Inferring gene regulatory networks from temporal expression profiles under time-delay and noise

Ordinary differential equations (ODE) have been widely used for modeling and analysis of dynamic gene networks in systems biology. In this paper, we propose an optimization method that can infer a gene regulatory network from time-series gene expression data. Specifically, the following four cases are considered: (1) reconstruction of a gene network from synthetic gene expression data with noise, (2) reconstruction of a gene network from synthetic gene expression data with time-delay, (3) reconstruction of a gene network from synthetic gene expression data with noise and time-delay, and (4) reconstruction of a gene network from experimental time-series data in budding yeast cell cycle.     

Recent progress in cationic polymeric gene carriers for cancer therapy

In recent years,various carriers for gene delivery nave been developed for biomedical applications.Among all kinds of gene carriers,cationic polymeric carriers for delivery therapeutic gene as non-viral carriers have received growing interests due to their improved high transfection efficiency with the relative safety.In particular,the advancement of novel polymeric gene carriers has gained much progress in the development of effective anticancer therapy.Herein,this review focused on the development of cationic polymeric carriers for cancer therapy,including polyethylenimine(PEI),polyamidoamine(PAMAM) dendrimers,polylysine(PLL),chitosan and modified cationic polymers.And recent progresses in the development of novel polymeric carriers for gene delivery,such as targeted gene carriers,responsive gene carriers and multifunctional gene carriers,were summarized.Finally,the future perspectives in the development of novel polymeric carriers for delivery gene were presented.     

Microfluidic approaches for gene delivery and gene therapy

Recent advances in microfluidics have created new and exciting prospects for gene delivery and therapy. The micro-scaled environment within microfluidic systems enables precise control and optimization of multiple processes and techniques used in gene transfection and the production of gene and drug transporters. Traditional non-viral gene transfection methods, such as electroporation, microinjection and optical gene transfection, are improved from the use of innovative microfluidic systems. Additionally, microfluidic systems have also made the production of many viral and non-viral vectors controlled, automated, and reproducible. In summary, the development and application of microfluidic systems are producing increased efficiency in gene delivery and promise improved gene therapy results.     

高聚物基因载体的功能化研究

寻找安全、高效的基因载体是基因治疗的关键问题之一，聚合物基因载体具有低毒、低成本、可设计性强等优良的性质，是未来基因载体发展的方向。传统的高聚物作为基因载体时，功能单一，不能完全满足基因治疗的需要，因此对载体进行功能化修饰是十分必要的。本文在分析基因治疗过程的基础上，详述了基因载体应具有的四种基本功能——在细胞外保持稳定的功能、进入细胞的功能、逃离溶酶体的功能、进入细胞核的功能，并详细介绍了有关基因载体功能化修饰的方法和目前国际上的进展情况，最后本文总结了高聚物载体目前存在的主要问题及未来的发展方向。     

基因兴奋剂检测的现状与展望

生物技术在取得巨大成就的同时也导致了兴奋剂的发展。从体外重组蛋白到潜在的基因兴奋剂的出现,给兴奋剂检测工作带来了巨大的挑战。基因治疗的发展以及一些功能基因对运动技能提高的潜力,加大了基因兴奋剂使用的可能性。本文在介绍基因兴奋剂的基础上,阐述了基因兴奋剂检测方法的研究现状,展望了基因兴奋剂检测技术的发展策略。     

A Photolabile Semiconducting Polymer Nanotransducer for Near‐Infrared Regulation of CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing

Noninvasive regulation of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing is conducive to understanding of gene function and development of gene therapy; however, it remains challenging. Herein, a photolabile semiconducting polymer nanotransducer (pSPN) is synthesized to act as the gene vector to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 plasmids into cells and also as the photoregulator to remotely activate gene editing. pSPN comprises a ¹O₂‐generating backbone grafted with polyethylenimine brushes through ¹O₂‐cleavable linkers. NIR photoirradiation spontaneously triggers the cleavage of gene vectors from pSPN, resulting in the release of CRISPR/Cas9 plasmids and subsequently initiating gene editing. This system affords 15‐ and 1.8‐fold enhancement in repaired gene expression relative to the nonirradiated controls in living cells and mice, respectively. As this approach does not require any specific modifications on biomolecular components, pSPN represents the first generic nanotransducer for in vivo regulation of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing.     

Low-dose radiation response of the p21WAF1/CIP1 gene promoter transduced by adeno-associated virus vector

In cancer gene therapy, restriction of antitumor transgene expression in a radiation field by use of ionizing radiation-inducible promoters is one of the promising approaches for tumor-specific gene delivery. Although tumor suppressor protein p53 is induced by low doses (< 1 Gy) of radiation, there have been only a few reports indicating potential utilization of a p53-target gene promoter, such as that of the p21 gene. This is mainly because the transiently transfected promoter of p53-target genes is not much sensitive to radiation. We examined the response of the p21 gene promoter to low-dose radiation when transduced into a human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 by use of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors. It was shown that the p21 gene promoter transduced by rAAV vectors was more highly radiation-responsive than that transiently transfected by electroporation. A significant induction of the p21 gene promoter by radiation of low doses down to 0.2 Gy was observed. When cells were transduced with the p21 gene promoter-driven HSVtk gene by rAAV vector, they were significantly sensitized to repetitive treatment with low dose radiation (1 Gy) in the presence of the prodrug ganciclovir. It was therefore considered that the p21 gene promoter in combination with a rAAV vector is potentially usable for the development of a low-dose radiation-inducible vector for cancer gene therapy.     

基于碳水化合物的阳离子聚合物载体在基因释放中的应用

在基因治疗中,基因释放载体是不可缺少的重要组成部分.近几年来聚合物基因释放载体的研究主要旨在开发低毒或无毒的阳离子聚合物用于安全有效的基因释放.作为一类天然化合物,基于碳水化合物的阳离子聚合物载体由于其良好的生物相容性和低毒性被广泛地研究并应用于基因释放.本文阐述了聚合物基因释放的机理,并对近几年来一些典型的含碳水化合物的阳离子聚合物基因释放载体作一综述.     

阳离子聚合物基因转染载体的研究进展

安全有效的基因载体是实现基因治疗的必要条件,由于阳离子聚合物易于合成和改性,无免疫原性,可以方便地与DNA形成紧密的超分子复合物,保护DNA免受核酸酶的降解,并促进其进入细胞,从而成为非病毒基因载体中的一个重要类型;但阳离子聚合物基因载体,对细胞具有电荷相关的毒性,转染效率低于病毒载体,这成为限制其进入临床使用的瓶颈.本文从提高阳离子聚合物作为基因载体时的转染效率及降低其毒性方面综述了阳离子聚合物基因载体的研究进展,归纳了改善阳离子聚合物基因载体转染特性的八种方法,预测了阳离子聚合物基因载体的发展前景.     

基因网络前馈环路中的涨落共振

应用化学主方程和线性涨落近似方法,重点研究了前馈环路（FFL）对外界输入弱信号的响应,特别考察了它的涨落共振现象．研究发现Z基因的FR行为很大程度上依赖于FFL的协同性：协同FFL中Z的FR曲线呈明显的单峰,而非协同FFL中该曲线出现明显双峰．由于振荡信号常常在实际应用中用来探测网络的调控结构,因此可以利用涨落共振曲线的定性差别来区分FFL网络的性能．     

毛细管电泳DNA片段多态性分析

对毛细管筛分电泳在ＤＮＡ片段多态性分析中的应用作了较为详细的论述,还对ＤＮＡ片段多态性研究的意义和作用进行了讨论。     

Fusion Wheat Histone H4 Protein Increases Transfection Efficiency of Non-viral DNA Vector

The lack of efficient and non-toxic gene delivery, preferably with non-viral DNA vectors, is generally regarded as a major limitation for gene therapy. In this study, a wheat histone H4 gene was cloned from Triticum aestivum, sequenced, modified and expressed in E. coli. The wheat histone H4 gene and reconstructed H4TL gene encoded wheat histone H4 and a recombinant protein of 141 amino acids with an approximate molecular weight of 15500. Gel electrophoresis mobility shift assays demonstrated that the purif...     

含氟高分子基因载体

阳离子高分子被广泛应用为非病毒类基因载体,但这类高分子材料的转染效率与细胞毒性之间通常存在"恶性"关联,即获得高转染效率时往往会伴随严重的细胞毒性.如何制备兼具高效、低毒特点的高分子载体是成功实施基因治疗的关键.含氟高分子是一类具有独特理化性质的高分子,能够在低电荷密度条件下与核酸形成稳定的复合物,从而实现高效、低毒的基因转染.含氟功能基团可帮助阳离子高分子改善复合物稳定性、细胞内吞、内涵体逃逸、胞内核酸释放等多个环节,从而赋予了含氟高分子在基因递送过程中的氟效应.该专论系统地总结了含氟高分子基因载体的研究,介绍了含氟高分子的基因递送性能、作用机理以及在基因治疗、基因编辑中的应用,并对含氟高分子载体的未来发展进行了展望.     

壳聚糖作基因载体及其改性研究进展

基因载体是基因治疗的关键,病毒性基因载体在临床应用上暴露出一系列安全问题,非病毒性载体的研究成为当务之急。因其来源丰富、价廉、优良的物理化学和生物学特性,壳聚糖是当今最具潜力的非病毒性基因载体。近年来,壳聚糖作基因载体及其改性研究取得了长足的进展。本文重点从壳聚糖/基因复合物的大小、稳定性、靶向性及基因转染效率等方面概述了壳聚糖及其改性衍生物作基因载体的最新研究进展。     

Improved expression by cytomegalovirus promoter/enhancer and behavior of vascular endothelial growth factor gene after myocardial injection of naked DNA

Direct injection of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene plasmid DNA into the myocardium was shown to induce development of new blood vessels to increase the circulation in the heart of patients with coronary artery diseases. However, such angiogenic gene therapy (via naked DNA) was limited by low level of gene expression. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial characteristics of VEGF gene transfer in the heart are not known. In this study, we demonstrated that a plasmid vector, containing the human cytomegalovirus immediate early (HCMV IE) promoter and enhancer, induces greater expression of gene in the rat heart monitored by gene fused to the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter, than four different viral and cellular promoters. Interestingly, expression of VEGF121 protein showed an earlier peak, a shorter duration, and a wider distribution than that of CAT only. Therefore, a plasmid vector with an HCMV IE promoter/enhancer provides clear advantages over other previously developed plasmids. Furthermore, expression profile of VEGF121 gene may provide useful information in the design of angiogenic gene therapy in the heart.     

A novel variant of human interferon alpha 1 gene.

A 520-base pair human IFN-alpha gene was isolated by PCR method twice from chromosome DNA of a Chinese (Han Nationality) fetal liver. The nucleotide sequences were determined. These two separately amplified DNA fragments shared the completely identical nucleotide sequence but possessed C and G at positions 410 and 541, respectively, which differ from those of IFN-alpha 1 and IFN-alpha D previously described. Therefore the deduced amino acid sequence would have an Ala at position 114 and a Val at position 158. At all other sites it has the same amino acids as those in IFN-alpha 1 and IFN-alpha D. We recommend that IFN-alpha D gene, IFN-alpha I gene and IFN-alpha I/158V gene found in our laboratory, be named IFN-alpha 1a gene, IFN-alpha 1b gene and IFN-alpha 1c gene.     

一种基于二氧化硅微颗粒的基因载体的制备新方法

建立了一种基于二氧化硅微颗粒的基因载体的制备新方法. 首先将正硅酸乙酯在乙醇和氨水环境下水解， 合成得到二氧化硅微颗粒, 然后通过静电作用将多聚赖氨酸修饰到硅微颗粒上, 制备出可有效地结合DNA的基因载体. 所制备的基因载体可将绿色荧光蛋白表达载体pEGFP导入COS-7细胞中, 实现了绿色荧光蛋白的高效表达. 本方法简便、 快速, 在基因转染与基因治疗研究领域具有较好的潜在应用价值.