Retrovirus-mediated transfer and expression of drug resistance genes in human haematopoietic progenitor cells

Patients with certain genetic disorders can be cured by bone marrow transplantation. However, as prospective donors do not exist for most patients with potentially curable genetic abnormalities, an alternative treatment for such patients involves the transfer of cloned genes into the patient's haematopoietic stem cells followed by re-infusion of the treated cells. Retroviral vectors provide an efficient means for transferring genes into mammalian cells and have been used to transfer genes into mouse haematopoietic cells. We have now produced amphotropic retroviral vectors containing either the bacterial gene for neomycin resistance or a mutant dihydrofolate reductase gene that confers resistance to methotrexate and have used these vectors to infect and confer drug resistance to human haematopoietic progenitor cells in vitro. Transfer could be demonstrated in the absence of helper virus by using an amphotropic retrovirus packaging cell line, PA12 (ref. 9). These studies are an important step towards the eventual application of retrovirus-mediated gene transfer to human gene therapy and for molecular approaches to the study of human haematopoiesis.     

Silica nanoparticle is a possible safe carrier for gene therapy

In order to develop a safe and effective gene therapy carrier, some toxicological and biodynamical experiments were carried out on silica nanoparticles （SiNPs）. First we prepared SiNPs with appropriate portions of cyclohexane, deionized water and ethyl silicate, and then transfected the modified SiNPs and GFP plasmid DNA complex into the HT1080 cells to test the effectiveness of transfection for gene therapy. At the same time, we injected the SiNPs into a number of mice through tail vein. Then we made the mice crossed to evaluate the acute, long-term and reproductive toxicity. In vivo distribution analysis and pathological examination were made on both adult mice and their offspring. SiNPs were uniform and had an average diameter of 40 nm, and the modified SiNPs carried exogenous DNA molecules into target cells and the transferred GFP fusion gene was effectively expressed in the cells. The SiNPs injected via tail vein were widely distributed in almost all of tissues, and the injected mice had the ability to reproduce normally. The in vivo and in vitro results of this study clearly show that SiNPs can be used as a safe and effective carrier for gene transfection and gene therapy.     

Retrovirus transfer of a bacterial gene into mouse haematopoietic progenitor cells

The haematopoietic system is made up of a hierarchy of cells with different developmental, functional and proliferative capacities. Although cellular diversity appears to arise from the commitment and maturation of stem cells, the molecular basis for this differentiation process is unknown. The introduction of cloned DNA sequences into haematopoietic progenitor cells would provide a novel approach for studying this differentiating in vivo system. One laboratory has reported DNA-mediated transfer of genes into mouse bone marrow cells. However, retroviruses offer a number of advantages over DNA-mediated gene transfer procedures, including high efficiency infection of a wide range of cell types in vitro and in vivo, stable and low copy integration into the host chromosome, and a defined integrated provirus structure. For these reasons recombinant DNA techniques have been utilized to construct high efficiency retrovirus vectors expressing foreign genes. We demonstrate here, using such a retrovirus vector, the transfer of a dominant selectable drug-resistance gene into defined classes of mouse haematopoietic progenitor cells. These observations should facilitate the development of molecular genetic approaches to fundamental and clinical problems in haematopoiesis.     

Effect of cell history on response to helix-loop-helix family of myogenic regulators

In multinucleated heterokaryons formed from the fusion of differentiated muscle cells to either hepatocytes or fibroblasts, muscle-specific gene expression is activated, liver-specific gene expression is repressed, and there are changes in the location of the Golgi apparatus. An understanding of the regulatory mechanisms that underlie this plasticity is of particular interest given the stability of the differentiated state in vivo. We have now investigated whether MyoD or myogenin, regulators of muscle-specific gene expression that have a helix-loop-helix motif, can induce the phenotypic conversion observed in heterokaryons. When these regulators were stably or transiently introduced into fibroblasts or hepatocytes by microinjection, transfection or retroviral infection with complementary DNA in expression vectors, fibroblasts expressed muscle-specific genes, whereas hepatocytes did not. However, fusion of hepatocytes stably expressing MyoD to fibroblasts resulted in activation in the heterokaryon of muscle-specific genes of both cell types. These results imply that other regulators, present in fibroblasts but not in hepatocytes, are necessary for the activation of muscle-specific genes, and indicate that the differentiated state of a cell is dictated by its history and a dynamic interaction among the proteins that it contains.     

Phenylalanine biosynthesis in Brevibacterium lactofermentum using Escherichia coli genes pheA, aroG and tyrB

Genetic engineering technology to increase the production of L-phenylalanine was used in the study.Three genes encoding the key enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of L-phenylalanine were utilized, in which the gene aroG encodes 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthetase (DS); the gene pheA encodes bifunctional enzyme of chorisate mutase (CM) and prephenate dehydratase (PD); and the gene tyrb encodes aminotransferase (AT).The three genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the genome of the E. coli mutant strains resistant to fluro-DL-phenylalanine and inserted into the cloning vectors. Then, they were expressed in E. coli and Brevibacterium lactofermentum in a tandem arrangement. The expressed enzymes had high activities in the host cells.     

肺癌的基因治疗

肺癌的发生、发展和演变与细胞原癌基因的激活和抑癌基因的失活有着 密切的关系，并已证实肺癌是一种多基因分子异常病。它的基因治疗是针对肺癌发生的分子生物学特点，通过基因转移技术，将新的外源目的基因引入肿瘤细胞或其他体细胞以纠正或补偿缺陷的基因，从而达到治疗疾病的目的。     

Production of human alpha-interferon in silkworm using a baculovirus vector

Microorganisms are generally used for mass production of foreign gene products, but multicellular organisms such as plants have been proposed as an economical alternative. The silkworm may be useful in this context as it can be cultured easily and at low cost. We have therefore developed a virus vector to introduce foreign genes, for example, the gene for human alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha), into silkworms. We used the baculovirus Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) which has a large (greater than 100 kilobases, kb) double-stranded circular DNA genome within its rod-shaped capsid. Baculoviruses have been used previously as vectors for expression of beta-interferon and beta-galactosidase in established cell lines. Although BmNPV has not been used previously as an expression vector, it has an advantage over the baculovirus Autographa californica NPV in that it has a narrower host range and will not grow in wild insect pests in the field. In the present study, the polyhedrin gene encoding the major inclusion body protein of BmNPV was identified by hybridization with complementary DNA and cloned in a plasmid. For insertion of foreign genes, we constructed a recombinant plasmid carrying a polylinker linked to the promoter of the polyhedrin gene, and inserted the IFN-alpha gene into this plasmid. The resulting plasmid and the BmNPV genomic DNA were co-transfected into BM-N cells, and stable recombinant viruses isolated by plaque assay on BM-N cells. The recombinant virus replicated in silkworm larvae, which synthesized as much as 5 X 10(7) units (approximately 50 micrograms) of interferon in their haemolymph.     

人间充质干细胞成骨分化早期HOX家族基因转录的表观遗传调控

人间充质干细胞(human mesenchymal stem cells,hMSCs)是一类具有多分化潜能的成体干细胞,在体内外可以被人工定向诱导分化成多种不同的细胞.有报道表明,在干细胞分化的过程中,细胞核内染色质发生重塑.HOX家族基因作为一类转录因子,在胚胎发育以及细胞分化过程中发挥着十分重要作用.通过体外定向诱导骨髓间充质干细胞向成骨细胞分化,对比分化前后细胞中HOX家族基因的表达状况,发现HOX家族基因的表达水平在hMSCs早期成骨分化过程中显著下降.进一步的研究发现,HOX家族基因的这种表达变化是由其启动子区的组蛋白H3-Lys9乙酰化和二甲基化水平发生变化而导致的.一系列实验证据表明,在间充质干细胞的成骨分化过程中,HOX家族基因表达受到抑制,而这种抑制作用是与其分化过程中发生的染色质重塑事件密切相关的.     

Reversal of pathology in murine mucopolysaccharidosis type VII by somatic cell gene transfer.

An inherited deficiency of beta-glucuronidase in humans, mice and dogs causes mucopolysaccharidosis VII (Sly syndrome), a progressive degenerative disease that reduces lifespan (to an average of 5 months in mice) and results from lysosomal storage of undegraded glycosaminoglycans in the spleen, liver, kidney, cornea, brain and skeletal system. Bone marrow transplantation in mutant mice provides a source of normal enzyme ('cross-correction'), which substantially improves the clinical condition and extends the average lifespan to 18 months. Gene therapy by transfer of a beta-glucuronidase gene into mutant haematopoietic stem cells is an alternative approach, but it is not known whether the low expression of vector-transferred genes in vivo would be sufficiently effective. Here we show that retroviral vector-mediated transfer of the gene to mutant stem cells results in long-term expression of low levels of beta-glucuronidase which partially corrects the disease by reducing lysosomal storage in liver and spleen.     

Xenogeneic homologous genes, molecular evolution and cancer therapy

Cancer is one of the main causes for death of human beings to date, and cancer biotherapy (mainlyimmunotherapy and gene therapy) has become the most promising approach after surgical therapy, radiotherapy andchemotherapy. However, there are still many limitations on cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy; therefore great ef-fort is being made to develop new strategies. It has been known that, in the process of evolution, a number of genes, theso-called xenogeneic homologous genes, are well-conserved and show the structural and/or functional similarity betweenvarious species to some degree. The nucleotide changes between various xenogeneic homologous genes are derived frommutation, and most of them are neutral mutations. Considering that the subtle differences in xenogeneic homologousgenes can break immune tolerance, enhance the immunogenicity and induce autologous immune response so as to elimi-nate tumor cells, we expect that a strategy of inducing autoimmune response using the property of xenogeneic homologousgenes will become a new therapy for cancer. Moreover, this therapy can also be used in the treatment of other diseases,such as autoimmune diseases and AIDS. This article will discuss the xenogeneic homologous genes, molecular evolutionand cancer therapy.     

Symmetrical directional cloning: An efficient method to prepare hairpin RNA interference constructs

RNA interference (RNAi) is a loss-of-function approach by which double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) initiates degradation of homologous mRNAs in a sequence specific manner. The dsRNA molecules can be produced in vitro or in vivo, and can be introduced to cells in a number of ways. Here we report a more efficient method for the cloning of inverted repeat DNA fragments into expression vectors that can be transcribed into effective dsRNA molecules in vivo or in vitro. This method, named Symmetrical Directional Cloning (SDC), takes the advantage of compatible non-palindromic restriction enezyme sites, which allow one to directionally clone a single PCR product in both the sense and antisense orientations together into a vector. SDC allows for the directional cloning of inverted repeats using a single PCR product; it requires only one cut site on each side of the loop. Hence this method is more cost effective and less time-consuming. At least 21 commercially available restriction endonucleases can be used as cloning sites for the SDC method. The efficacy of dsRNA expression vectors prepared by SDC has been demonstrated by targeting a negative regulator of the signaling pathway mediating the response of cells to phytohormone, gibberellins (GA), in the aleurone cells.     

Phage antibodies: filamentous phage displaying antibody variable domains

New ways of making antibodies have recently been demonstrated using gene technology. Immunoglobulin variable (V) genes are amplified from hybridomas or B cells using the polymerase chain reaction, and cloned into expression vectors. Soluble antibody fragments secreted from bacteria are then screened for binding activities. Screening of V genes would, however, be revolutionized if they could be expressed on the surface of bacteriophage. Phage carrying V genes that encode binding activities could then be selected directly with antigen. Here we show that complete antibody V domains can be displayed on the surface of fd bacteriophage, that the phage bind specifically to antigen and that rare phage (one in a million) can be isolated after affinity chromatography.     

Construction of Yeast Vectors with Resistance to Geneticin

IntroductionYeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S.cerevisiae) hasbeen widely used in molecular biology as well asinthe industrial production.Its genetic backgroundhas been well studied and a series of cloning andexpression vectors have been constructed for DNAtransformation into yeast[1 ] .The selection markersof these conventional vectors are usually H IS3 ,TRP1 ,LEU2 ,and URA3 [1 ,2 ] . These selectionmarkers are responsible for the biosynthesis ofsome amino acids and consequently the hos…     

Adult neural stem cells-Functional potential and therapeutic applications

The adult brain has been thought traditionally as a structure with a very limited regenerative capacity. It is now evident that neurogenesis in adult mammalian brain is a prevailing phenomenon. Neural stem cells with the ability to self-renew, differentiate into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes reside in some regions of the adult brain. Adult neurogenesis can be stimulated by many physiological factors including pregnancy. More strikingly, newborn neurons in hippocampus integrally function with local neurons, thus neural stem cells might play important roles in memory and learning function. It seems that neural stem cells could transdifferentiate into other tissues, such as blood cells and muscles. Although there are some impediments in this field, some attempts have been made to employ adult neural stem cells in the cell replacement therapy for traumatic and ischemic brain injuries.     

小鼠造血干细胞的分离、培养及重组慢病毒载体介导的离体hFⅨ基因表达

造血干细胞是基因治疗理想的靶细胞之一,尤其适用于遗传性血液病.而重组慢病毒载体能高效感染造血干细胞,成为造血干细胞途径基因治疗的理想载体.从小鼠骨髓细胞中分离出单个核细胞(MNCs)进行体外悬浮培养,并用免疫磁珠法分离得到高纯度的小鼠Lin-CD117+造血干细胞(HSCs).体外悬浮培养期间,添加细胞因子的造血干细胞的细胞数和集落数逐渐增加,而未添加细胞因子的对照组的细胞数量无明显增加,细胞集落递减.用磷酸钙介导的共转染法制备了携带FⅨ基因的FUXW重组慢病毒,用慢病毒载体分别感染从ICR小鼠和C57小鼠中分离得到的MNCs,7d后测得细胞上清中hFⅨ的表达量分别为41.7±4.2和34.5±6.6ng/mL,而慢病毒感染C57小鼠造血干细胞,添加细胞因子组上清中hFⅨ的表达量为46.6±5.7ng/mL,不添加细胞因子组为33.3±4.8ng/mL.实验结果表明,重组FUXW慢病毒载体可有效感染小鼠单个核细胞和Lin-CD117+造血干细胞,添加细胞因子可提高转移基因的表达量.     

使用病毒载体的罕见病基因疗法临床进展

 很大一部分的罕见病由遗传因素决定,难以用普通的小分子或大分子药物治愈,而基因治疗有望从根本上修正人体功能的缺失或异常,给罕见病患者带来改善生活质量的希望。目前许多基因疗法的临床试验正在开展,病毒载体是常用的基因递送方法,本文讨论了用于临床基因递送的多种病毒载体,包括腺相关病毒、逆转录病毒和慢病毒,重点列举了这些病毒在罕见病临床试验中的研究、应用和进展,评价了这些病毒的优缺点,并简述了基因疗法的研究方向及应用前景。     

通用型奶牛多位点基因打靶载体系统的构建

以奶牛为研究对象,以其重复的rRNA基因间的间隔序列为靶位点,基于BAC重组酶系统构建多位点基因打靶载体,为建立体内多位点基因打靶技术获得关键材料.首先构建BAC-TDN筛选载体,然后构建pYLVS-GD表达载体.将BAC-TDN筛选载体和pYLVS-GD表达载体共转化至大肠杆菌NS3529中,通过Cre重组酶的作用形成BAC-TDN-VS-GD质粒,采用归位内切酶I-SceI切除pYLVS载体骨架,构建奶牛多位点基因打靶载体BAC-TDN-GD,利用接头LS使之环化.BAC-TDN-GD打靶载体与pYLSV质粒组成了通用型奶牛多位点打靶载体系统.以重复序列为靶位点的多位点基因打靶技术,将部分解决目前存在的打靶效率低、安全性差等问题.