molecular indicator of the efficacy of treatment in psoriasis.

[The comparative analysis of psoriasis and Crohn disease molecular-genetical processes under pathological conditions].

The comparative bioinformatic analysis of psoriasis and Crohn disease pathological processes was carried out using the results of microarray experiments deposited in GEO DataSets database. Several common for both pathologies genes and molecular-genetical processes were found. It is suggested that some transcriptional factors including AP-1 system of transcriptional factors are involved in pathological processes both under psoriasis and Crohn disease.

Study of Molecular Mechanisms Involved in the Pathogenesis of Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases, using Psoriasis As a Model.

Psoriasis was used as a model to analyze the pathogenetic pathways of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, and the results of bioinformatic, molecular-genetic and proteomic studies are provided. Cell mechanisms, common for the pathogenesis of psoriasis, as well as Crohn's disease, are identified. New approaches for immune-mediated diseases are discussed.

[Experimental models of transgenic plants promising for the modern technologies].

Transgenic popato plants have been created which express recombinant proteins, analogues of spidroin 1, the protein of the cobweb skeleton thread. Expression of the hybrid spidroin 1 genes possessing some repeated sequences retains both in the model test-tube-growing plants and in the crops. Expression level of the synthetic spidroin 1 genes and the level of accumulation of their products in plants depend on the type of promoter, number of repeats, organ specificity and plant species but not on the duration of plant material storage. The results show that the strategy based on constuction and expression of hybrid proteins which include the reporter protein makes it easier to select and analyse expression of hybrid proteins in transgenic organisms.

[Comparative analysis of N-acetylation polymorphism in humans as determined by phenotyping and genotyping].

The N-acetylation polymorphisms of volunteers from the Moscow population analyzed by phenotyping and genotyping have been compared. The ratios between the proportions of fast acetylators (FAs) and slow acetylators (SAs) estimated by phenotyping and genotyping do not differ significantly from each other (47 and 44%, respectively). The absolute acetylation rate widely varies in both FAs and SAs. The NAT2 genotype and allele frequencies in the population sample have been calculated. The most frequent alleles are NAT2*4 (a "fast" allele), NAT2*5, and NAT2*6 ("slow" alleles); the most frequent genotypes are NAT2*5/*5, NAT2*4/*6, and NAT2*4/*5. Comparative analysis of N-acetylation polymorphism estimated by phenotyping and genotyping in the same subjects has shown a complete concordance between the phenotype and genotype in only 62 out of 75 subjects (87%). Comparative characteristics and presumed applications of the two approaches (quantitative estimation of acetylation rate and qualitative determination of the acetylator genotype) to the identification of individual acetylation status are presented.

[From the mechanisms of genetic transposition to the functional genomics].

Pioneer works on studying molecular mechanisms of mutagenesis were published in the journal Genetika in the 1960s. In the laboratory of S.I. Alikhanian, studies on molecular mechanisms of genetic transposition were initiated in the late 1960s on the model of bacteriophage transposon Mu (Mutator). Parallel to these studies conducted in the laboratory of plant molecular genetics (Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR), which was later named the Laboratory of Functional Genomics (Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences), studies on transposition of Ti-plasmid T-DNA of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and works on construction of transgenic plants began in this laboratory. Transgenic plants with the expressed bacterial genes provided a model for the functional genomics. This topic is considered here in detail.

[Comparative study of the expression of the native and modified cry3a genes of Bacillus thuringiensis in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells].

The cry3a gene of Bacillus thuriengiensis was cloned. Based on sequence analysis of this gene, a modified gene, cry3aM, was constructed, which has the optimal codon composition for effective expression in eukaryotic cells. Hybrid genes cry3a-licBM2 and cry3aM-licBM2 were constructed, in which the sequences of the native and modified genes are fusedfused with the reorter gene for thermostable lichenase in the reading frame. We have shown that the expression levels of hybrid genes cry3a-licBM2 and cry3aM-licBM2 in Escherichia coli are comparable, being 5% of those for reporter gene licBM2. In cells of a lower eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the expression of hybrid gene cry3aM-licBM2? Which contains the modified gene, considerably exceeded the level of expression of cry3a-licBM2 containing the native gene. The presence of lichenase in the composition of hybrid proteins was shown to facilitate selection and analysis of the expression level of hybrid proteins in transgenic organisms.

[Construction of the synthetic genes for protein analogs of spider silk carcass spidroin 1 and their expression in tobacco plants]. / Konstruirovanie sinteticheskikh genov, kodiruiushchikh belki-analogi belka karkasnoi niti pautiny spidroina 1, i ikh ékspressiia v rasteniiakh tabaka.

To obtain transgenic tobacco plants expressing recombinant analogs of spider dragline silk spidroin 1, artificial 1f5 and 1f9 coding for spidroin 1 analogs were 3'-fused in-frame with the reporter lichenase gene. The Tr2' weak constitutive promoter of Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA and the strong constitutive promoter of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S RNA gene were used as regulatory elements. The expression cassettes were used to transform agrobacteria and then introduced in tobacco leaf disks. On evidence of Southern hybridization, transgenic plants each carried a single copy of a hybrid gene, which corresponded in size to the constructed one. Zymography and Western blotting revealed full-length hybrid proteins in leaf extracts of transgenic plants. The results testified that plants can maintain and express synthetic genes for spider silks and, consequently, may be used as a convenient producer of recombinant silk analogs.

[Expression of a thermostable bacterial cellulase in transgenic tobacco plants]. / Ekspressiia termostabil'noi bakterial'noi tselliulazy v transgennykh rasteniiakh tabaka.

The bacterial gene of the thermostable endo-beta-1,4-glucanase (cellulase) was shown to retain its activity and substrate specificity when expressed in transgenic tobacco plants. The leader peptide of the carrot extensin was efficient in transferring the bacterial enzyme into the apoplast. The expression of the bacterial cellulase gene leads to changes in the plant tissue morphology. In the transgenic plant lines, regeneration of primary shoots from callus occurred at the three to five times higher cytokinin (6-BAP) concentration than in control plants. The transgenic plants that expressed the bacterial gene exhibited increased business and altered leaf shape. The transgenic plants developed can be used as models for studying the cellulases role and function in plants.

[Bifunctional reporter genes: construction and expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells]. / Bifunktsional'nye reporternye geny: konstruirovanie i ékspressiia v kletkakh pro- i éukariot.

Bifunctional reporter proteins were constructed to combine Clostridium thermocellum lichenase (LicBM2) with Aequorea victoria green fluorescent protein (GFP) or with Escherichia coli beta-glucuronidase (GUS). The major properties of the initial proteins were preserved in the hybrid ones: LicBM2 was active at 65 degrees C, GFP fluoresced, and GUS hydrolyzed its substrates. LicBM2 remained active after extension of its C of N end. Bifunctional reporter systems were shown to provide a convenient tool for studying the gene expression regulation in prokaryotic (E. coli) and eukaryotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mammalian) cells, advantages of one reporter compensating for drawbacks of the other.

[A thermostable Clostridium thermocellum lichenase-based reporter system for studying the gene expression regulation in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells]. / Reporternaia sistema, osnovannaia na termostabil'nosti likhenazy Clostridium thermocellum, dlia izucheniia reguliatsii ékspressii genov v kletkakh pro- i éukarioticheskikh organizmov.

A new reporter system was developed to study the gene expression regulation in prokaryotic (Escherichia coli) and eukaryotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and mammalian) cells. The system was based on the modified bacterial lichenase gene (licBM2), which was shown to meet the requirements for a reporter. The gene product was active and did not undergo modification in heterologous hosts. Simple and sensitive methods were used to detect and to quantitate the lichenase activity. Inducible licBM2 expression was demonstrated with E. coli and yeast cells, allowing the system to be employed in dynamic studies.

A reporter system for prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells based on the thermostable lichenase from Clostridium thermocellum.

The coding region of the licB gene from Clostridium thermocellum was truncated at the 3' end. The modified lichenase encoded by the construct (LicBM2) retained the most important properties of the enzyme - its high activity and thermostability. LicBM2 consists of the catalytic domain and part of the Pro-Thr-box. We demonstrated the application of the licBM2 gene as a reporter system for prokaryotic (Escherichia coli) and eukaryotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and mammalian) cells by expressing it either as a transcriptional fusion with selected promoters or as a translational fusion with the E. coli uidA gene. The assays available for LicB activity are sensitive, accurate and simple, and can be used for the analysis of various gene fusion systems or for screening of transformants.

Exploring the properties of thermostable Clostridium thermocellum cellulase CelE for the purpose of its expression in plants.

The main properties (pH and temperature range, stability, substrate specificity) of the modified cellulase CelE (endo-beta-1,4-glucanase) from Clostridium thermocellum have been analyzed with the goal of its expression in plants. The modified enzyme is similar to plant cellulases. Deletions in the N-terminus of the enzyme do not affect its biochemical properties. Based on the present investigation, we conclude that the modified beta-1,4-glucanase CelEM1, when expressed in plants, will be a good model to study the role of cellulases in plants.

[Transgenic Tobacco plants expressing bacterial genes encoded the thermostable glucanases]. / Transgennye rasteniia tabaka, ékspressiruiushchie bakterial'nye geny termostabil'nykh gliukanaz.

It is shown that bacterial genes for thermostable beta-glucanases are expressed retaining their activity and substrate specificity. The leader peptide of the carrot extensin exerts effective secretion of the bacterial enzymes into the intercellular space of the plant tissue. Expression of the bacterial gene for beta-1,3-glucanase in plant tissues alters their morphogenetic potential. Regeneration of shoots from the calli of these plant lines requires a six- to eightfold increase in cytokinin (6-BAP) concentration in comparison with the control lines and the transgenic lines expressing beta-1,3-1,4-glucanase. Rooting of transgenic plants expressing the bacterial gene for beta-1,3-glucanase occurs much faster. The transgenic plants obtained in the study are proposed as model objects for investigating the role of glucanases in plants.

Preparation and properties of Clostridium thermocellum lichenase deletion variants and their use for construction of bifunctional hybrid proteins.

Major properties (pH and temperature optimum, stability) of lichenase (beta-1,3-1,4-glucanase) deletion variants from Clostridium thermocellum were comparatively studied. The deletion variant LicBM2 was used to create hybrid bifunctional proteins by fusion with sequences of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) from Aequorea victoria. The data show that in hybrid proteins both GFP and lichenase retain their major properties, namely, GFP remains a fluorescent protein and the lichenase retains activity and high thermostability. Based on the results of this investigation and results that have been obtained earlier, the use of the deletion variants of lichenase and the bifunctional hybrid proteins as reporter proteins is suggested.