抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Numerous theoretical frameworks have been developed to explain the gap between the possession of environmental knowledge and environmental awareness, and displaying pro-environmental behavior. Although many hundreds of studies have been undertaken, no definitive explanation has yet been found. Our article describes a few of the most influential and commonly used analytical frameworks: early US linear progression models; altruism, empathy and prosocial behavior models; and finally, sociological models. All of the models we discuss (and many of the ones we do not such as economic models, psychological models that look at behavior in general, social marketing models and that have become known as deliberative and inclusionary processes or procedures (DIPS)) have some validity in certain circumstances. This indicates that the question of what shapes pro-environmental behavior is such a complex one that it cannot be visualized through one single framework or diagram. We then analyze the factors that have been f...

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Mind the Gap: why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior?

The heparan sulfate on the surface of all adherent cells modulates the actions of a large number of extracellular ligands. Members of both cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan families, the transmembrane syndecans and the glycosylphosphoinositide-linked glypicans, bind these ligands and enhance formation of their receptor-signaling complexes. These heparan sulfate proteoglycans also immobilize and regulate the turnover of ligands that act at the cell surface. The extracellular domains of these proteoglycans can be shed from the cell surface, generating soluble heparan sulfate proteoglycans that can inhibit interactions at the cell surface. Recent analyses of genetic defects in Drosophila melanogaster, mice, and humans confirm most of these activities in vivo and identify additional processes that involve cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans. This chapter focuses on the mechanisms underlying these activities and on the cellular functions that they regulate.

Functions of Cell Surface Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans

Universal sample preparation method for proteome analysis

Heparan sulphate proteoglycans reside on the plasma membrane of all animal cells studied so far and are a major component of extracellular matrices. Studies of model organisms and human diseases have demonstrated their importance in development and normal physiology. A recurrent theme is the electrostatic interaction of the heparan sulphate chains with protein ligands, which affects metabolism, transport, information transfer, support and regulation in all organ systems. The importance of these interactions is exemplified by phenotypic studies of mice and humans bearing mutations in the core proteins or the biosynthetic enzymes responsible for assembling the heparan sulphate chains.

Heparan sulphate proteoglycans fine-tune mammalian physiology

The type II clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) system has emerged recently as a powerful method to manipulate the genomes of various organisms. Here, we report a toolbox for high-efficiency genome engineering of Drosophila melanogaster consisting of transgenic Cas9 lines and versatile guide RNA (gRNA) expression plasmids. Systematic evaluation reveals Cas9 lines with ubiquitous or germ-line–restricted patterns of activity. We also demonstrate differential activity of the same gRNA expressed from different U6 snRNA promoters, with the previously untested U6:3 promoter giving the most potent effect. An appropriate combination of Cas9 and gRNA allows targeting of essential and nonessential genes with transmission rates ranging from 25–100%. We also demonstrate that our optimized CRISPR/Cas tools can be used for offset nicking-based mutagenesis. Furthermore, in combination with oligonucleotide or long double-stranded donor templates, our reagents allow precise genome editing by homology-directed repair with rates that make selection markers unnecessary. Last, we demonstrate a novel application of CRISPR/Cas-mediated technology in revealing loss-of-function phenotypes in somatic cells following efficient biallelic targeting by Cas9 expressed in a ubiquitous or tissue-restricted manner. Our CRISPR/Cas tools will facilitate the rapid evaluation of mutant phenotypes of specific genes and the precise modification of the genome with single-nucleotide precision. Our results also pave the way for high-throughput genetic screening with CRISPR/Cas.

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Optimized CRISPR/Cas tools for efficient germline and somatic genome engineering in Drosophila.

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans have been implicated in the presentation of a number of secreted signaling molecules to their signal-transducing receptors. We have characterized a gene trap mutation in the gene encoding a heparan sulfate biosynthetic enzyme, heparan sulfate 2-sulfotransferase (HS2ST). Transgenic mice were generated from embryonic stem cells harboring this insertion. lacZ reporter gene activity in heterozygous embryos demonstrates that the gene is expressed differentially during embryogenesis, presumably directing dynamic changes in heparan sulfate structure. Moreover, mice homozygous for the Hs2st gene trap allele die in the neonatal period, exhibiting bilateral renal agenesis and defects of the eye and the skeleton. Analysis of kidney development in Hs2st mutants reveals that the gene is not required for two early events—ureteric bud outgrowth from the Wolffian duct and initial induction of Pax-2 expression in the metanephric mesenchyme. It is required, however, for mesenchymal condensation around the ureteric bud and initiation of branching morphogenesis. Because 2-O-sulfation has been shown to influence the functional interactions of ligands with heparan sulfate in vitro, we discuss the possibility that the Hs2st mutant phenotype is a consequence of compromised interactions between growth factors and their signal-transducing receptors. These data provide the first genetic evidence that the regulated synthesis of differentially glycosylated proteoglycans can affect morphogenesis during vertebrate development.

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Renal agenesis in mice homozygous for a gene trap mutation in the gene encoding heparan sulfate 2-sulfotransferase

Subcellular localization of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) can give precise control over where protein products are synthesized and operate. However, just 10 years ago many in the broader cell biology community would have considered this a specialized mechanism restricted to a very small fraction of transcripts. Since then, it has become clear that subcellular targeting of mRNAs is prevalent, and there is mounting evidence for central roles for this process in many cellular events. Here, we review current knowledge of the mechanisms and functions of mRNA localization in animal cells.

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Subcellular mRNA Localization in Animal Cells and Why It Matters

We present tRNA-based vectors for producing multiple clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) from a single RNA polymerase II or III transcript in Drosophila. The system, which is based on liberation of sgRNAs by processing flanking tRNAs, permits highly efficient multiplexing of Cas9-based mutagenesis. We also demonstrate that the tRNA-sgRNA system markedly increases the efficacy of conditional gene disruption by Cas9 and can promote editing by the recently discovered RNA-guided endonuclease Cpf1.

Augmenting CRISPR applications in Drosophila with tRNA-flanked sgRNAs

Cytoplasmic dynein is an approximately 1.4 MDa multi-protein complex that transports many cellular cargoes towards the minus ends of microtubules. Several in vitro studies of mammalian dynein have suggested that individual motors are not robustly processive, raising questions about how dynein-associated cargoes can move over long distances in cells. Here, we report the production of a fully recombinant human dynein complex from a single baculovirus in insect cells. Individual complexes very rarely show directional movement in vitro. However, addition of dynactin together with the N-terminal region of the cargo adaptor BICD2 (BICD2N) gives rise to unidirectional dynein movement over remarkably long distances. Single-molecule fluorescence microscopy provides evidence that BICD2N and dynactin stimulate processivity by regulating individual dynein complexes, rather than by promoting oligomerisation of the motor complex. Negative stain electron microscopy reveals the dynein–dynactin–BICD2N complex to be well ordered, with dynactin positioned approximately along the length of the dynein tail. Collectively, our results provide insight into a novel mechanism for coordinating cargo binding with long-distance motor movement.

https://www.embopress.org/doi/pdf/10.15252/embj.201488792

Simon L. Bullock

Papers

Optimized CRISPR/Cas tools for efficient germline and somatic genome engineering in Drosophila.

Renal agenesis in mice homozygous for a gene trap mutation in the gene encoding heparan sulfate 2-sulfotransferase

Subcellular mRNA Localization in Animal Cells and Why It Matters

Augmenting CRISPR applications in Drosophila with tRNA-flanked sgRNAs

In vitro reconstitution of a highly processive recombinant human dynein complex.