Bovine PrPC directly interacts with αB-crystalline

AbstractWe used a bovine brain cDNA library to perform a yeast two-hybrid assay with bovine mature PrPC as bait. The screening result showed that αB-crystalline interacted with PrPC. The interaction was further evaluated both in vivo and in vitro with different methods, such as immunofluorescent colocalization, native polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and IAsys biosensor assays. The results suggested that αB-crystalline may have the ability to refold denatured prion proteins, and provided first evidence that αB-crystalline is directly associated with prion protein

Identification and characterization of a ribose 2′-O-methyltransferase encoded by the ronivirus branch of Nidovirales.

Peer reviewe

N7-Methylation of the Coronavirus RNA Cap Is Required for Maximal Virulence by Preventing Innate Immune Recognition

The ongoing coronavirus (CoV) disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Understanding the immunological and pathological processes of coronavirus diseases is crucial for the rational design of effective vaccines and therapies for COVID-19. Previous studies showed that 2′-O-methylation of the viral RNA cap structure is required to prevent the recognition of viral RNAs by intracellular innate sensors. Here, we demonstrate that the guanine N7-methylation of the 5′ cap mediated by coronavirus nonstructural protein 14 (nsp14) contributes to viral evasion of the type I interferon (IFN-I)-mediated immune response and pathogenesis in mice. A Y414A substitution in nsp14 of the coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) significantly decreased N7-methyltransferase activity and reduced guanine N7-methylation of the 5′ cap in vitro. Infection of myeloid cells with recombinant MHV harboring the nsp14-Y414A mutation (rMHVnsp14-Y414A) resulted in upregulated expression of IFN-I and ISG15 mainly via MDA5 signaling and in reduced viral replication compared to that of wild-type rMHV. rMHVnsp14-Y414A replicated to lower titers in livers and brains and exhibited an attenuated phenotype in mice. This attenuated phenotype was IFN-I dependent because the virulence of the rMHVnsp14-Y414A mutant was restored in Ifnar−/− mice. We further found that the comparable mutation (Y420A) in SARS-CoV-2 nsp14 (rSARS-CoV-2nsp14-Y420A) also significantly decreased N7-methyltransferase activity in vitro, and the mutant virus was attenuated in K18-human ACE2 transgenic mice. Moreover, infection with rSARS-CoV-2nsp14-Y420A conferred complete protection against subsequent and otherwise lethal SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice, indicating the vaccine potential of this mutant. IMPORTANCE Coronaviruses (CoVs), including SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, use several strategies to evade the host innate immune responses. While the cap structure of RNA, including CoV RNA, is important for translation, previous studies indicate that the cap also contributes to viral evasion from the host immune response. In this study, we demonstrate that the N7-methylated cap structure of CoV RNA is pivotal for virus immunoevasion. Using recombinant MHV and SARS-CoV-2 encoding an inactive N7-methyltransferase, we demonstrate that these mutant viruses are highly attenuated in vivo and that attenuation is apparent at very early times after infection. Virulence is restored in mice lacking interferon signaling. Further, we show that infection with virus defective in N7-methylation protects mice from lethal SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that the N7-methylase might be a useful target in drug and vaccine development

Construction of an Artificial MicroRNA Expression Vector for Simultaneous Inhibition of Multiple Genes in Mammalian Cells

Recently, artificial microRNA (amiRNA) has become a promising RNA interference (RNAi) technology. Here, we describe a flexible and reliable method for constructing both single- and multi-amiRNA expression vectors. Two universal primers, together with two specific primers carrying the encoding sequence of amiRNA were designed and utilized to synthesize the functional amiRNA cassette through a one-step PCR. With appropriate restriction sites, the synthesized amiRNA cassettes can be cloned into any site of different destination vectors. Using the method, we constructed both single- and multi-amiRNA expression vectors to target three reporter genes, which code firefly luciferase (Fluc), enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and β-galactosidase (LacZ), respectively. The expressions of three genes were all specifically inhibited by either the corresponding single- or the multi-amiRNA expression vector in 293T cells. And the RNAi efficiency of each amiRNA produced by both single- and multi-amiRNA expression vectors was comparable

Biochemical and Structural Insights into the Mechanisms of SARS Coronavirus RNA Ribose 2′-O-Methylation by nsp16/nsp10 Protein Complex

The 5′-cap structure is a distinct feature of eukaryotic mRNAs, and eukaryotic viruses generally modify the 5′-end of viral RNAs to mimic cellular mRNA structure, which is important for RNA stability, protein translation and viral immune escape. SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) encodes two S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferases (MTase) which sequentially methylate the RNA cap at guanosine-N7 and ribose 2′-O positions, catalyzed by nsp14 N7-MTase and nsp16 2′-O-MTase, respectively. A unique feature for SARS-CoV is that nsp16 requires non-structural protein nsp10 as a stimulatory factor to execute its MTase activity. Here we report the biochemical characterization of SARS-CoV 2′-O-MTase and the crystal structure of nsp16/nsp10 complex bound with methyl donor SAM. We found that SARS-CoV nsp16 MTase methylated m7GpppA-RNA but not m7GpppG-RNA, which is in contrast with nsp14 MTase that functions in a sequence-independent manner. We demonstrated that nsp10 is required for nsp16 to bind both m7GpppA-RNA substrate and SAM cofactor. Structural analysis revealed that nsp16 possesses the canonical scaffold of MTase and associates with nsp10 at 1∶1 ratio. The structure of the nsp16/nsp10 interaction interface shows that nsp10 may stabilize the SAM-binding pocket and extend the substrate RNA-binding groove of nsp16, consistent with the findings in biochemical assays. These results suggest that nsp16/nsp10 interface may represent a better drug target than the viral MTase active site for developing highly specific anti-coronavirus drugs

Robust Model Predictive Control of Networked Control Systems under Input Constraints and Packet Dropouts

This paper deals with the problem of robust model predictive control (RMPC) for a class of linear time-varying systems with constraints and data losses. We take the polytopic uncertainties into account to describe the uncertain systems. First, we design a robust state observer by using the linear matrix inequality (LMI) constraints so that the original system state can be tracked. Second, the MPC gain is calculated by minimizing the upper bound of infinite horizon robust performance objective in terms of linear matrix inequality conditions. The method of robust MPC and state observer design is illustrated by a numerical example

A novel microwave assisted photo-catalytic membrane distillation process for treating the organic wastewater containing inorganic ions

A novel microwave assisted photo-catalytic membrane distillation (MPMD) process was proposed in this study to treat organic wastewater containing inorganic ions. Humic acid (HA) solution containing Ca2+ was used as feed to investigate the effects of microwave irradiation and ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the MD process. The membrane surface and composition of the fouling layer was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS). Ca2+ affected the permeation flux by forming complex compounds with humic acids and resulted in coagulation on the membrane surface in a conventional MD process. Microwave irradiation effectively decreased the deposit on membrane surface by destabilizing complex compounds. Organic matter was photo-degraded by the microwave assisted photo-catalysis so that the membrane fouling was prevented. In the MPMD process, the flux remained nearly constant. After 45 h of operation with the continuously concentrated solution, the concentration of the solution in photocatalytic reactor was about 2.8 times than the initial and J/J(0) equaled to 94.5%. In the end of MPMD process, J/J(0) equaled to 98.5%. The conductivity of the distillate over the operation time was less than 4 mu Scm(-1). MPMD was used to treat the coal gasification wastewater. The results clearly demonstrated that the MPMD process was sufficient to treat the coal gasification wastewater with a removal rate higher than 96% for CODcr and 98% for NH4+-N after an operation over 120 h. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Near- and Deep-Ultraviolet Resonance Raman Spectroscopy of Pyrazine-Al-4 Complex and Al-3-Pyrazine-Al-3 Junction

Near- and deep-ultraviolet (UV) resonance Raman spectroscopy of pyrazine-Al-4 complex and Al-3-pyrazine-Al-3 junction was investigated theoretically with a quantum chemical method. Here, 325 and 244 nm were employed as near- and deep-UV sources in our theoretical study The intensities of static normal Raman spectra of pyrazine-Al-4 complex and Al-3-pyrazine-Al-3 junction were enhanced oil the orders of 10 and 10(3) by a static chemical mechanism, respectively The calculated absorption spectra reveal strong B-6(2) and B-13(2u) electronic transitions near 325 nm for pyrazine-Al-4 complex and 244 nm for Al-3-pyrazine-Al-3 junction, respectively. The analyses of orbital transitions in electronic transitions reveal they are the mixture of (metal to molecule) charge transfer excitation and intracluster excitation. The intensity of near-UV resonance Raman spectroscopy of pyrazine-Al-4 complex and the intensity of deep-UV resonance Raman spectroscopy of Al-3-pyrazine-Al-3 junction are strongly enhanced on the order of 10(5) and 10(4), respectively, compared to the Raman intensity of isolated pyrazine excited at 325 and 244 nm. The calculations of Mic theory and the three-dimensional finite-difference time domain method reveal strong surface plasmon resonance and strong electromagnetic enhancements at 325 and 244 nm for single and dimer nanoparticles at suitable sizes and gap distance, respectively. The strongest SERS enhancement in the system of junction is on the order of 10(8) at the incident lights of 325 and 244 nm. The total enhancements, including the chemical and electromagnetic enhancements, can reach Lip to 10(13). So, Al is a suitable material for near- and deep-UV surface-enhanced resonance Raman scatterin

Surface enhanced Raman scattering of pyridine adsorbed on Au@Pd core/shell nanoparticles

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of pyridine adsorbed on Au@Pd core/shell nanoparticles has been investigated theoretically with quantum chemical method, generalized Mie theory and three-dimensional finite-difference time domain (3D-FDTD) method. We first studied the influence of the coated Pd on the electronic structure of Au nanoparticle, and compared the electronic structure of Au-20 cluster with that of Au10Pd10 (core/shell) cluster. Second, we studied SERS spectroscopy of pyridine on Au@Pd core/shell nanoparticles, which revealed the rate of static chemical enhancement and electromagnetic enhancement in the experimental reports. Third, the influence of the Pd shell thickness to the optical absorption of Au@Pd core/shell nanoparticles was investigated with generalized Mie theory. Fourth, we studied the influence of the shell thickness to the local electric field enhancement with 3D-FDTD method. The theoretical results reveal that the static chemical enhancement and electromagnetic enhancement are in the order of 10 and 10(3), respectively. These theoretical studies promote the deeper understanding of the electronic structure and optical absorption properties of Au@Pd, and the mechanisms for SERS of molecule adsorbed on Au@Pd