Binary Ti plasmid vectors.
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A diversity of means are available for the attenuation of Salmonella which can be used to immunize animals and humans orally to elicit mucosal, humoral and cellular immune responses. Avirulent Salmonellae can be genetically engineered to express foreign antigens and the recombinant avirulent Salmonellae are capable of stable, high-level expression of the foreign antigen in the orally immunized animal or human host. The resulting vaccines are safe, efficacious, and are easy and economical to use.
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A recombinant gene encoding human growth hormone (hGH) was stably introduced into cultured myoblasts with a retroviral vector. After injection of genetically engineered myoblasts into mouse muscle, hGH could be detected in serum for 3 months. The fate of injected myoblasts was assessed by coinfecting the cells with two retroviral vectors, one encoding hGH and the other encoding beta-galactosidase from Escherichia coli. These results provide evidence that myoblasts, which can fuse into preexisting multinucleated myofibers that are vascularized and innervated, may be advantageous as vehicles for systemic delivery of recombinant proteins.
The DNA sequence of the polyhedrin gene of the Mamestra brassicae multiple nucleocapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (MbMNPV) was determined and compared with the polyhedrin genes of Autographa californica (Ac) and Panolis flammea (Pf) MNPVs. Using this information, a transfer vector was constructed based on the EcoRI I fragment of AcMNPV in which the polyhedrin promoter was replaced by the homologous region extending 481 nucleotides upstream from the MbMNPV polyhedrin coding sequence. The Escherichia coli lacZ gene was also included downstream from the putative MbMNPV promoter. Cotransfection of this transfer vector with wild-type AcMNPV DNA produced stable recombinant viruses expressing the lacZ gene under the control of the MbMNPV polyhedrin promoter. The levels of beta-galactosidase produced by these recombinants in infected cells were 30% lower than the expression level obtained from viruses with the authentic AcMNPV promoter in front of the lacZ gene. The MbMNPV promoter has thus been shown to function efficiently in the genetic environment of AcMNPV. The implications of this finding for the release of genetically manipulated baculovirus insecticides and for the construction of baculovirus multiple expression vectors are discussed.
Almost all currently available retroviral vectors based on murine leukemia virus (MLV) contain one or more viral coding sequences. Because these sequences are also present in the packaging genome, it has been suggested that homologous recombination may occur between the same nucleotide sequence in the packaging genome and the vector, resulting in the production of replication competent retrovirus (RCR). Up until now, it has been difficult to completely remove viral coding sequences since some were thought to be involved in the optimum function of the retroviral vector. For example, the gag coding sequence present in almost all available retroviral vectors has been believed to be necessary for efficient viral packaging, while the pol coding sequence present in the highly efficient vector MFG has been thought to be involved in achieving the high levels of gene expression. However, we have now developed a series of retroviral vectors that are absent of any retroviral coding sequences but produce even higher levels of gene expression without compromising viral titer. In these vectors, the intron and exon sequences from heterologous cellular or viral genes are present. When compared with the well-known MLV-based vectors, some of these newly developed vectors have been shown to produce significantly higher levels of gene expression for a longer period. In an experimental system that can maximize the production of RCR, our newly constructed vectors produced an absence of RCR. These vectors should prove to be safer than other currently available retroviral vectors containing one or more viral coding sequences.
Protocols to recover negative-stand RNA viruses entirely from cDNA have been established in recent years, opening up this virus group to the detailed analysis of molecular genetics and virus biology. The unique gene-expression strategy of nonsegmented negative-strand RNA viruses, which involves replication of ribonucleoprotein complexes and sequential synthesis of free mRNAs, has also allowed the use of these viruses to express heterologous sequences. There are advantages in terms of easy manipulation of constructs, high capacity for foreign sequences, genetically stable expression, and the possibility of adjusting expression levels. Fascinating prospects for biomedical applications and transient gene therapy are offered by chimeric virus vectors carrying novel envelope protein genes and targeted to defined host cells.
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Two new plasmids pNQ216 (4.1kp) and pNQ402 (2.8 kb) were constructed by combining the replication origin of the plasmid pNK289, a cryptic plasmid resides in B. pumilus 289, and the cat-86 gene from plasmid pPL601. These two plasmids can be maintained steadily in both B. subtilis and B. pumilus. The penetrance of these plasmids on LB medium with Cm (20 micrograms/ml) is 30% higher than that of pPL600. Thus both of these plasmids can be used as new cloning vectors in Bacillus.
To prepare gene libraries, the incomplete filling of protruding ends has been used. DNAs from phages EMBL 3 and EMBL 3a were sequentially digested with SalI and EcoRI, followed by addition of dTTP, dCTP, and DNA polymerase I (Klenow's fragment). Separately, a genomic DNA was partially cleaved with Sau3AI, followed by addition of dATP, dGTP, and Klenow's fragment. The fragmented phage and genomic DNAs were mixed and ligated, and the recombinant DNAs packed in vitro with the phage proteins. The effectiveness of packaging per microgram of genomic DNA was 10(5) to 10(6) (for the wild phage DNA, 10(7)). The proposed procedure is very rapid and needs only microgram quantities of genomic DNA for preparing a representative gene library. It is also useful for other vectors, containing SalI sites.
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Exploitation of recombinant organisms for the large-scale, commercial production of foreign proteins is often hampered by the problem of plasmid instability. A wide range of strategies have been reported for improving the stability of recombinant organisms. A combination of manipulating both the genetic design of recombinants and the conditions of culturing the organisms may be used to achieve stable host-vector associations during culture of recombinant organisms in bioreactors.
Gene targeting, defined as the introduction of site-specific modifications into the genome by homologous recombination, has revolutionarized the field of mouse genetics and allowed the analysis of diverse aspects of gene function in vivo. It is now possible to engineer specific genetic alterations ranging from subtle mutations to chromosomal rearrangements and more recently, even tissue-specific inducible gene targeting with temporo-spatial control has become feasible. This review tries to recapitulate what we have learned in this extremely rapidly expanding field during the past decade. Diverse aspects of the technique will be discussed starting from basic construct design to the analysis of complex phenotypes, including recent advances on inducible expression system. Many examples from different areas of biomedical research are given to illustrate the purpose and limitations of the employed experimental approaches.
Lentivirus vectors are already used as effective gene delivery tools in cells from liver, retina, skeletal muscle and the central nervous system. In the past year, new and exciting data from gene transfer experiments in human hematopoietic progenitor cells have been obtained. Furthermore, new generations of HIV-1 based lentivirus vectors as well as new potentially less pathogenic HIV-2 based vectors have been described; however, old and new obstacles remain to be cleared.
This study investigated the intraarterial delivery of genetically engineered replication-deficient adenovirus vectors (AVs) and cationic liposome-plasmid DNA complexes (lipoDNA) to experimental brain tumors. Adenovirus or lipoDNA was injected into the internal carotid artery (ICA) of F344 rats harboring intracerebral 9L gliosarcomas, using bradykinin (BK) to selectively permeabilize the blood-tumor barrier (BTB). Brain and internal organs of the animals were collected 48 hr after vector injection and stained for expression of the marker gene product, beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal). Intracarotid delivery of AV to 9L rat gliosarcoma without BTB disruption resulted in transgene expression in 3-10% of tumor cells distributed throughout the tumor. Virus-mediated expression of beta-gal gene products in this tumor model was particularly high in small foci (< or = 0.5 mm), which had invaded the normal brain tissue surrounding the main tumor mass. In these foci more than 50% of tumor cells were transduced. BK infusion increased the amount of transgene-expressing cells in larger tumor foci to 15-30%. In the brain parenchyma only a few endothelial cells expressed beta-gal owing to AV-mediated gene transfer. Intracarotid delivery of lipoDNA bearing a cytoplasmic expression cassette rendered more than 30% of the tumor cells positive for the marker gene without BTB disruption. The pattern of distribution was in general homogeneous throughout the tumor. BK infusion was able to increase further the number of transduced tumor cells to more than 50%. Although lipoDNA-mediated gene transfer showed increased efficacy as compared with AV-mediated gene transfer, it had less specificity since a larger number of endothelial and glial cells also expressed the transgene. AV and lipoDNA injections, in the absence and presence of BK, also resulted in transduction of peripheral organs. AV showed its known predilection for liver and lung. In the case of lipoDNA, parenchymal organs such as liver, lung, testes, lymphatic nodes, and especially spleen, were transduced. These findings indicate that intracarotid application of AV and lipoDNA vectors can effectively transduce tumor cells in the brain, and that BTB modulation by BK infusion can further increase the number of transgene-expressing tumor cells.
Using the techniques of genetic engineering and the principles of protein de novo design, we have developed a unique affinity matrix protein tag system as a rapid, convenient and sensitive method to detect, purify and characterize newly expressed recombinant peptides or proteins from cell extracts. The method utilizes two de novo-designed linear peptide sequences that can selectively dimerize to form the stable protein motif, the two-stranded alpha-helical coiled-coil. In this method, a recombinant bacterial expression vector pRLDE has been engineered so that one of the dimerization strands (E-coil) is expressed as a C-terminal fusion tag on newly expressed peptides or proteins, while the other (K-coil) is either biotin-labeled for detection in a Western blot-type format or immobilized on an insoluble silica support for selective dimerization affinity chromatography. Recombinantly expressed peptides from Escherichia coli containing the dimerization tag have been produced, detected and purified using this method. The recombinant peptides were easily and clearly identified using the biotin-labeled coil, while the single-step affinity purification results indicated the purity of the affinity purified expressed peptides to be > 95%, as assessed by reversed-phase chromatography. The stability of the dimerization domain also allows for the purified peptide to be left attached to the matrix, thus creating a new peptide-bound column that can be used to study peptide-protein or peptide-ligand interactions. Therefore this system offers a new alternative to existing peptide or protein fusion tags and demonstrates the utility of a de novo-designed system.