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.     

慢病毒载体转染犬睾丸生殖细胞

摘要: 目的观察慢病毒载体( Lentiviral vector,LV) 对犬生殖细胞的转染,为基于LV 的精子介导法制备转基因动 物提供依据。方法采用睾丸打点注射法,向比格犬两侧睾丸分别注入滴度为5 × 108、1 × 108、2 × 107 TU /mL 的 慢病毒液组成3 个剂量组,每点注射量为每只犬0. 2 mL。于注射后第2 周开始采集精液,通过精液DNA 的PCR 检 测和精子荧光镜检评估绿色荧光蛋白( green fluorescent protein,GFP) 基因的整合及表达。结果1) 在高剂量组,整 合并表达GFP 基因的精子于第4 周首现并持续至第17 周; 在中、低剂量组于第5 周首现,分别持续到第14 周、12 周。2) GFP 表达的高峰期在注射后第7 周～ 10 周。3) GFP 表达于整个精子,以顶体后区和精子尾颈部表达最强。 4) 注射后第2 周～ 6 周,中剂量组犬采精困难,高低剂量组犬精子畸形率有上升的趋势。5) 在GFP 表达的高峰期, 绿色荧光精子的百分率在高、中、低剂量组分别为43. 33% 、35. 53% 和4. 55% ,具有明显的差异。结论基于LV 的 精子介导转基因法( Sperm-mediated gene transfer,SMGT) 可成功获得转基因犬精子,转基因阳性率、表达的强度与 持续时间与慢病毒滴度相关。     

Study on interleukin-18 gene transfer into human breast cancer cells to prevent tumorigenicity

To study the effect of interleukin-18 gene transfection on the tumorigenesis of breast cancer cell line Bacp37, human breast cancer cell line Bcap37 were transfected with Lipofectamine and selected by G418. The biological expression of rhIL-18 was tested by RT-PCR and ELISA method; nude mice were injected with Bcap37 cell with or without the hIL-18 gene. The hIL-18 cDNA was successfully integrated into Bcap37 cell; 126.3+/-4.5 pg hIL-18 secreted by one million transduced cells in 24 hours. Nude mice injected with IL-18 gene engineered Bcap37 cell had no tumor growth. These findings indicated that human breast cancer cells were successfully modified by the gene of IL-18 cytokine; the IL-18 gene engineered Bcap37 cells secreted hIL-18 and lost their tumorigenicity. The Bcap37 cells transduced with IL-18 gene may be used as breast cancer vaccine.     

Human dystrophin expression in mdx mice after intramuscular injection of DNA constructs

Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD), which affects one in 3,500 males, causes progressive myopathy of skeletal and cardiac muscles and premature death. One approach to treatment would be to introduce the normal dystrophin gene into diseased muscle cells. When pure plasmid DNA is injected into rodent skeletal or cardiac muscle, the cells express reporter genes. We now show that a 12-kilobase full-length human dystrophin complementary DNA gene and a 6.3-kilobase Becker-like gene can be expressed in cultured cells and in vivo. When the human dystrophin expression plasmids are injected intramuscularly into dystrophin-deficient mdx mice, the human dystrophin proteins are present in the cytoplasm and sarcolemma of approximately 1% of the myofibres. Myofibres expressing human dystrophin contain an increased proportion of peripheral nuclei. The results indicate that transfer of the dystrophin gene into the myofibres of DMD patients could be beneficial, but a larger number of genetically modified myofibres will be necessary for clinical efficacy.     

原核显微注射产生转基因绵羊胚胎

体外采集绵羊卵丘卵母细胞复合体,成熟培养24 h,经过体外受精培养17 h,比较高速离心对胚胎发育的影响;高速离心可以使黑色脂滴甩到一边从而使受精卵原核清晰可见.然后将绵羊乳腺特异表达人肝细胞再生增强因子和真核细胞表达增强绿色荧光蛋白(Enhanced Green fluorescence protein,EGFP)的载体DNA显微注射于绵羊受精卵雄原核中,并将异构胚在SOF液中发育培养.结果表明:高速离心组囊胚率低于对照组,但是没有显著性差异(P》0.05);显微注射外源基因2天后在激光共聚焦显微镜下可见荧光胚胎;PCR检测5个荧光胚胎均可见特异性条带.在原核显微注射生产转基因胚胎中,绿色荧光蛋白可作为标记基因进行早期胚胎筛选,为提高转基因动物移植效率奠定实验基础.     

寡糖Lewis A模拟肽对小鼠急性腹膜炎的抑制作用

选择寡糖Lewis A模拟肽作为特异阻断剂, 探讨通过阻断E-选择素与其配体的结合抑制炎症的可能性. 向一组小鼠腹膜内注射酵母聚糖3 h后, 再于静脉注射表达寡糖Lewis A模拟肽IELLQAR的噬菌体或合成肽IELLQAR, 以空噬菌体或BSA作对照, 观察到实验组腹腔冲洗液中的嗜中性粒细胞显著减少. 为证实该结果, 髓过氧化物酶活性被测定, 酶活性的降低同嗜中性粒细胞的减少平行, 表明注射寡糖Lewis A模拟肽可能通过阻断E-选择素与其配体结合, 防止急性炎症的发生.     

甲壳三糖-g-壳聚糖/累托石纳米复合材料作为基因载体的研究

本文合成了甲壳三糖-g-壳聚糖（TCS），并与累托石插层复合制备纳米复合材料，采用XRD和TEM对其进行了表征。粒径分析结果表明，两种分子量的TCS与pDNA复合物的粒径大小都在75nm左右，而累托石加入后，其粒径都不同程度的增加，最大达到191nm。在PBS中的聚集动力学及琼脂糖凝胶电泳实验发现，高分子量TCS /pDNA复合物较低分子量复合物稳定，而累托石的加入降低了其稳定性。体外转染实验初步表明，甲壳三糖-g-壳聚糖/累托石-DNA复合物能介入肝癌细胞中并表达荧光。该纳米复合材料可作为潜在的非病毒基因载体。     

Investigation of hrDNA targeting vector-mediated tumor-specific suicide gene therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma

Vectors pose most pivotal problem of gene therapy[1]. Because of the high transfection efficiency both in vitro and in vivo, the viral vector has been employed in 70% clinical trials of gene therapy (http://www.wiley.co.uk/ genmed/clinical). However, thei…     

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.     

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.     

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.     

纳米谷氨酸壳聚糖制备及其体外质粒转染研究

采用表面修饰方法制备出谷氨酸修饰的壳聚糖纳米基因载体。对样品进行红外分析、粒度分析、zeta电位分析、生物相容性、凝胶阻滞分析、DNA保护性试验、体外细胞转染研究。结果显示所制得的谷氨酸修饰的壳聚糖纳米颗粒平均粒径为170nm,其zeta电位为 4.7mV。红外分析显示谷氨酸已通过酰胺键结合在壳聚糖上。MTT实验结果显示纳米颗粒与细胞有良好的生物相容性。凝胶阻滞分析和DNA保护试验结果表明纳米载体可与DNA通过电性结合作用而结合,并可以有效保护DNA,防止核酸酶对其的降解作用。而体外细胞转染的结果表明,谷氨酸修饰的纳米粒能介导pEGFP-N1质粒转染HepG2细胞并在细胞中表达绿色荧光蛋白。因此,谷氨酸修饰的壳聚糖纳米颗粒可作为一种新型非病毒基因载体介导核酸类生物大分子进入细胞内。     

Enhancement of the efficiency of PEI/liposome transfection by magnetofectins formed via electrostatic self-assembly

One of the major challenges for successful gene therapy is improving the transfection efficiency of non-viral vectors. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been developed as enhancers of non-viral vehicles. We prepared MNPs and modified them with polyethyleneimine (PEI), citric acid (CA) or carboxylmethyl-dextran (CMD). Both positively charged MNPs (MNPs@PEI) and negatively charged MNPs (MNPs@CA, MNPs@CMD) could spontaneously form transfection complexes (magnetofectins) with plasmid DNA and PEI/liposome via electrostatic self-assembly. Our results showed as-prepared magnetofectins apparently enhanced PEI/liposome transfection efficiency and/or gene expression level into COS-7 cells with reduced transfection time from 4 h to 15 min under a magnetic field in vitro. Meanwhile, the effect of magnetofection was cell line-dependant. These results suggest that charged MNPs could improve transfection efficiency for non-viral vectors by simply mixing with them and by exerting a magnetic force. Thus such MNPs provide a convenient platform for further applications of gene delivery.     

慢病毒载体感染小鼠曲细精管的研究

目的探讨基于慢病毒载体曲细精管注射方法建立转基因动物的可行性。方法将8只4w～5w龄的雄性昆明小鼠分为高剂量(2只)、低剂量(6只)2个实验组,曲细精管注射滴度分别为1×109、2×107TU/mL的绿色荧光蛋白慢病毒载体(LV-GFP),注射量均为20μL/testis。注射后第4w、8w分别处死高剂量组小鼠各1只,于第5w、13w、17w各处死2只低剂量组小鼠,取睾丸,通过PCR、荧光显微镜和免疫组化等方法检测睾丸组织中GFP基因及表达。结果3只低剂量和2只高剂量小鼠睾丸组织中均可检测到GFP基因;但GFP表达仅见于高剂量组小鼠睾丸,其分布范围主要集中于曲细精管基膜及管间隙。结论慢病毒载体可通过曲细精管注射感染小鼠睾丸组织,但其感染效率与病毒滴度有关。     

Demethylation of CpG islands in embryonic cells

DNA in differentiated somatic cells has a fixed pattern of methylation, which is faithfully copied after replication. By contrast, the methylation patterns of many tissue-specific and some housekeeping genes are altered during normal development. This modification of DNA methylation in the embryo has also been observed in transgenic mice and in transfection experiments. Here we report the fate in mice of an in vitro-methylated adenine phosphoribosyltransferase transgene. The entire 5' CpG island region became demethylated, whereas the 3' end of the gene remained modified and was even methylated de novo at additional sites. Transfection experiments in vitro show that the demethylation is rapid, is specific for embryonic cell-types and affects a variety of different CpG island sequences. This suggests that gene sequences can be recognized in the early embryo and imprinted with the correct methylation pattern through a combination of demethylation and de novo methylation.     

Digestive stability and acute toxicity studies of exogenous protein in transgenic rice expressing lysine-rich fusion proteins

Evaluating exogenous protein expressed in transgenic crops is one of the most effective methods of assessing the safety of transgenic plants. The objective of this study was to assess the food safety of genetically modified (GM) rice containing a lysine-rich fusion protein gene (transgenic GL gene rice) by in vitro digestion and acute toxicity testing of exogenous protein, according to the national standard of the People’s Republic of China. The exogenous protein was rapidly degraded in the simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. In the acute experiment, the exogenous protein was injected into Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice via the tail vein at a dose of 438 mg kg-1 body weight. No adverse effects on animal behavior or mortality were observed during the following 15-day period and there were no significant biological changes in body weight, serum biochemistry parameters, relative organ weights or histopathological examinations, compared with the control group. Therefore, exogenous protein in transgenic GL gene rice has a low potential allergenicity or toxicity risk.     

磷酸钙法将MMP-2，MMP-3双基因干扰载体转入HEK293T细胞的效率观察

检测用磷酸钙法能否将修饰后用于沉默MMP-2,MMP-3基因的慢病毒载体有效地转入到HEK293T细胞。利用磷酸钙法,MMP-2,MMP-3双基因干扰载体（MMP组）与对照质粒（对照组）被分别转染HEK293T细胞,在转染后的第24,48及72h,通过计算绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）阳性细胞数的百分比来判断转染效率。转染24h后,两组细胞均生长状况良好,荧光显微镜下观察,已有大量绿色荧光出现,计算MMP组转染效率为（91．5±6．2）％,对照组转染效率为（80．3±4．7）％;转染后48—72h,两组感染效率均未见明显下降。与对照相比,插入了MMP-2,MMP-3 shRNA模板序列的慢病毒载体没有降低磷酸钙法转染HEK293T细胞效率,反而有所增高。     

线粒体定位序列介导的绿色荧光蛋白基因在烟草中表达的分析

由于绿色荧光蛋白可在活组织或细胞中直接检出 ,因而近年已在转基因植物的研究中用作报告基因 ,这样可在植物生长的任何阶段进行活体筛选和鉴定。本研究利用线粒体定位序列对改良 gfp基因在转基因烟草中的表达进行了观察 ,结果表明 :将GFP直接在细胞质中大量表达会对植物细胞产生毒性 ,从而影响植物细胞的分化 ,而将其定位在线粒体中 ,则从转化细胞产生植株的频率明显增高。     

Haematopoietic stem cells adopt mature haematopoietic fates in ischaemic myocardium

Under conditions of tissue injury, myocardial replication and regeneration have been reported. A growing number of investigators have implicated adult bone marrow (BM) in this process, suggesting that marrow serves as a reservoir for cardiac precursor cells. It remains unclear which BM cell(s) can contribute to myocardium, and whether they do so by transdifferentiation or cell fusion. Here, we studied the ability of c-kit-enriched BM cells, Lin- c-kit+ BM cells and c-kit+ Thy1.1(lo) Lin- Sca-1+ long-term reconstituting haematopoietic stem cells to regenerate myocardium in an infarct model. Cells were isolated from transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) and injected directly into ischaemic myocardium of wild-type mice. Abundant GFP+ cells were detected in the myocardium after 10 days, but by 30 days, few cells were detectable. These GFP+ cells did not express cardiac tissue-specific markers, but rather, most of them expressed the haematopoietic marker CD45 and myeloid marker Gr-1. We also studied the role of circulating cells in the repair of ischaemic myocardium using GFP+-GFP- parabiotic mice. Again, we found no evidence of myocardial regeneration from blood-borne partner-derived cells. Our data suggest that even in the microenvironment of the injured heart, c-kit-enriched BM cells, Lin- c-kit+ BM cells and c-kit+ Thy1.1(lo) Lin- Sca-1+ long-term reconstituting haematopoietic stem cells adopt only traditional haematopoietic fates.     

乙型肝炎表面抗原基因DNA介导的体液免疫初步研究

用ＣＰＲ技术从纯化的乙型肝炎病毒核酸中扩增出ｐｅｒＳ２－Ｓ基因,并将其定向克隆于真核表达质粒ｐｃＤＮＡ３．１（＋）中,构建成带有完整的乙肝表面前Ｓ２抗原基因和Ｓ基因的重组质粒。重组质粒经酶切及部分序列分析鉴定后,瞬时转梁小鼠Ｌ细胞,ＥＬＩＳＡ法检测到培养上清液有ＨＢｓＡｇ表达。用纯化的重组质粒静脉、肌肉和皮下注射免疫ＢＡＬＢ／ｃ小鼠,首次接种质粒ＤＮＡ３周后,血清抗体开始出现,再次加强２周后,阳性