Nanocarriers for siRNA delivery to overcome cancer multidrug resistance

Multidrug resistance(MDR)is an extremely complexed phenomenon in tumor chemotherapy and is one of the major obstacles for successful treatment.Discovery of RNA interference(RNAi)offers a new strategy with great potential to reverse MDR.Specific genes,which contribute to the emerging of MDR,can be silenced by RNAi.However,many natural barriers have to be overcome for efficient and safe delivery of siRNA.In recent years,the various kinds of nanocarriers,such as liposomes,cationic polymers,and inorganic materials,have been developed to deliver siRNA and show good results in reversing MDR.This review mainly summarizes the barriers in siRNA delivery and recent progress in designing nanotechnology-based siRNA delivery systems to overcome tumor MDR.     

MIL-101-NH2介导的核酸分子递送与基因沉默研究

核酸是DNA和RNA的总称,能够参与生物体内基因表达的调控.然而,核酸分子极易被降解,如果直接通过口服或静脉注射给药,生物利用率极低,因此需要合适的载体进行核酸的递送.选取了生物兼容性较好的铁基金属-有机框架（MOF）MIL-101-NH₂,分别负载单链DNA和siRNA来探究其细胞学行为.MIL-101-NH₂能够有效递送单链DNA和siRNA进入细胞,且siRNA在细胞内能够发生溶酶体逃逸,并发挥基因沉默的效应.结果表明：基于MIL-101-NH₂的纳米复合物是一种具有潜力的核酸递送与基因调控策略.     

Intracellular siRNA delivery with novel spermine based surfactants

The design and development of safe and effective multifunctional siRNA delivery systems are critical for clinical application of RNAi therapeutics. Here we evaluated eight new spermine-based surfactant multifunctional carriers for siRNA delivery. These carriers complexed with siRNA forming stable compact nanoparticles with sizes around 100 nm. The multifunctional carriers mediated higher intracellular siRNA transfection than Lipofectamine-2000. The siRNA nanoparticles of the multifunctional carriers exhibited low cytotoxicity as shown by MTT assay. Three of the eight multifunctional carriers showed higher silencing efficiency than Lipofectamine-2000 in both U87-Luc cells and CHO-GFP cells. SKAHCO showed the highest siRNA delivery efficiency among the carriers. It resulted in 84.6±5.5% silencing of luciferase activity in U87-Luc cells, much higher than that (62.8± 3.4%) from Lipofectamine-2000. In conclusion, the spermine based multifunctional carriers are promising for highly efficient intracellular siRNA delivery.     

Transvascular delivery of small interfering RNA to the central nervous system

A major impediment in the treatment of neurological diseases is the presence of the blood-brain barrier, which precludes the entry of therapeutic molecules from blood to brain. Here we show that a short peptide derived from rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG) enables the transvascular delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to the brain. This 29-amino-acid peptide specifically binds to the acetylcholine receptor expressed by neuronal cells. To enable siRNA binding, a chimaeric peptide was synthesized by adding nonamer arginine residues at the carboxy terminus of RVG. This RVG-9R peptide was able to bind and transduce siRNA to neuronal cells in vitro, resulting in efficient gene silencing. After intravenous injection into mice, RVG-9R delivered siRNA to the neuronal cells, resulting in specific gene silencing within the brain. Furthermore, intravenous treatment with RVG-9R-bound antiviral siRNA afforded robust protection against fatal viral encephalitis in mice. Repeated administration of RVG-9R-bound siRNA did not induce inflammatory cytokines or anti-peptide antibodies. Thus, RVG-9R provides a safe and noninvasive approach for the delivery of siRNA and potentially other therapeutic molecules across the blood-brain barrier.     

基于小热休克蛋白-细胞穿膜肽蛋白纳米粒的siRNA递送系统

利用大肠杆菌表达系统原核表达并纯化小热休克蛋白-细胞穿膜肽融合蛋白(Hsp-Tat);用动态光散射和透射电镜成像分析Hsp-Tat纳米粒的粒径和形貌;用噻唑蓝(MTT)法和活/死细胞染色法研究蛋白纳米粒的细胞相容性;用凝胶阻滞实验检测纳米粒的小干扰RNA(siRNA)复合特性;用激光共聚焦荧光显微镜成像研究蛋白纳米粒的...     

A large-scale RNAi screen in human cells identifies new components of the p53 pathway

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful new tool with which to perform loss-of-function genetic screens in lower organisms and can greatly facilitate the identification of components of cellular signalling pathways. In mammalian cells, such screens have been hampered by a lack of suitable tools that can be used on a large scale. We and others have recently developed expression vectors to direct the synthesis of short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) that act as short interfering RNA (siRNA)-like molecules to stably suppress gene expression. Here we report the construction of a set of retroviral vectors encoding 23,742 distinct shRNAs, which target 7,914 different human genes for suppression. We use this RNAi library in human cells to identify one known and five new modulators of p53-dependent proliferation arrest. Suppression of these genes confers resistance to both p53-dependent and p19ARF-dependent proliferation arrest, and abolishes a DNA-damage-induced G1 cell-cycle arrest. Furthermore, we describe siRNA bar-code screens to rapidly identify individual siRNA vectors associated with a specific phenotype. These new tools will greatly facilitate large-scale loss-of-function genetic screens in mammalian cells.     

RNAi-mediated gene silencing in non-human primates

The opportunity to harness the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway to silence disease-causing genes holds great promise for the development of therapeutics directed against targets that are otherwise not addressable with current medicines. Although there are numerous examples of in vivo silencing of target genes after local delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), there remain only a few reports of RNAi-mediated silencing in response to systemic delivery of siRNA, and there are no reports of systemic efficacy in non-rodent species. Here we show that siRNAs, when delivered systemically in a liposomal formulation, can silence the disease target apolipoprotein B (ApoB) in non-human primates. APOB-specific siRNAs were encapsulated in stable nucleic acid lipid particles (SNALP) and administered by intravenous injection to cynomolgus monkeys at doses of 1 or 2.5 mg kg(-1). A single siRNA injection resulted in dose-dependent silencing of APOB messenger RNA expression in the liver 48 h after administration, with maximal silencing of >90%. This silencing effect occurred as a result of APOB mRNA cleavage at precisely the site predicted for the RNAi mechanism. Significant reductions in ApoB protein, serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels were observed as early as 24 h after treatment and lasted for 11 days at the highest siRNA dose, thus demonstrating an immediate, potent and lasting biological effect of siRNA treatment. Our findings show clinically relevant RNAi-mediated gene silencing in non-human primates, supporting RNAi therapeutics as a potential new class of drugs.     

阳离子脂质体递送STAT3 siRNA抑制黑色素肿瘤细胞探究

利用阳离子脂质体作为载体,用其搭载鱼精蛋白与STAT3 siRNA复合物,通过一系列实验证实该复合体系可显著抑制STAT3基因在黑色素瘤细胞B16中的表达,促进肿瘤细胞的凋亡。首先对载体材料进行了一系列表征测定,检测了不同复合比例下载体和siRNA复合物的粒径和电位。利用载体和siRNA的复合物对B16细胞进行转染并测定转染效率,随后对复合材料的毒性进行了检测。此外还进行了细胞凋亡、平板克隆、荧光定量PCR以及Western Blot等一系列实验来进一步确定载体复合物的有效性。实验结果表明,阳离子脂质体搭载复合了鱼精蛋白的STAT3siRNA表现出了良好的靶向治疗性及优秀的递送效率,且复合体系稳定性良好,毒性低。     

Knockdown of <Emphasis Type="Italic">MRP4</Emphasis> by lentivirus-mediated siRNA improves sensitivity to adriamycin in adriamycin-resistant acute myeloid leukemia cells

Chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for acute myeloid leukemia;however,the emergence of drug resistance is a major hurdle in the successful treatment of leukemia.The expression of multidrug resistance-associated protein 4(MRP4)induces re- sistance in the adriamycin-resistant acute myeloid leukemia cell line,K562/ADR.The aim of this study was to investigate whether knockdown of MRP4 by lentivirus-mediated siRNA could improve the sensitivity of K562/ADR cells to adriamycin.Five lenti- virus-mediated short hairpin RNAs(lv-shRNAs-MRP4)were designed to trigger the gene silencing RNA interference(RNAi) pathway.The efficiency of lentivirus-mediated siRNA infection into K562/ADR cells was determined using fluorescence mi- croscopy to observe lentivirus-mediated GFP expression.MRP4 expression in infected K562/ADR cells was evaluated by real- time PCR and Western blot analysis.The MTS assay was used to measure cell viability and flow cytometry was used to measure apoptosis.The transfection efficiency of K562/ADR cells was over 80 percent.The gene silencing efficacy of lv-shRNA1-MRP4 was superior to the other constructs.Infection of K562/ADR cells with lv-shRNA1-MRP4 led to strong inhibition of MRP4 mRNA and protein expression.Combined treatment with lv-shRNA1-MRP4 and adriamycin decreased cell growth and increased apoptosis compared to treatment with lv-shRNA1-MRP4 or adriamycin alone.These data indicate that in K562/ADR cells MRP4 is involved in drug resistance mechanisms and that lentivirus-mediated knockdown of MRP4 may enhance sensitivity to adriamycin.     

分站客观降水预报试验

将逐时段定点降水非连续量的预报问题转化为对一个连续的降水可能函数的预报问题.降水可能函数为一由实况值确定的函数.发展了一种新的非线性多因子动态组合方法,通过对降水可能函数的预报,作客观分站降水预报.1998年在北京地区15站进行了为期半年的预报试验,当天夜间的降水预报平均CSI得分为0.40,第二天白天平均CSI得分为0.40.     

Short interfering RNA confers intracellular antiviral immunity in human cells

Gene silencing mediated by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is a sequence-specific, highly conserved mechanism in eukaryotes. In plants, it serves as an antiviral defence mechanism. Animal cells also possess this machinery but its specific function is unclear. Here we demonstrate that dsRNA can effectively protect human cells against infection by a rapidly replicating and highly cytolytic RNA virus. Pre-treatment of human and mouse cells with double-stranded, short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to the poliovirus genome markedly reduces the titre of virus progeny and promotes clearance of the virus from most of the infected cells. The antiviral effect is sequence-specific and is not attributable to either classical antisense mechanisms or to interferon and the interferon response effectors protein kinase R (PKR) and RNaseL. Protection is the result of direct targeting of the viral genome by siRNA, as sequence analysis of escape virus (resistant to siRNAs) reveals one nucleotide substitution in the middle of the targeted sequence. Thus, siRNAs elicit specific intracellular antiviral resistance that may provide a therapeutic strategy against human viruses.     

靶向肿瘤多药耐药基因mdr1的siRNA的构建与鉴定

mdr 1基因及其表达产物P-gp是引起肿瘤细胞多药耐药(MDR)的主要原因,抑制mdr 1基因的表达可用于逆转MDR.RNAi可用于特异抑制靶基因的表达,本研究的目的是构建获得可特异有效靶向mdr 1基因的siRNA元件.应用siRNA设计软件与mRNA结构分析软件设计构建了3个分别靶向mdr 1基因mRNA环结构和茎结构的siRNA元件,同时构建了携带mdr1基因序列的luc报告质粒,通过siRNA表达质粒与携带靶序列的报告质粒的共转染抑制实验检测不同siRNA的抑制效率,结果显示靶向环结构siMDR1B具有较好的抑制效率和特异性.进一步将siMDR1B表达载体与mdr1基因表达载体共转染细胞,应用免疫流式细胞术检测显示,相比对照细胞,siMDR1B可显著抑制其转染后mdr1基因产物P-gp蛋白的表达活性.同时采用CCK-8细胞活性检测试剂评价了siMDR1B对细胞活性的影响,结果显示siMDR1B不会影响细胞活性,具有良好的特异性.本研究获得的可有效靶向mdr 1基因的siRNA元件可为进一步开展逆转MDR研究提供重要基础.     

菠萝焦磷酸:果糖-6-磷酸1-磷酸转移酶的分离纯化及性质研究

应用硫酸铵分级分离、DEAE-纤维素、Sephadex G-200、磷酸纤维素柱层析分离纯化了菠萝叶片焦磷酸:果糖-6-磷酸1-磷酸转移酶(PFP).凝胶过滤和非变性聚丙烯酰胺梯度电泳测定酶的分子量为132kD和140kD,SDS-聚丙烯酰胺电泳分析得到一条分子量为66kD的蛋白主带,表明该酶可能是由同种亚基组成的二聚体.此外,还对该酶的部分酶学性质进行了初步研究.     

以bcl-2为靶标siRNA-2提高HL-60细胞对阿糖胞苷的敏感性

目的:研究以bc l-2基因为靶标有效siRNA-2(sm all interference RNA)能否提高HL-60细胞对阿糖胞苷(Ara-C)的敏感性。方法:将siRNA-2转入HL-60细胞株并与Ara-C联合培养,于24、48、72 h,用MTT法检测细胞增殖生长,用流式细胞仪检测HL-60细胞bc l-2蛋白的表达率、细胞内活性氧(ROS)水平变化及细胞线粒体膜电位的变化。结果:siRNA-2明显提高HL-60细胞对Ara-C敏感性;抑制细胞bc l-2蛋白的表达,提高细胞内ROS水平,降低线粒体膜电位(P<0.05)。结论:siRNA-2能提高白血病细胞HL-60对Ara-C敏感性。     

纳米载药体系在肿瘤耐药治疗中的应用研究进展

肿瘤是目前引起人类死亡的棘手疾病之一,虽然通过各种现代化治疗手段使肿瘤患者的预后得到了一定程度的改善,但多药耐药依然是导致肿瘤治疗效果不佳的主要难题。纳米材料是近年来的研究热点之一,具有EPR（enhanced permeability and retention）效应、可控修饰、靶向性等众多优点,在突破肿瘤耐药方面得到了愈来愈多的关注。纳米载药体系在肿瘤治疗中发挥着极其重要的作用,可以成为逆转肿瘤耐药的新方式。从肿瘤多药耐药机制、纳米技术在肿瘤耐药中的应用等方面进行综述。指出今后可在以下方面展开深入研究：1）结合肿瘤耐药机制研究,合理控制药物浓度,克服耐药;2）深入探索纳米载药体系的生物安全问题,优化纳米载药系统,使其避免或降低可能出现的毒副反应,为逆转肿瘤耐药提供更全面的理论依据;3）结合免疫学、光动力学、声动力学等多种方法,提高纳米载药体系逆转肿瘤耐药的效率。     

大鼠血管内皮细胞siRNA转染条件的优化

目的:旨在优化siRNA转染大鼠血管内皮细胞的转染条件.方法:将0.75μL和1.5μL的脂质体LipofectamineTM3000分别与20、40、60、80nmol带荧光标记的FAMsiRNA组合,转染6、12、18、24h后,用荧光显微镜计数阳性细胞率、MTT法检测各浓度条件下内皮细胞的存活率,筛选最优转染条件.结果:(1)转染12h后,用荧光显微镜检测20、40、60、80nmol各组,均可观察到绿色荧光(2)siRNA浓度为60nmol/L,脂质体为1.5μL的组合转染效率最高,继续增加siRNA的浓度,转染效率提高不明显.(3)转染时间超过24h,各组细胞荧光减弱,细胞死亡率显著增加.结论:结果表明,以1.5μL LipofectamineTM3000与60nmol/L的siRNA浓度组成转染混合物转染12h可以实现对大鼠血管内皮细胞高效转染并保持较高的细胞活性.     

Identification of the gene for vitamin K epoxide reductase

Vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR) is the target of warfarin, the most widely prescribed anticoagulant for thromboembolic disorders. Although estimated to prevent twenty strokes per induced bleeding episode, warfarin is under-used because of the difficulty of controlling dosage and the fear of inducing bleeding. Although identified in 1974 (ref. 2), the enzyme has yet to be purified or its gene identified. A positional cloning approach has become possible after the mapping of warfarin resistance to rat chromosome 1 (ref. 3) and of vitamin K-dependent protein deficiencies to the syntenic region of human chromosome 16 (ref. 4). Localization of VKOR to 190 genes within human chromosome 16p12-q21 narrowed the search to 13 genes encoding candidate transmembrane proteins, and we used short interfering RNA (siRNA) pools against individual genes to test their ability to inhibit VKOR activity in human cells. Here, we report the identification of the gene for VKOR based on specific inhibition of VKOR activity by a single siRNA pool. We confirmed that MGC11276 messenger RNA encodes VKOR through its expression in insect cells and sensitivity to warfarin. The expressed enzyme is 163 amino acids long, with at least one transmembrane domain. Identification of the VKOR gene extends our understanding of blood clotting, and should facilitate development of new anticoagulant drugs.     

siRNA对肺癌细胞株NCI-H460 bcl-2基因表达的影响

目的:研究siRNA (smallinterferenceRNA)对大细胞肺癌细胞株NCI -H4 6 0bcl- 2基因表达的影响。方法:利用Ambion公司提供的设计软件和试剂盒,设计合成以bcl - 2基因为靶标的siRNA ,通过脂质体将合成的siRNA转入NCI-H4 6 0细胞株,设置转染bcl- 2反义药物G3139和空白两对照组。用MTT法检测siRNA对细胞生长的作用;流式细胞仪检测细胞周期的改变和Bcl- 2蛋白表达;RT -PCR检测bcl- 2mRNA水平。结果:siRNA组与对照组细胞存活率均有显著性差异(P <0 0 5 ) ;siRNA组bcl- 2的mRNA明显低于对照组和反义组(P <0 0 5 ) ;siRNA组Bcl- 2蛋白阳性率明显低于对照组和反义组,siRNA组以及反义组细胞阻滞于S期。结论:体外转录合成的siRNA可抑制NCI-H4 6 0细胞bcl- 2基因的表达,抑制率可达5 0 %以上。