Xuelian Meng

Comparative genomics reveals adaptive evolution of Asian tapeworm in switching to a new intermediate host

Taenia saginata, Taenia solium and Taenia asiatica (beef, pork and Asian tapeworms, respectively) are parasitic flatworms of major public health and food safety importance. Among them, T. asiatica is a newly recognized species that split from T. saginata via an intermediate host switch ∼1.14 Myr ago. Here we report the 169- and 168-Mb draft genomes of T. saginata and T. asiatica. Comparative analysis reveals that high rates of gene duplications and functional diversifications might have partially driven the divergence between T. asiatica and T. saginata. We observe accelerated evolutionary rates, adaptive evolutions in homeostasis regulation, tegument maintenance and lipid uptakes, and differential/specialized gene family expansions in T. asiatica that may favour its hepatotropism in the new intermediate host. We also identify potential targets for developing diagnostic or intervention tools against human tapeworms. These data provide new insights into the evolution of Taenia parasites, particularly the recent speciation of T. asiatica.

Tissue distribution and expression of signaling lymphocyte activation molecule receptor to peste des petits ruminant virus in goats detected by real-time PCR

In the present study, we investigated the tissue distribution and expression of signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) in 40 tissues and organs of goats by real-time RT-PCR, in order to determine the role of these receptors in tissue tropism. SLAM mRNA was detected in all the samples investigated. The expression of SLAM mRNA was detected at high levels in spleen, mesenteric lymph node, hilar lymph node, mandibular lymph node, superficial cervical lymph node, nasal mucosa, duodenum, heart, gallbladder, thymus and blood; this is similar to the tissue tropism of peste des petits ruminant virus. However, it was surprising that expression of SLAM was low in lungs, colon and rectum which are the major sites of replication of PPRV. In addition, very low levels were detected in larynx, tongue and esophagus, which suggest the possible presence of an alternative receptor for PPRV. This study provided the first data on caprine SLAM for use in further studies of the pathogenesis of PPRV in goats.

Prokaryotic expression of f protein from PPRV and characterization of its polyclonal antibody.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the specificity of a polyclonal antibody against the F protein from Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV). A pET30a/F prokaryotic expression vector was successfully constructed and its recombinant protein was expressed. The result of Western blot analysis showed that the fusion protein pET30a/F possessed good immunoreactivity and the purified recombinant protein was then used as the antigen to raise anti-pET30a/F polyclonal antibody in rabbits. The polyclonal antibody titer against the recombinant F protein was confirmed by indirect ELISA, and the proteins specificity against pET30/F polyclonal antibody was confirmed by both Western blot and indirect immunofluorescence assay in transfected cells. In short, we obtained the high-level expression of recombinant F protein as well as high titers of rabbit polyclonal antibody specificity against F protein in pCAGGS/F transfected cells. This special polyclonal antibody offers a valuable and useful tool for further study of the pathogenesis of PPRV early infection and the structural and functional characterization of PPRV F protein.

Ultrastructural features of PPRV infection in Vero cells

Dear Editor,The peste des petits ruminants virus(PPRV)causes an increasingly important viral disease of livestock that predominantly infects small ruminants such as goats and sheep.It belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family and is classified as the fourth member of the genus Morbillivirus because of its genetic similarity with other members of this genus,which includes measles virus(MV),rinderpest virus(RPV),canine distemper virus

Molecular characterization, tissue distribution and expression analysis of Interleukin-12 receptor β2 chain in sheep

Ovine β2 subunit of the interleukin (IL)-12 receptor (IL-12Rβ2) was cloned from mRNA preparation of mitogen-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The complete coding sequence for ovine IL-12 Rβ2 was found to be 2586 nucleotides in length encoding 862-amino-acid residue protein. It showed 96.4% homology at the nucleotide level and 94.1% homology at the amino acid level with bovine IL-12 Rβ2. The ovine IL-12 Rβ2 subunit shares common structural and functional elements with their counterparts from the other species. Phylogenetic tree showed that ovine IL-12Rβ2 was clustered into the Artiodactyla group, together with those of cattle and pig, which was distinct from the other groups. Real-time RT-PCR was used to investigate expression of the IL-12Rβ2 in different tissues of sheep in order to determine the characterization of this receptor in tissue. Expression analysis showed that IL-12Rβ2 mRNA expression was detected at all the detected tissues with the exception of thymus.

Adjuvant Effects of Recombinant Plasmids of Porcine IL-4 and IFN-γ to Cysticercosis cellulosae Vaccines in Mice and Pigs

Abstract To investigate the adjuvant potential of porcine IL-4 and IFN-γ in mice and pigs, the genes of porcine IL-4 and IFN-γ were cloned and the recombinant mammalian expression plasmids were constructed for in vivo expression of the cytokines. Adjuvant effects of recombinant expression plasmids of IL-4 and IFN-γ (pcDNA-IL-4, pcDNA-IFN-γ) co-administrated with Cysticercus cellulosae crude antigen or TSOL18 recombinant protein antigen have been carried out in mice and pigs, respectively. We have demonstrated that recombinant plasmids of the cytokines as an adjuvant could induce stronger immune response in mice and pigs. With the C. cellulosae parasite antigen, porcine pcDNA-IL-4 induced higher specific antibody of immunized mice than pcDNA-IFN-γ. But pcDNA-IFN-γ is significantly stronger than that of no adjuvant or empty plasmids with the antigen control group. For the TSOL18 recombinant protein antigen vaccine, pcDNA-IL-4 still had a stronger ability to enhance specific antibody in swine than pcDNA-IFN-γ (P

Molecular Clone, Expression, and Prediction of Construction and Function to Key Genes of Interleukin Family of Porcine

Abstract This research was to clone, express, and analyze the structure and function of major molecules of porcine interleukin family. Genes of porcine interleukin family were cloned by RT-PCR from stimulated porcine PBMC by LPS and PHA, and then expressed in E. coli, and the structure and function of these molecules were predicted by ExPASY. The results showed that genes of IL-4, IL-6, and IL-18 were successfully cloned and expressed. Furthermore, the expression products of recombinant IL-4 and IL-6 both have multiple biological activities. By analyzing these genes with the NCBI/GenBank data, the homologies of the nucleotide acid sequence are 99.25, 99.21, and 100%, respectively, and have great species differences when compared with other animal species. The results of the prediction showed that all these molecules contain several phosphorylation, glycosylation, protein kinase, and signal transduction bonding sites in secondary structure, and all are compact globularity protein in space configuration. These characteristics of structure are the basis for their multiple biological functions. The genes, structure and function of key molecular of porcine interleukin family were successfully cloned, expressed, and analyzed in this paper.

M protein is sufficient for assembly and release of Peste des petits ruminants virus-like particles

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), belonging to paramyxoviruses, has six structure proteins (such as matrix protein (M), nucleocapsid proteins (N), fusion protein (F) and hemagglutinin protein (H)) and could cause high morbidity and mortality in sheep and goats. Although a vaccine strain of PPRV has been rescued and co-expression of M and N could yield PPRV-like particles, the roles of structure proteins in virion assembly and release have not been investigated in detail. In this study, plasmids carrying PPRV cDNA sequences encoding the N, M, H, and F proteins were expressed in Vero cells. The co-expression of all four proteins resulted in the release of virus-like particles (VLPs) with similar release efficiency to that of authentic virions. Moreover, the co-expression of M together with F also resulted in efficient VLPs release. In the absence of M protein, the expression of no combination of the other proteins resulted in particle release. In summary, a VLPs production system for PPRV has been established and M protein is necessary for promoting the assembly and release of VLPs, of which the predominant protein is M protein. Further study will be focused on the immunogenicity of the VLPs.