昆虫杆状病毒应用于哺乳动物基因治疗的研究进展

杆状病毒是一类宿主特异性的昆虫病毒。昆虫杆状病毒表达系统是一个高效的真核表达系统,被广泛用于在昆虫细胞或昆虫幼虫中生产外源蛋白质。杆状病毒不能感染哺乳动物,却可以进入不同物种和组织来源的多种哺乳动物细胞,并在合适的哺乳动物启动子控制下表达外源基因。杆状病毒在哺乳动物细胞中不能复制,对细胞没有毒性,加上杆状病毒本身具有基因组大、可操作性好等优点,作为哺乳动物基因治疗的载体,将治疗基因传递给哺乳动物细胞已受到了广泛关注。在此就杆状病毒作为基因治疗载体的最新研究进展进行了阐述并探讨其发展趋势。     

杆状病毒疫苗载体的应用研究进展

人源病毒基因载体存在的记忆免疫和毒性阻碍了其在临床上的应用.自从发现杆状病毒能够有效进入多种哺乳动物细胞系和原代细胞后,其在基因治疗中的应用引人注目,候选杆状病毒载体迅速兴起.在哺乳动物细胞中,杆状病毒既不能复制也不能引起明显的细胞毒性作用,不存在哺乳动物病毒载体的相关记忆免疫.另外,含有新的穿梭启动子且包膜修饰的重组...     

杆状病毒表达载体的应用现状

杆状病毒是一类具有囊膜的双链环状DNA病毒,主要感染无脊椎动物,在病毒生活周期中会产生两种不同形态的病毒粒子:出芽型病毒粒子(BV),主要负责细胞之间的感染;包埋型病毒粒子(ODV),主要负责虫体之间的感染。随着对杆状病毒研究的不断深入,人们对杆状病毒的应用也越来越广泛,通过对病毒基因组的改造使其成为一种新颖的真核表达载体,现已被广泛应用于蛋白生产中;其次,由于杆状病毒特有的形态,可将靶蛋白展示在病毒粒子表面,进而被应用于诸如医药、临床和生物等多个研究领域中;此外,杆状病毒不能在哺乳动物细胞中进行复制,也不会在这类细胞中增殖和扩散。因此,杆状病毒不会刺激哺乳动物产生强烈的免疫应答,也不会对它们造成功能性的损伤,这些特性使其成为一种极具应用前景的基因治疗载体,给肿瘤治疗、组织再生和靶向给药等民生领域带来福音。本文就杆状病毒在蛋白表达、表面展示和基因治疗方面的研究进行综述,为杆状病毒的分子改造和临床应用提供依据。     

核衣壳蛋白VP39融合TAT转导肽对杆状病毒转导哺乳动物细胞的影响

为了提高昆虫杆状病毒在哺乳动物细胞中转导基因的效率,构建了重组杆状病毒AcRed-tat和AcRed。两者都能在哺乳动物细胞内表达红色荧光蛋白作为报告基因。同时,AcRed-tat带有HIV-1Tat转导肽、病毒主要衣壳蛋白基因vp39及增强型绿色荧光蛋白(egfp)三者的融合基因,并由杆状病毒多角体启动子表达,能够在昆虫细胞中表达该Tat融合蛋白,并掺入子代病毒粒子。而AcRed作为相应的对照病毒,带有多角体启动子表达vp39和egfp的融合基因。2株病毒分别转导哺乳动物细胞后,利用流式细胞仪检测报告基因的表达水平,发现在CHO和Vero细胞中AcRed-Tat介导的报告基因表达水平明显高于AcRed,而在HEK293细胞中2株病毒介导的报告基因表达水平差异不显著。结果表明Tat转导肽可以提高杆状病毒对一部分哺乳动物细胞的转导效率,为改进杆状病毒-哺乳动物细胞转导载体提供了新的思路。     

杆状病毒介导外源基因在哺乳动物细胞中表达的研究进展

杆状病毒(Baculovirus)是一种以昆虫为唯一宿主的病毒, 可用做生物杀虫剂或作为表达载体在昆虫细胞中大量表达外源蛋白, 制备疫苗。研究发现, 在哺乳动物细胞中携带哺乳动物启动子的重组杆状病毒能启动下游外源基因的表达但病毒不能在哺乳动物细胞中增值, 对细胞毒性小, 转导成功的细胞可以稳定传代并有效表达外源基因, 哺乳动物细胞比昆虫细胞对蛋白质具有更好的翻译后修饰, 表达出的蛋白结构更接近天然蛋白。因此, 杆状病毒可作为一种新型的哺乳动物细胞基因转移载体, 用于表达外源基因及作为一种基因治疗载体, 具有巨大潜力, 日益受到人们的关注。本文对杆状病毒作为一种表达载体在哺乳动物细胞中表达的研究进展进行了综述。     

杆状病毒对不同哺乳动物细胞基因转移及表达效率的研究

研究已证实杆状病毒可进入某些哺乳动物细胞,这提示了可将重组杆状病毒作为一种对哺乳动物细胞的新型基因转移载体。利用已构建的重组杆状病毒BacV-CMV-EGFPA,以含病毒的Sf9细胞培养上清同时孵育多种哺乳动物细胞,利用流式细胞术检测报告基因在不同细胞株中的转移效率及表达效率。共使用了20种哺乳动物细胞株,其中有12种人类组织细胞,7种小鼠组织细胞,1种猴组织细胞。实验结果显示携带CMV启动子的重组杆状病毒可有效进入多数哺乳动物细胞,其中对人、猴来源细胞的基因转移效率显著高于对鼠源细胞,对贴壁细胞的基因转移效率显著高于对悬浮细胞。同时,通过脂质体LipofectAMINE将携带有CMV启动子和EGFP基因的哺乳动物细胞表达质粒pCDNA3-1-EGFP分别转染部分特别是被认为杆状病毒进入能力较低的细胞株,结果显示CMV启动子在这些细胞中均可有效引导EGFP基因的表达,因此认为携带了CMV启动子的重组杆状病毒对不同哺乳动物细胞基因转移效率能基本反映出杆状病毒对不同种哺乳动物细胞的进入能力。通过综合比较携带CMV启动子的杆状病毒对不同种属及组织来源细胞的基因转移及表达效率,可看出杆状病毒对灵长类动物贴壁细胞的基因转移及表达效果是较好的,而对小鼠来源的细胞及悬浮培养细胞却并不十分理想,这表明将重组杆状病毒作为一种对哺乳动物细胞的基因转移工具,仍有其局限性,不一定对所有的细胞都合适,在应用时应予以充分考虑。     

不同杆状病毒诱导哺乳动物细胞抗病毒效果比较分析

杆状病毒常常包埋在由蛋白质组成的包含体中, 根据包含体的形态及其他理化性质, 将杆状病毒划分为核多角体病毒属和颗粒体病毒属两个属, 分子进化分析将核多角体病毒进一步划分为GroupⅠ和GroupⅡ两组. 研究发现, GroupⅠ的AcMNPV能刺激SMMC-7721和WISH细胞产生抗病毒的活性, 获得抵抗水疱口膜炎病毒(vesicular stomatitis virus, VSV)感染的能力, 但在BHK细胞和L929细胞中不能诱导抗病毒作用; 而GroupⅡ的HaSNPV和SeMNPV对实验的哺乳动物细胞均不能诱导其产生抗病毒作用. AcMNPV诱导哺乳动物细胞抗病毒作用是诱导干扰素α/β的产生. 转导分析表明, AcMNPV并不能介导哺乳动物启动子控制的报告基因在SMMC-7721细胞中表达, 但在WISH, BHK和L929细胞中能介导转基因的表达, 说明AcMNPV诱导抗病毒状态与介导转基因的表达不是相关的.     

表达猪瘟病毒E2蛋白的BacMam病毒的构建及其免疫原性分析

含具有哺乳动物细胞活性的启动子的重组杆状病毒(BacMam病毒)可有效转导多种哺乳动物细胞,并被广泛用于开发新型非复制型载体疫苗．将水泡性口炎病毒G蛋白(VSV-G)基因插入多角体启动子下游,得到经修饰的杆状病毒转移载体,将对虾白斑综合症病毒(WSSV)ie1启动子控制下的猪瘟病毒E2基因表达盒插入此载体中,构建了BacMam病毒BacMam/G-ie1-E2,以其感染Sf9细胞和转导HeLa细胞,通过间接免疫荧光试验和Western blot分析检测E蛋白的表达,同时用BacMam病毒直接免疫小鼠,用检测猪瘟病毒抗体的间接ELISA方法检测免疫小鼠血清抗体,用基于CFSE和WST-8的淋巴细胞增殖试验评价其细胞免疫应答．结果显示,BacMam/G-ie1-E2能同时在昆虫细胞和哺乳动物细胞中高效表达E2蛋白,免疫小鼠能诱导产生针对猪瘟病毒的特异性抗体,免疫小鼠脾细胞经猪瘟病毒刺激后能诱导特异性的淋巴细胞增殖．这表明,由BacMam病毒介导的基因转移有望用于开发针对猪瘟病毒的非复制型载体疫苗．     

重组杆状病毒：一种新型哺乳动物细胞基因转移载体

昆虫杆状病毒表达载体系统已广泛应用于表达重组蛋白。近年来研究显示,含有哺乳动物细胞启动子元件的重组杆状病毒可有效地转导多种哺乳动物原代和传代细胞。借助于杆状病毒载体,已成功实现了外源基因在哺乳动物细胞内的瞬时或稳定表达;而在体内,杆状病毒可被血清中的补体成份所灭活,从而抑制了转导效率,但是通过对杆状病毒进行修饰（如伪型杆状病毒）,可以抵抗补体的灭活作用。研究人员对杆状病毒转导机制进行了探索,但是至今尚未完全弄清。杆状病毒基因转移系统最大特点是,杆状病毒能在昆虫细胞内大量繁殖,而不能在哺乳动物细胞内复制,因而具有很高的生物安全性;同时,此系统还具有操作简便、插入外源基因容量大等优点,使得杆状病毒作为哺乳动物细胞的基因传递载体,具有广泛的应用前景。     

杆状病毒用于哺乳动物细胞快速高效表达外源基因的研究

现已发现杆状病毒可进入某些培养的哺乳动物细胞,这提示可将杆状病毒作为一种对哺乳动物细胞的新型基因转移载体。对杆状病毒转移载体的改造及对哺乳动物细胞的基因转移方式进行了进一步的研究。以绿色荧光蛋白基因为报告基因,利用Bac-to-Bac系统构建了分别含有正向和反向CMV启动子表达盒的两种重组杆状病毒。可观察到CMV启动子在Sf9细胞中可启动报告基因的表达,但表达效率较低。用重组杆状病毒感染后Sf9细胞的培养上清直接与HepG2细胞作用,以流式细胞术检测基因转移效率及荧光表达强度,发现这两种病毒在相同的感染复数下对HepG2细胞具有相似的基因转移及表达效率。同时,利用流式细胞术进一步研究了直接使用重组杆状病毒感染4d后Sf9细胞的培养上清对哺乳动物细胞进行基因转移的方法。通过对HepG2细胞的实验结果显示,将带毒Sf9细胞培养上清(1.2×10⁷PFU/mL)用哺乳动物细胞培养基1倍稀释后,37℃下孵育靶细胞12h(moi=50),可达到较高的基因转移及表达效率,同时不会对细胞造成明显损伤。将重组杆状病毒与脂质体和逆转录病毒这两种系统对HepG2及CV1细胞的基因转移效率进行了比较,结果发现在同样未经浓缩等特殊处理的条件下重组杆状病毒对这两种细胞的基因转移效率是最高的。因此可以认为,经过适当改造后的Bac-to-Bac重组杆状病毒系统可作为一种对哺乳动物细胞简便高效的基因转移表达载体。     

Complementation cell lines for viral vectors to be used in gene therapy

Viral vectors provide a highly efficient method for the transfer of foreign genes into a variety of quiescent or dividing eukaryotic cells from many animal origins. While recombinant vectors derived from an increasing number of mammalian viruses (herpes simplex virus, autonomous and non-autonomous parvoviruses, poxviruses, retroviruses, adenoviruses available today, vectors based on murine retroviruses and human adenoviruses constitute preferential candidates for the delivery of marker or therapeutic genes into human somatic cells. The availability of such vectors has made possible the recent transition of human gene therapy from laboratory benches to clinical settings. Most current recombinant vectors have been generated by deleting essential viral genes in order to make space available for the introduction of passenger genes. Such vectors are therefore unable to replicate in the absence of these critical gene products and their production relies on the development of stable complementation cell lines providingin trans the missing viral functions. Although complementation (or packaging) cell lines are available for both adenovirus and retrovirus vectors, their respective drawbacks still limit their use to research applications and phase I clinical trials. The future success or failure of human gene therapy will therefore rely on the production of improved generations of packaging cell lines that can produce safer and more efficient vectors which are fully adapted to large scale production and clinical applications.     

Baculovirus-mediated expression of p35 confers resistance to apoptosis in human embryo kidney 293 cells

Baculovirus has many advantages as vectors for gene transfer. We demonstrated that recombinant baculovirus vectors expressing p35 (Ac-CMV-p35) and eGFP (Ac-CMV-GFP) could be transduced into human kidney 293 cells efficiently. The level of transgene expression was viral dose dependent and high-level expression of the target gene could be achieved under the heterogonous promoter. MTT assay suggested that both Ac-CMV-p35 and Ac-CMV-GFP did not have cytotoxic effect on human embryo kidney 293 cells. Cell growth curve showed the Ac-CMV-p35 and Ac-CMV-GFP transduced and non-transduced cells had similar proliferation rate, so baculovirus-mediated p35 expression had no adverse effect on cell proliferation. In addition, baculovirus-mediated p35 gene expression protected human embryo kidney 293 cells against apoptosis induced by various apoptosis inducers such as Actinomycin D, UV or serum-free media. These results suggested that the baculovirus vector mediated p35 gene expression was functional and it could be widely used in molecular research and even gene therapy. Foundation items: National Nature Science Foundations of China (30325002, 30670077) and Innovative Foundations Wuhan Institute of Virology, CAS (020208)     

Counterselection and Co-Delivery of Transposon and Transposase Functions for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sleeping Beauty</Emphasis>-Mediated Transposition in Cultured Mammalian Cells

Sleeping Beauty (SB) is a gene-insertion system reconstructed from transposon sequences found in teleost fish and is capable of mediating the transposition of DNA sequences from transfected plasmids into the chromosomes of vertebrate cell populations. The SB system consists of a transposon, made up of a gene of interest flanked by transposon inverted repeats, and a source of transposase. Here we carried out a series of studies to further characterize SB-mediated transposition as a tool for gene transfer to chromosomes and ultimately for human gene therapy. Transfection of mouse 3T3 cells, HeLa cells, and human A549 lung carcinoma cells with a transposon containing the neomycin phosphotransferase (NEO) gene resulted in a several-fold increase in drug-resistant colony formation when co-transfected with a plasmid expressing the SB transposase. A transposon containing a methotrexate-resistant dihydrofolate reductase gene was also found to confer an increased frequency of methotrexate-resistant colony formation when co-transfected with SB transposase-encoding plasmid. A plasmid containing a herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene as well as a transposon containing a NEO gene was used for counterselection against random recombinants (NEO+TK+) in medium containing G418 plus ganciclovir. Effective counterselection required a recovery period of 5 days after transfection before shifting into medium containing ganciclovir to allow time for transiently expressed thymidine kinase activity to subside in cells not stably transfected. Southern analysis of clonal isolates indicated a shift from random recombination events toward transposition events when clones were isolated in medium containing ganciclovir as well as G418. We found that including both transposon and transposase functions on the same plasmid substantially increased the stable gene transfer frequency in Huh7 human hepatoma cells. The results from these experiments contribute technical and conceptual insight into the process of transposition in mammalian cells, and into the optimal provision of transposon and transposase functions that may be applicable to gene therapy studies.     

In vitro and in vivo gene delivery by recombinant baculoviruses

Although recombinant baculovirus vectors can be an efficient tool for gene transfer into mammalian cells in vitro, gene transduction in vivo has been hampered by the inactivation of baculoviruses by serum complement. Recombinant baculoviruses possessing excess envelope protein gp64 or other viral envelope proteins on the virion surface deliver foreign genes into a variety of mammalian cell lines more efficiently than the unmodified baculovirus. In this study, we examined the efficiency of gene transfer both in vitro and in vivo by recombinant baculoviruses possessing envelope proteins derived from either vesicular stomatitis virus (VSVG) or rabies virus. These recombinant viruses efficiently transferred reporter genes into neural cell lines, primary rat neural cells, and primary mouse osteal cells in vitro. The VSVG-modified baculovirus exhibited greater resistance to inactivation by animal sera than the unmodified baculovirus. A synthetic inhibitor of the complement activation pathway circumvented the serum inactivation of the unmodified baculovirus. Furthermore, the VSVG-modified baculovirus could transduce a reporter gene into the cerebral cortex and testis of mice by direct inoculation in vivo. These results suggest the possible use of the recombinant baculovirus vectors in combination with the administration of complement inhibitors for in vivo gene therapy.     

Baculoviruses as vectors in mammalian cells

The Baculoviridae are a large family of enveloped DNA viruses exclusively pathogenic to arthropods. Baculoviruses have been extensively used in insect cell-based recombinant protein expression system and as biological pesticides. They have been deomostrated to be safe to mammals, birds and fish. Recently, baculoviruses has been shown to transduce different mammalian cells in spite of the fact that they cannot replicate in mammalian cells (11, 73, 76). This has resulted in the development of baculoviruses as mammalian expression systems and even as vestors for gene therapy. Foundation item: National Nature Science Foundations of China (30325002, 30470075).     

Efficient gene delivery into mammalian cells mediated by a recombinant baculovirus containing a whispovirus ie1 promoter, a novel shuttle promoter between insect cells and mammalian cells

Recombinant baculoviruses have emerged as a new gene delivery vehicle for mammalian cells. Thus, a shuttle promoter that mediates gene expression in both insect and mammalian cells will facilitate the development of a baculovirus vector-based mammalian cell gene delivery vehicle. This study described the generation of three recombinant baculoviruses with an EGFP reporter gene under the control of the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) ie1 promoter, or either of two control promoters, the baculovirus early-to-late (ETL) promoter and polyhedrin promoter. The resulting recombinant baculoviruses were used to infect insect Sf9 cells and transduce several mammalian cell lines to test the expression of EGFP. We found that the WSSV ie1 promoter displayed a strong promoter activity in both insect and mammalian cells, and showed a stronger promoter activity than the ETL promoter in some mammalian cell lines. The activity of the WSSV ie1 promoter, but not the ETL promoter, can be enhanced by sodium butyrate, a histone deacetylase inhibitor. A transient plasmid transfection assay indicated that the WSSV ie1 promoter activity in mammalian cells is independent of baculovirus gene expression, differing from the ETL promoter, which was shown to be baculovirus-dependent. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that the WSSV ie1 promoter can function as a baculovirus-independent shuttle promoter between insect cells and mammalian cells. This novel shuttle promoter will facilitate the application of baculovirus-based vectors in gene expression, gene therapy, and non-replicative vector vaccines.     

Gene therapy strategies for hemophilia: benefits versus risks

Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency of functional clotting factors VIII or IX in the blood plasma. The drawbacks of the classical protein substitution therapy fueled interest in alternative treatments by gene therapy. Hemophilia has been recognized as an ideal target disease for gene therapy because a relatively modest increase in clotting factor levels can result in a significant therapeutic benefit. Consequently, introducing a functional FVIII or FIX gene copy into the appropriate target cells could ultimately provide a cure for hemophilic patients. Several cell types have been explored for hemophilia gene therapy, including hepatocytes, muscle, endothelial and hematopoietic cells. Both nonviral and viral vectors have been considered for the development of hemophilia gene therapy, including transposons, γ‐retroviral, lentiviral, adenoviral and adeno‐associated viral vectors. Several of these strategies have resulted in stable correction of the bleeding diathesis in hemophilia A and B murine as well as canine models, paving the way towards clinical trials. Although clotting factor expression has been detected in hemophilic patients treated by gene therapy, the challenge now lies in obtaining prolonged therapeutic FVIII or FIX levels in these patients. This review highlights the benefits and potential risks of the different gene therapy strategies for hemophilia that have been developed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Baculoviruses: diversity,evolution and manipulation of insects

Baculoviruses, members of the family Baculoviridae, are large, enveloped viruses that contain a double‐stranded circular DNA genome of 80–180 kbp, encoding 90–180 putative proteins. These viruses are exclusively pathogenic for arthropods, particularly insects, and have been developed, or are being developed, as environmentally sound pesticides and eukaryotic vectors for foreign protein expression, surface display, gene delivery for gene therapy, vaccine production and drug screening. The baculoviruses contain a set of approximately 30 core genes that are conserved among all baculovirus genomes sequenced to date. Individual baculoviruses also contain a number of lineage‐ or species‐specific genes that have greatly impacted the diversification and evolution of baculoviruses. In this review, we first describe the general properties and biology of baculoviruses and then focus on the baculovirus genes and mechanisms involved in the replication, spread and survival of baculoviruses within the context of their diversity, evolution and insect manipulation.     

Improved baculovirus system for transferring genes into insect and mammalian cells

A new set of eukaryotic expression vectors was constructed on the basis of baculoviruses. EcoRI fragments S, J, and P with the genes for late viral proteins p35 (polyhedrin), p39, and p10 were cloned from genomic DNA of the nuclear polyhedrosis virus. The promoter regions of these genes were used to construct double-and triple-promoter expression vectors. Baculovirus vectors containing an expression cassette with the cytomegalovirus promoter and the green fluorescent protein reporter gene were designed to express the cloned genes in cultured mammalian cells.