Cap 1 Messenger RNA Synthesis with Co-transcriptional CleanCap® Analog by In Vitro Transcription

Synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutics are an increasingly popular approach to gene and cell therapies, genome engineering, enzyme replacement therapy, and now, during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, vaccine development. mRNA for such purposes can be synthesized through an enzymatic in vitro transcription (IVT) reaction and formulated for in vivo delivery. Mature mRNA requires a 5'-cap for gene expression and mRNA stability. There are two methods to add a cap in vitro: via a two-step multi-enzymatic reaction or co-transcriptionally. Co-transcriptional methods minimize reaction steps and enzymes needed to make mRNA when compared to enzymatic capping. CleanCap^® AG co-transcriptional capping results in 5 mg/ml of IVT with 94% 5'-cap 1 structure. This is highly efficient compared to first-generation cap analogs, such as mCap and ARCA, that incorporate cap 0 structures at lower efficiency and reaction yield. This article describes co-transcriptional capping using TriLink Biotechnology's CleanCap^® AG in IVT. © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: IVT with CleanCap Basic Protocol 2: mRNA purification and analysis.

1027 Differences in Polysomnography-Based Sleep Disorders Between HIV-Infected Persons and Matched Controls

Introduction

Sleep disturbance is a prevalent problem among HIV-infected persons. The recognition of comorbid sleep disorders in patients with HIV is currently hampered by limited knowledge of sleep-related symptoms, sleep architecture, and types of sleep disorders. We aimed to compare the differences in sleep-related symptoms and polysomnography-based sleep disorders between HIV-infected persons and controls.

Methods

The study included 170 men with a Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) greater than 5, composed of 44 HIV-infected men and 126 male controls who were frequency-matched by sex, age (-/+ 3.0 years) and BMI (-/+ 3.0 kg/m2). For all participants an overnight sleep study using a Somte V1 monitor was conducted. Differences in sleep-related symptoms and sleep disorders between HIV-infected patients and controls were examined using t-tests or Chi-square tests.

Results

HIV-infected persons with sleep disturbances more often had psychological disturbances (72.7% vs. 40.5%, p<0.001) and suspected rapid eye movement (REM) behavior disorder (RBD) (25.0% vs. 4.8%, p<0.01) than that of controls. The sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in HIV-infected persons was less common than that in controls (56.8% vs. 87.3%, p<0.001). The mean percentage of REM sleep among HIV-infected patients was higher than that among the controls (20.6% vs. 16.6%, p<0.001). Enuresis was more common in HIV-infected persons than controls (40.9% vs. 22.2%, p=0.02).

Conclusion

Psychological disturbances and SDB can be the possible explanations of sleep disturbances in HIV-infected persons, in which suspected RBD is notable. Further studies are warranted to examine underlying factors of suspected RBD among HIV-infected persons with sleep disturbances.

Support

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Executive Yuan of Taiwan [MOST 105-3011-E-006-002], and National Cheng Kung University Hospital [NCKUH-10702022]

Environmental sustainability assessment from planetary boundaries perspective - A case study of an organic sheep farm in Finland

Food production processes may have both positive and negative environmental sustainability impacts. This makes decision-making challenging in the transition towards more sustainable food production systems. In this paper, a new method for presenting environmental impacts in the context of planetary boundaries is demonstrated. This will help food and agricultural producers compare the magnitudes of various environmental impacts. The environmental sustainability impacts of an organic sheep farm in the boreal climate zone in Finland are studied herein first using a life cycle assessment method. The results are then normalized and presented in a planetary boundary framework to ascertain the extent of different environmental impacts. The results show that in the planetary boundary context, there are positive impacts of sheep grazing on biosphere integrity (genetic diversity) and biogeochemical flows and negative impacts on climate change, land use or freshwater use. Magnitudes of the impacts greatly dependent on the assumptions made especially regarding biosphere integrity impacts. In the future, it is crucial that decision-making be based on the evaluation of various environmental impacts and that the focus be more on complex sustainability thinking, rather than on one single environmental impact. This research demonstrates that results from a life cycle assessment can be modified and presented in a planetary boundaries context. A planetary boundary framework approach similar to that proposed herein could be further used to identify different environmental sustainability perspectives and to help one better recognize the multifunctional aspects of the ecosystem processes.

P1-11-10: Quality of Breast Cancer Care in a Boston Area Patient Navigator Program

Background: Elimination of disparities is critically important for lessening the burden of cancer. Patient navigator programs (PNPs) assist with all aspects of care, including access, cancer prevention, screening, post-diagnosis care, and survivorship care. Little is known about the effect of PNPs on patient care and outcomes following the diagnosis of breast cancer (BC). We examined quality measures (QMs) of breast cancer care among women participating in the Massachusetts General Hospital Avon Breast Care Patient Navigator Program (MABCP), which provides patient navigation services to disadvantaged minority communities in the greater Boston area.

Methods: Women diagnosed with BC who participated in the MABCP from 2001 to 2011 were followed to determine the proportion whose care was concordant with American Society of Clinical Oncology/National Comprehensive Cancer Network (ASCO/NCCN) QMs. QMs included 1) hormonal therapy (HT) within 1 year of diagnosis for HR+ tumors > 1 cm; 2)chemotherapy within 120 days of diagnosis of HR- >1cm tumors for women <70 years; and 3) post-lumpectomy radiation therapy (XRT). Descriptive statistics were used to report characteristics of MABCP patients.

Results: Of the 186 MABCP patients diagnosed with BC, some treatment data was available on 158 (85%) and race/stage information was available on 149 (80%) [Table 1]. Among the MABCP patients, concordant care was received by 70/74 (95%) for the HT QM, 15/17 (88%) for the chemotherapy QM, and 65/71 (92%) for the XRT QM. In comparison, available benchmark concordance rates of BC patients treated at 8 NCCN centers from 2003–6 are: 340/382 (89%) for the HT QM, 156/179 (87%) for the chemotherapy QM, and 141/148 (95%) for the XRT QM.

Conclusions: Overall, breast cancer care in the MABCP PNP is concordant with published ASCO/NCCN quality measures. At present, the sample is insufficient to compare concordance rates with NCCN patients but preliminarily, it appears that the quality of care is comparable. Future research should include prospective analyses of quality metrics to assess the process and outcomes of patient navigation in diverse settings, compared with control populations.

The ATP/DNA ratio is a better indicator of islet cell viability than the ADP/ATP ratio

Real-time, accurate assessment of islet viability is critical for avoiding transplantation of nontherapeutic preparations. Measurements of the intracellular ADP/ATP ratio have been recently proposed as useful prospective estimates of islet cell viability and potency. However, dead cells may be rapidly depleted of both ATP and ADP, which would render the ratio incapable of accounting for dead cells. Since the DNA of dead cells is expected to remain stable over prolonged periods of time (days), we hypothesized that use of the ATP/DNA ratio would take into account dead cells and may be a better indicator of islet cell viability than the ADP/ATP ratio. We tested this hypothesis using mixtures of healthy and lethally heat-treated (HT) rat insulinoma cells and human islets. Measurements of ATP/DNA and ADP/ATP from the known mixtures of healthy and HT cells and islets were used to evaluate how well these parameters correlated with viability. The results indicated that ATP and ADP were rapidly (within 1 hour) depleted in HT cells. The fraction of HT cells in a mixture correlated linearly with the ATP/DNA ratio, whereas the ADP/ADP ratio was highly scattered, remaining effectively unchanged. Despite similar limitations in both ADP/ADP and ATP/DNA ratios, in that ATP levels may fluctuate significantly and reversibly with metabolic stress, the results indicated that ATP/DNA was a better measure of islet viability than the ADP/ATP ratio.

Potent in vivo antimalarial activity of 3,15-di-O-acetylbruceolide against Plasmodium berghei infection in mice

The antimalarial activity of the O-acylated bruceolide derivative, 3,15-di-O-acetylbruceolide, was evaluated against Plasmodium berghei in vivo. The concentration of 3,15-di-O-acetylbruceolide required for 50% suppression (ED50) of P. berghei in mice was 0.46 +/- 0.06 mg/kg/day, whereas bruceolide was only half as effective as 3,15-di-O-acetylbruceolide. Two antimalarial drugs used clinically, chloroquine and artemisinin, demonstrated only low activity corresponding to 1/4 and 1/12 of the ED50 value of 3,15-di-O-acetylbruceolide, respectively. These results may be helpful in the design of better chemotherapeutic bruceolides against falciparum malaria.