Restoring Pro-healing/remodeling- associated M2a/c Macrophages using ON101 Accelerates Diabetic Wound Healing

Diabetic wounds exhibit chronic inflammation and delayed tissue proliferation or remodeling, mainly owing to prolonged proinflammatory (M1) macrophage activity and defects in transition to prohealing/proremodeling (M2a/M2c; CD206⁺ and/or CD163⁺) macrophages. We found that topical treatment with ON101, a plant-based potential therapeutic for diabetic foot ulcers, increased M2c-like (CD163⁺ and CD206⁺) cells and suppressed M1-like cells, altering the inflammatory gene profile in a diabetic mouse model compared with that in the controls. An in vitro macrophage-polarizing model revealed that ON101 directly suppressed CD80⁺ and CD86⁺ M1-macrophage polarization and M1-associated proinflammatory cytokines at both protein and transcriptional levels. Notably, conditioned medium collected from ON101-treated M1 macrophages reversed the M1-conditioned medium‒mediated suppression of CD206⁺ macrophages. Furthermore, conditioned medium from ON101-treated adipocyte progenitor cells significantly promoted CD206⁺ and CD163⁺ macrophages but strongly inhibited M1-like cells. ON101 treatment also stimulated the expression of GCSF and CXCL3 genes in human adipocyte progenitor cells. Interestingly, treatment with recombinant GCSF protein enhanced both CD206⁺ and CD163⁺ M2 markers, whereas CXCL3 treatment only stimulated CD163⁺ M2 macrophages. Depletion of cutaneous M2 macrophages inhibited ON101-induced diabetic wound healing. Thus, ON101 directly suppressed M1 macrophages and facilitated the GCSF- and CXCL3-mediated transition from M1 to M2 macrophages, lowering inflammation and leading to faster diabetic wound healing.

A siRNA targets and inhibits a broad range of SARS-CoV-2 infections including Delta variant

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) variants has altered the trajectory of the COVID‐19 pandemic and raised some uncertainty on the long‐term efficiency of vaccine strategy. The development of new therapeutics against a wide range of SARS‐CoV‐2 variants is imperative. We, here, have designed an inhalable siRNA, C6G25S, which covers 99.8% of current SARS‐CoV‐2 variants and is capable of inhibiting dominant strains, including Alpha, Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon, at picomolar ranges of IC₅₀in vitro. Moreover, C6G25S could completely inhibit the production of infectious virions in lungs by prophylactic treatment, and decrease 96.2% of virions by cotreatment in K18‐hACE2‐transgenic mice, accompanied by a significant prevention of virus‐associated extensive pulmonary alveolar damage, vascular thrombi, and immune cell infiltrations. Our data suggest that C6G25S provides an alternative and effective approach to combating the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Developing an antibody targeting CεmX of mIgE for the treatment of IgE-mediated diseases (HYP4P.305)

CεmX (also referred to as M1’) is a discrete domain of 52 a.a. residues, located between the CH4 domain and the C-terminal membrane anchor peptide of the ε heavy chain of membrane-bound IgE (mIgE) on human B lymphocytes. Antibodies that target CεmX are potentially useful in controlling IgE production for treating allergic and other IgE-mediated diseases. Herein we report that an anti-CεmX mAb, 4B12, was shown to be effective in reducing allergen-specific IgE and IL-5 production upon the challenge of the allergen in an asthma model employing CεmX gene knocked-in mice that express mIgE containing human CεmX domain on B cells. 4B12 could also alleviate airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR), allergen-induced eosinophil infiltration, and lung inflammation in those mice. Furthermore, we demonstrated that a humanized 4B12 mAb (referred to as FB825) could inhibit the production of human IgE in mice that had been reconstituted with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Based on the abilities of 4B12 to bind to mIgE and to lyse mIgE-expressing B cells by apoptosis, ADCC, and other cytolytic mechanisms and on the above results on animal models, a phase-I human clinical trial of FB825 to investigate its IgE-related biological effects is being performed.

Developing an antibody targeting CεmX of mIgE for the treatment of allergic and other IgE-mediated diseases (VAC6P.954)

CεmX (also referred to as M1’) is a discrete domain of 52 a.a. residues, located between the CH4 domain and the C-terminal membrane anchor peptide of the ε heavy chain of membrane-bound IgE (mIgE) on human B lymphocytes. Antibodies that target CεmX are potentially useful in controlling IgE production for treating allergic and other IgE-mediated diseases. Based on its abilities to bind to mIgE with high affinity and to lyse mIgE-expressing B lymphocytes by apoptosis, ADCC, and other cytolytic mechanisms, humanized 4B12 monoclonal antibody (h4B12 mAb) is now under preclinical development. In an allergic asthma animal model employing genetically modified mice that express mIgE containing human CεmX domain, we have demonstrated that mAb 4B12 was effective in reducing antigen-specific IgE, but not immunoglobulins of other isotypes. 4B12 could also markedly alleviate airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) to inhaled methacholine in those mice. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that h4B12 could inhibit the production of human IgE in mice that had been reconstituted with human PBMCs. We have now developed a transfected CHO cell line capable of producing h4B12 at a high yield in preparation for human clinical trials.

Nucleolin antisense oligodeoxynucleotides induce apoptosis and may be used as a potential drug for nasopharyngeal carcinoma therapy

Nucleolin (C23, NCL) mRNA was up-regulated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells compared to that of normal nasomucosal (NNM) cells using a cDNA microarray approach. The level of nucleolin protein was also up-regulated in 13 NPC cell lines, 30 biopsy specimens and nine other cancer cell lines compared to five NNM cells or normal stromal cells, which were analyzed using immunoblotting or immunohistochemistry. We transfected nucleolin antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (phosphorothioate-modified oligodeoxynucleotides; S-ODNs) into NPC-TW01 cells to knockdown nucleolin expression to evaluate the function of nucleolin in cancer cells. Nucleolin knockdown induced NPC cells but not NNM cells to undergo apoptosis. Furthermore, treatment of NPC-TW01 xenograft tumors with nucleolin antisense oligodeoxynucleotides suppressed the growth of xenograft tumors without obvious side effects. Therefore, we suggest that nucleolin may be a potential cancer therapeutic target and that nucleolin antisense oligodeoxynucleotides may be used as a potential drug for therapy in NPC.

Disease resistance to bacterial pathogens affected by the amount of ferredoxin-I protein in plants

SUMMARY Ferredoxin-I (Fd-I) is a fundamental protein that is involved in several metabolic pathways. The amount of Fd-I found in plants is generally regulated by environmental stress, including biotic and abiotic events. In this study, the correlation between quantity of Fd-I and plant disease resistance was investigated. Fd-I levels were increased by inoculation with Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae but were reduced by Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora. Transgenic tobacco over-expressing Fd-I with the sense sweet pepper Fd-I gene (pflp) was resistant to E. carotovora ssp. carotovora and the saprophytic bacterium P. fluorescens. By contrast, transgenic tobacco with reduced total Fd-I and the antisense pflp gene was susceptible to E. carotovora ssp. carotovora and P. fluorescens. Both of these transgenic tobaccos were resistant to P. syringae pv. syringae. By contrast, the mutated E. carotovora ssp. carotovora, with a defective harpin protein, was able to invade the sense-pflp transgenic tobacco as well as the non-transgenic tobacco. An in vitro kinase assay revealed that harpin could activate unidentified kinases to phosphorylate PFLP. These results demonstrate that Fd-I plays an important role in the disease defence mechanism.

Binding of tissue-specific factors to the enhancer sequence of hepatitis B virus

We have identified tissue-specific factors, in human hepatoma cells, that bind specifically to the transcriptional enhancer sequence of the human hepatitis B virus (HBV). Two different types of protein factor were found in nuclear extracts of hepatoma cells by gel mobility shift assay. One factor was observed in human hepatoma cells but not in human kidney, lung, or vein cells, or in embryonic mouse cells. The other was discovered in both human hepatoma cells and human vein cells. DNase I footprint analysis, using the enhancer fragment (164 bp, AccI-SphI) from HBV, revealed that two specific sites are recognized by the nuclear factors. These sites contain consensus octamer sequences which have been found in many other enhancer elements. These results strongly suggest that the two nuclear factors found in hepatoma cells play key roles in the function of the HBV enhancer.