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PubMed2005

Nanotechnology and animal health.

Nanotechnology, as a new enabling technology, has the potential to revolutionise agriculture and food systems in the United States of America and throughout the world. Examples of potential applications of nanotechnology in the science and engineering of agriculture and food systems include disease treatment delivery systems, new tools for molecular and cellular biology, the security of agricultural and food systems, new materials for pathogen detection, and protection of the environment. Existing research has clearly demonstrated the feasibility of introducing nanoshells and nanotubes into animal systems to seek out and destroy targeted cells. Nanoparticles smaller than one micron have been used to deliver drugs and genes into cells. Thus, some building blocks do exist in isolation and are expected to be integrated into systems over the next 10 to 15 years. It is reasonable to presume over the next couple of decades that nanobiotechnology industries and unique developments will revolutionise animal health and medicine.

Animal Welfare↗

PubMed2000

Alleviation of murine leukemia virus repression in embryonic carcinoma cells by genetically engineered primer binding sites and artificial tRNA primers.

The primer binding site (PBS) plays pivotal roles during reverse transcription of retroviruses and also is the target of a cellular host defense impeding the transcription of murine leukemia virus (MLV) harboring a proline (pro) PBS in embryonic cells. Both the PBS and the tRNA primer are copied during reverse transcription and anneal as complementary DNA sequences creating the PBS of the integrated provirus. The pro PBS of MLV can be exchanged by PBS sequences matching endogenous or engineered tRNAs to allow replication of Akv MLV-derived vectors in fibroblasts. Here we use the PBS escape mutant B2 to demonstrate the capacity of the synthetic tRNA(B2) to function in reverse transcription in competition with endogenous tRNAs in fibroblasts and embryonic carcinoma (EC) cells. We further show symmetry between PBS and the primer by the ability of the synthetic tRNA(B2) to confer escape from EC repression of a PBS-Pro vector. Of a panel of vectors with the repressed pro PBS substituted for other natural or artificial PBS sequences, all except one efficiently expressed the neo marker gene when transferred to NIH/3T3 and EC cells, hence avoiding PBS-mediated silencing in EC cells. A non-natural PBS matching an artificially designed tRNA molecule conferred no further relief from repression than that attained with the B2 escape mutant or the natural alternative PBSs. Interestingly, a vector harboring a PBS matching tRNA(Lys1.2) suffered repression similar to the wild-type PBS-Pro but was partially rescued by a single point mutation of the PBS.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Tissue engineering of cultured skin substitutes.

Skin replacement has been a challenging task for surgeons ever since the introduction of skin grafts by Reverdin in 1871. Recently, skin grafting has evolved from the initial autograft and allograft preparations to biosynthetic and tissue-engineered living skin replacements. This has been fostered by the dramatically improved survival rates of major burns where the availability of autologous normal skin for grafting has become one of the limiting factors. The ideal properties of a temporary and a permanent skin substitute have been well defined. Tissue-engineered skin replacements: cultured autologous keratinocyte grafts, cultured allogeneic keratinocyte grafts, autologous/allogeneic composites, acellular biological matrices, and cellular matrices including such biological substances as fibrin sealant and various types of collagen, hyaluronic acid etc. have opened new horizons to deal with such massive skin loss. In extensive burns it has been shown that skin substitution with cultured grafts can be a life-saving measure where few alternatives exist. Future research will aim to create skin substitutes with cultured epidermis that under appropriate circumstances may provide a wound cover that could be just as durable and esthetically acceptable as conventional split-thickness skin grafts. Genetic manipulation may in addition enhance the performance of such cultured skin substitutes. If cell science, molecular biology, genetic engineering, material science and clinical expertise join their efforts to develop optimized cell culture techniques and synthetic or biological matrices then further technical advances might well lead to the production of almost skin like new tissue-engineered human skin products resembling natural human skin.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Endogenously expressed apolipoprotein E has different effects on cell lipid metabolism as compared to exogenous apolipoprotein E carried on triglyceride-rich particles.

Apolipoprotein E (apoE) on model triglyceride-rich particles (TGRP) increases triglyceride (TG) utilization and cholesteryl ester (CE) hydrolysis, independent of its effect on enhancing particle uptake. We questioned whether, under physiological concentrations, endogenously expressed apoE has similar effects on cellular lipid metabolism as compared to exogenous apoE. J774 macrophages, which do not express apoE, were engineered to express endogenous apoE by transfection of human apoE3 cDNA expression constructs (E(+)) or control vectors (E(-)) into the cells. To compare the effects of exogenous apoE and endogenous apoE on TGRP uptake, cells were incubated with or without apoE associated with (3)H-cholesteryl ether-labeled TGRP. Exogenous apoE enhanced TGRP uptake in both E(-) and E(+) cells. E(-) cells displayed significantly higher TGRP uptake than E(+) cells. Sodium chlorate, which inhibits cell proteoglycan synthesis, markedly diminished differences in TGRP uptake between E(-) and E(+) cells, suggesting that endogenous apoE-proteoglycan interaction contributes to differences in uptake between the two cell types. Particle uptake by the LDL receptor, by the LDL receptor related protein, or by scavenger receptors were similar between E(-) and E(+) cells indicating that endogenous apoE expression does not have a general effect on endocytic pathways. Exogenous apoE carried on TGRP stimulated TG utilization and CE hydrolysis in both cell types. However, TG utilization and CE hydrolysis were not affected by endogenous apoE expression. In conclusion, macrophage expression of apoE has very different effects on TGRP metabolism than exogenously supplied apoE. The fluorescence microscopy results in this study showing that exogenous apoE and endogenous apoE were confined in separate cellular compartments support the hypothesis that these differences resulted from distinct intracellular trafficking pathways followed by exogenous apoE bound to TGRP as compared to endogenous cell-expressed apoE.

Apolipoproteins E↗

PubMed2006

Corneal epithelial stem cell delivery using cell sheet engineering: not lost in transplantation.

Cell-based therapies have now generated significant interest as novel drug delivery systems, with various adult cell types used in treating a wide range of diseases. To overcome the limits that restrict treatments for corneal surface dysfunction, corneal epithelial stem cells expanded ex vivo have been applied as an alternative approach. While previous studies used various carrier substrates, we present a novel method using cell sheet engineering with temperature-responsive culture dishes to create carrier-free corneal epithelial stem cell sheets that can be transplanted without sutures. Results from clinical trials reveal successful transplantation with the recovery of lost visual acuity in all cases. Cell sheet engineering, therefore, presents a novel method for the delivery of corneal epithelial stem cells, and can also be applied for other approaches of cellular therapeutics.

Corneal Transplantation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Concentric cylinder bioreactor for production of tissue engineered cartilage: effect of seeding density and hydrodynamic loading on construct development.

A concentric cylinder bioreactor has been developed to culture tissue engineered cartilage constructs under hydrodynamic loading. This bioreactor operates in a low shear stress environment, has a large growth area for construct production, allows for dynamic seeding of constructs, and provides for a uniform loading environment. Porous poly-lactic acid constructs, seeded dynamically in the bioreactor using isolated bovine chondrocytes, were cultured for 4 weeks at three seeding densities (60, 80, 100 x 10(6) cells per bioreactor) and three different shear stresses (imposed at 19, 38, and 76 rpm) to characterize the effect of chondrocyte density and hydrodynamic loading on construct growth. Construct seeding efficiency with chondrocytes is greater than 95% within 24 h. Extensive chondrocyte proliferation and matrix deposition are achieved so that after 28 days in culture, constructs from bioreactors seeded at the highest cell densities contain up to 15 x 10(6) cells, 2 mg GAG, and 3.5 mg collagen per construct and exhibit morphology similar to that of native cartilage. Bioreactors seeded with 60 million chondrocytes do not exhibit robust proliferation or matrix deposition and do not achieve morphology similar to that of native cartilage. In cultures under different steady hydrodynamic loading, the data demonstrate that higher shear stress suppresses matrix GAG deposition and encourages collagen incorporation. In contrast, under dynamic hydrodynamic loading conditions, cartilage constructs exhibit robust matrix collagen and GAG deposition. The data demonstrate that the concentric cylinder bioreactor provides a favorable hydrodynamic environment for cartilage construct growth and differentiation. Notably, construct matrix accumulation can be manipulated by hydrodynamic loading. This bioreactor is useful for fundamental studies of construct growth and to assess the significance of cell density, nutrients, and hydrodynamic loading on cartilage development. In addition, studies of cartilage tissue engineering in the well-characterized, uniform environment of the concentric cylinder bioreactor will develop important knowledge of bioprocessing parameters critical for large-scale production of engineered tissues.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2006

Human microvascular endothelial cellular interaction with atomic N-doped DLC compared with Si-doped DLC thin films.

This article reports results of endothelial cell interaction with atom beam source N-doped a-C:H (diamond-like carbon, DLC) as it compares with that of Si-doped DLC thin films. The RF plasma source exhibits up to 40% N-dissociation and N-atomic fluxes of approximately 0.85 x 10(18) atoms/s, which ensures better atomic nitrogen incorporation. Two different types of nitrogen species (with and without the use of sweep plates to remove charged ions) were employed for nitrogen doping. The number of attached endothelial cells is highest on Si-DLC, followed by the N-DLC (where the sweep plates were used to remove ions), the N-DLC (without the use of sweep plates), undoped DLC, and finally the uncoated sample. The contact angle values for these films suggest that water contact angle is higher in the atomic nitrogen neutral films and Si-DLC films compared to the ionized-nitrogen specie doped films and undoped DLC thin films, suggesting that the more hydrophobic films, semiconducting films, and film with relieved stress have better interaction with human microvascular endothelial cells. It seems evident that N-doping increases the Raman I(D)/I(G) ratios, whereas N-neutral doping decreases it slightly and Si-doping decreases it even further. In this study, lower Raman I(D)/I(G) ratios are associated with increased sp(3)/sp(2) ratio, an increased H concentration, photoluminescence intensity, and a higher endothelial cellular adhesion. These investigations could be relevant to biocompatibility assessment of nanostructured biomaterials and tissue engineering.

Cell Adhesion↗

PubMed2003

Molecular evolutionary analysis of the widespread piggyBac transposon family and related "domesticated" sequences.

piggyBac is a short inverted-repeat-type DNA transposable element originally isolated from the genome of the moth Trichoplusia ni. It is currently the gene vector of choice for the transformation of various insect species. A few sequences with similarity to piggyBac have previously been identified from organisms such as humans ( Looper), the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes ( Pigibaku), Xenopus ( Tx), Daphnia ( Pokey), and the Oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis. We have now identified 50 piggyBac-like sequences from publicly available genome sequences and expressed sequence tags (ESTs). This survey allows the first comparative examination of the distinctive piggyBac transposase, suggesting that it might contain a highly divergent DDD domain, comparable to the widespread DDE domain found in many DNA transposases and retroviral integrases which consists of two absolutely conserved aspartic acids separated by about 70 amino acids with a highly conserved glutamic acid about 35 amino acids further away. Many piggyBac-like sequences were found in the genomes of a phylogenetically diverse range of organisms including fungi, plants, insects, crustaceans, urochordates, amphibians, fishes and mammals. Also, several instances of "domestication" of the piggyBac transposase sequence by the host genome for cellular functions were identified. Novel members of the piggyBac family may be useful in genetic engineering of many organisms.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Plasma-treated polystyrene surfaces: model surfaces for studying cell-biomaterial interactions.

Biocompatibility of biomaterials relates, amongst others, to the absence of adverse cellular reactions and modulation of cell adhesion and subsequent responses. With respect to tissue-engineering applications, most materials need to evoke cell adhesion and spreading, while potentially displaying differential cell function. Adhesion has frequently been studied in a controlled fashion, using adhesion-supporting and -inhibiting substrata. The aim of this study is to create a panel of related materials with gradually changing surface characteristics in order to sustain similar individual cell adhesion and spreading, yet different cell population behaviour. A series of polystyrene materials was created with increasing oxygen surface incorporation and, concurrently, decreasing water-contact angles. Individual cells adhered and spread on all surfaces whilst showing well-developed focal adhesions and stress fibres. Cell populations demonstrated a decreased growth on surfaces with lower wettability. The biochemical activity of cell populations was not influenced by the surface treatment, but cell proliferation on surfaces increased with increasing oxygen incorporation. Furthermore, surface coverage with assembled fibronectin matrix was higher on the substrata with higher wettability. Finally, the expression of the adhesion-related proteins cadherin-5, focal adhesion kinase and RhoA was increased on surfaces with higher wettability. Further explorations of the cell biological basis of the observed differential behaviour will give more detailed answers on the rules governing cell-material interactions.

Biocompatible Materials↗

PubMed2006

Insulin-producing cells.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells offer great potential for cell replacement and tissue engineering therapies because of their almost unlimited proliferation capacity and the potential to differentiate into cellular derivatives of all three primary germ layers. This chapter describes a strategy for the in vitro differentiation of mouse ES cells into insulin-producing cells. The three-step protocol does not select for nestin-expressing cells as performed in previous differentiation systems. It includes (1) the spontaneous differentiation of ES cells via embryoid bodies and (2) the formation of progenitor cells of all three primary germ layers (multilineage progenitors) followed by (3) directed differentiation into the pancreatic lineage. The application of growth and extracellular matrix factors, including laminin, nicotinamide, and insulin, leads to the development of committed pancreatic progenitors, which subsequently differentiate into islet-like clusters that release insulin in response to glucose. During differentiation, transcript levels of pancreas-specific transcription factors (i.e., Pdx1, Pax4) and of genes specific for early and mature beta cells, including insulin, islet amyloid pancreatic peptide, somatostatin, and glucagon, are upregulated. C-peptide/insulin-positive islet-like clusters are formed, which release insulin in response to high glucose concentrations at terminal stages. The differentiated cells reveal functional properties with respect to voltage-activated Na+ and ATP-modulated K+ channels and normalize blood glucose levels in streptozotocin-treated diabetic mice. In conclusion, we demonstrate the efficient differentiation of murine ES cells into insulin-producing cells, which may help in the future to establish ES cell-based therapies in diabetes mellitus.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Modification of the cell based assay for brevetoxins using human cardiac voltage dependent sodium channels expressed in HEK-293 cells.

Assays using living cells provide an effective means to generate activity measurements of toxins, especially in situations where the toxins are part of a complex mixture or in an unfamiliar form such as natural or synthetic derivatives or bioactive metabolites. An important step in the refinement of cell based assays is to simplify the cellular reactions needed or required to generate the functional response of interest. Advances in the engineering of functional responses in cells provide a means to direct the response to given toxins. In this report, we describe the homogeneous high level expression of the initial target for brevetoxin, the voltage dependent sodium channel in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293). HEK cells stably transfected with a 6.208 kb cDNA of human heart voltage-dependent Na(+) channel (hH1a) were examined as an alternative to mouse neuroblastoma cells (N2A). The HEK-hH1a cells showed a reduced dependence on cofactors, increased sensitivity to brevetoxin and a useful means to assure absolute selectivity to the sodium channel. We next assessed the assay in a reporter gene format. Expression of a panel of minimal response elements as well as the c-fos promoter failed to provide a response to brevetoxin, indicating that the HEK cells lack a necessary intermediate signaling component. The expression of voltage dependent sodium channels in HEK cells is anticipated to provide enhanced performance for cell-based detection of toxins for drug and natural product discovery, biomonitoring and environmental monitoring.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

New directions in metabolic engineering.

Metabolic engineering is a rapidly evolving field. The term typically refers to the genetic modification of cellular biochemistry to introduce new properties or modify existing ones. Recent progress in genetics, molecular biology, microbiology and chemistry are driving advances in this field. Many well-studied areas continue to yield exciting results and new problems and technologies are constantly being developed.

Biotechnology↗

PubMed2001

Characterization of the type III secretion locus of Bordetella pertussis.

Multiple sequence comparisons of proteins of the LcrD/FlbF family allowed the design of primers that specifically amplify sequences coding for type III secretion components. Amplification of Bordetella pertussis DNA with these primers yielded a fragment that was further used as a probe for screening a genomic library. The nucleotide sequence of a positive clone revealed a 2100-bp gene, called bcrD, which specifies a 75-kDa polypeptide homologous to the Yersinia LcrD protein. Chromosome walking allowed the characterization of a 35-kb DNA segment that contains the entire locus and flanking housekeeping genes. The B. pertussis type III secretion locus consists of more than 30 open reading frames (ORFs), most of which are identical to annotated genes of Bordetella spp and share similarities with known type III secretion genes of related bacteria. In order to assess the function of this locus, we engineered a bcrD null mutant. However, none of the tested phenotypes, such as protein secretion, cellular invasion, cytotoxicity or mouse lung colonization, differentiated the mutant from its parental strain. Studies of bcrD and bscN expressions indicated that, under our experimental conditions, these genes are not expressed in vitro. Restriction analyses on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis allowed the type III locus mapping at coordinate position 1,590 kb on the Tohama I strain chromosome.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Mediating molecular recognition by methionine oxidation: conformational switching by oxidation of methionine in the carboxyl-terminal domain of calmodulin.

The C-terminus of calmodulin (CaM) functions as a sensor of oxidative stress, with oxidation of methionine 144 and 145 inducing a nonproductive association of the oxidized CaM with the plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase (PMCA) and other target proteins to downregulate cellular metabolism. To better understand the structural underpinnings and mechanism of this switch, we have engineered a CaM mutant (CaM-L7) that permits the site-specific oxidation of M144 and M145, and we have used NMR spectroscopy to identify structural changes in CaM and CaM-L7 and changes in the interactions between CaM-L7 and the CaM-binding sequence of the PMCA (C28W) due to methionine oxidation. In CaM and CaM-L7, methionine oxidation results in nominal secondary structural changes, but chemical shift changes and line broadening in NMR spectra indicate significant tertiary structural changes. For CaM-L7 bound to C28W, main chain and side chain chemical shift perturbations indicate that oxidation of M144 and M145 leads to large tertiary structural changes in the C-terminal hydrophobic pocket involving residues that comprise the interface with C28W. Smaller changes in the N-terminal domain also involving residues that interact with C28W are observed, as are changes in the central linker region. At the C-terminal helix, (1)H(alpha), (13)C(alpha), and (13)CO chemical shift changes indicate decreased helical character, with a complete loss of helicity for M144 and M145. Using (13)C-filtered, (13)C-edited NMR experiments, dramatic changes in intermolecular contacts between residues in the C-terminal domain of CaM-L7 and C28W accompany oxidation of M144 and M145, with an essentially complete loss of contacts between C28W and M144 and M145. We propose that the inability of CaM to fully activate the PMCA after methionine oxidation originates in a reduced helical propensity for M144 and M145, and results primarily from a global rearrangement of the tertiary structure of the C-terminal globular domain that substantially alters the interaction of this domain with the PMCA.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Patterning the surface cytophobicity of an albumin-physisorbed substrate by electrochemical means.

Spatiotemporal control of surface properties under physiological conditions such as those found in culture media is an important technique in fundamental cell biology, tissue engineering, and cell-based bioelectronics. To this end, we have developed a mild, wet cellular micropatterning technique. The principle of the technique is based on the fact that the cell-repellant property of the albumin-coated substrate rapidly switches to cell-adhesive upon exposure to the reactive oxidizing agent, electrochemically generated hypobromous acid. Herein, we report the effect of the hypobromous acid on serum albumin physisorbed on a hydrophobic substrate. It was found that albumin molecules detach from the substrate by application of the oxidizing agent, resulting in exposure of the underlying hydrophobic surface to the liquid phase. The adsorption of extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin onto the hydrophobic surface induces cell adhesion and growth.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2001

Overexpression of the Bt cry2Aa2 operon in chloroplasts leads to formation of insecticidal crystals.

In nuclear transgenic plants, expression of multiple genes requires introduction of individual genes and time-consuming subsequent backcrosses to reconstitute multi-subunit proteins or pathways, a problem that is compounded by variable expression levels. In order to accomplish expression of multiple genes in a single transformation event, we have introduced several genes into the chromoplast genome. We confirmed stable integration of the cry2Aa2 operon by PCR and Southern blot analyses in T(0) and T(1) transgenic plants. Foreign protein accumulated at 45.3% of the total soluble protein in mature leaves and remained stable even in old bleached leaves (46.1%), thereby increasing the efficacy and safety of transgenic plants throughout the growing season. This represents the highest level of foreign gene expression reported in transgenic plants to date. Insects that are normally difficult to control (10-day old cotton bollworm, beet armyworm) were killed 100% after consuming transgenic leaves. Electron micrographs showed the presence of the insecticidal protein folded into cuboidal crystals. Formation of crystals of foreign proteins (due to hyperexpression and folding by the putative chaperonin, ORF 2) provides a simple method of purification by centrifugation and enhances stability by protection from cellular proteases. Demonstration of expression of an operon in transgenic plants paves the way to engineering new pathways in plants in a single transformation event.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

The simplicity of complex MACs.

The development of mammalian artificial chromosomes (MACs) would be useful for biotechnology and biomedicine, including their use in functional genomics, transgenic animals and gene therapy. By analogy to large cloning systems in microorganisms, MACs may be engineered using endogenous chromosomal elements such as the yeast-based artificial chromosomes (YACs), or exogenous extra-chromosomal components derived from viruses and other cellular parasites such as the bacterial-based artificial chromosomes (BACs) and p1 artificial chromosomes (PACs).

Animals↗

PubMed2005

[On the acceptability of xenografts].

Transplantation represents a major advance in modern medicine with a major impact on the interactions between individuals and society. The numbers of patients undergoing organ transplantation increased steadily over the years and around 250,000 individuals are living nowadays in Europe with a transplanted organ. On the other hand, the numbers of cadaveric (brain-dead) donors used for organ transplantation remains stable, at around 5,000 each year, and the numbers of transplantation from living donors only slowly increase in Europe. Therefore, a gap is growing between the numbers of patients in need of a transplant and the numbers of organs available for transplantation. About 45,000 patients are currently on renal transplant waiting lists in Europe and, depending on the countries considered, 15 to 30 % of candidates for liver or heart transplantation die before a life-saving transplant becomes available to them. There is therefore an urgent need to implement innovative research and to take full advantage of recent biotechnological advances to explore new avenues in xenotransplantation, and to simultaneously address the ethical, societal and public health issues related to organ replacement. Much progresses have been accomplished in the understanding of xenograft rejection processes that include hyperacute, acute vascular and cellular rejection mechanisms. Strategies to promote xenograft survival that are currently under evaluation include genetic engineering of donor pigs, adapted immunosuppressive treatments and tolerance induction. Also, the psychological acceptance has been evaluated.

Animals↗