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Bacteriophage lambda vector for transducing a cDNA clone library into mammalian cells.

We have developed a bacteriophage lambda vector (lambda NMT) that permits efficient transduction of mammalian cells with a cDNA clone library constructed with the pcD expression vector (H. Okayama and P. Berg, Mol. Cell. Biol. 3:280-289, 1983). The phage vector contains a bacterial gene (neo) fused to the simian virus 40 early-region promoter and RNA processing signals, providing a dominant-acting selectable marker for mammalian transformation. The phage DNA can accommodate pcD-cDNA recombinants with cDNA of up to about 9 kilobases without impairing the ability of the phage DNA to be packaged in vitro and propagated in vivo. Transfecting cells with the lambda NMT-pcD-cDNA recombinant phage yielded G418-resistant clones at high frequency (approximately 10(-2]. Cells that also acquired a particular cDNA segment could be detected among the G418-resistant transformants by a second selection or by a variety of screening protocols. Reconstitution experiments indicated that the vector could transduce 1 in 10(6) cells for a particular phenotype if the corresponding cDNA was present as 1 functional cDNA clone per 10(5) clones in the cDNA library. This expectation was confirmed by obtaining two hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT)-positive transductants after transfecting 10(7) HPRT-deficient mouse L cells with a simian virus 40-transformed human fibroblast cDNA library incorporated into the lambda NMT phage vector. These transductants contained the human HPRT cDNA sequences and expressed active human HPRT.

Animals↗

Construction of a human shuttle vector containing a single nitrogen mustard interstrand, DNA-DNA cross-link at a unique plasmid location.

DNA cross-linking reagents are frequently unusually cytotoxic, and many, including the nitrogen mustards, are potent chemotherapeutic agents, presumably because DNA cross-links effectively block DNA replication. Most of these reagents form both inter- and intrastrand DNA cross-links, but it is unknown which is more effective at blocking replication and why. To evaluate the role of interstrand cross-links, a human shuttle vector was constructed that contains a single, nitrogen mustard interstrand cross-link at a unique site. In previous work (J.O. Ojwang, D. A. Grueneberg, and E. L. Loechler, Cancer Res., 49: 6529-6537, 1989) a duplex oligonucleotide was synthesized that had an interstrand cross-link derived from a nitrogen mustard moiety bound at the N(7)- position of the guanines in the opposing strands of a 5'-GAC-3' 3'-CTG-5' sequence. Herein, a procedure is described to incorporate this oligonucleotide into an SV40-based human shuttle vector, which was designed for these experiments. The purified cross-linked vector was characterized and shown: (a) to have a chemical (i.e., a nitrogen mustard) modification at the anticipated genome location; (b) to have a modification that covalently joins the two duplex strands of the vector together; and (c) to contain a single interstrand cross-link per genome. The methodologies described to construct this vector are expected to be generally applicable and, thus, site-specific incorporation of an interstrand cross-link derived from any appropriate chemical should be possible. These procedures complement existing methodologies that permit the incorporation of monoadducts and intrastrand cross-links into vectors in a site-specific manner.

Base Sequence↗

Engineering the gram-positive cell surface for construction of bacterial vaccine vectors.

A genetic system for surface display of heterologous proteins has been developed in Streptococcus gordonii, a gram-positive human oral commensal that is naturally competent for genetic transformation. Our approach is based on chromosomal integration downstream from a resident promoter and translational fusion to an M6 protein. Using this strategy a variety of proteins, of different origin and size, were displayed on the cell surface and were shown to be stably expressed both in vitro and in vivo. Animal models of mucosal colonization (oral and vaginal) and intragastric immunization with recombinant S. gordonii were developed and the local and systemic immune responses were studied. Here we report the techniques for the construction of recombinant bacteria, use of animal models, and analysis of the immune response.

Animals↗

[Can extrachromosomal genetic elements be recognized as inventions?].

The legal bases for acknowledgement of plasmids (vectors) as inventions, in particular within the classes of the "substance" and "microbial strain" are discussed. There is a definite similarity in a number of features between phages recognized as inventions and plasmids. Therefore, in principle their acknowledgement as inventions may be considered possible, since it raises no new problems as those occurring in legal protection of microbial strains. At the same time there is no pressing need in acknowledgement of plasmids (vectors) as inventions and their legal protection should be rather of the prestige character.

Extrachromosomal Inheritance↗

Use of virion DNA as a cloning vector for the construction of mutant and recombinant herpesviruses.

We have developed improved procedures for the isolation of deletion mutant, point mutant, and recombinant herpesvirus saimiri. These procedures take advantage of the absence of NotI and AscI restriction enzyme sites within the viral genome and use reporter genes for the identification of recombinant viruses. Genes for secreted engineered alkaline phosphatase and green fluorescent protein were placed under simian virus 40 early promoter control and flanked by NotI and AscI restriction sites. When permissive cells were cotransfected with herpesvirus saimiri virion DNA and one of the engineered reporter genes cloned within herpesvirus saimiri sequences, recombinant viruses were readily identified and purified on the basis of expression of the reporter gene. Digestion of recombinant virion DNA with NotI or AscI was used to delete the reporter gene from the recombinant herpesvirus saimiri. Replacement of the reporter gene can be achieved by NotI or AscI digestion of virion DNA and ligation with a terminally matched fragment or, alternatively, by homologous recombination in cotransfected cells. Any gene can, in theory, be cloned directly into the virion DNA when flanked by the appropriate NotI or AscI sites. These procedures should be widely applicable in their general form to most or all herpesviruses that replicate permissively in cultured cells.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

An enhanced system for construction of adenoviral vectors by the two-plasmid rescue method.

The two-plasmid rescue method of constructing Ad vectors, which relies on either homologous or Cre-mediated recombination between two plasmids cotransfected into 293 or 293Cre4 cells, respectively, offers advantages over other approaches because of its simplicity. We have improved the efficiency of vector construction by both homologous and Cre-mediated recombination by replacing the single ITR in the shuttle plasmid with a head-to-head ITR junction. We have also expanded the versatility of this method by incorporating a Cre expression cassette into the plasmids to permit high-efficiency Cre-mediated vector rescue using 293 cells, abrogating the need for Cre-expressing cell lines. This new system retains the simplicity of the original but results in an approximately 100-fold increase in the number of recombinant viruses produced, all of which contain the foreign DNA insert, and allows high-efficiency Cre-mediated vector isolation using any E1-complementing cell line.

Adenoviridae↗

Generating biological models through gene transfer to domestic animals.

Transgenic domestic animals remain infrequently used as models for biochemical, biomedical or pharmaceutical studies. The difficulty in obtaining these animals and the cost of their maintenance explains this situation. This review briefly summarizes the different techniques of gene transfer, targeted or not, and also the techniques for constructing vectors for transgene expression. A few examples of domestic animal models are also reported.

Animals↗

Apramycin resistance as a selective marker for gene transfer in mycobacteria.

We have explored the potential of using the apramycin resistance gene as a marker in mycobacterial gene transfer studies. Shuttle plasmids available for both electroporation and conjugation studies have been constructed, and we have successfully validated the use of the apramycin resistance gene as a component of cloning vectors for Mycobacterium smegmatis, M. bovis BCG, and M. tuberculosis.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Isogenic adenoviruses type 5 expressing or not expressing the E1A gene: efficiency as virus vectors in the vaccination of permissive and non-permissive species.

We have previously constructed a recombinant adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) vector expressing the gD gene of pseudorabies virus (Ad-gD). In this virus the E1A gene was deleted, so that Ad-gD was replication defective. When high doses of this virus were inoculated into target species, it was nevertheless able to elicit a strong and protective immune response. We have restored a functional E1A gene in Ad-gD, by rescuing the E1A transcription unit in an ectopic position, far from the enhancer sequences of E1A. Unlike Ad-gD, this new virus (Ad-gD-E1A) was able to replicate in non-transcomplementing Vero cells. The kinetics of replication of Ad-gD-E1A were similar to that of the wild-type Ad5 when cells were infected at medium or high m.o.i. Nevertheless, the level of virus replication was low when Ad-gD-E1A was plated at low m.o.i. Cotton rats and mice were vaccinated once with 10(9) to 10(5) TCID50 of each of the two viruses. In both species, Ad-gD and Ad-gD-E1A induced similar antibody responses for each dose tested. Both were able to give a high level of protection against the challenge. However, the protective dose of Ad-gD-E1A was at least 250-fold lower in cotton rats, an Ad5-permissive species, than that of Ad-gD. In mice, a species restricted for Ad5 replication, the protective dose of Ad-gD-E1A was still not significantly different from that of Ad-gD. These data indicate that the protective dose of such an adenovirus vector vaccine for an animal species is strictly linked to the capacity of the virus to replicate in this species, at least in the model used. So, in designing an adequate vector one needs to balance the use of low dose vaccines against risks in terms of biosafety. Nevertheless, for diseases in which the protective immune response is mainly based on the antibody response, defective and non-defective adenovirus vectors should demonstrate similar protective doses.

Adenoviridae Infections↗

High-efficiency gene inactivation and replacement system for gram-positive bacteria.

A system for high-efficiency single- and double-crossover homologous integration in gram-positive bacteria has been developed, with Lactococcus lactis as a model system. The system is based on a thermosensitive broad-host-range rolling-circle plasmid, pG+host5, which contains a pBR322 replicon for propagation in Escherichia coli at 37 degrees C. A nested set of L. lactis chromosomal fragments cloned onto pG+host5 were used to show that the single-crossover integration frequency was logarithmically proportional to the length of homology for DNA fragments between 0.35 and 2.5 kb. Using random chromosomal 1-kb fragments, we showed that homologous integration can occur along the entire chromosome. We made use of the reported stimulatory effect of rolling-circle replication on intramolecular recombination to develop a protocol for gene replacement. Cultures were first maintained at 37 degrees C to select for a bacterial population enriched for plasmid integrants; activation of the integrated rolling-circle plasmid by a temperature shift to 28 degrees C resulted in efficient plasmid excision by homologous recombination and replacement of a chromosomal gene by the plasmid-carried modified copy. More than 50% of cells underwent replacement recombination when selection was applied for the replacing gene. Between 1 and 40% of cells underwent replacement recombination when no selection was applied. Chromosomal insertions and deletions were obtained in this way. These results show that gene replacement can be obtained at an extremely high efficiency by making use of the thermosensitive rolling-circle nature of the delivery vector. This procedure is applicable to numerous gram-positive bacteria.

DNA Replication↗

Engineering the assembly pathway of the baculovirus-insect cell expression system.

The synthesis of complex biological structures such as antibodies using recombinant DNA technology is a major biotechnological advance. Active murine antibody (IgG) oligomers, composed of two heavy (H) and two light (L) polypeptide chains, have been expressed and secreted by the baculovirus-insect cell expression system. Unfortunately, expression of the functional antibodies is accompanied by the formation of abnormal protein complexes and aggregates in which the polypeptide chains are bound together into incorrect associations. The formation of these abnormal complexes or protein aggregates in insect cells may be caused by insufficient intracellular levels of two catalytic proteins, immunoglobulin binding protein (BiP or GRP78), and protein disulfide isomerase (PDI). Consequently, we obtained the genes coding for murine BiP and PDI and cloned the genes into the baculovirus vector (Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus) to obtain AcBB-BiP and AcBB-PDI. Infection of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf-9) insect cells with these two baculoviruses yielded recombinant proteins of the correct size that were recognized by antibodies to these proteins. Cloning these genes into the baculovirus vector is one approach to engineering the assembly pathway in order to lower aggregation and increase production of functionally active proteins and oligomers.

Animals↗

Epitope analysis of a sperm acrosomal antigen defined by HSA-5 monoclonal antibody.

Among the monoclonal antibodies recommended by the WHO Sperm Antigen Workshop for immunocontraceptive vaccine development, HSA-5 showed a high degree of sperm specificity and significantly inhibited in vitro fertilization in both humans and mice. Using a Western blot assay, HSA-5 was found to recognize a sperm antigen designated as HSAg-5 (human) or MSAg-5 (mouse) which ranged in molecular weight from 18 to 100 kDa. This monoclonal antibody was used as the probe for the immunoscreening of mouse testis cDNA libraries constructed in the lambda gt-11 expression vector. One of the positive cDNA clones was shown to have a cDNA insert of approximately 1 kb and to encode a recombinant fusion protein containing 77 amino acid residues in the C-terminal region of MSAg-5. This 1 kb cDNA insert was engineered in a pGEX vector to express a recombinant glutathione S-transferase fusion protein (GST-5). Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot analysis, both anti-GST-5 sera and the monoclonal antibody were shown to react with GST-5. The Northern blot of a mouse testis RNA preparation revealed that the isolated cDNA probe hybridized with a 4.0 kb mRNA. Several oligopeptides were synthesized based on the predicted C-terminal hydrophilic regions of the recombinant fusion protein. Using ELISA and a dot blot assay, peptide regions containing the immunogenic epitopes recognized by HSA-5 monoclonal antibody were identified.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Terplex DNA delivery system as a gene carrier.

PURPOSE: To characterize the physical and biochemical properties of the DNA terplex delivery system, which has previously been shown to deliver and express pSV-beta-gal plasmid efficiently in cultured smooth muscle cells (SMC) (1). METHODS: Atomic force microscopy (AFM), zeta-potential measurement (ZP), gel electrophoresis (GE), circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence quenching and 1H-NMR spectrometry were used. RESULTS: AFM showed that the plasmid DNA of about 600 nm long in its extended state was condensed to the size of about 100 nm by terplex formation. The DNA condensing effect of the terplex system was as good as unmodified PLL, as shown by an ethidium bromide displacement assay. Zeta-potential measurement showed that the terplex system exerts a slightly positive surface charge (+2 mV) at a 1:1:1 weight ratio of DNA:LDL:stearyl-PLL, which showed the best transfection efficiency on SMC. GE indicated that electrophoretic mobility of the terplex system decreased with increasing amounts of stearyl-PLL, indicating that the surface charge of the terplex system became more positive as more stearyl-PLL was added. Results from CD showed that there was no significant changes in tertiary structure of plasmid DNA from the terplex formation. Presence of strong hydrophobic interaction between stearyl-PLL and LDL was confirmed by 1H-NMR, where about a 30% decrease in epsilon-methylene peak of PLL backbone was observed when stearyl-PLL was mixed with LDL, but this phenomenon was not observed when unmodified PLL was used. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the plasmid DNA, when formulated with the stearyl-PLL and LDL, forms a stable and hydrophobicity/charge balanced terplex system of optimal size for efficient cellular uptake and the DNA is still intact after the terplex formation. This information is expected to be utilized for the development of much improved transfection vectors for in vivo gene therapy.

Animals↗

A high-efficiency Cre/loxP-based system for construction of adenoviral vectors.

Adenovirus (Ad) vectors provide a highly efficient means of mammalian gene transfer and are widely used for high-level protein expression in mammalian cells, as recombinant vaccines and for gene therapy. A commonly used method for constructing Ad vectors relies on in vivo homologous recombination between two Ad DNA-containing bacterial plasmids cotransfected into 293 cells. While the utility of this two-plasmid approach is well established, its efficiency is low owing to the inefficiency of homologous recombination. To address this, we have developed an improved method for Ad vector construction based on Cre-mediated site-specific recombination between two bacterial plasmids, each bearing a loxP site. Ad vectors are generated as a result of Cre-mediated site-specific recombination between the two plasmids after their cotransfection into 293 cells expressing Cre recombinase. The frequency of Ad vector rescue by Cre-mediated site-specific recombination is significantly higher (approximately 30-fold) than by in vivo homologous recombination. The efficiency and reliability of this method should greatly simplify and expedite the construction of recombinant Ad vectors for mammalian gene transfer. Ad vectors are commonly constructed by homologous recombination between two plasmids cotransfected into 293 cells. This method has numerous advantages but results in low numbers of plaques owing to inefficient recombination. We have developed an improved method based on Cre-mediated site-specific recombination, which results in vector rescue at frequencies approximately 30-fold higher than by homologous recombination. This method should greatly simplify and expedite the construction of recombinant Ad vectors for mammalian gene transfer.

Adenoviridae↗

SV40 vector with early gene replacement efficient in transducing exogenous DNA into mammalian cells.

An early replacement SV40 vector, SV40-Mu beta, was constructed by replacing part of the early genes of the virus with mouse interferon-beta (IFN-beta) cDNA. Upon transfection of COS-7 cells with this DNA, transducing viral particles were produced, which could infect various cells and cause efficient production of mouse IFN-beta. The viral stock contained no detectable wild-type SV40. The IFN production after the virus infection was very high in monkey kidney cells, but less so in human epithelial cells, and low in mouse, pig, hamster cells and in human lymphocytes. The efficiency of introduction of the DNA to monkey kidney cells was compared with that by the calcium phosphate precipitation method, and the viral vector was found to be more efficient by a factor of several tens to hundreds.

Animals↗

[Recombinant DNA technology].

Recombinant DNA technology is a method depending on realization of genetic recombination events artificially. It became possible to obtain any ordered gene or its product with this method. Before production step, ordered gene is derived from original chromosome by endonuclease enzyme and integrated to a vector as a plasmid or a phage. After that this vector is transformed into a bacterium or a yeast. Then ordered gene or protein is produced in desired amounts by culturing these microorganisms.

DNA, Recombinant↗

Retroviral-mediated gene transfer into hemopoietic cells.

Retroviral vectors have provided a means for the introduction of functioning exogenous genes into the hematopoietic system of whole animals. Although these vectors are quite efficient in the mouse model, when applied to non-murine in vivo systems, the efficiency of gene transfer has diminished to impractical levels. Since in vivo analyses are expensive and time consuming, in vitro models have been developed to speed the evaluation of alternative protocols. Using in vitro colony assays, three approaches were evaluated for their ability to improve the infectivity of hematopoietic progenitor cells with retroviral vectors. Exogenously applied hematopoietic growth factors increased the proportion of hematopoietic colonies in vitro up to an average of 5 fold. When alternative sources of progenitors, such as fetal cord blood, were used, improvements in infection efficiency were also obtained. Finally, evidence was acquired suggesting that xenotropic packaging of vectors also improved infection efficiency.

Animals↗