Suppression of target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) by rapamycin ameliorates aging in diverse species. S6 kinase (S6K) is an essential mediator, but the mechanisms involved are unclear. Here we show that activation of S6K specifically in Drosophila fat-body blocked extension of lifespan by rapamycin, induced accumulation of multilamellar lysosomes and blocked age-associated hyperactivation of the NF-κB-like immune deficiency (IMD) pathway, indicative of reduced inflammaging. Syntaxin 13 mediated the effects of TORC1–S6K signaling on lysosome morphology and inflammaging, suggesting they may be linked. Inflammaging depended on the IMD receptor regulatory isoform PGRP-LC, and repression of the IMD pathway from midlife extended lifespan. Age-related inflammaging was higher in females than in males and was not lowered in males by rapamycin treatment or lowered S6K. Rapamycin treatment also elevated Syntaxin 12/13 levels in mouse liver and prevented age-related increase in noncanonical NF-κB signaling, suggesting that the effect of TORC1 on inflammaging is conserved from flies to mammals.

G4C2 hexanucleotide repeat expansions in a non-coding region of the C9orf72 gene are the most common cause of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). G4C2 insertion length is variable, and patients can carry up to several thousand repeats. Dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) translated from G4C2 transcripts are thought to be a main driver of toxicity. Experiments in model organisms with relatively short DPRs have shown that arginine-rich DPRs are most toxic, while polyGlycine–Alanine (GA) DPRs cause only mild toxicity. However, GA is the most abundant DPR in patient brains, and experimental work in animals has generally relied on the use of low numbers of repeats, with DPRs often tagged for in vivo tracking. Whether repeat length or tagging affect the toxicity of GA has not been systematically assessed. Therefore, we generated Drosophila fly lines expressing GA100, GA200 or GA400 specifically in adult neurons. Consistent with previous studies, expression of GA100 and GA200 caused only mild toxicity. In contrast, neuronal expression of GA400 drastically reduced climbing ability and survival of flies, indicating that long GA DPRs can be highly toxic in vivo. This toxicity could be abolished by tagging GA400. Proteomics analysis of fly brains showed a repeat-length-dependent modulation of the brain proteome, with GA400 causing earlier and stronger changes than shorter GA proteins. PolyGA expression up-regulated proteins involved in ER to Golgi trafficking, and down-regulated proteins involved in insulin signalling. Experimental down-regulation of Tango1, a highly conserved regulator of ER-to Golgi transport, partially rescued GA400 toxicity, suggesting that misregulation of this process contributes to polyGA toxicity. Experimentally increasing insulin signaling also rescued GA toxicity. In summary, our data show that long polyGA proteins can be highly toxic in vivo, and that they may therefore contribute to ALS/FTD pathogenesis in patients.

Hexanucleotide repeat expansions in the C9orf72 gene are the most prevalent genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Transcripts of the expansions are translated into toxic dipeptide repeat (DPR) proteins. Most preclinical studies in cell and animal models have used protein-tagged polyDPR constructs to investigate DPR toxicity but the effects of tags on DPR toxicity have not been systematically explored. Here, we used Drosophila to assess the influence of protein tags on DPR toxicity. Tagging of 36 but not 100 arginine-rich DPRs with mCherry increased toxicity, whereas adding mCherry or GFP to GA100 completely abolished toxicity. FLAG tagging also reduced GA100 toxicity but less than the longer fluorescent tags. Expression of untagged but not GFP- or mCherry-tagged GA100 caused DNA damage and increased p62 levels. Fluorescent tags also affected GA100 stability and degradation. In summary, protein tags affect DPR toxicity in a tag- and DPR-dependent manner, and GA toxicity might be underestimated in studies using tagged GA proteins. Thus, including untagged DPRs as controls is important when assessing DPR toxicity in preclinical models.

通过比对新城疫病毒强、弱毒株F基因序列,根据其在F0裂解位点的差异以及F基因保守序列设计合成NDV-V-probe和NDV-L-probe探针组和NDV-F、NDV-R引物组,以基因Ⅶ型NA-1株和基因Ⅱ型LaSota疫苗株病毒RNA作为定量检测的标准品,建立检测方法.对所建立的标准曲线进行分析,相关系数R2均为0.997,线性关系良好.通过计算变异系数Cv/％分别为0.034％和0.027％,均小于1％,说明稳定性良好.对禽类常见病毒IBV、H9亚型AIV检测未发现有交叉反应,特异性好、重复性佳.结果表明:成功建立了新城疫病毒强、弱毒双重荧光定量RT-PCR的检测方法,实现了从分子水平上快速鉴别强、弱毒力的新城疫病毒,也可快速区分野毒感染动物和疫苗接种动物,减少不必要的经济损失.

对鸡传染性法氏囊病病毒(IBDV)病毒样颗粒(VLPs)的免疫原性进行了探讨,并将其与鸡传染性法氏囊病活疫苗进行比较.分别用VLPs及VLPs+Poly IC对14日龄非免鸡进行免疫,并用IBDV B87株弱毒商品疫苗作为阳性对照,同时设置空杆粒蛋白组作阴性对照及PBS对照.免疫前进行颈静脉采血,首免后每隔1周进行3次采血,通过间接ELISA抗体水平检测、中和试验和淋巴细胞增殖试验来进行分析比较.抗体水平检测结果显示,首免后第7天,在鸡的体内可检测到IBDV特异性抗体的组别为:VLPs组、VLPs+Poly IC组和B87株组,且在加强免疫后,抗体水平明显增高(P＜0.05).首免后第14天,在3组鸡的体内均检测到高水平的抗IBDV中和抗体,且呈快速增长趋势.淋巴细胞增殖试验结果显示,VLPs组、VLPs+Poly IC组和B87株组鸡体内淋巴细胞增殖动态明显高于接种PBS和空杆粒蛋白组的鸡(P＜0.01),并且在加强免疫后明显提高(P＜0.05).动物攻毒保护试验结果显示,攻毒后第2天PBS组和空杆粒蛋白组的鸡均表现出IBD的典型临床症状和病理变化且在攻毒后第6天全部死亡,VLPs组鸡的存活率为88.7％;VLPs+Poly IC组鸡存活率为80％;B87疫苗组鸡存活率为88.7％.器官指数分析结果显示,3组与空白组相比差异不显著(P＞0.05).本试验制备的鸡传染性法氏囊病病毒样颗粒疫苗能够诱导机体产生较高水平的体液和细胞免疫应答,具有良好的应用前景.