Placenta‐specific gene activation and inactivation using integrase‐defective lentiviral vectors with the Cre/LoxP system

Transgenic and knockout studies have advanced our understanding of the genetic control of embryonic development over the past decades. However, interpretation of the phenotype of mutant mice is potentially complicated, since the commonly used knockout approach modifies both the fetal and placental genome. To circumvent this problem, we previously developed a placenta‐specific gene manipulation system by lentiviral vector transduction of embryos at the blastocyst stage. In the present study, by combination with the Cre/LoxP system, we successfully demonstrate placenta‐specific gene activation and inactivation in EGFP reporter mice and Ets2 floxed mice, respectively. Transient expression using integrase‐defective lentiviral (IDLV) vectors diminished the toxic effect of Cre expression and solved the dilemma of mosaic recombination with lower concentrations and toxic effects with higher concentrations of Cre recombinase. We also show that placenta‐specific Ets2 disruption causes embryonic lethality and reconfirmed the critical role of Ets2 during placentation. This technology facilitates both gain and loss of gene function analyses in placental development during pregnancy. Since IDLV vectors can efficiently transduce a variety of cell types similarly to wild‐type vectors, our IDLV‐Cre strategy is potentially useful for a wide range of applications. genesis 47:793–798, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

p35Nck5a基因重复性打靶载体的构建和ES细胞基因打靶研究

为了在小鼠胚胎于细胞（ＥＳ）中引起神经细胞ｃｄｃ２类激酶调节亚基ｐ３５Ｎｃｋ５ａ基因的定点 重复,采用常规的分子克隆技术,构建得到长约１２．２ｋｂ的基因重复性打靶载体ｐＧＤＴＶ。用电 穿孔法将线性化的ｐＧＤＴＶ载体转入ＥＳ细胞,经过Ｇ４１８和ＧＡＮＣ分组药物选择,获得２４５个 双药物抗性的细胞克隆,细胞存活率为６．２２ × １０－５。经ＰＣＲ和基因组Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ杂交鉴定,２个 ＥＳ细胞克隆发生了ｐ３５Ｎｃｋ５ａ基因的重复,同源重组率为５．０８×１０－７、负向选择系统的应用使 同源重组事件的富集效率提高了７倍。为建立Ａｌｚｈｅｉｍｅｒ病的转基因小鼠模型打下了基础。     

慢病毒介导Nanog基因在小鼠ES细胞的表达

试验尝试构建小鼠Nanog基因慢病毒表达载体,培养表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞。结果显示通过RT-PCR扩增出918bp的小鼠Nanog基因,测序正确的小鼠Nanog基因通过慢病毒介导在小鼠ES细胞表达后,表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞生长状态同普通ES细胞无明显差异,在无LIF的ES细胞培养液培养条件下,表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞保持正常的ES细胞集落,碱性磷酸酶、Oct4和SSEA-1免疫细胞化学检测为阳性,相同情况下未表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞集落退化消失。试验证实了通过慢病毒载体介导培养了表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞。试验尝试构建小鼠Nanog基因慢病毒表达载体,培养表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞。根据小鼠Nanog基因m RNA序列设计Nanog基因引物,引物两端带有Nhe I和Xho I酶切位点。Trizol试剂处理小鼠ES细胞,通过RT-PCR扩增出小鼠Nanog基因,小鼠Nanog基因用Nhe I和Xho I酶切后连入pcDNA3.1载体中,PCR检测阳性的细菌克隆进行测序,测序正确的Nanog基因片段连接入PLL-IRES-Neo慢病毒表达载体中,包装含有Nanog基因的慢病毒感染小鼠ES细胞,在SNL细胞饲养层上G418筛选2周后,添加普通ES细胞培养液在普通小鼠胎儿成纤维细胞饲养层上培养。结果显示通过RT-PCR扩增出918 bp的小鼠Nanog基因,测序正确的小鼠Nanog基因通过慢病毒介导在小鼠ES细胞表达后,表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞生长状态同普通ES细胞无明显差异,在无LIF的ES细胞培养液培养条件下,表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞保持正常的ES细胞集落,碱性磷酸酶、Oct4和SSEA-1免疫细胞化学检测为阳性,相同情况下未表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞集落退化消失。试验证实了通过慢病毒载体介导培养了表达外源Nanog基因的小鼠ES细胞。     

Site-directed mutagenesis by gene targeting in mouse embryo-derived stem cells

We mutated, by gene targeting, the endogenous hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) gene in mouse embryo-derived stem (ES) cells. A specialized construct of the neomycin resistance (neor) gene was introduced into an exon of a cloned fragment of the Hprt gene and used to transfect ES cells. Among the G418r colonies, 1/1000 were also resistant to the base analog 6-thioguanine (6-TG). The G418r, 6-TGr cells were all shown to be Hprt- as the result of homologous recombination with the exogenous, neor-containing, Hprt sequences. We have compared the gene-targeting efficiencies of two classes of neor-Hprt recombinant vectors: those that replace the endogenous sequence with the exogenous sequence and those that insert the exogenous sequence into the endogenous sequence. The targeting efficiencies of both classes of vectors are strongly dependent upon the extent of homology between exogenous and endogenous sequences. The protocol described herein should be useful for targeting mutations into any gene.     

hEPO cDNA重组逆转录病毒的构建

通过DNA重组技术,将不含非编码区的hEPO cDNA片段重组到逆转录病毒质粒pLXSN, pLNCX中重组质粒转染PA317细胞后,经G418筛选,抗性克隆细胞培养上清能成功地感染NIH3T3细胞,使之在筛选培养基中形成典型的G418抗性克隆,该克隆细胞染色体中成功地整合了EPOcDNA,并且表达出有生物学活性的红细胞生成素(EPO)产物。     

A polyoma-based episomal vector efficiently expresses exogenous genes in mouse embryonic stem cells.

We describe the ability of novel episomally maintained vectors to efficiently promote gene expression in embryonic stem (ES) cells as well as in established mouse cell lines. Extrachromosomal maintenance of our vectors is based on the presence of polyoma virus DNA sequences, including the origin of replication harboring a mutant enhancer (PyF101), and a modified version of the polyoma early region (LT20) encoding the large T antigen only. Reporter gene expression from such extrachromosomally replicating vectors was approximately 10-fold higher than expression from replication-incompetent control plasmids. After transfection of different ES cell lines, the polyoma virus-derived plasmid variant pMGD20neo (7.2 kb) was maintained episomally in 16% of the G418-resistant clones. No chromosomal integration of pMGD20neo vector DNA was detected in ES cells that contained episomal vector DNA even after long term passage. The vector's replication ability was not altered after insertion of up to 10 kb hprt gene fragments. Besides undifferentiated ES cells, the polyoma-based vectors were also maintained extrachromosomally in differentiating ES cells and embryoid bodies as well as in established mouse cell lines.     

Simian immunodeficiency virus-Vpx for improving integrase defective lentiviral vector-based vaccines

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Integrase defective lentiviral vectors (IDLV) represent a promising delivery system for immunization purposes. Human dendritic cells (DC) are the main cell types mediating the immune response and are readily transduced by IDLV, allowing effective triggering of in vitro expansion of antigen-specific primed CD8+ T cells. However, IDLV expression in transduced DC is at lower levels than those of the integrase (IN) competent counterpart, thus requiring further improvement of IDLV for future use in the clinic. RESULTS: In this paper we show that the addition of simian immunodeficiency (SIV)-Vpx protein in the vector preparation greatly improves transduction of human and simian DC, but not of murine DC, thus increasing the ability of transduced DC to act as functional antigen presenting cells, in the absence of integrated vector sequences. Importantly, the presence of SIV-Vpx allows for using lower dose of input IDLV during in vitro transduction, thus further improving the IDLV safety profile. CONCLUSIONS: These results have significant implications for the development of IDLV-based vaccines.     

Cell cycle requirements for transduction by foamy virus vectors compared to those of oncovirus and lentivirus vectors

Retroviral vectors based on foamy viruses (FV) are efficient gene delivery vehicles for therapeutic and research applications. While previous studies have shown that FV vectors transduce quiescent cell cultures more efficiently than oncoviral vectors, their specific cell cycle requirements have not been determined. Here we compare the transduction frequencies of FV vectors with those of onco- and lentiviral vectors in nondividing and dividing normal human fibroblasts by several methods. FV vectors transduced serum-deprived fibroblast cultures more efficiently than oncoretroviral vectors and at rates comparable to those of lentiviral vectors. However, in these cultures FV vectors only transduced a subpopulation of proliferating cells, as determined by bromodeoxyuridine staining for DNA synthesis. In contrast to lentiviral vectors, FV vectors were unable to transduce human fibroblasts arrested by aphidicolin (G(1)/S phase) or gamma-irradiation (G(2) phase), and a partial cell cycle that included mitosis but not DNA synthesis was required. We could not determine if mitosis facilitated nuclear entry of FV vectors, since cell-free vector preparations contained long terminal repeat circles, precluding their use as nuclear markers. In contrast to oncoviral vectors, both FV and lentiviral vectors efficiently transduced G(0) fibroblasts that were later stimulated to divide. In the case of FV vectors, this was due to the persistence of a stable transduction intermediate in quiescent cells. Our findings support the use of FV vectors as a safe and effective alternative to lentiviral vectors for ex vivo transduction of stem cells that are quiescent during culture but divide following transplantation.     

Site-directed point mutations in embryonic stem cells: a gene-targeting tag-and-exchange strategy.

Sequential gene targeting was used to introduce point mutations into one alpha 2 isoform Na,K-ATPase homolog in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. In the first round of targeted replacement, the gene was tagged with selectable markers by insertion of a Neor/HSV-tk gene cassette, and this event was selected for by gain of neomycin (G418) resistance. In the second targeted replacement event, the tagged genomic sequence was exchanged with a vector consisting of homologous genomic sequences carrying five site-directed nucleotide substitutions. Embryonic stem cell clones modified by exchange with the mutation vector were selected for loss of the HSV-tk gene by resistance to ganciclovir. Candidate clones were further screened and identified by polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analysis. By this strategy, the endogenous alpha 2 isoform Na,K-ATPase gene was altered to encode two other amino acids so that the enzyme is resistant to inhibition by cardiac glycosides while maintaining its transmembrane ion-pumping function. Since the initial tagging event and the subsequent mutation-exchange event are independent of one another, a tagged cell line can be used to generate a variety of mutant lines by exchange with various mutation vectors at the tagged locus. This method should be useful for testing specific mutations introduced into the genomes of tissue culture cells and animals and for developing animal models encompassing the mutational variability of known genetic disorders.     

Efficient gene targeting by homologous recombination in rat embryonic stem cells

The rat is the preferred experimental animal in many biological studies. With the recent derivation of authentic rat embryonic stem (ES) cells it is now feasible to apply state-of-the art genetic engineering in this species using homologous recombination. To establish whether rat ES cells are amenable to in vivo recombination, we tested targeted disruption of the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) locus in ES cells derived from both inbred and outbred strains of rats. Targeting vectors that replace exons 7 and 8 of the hprt gene with neomycinR/thymidine kinase selection cassettes were electroporated into male Fisher F344 and Sprague Dawley rat ES cells. Approximately 2% of the G418 resistant colonies also tolerated selection with 6-thioguanine, indicating inactivation of the hprt gene. PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed correct site-specific targeting of the hprt locus in these clones. Embryoid body and monolayer differentiation of targeted cell lines established that they retained differentiation potential following targeting and selection. This report demonstrates that gene modification via homologous recombination in rat ES cells is efficient, and should facilitate implementation of targeted, genetic manipulation in the rat.     

BPOZ基因剔除小鼠模型的建立

BPOZ是在卵巢癌等肿瘤组织中表达下调的细胞生长抑制基因,建立BPOZ基因剔除小鼠模型,可以为在体研究BPOZ基因的生物学功能及其与肿瘤发生的关系创造条件.运用生物信息学手段确定小鼠BPOZ基因组序列,设计基因剔除策略,构建完成了基因剔除载体XpPNT-BPOZ.以电穿孔方法将基因剔除载体导入ES细胞,用G418和Ganciclovoir进行正负筛选,获得抵抗克隆,PCR和DNA印迹鉴定出正确同源重组的ES细胞克隆.将同源重组的ES细胞注入小鼠囊胚,获得嵌合体小鼠.嵌合体小鼠与C57BL/6J小鼠交配后获得Aguoti毛色的小鼠30只,其中15只为BPOZ基因剔除杂合子小鼠,阳性率为50%.在雌雄杂合子交配的后代中获得纯合子小鼠.初步的表型观察发现BPOZ基因剔除小鼠发育正常,有繁殖能力,进一步的表型分析工作正在进行之中.     

Myostatin基因打靶载体的构建及猪胎儿成纤维细胞Myostatin基因的敲除

目的:用缺口修复等技术构建Myostatin(肌肉生长抑制素,MSTN)基因打靶载体,并对大白猪胎儿成纤维体细胞进行转染,获得基因敲除细胞。方法与结果:首先构建用于MSTN基因同源长臂(LA)的抓捕载体,然后在大肠杆菌内利用Red同源重组系统介导的缺口修复,从含大白猪MSTN基因座的细菌人工染色体上亚克隆9.9 kb的LA到抓捕载体上,经过部分序列测定,同源性为100%;通过PCR获得1.4 kb的同源短臂(SA);将LA和SA连入载体pLOXP,构建含有neo和tk正负筛选标记基因的MSTN基因打靶载体pLOXP-MSTN-KO;将线性化的pLOXP-MSTN-KO通过电转染整合到大白猪胎儿成纤维细胞基因组中,利用G418和丙氧鸟苷进行药物筛选,获得抗性细胞克隆890个,通过PCR和DNA测序鉴定获得基因敲除的细胞克隆4个。结论:构建了有效的MSTN基因打靶载体,通过转染获得基因敲除细胞,为利用体细胞核移植制备MSTN基因敲除猪奠定了基础。     

Lentivirus vector gene expression during ES cell-derived hematopoietic development in vitro

The murine embryonal stem (ES) cell virus (MESV) can express transgenes from the long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter/enhancer in undifferentiated ES cells, but expression is turned off upon differentiation to embryoid bodies (EBs) and hematopoietic cells in vitro. We examined whether a human immunodeficiency virus type 1-based lentivirus vector pseudotyped with the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (VSV-G) could transduce ES cells efficiently and express the green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene from an internal phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) promoter throughout development to hematopoietic cells in vitro. An oncoretrovirus vector containing the MESV LTR and the GFP gene was used for comparison. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis of transduced CCE ES cells showed 99.8 and 86.7% GPF-expressing ES cells in the VSV-G-pseudotyped lentivirus (multiplicity of infection [MOI] = 59)- and oncoretrovirus (MOI = 590)-transduced cells, respectively. Therefore, VSV-G pseudotyping of lentiviral and oncoretrovirus vectors leads to efficient transduction of ES cells. Lentivirus vector integration was verified in the ES cell colonies by Southern blot analysis. When the transduced ES cells were differentiated in vitro, expression from the oncoretrovirus LTR was severely reduced or extinct in day 6 EBs and ES cell-derived hematopoietic colonies. In contrast, many lentivirus-transduced colonies, expressing the GFP gene in the undifferentiated state, continued to express the transgene throughout in vitro development to EBs at day 6, and many continued to express in cells derived from hematopoietic colonies. This experimental system can be used to analyze lentivirus vector design for optimal expression in hematopoietic cells and for gain-of-function experiments during ES cell development in vitro.     

Improved short-term engraftment of lentivirally versus gammaretrovirally transduced allogeneic canine repopulating cells

Gammaretroviral vectors require cell division for efficient transduction. Thus, extended cell culture times are necessary for efficient transduction with gammaretroviral vectors, which in turn can lead to stem cell loss and impaired engraftment. Lentiviral vectors transduce nondividing cells and are therefore able to transduce stem cells in short transduction protocols. Here, we compared the short-term engraftment of lentivirally and gammaretrovirally transduced canine allogeneic DLA-matched littermate cells. A reduced conditioning regimen of 400 cGy total body irradiation was used in preparation for clinical studies. Two dogs received a graft of gammaretrovirally transduced CD34-selected cells. CD34(+) cells were prestimulated for 30 h and then exposed twice to concentrated RD114 pseudotype vector. Three dogs received lentivirally transduced CD34-selected cells. Cells were transduced overnight with concentrated VSV-G pseudotype lentiviral vector. The animals in the lentiviral group showed a significantly faster granulocyte recovery. VNTR analysis 40-50 days after transplantation revealed higher donor chimerism for the lentiviral group compared to the retroviral group. These data suggest that short lentiviral transduction protocols may be superior to extended gammaretroviral transduction protocols with respect to engraftment potential of transduced CD34(+) hematopoietic repopulating cells.     

Assessment of optimal transduction of primary human skin keratinocytes by viral vectors

BACKGROUND: Genetically modified keratinocytes generate transplantable self-renewing epithelia suitable for delivery of therapeutic polypeptides. However, the variety of viral vectors and experimental conditions currently used make fragmented or contradictory the information on the transduction efficiency of the human primary keratinocytes. To compare the suitability of the most currently used viral vectors for efficient gene transfer to human keratinocytes, we have performed a comparative study using a panel of recombinant constructs. METHODS: For each vector, the transduction efficiency and the persistence of the transgene expression were quantified by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis of the infected cells. RESULTS: We show that: (1) canine and human adenoviral vectors achieve a highly efficient but transient transduction of both primary and immortalized keratinocytes; (2) the adenovirus-associated virus (AAV) vectors transduce immortalized keratinocytes, albeit with a short-lived gene expression (<4 days), but fail to infect primary keratinocytes; and (3) under appropriate conditions, the oncoretroviral and lentiviral vectors can permanently transduce up to 100% of primary keratinocytes, but the highly clonogenic keratinocytes are more efficiently targeted by lentiviral vectors. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, AAV vectors are unsuitable to transduce primary keratinocytes, while human and canine adenoviral vectors appears to be appropriate to achieve short-term delivery of therapeutic products. Recombinant retroviruses provide sustained expression of the transgene, but the lentiviral vectors are the most suitable for ex vivo gene therapy because of their ability to transduce clonogenic primary keratinocytes.     

Recombinant gene expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells transduced by retroviral vectors

Endothelial cells are attractive targets for gene transfer because of their immediate contact with the bloodstream, and, therefore, they might serve as vehicles for therapeutic drug delivery. Recently, we and others reported that endothelial cells of animal origin efficiently express both secretory and nonsecretory recombinant proteins. We now show that human endothelial cells are also capable of expressing a recombinant gene following transduction with retroviral vectors. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were transduced with either the N2 or the SAX vector. Following selection with G418, cells transduced by both vectors were found to express neophosphotransferase activity, the product of the neomycin resistance gene. The fact that a recombinant gene can be readily inserted and efficiently expressed into human endothelial cells suggests that these cells may be able to serve a role in human gene therapy.     

Target frequency and integration pattern for insertion and replacement vectors in embryonic stem cells.

Gene targeting has been used to direct mutations into specific chromosomal loci in murine embryonic stem (ES) cells. The altered locus can be studied in vivo with chimeras and, if the mutated cells contribute to the germ line, in their offspring. Although homologous recombination is the basis for the widely used gene targeting techniques, to date, the mechanism of homologous recombination between a vector and the chromosomal target in mammalian cells is essentially unknown. Here we look at the nature of gene targeting in ES cells by comparing an insertion vector with replacement vectors that target hprt. We found that the insertion vector targeted up to ninefold more frequently than a replacement vector with the same length of homologous sequence. We also observed that the majority of clones targeted with replacement vectors did not recombine as predicted. Analysis of the recombinant structures showed that the external heterologous sequences were often incorporated into the target locus. This observation can be explained by either single reciprocal recombination (vector insertion) of a recircularized vector or double reciprocal recombination/gene conversion (gene replacement) of a vector concatemer. Thus, single reciprocal recombination of an insertion vector occurs 92-fold more frequently than double reciprocal recombination of a replacement vector with crossover junctions on both the long and short arms.     

含FLP“交换盒”结构的打靶载体构建及ES细胞打靶研究

利用小鼠HPRT基因组DNA片段和人工合成的含有FLP重组酶识别位点变异体FRT和F3RT序列的寡核苷酸 ,构建了针对小鼠HPRT基因位点的置换型打靶载体pSP HPRT Fneo F₃。经过限制酶酶切及部分测序鉴定其结构正确后 ,将线性化了的打靶载体以电穿孔法导入ES细胞内 ,经G418和 6 -TG双药筛选和分子鉴定 ,得到了 2个在HPRT位点整合有FLP重组酶“交换盒”F Neo F3结构的双交换重组ES细胞克隆 ,为建立基于FLP重组酶介导的盒式交换的高效、定点转基因体系创造了条件.     

Adeno-associated virus type 2-mediated transfer of ecotropic retrovirus receptor cDNA allows ecotropic retroviral transduction of established and primary human cells.

The cellular receptors that mediate binding and internalization of retroviruses have recently been identified. The concentration and accessibility of these receptors are critical determinants in accomplishing successful gene transfer with retrovirus-based vectors. Murine retroviruses containing ecotropic glycoproteins do not infect human cells since human cells do not express the receptor that binds the ecotropic glycoproteins. To enable human cells to become permissive for ecotropic retrovirus-mediated gene transfer, we have developed a recombinant adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV) vector containing ecotropic retroviral receptor (ecoR) cDNA under the control of the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter (vRSVp-ecoR). Established human cell lines, such as HeLa and KB, known to be nonpermissive for murine ecotropic retroviruses, became permissive for infection by a retroviral vector containing a bacterial gene for resistance to neomycin (RV-Neo(r)), with a transduction efficiency of up to 47%, following transduction with vRSVp-ecoR, as determined by the development of colonies that were resistant to the drug G418, a neomycin analog. No G418-resistant colonies were present in cultures infected with either vRSVp-ecoR or RV-Neo(r) alone. Southern and Northern blot analyses revealed stable integration and long-term expression, respectively, of the transduced murine ecoR gene in clonal isolates of HeLa and KB cells. Similarly, ecotropic retrovirus-mediated Neo(r) transduction of primary human CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells from normal bone marrow was also documented, but only following infection with vRSVp-ecoR. The retroviral transduction efficiency was approximately 7% without prestimulation and approximately 14% with prestimulation of CD34+ cells with cytokines, as determined by hematopoietic clonogenic assays. No G418-resistant progenitor cell colonies were present in cultures infected with either vRSVp-ecoR or RV-Neo(r) alone. These results suggest that sequential transduction of primary human cells with two different viral vectors may overcome limitations encountered with a single vector. Thus, the combined use of AAV- and retrovirus-based vectors may have important clinical implications for ex vivo and in vivo human gene therapy.