The Use of Cell-penetrating Peptide for Delivery of Recombinant Transcription Factor DNA into Primary Human Fibroblast

Background: Reprogrammed cell therapy has not been applied for clinical purposes due to the malignancy issue. The aim of this study was to design the recombinant vector of the transcription factors and analyze the effectiveness of cell-penetrating peptide delivering system for human primary fibroblast transfection to avoid the malignancy issue.Materials and methods: The constructions of CCAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (CEBPA), hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4A), nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group I member 2 (NR1I2) were confirmed with DNA digestion and sequencing. Breast reduction (BRED) and palate (PAL) tissue were used as human primary fibroblast sources. The transcription factors were delivered into BRED and PAL with recombination of avian leukosis sarcoma virus (ALSV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) matrix, and regulator of expression of virion proteins (Rev) (ALMR), tagged with enhanced green fluorescence protein (eGFP). Post-transfection cells were then cultivated with optimized medium. Gene expression was measured with quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).Results: Gene expression levels of CEBPA, HNF4A, NR1I2, glutamate-ammonia ligase (GLUL), albumin (ALB), and cytochrome P450 (CYP) were increased. Transfection with ALMR, which were more efficient in BRED than PAL fibroblasts may have the advantage in autologous cell therapy for elderly patients.Conclusion: Transfection of transcription factors to human primary fibroblast may be performed by using constructions of plasmid as designed in this study.Keywords: recombinant plasmid, hepatocyte-like cells, primary fibroblasts, recombinant peptide, cell reprogramming, autologous cells therapy

Konstruksi Plasmid Pengekspresi Antigen Gag dan Protein Penghantar VP22 untuk Pengembangan Vaksin HIV-1

The endogenous HIV-1 vaccine based on Gag protein is expected to stimulate the immune response of CD8+ T cells (cytotoxic). The Gag protein that has been produced by the E.coli prokaryote system is an exogenous antigen. The fusion of VP22 protein is expected to deliver Gag antigen into the cytoplasm of cell, observed by eGFP markers. Sequences of VP22 (114 pb), GagHIV-1 (1506 pb), and eGFP (733 pb) were inserted into the pQE80L, respectively. The recombinant protein was expressed in the E.coli system and purified by the Ni-NTA method. Antigen delivery fused with VP22 and eGFP was observed with fluorescence and confocal microscopy. The recombinant plasmid constructs of protein expression eGFP, VP22-eGFP, GagHIV-1-eGFP, VP22-GagHIV-1-eGFP were verified by DNA sequencing according to the reference. The recombinant plasmid constructs of Gag HIV-1-eGFP and VP22-GagHIV-1-eGFP still need to be optimized so they can be expressed in the E.coli system.  The recombinant protein VP22-eGFP (27.02 kDa) was succesfully obtained and fluorescent green (entered) into the cytoplasm and nucleus of vero cells. In addition to the HIV-1 vaccine, this recombinant plasmids pQE80L-eGFP and pQE80L-VP22-eGFP also have the potential to be used as tools in the development of endogenous vaccines for another viruses/microbes. Abstrak Vaksin endogen HIV-1 berbasis protein Gag diharapkan dapat menstimulus respons imun sel T CD8+ (sitotoksik). Protein Gag yang telah diproduksi dengan sistem prokariota E.coli merupakan antigen yang bersifat eksogen. Fusi protein VP22 diharapkan mampumenghantarkan antigen Gag masuk ke sitoplasma sel, diamati dengan marker eGFP.  Sekuens VP22 (114 pb), GagHIV1 (1506 pb), dan eGFP (733 pb) telah diinsersikan pada vektor pQE80L. Protein rekombinan diekspresikan pada sistem E.coli dan dipurifikasi dengan metode Ni-NTA. Penghantaran antigen yang difusikan dengan VP22 dan marker eGFP diamati dengan mikroskop fluoresens dan konfokal. Konstruksi plasmid rekombinan pengekspresi protein eGFP, VP22-eGFP, GagHIV1-eGFP, dan VP22-GagHIV1-eGFP telah diverifikasi dengan sekuensing DNA sesuai dengan sekuen referensi. Plasmid rekombinan pengekspresi GagHIV1-eGFP dan VP22-GagHIV1-eGFP masih perlu dioptimasi agar dapat diekspresikan di sistem E.coli. Protein rekombinan VP22-eGFP (27,02 kDa) telah berhasil diperoleh serta berpendar fluoresens hijau  (masuk) ke sitoplasma dan nukleus sel vero. Selain vaksin HIV-1, plasmid rekombinan pQE80L-eGFP dan pQE80L-VP22-eGFP juga berpotensi dapat digunakan sebagai ‘tools’ dalam pengembangan vaksin endogen dari virus atau mikroba lainnya.

Safety of Technique and Procedure of Stromal Vascular Fraction Therapy: From Liposuction to Cell Administration

BACKGROUND

Stromal vascular fraction (SVF) therapy has been performed over the past six years to treat 421 patients by our group in five clinical centers. Autologous SVF, which is a substance containing stem cells, was isolated from lipoaspirate, mixed with platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and administered to patients with degenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, trauma, aging, and other diseases with unknown etiology. This study aimed to determine the safety of SVF and PRP that were given through infusion, spinal, and intra-articular injection.

METHODS

The lipoaspirate was treated with a tissue-dissociating enzyme, and then, through centrifugation, SVF was isolated. In addition, blood was drawn from each patient, and PRP was isolated. Autologous PRP and SVF were administered to all subjects by intravenous (IV) injection. A minority group within the population received an additional spinal or intra-articular injection. The type of intervention was determined by each disease evaluation. The cell doses and adverse events for each patient were documented and analyzed.

RESULTS

Cell dose that was considered to be safe was less than 10 billion SVF cells in 250 cc of normal saline, for IV injection, and less than 1 billion SVF, for intra-articular and spinal injection. Adverse events were not severe and were treated successfully. Any observed adverse events were identified as a result of spinal or intra-articular injections and were not related to SVF or PRP.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results showed that administration of high dose of SVF until 10 billion cells in a majority of 421 patients through infusion, spinal, and intra-articular injection was feasible without causing major adverse events and should be further investigated in well-designed phase I-II clinical trial to address the safety and efficacy of therapy.

Combination of the stromal vascular fraction and platelet-rich plasma accelerates the wound healing process: pre-clinical study in a Sprague-Dawley rat model

Background

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) improve wound healing owing to their angiogenic potency. However, the production of large quantities of ADSCs for clinical applications is laborious. In this study, the efficacy of the stromal vascular fraction (SVF; non-expanded ADSCs) combined with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) which contains abundant growth factors, for wound healing was evaluated using an animal model.

Methods

PRP from venous blood and SVF from lipoaspirates were harvested from six donors. PRP, SVF, SVF + PRP, and saline solution as a negative control were injected to second degree burn wounds in the backs of 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats. On the seventh day after injection, rats were euthanized and wounds were analyzed microscopically and macroscopically.

Results

Wounds closed faster in the SVF + PRP group than in the control group or PRP or SVF alone groups, with less inflammation, prominent signs of re-epithelization, more skin appendages and blood vessels, and a higher rate of hair growth. No infection or rat death occurred during the trial.

Conclusions

The combination of SVF and PRP may provide an additive stimulatory effect to support angiogenesis and accelerate the wound healing process; accordingly, this combination is a potential alternative to ADSC treatment.

Diabetes mellitus type 2 reduces the viability, proliferation, and angiogenic marker of adipose-derived stem cells cultured in low-glucose anti-oxidant-serum supplemented medium

Introduction: Hyperglycemia in diabetic patients induces elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine production, resulting in cellular damage, which may affect the regenerative function of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), such as adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). Identifying the effect of diabetes on ADSCs and optimization of culture conditions is therefore an important starting point for the application of autologous stem cells to improve clinicial outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of diabetes on ADSCs that cultured in low-glucose anti-oxidant-serum supplemented medium. Methods: In this study, freshly isolated stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and expanded ADSCs were compared between diabetic and non-diabetic donors. SVF were isolated from the abdominal fat, and total viable cells and viability were estimated. Fresh SVF were cultured in low-glucose (100 mg/dL) culture medium supplemented with an anti-oxidant and fetal bovine serum (complete culture medium) at a low density for 14 days for the colony formation unit-fibroblast (CFU-F) assay. The remaining SVF were expanded to obtain ADSCs in the complete culture medium, which were evaluated based on MSCs surface marker expression and three lineage differentiation potential. Diabetic and non-diabetic ADSCs were compared with respect to population doubling time and viability after serial passage. Results: Total viable counts (0.97 +/- 0.39 x 109 cells/10 mL of adipose tissue, 0.56 +/- 0.39 x 109 cells/10 mL of adipose tissue, p=0.02, independent t-test), but not viability (98.63 +/- 1.12%, 98.20 +/- 1.21%, p= 0.38, independent t-test), were significantly higher for SVF cells from adipose tissues of non-diabetic donors than diabetic donors. Fewer CFU-F were obtained from cultured diabetic SVF than from non-diabetic SVF. Diabetic and non-diabetic ADSCs had similar differentiation potency and CD73 (99.44 +/- 0.34%, 97.15 +/- 5.37%, p= 0.21, Mann-Whitney U test) and CD90 (97.30 +/- 2.86%, 95.06 +/- 6.32%, p= 0.90, Mann- Whitney U test) expression, but significantly fewer diabetic ADSCs expressed CD105 or endoglin, a marker for angiogenesis (89.91 +/- 7.14%, 57.90 +/- 21.36% for non-diabetic and diabetic groups, p< 0.001, Mann-Whitney U test). Diabetic ADSCs tended to exhibit slower proliferation (4.43 +/- 2.70 days, 3.04 +/- 0.55 days, p= 0.27 in passage 2 (P2); 3.95 +/- 1.55 days, 2.96 +/- 0.91 days, p= 0.21 in P3, independent t-test) and lower viability than those of non-diabetic ADSCs (77.65 +/- 10.61%, 87.13 +/- 10.06%, p= 0.25 in P2; 82.70 +/- 8.07%, 91.15 +/- 3.77%, p= 0.04 in P3, independent t-test). Culture in low-glucose anti-oxidant-serum supplemented medium did not improve CD105 expression (65.14 +/- 5.86%, 71.06 +/- 10.27%, 64.05 +/- 10.04%, p= 0.70, for P1, P2, and P3, respectively, repeated measure ANOVA) and cell proliferation (p= 0.50 for P2 vs. P3, paired t-test) of diabetic ADSCs. Conclusions: Overall, diabetes reduced CD105 expression and ADSCs proliferation, suggesting that the angiogenic potency of diabetic ADSCs is reduced. The diabetic ADSCs in this study were also more prone to cell death caused by handling technique compared to non-diabetic ADSCs. Therefore, more advanced culture techniques should be applied to expand ADSCs from diabetic patients to achieve expected clinical outcomes.  

ID2013 Optimized method for isolation of regenerative stromal cells from human lipoaspirates

Background: One of the problems encountered in the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells therapy as a regenerative medicine is finding an effective and efficient method of adipose tissue processing. In this study, we try to improve the whole adipose processing method so it is not only generates high yield SVF, but also could saving cost and time.  Methods:  Each 30 ml of subcutaneous adipose from twelve patients is separated into three groups treatments as follows: Group A treated with trypsin-EDTA, Group B with recombinant enzyme, and Group C with a commercial kit.  The number and viability of SVF cells in each methods is determined.  The product of SVF is seeded in culture condition. The attached cells analysed with CFU–F testing, FACS assay, and differentiation capability assay are performed to confirm the stem cells properties.  Results:   The average of SVF cells number per 10 ml of adipose in Group A: 1.7 x 106 cells (96.58%), Group B: 5.1 x 107 cells (97.85%), and Group C: 1.9 x 107 cells (96.86%). The result of modified of method B produces up to 1.1 x 109 per 10 ml of adipose.   Findings or Conclusion:  We improved the whole adipose processing method from method previously described. We use non-animal derived recombinant enzyme, more cost and time saving proven compare to collagenase, with the higher yields than that obtained from collagenase, trypsin, or its both combination method.