Building of hFⅨ transgenic mice by spermatogenic cells

Human FⅨ expression vector pCMVⅨ was packaged by effectene^TM reagent and injected into mice seminiferous tubules with glass pipettes.The expressional frame of pCMVⅨ was examined by PCR and Southern blotting among 41 progenies.There were 2(4%) mice being integrated with hFⅨ gene into chromosomes.4.6ng/mL of hFⅨ protein was expressed in plasma of one mouse,which was tested by ELISA.We demonstrated that building of transgenic animals by spermatogonial stem cells is an efficient method.Meanwhile,it has also been proved to be an alternative choice for mammary gland bioreactor.     

Preparation of a recombinant adeno-associated viral vector with a mutation of human factor Ⅸ in large scale and its expression in vitro and in vivo

A series of adeno-associated viral vectors containing a mutation of human factor Ⅸ (hFⅨR338A) with different regulation elements were constructed and used to transduce cell lines. The plasmids and the stable transduction cell clones with high expression level of hFⅨR338A were obtained by selecting and optimizing, and then, the recombinant adeno-associated viral vector with hFⅨR338A was prepared via novel rHSV/AAV hybrid virus packaging system on a large scale, which contained the capsid protein genes. A method for producing rAAV-hFⅨR338A viral stocks on a large scale and higher titer was established, which can be used for industrial purpose. The titer of rAAV-hFⅨR338A was more than 1.25×10¹² particle/mL, and then, a mammalian cell line, C2C12 and the factor Ⅸ knock-out mice were transfected with the rAAV-hFⅨR338A in vitro and in vivo. The results show that the high-level expression of rAAV-hFⅨR338A was achieved in cell line and hemophilia B mice. It reached at (2551.32±92.14) ng·(10⁶ cells)^-1·(24 h)^-1 in C2C12 cell in vitro and had a peak concentration of 463.28 ng/mL in mice treated with rAAV-hFⅨR338A, which was as high as the expression of rAAV-hFⅨ-wt (2565.76±64.36) ng·(10⁶ cells)^-1·(24 h)^-1 in C2C12 and 453.92 ng/mL in the mice treated with rAAV-hFⅨ-wt) in vitro and in vivo, there is no any difference between two groups, but the clotting activity of hFⅨR338A is about 2.46 times higher than that of hFⅨ-wt. It was first reported that a mutation of human factor Ⅸ was used into gene therapy research for hemophilia B, meanwhile, a novel packaging system, rAAV/HSV was used for preparation of rAAV-hFⅨR338A on a large scale, which laid the foundation of industrial production for applying rAAV viral stocks to gene therapy clinical trial for hemophilia B mediated with rAAV-hFⅨ.     

Expression of human clotting factor Ⅸ mediated by recom- binant lentiviral vector in cultured cells and hemophilia B mice

To explore the expression of human clotting factor Ⅸ (hFⅨ) cDNA in vitro and the feasibility of gene therapy for hemophilia B mice mediated by recombinant lentiviral vector, a recombinant hFⅨ lentiviral vector driven by ubiquitin-C promoter, FUXW, and by ABP liver specific promoter, FAXW, was constructed respectively. Recombinant lentivirus was harvested from 293T cells by calcium phosphate-mediated transient cotransfection of three plasmids (transgene vector, CMV腞8.2, VSV-G). hFⅨ expression was detected in supernatant of 293T, BHK and L-02 cells infected with FUXW virus, whereas higher expression of hFⅨ levels (630 ng/106 cells/48 h) was detected only in L-02 cells infected with FAXW virus. Serum hFⅨ antigen was detected in all hemophilia B mice treated with FAXW virus by tail vein injection, an efficiency level of hFⅨ was observed (45 ng/mL, approximately 1% of normal human levels), the expression lasted for more than 60 d. The results indicated that HIV-based lentiviral vectors offer a promising approach to the gene therapy of hemophilia B.     

Expression of recombinant human lysozyme in the milk of transgenic mice

Human lysozyme is a 130-aa (amino acid) alkaline polypeptide, and has both anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties which make it an important component of human natural immunity system. As a first step toward the ultimate goal of improving the anti-bacterial properties of bovine and ovine milk, a transgenic mouse that contains the genomic DNA sequence of the human lysozme gene has been generated for the first time. From 83 mice generated by microinjection, a total of 6 positive transgenic mice were identified by PCR and Southern blot. F1 mice positive for transgene in lines were also detected by PCR. This shows that transgene could be transmitted from founder transgenic mice to their offspring. Recombinant human lysozyme (rHlys) was found in the whey of 3 female positive transgenic mice by Western blot. The highest concentration of rHlys for transgenic mice was 0.2mg/mL. The antibacterial activity of the whey for transgenic mice was highly enhanced up to 0.4 times as much as that of human, while that of non-transgenic mouse was very low. Although the lysozyme activity of transgenic mice is still lower than that of human, the rHlys exhibits the same specific activity as that of human lysozyme. It provides a strong basis for further studies into the possible application of rHlys express in mammary gland.     

Germ cell transplantation in infertility mouse

This work investigated the spermatogenesis in an infertility BALB/c-nu mouse model by reinfusing germline stem cells into seminiferous tubules. Donor germ cells were isolated from male FVB/NJ-GFP trensgenic mice. Seminiferous tubule microinjection was applied to achieve intratubular germ cell transfer. The germ cells were injected into exposed testes of the infertility mice. We used green fluorescence and DNA analysis of donor cells from GFP transgenic mice as genetic marker. The natural mating and Southern blot methods were applied to analyze the effect of sperm cell transplantation and the sperm function after seminiferous tubule microinjection. The spermatogenesis was morphologically observed from the seminiferous tubules in 41/60 （68.33%） of the injected recipient mice using allogeneic donor cells. In the colonized testes, matured spermatozoa were seen in the lumen of the seminiferous tubules. In this research, BALB/c-nu infertility mouse model, the recipient animal, was used to avoid immunological rejection of donor cells, and germ cell transplantation was applied to overcome infertility caused by busulfan treatment. These results demonstrate that this technique of germ cell transplantation is of great use. Germ cell transplantation could be potentially valuable to oncological patients.     

Expression of reconstructive hFⅧ in the hrDNA by using hrDNA targeting vector

Our lab has constructed a new nonviral vector-hrDNA targeting vector（pHrneo）, pHrneo is a human derived vector that can target gene into human ribosomal DNA（hrDNA） locus. In this study, we inserted expression cassette of reconstructive hF Ⅷ （hFⅧ-BDDAK39） to pHrneo to construct targeting vector： pHrneo-BDDAK39. Through electroporation of pHrneo-BDDAK39 into HT1080 cells, we identified the homologous recombinants by PCR and Southen blotting, and tested the expression of hFⅧ- BDDAK39 in the hrDNA locus. The hFⅧ-BDDAK39 was successfully targeted into hrDNA locus of HT-1080 by pHrneo-BDDAK39, and the efficiency of site-specific integration was 2.0×10^-5. hFⅧ-BDDAK39 in hrDNA locus of HT-1080 is found to be able to express efficiently （32±5 ng·10^6 cells^-1 .24 h^-1）. Targeting vector pHrneo-BDDAK39 can find use in gene therapy for hemophilia.     

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.     

Efficient expression of human factor Ⅸ cDNA in liver mediated by hydrodynamics-based plasmid administration

Hydrodynamics-based administration via tail vein was used to deliver naked plasmid with human factor IX (hFIX) cDNA in 2.2 mL Ringer‘s solution into mice within 7 s. The peak level of expression of hFIX was 2921 ng/mL in mouse plasma. The hFIX cDNA expression increased with increasing the amount of plasmid DNA injected. The peak level of gene expression declined after repeated injection of plasmid (1459 ng/mL). The hFIX cDNA was detected in various organs, but the highest level of gene expression appeared in liver. Transaminase levels and liver histologicalresults showed that rapid intravenous plasmid injection into mice induced transient focal acute liver damage, which was rapidly repaired within 3--10 d. These results suggested that high-level expression of hFIX cDNA can be achieved by hydrodynamics-based plasmid transfer and this method is nowfurther used for gene therapy and gene function study in our lab.     

Effect of HS2 and HS3 elements on erythroid-specific expression in transgenic mice

The expression plasmids CMV/GFP, HS2ALL, HS3ALL and HS23ALL were selected to investigate the effect of HS2 and HS3 element on erythroid-specific expression in transgenic mice. These plasmids were digested with restriction enzymes and purified. And five DNA fragments, CMV/GFP, HS2/GFP, CMV/HS2/GFP, HS23/GFP and HS3/GFP were obtained. After purification, the above DNA fragments were microinjected into the pre-nuclei of the mice fertilized eggs and transgenic mice were generated, with an integration rate of 10.89%. The green fluorescence protein(GFP) expression in many transgenic mouse tissues was determined by FACS analysis. The results showed that the HS2 and 1.7 kb of β-globin gene promoter were sufficient for the erythroid-specific expression of β-globin gene. The GFP expression of different recombinant constructs was also analyzed in blood of all the transgenic mice with FACS. The results indicated that HS2 and HS3 had the same enhancement activity on the regulation of β-globin gene expression. Moreover, these two elements showed a significant synergistic effect on gene expression at the transgenic mouse level, although the GFP expression varied largely among different transgenic mouse litters.     

Preparation of rAAV/hFⅨ by HSV/AAV hybrid helper virusand evaluation of its safety

Hemophilia B is a hemorrhagic disease resulting from Factor Ⅸ gene (hFⅨ) mutation as an X-linked recessive inherited trait. The incidence of this disease is 1 in 30000. Clinical treatments depend mainly upon blood transfusions or administration of prothrombin complex so that patients are at the risk of infections with the HIV and hepatitis viruses. Gene therapy offers an attractive alternative in the treatment of hemophilia B by eliminating those risks. In 1991, our lab conducted clinica…     

Preventive effects of Xin-Kang oral liquid on viral myocarditis in mice

To investigate the preventive effects of Xin-Kang oral liquid on myocarditis induced by Coxsakie virus B ( CVB) > the medicine was given to mice two days prior to the challenge of mice with the CVB to induce myocarditis. The oral liquid was continuously given to mice for 20 days and quantitative histological changes at various stages of the myocarditis were observed. The pathological changes on the cardiac surface were significantly reduced in Xin-Kang treated mice compared to those in control group (P<0. 01). and the occurrence of severe myocardium damage ( massive cardiac tissue death and degradation) was less in the Xin-Kang group than the groups either challenged with CVB or treated with interferon. The group treated with 0. 015g per gram body weight per day showed significant improvement over the viral group (P<0.01). The results proved that Xin-Kang could protect the cardiac muscle from viral infection and accelerate recovery of damaged cardiac tissue.     

Effect of Quercetin on Breeding and Apoptosis of Cervical Cancer HeLa Cell and on Growth of Transplanted Tumor in Nude Mice

Effect of quercetin on HeLa cell system of cervical cancer was studied by methods of MTT and Annexin V-FITC/PI. The results show that quercetin has functions of inhibiting breeding of HeLa cells and inducing apoptosis of the cells. The total apoptosis rate is positively proportional to reaction duration and concentration of quercetin used. The maximum apoptosis rate being （88.76±2.35）% was obtained when the concentration was 50.0 μmol/L and the cells were treated with quercetin for 72 hours. Based on establishing a model of tumor of cervical cancer transplanted into nude mice, quercetin of different concentrations was injected into abdominal cavity of nude mice and situation of tumor growth was reviewed. The result showed that with quercetin concent＇ration increasing from 0 to 100.0 μmol/L, the transplantation volume and weight of the tumors decreased from （279.59±70.58） mm^3 and （0.145±0.019） g to （128.72±36.12） mm^3 and （0.089± 0.019） g respectively, while apoptosis rate of the transplanted tumor increased from （9.63±1.85）% to （34,98±0.47）%, which proved that quercetin inhibited increment of volume and weight of transplanted tumor in nude mice bodies.     

Specific targeted killing of ErbB2 positive breast cancer by retro virus-mediated Immunocaspase-3 secreting T cells

In this study, lmmunocaspase-3 gene was transfected into Jurkat T lymphocytes and the targeted proapoptotic protein Immunocaspase-3 was stably secreted.Its entry to ErbB2 positive SKBr3 breast carcinoma cell line was observed by indirect immunofluorescence staining.Growth of SKBr3 cells was significantly inhibited when they were cultured with medium containing Immunocaspase-3.Next, lmmunocaspase-3 gene was cloned into retrovirus vector pLNCX, which was then transfected into PA317 cells to package. Packaged cells producing high titer pseudoviruses were acquired and the pseudoviruses were harvested to infect PBMCs, which had been stimulated to division. The latter were selected and administered to nude mice bearing SKBr3 tumors through tail vein. The results showed that the treatment contributed to an inhibition of tumor growth and prolonged the lifetime of nude mice bearing SKBr3 tumor.The efficiency of inhibition of tumor reached 73.25%, and the average lifetime of treated nude mice was 80.95% longerthan that of control group. Immunohistochemical examination revealed the exclusive distribution of Immunocaspase-3 proteins only in the tumor tissue samples; and TUNEL assay confirmed the occurrence of apoptosis in tumor calls. Thepresent study suggests that Immunocaspase-3 secreted by T lymphocytes can selectively bind and enter into ErbB2 positive breast cancer cells, where it exhibits a proapoptotic activity and causes tumor suppression in an in vivo tumor model.     

Preparation, characterizationand preliminary in vivo studies of inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine

A large quantity of SARS-CoV virus was proliferated in Veto cells, inactivated with β-ptopiolactone, then purified by Sepharose 4FF column chromatography to prepare inactivated vaccine. The vaccine was identified by Western blot, mass spectrographic analysis, ELISA and electton microscopy. The vaccine with or without aluminum hydtoxide adjuvant was inoculated into female BALB/c mice at different dosages. The result showed that the antibodies to SARS-CoV were induced in the mice. The antibody levels induced by the vaccine with aluminum hydroxide were higher than those without aluminum hydroxide.     

Determination of the total concentration of casein and β-lactoglobulin by indirect competitive ELISA in milk and dairy products

The main purpose of this work was to develop an assay as a means of quality control in milk and dairy products. As specific and high abundant proteins in milk and diary products, casein and β-lactoglobulin were chosen as the targets, and an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was developed for determination of the total concentration of casein and β-lactoglobulin. The detection limit of the assay was 79.07 ng/mL, and a working range of the calibration curve was from 140.6 to 36,000 ng/mL. The intrassay and inter-assay coefficients of variations were 4.7 % and 6.5 %, respectively. The recoveries ranged from 94.1% to 106.6 %. The developed ELISA assay was used to detect the total con- centration of casein and β-lactoglobulin in liquid milk and milk powder. The results indicated that the developed assay was very specific, and the addition of nonprotein nitrogen （such as melamine, cyanuric acid, and urea） and vegetable protein did not affect the detection. The good performance of the assay makes it suitable for use in the quality control of milk and dairy products.     

Gene transfer into primary cultures of fetal neural stem cells by a recombinant adenovirus carrying the gene for green fluorescent protein

Objective： To evaluate the transduction efficiency of a recombinant adenovirus carrying the gene for green fluorescent protein （Ad-GFP） into the primary cultures of fetal neural stem cells （NSCs） by the expression of GFP. Methods： The Ad-GFP was constructed by homologous recombination in bacteria with the AdEasy system; NSCs were isolated from rat fetal hippocampus and cultured as neurosphere suspensions. After infection with the recombinant Ad-GFP, NSCs were examined with a fluorescent microscopy and a flow cytometry for their expression of GFP. Results： After the viral infection, flow cytometry analysis revealed that the percentage of GFP-positive cells was as high as 97.05%. The infected NSCs sustained the GFP expression for above 4 weeks. After differentiated into astrocytes or neurons, they continued to express GFP efficiently. Conclusion： We have success- fully constructed a viral vector Ad-GFP that can efficiently infect the primary NSCs. The reporter gene was showed fully and sustained expression in the infected cells as well as their differentiated progenies.     

PCR-based approaches for identification of multi-copy transgene integration sites in mouse genome

Transgenic mice have become one of the most im- portant resources in studying gene functions in vivo since the technology was established in the 1980s[1―3]. So far, most of the transgenic mice were generated by DNA microinjection into fertilized eggs, in…     

Specific anti-tumor effect induced by attenuated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella typhimurium</Emphasis> vaccine expressing extracellular region of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2

The purposes of this research were to study the stable expression of exogenous gene encoding therapeutic protein in attenuated Salmonella typhimurium, observe the metabolism of oral gene vaccine carried by attenuated Salmonella typhimurium in BALB/c mouse, and investigate the feasibility of prevention and treatment of tumors by the recombinant bacteria. Recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1＋ VEGFR2（n1-7） was transformed into competent attenuated Salmonella typhimuriurn SL3261 to develop oral DNA vaccine SL3261-pcDNA3.1＋VEGFR2（n1-7）. To observe whether the exogenous gene can be expressed in the recombinant bacteria, PCR was performed to amplify the CMV promoter of the eukaryotic expression vector as the proof of stable expression of exogenous protein; transmission elec- tron microscopy （TEM） was applied to observe the morphology of the recombinant bacteria to confirm that the exogenous gene has no impact on the growth of the bacteria, and then BALB/c mice were immunized with the gene vaccine. After inoculation of the gene vaccine, the recombinant bacteria SL3261 could be detected in the tissues such as small intestine, colon, liver and spleen. And then, mice in each group were challenged with tumor cells. The results of animal experiment showed that tumor growth of the mice in experimental group was inhibited and survival time of immunized mice was prolonged compared with control groups. A higher lymphocyte infiltration in tumors from animals treated with DNA vaccine was observed. Immunohistochemical analysis of tumor samples revealed an enhanced accumulation of CD8^＋ cytotoxic T lymphocytes, as well as an increase in CD4^＋ cells in the tumore of animals treated with the oral gene vaccine compared to tumors from control group mice. UI- trestructure of the tumor tissue showed that tumor cells in the samples of the immunized mice were well-differentiated. Our research confirmed that the exogenous gene can be stably expressed in the attenuated Salmonella typhimurium and has no impact on the growth of the r     

Acute toxicity and oxidative damage induced by silica nanorattle in vivo

Hollow mesoporous nanomaterial is a kind of promising new drug delivery system due to their unique hollow structures.In order to evaluate the toxicity of silica nanorattle (SN) particles in vivo,40 female mice were used in this study to investigate the acute toxicity and oxidative damage.Mice were intravenously injected with SN suspension in sterile 5% glucose at 40,80 and 240 mg/kg,respectively.The control group was administrated with equal-volume 5% glucose.Weight,feed intake,hematology analysis,blood biochemical assay and histopathology diagnosis were examined.The activities of SOD,GSH and CAT were measured as well.The results demonstrated that the levels of ALT and AST in the mice treated with 240 mg/kg SN increased significantly as compared with the control group (P<0.05),whereas the contents of BUN and CREA changed unremarkably.The activity of SOD induced by SN in the liver decreased significantly (P<0.05).In summary,this study revealed that liver was the target organ of the SN.It also can be concluded that activity of SOD played an important role in liver injury caused by SN.