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At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

Selective gene transfer to key cardiovascular regions of the brain: comparison of two viral vector systems.

The systemic renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a critical role in cardiovascular (CV) homeostasis. All components of the RAS are also known to be produced cell-specifically within specific brain regions, although the role of the brain RAS relative to the systemic RAS has remained a puzzle due to the difficulty of dissecting these two systems. Selectively targeting these regions with genes that modify the RAS could help unravel this puzzle. We compared the ability of adenovirus (Ad) and lentivirus (feline immunodeficiency virus, FIV) vectors to mediate gene delivery in vivo to the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and subfornical organ (SFO), two important CV control regions known to express the various RAS genes. SON or SFO of adult C57BL/6 mice (n=37) were stereotaxically injected with replication-deficient recombinant Ad or FIV harboring a beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) reporter gene. At 1, 3, or 8 weeks post-injection, brain sections were processed for beta-Gal activity, double immunofluorescence to verify cell-type specificity of viral transduction, or immunohistochemical detection of inflammatory mediators. Our results demonstrate that: (1) murine SFO and SON can be selectively targeted for gene transfer in vivo;(2) FIV mediated neuron-specific gene delivery, whereas Ad transduced both neuronal and glial cell types in SFO and SON; (3) Ad injected into the SON transduced neurons within the SFO through retrograde transport, whereas FIV did not; (4) beta-gal activity remained stable for 3 weeks but then declined by 8 weeks with Ad, while minimal decline occurred with FIV; (5) FIV did not cause inflammatory responses, whereas infiltrate was detectable in Ad-injected SFO and SON. These vectors are potentially important tools for dissecting the cell- and site-specific components of the brain RAS and other important CV regulatory systems within this circuitry, and may have therapeutic applications for centrally mediated CV diseases.

Adenoviridae↗

Excision of a transposable element from a viral vector introduced into maize plants by agroinfection.

The geminivirus maize streak virus (MSV) was used as a vector to introduce the maize transposable element Dissociation (Ds) and to study its excision in maize plants. MSV carrying Ds1 in its genome was introduced into maize plants by agroinfection. Excision of the Ds1 element from the MSV genome was detected only when functions from the transposable element Activator (Ac) were supplied in trans, either endogenously by the recipient maize plant or by co-transformation with Agrobacterium carrying a genomic Ac clone. The excision of Ds1 could easily be visualized by the appearance of viral symptoms induced by the revertant virus. The junction sequences left on the MSV genome after excision revealed 'footprints' typical of transposition as described for maize. From these results, we conclude that transposition functions in our system and that the use of the MSV replicon provides a rapid and simple tool for the investigation of the excision of transposable elements in maize plants.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens↗

HIV-1 envelope pseudotyped viral vectors and infectious molecular clones expressing the same envelope glycoprotein have a similar neutralization phenotype, but culture in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is associated with decreased neutralization sensitivity.

Recombinant lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with heterologous HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins allow rapid and accurate measurement of antibody-mediated HIV-1 neutralization. However, the neutralization phenotypes of envelope pseudoviruses have not been directly compared to isogenic replication competent HIV-1. We produced pseudoviruses expressing three different HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins and subcloned the same three env genes into a replication competent NL4-3 molecular clone. For each of the antibodies tested, the neutralization dose-response curves of pseudoviruses and corresponding replication competent viruses were similar. Thus, envelope pseudoviruses can be used to study the anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibody response. A single passage of replication competent virus derived from 293T cells through peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) caused a substantial decrease in sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies. This was associated with an increase in average virion envelope glycoprotein content of the PBMC-derived virus. Replication competent HIV-1 and isogenic envelope pseudoviruses have similar neutralization characteristics, but passage into PBMC is associated with decreased sensitivity to neutralization.

HIV Antibodies↗

Biodistribution study of phosphonolipids: a class of non-viral vectors efficient in mice lung-directed gene transfer.

BACKGROUND: A multitude of cationic lipids have been synthesized since they were first proposed for use in gene therapy. Cationic lipids are able to efficiently transfect cells both in vitro and in vivo. Whereas most research groups have focused their investigations on the toxicity of these molecules, and on the location of expression of the DNA transferred by these vectors, little has been done to determine their biodistribution and elimination pathways. Our group has developed a family of cationic lipids termed phosphonolipids. Following a large in vitro screening experiment, we have selected several molecules for in vivo testing, with some of these phosphonolipids forming lipoplexes efficient in transfecting mouse lungs. It was thus of interest to study their fate after intravenous injection. METHODS: The respective biodistributions of both the GLB43 phosphonolipid and plasmid DNA were investigated and compared with DNA expression sites. Using the optimal conditions determined for phosphonolipids, we followed the gene transfer agent and plasmid DNA distributions versus time by radiolabeling them with (14)C and (32)P, respectively. Otherwise, we performed imaging by radiolabeling plasmid DNA with (99m)Tc. RESULTS: The lipoplexes appear to be directly located in the lung after administration. Secondly, the plasmid is released mainly into the lungs and the phosphonolipid vector is rapidly degraded. The hydrophilic moiety of the phosphonolipid is eliminated in the urine, as is the free plasmid. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals that there are slight differences in the observed results depending on the technique used to label the DNA; secondly, results show that the residence time of phosphonolipids in the mouse body is related to the DNA binding time.

Animals↗

Efficient gene transfer of a simian immuno-deficiency viral vector into cardiomyocytes derived from primate embryonic stem cells.

BACKGROUND: Embryonic stem (ES) cells continually proliferate and can generate large numbers of differentiated cells. Genetic manipulation of transplantable cells derived from primate ES cells offers considerable potential for development research and regenerative cell therapy. However, protocols for efficient gene transfer into primate ES-cell-derived cells have not yet been established. METHODS: Spontaneously contracting areas were derived from cynomolgus monkey ES cells. Features of cardiomyocytes in the area were analyzed according to gene expression (RT-PCR), morphology (immunostaining and electron microscopy), and function (intracellular calcium transience). Beating cells were transduced using a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) vector expressing enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP), then transplanted into ischemic rat myocardium. RESULTS: Beating cells derived from monkey ES cells displayed gene expression, ultrastructural and functional properties of early-stage cardiomyocytes. Highly efficient (97% cardiac phenotype) and stable transduction of these ES-cell-derived cardiomyocytes was achieved using SIV vector without altering contractile function. In addition, transduced cardiomyocytes survived in the myocardium of a rat myocardial infarction model. CONCLUSIONS: A lentiviral vector system based on SIV represents a useful vehicle for genetic modification of cardiomyocytes derived from primate ES cells, and can extend the application of primate ES cells to gene therapy.

Animals↗

Development and characterization of a cell line for large-scale, serum-free production of recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors.

BACKGROUND: One of the major limitations to the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for gene therapy has been the difficulty in producing enough vector to supply a clinical trial. More than 20 000 roller bottles may be required to generate AAV by the traditional transient transfection process to treat 50 patients. A scalable AAV producer cell line grown in serum-free media will meet the needs for the manufacture of AAV gene therapeutics. METHODS: A packaging cell line was generated by introducing the AAV rep and cap genes into A549 cells. From this packaging cell line, a number of producer cell lines were generated by infecting the packaging cell with the appropriate AAV vector. Producer cell lines were then adapted to serum-free suspension conditions for growth in bioreactors. RESULTS: We report here the development of six AAV producer cell lines that generate > 10(4) particles/cell. The rAAV vector preparations from these cell lines have physical and functional characteristics similar to rAAV vectors prepared by transient transfection. To enable large-scale production, producer cell lines were adapted to serum-free suspension and we demonstrate production of AAV at the 15 L scale. In addition, vector preparations from these cell lines were shown to be free of wild-type AAV. CONCLUSIONS: AAV producer cell lines can be readily scaled to meet the needs of clinical trials. One 500 L bioreactor of these producer cells can produce the equivalent of 2500 high capacity roller bottles or 25 000 T-175 tissue culture flasks.

Adenoviridae↗

A CMV-actin-globin hybrid promoter improves adeno-associated viral vector gene expression in the arterial wall in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are attractive tools for direct intralumenal arterial gene transfer in interventional cardiology or cardiovascular surgery, but clinical application has been constrained by poor gene expression in this setting. METHODS: To improve arterial wall gene expression, a hybrid promoter consisting of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate-early enhancer, a chicken beta-actin transcription start site, and a rabbit beta-globin intron (CAG promoter) was substituted for the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) promoter in an AAV type 2 vector with an alkaline phosphatase (AP) reporter gene. RESULTS: Intralumenal transduction of rabbit carotid arteries by an AAV2 vector containing a CAG promoter resulted in gene expression in a mean of > or = 80% of the lumenal area at 14 days following exposure, compared to < or = 25% gene-expressing area with the RSV promoter-based control vector. The high prevalence of gene expression was maintained at 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. Importantly, in carotid arteries transduced with the CAG promoter, gene product expression was readily visible by the third day following transduction whereas gene expression was rarely seen before day 10 using the RSV promoter in the same animal model. On histology, AP gene expression was predominantly in vascular smooth muscle cells although some endothelial cell expression was also present. CONCLUSIONS: Substituting the CAG for the RSV promoter results in widespread gene expression, demonstrating efficient arterial wall transduction by AAV2 vectors. This finding plus the early time to gene expression hold promise for AAV vectors as agents for direct intralumenal arterial wall gene delivery during cardiovascular interventions.

Actins↗

Comparative analysis of antitumor activity of CD40L, RANKL, and 4-1BBL in vivo following intratumoral administration of viral vectors or transduced dendritic cells.

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family comprises a group of ligands that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, activation, maturation and apoptosis through interaction with the corresponding TNF receptor family members. In this study, we have evaluated whether adenovirus-mediated intratumoral gene transfer of CD40L, RANKL, or 4-1BBL elicits an immune response to established murine MC38 and TS/A tumors. Intratumoral administration of the recombinant adenoviral vectors expressing CD40L, RANKL or 4-1BBL 7 days post-tumor cell inoculation resulted in significant inhibition of MC38 tumor growth for all three ligands when compared with control groups treated with either saline or control adenovirus. However, intratumoral injection of Ad-4-1BBL or Ad-CD40L resulted in a significantly stronger inhibition of TS/A tumor progression than did Ad-RANKL treatment. We also demonstrated that intratumoral administration of dendritic cells (DC) transduced with adenoviral vectors encoding the TNF-related ligands resulted in a significant inhibition of MC38 tumor growth as compared with control groups treated with Ad-LacZ-transduced DC or saline-treated DC. In addition, DC overexpressing CD40L secreted considerably more IL-12 and expressed higher levels of the co-stimulatory molecules, CD80, CD86 and CD40, than did DC overexpressing LacZ, 4-1BBL or RANKL. We have also demonstrated that DC/CD40L, DC/4-1BBL, and DC/RANKL survived significantly longer than control DC or DC infected with the LacZ vector. Taken together, these results demonstrate that adenoviral gene transfer of CD40L, RANKL or 4-1BBL elicit a significant antitumor effect in two different tumor models, with CD40L gene transfer inducing the strongest antitumor effect.

4-1BB Ligand↗

Early expression of marker genes in the rabbit medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments: the use of different viral vectors and the effects of injury.

Gene therapy is a technique that may offer advantages over current methods of cytokine delivery to ligaments. To determine if implanted genes could be expressed in normal and injured knee ligaments, the medial collateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament were studied in 18 rabbits. A retroviral ex vivo technique using allograft medial collateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament fibroblasts and an adenoviral in vivo technique were compared as methods for delivering the LacZ marker gene to knee ligaments. Bilateral knee surgeries were performed, and the rabbits were equally divided into three groups. Group 1 received the retrovirus and the medial collateral ligament was ruptured, Group 2 received the adenovirus and the medial collateral ligament was ruptured, and Group 3 received the adenovirus and the medial collateral ligament was not injured. The anterior cruciate ligament was not injured in any group. The medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments of the right knees received 10(6) allografted, transduced ligament fibroblasts or 10(9) adenovirus particles, whereas the ligaments of the left knee received a similar volume of saline solution only. Equal numbers of rabbits were killed at 10 days, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks following the procedure. Ligament samples were stained with X-gal to detect the expression of the LacZ gene product, beta-galactosidase. LacZ gene expression was evident in ruptured and uninjured medial collateral ligaments as well as in the anterior cruciate ligament. The expression lasted between 10 days and 3 weeks in the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments with use of the retrovirus and between 3 and 6 weeks in the medial collateral ligament and at least 6 weeks in the anterior cruciate ligament with the adenovirus. The length of gene expression in the ruptured and uninjured medial collateral ligaments did not differ. These preliminary studies indicate that gene transfer to normal and injured knee ligaments is possible.

Adenoviridae↗

Dose and promoter effects of adeno-associated viral vector for green fluorescent protein expression in the rat brain.

Previous studies demonstrated that the rat neuron-specific enolase (NSE) promoter is effective for transgene expression in the brain in a variety of adeno-associated virus-2 vectors. This study evaluated the dose response and longer time course of this promoter and compared it to two cytomegalovirus/chicken beta-actin hybrid (CBA) promoter-based systems. NSE promoter-driven green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing neurons were found at doses as low as 10(7) particles, with expression increasing in a dose-dependent manner over a 3.3-log range. Bicistronic expression of GFP via an internal ribosome entry site coupled to the NSE promoter was also dose dependent, although the potency was decreased by 3.4-fold. The number of GFP-expressing neurons was stable for at least 25 months. The CBA promoter increased the numbers of GFP-expressing cells versus the NSE promoter, although the expression pattern remained neuronal and persisted for at least 18 months. The CBA promoter permitted detection of cells distal to the injection site that had retrogradely transported the vector from their terminal areas. Incorporating the woodchuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element (WPRE) into a CBA promoter vector induced greater expression levels in the hippocampus, as measured by stereological estimates of cell numbers and by Western blots, which demonstrated an 11-fold increase. Incorporation of the WPRE also improved transgene expression in primary neuronal cultures. The increased efficiency obtained with vector elements such as the CBA promoter and the WPRE may enhance the ability to genetically modify larger portions of the brain while requiring smaller doses and volumes.

Actins↗

Therapeutic liabilities of in vivo viral vector tropism: adeno-associated virus vectors, NMDAR1 antisense, and focal seizure sensitivity.

The N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor provides a potential target for gene therapy of focal seizure disorders. To test this approach, we cloned a 729-bp NMDA receptor (NMDAR1) cDNA fragment in the antisense orientation into adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, where expression was driven by either a tetracycline-off regulatable promoter (AAV-tTAK-NR1A) or a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter (AAV-CMV-NR1A). After infection of primary cultured cortical neurons with recombinant AAV-tTAK-NR1A, patch clamp studies found a significant decrease in maximal NMDA-evoked currents, indicative of a decrease in the number of NMDA receptors. Similarly, infusion of AAV-tTAK-NR1A (1 microl) into the rat temporal cortex significantly decreased NMDAR1-like immunoreactivity in layer V pyramidal cells. When AAV-tTAK-NR1A vectors were infused into the seizure-sensitive site of the rat inferior collicular cortex, the seizure sensitivity increased significantly over a period of 4 weeks. However, collicular infusion of AAV-CMV-NR1A vectors caused the opposite effect, a significant decrease in seizure sensitivity. Subsequent collicular coinfusion of vector encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) driven by the tetracyclineoff promoter (AAV-tTAK-GFP) and vector encoding beta-galactosidase driven by the CMV promoter (AAV-CMV-LacZ) transduced distinct neuronal populations with only partial overlap. Thus, differing transduction ratios of inhibitory interneurons to primary output neurons likely account for the divergent seizure influences. Although AAV vector-derived NMDAR1 antisense can influence NMDA receptor function both in vitro and in vivo, promoter-related tropic differences dramatically alter the physiological outcome of this receptor-based gene therapy.

Animals↗

Plant viral vectors based on tobamoviruses.

The potential of plant virus-based transient expression vectors is substantial. One objective is the production of large quantities of foreign peptides or proteins. At least one commercial group (Biosource Technologies) is producing large quantities of product in the field, has built factories to process truck-loads of material and soon expects to market virus-generated products. In the laboratory, large amounts of protein have been produced for structural or biochemical analyses. An important aspect of producing large amounts of a protein or peptide is to make the product easily purifiable. This has been done by attaching peptides or proteins to easily purified units such as virion particles or by exporting proteins to the apoplast so that purification begins with a highly enriched product. For plant molecular biology, virus-based vectors have been useful in identifying previously unknown genes by overexpression or silencing or by expression in different genotypes. Also, foreign peptides fused to virions are being used as immunogens for development of antisera for experimental use or as injected or edible vaccines for medical use. As with liposomes and microcapsules, plant cells and plant viruses are also expected to provide natural protection for the passage of antigen through the gastrointestinal tract. Perhaps the greatest advantage of plant virus-based transient expression vectors is their host, plants. For the production of large amounts of commercial products, plants are one of the most economical and productive sources of biomass. They also present the advantages of lack of contamination with animal pathogens, relative ease of genetic manipulation and the presence eukaryotic protein modification machinery.

Animals↗