Observing what phenotype the overexpression or knockdown of gene can cause is the basic method of investigating gene functions. Many advanced biotechnologies, such as RNAi, were developed to study the gene phenotype. But there are still many limitations. Besides the time and cost, the knockdown of some gene may be lethal which makes the observation of other phenotypes impossible. Due to ethical and technological reasons, the knockdown of genes in complex species, such as mammal, is extremely difficult. Thus, we proposed a new sequence-based computational method calledkNNA-based method for gene phenotypes prediction. Different to the traditional sequence-based computational method, our method regards the multiphenotype as a whole network which can rank the possible phenotypes associated with the query protein and shows a more comprehensive view of the protein's biological effects. According to the prediction result of yeast, we also find some more related features, including GO and KEGG information, which are making more contributions in identifying protein phenotypes. This method can be applied in gene phenotype prediction in other species.

Background: Peanut allergy appears to be less prevalent in other parts of the world than North America and several European countries, and it has been proposed difference in cooking practices may be responsible. In this study, the boiling and roasting processes were investigated to find a potential method to enhanced or reduce the allergenicity. Methods: The allergenicity of different peanut products, as reflected by changes in ethology (diarrhea and weight loss) and pathology (splenomegaly and jejunum breakage) were observed, and relevant serological indexes were determined after feeding different peanut products. Different peanut proteins were used to analyze the ability to resistance digestion in simulated gastric fluid (SGF). Ultraviolet spectrum and CD spectra were used to analyze structure changes of Ara h 2 in roasting and boiling treatment. Results: In the detection of the corresponding serological indicators, boiled peanuts show a lower sensitization than roasted and raw peanuts. SGF experiments demonstrated an increased resistance of roasted peanut protein to digestion. The results of ultraviolet spectrum and CD spectra showed that the roasting and boiling causes altered structures of the Ara h 2 peanut allergens. Conclusions: The summary show that different thermal processing may affect the structure and immunoreactivity, and the sensitization of roasted or boiled peanuts will be enhanced or reduced.

Background: CD28, a cell surface glycoprotein receptor, predominantly expressed on activated T cells, belongs to the Ig superfamily and provides a critical co-stimulatory signal. CTLA-4 has sequence homology to CD28, and is expressed on T cells after activation. It provides an inhibition signal coordinated with CD28 to regulate T cell activation. Both of them regulate T cell proliferation and differentiation and play an important role in the immune response pathway in vivo.Objective: We studied the special role of different structural sites of CD28 in producing costimulatory signals.Methods: We reviewed the relevant literature, mainly regarding the structure of CD28 to clarify its biological function, and its role in the immune response.Results: In recent years, increasingly attention has been paid to CD28, which is considered as a key therapeutic target for many modern diseases, especially some immune diseases.Conclusion: In this paper, we mainly introduce the structure of CD28 and its related biological functions, as well as the application of costimulatory pathways targeting CD28 in disease treatment.