1
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Munis AM. Gene Therapy Applications of Non-Human Lentiviral Vectors. Viruses 2020; 12:v12101106. [PMID: 33003635 PMCID: PMC7599719 DOI: 10.3390/v12101106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent commercialization of lentiviral vector (LV)-based cell therapies and successful reports of clinical studies have demonstrated the untapped potential of LVs to treat diseases and benefit patients. LVs hold notable and inherent advantages over other gene transfer agents based on their ability to transduce non-dividing cells, permanently transform target cell genome, and allow stable, long-term transgene expression. LV systems based on non-human lentiviruses are attractive alternatives to conventional HIV-1-based LVs due to their lack of pathogenicity in humans. This article reviews non-human lentiviruses and highlights their unique characteristics regarding virology and molecular biology. The LV systems developed based on these lentiviruses, as well as their successes and shortcomings, are also discussed. As the field of gene therapy is advancing rapidly, the use of LVs uncovers further challenges and possibilities. Advances in virology and an improved understanding of lentiviral biology will aid in the creation of recombinant viral vector variants suitable for translational applications from a variety of lentiviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Altar M Munis
- Nuffield Division of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
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2
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Watanabe S, Kanatsu-Shinohara M, Shinohara T. Sendai virus-mediated transduction of mammalian spermatogonial stem cells†. Biol Reprod 2019; 100:523-534. [PMID: 30165393 DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioy192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2018] [Revised: 08/16/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) provide the foundation of spermatogenesis. However, because of their small number and slow self-renewal, transfection of SSCs has met with limited success. Although several viral vectors can infect SSCs, genome integration and an inability to maintain long-term gene expression have hampered studies on SSCs. Here we report successful SSC infection by Sendai virus (SV), an RNA virus in the Paramyxoviridae. The SV efficiently transduced germline stem (GS) cells, cultured spermatogonia with enriched SSC activity, and maintained gene expression for at least 5 months. It also infected freshly isolated SSCs from adult testes. The transfected GS cells reinitiated spermatogenesis following spermatogonial transplantation into seminiferous tubules of infertile mice, suggesting that SV transfection does not interfere with spermatogenesis progression. On the other hand, microinjection of SV into the seminiferous tubules of immature mice transduced SSCs and Sertoli cells, but did not transduce Leydig or peritubular cells by interstitial virus injection. SV-infected hamster GS cells, and freshly isolated rabbit or monkey SSC-like cells were identified following xenogeneic spermatogonial transplantation, suggesting that SV transduces SSCs from several mammalian species. Thus, SV is a useful vector that can transduce both SSCs and Sertoli cells and overcome problems associated with other viral vectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Watanabe
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Mito Kanatsu-Shinohara
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Takashi Shinohara
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
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3
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Ge J, Gan M, Wu C, Yan Q, Chen Y, Yang H, Zou J. Effects of PDGF-B Overexpression on the Biological Activity of Nucleus Pulposus Cells. J HARD TISSUE BIOL 2019. [DOI: 10.2485/jhtb.28.147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jun Ge
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
| | - Minfeng Gan
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
| | - Cenhao Wu
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
| | - Qi Yan
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
| | - Yufeng Chen
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
| | - Huilin Yang
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
| | - Jun Zou
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
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4
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Argentati C, Morena F, Bazzucchi M, Armentano I, Emiliani C, Martino S. Adipose Stem Cell Translational Applications: From Bench-to-Bedside. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:E3475. [PMID: 30400641 PMCID: PMC6275042 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19113475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Revised: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
During the last five years, there has been a significantly increasing interest in adult adipose stem cells (ASCs) as a suitable tool for translational medicine applications. The abundant and renewable source of ASCs and the relatively simple procedure for cell isolation are only some of the reasons for this success. Here, we document the advances in the biology and in the innovative biotechnological applications of ASCs. We discuss how the multipotential property boosts ASCs toward mesenchymal and non-mesenchymal differentiation cell lineages and how their character is maintained even if they are combined with gene delivery systems and/or biomaterials, both in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Argentati
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnologies, University of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
| | - Francesco Morena
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnologies, University of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
| | - Martina Bazzucchi
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnologies, University of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
| | - Ilaria Armentano
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University Largo dell'Università, snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy.
| | - Carla Emiliani
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnologies, University of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
- CEMIN, Center of Excellence on Nanostructured Innovative Materials, Via del Giochetto, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
| | - Sabata Martino
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnologies, University of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
- CEMIN, Center of Excellence on Nanostructured Innovative Materials, Via del Giochetto, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
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5
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Damen M, Groenen AJJ, van Dongen SFM, Nolte RJM, Scholte BJ, Feiters MC. Transfection by cationic gemini lipids and surfactants. MEDCHEMCOMM 2018; 9:1404-1425. [PMID: 30288217 PMCID: PMC6148748 DOI: 10.1039/c8md00249e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Diseases that are linked to defective genes or mutations can in principle be cured by gene therapy, in which damaged or absent genes are either repaired or replaced by new DNA in the nucleus of the cell. Related to this, disorders associated with elevated protein expression levels can be treated by RNA interference via the delivery of siRNA to the cytoplasm of cells. Polynucleotides can be brought into cells by viruses, but this is not without risk for the patient. Alternatively, DNA and RNA can be delivered by transfection, i.e. by non-viral vector systems such as cationic surfactants, which are also referred to as cationic lipids. In this review, recent progress on cationic lipids as transfection vectors will be discussed, with special emphasis on geminis, surfactants with 2 head groups and 2 tails connected by a spacer.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Damen
- Institute for Molecules and Materials , Faculty of Science , Radboud University , Heyendaalseweg 135 , 6525 AJ Nijmegen , The Netherlands .
| | - A J J Groenen
- Institute for Molecules and Materials , Faculty of Science , Radboud University , Heyendaalseweg 135 , 6525 AJ Nijmegen , The Netherlands .
| | - S F M van Dongen
- Institute for Molecules and Materials , Faculty of Science , Radboud University , Heyendaalseweg 135 , 6525 AJ Nijmegen , The Netherlands .
| | - R J M Nolte
- Institute for Molecules and Materials , Faculty of Science , Radboud University , Heyendaalseweg 135 , 6525 AJ Nijmegen , The Netherlands .
| | - B J Scholte
- Departments of Pediatric pulmonology and Cell Biology , Erasmus MC, P. O. Box 2040 , 3000 CA Rotterdam , The Netherlands
| | - M C Feiters
- Institute for Molecules and Materials , Faculty of Science , Radboud University , Heyendaalseweg 135 , 6525 AJ Nijmegen , The Netherlands .
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6
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Rustanti L, Jin H, Li D, Lor M, Sivakumaran H, Harrich D. Differential Effects of Strategies to Improve the Transduction Efficiency of Lentiviral Vector that Conveys an Anti-HIV Protein, Nullbasic, in Human T Cells. Virol Sin 2018. [PMID: 29541943 DOI: 10.1007/s12250-018-0004-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Nullbasic is a mutant form of HIV-1 Tat that has strong ability to protect cells from HIV-1 replication by inhibiting three different steps of viral replication: reverse transcription, Rev export of viral mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and transcription of viral mRNA by RNA polymerase II. We previously showed that Nullbasic inhibits transduction of human cells including T cells by HIV-1-based lentiviral vectors. Here we investigated whether the Nullbasic antagonists huTat2 (a Tat targeting intrabody), HIV-1 Tat or Rev proteins or cellular DDX1 protein could improve transduction by a HIV-1 lentiviral vector conveying Nullbasic-ZsGreen1 to human T cells. We show that overexpression of huTat2, Tat-FLAG and DDX1-HA in virus-like particle (VLP) producer cells significantly improved transduction efficiency of VLPs that convey Nullbasic in Jurkat cells. Specifically, co-expression of Tat-FLAG and DDX1-HA in the VLP producer cell improved transduction efficiency better than if used individually. Transduction efficiencies could be further improved by including a spinoculation step. However, the same optimised protocol and using the same VLPs failed to transduce primary human CD4+ T cells. The results imply that the effects of Nullbasic on VLPs on early HIV-1 replication are robust in human CD4+ T cells. Given this significant block to lentiviral vector transduction by Nullbasic in primary CD4+ T cells, our data indicate that gammaretroviral, but not lentiviral, vectors are suitable for delivering Nullbasic to primary human T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Rustanti
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, 4029, Australia
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, 4029, Australia
- National Institute of Health Research and Development, the Ministry of Health of Republic of Indonesia, Central Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, 10560, Indonesia
| | - Hongping Jin
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, 4029, Australia
| | - Dongsheng Li
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, 4029, Australia
| | - Mary Lor
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, 4029, Australia
| | - Haran Sivakumaran
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, 4029, Australia
| | - David Harrich
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, 4029, Australia.
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7
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Olgun HB, Tasyurek HM, Sanlioglu AD, Sanlioglu S. High-Titer Production of HIV-Based Lentiviral Vectors in Roller Bottles for Gene and Cell Therapy. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1879:323-345. [PMID: 29797007 DOI: 10.1007/7651_2018_150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Lentiviral vectors are becoming preferred vectors of choice for clinical gene therapy trials due to their safety, efficacy, and the long-term gene expression they provide. Although the efficacy of lentiviral vectors is mainly predetermined by the therapeutic genes they carry, they must be produced at high titers to exert therapeutic benefit for in vivo applications. Thus, there is need for practical, robust, and scalable viral vector production methods applicable to any laboratory setting. Here, we describe a practical lentiviral production technique in roller bottles yielding high-titer third-generation lentiviral vectors useful for in vivo gene transfer applications. CaPO4-mediated transient transfection protocol involving the use of a transfer vector and three different packaging plasmids is employed to generate lentivectors in roller bottles. Following clearance of cellular debris via low-speed centrifugation and filtration, virus is concentrated by high-speed ultracentrifugation over sucrose cushion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hazal Banu Olgun
- Human Gene and Cell Therapy Center of Akdeniz University Hospitals, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Hale M Tasyurek
- Human Gene and Cell Therapy Center of Akdeniz University Hospitals, Antalya, Turkey
| | | | - Salih Sanlioglu
- Human Gene and Cell Therapy Center of Akdeniz University Hospitals, Antalya, Turkey.
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8
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Nance ME, Hakim CH, Yang NN, Duan D. Nanotherapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-NANOMEDICINE AND NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY 2017; 10. [PMID: 28398005 DOI: 10.1002/wnan.1472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2016] [Revised: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a lethal X-linked childhood muscle wasting disease caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. Nanobiotechnology-based therapies (such as synthetic nanoparticles and naturally existing viral and nonviral nanoparticles) hold great promise to replace and repair the mutated dystrophin gene and significantly change the disease course. While a majority of DMD nanotherapies are still in early preclinical development, several [such as adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated systemic micro-dystrophin gene therapy] are advancing for phase I clinical trials. Recent regulatory approval of Ataluren (a nonsense mutation read-through chemical) in Europe and Exondys51 (an exon-skipping antisense oligonucleotide drug) in the United States shall offer critical insight in how to move DMD nanotherapy to human patients. Progress in novel, optimized nano-delivery systems may further improve emerging molecular therapeutic modalities for DMD. Despite these progresses, DMD nanotherapy faces a number of unique challenges. Specifically, the dystrophin gene is one of the largest genes in the genome while nanoparticles have an inherent size limitation per definition. Furthermore, muscle is the largest tissue in the body and accounts for 40% of the body mass. How to achieve efficient bodywide muscle targeting in human patients with nanomedication remains a significant translational hurdle. New creative approaches in the design of the miniature micro-dystrophin gene, engineering of muscle-specific synthetic AAV capsids, and novel nanoparticle-mediated exon-skipping are likely to result in major breakthroughs in DMD therapy. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2018, 10:e1472. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1472 This article is categorized under: Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Protein and Virus-Based Structures Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael E Nance
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Chady H Hakim
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA.,National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - N Nora Yang
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Dongsheng Duan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA.,Department of Neurology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.,Department of Bioengineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
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9
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Extensive characterization of a lentiviral-derived stable cell line expressing rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus VPg protein. J Virol Methods 2016; 237:86-91. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2016.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2016] [Revised: 08/01/2016] [Accepted: 09/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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10
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Blessing D, Déglon N. Adeno-associated virus and lentivirus vectors: a refined toolkit for the central nervous system. Curr Opin Virol 2016; 21:61-66. [PMID: 27559630 DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2016.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2016] [Revised: 08/05/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The last two decades have witnessed the increasing instrumentalization of viruses, which have progressively evolved into highly potent gene transfer vehicles for a wide spectrum of applications. In the context of the central nervous system (CNS), their unique gene delivery features and targeting specificities have been exploited not only to improve our understanding of basic neurobiology, but also to investigate diseases or deliver therapeutic candidates. As a result, we have started moving away from the opportunistic use of recombinant vectors that are derived from naturally existing viruses toward the rational engineering of tailored lentivirus (LV) and adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for specific use in the CNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Blessing
- Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurotherapies (LCMN), Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DNC), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurotherapies (LCMN), Neuroscience Research Center, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Déglon
- Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurotherapies (LCMN), Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DNC), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurotherapies (LCMN), Neuroscience Research Center, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
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11
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Torraco A, Bianchi M, Verrigni D, Gelmetti V, Riley L, Niceta M, Martinelli D, Montanari A, Guo Y, Rizza T, Diodato D, Di Nottia M, Lucarelli B, Sorrentino F, Piemonte F, Francisci S, Tartaglia M, Valente E, Dionisi‐Vici C, Christodoulou J, Bertini E, Carrozzo R. A novel mutation in
NDUFB11
unveils a new clinical phenotype associated with lactic acidosis and sideroblastic anemia. Clin Genet 2016; 91:441-447. [DOI: 10.1111/cge.12790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2016] [Revised: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- A. Torraco
- Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular MedicineBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - M. Bianchi
- Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular MedicineBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - D. Verrigni
- Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular MedicineBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - V. Gelmetti
- Neurogenetics Unit, CSS‐Mendel LaboratoryIRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza San Giovanni Rotondo Italy
| | - L. Riley
- Genetic Metabolic Disorders Research UnitChildren's Hospital at Westmead Sydney Australia
- Discipline of Paediatrics & Child HealthUniversity of Sydney Sydney Australia
| | - M. Niceta
- Division of Genetic Disorders and Rare DiseasesBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - D. Martinelli
- Division of MetabolismBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - A. Montanari
- Pasteur Institute – Cenci Bolognetti FoundationSapienza University of Rome Rome Italy
| | - Y. Guo
- Genetic Metabolic Disorders Research UnitChildren's Hospital at Westmead Sydney Australia
| | - T. Rizza
- Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular MedicineBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - D. Diodato
- Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular MedicineBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - M. Di Nottia
- Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular MedicineBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - B. Lucarelli
- Stem Cell Transplant Unit, Department of Hematology and OncologyBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - F. Sorrentino
- UO Talassemici ‐Anemie Rare del Globulo Rosso, Ospedale S Eugenio Rome Italy
| | - F. Piemonte
- Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular MedicineBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - S. Francisci
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “C. Darwin”Sapienza University of Rome Rome Italy
| | - M. Tartaglia
- Division of Genetic Disorders and Rare DiseasesBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - E.M. Valente
- Section of Neurosciences, Department of Medicine and SurgeryUniversity of Salerno Salerno Italy
| | - C. Dionisi‐Vici
- Division of MetabolismBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - J. Christodoulou
- Genetic Metabolic Disorders Research UnitChildren's Hospital at Westmead Sydney Australia
- Discipline of Paediatrics & Child HealthUniversity of Sydney Sydney Australia
- Discipline of Genetic MedicineUniversity of Sydney Sydney Australia
| | - E. Bertini
- Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular MedicineBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
| | - R. Carrozzo
- Unit of Muscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular MedicineBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS Rome Italy
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12
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Abstract
Glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 is an incretin hormone with several antidiabetic functions including stimulation of glucose-dependent insulin secretion, increase in insulin gene expression and beta-cell survival. Despite the initial technical difficulties and profound inefficiency of direct gene transfer into the pancreas that seriously restricted in vivo gene transfer experiments with GLP-1, recent exploitation of various routes of gene delivery and alternative means of gene transfer has permitted the detailed assessment of the therapeutic efficacy of GLP-1 in animal models of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). As a result, many clinical benefits of GLP-1 peptide/analogues observed in clinical trials involving induction of glucose tolerance, reduction of hyperglycaemia, suppression of appetite and food intake linked to weight loss have been replicated in animal models using gene therapy. Furthermore, GLP-1-centered gene therapy not only improved insulin sensitivity, but also reduced abdominal and/or hepatic fat associated with obesity-induced T2DM with drastic alterations in adipokine profiles in treated subjects. Thus, a comprehensive assessment of recent GLP-1-mediated gene therapy approaches with detailed analysis of current hurdles and resolutions, is discussed.
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13
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TOM40 mediates mitochondrial dysfunction induced by α-synuclein accumulation in Parkinson's disease. PLoS One 2013; 8:e62277. [PMID: 23626796 PMCID: PMC3633917 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2012] [Accepted: 03/19/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) accumulation/aggregation and mitochondrial dysfunction play prominent roles in the pathology of Parkinson’s disease. We have previously shown that postmortem human dopaminergic neurons from PD brains accumulate high levels of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions. We now addressed the question, whether alterations in a component of the mitochondrial import machinery -TOM40- might contribute to the mitochondrial dysfunction and damage in PD. For this purpose, we studied levels of TOM40, mtDNA deletions, oxidative damage, energy production, and complexes of the respiratory chain in brain homogenates as well as in single neurons, using laser-capture-microdissection in transgenic mice overexpressing human wildtype α-Syn. Additionally, we used lentivirus-mediated stereotactic delivery of a component of this import machinery into mouse brain as a novel therapeutic strategy. We report here that TOM40 is significantly reduced in the brain of PD patients and in α-Syn transgenic mice. TOM40 deficits were associated with increased mtDNA deletions and oxidative DNA damage, and with decreased energy production and altered levels of complex I proteins in α-Syn transgenic mice. Lentiviral-mediated overexpression of Tom40 in α-Syn-transgenic mice brains ameliorated energy deficits as well as oxidative burden. Our results suggest that alterations in the mitochondrial protein transport machinery might contribute to mitochondrial impairment in α-Synucleinopathies.
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14
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Sun M, Zheng J, Xue H, Jiang Y, Li C, Li J, Jin W, Shen M, Yang X, Ni Q. Silencing P12CDK²AP¹ with a lentivirus promotes HaCaT cell proliferation. Mol Med Rep 2012; 7:471-5. [PMID: 23229879 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2012.1205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2012] [Accepted: 11/15/2012] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The tumor suppressor P12CDK2AP1 negatively regulates cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) activities and suppresses DNA replication. Notably, P12CDK2AP1 is known to be downregulated in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). Silencing of specific gene expression by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) or short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) using expression vectors and retroviruses has become a powerful tool for the genetic analysis of mammalian cells. In the present study, we utilized lentivirus‑mediated shRNA for functional gene knockdown in normal human skin keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells in order to assess the potential role of P12CDK2AP1 in HNSCCs. Lentivirus‑mediated RNA interference (RNAi) effectively reduced endogenous P12CDK2AP1 expression in HaCaT cells and significantly promoted HaCaT cell proliferation in vitro. Lentiviral vectors have the ability to infect dividing and non-dividing cells as well as to achieve long‑term multilineage gene expression. Thus, additional studies are needed to investigate the use of such vectors as a therapeutic tool for the delivery of siRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moyi Sun
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China.
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15
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Kim SH, Jun HJ, Jang SI, You JC. The determination of importance of sequences neighboring the Psi sequence in lentiviral vector transduction and packaging efficiency. PLoS One 2012. [PMID: 23185560 PMCID: PMC3503997 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A number of lentiviral vector systems have been developed for gene delivery and therapy by eliminating and/or modifying viral genetic elements. However, all lentiviral vector systems derived from HIV-1 must have a viral packaging signal sequence, Psi (Ψ), which is placed downstream of 5' long terminal repeat in a transgene plasmid to effectively package and deliver transgene mRNA. In this study, we examined feasible regions or sequences around Psi that could be manipulated to further modify the packaging sequence. Surprisingly, we found that the sequences immediately upstream of the Psi are highly refractory to any modification and resulted in transgene vectors with very poor gene transduction efficiency. Analysis around the Psi region revealed that there are a few sites that can be used for manipulation of the Psi sequence without disturbing the virus production as well as the efficiency of transgene RNA packaging and gene transduction. By exploiting this new vector system, we investigated the requirement of each of four individual stem-loops of the Psi sequence by deletion mapping analysis and found that all stem-loops, including the SL4 region, are needed for efficient transgene RNA packaging and gene delivery. These results suggest a possible frame of the lentiviral vector that might be useful for further modifying the region/sequence around the packaging sequence as well as directly on the Psi sequence without destroying transduction efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seon Hee Kim
- National Research Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Soo In Jang
- National Research Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji Chang You
- National Research Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Avixgen Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea
- * E-mail:
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Liu K, Wang H, Long Y, Ye J, Yuan L. Coordinate lentiviral expression of Cre recombinase and RFP/EGFP mediated by FMDV 2A and analysis of Cre activity. J Cell Biochem 2012; 113:2909-19. [PMID: 22532014 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.24168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The site-specific recombination mediated by Cre recombinase has been utilized extensively in genetic engineering and gene function studies. Efficient delivery of a Cre enzyme with enzymatic activity and the ability to monitor the enzyme expression are required in applications, and lentiviral constructs with a fluorescent protein (FP) to report the Cre expression are suitable for most studies. However, the current lentiviral vector systems have some deficiencies in precise reporting the Cre expression through fluorescence. To solve the problem, we generated a lentiviral system with Cre and RFP or EGFP bridged by an FMDV 2A sequence in an open reading frame expressed by a CMV promoter. We then examined the capabilities of the constructs to package with VSVG into infectious virus and to mediate expression of the Cre enzyme and fluorescent reporter. Furthermore, we monitored the bioactivities of the expressed products. We demonstrated the coordinate expression of the enzyme and the reporter. The expressed Cre was efficient at removing LoxP-flanked fragments in cells and did not show obvious cellular toxicity, and the expressed FPs allowed direct observation under fluorescent microscope. Therefore, the conjugation of CMV-Cre-2A-FP represents a significant improvement to the current lentiviral Cre delivery systems for obtaining a required Cre activity while accurately monitoring its presence. Our study also provides information concerning application of the established vector system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuancan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
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Abstract
Retroviral vector-mediated gene transfer into hematopoietic stem cells provides a potentially curative therapy for severe β-thalassemia. Lentiviral vectors based on human immunodeficiency virus have been developed for this purpose and have been shown to be effective in curing thalassemia in mouse models. One participant in an ongoing clinical trial has achieved transfusion independence after gene transfer into bone marrow stem cells owing, in part, to a genetically modified, dominant clone. Ongoing efforts are focused on improving the efficiency of lentiviral vector-mediated gene transfer into stem cells so that the curative potential of gene transfer can be consistently achieved.
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Wang L, Rosenberg JB, De BP, Ferris B, Wang R, Rivella S, Kaminsky SM, Crystal RG. In vivo gene transfer strategies to achieve partial correction of von Willebrand disease. Hum Gene Ther 2012; 23:576-88. [PMID: 22482515 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2011.238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
von Willebrand disease (VWD), the most common hereditary coagulation disorder, results from mutations in the 52-exon gene for von Willebrand factor (VWF), which encodes an 8.4-kB cDNA. Studies with VWF cDNA plasmids have demonstrated that in vivo gene transfer to the liver will correct the coagulation dysfunction in VWF(-/-) mice, but the correction is transient. To develop gene therapy for VWF that would mediate long-term expression of the VWF cDNA in liver, we first evaluated segmental pre-mRNA trans-splicing (SPTS) with two adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotype 8 vectors, each delivering one-half of the VWF cDNA. However, although the two vectors functioned well to generate VWF multimers after infection of cells in vitro, the efficiency of SPTS was insufficient to correct the VWF(-/-) mouse in vivo. As an alternative, we assessed the ability of a lentiviral vector to transfer the intact murine VWF cDNA in vivo directly to the neonatal liver of VWF(-/-) mice, using generation of VWF multimers, bleeding time, and bleeding volume as efficacy parameters. The VWF lentivirus generated VWF multimers and partially or completely corrected the coagulation defect on a persistent basis in 33% of the treated VWF-deficient mice. On the basis of the concept that partial persistent correction with gene transfer could be beneficial in VWD patients, these observations suggest that lentiviral delivery of VWF cDNA should be explored as a candidate for gene therapy in patients with a severe form of VWD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lan Wang
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
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Torres R, García A, Payá M, Ramirez JC. Non-integrative lentivirus drives high-frequency cre-mediated cassette exchange in human cells. PLoS One 2011; 6:e19794. [PMID: 21625434 PMCID: PMC3100306 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2011] [Accepted: 04/05/2011] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Recombinase mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) is a two-step process leading to genetic modification in a specific genomic target sequence. The process involves insertion of a docking genetic cassette in the genome followed by DNA transfer of a second cassette flanked by compatible recombination signals and expression of the recombinase. Major technical drawbacks are cell viability upon transfection, toxicity of the enzyme, and the ability to target efficiently cell types of different origins. To overcome such drawbacks, we developed an RMCE assay that uses an integrase-deficient lentivirus (IDLV) vector in the second step combined with promoterless trapping of double selectable markers. Additionally, recombinase expression is self-limiting as a result of the exchangeable reaction, thus avoiding toxicity. Our approach provides proof-of-principle of a simple and novel strategy with expected wide applicability modelled on a human cell line with randomly integrated copies of a genetic landing pad. This strategy does not present foreseeable limitations for application to other cell systems modified by homologous recombination. Safety, efficiency, and simplicity are the major advantages of our system, which can be applied in low-to-medium throughput strategies for screening of cDNAs, non-coding RNAs during functional genomic studies, and drug screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raul Torres
- Viral Vector Technical Unit, Fundación Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Aida García
- Viral Vector Technical Unit, Fundación Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Monica Payá
- Viral Vector Technical Unit, Fundación Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan C. Ramirez
- Viral Vector Technical Unit, Fundación Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail:
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Abstract
The β-thalassaemias are inherited anaemias that form the most common class of monogenic disorders in the world. Treatment options are limited, with allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation offering the only hope for lifelong cure. However, this option is not available for many patients as a result of either the lack of compatible donors or the increased risk of transplant-related mortality in subjects with organ damage resulting from accumulated iron. The paucity of alternative treatments for patients that fall into either of these categories has led to the development of a revolutionary treatment strategy based on gene therapy. This approach involves replacing allogeneic stem cell transplantation with the transfer of normal globin genes into patient-derived, autologous haematopoietic stem cells. This highly attractive strategy offers several advantages, including bypassing the need for allogeneic donors and the immunosuppression required to achieve engraftment of the transplanted cells and to eliminate the risk of donor-related graft-versus-host disease. This review discusses the many advances that have been made towards this endeavour as well as the hurdles that must still be overcome before gene therapy for β-thalassaemia, as well as many other gene therapy applications, can be widely applied in the clinic.
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Donofrio G, Capocefalo A, Franceschi V, Morini G, Del Bue M, Conti V, Cavirani S, Grolli S. Virally and physically transgenized equine adipose-derived stromal cells as a cargo for paracrine secreted factors. BMC Cell Biol 2010; 11:73. [PMID: 20863390 PMCID: PMC2949624 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2121-11-73] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2010] [Accepted: 09/23/2010] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells have been shown to have multiple lineage differentiation properties and to be suitable for tissues regeneration in many degenerative processes. Their use has been proposed for the therapy of joint diseases and tendon injuries in the horse. In the present report the genetic manipulation of Equine Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells has been investigated. RESULTS Equine Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells were successfully virally transduced as well as transiently and stably transfected with appropriate parameters, without detrimental effect on their differentiation properties. Moreover, green fluorescent protein alone, fused to neo gene, or co-expressed as bi-cistronic reporter constructs, driven by viral and house-keeping gene promoters, were tested. The better expressed cassette was employed to stably transfect Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells for cell therapy purposes. Stably transfected Equine Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells with a heterologous secreted viral antigen were able to immunize horses upon injection into the lateral wall of the neck. CONCLUSION This study provides the methods to successfully transgenize Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells both by lentiviral vector and by transfection using optimized constructs with suitable promoters and reporter genes. In conclusion these findings provide a working platform for the delivery of potentially therapeutic proteins to the site of cells injection via transgenized Equine Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaetano Donofrio
- Dipartimento di Salute Animale, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, via del Taglio 10. 43100 Parma, Italy
| | - Antonio Capocefalo
- Dipartimento di Salute Animale, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, via del Taglio 10. 43100 Parma, Italy
| | - Valentina Franceschi
- Dipartimento di Salute Animale, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, via del Taglio 10. 43100 Parma, Italy
| | - Giorgio Morini
- Dipartimento di Salute Animale, Sezione di Clinica Ostetrica e Riproduzione Animale, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, via del Taglio 10. 43100 Parma, Italy
| | - Maurizio Del Bue
- Dipartimento di Salute Animale, Sezione di Clinica Chirurgica Veterinaria e Medicina d' Urgenza, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, via del Taglio 10. 43100 Parma, Italy
| | - Virna Conti
- Dipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Biotecnologie Veterinarie, Qualità e Sicurezza degli Alimenti, Sezione di Biochimica Veterinaria, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, via del Taglio 10. 43100 Parma, Italy
| | - Sandro Cavirani
- Dipartimento di Salute Animale, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, via del Taglio 10. 43100 Parma, Italy
| | - Stefano Grolli
- Dipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Biotecnologie Veterinarie, Qualità e Sicurezza degli Alimenti, Sezione di Biochimica Veterinaria, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, via del Taglio 10. 43100 Parma, Italy
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Parveen Z, Mukhtar M, Pomerantz RJ. Generation of retroviral particles for the spleen necrosis virus (SNV)-based vector system and their use in transduction of various cell types. Cold Spring Harb Protoc 2010; 2010:pdb.prot5435. [PMID: 20516173 DOI: 10.1101/pdb.prot5435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Genetically engineered retroviruses are widely used for gene delivery into human cells. A number of investigators have studied spleen necrosis virus (SNV) as a vehicle for gene delivery. Vectors developed from SNV and its closely associated avian reticuloendotheliosis virus strain A (REV-A) can be used for gene transfer into a variety of cells, including primary hematopoietic cells and human brain and post-mitotic neuronal cells that are difficult to transduce with other vector systems. SNV-based vector systems have the advantage of being quite safe, because wild-type SNV is unable to infect human cells and has less preference for integration into transcriptionally active sites or genes. However, the generation of retroviral vectors requires cotransfection of more than one plasmid into a packaging cell line, which is a tedious process. The development of stable packaging cell lines expressing envelope (Env) proteins and the structural proteins Gag-Pol will enhance mass production of retroviral vectors for future gene therapy experiments both in vitro and in vivo. This protocol describes the generation of retroviral particles for the SNV-based vector system. These particles can then be used for transduction of various cell types; as an example, a technique for transduction of post-mitotic neurons is also presented.
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B cell-specific lentiviral gene therapy leads to sustained B-cell functional recovery in a murine model of X-linked agammaglobulinemia. Blood 2010; 115:2146-55. [PMID: 20093406 DOI: 10.1182/blood-2009-09-241869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The immunodeficiency disorder, X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA), results from mutations in the gene encoding Bruton tyrosine kinase (Btk). Btk is required for pre-B cell clonal expansion and B-cell antigen receptor signaling. XLA patients lack mature B cells and immunoglobulin and experience recurrent bacterial infections only partially mitigated by life-long antibody replacement therapy. In pursuit of definitive therapy for XLA, we tested ex vivo gene therapy using a lentiviral vector (LV) containing the immunoglobulin enhancer (Emu) and Igbeta (B29) minimal promoter to drive B lineage-specific human Btk expression in Btk/Tec(-/-) mice, a strain that reproduces the features of human XLA. After transplantation of EmuB29-Btk-LV-transduced stem cells, treated mice showed significant, albeit incomplete, rescue of mature B cells in the bone marrow, peripheral blood, spleen, and peritoneal cavity, and improved responses to T-independent and T-dependent antigens. LV-treated B cells exhibited enhanced B-cell antigen receptor signaling and an in vivo selective advantage in the peripheral versus central B-cell compartment. Secondary transplantation showed sustained Btk expression, viral integration, and partial functional responses, consistent with long-term stem cell marking; and serial transplantation revealed no evidence for cellular or systemic toxicity. These findings strongly support pursuit of B lineage-targeted LV gene therapy in human XLA.
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Abstract
Lentiviral vectors (LVs) have emerged as potent and versatile vectors for ex vivo or in vivo gene transfer into dividing and nondividing cells. Robust phenotypic correction of diseases in mouse models has been achieved paving the way toward the first clinical trials. LVs can deliver genes ex vivo into bona fide stem cells, particularly hematopoietic stem cells, allowing for stable transgene expression upon hematopoietic reconstitution. They are also useful to generate induced pluripotent stem cells. LVs can be pseudotyped with distinct viral envelopes that influence vector tropism and transduction efficiency. Targetable LVs can be generated by incorporating specific ligands or antibodies into the vector envelope. Immune responses toward the transgene products and transduced cells can be repressed using microRNA-regulated vectors. Though there are safety concerns regarding insertional mutagenesis, their integration profile seems more favorable than that of gamma-retroviral vectors (gamma-RVs). Moreover, it is possible to minimize this risk by modifying the vector design or by employing integration-deficient LVs. In conjunction with zinc-finger nuclease technology, LVs allow for site-specific gene correction or addition in predefined chromosomal loci. These recent advances underscore the improved safety and efficacy of LVs with important implications for clinical trials.
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Wang L, Li D, Dawson TA, Paterson DJ. Long-term effect of neuronal nitric oxide synthase over-expression on cardiac neurotransmission mediated by a lentiviral vector. J Physiol 2009; 587:3629-37. [PMID: 19491240 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2009.172866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Short-term over-expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) with adenoviral gene transfer into peripheral cardiac autonomic neurons can facilitate cholinergic neurotransmission, and inhibit sympathetic transmission, by regulating cyclic nucleotide-dependent pathways coupled to neuronal calcium entry. We tested the idea whether cardiac neuromodulation by nNOS could be sustained by long-term over-expression of the enzyme following lentiviral gene transfer. We developed a lentiviral vector with an elongation factor 1 (EF1alpha) promoter to drive nNOS or enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) expression. Lenti.EF1alpha-nNOS or Lenti.EF1alpha-eGFP was transferred to the right atrium of Spague-Dawley (SD) rats and acetylcholine (ACh) or noradrenaline (NA) release to field stimulation was measured 4 months after gene transfer. Atria transduced with Lenti.EF1alpha-nNOS had higher nNOS expression compared to the atria treated with Lenti.EF1alpha-eGFP (P < 0.05). We also detected significant increases (P < 0.05) in atrial cGMP and cAMP levels in the same tissue. Immunohistochemistry revealed co-localisation of eGFP in intrinsic cholinergic neurons (choline acetyltransferase positive) and intrinsic adrenergic neurons (tyrosine hydroxylase positive) following gene transfer. nNOS-transduced animals displayed enhanced ACh release (P < 0.05) and reduced NA release (P < 0.05) compared to the eGFP-treated group. nNOS-specific inhibition reversed the enhanced ACh release. Persistent nNOS over-expression mediated by a lentiviral vector can modulate sympatho-vagal control of cardiac excitability. This approach may provide a new tool to target impaired cardiac autonomic phenotypes that are disrupted by several cardiovascular pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijun Wang
- Burdon Sanderson Cardiac Science Centre, Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics, University of Oxford Parks Road, Oxford, UK
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26
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Marongiu R, Spencer B, Crews L, Adame A, Patrick C, Trejo M, Dallapiccola B, Valente EM, Masliah E. Mutant Pink1 induces mitochondrial dysfunction in a neuronal cell model of Parkinson's disease by disturbing calcium flux. J Neurochem 2009; 108:1561-74. [PMID: 19166511 DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2009.05932.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by accumulation of alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) and degeneration of neuronal populations in cortical and subcortical regions. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been considered a potential unifying factor in the pathogenesis of the disease. Mutations in genes linked to familial forms of PD, including SNCA encoding alpha-syn and Pten-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1), have been shown to disrupt mitochondrial activity. We investigated the mechanisms through which mutant Pink1 might disrupt mitochondrial function in neuronal cells with alpha-syn accumulation. For this purpose, a neuronal cell model of PD was infected with virally-delivered Pink1, and was analyzed for cell survival, mitochondrial activity and calcium flux. Mitochondrial morphology was analyzed by confocal and electron microscopy. These studies showed that mutant (W437X) but not wildtype Pink1 exacerbated the alterations in mitochondrial function promoted by mutant (A53T) alpha-syn. This effect was associated with increased intracellular calcium levels. Co-expression of both mutant Pink1 and alpha-syn led to alterations in mitochondrial structure and neurite outgrowth that were partially ameliorated by treatment with cyclosporine A, and completely restored by treatment with the mitochondrial calcium influx blocker Ruthenium Red, but not with other cellular calcium flux blockers. Our data suggest a role for mitochondrial calcium influx in the mechanisms of mitochondrial and neuronal dysfunction in PD. Moreover, these studies support an important function for Pink1 in regulating mitochondrial activity under stress conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Marongiu
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
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Whitelaw CBA, Lillico SG, King T. Production of Transgenic Farm Animals by Viral Vector-Mediated Gene Transfer. Reprod Domest Anim 2008; 43 Suppl 2:355-8. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0531.2008.01184.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Gu W, Putral L, McMillan N. siRNA and shRNA as anticancer agents in a cervical cancer model. Methods Mol Biol 2008; 442:159-72. [PMID: 18369785 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-59745-191-8_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
We describe the protocols of using siRNAs, or shRNAs delivered by a lentiviral vector, as a means to silence cancer-causing genes. We use cervical cancer as a model to demonstrate the inhibition of the human papillomavirus (HPV) oncogenes E6 and E7 in cervical cancer cells by RNAi and inhibition of the cell growth in vitro and tumor growth in mouse models. The protocols include methods on siRNA and shRNA design, production of lentiviral-vectored shRNA, transfection or transduction of cervical cancer cells with siRNA or shRNA, and detection of the inhibitory effects of siRNA or shRNA both in vitro and in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenyi Gu
- Cancer Biology Program, Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research, Princess Alexandra Hospital, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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Mandel RJ, Burger C, Snyder RO. Viral vectors for in vivo gene transfer in Parkinson's disease: properties and clinical grade production. Exp Neurol 2008; 209:58-71. [PMID: 17916354 PMCID: PMC2695880 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2007.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2007] [Revised: 08/08/2007] [Accepted: 08/16/2007] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Because Parkinson's disease is a progressive degenerative disorder that is mainly confined to the basal ganglia, gene transfer to deliver therapeutic molecules is an attractive treatment avenue. The present review focuses on direct in vivo gene transfer vectors that have been developed to a degree that they have been successfully used in animal model of Parkinson's disease. Accordingly, the properties of recombinant adenovirus, recombinant adeno-associated virus, herpes simplex virus, and lentivirus are described and contrasted. In order for viral vectors to be developed into clinical grade reagents, they must be manufactured and tested to precise regulatory standards. Indeed, clinical lots of viral vectors can be produced in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) regulations using industry accepted manufacturing methodologies, manufacturing controls, and quality systems. The viral vector properties themselves combined with physiological product formulations facilitate long-term storage and direct in vivo administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald J. Mandel
- Department of Neuroscience, PO box 100244, Gainesville, FL 32610, Tel. 352–294–0446, Fax: 352–392–8347,
- McKnight Brain Institute
- Powell Gene Therapy Center
- University of Florida, College of Medicine
| | - Corinna Burger
- Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin Medical School
| | - Richard O. Snyder
- Powell Gene Therapy Center
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, PO Box 100266, 1600 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32610–0266, Tel: 386–418–1642, Fax: 352–392–4290, e-mail:
- Department of Pediatrics
- University of Florida, College of Medicine
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Rubino T, Realini N, Castiglioni C, Guidali C, Viganó D, Marras E, Petrosino S, Perletti G, Maccarrone M, Di Marzo V, Parolaro D. Role in anxiety behavior of the endocannabinoid system in the prefrontal cortex. Cereb Cortex 2007; 18:1292-301. [PMID: 17921459 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhm161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 201] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study we explored with a multidisciplinary approach, the role of anandamide (AEA) in the modulation of anxiety behavior at the level of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Low doses of the metabolically stable AEA analog, methanandamide, microinjected into the PFC, produced an anxiolytic-like response in rats, whereas higher doses induced anxiety-like behaviors. Pretreatment with the selective antagonist of CB1 or TRPV1 receptors (AM251 and capsazepine, respectively) suggested that the anxiolytic effect evoked by AEA might be due to the interaction with the CB1 cannabinoid receptor, whereas vanilloid receptors seem to be involved in AEA anxiogenic action. When AEA contents in the PFC were increased by microinjecting the selective inhibitor of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), URB597, we observed an anxiolytic response only at low doses of the compound and no effect or even an anxiogenic profile at higher doses. In line with this, a marked decrease of AEA levels in the PFC, achieved by lentivirus-mediated local overexpression of FAAH, produced an anxiogenic response. These findings support an anxiolytic role for physiological increases in AEA in the PFC, whereas more marked increases or decreases of this endocannabinoid might lead to an anxiogenic response due to TRPV1 stimulation or the lack of CB1 activation, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Rubino
- DBSF, Pharmacology Section and Center of Neuroscience, University of Insubria, via A. da Giussano 10, 21052 Busto Arsizio (VA), Italy
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Yu ZY, McKay K, van Asperen P, Zheng M, Fleming J, Ginn SL, Kizana E, Latham M, Feneley MP, Kirkland PD, Rowe PB, Lumbers ER, Alexander IE. Lentivirus vector-mediated gene transfer to the developing bronchiolar airway epithelium in the fetal lamb. J Gene Med 2007; 9:429-39. [PMID: 17410609 DOI: 10.1002/jgm.1039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Development of effective and durable gene therapy for treatment of the respiratory manifestations of cystic fibrosis remains a formidable challenge. Obstacles include difficulty in achieving efficient gene transfer to mature airway epithelium and the need to stably transduce self-renewing epithelial progenitor cells in order to avoid loss of transgene expression through epithelial turnover. Targeting the developing airway epithelium during fetal life offers the prospect of circumventing these challenges. METHODS In the current study we investigated vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSVg)-pseudotyped HIV-1-derived lentivirus vector-mediated gene transfer to the airway epithelium of mid-gestation fetal lambs, both in vitro and in vivo. In the in vitro studies epithelial sheet explants and lung organ culture were used to examine transduction of the proximal and more distal airway epithelium, respectively. For the in vivo studies, vector was delivered directly into the proximal airway. RESULTS We found that even during the early pseudoglandular and canalicular phases of lung development, occurring through mid-gestation, the proximal bronchial airway epithelium was relatively mature and highly resistant to lentivirus-mediated transduction. In contrast, the more distal bronchiolar airway epithelium was relatively permissive for transduction although the absolute levels achieved remained low. CONCLUSION This result is promising as the bronchiolar airway epithelium is a major site of pathology in the cystic fibrosis airway, and much higher levels of transduction are likely to be achieved by developing strategies that increase the amount of vector reaching the more distal airway after intratracheal delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ze-Yan Yu
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Abstract
The mature brain needs to have flexible control over behavior in the face of ever-changing needs. It achieves this control through morphological and physiological changes at the level of molecules, spines, dendrites, and axons and through processes of adult neurogenesis, entire cells. The functional maturation of newly generated cells in the adult forebrain involves the expression of neurotransmitter receptors before synaptic activity and excitatory gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) influences prior to glutamatergic input. The production of new cells for incorporation into neural circuits that are already up and running gives rise to a unique situation that may require epigenetic regulation. However, once mature, new neurons must carve out a niche among more established cells to be useful. How do they survive and what are they used for? Recent studies have revealed that adult neurogenesis alters the olfactory bulb at all levels, from single cells to the network and system levels. It has also been suggested that cell turnover may be particularly beneficial for the processing of new information in dynamic networks. However, elucidating the functional meaning of adult neurogenesis must wait for the development of new paradigms to eliminate the pool of newly generated neurons but sparing the preexisting ones. Nevertheless, there is already considerable correlative evidence to indicate that adult neurogenesis is a plastic mechanism by which the performance of the brain can be optimized in a given environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Gheusi
- Laboratory of Perception and Memory, Pasteur Institute, CNRS URA 2182, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France
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Michalkiewicz M, Michalkiewicz T, Geurts AM, Roman RJ, Slocum GR, Singer O, Weihrauch D, Greene AS, Kaldunski M, Verma IM, Jacob HJ, Cowley AW. Efficient transgenic rat production by a lentiviral vector. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2007; 293:H881-94. [PMID: 17322424 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00060.2007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
A lentiviral construct for an enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) driven by a chicken beta-actin promoter, cytomegalovirus enhancer, and intronic sequences from rabbit beta-globin (CAG) was used to produce transgenic lines of rats for evaluation of the usefulness of this approach in gene function studies. Fertilized eggs were collected from inbred Dahl S and outbred Sprague-Dawley rats, and approximately 100 pl of concentrated virus were microinjected into the perivitrelline space of one-cell embryos. Of 121 embryos injected, 60 pups (49.6%) were born. Transgenic rates averaged 22% in Dahl S and 14% in Sprague-Dawley rats. Copy number ranged from one to four in the founders, and the inheritance of the transgene in a subsequent F(1) population was 48.2%. The small number of insertion sites enabled us to derive inbred transgenic lines with a single copy of the transgene within one generation. Sequencing of each transgene insertion site revealed that they inserted as single copies with a preference for the introns of genes. The CAG promoter drove high levels of eGFP expression in brain, kidney, heart, and vasculature, making it very suitable for exploring the cardiovascular function of newly discovered genes. The pattern of eGFP expression was similar across five different F(1) transgenic lines, indicating that the expression of the transgene was independent of its chromosomal position. Thus lentiviral transgenesis provides a powerful tool for the production of transgenic inbred rats and will enhance the usefulness of this species in gene discovery and target validation studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mieczyslaw Michalkiewicz
- Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
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Yang Q, Lucas A, Son S, Chang LJ. Overlapping enhancer/promoter and transcriptional termination signals in the lentiviral long terminal repeat. Retrovirology 2007; 4:4. [PMID: 17241475 PMCID: PMC1802088 DOI: 10.1186/1742-4690-4-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2006] [Accepted: 01/22/2007] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Oncoretrovirus, but not lentivirus, displays a high transcriptional readthrough activity in the 3' long terminal repeat (LTR) (Zaiss et al. J. Virol. 76, 7209–7219, 2002). However, the U3-deleted, self-inactivating (SIN) lentiviral LTR also exhibits high transcriptional readthrough activity. Since the canonical "core" polyadenylation signal (AAUAAA) of the lentivirus is located in the R-U5 region, the above finding suggests that additional RNA termination signals must be present in the U3 region. Insertion of alternative termination signals including panhuman T cell leukemia virus type I polyadenylation signal, a 3' end small intron, and a tertiary tRNA motif into the lentiviral SIN LTR did not restore the transcriptional termination function. Functional dissection of the U3 region revealed that 70–80% of the termination signals reside in the transcriptional control region within 124 nt overlapping NFκB, Sp1 and TATA binding sites. Serial deletion analysis of the transcriptional control region indicates that the lentiviral enhancer/promoter elements are essential to the RNA termination function. These results characterize the mechanism of lentiviral transcriptional readthrough, which addresses important fundamental and practical issue of RNA readthrough influencing lentiviral gene function and vector safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Yang
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Powell Gene Therapy Center and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32606, USA
| | - Aurore Lucas
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Powell Gene Therapy Center and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32606, USA
| | - Sodany Son
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Powell Gene Therapy Center and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32606, USA
| | - Lung-Ji Chang
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Powell Gene Therapy Center and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32606, USA
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Strauss BE, Patrício JR, de Carvalho ACV, Bajgelman MC. A lentiviral vector with expression controlled by E2F-1: A potential tool for the study and treatment of proliferative diseases. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2006; 348:1411-8. [PMID: 16920066 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2006] [Accepted: 08/02/2006] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
We have constructed a lentiviral vector with expression limited to cells presenting active E2F-1 protein, a potential advantage for gene therapy of proliferative diseases. For the FE2FLW vector, the promoter region of the human E2F-1 gene was utilized to drive expression of luciferase cDNA, included as a reporter of viral expression. Primary, immortalized, and transformed cells were transduced with the FE2FLW vector and cell cycle alterations were induced with serum starvation/replacement, contact inhibition or drug treatment, revealing cell cycle-dependent changes in reporter activity. Forced E2F-1 expression, but not E2F-2 or E2F-3, increased reporter activity, indicating a major role for this factor in controlling expression from the FE2FLW virus. We show the utility of this vector as a reporter of E2F-1 and proliferation-dependent cellular alterations upon cytotoxic/cytostatic treatment, such as the introduction of tumor suppressor genes. We propose that the FE2FLW vector may be a starting point for the development of gene therapy strategies for proliferative diseases, such as cancer or restinosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan E Strauss
- Viral Vector Group, Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Cardiology/LIM-13, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, Brazil.
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Mukherjee S, Lee HLR, Pacchia AL, Ron Y, Dougherty JP. A HIV-2-based self-inactivating vector for enhanced gene transduction. J Biotechnol 2006; 127:745-57. [PMID: 16979253 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2006.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2006] [Revised: 08/02/2006] [Accepted: 08/03/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The employment of HIV-1-based vectors in clinical trials is controversial mainly due to the lethal nature of the virus. HIV-2 is less pathogenic in nature and therefore is likely to be safer for vector design and production. We developed HIV-2-based self-inactivating vectors in which 520 bp out of 554 bp of the viral U3 was deleted. Interestingly, high titers were obtained only when an exogenous promoter was used to drive expression of viral RNA. It was found that the vectors could target a wide range of mammalian cell types including primary neuronal cells and could yield long term expression. It is also noteworthy that the HIV-2 vectors could be effectively cross-packaged into HIV-1 core, which might provide for enhanced safety by reducing the recombination potential of the system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayandip Mukherjee
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
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Gu W, Putral L, Hengst K, Minto K, Saunders NA, Leggatt G, McMillan NAJ. Inhibition of cervical cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo with lentiviral-vector delivered short hairpin RNA targeting human papillomavirus E6 and E7 oncogenes. Cancer Gene Ther 2006; 13:1023-32. [PMID: 16810314 DOI: 10.1038/sj.cgt.7700971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we investigated the suppressive effect of a short hairpin RNA delivered by a lentiviral vector (LV-shRNA) against human papillomavirus (HPV) type 18 E6 on the expression of the oncogenes E6 and E7 in cervical cancer HeLa cells both in vitro and in vivo. The LV-shRNA effectively delivered the shRNA to HeLa cells and lead to a dose-dependent reduction of E7 protein and the stabilization of E6 target proteins, p53 and p21. Low-dose infection of HeLa cells with LV-shRNA caused reduced cell growth and the induction of senescence, whereas a high-dose infection resulted in specific cell death via apoptosis. Transplant of HeLa cells infected with a low dose of LV-shRNA into Rag-/- mice significantly reduced the tumor weight, whereas transplant of cells infected with a high dose resulted in a complete loss of tumor growth. Systemic delivery of LV-shRNA into mice with established HeLa cell lung metastases led to a significant reduction in the number of tumor nodules. Our data collectively suggest that lentiviral delivery is an effective way to achieve stable suppression of E6/E7 oncogene expression and induce inhibition of tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. These results encourage further investigation of this form of RNA interference as a promising treatment for cervical cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Gu
- Cancer Biology Program, Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research, Princess Alexandra Hospital, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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Beutelspacher SC, Pillai R, Watson MP, Tan PH, Tsang J, McClure MO, George AJT, Larkin DFP. Function of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase in corneal allograft rejection and prolongation of allograft survival by over-expression. Eur J Immunol 2006; 36:690-700. [PMID: 16482510 DOI: 10.1002/eji.200535238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) suppresses T cell responses by its action in catabolising tryptophan. It is important in maintenance of immune privilege in the placenta. We investigated the activity of IDO in the cornea, following corneal transplantation and the effect of IDO over-expression in donor corneal endothelium on the survival of corneal allografts. IDO expression was analysed and functional activity was quantified in normal murine cornea and in corneas following transplantation as allografts. Low levels of IDO, at both mRNA and protein levels, was detected in the normal cornea, up-regulated by IFN-gamma and TNF. Expression of IDO in cornea was significantly increased following corneal transplantation. However, inhibition of IDO activity in vivo had no effect on graft survival. Following IDO cDNA transfer, murine corneal endothelial cells expressed functional IDO, which was effective at inhibiting allogeneic T cell proliferation. Over-expression of IDO in donor corneal allografts resulted in prolonged graft survival. While, on one hand, our data indicate that IDO may augment corneal immune privilege, up-regulated IDO activity following cytokine stimulation may serve to inhibit inflammatory cellular responses. While increasing IDO mRNA expression was found in allogeneic corneas at rejection, over-expression in donor cornea was found to significantly extend survival of allografts.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Cell Line, Transformed
- Cell Proliferation
- Corneal Transplantation/immunology
- Endothelium, Corneal/enzymology
- Endothelium, Corneal/immunology
- Female
- Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/genetics
- Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/immunology
- Gene Transfer Techniques
- Graft Rejection/enzymology
- Graft Rejection/genetics
- Graft Rejection/immunology
- Graft Survival/genetics
- Graft Survival/immunology
- Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase/antagonists & inhibitors
- Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase/genetics
- Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase/immunology
- Interferon-gamma/immunology
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- Transplantation, Homologous
- Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology
- Up-Regulation/genetics
- Up-Regulation/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven C Beutelspacher
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, London, UK
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Beutelspacher SC, Serbecic N, Tan P, McClure MO. [Comparison of several viral vectors for gene therapy of corneal endothelial cells]. Ophthalmologe 2006; 102:1168-74. [PMID: 15886987 DOI: 10.1007/s00347-005-1230-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
AIM In this paper we compare the transduction efficiency, toxicity, and safety of retroviral vectors [equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), human foamy virus (PFV] and adenovirus (Ad) for potential use in gene therapy of corneal endothelial cells. METHOD Murine corneal endothelial cells were transduced with EIAV, HIV-1, PFV, and Ad, resulting in the overexpression of a green fluorescent protein (eGFP) transgene marker. The transduction efficiency was assessed by flow cytometry, while cytotoxicity and apoptosis rate were detected by annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) stain. RESULTS Ad had the highest transduction efficiency with 99% of the cells expressing the transgene, followed by EIAV (95%), HIV-1 (75%), and PFV (43%). However, the high transduction efficiency of Ad also resulted in the highest apoptosis rate (25%) in the corneal endothelial cells. There was no detectable difference in the toxicity between PFV and HIV-1 (10%). EIAV transduction had the lowest cytotoxicity, with only 3% of the cells being annexin V/PI positive. CONCLUSION Compared to other vectors EIAV exhibited high transduction efficiency combined with low toxicity to corneal endothelial cells. Therefore, it is a powerful tool for gene therapy applications in selected corneal endothelial diseases.
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Sachdeva G, D'Costa J, Cho JE, Kachapati K, Choudhry V, Arya SK. Chimeric HIV-1 and HIV-2 lentiviral vectors with added safety insurance. J Med Virol 2006; 79:118-26. [PMID: 17177309 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.20767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Lentiviruses are unique in their ability to infect both dividing and non-dividing cells. This makes the vectors derived from them particularly useful for gene transfer into non-dividing cells, including stem cells. Lentiviral vectors are becoming the vectors of choice for si/shRNA delivery. The utility of the lentiviral vectors will be enhanced if additional elements of safety are built into their design. One safety concern is the generation of replication competent virus by recombination. We reasoned that HIV-1 and HIV-2 hybrid or chimeric lentiviral vectors will have added safety insurance in this regard. This is based on the premise that HIV-1 and HIV-2 are dissimilar enough in sequence to curtail recombination, yet similar enough to complement functionally. For hybrid vectors, we found that both HIV-1 and HIV-2 transfer vector RNAs could be packaged to equivalent titer by the HIV-1 packaging machinery. However, HIV-2 packaging machinery was unable to package HIV-1 transfer vector as well as it did HIV-2 transfer vector. This non-reciprocacity suggested that the requirement for HIV-2 vectors was more stringent and that for HIV-1 vectors more promiscuous. When the HIV-1 transfer vector was packaged with the chimeric packaging construct where the leader-gag region of HIV-2 was replaced with that of HIV-1 packaging construct, the titer of the vector went up. This suggests that at least some of the determinants of specificity for vector assembly reside in the leader-gag region. Incorporation of central polypurine tract (cPPT) and woodchuck post-transcriptional enhance element (WPRE) into the HIV-2 vectors had only modest effect on vector titer. Thus, chimeric lentiviral vectors with added safety features can be designed without compromising transduction efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geetanjali Sachdeva
- Basic Research Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
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Terskikh AV, Ershler MA, Drize NJ, Nifontova IN, Chertkov JL. Long-term persistence of a nonintegrated lentiviral vector in mouse hematopoietic stem cells. Exp Hematol 2005; 33:873-82. [PMID: 16038779 DOI: 10.1016/j.exphem.2005.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2004] [Revised: 05/05/2005] [Accepted: 05/06/2005] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Lentiviral transduction is an established method for efficiently modifying the gene expression program of primary cells, but the ability of the introduced construct to persist as an episome has not been well studied. MATERIAL AND METHODS Here we investigated this issue in lethally irradiated female mice injected with 300 or 3000 doubly sorted male lin(neg), Sca-1(high), c-kit(high), Thy-1.1(low) mouse bone marrow cells that had been exposed in vitro to self-inactivating lentivirus vector encoding a green fluorescence protein (GFP) cDNA. Seven to sixteen months later, bone marrow cells from primary mice were injected into secondary female recipients and another 8 months later into tertiary female recipients. Integration study was performed on individual spleen colonies by Southern blot analysis. Inverse polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence of amplified vector-derived DNA was used to verify Southern blot results. RESULTS Spleen colony-forming cell study revealed that a small fraction of the spleen colonies contained integrated provirus as shown by Southern blot analysis. Unexpectedly, many spleen colonies were found to contain a nonintegrated episomal form of the provirus, which was confirmed by an inverse PCR analysis. In some of the spleen colonies containing only the episomal form, GFP-expressing cells were also detected. Lentiviral sequences were present in hematopoietic tissues of primary mice but not in other tissues. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that lentiviral vectors produce episomal circles in hematopoietic stem cells that can be transferred through many cell generations and expressed in their progeny.
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Brecht M, Fee MS, Garaschuk O, Helmchen F, Margrie TW, Svoboda K, Osten P. Novel approaches to monitor and manipulate single neurons in vivo. J Neurosci 2005; 24:9223-7. [PMID: 15496655 PMCID: PMC6730093 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3344-04.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Brecht
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
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44
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Jimenez DF, Lee CI, O'Shea CE, Kohn DB, Tarantal AF. HIV-1-derived lentiviral vectors and fetal route of administration on transgene biodistribution and expression in rhesus monkeys. Gene Ther 2005; 12:821-30. [PMID: 15815706 DOI: 10.1038/sj.gt.3302464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The gene transfer efficiency of lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein (VSV-G) driven by the MND or CMV promoters and expressing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was investigated in fetal rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) (N=21). Fetuses (50+/-10 days gestation; term 165+/-10 days) were injected under ultrasound guidance using an intraperitoneal (i.p.) or intrahepatic (i.h.) approach with a range of 1 x 10(7)-2 x 10(8) infectious particles/fetus. Analysis of transgene biodistribution and expression was performed in multiple tissues at 3-7 months postgene delivery using quantitative techniques. Overall, results indicated the following: (1) i.p. gene transfer at 40 days gestation resulted in a more diffuse distribution of the vector compared to administration at 60 days gestation; (2) vector biodistribution was similar after administration by the i.p. or i.h. routes; and (3) gene expression analysis in transduced tissues showed the presence of mRNA transcripts that correlated with the level of gene transfer. These studies suggest that fetal gene transfer using the i.p. and i.h. routes results in prolonged transduction and expression of the transgene in multiple tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- D F Jimenez
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-8542, USA
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45
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Abstract
Cancer is a difficult target for any therapeutic strategy; therefore, there is a continuous search for new therapeutic modalities, for application either alone or in combination. In this regard, gene-based therapy is a new approach that offers hope of improved control of tumors. Intensive research to apply gene therapy for cancer treatment has led to identification of the most important technical and theoretical barriers that need to be overcome for clinical success. One of the central unresolved challenges remains the issue of specific and efficient delivery of genes to target cells or tissues, emphasizing the importance of the gene carrier. Along with different viral and non-viral vector systems, mammalian cells have also been considered as vehicles for delivery of anti-cancer therapeutics. The cell-based delivery approach was introduced as the first attempt to apply gene therapy to cancer treatment, and in general, has followed most of the ups and downs of gene therapy applications, progressing alongside new knowledge gained in this field. As a result, significant progress has been made in some aspects of the cell-based approach, while the development of other essential issues is only just gaining speed. It appears that the initial phase of development of cell-based protocols - the achievement of efficient ex vivo cell loading with therapeutics - has largely been fulfilled. However, the desired efficacy of cell-based strategies in general has not yet been reached, and specificity of tumor homing needs to be improved considerably. There is hope that advances in related scientific fields will promote the utilization of cells as powerful and versatile vehicles for cancer gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larisa Pereboeva
- Division of Human Gene Therapy, Department of Medicine, The Gene Therapy Center, BMRII-572, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 901 19th Street S., Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
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Beutelspacher SC, Ardjomand N, Tan PH, Patton GS, Larkin DFP, George AJT, McClure MO. Comparison of HIV-1 and EIAV-based lentiviral vectors in corneal transduction. Exp Eye Res 2005; 80:787-94. [PMID: 15939034 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2004.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2004] [Revised: 11/12/2004] [Accepted: 12/08/2004] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In this study we compare the ability of self-inactivating Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) and Equine Infectious Anaemia Virus (EIAV)-based vectors to mediate gene transfer to rabbit and human corneas and to a murine corneal endothelial cell line. Both vectors were pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus-G (VSV-G) envelope and contained marker transgenes under the control of an internal CMV promoter. For specificity of action, the heterologous promoter in the EIAV-vector was exchanged for an inducible E-Selectin promoter, previously shown to regulate gene-expression in a plasmid system. We show that EIAV is more efficient than HIV in transducing human and rabbit corneal endothelial cells. Rabbit corneal endothelial cells are transduced in higher quantity than human corneal endothelial cells. In the inducible system, however, we detected impairment between the vector and its internal E-Selectin promoter. Instead of controlled transgene expression or silencing of promoter activity, the U3-modified long-terminal-repeats (LTR) impaired the conditional activity of the E-Selectin promoter. Significant transgene expression was seen without stimulation of the inducible promoter. We show efficient transduction by lentiviruses of a corneal endothelial cell line and of full thickness corneas from different species, confirming that those vectors would be appropriate tools for gene therapy of selected corneal diseases. However, the modification within the U3-LTR did not adequately allow regulated transgene expression. These findings have important implications for vector design for diagnostic or therapeutic opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven Christoph Beutelspacher
- Jefferiss Research Trust Laboratories, Wright-Fleming Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Division of Medicine, Department of GU Medicine, St Mary's Campus Medicine, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK.
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47
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Imren S, Fabry ME, Westerman KA, Pawliuk R, Tang P, Rosten PM, Nagel RL, Leboulch P, Eaves CJ, Humphries RK. High-level beta-globin expression and preferred intragenic integration after lentiviral transduction of human cord blood stem cells. J Clin Invest 2004; 114:953-62. [PMID: 15467834 PMCID: PMC518665 DOI: 10.1172/jci21838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2004] [Accepted: 07/20/2004] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Transplantation of genetically corrected autologous hematopoietic stem cells is an attractive approach for the cure of sickle-cell disease and beta-thalassemia. Here, we infected human cord blood cells with a self-inactivating lentiviral vector encoding an anti-sickling betaA-T87Q-globin transgene and analyzed the transduced progeny produced over a 6-month period after transplantation of the infected cells directly into sublethally irradiated NOD/LtSz-scid/scid mice. Approximately half of the human erythroid and myeloid progenitors regenerated in the mice containing the transgene, and erythroid cells derived in vitro from these in vivo-regenerated cells produced high levels of betaA-T87Q-globin protein. Linker-mediated PCR analysis identified multiple transgene-positive clones in all mice analyzed with 2.1 +/- 0.1 integrated proviral copies per cell. Genomic sequencing of vector-containing fragments showed that 86% of the proviral inserts had occurred within genes, including several genes implicated in human leukemia. These findings indicate effective transduction of very primitive human cord blood cells with a candidate therapeutic lentiviral vector resulting in the long-term and robust, erythroid-specific production of therapeutically relevant levels of beta-globin protein. However, the frequency of proviral integration within genes that regulate hematopoiesis points to a need for additional safety modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzan Imren
- Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Vargas J, Gusella GL, Najfeld V, Klotman ME, Cara A. Novel integrase-defective lentiviral episomal vectors for gene transfer. Hum Gene Ther 2004; 15:361-72. [PMID: 15053861 DOI: 10.1089/104303404322959515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
High levels of circular viral extrachromosomal DNA (E-DNA) are normally produced after infection with integration-competent and -incompetent lentiviruses. Although E-DNA has been shown to be transcriptionally active, it lasts for only a short time in replicating cells. Here, we report an integrase (IN)-defective lentiviral episomal vector in which insertion of the simian virus 40 (SV40) promoter, containing the origin of replication (ori), is associated with long-term expression and persistence of E-DNA in the presence of SV40 large T antigen (TAg) from 293T cells. 293 and 293T cell lines transduced with IN-competent lentiviral vectors expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) or luciferase from the cytomegalovirus (CMV) or SV40 promoter gave similar levels of transduction and expression. In contrast, only transient reporter expression occurred when using the CMV IN-defective control vector in both 293 and 293T cells. However, reporter gene expression was maintained for more than 8 weeks in 293T, but not 293, cells transduced with the IN-defective lentiviral vector containing the SV40-ori promoter. Polymerase chain reaction for two-long terminal repeat (2LTR) extrachromosomal circular forms, a marker of lentiviral E-DNA, and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis confirmed the persistence and episomal nature of circular E-DNA up to 60 days after transduction. Taken together, these results indicate that insertion of the SV40-ori promoter in a lentiviral vector contributes to long-term expression by promoting episomal replication when TAg is provided in trans. Lentiviral episomal vectors may serve as specific tools for therapeutic approaches to diseases, particularly those associated with episomal replication of DNA viruses including papillomaviruses, polyomaviruses, and herpesviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Vargas
- Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA
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Copreni E, Penzo M, Carrabino S, Conese M. Lentivirus-mediated gene transfer to the respiratory epithelium: a promising approach to gene therapy of cystic fibrosis. Gene Ther 2004; 11 Suppl 1:S67-75. [PMID: 15454960 DOI: 10.1038/sj.gt.3302372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Gene therapy of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease needs highly efficient delivery and long-lasting complementation of the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) gene into the respiratory epithelium. The development of lentiviral vectors has been a recent advance in the field of gene transfer and therapy. These integrating vectors appear to be promising vehicles for gene delivery into respiratory epithelial cells by virtue of their ability to infect nondividing cells and mediate long-term persistence of transgene expression. Studies in human airway tissues and animal models have highlighted the possibility of achieving gene expression by lentiviral vectors, which outlasted the normal lifespan of the respiratory epithelium, indicating targeting of a 'stem cell' compartment. Modification of the paracellular permeability and pseudotyping with heterologous envelopes are the strategies currently used to overcome the paucity of specific viral receptors on the apical surface of airway epithelial cells and to reach the basolateral surface receptors. Preclinical studies on CF mice, demonstrating complementation of the CF defect, offer hope that lentivirus gene therapy can be translated into an effective treatment of CF lung disease. Besides a direct targeting of the stem/progenitor niche(s) in the CF airways, an alternative approach may envision homing of hematopoietic stem cells engineered to express the CFTR gene by lentiviral vectors. In the context of lentivirus-mediated CFTR gene transfer to the CF airways, biosafety aspects should be of primary concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Copreni
- Institute for Experimental Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis, HS Raffaele, Milano, Italy
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Stathopulos PB. Taking the good out of the bad: lentiviral-based gene therapy of the hemoglobinopathies. Biotechnol Adv 2004; 21:513-26. [PMID: 14499152 DOI: 10.1016/s0734-9750(03)00102-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia are excellent candidates for gene therapy since transfer of a single gene into hematopoietic stem cells should theoretically elicit a therapeutic response. Initial attempts at gene therapy of these hemoglobinopathies have proved unsuccessful due to limitations of available gene transfer vectors. With the extensive research on human immunodeficiency virus-1 due to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome pandemic, researchers have realized that this lentivirus, engineered to be devoid of any pathogenic elements, can be an effective gene transfer vector. This review discusses the gene therapy strategy for the hemoglobinopathies and outlines why lentiviral-derived vectors are particularly suited for this type of application, keeping past failures at gene therapy of these hemoglobinopathies in mind. Development, improvement, and methods for preparation of lentiviral-derived vectors are examined. Recently published results of successful gene therapy treatment of beta-thalassemic and sickle cell diseased mice using lentiviral-derived vectors are described. Finally, criticisms and future directions of lentiviral-based biotechnology are considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter B Stathopulos
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1.
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