插入单个loxP位点的伪狂犬病病毒上海株TK基因缺失株的构建

根据GenBank已发表的pEGFP－C1序列,设计并合成两对引物,PCR扩增出两端各含一loxP位点的GFP表达盒GFP-loxP。克隆于转移载体pSKLR获得pSKLR-GFP-loxP。基于同源重组原理, pSKLR-GFP-loxP与 PRV SH株基因组DNA共转染293T细胞,在BrdU 的筛选压力下,利用蚀斑法在TK-143细胞上筛选出表达GFP的TK基因缺失的重组毒株rPRV1。将表达Cre酶的质粒载体pPOG231与rPRV1基因组DNA共转染293T细胞,在Cre酶的作用下去除GFP表达盒以及一个loxP位点,筛选得到含单个loxP位点的重组病毒株rPRV2。PCR 扩增证实所获得的重组病毒TK缺失270bp,只有一个34bp的loxP位点,并且能在RK-13细胞上稳定传代。LD50试验表明rPrV2的毒力下降。     

Brief expression of a GFP cre fusion gene in embryonic stem cells allows rapid retrieval of site-specific genomic deletions.

The Cre DNA recombinase of bacteriophage P1 has become a useful tool for precise genomic manipulation in embryonic stem (ES) cells that have been gene modified by homologous recombination. We have re-engineered the cre gene to allow ready identification of living Cre+cells by constructing a functional fusion between Cre and an enhanced green fluorescent protein from Aequorea victoria (GFPS65T). The GFP cre fusion gene product rapidly targeted the nucleus in the absence of any exogenous nuclear localization signal. Moreover, GFPCre catalyzed efficient DNA recombination in both a mouse 3T3 derivative cell line and in murine ES cells. Fluorescence- activated cell sorting (FACS) of transiently GFP cre -transfected ES cells not only allowed rapid and efficient isolation of Cre+cells after DNA transfection but also demonstrated that a burst of Cre expression is sufficient to commit cells to Cre-mediated 'pop-out' of loxP -tagged DNA from the genome. Thus, GFP cre allows rapid identification of living cells in which loxP - flanked DNA sequences are destined to be removed from the genome by Cre-mediated recombination without reliance on recombinational activation or inactivation of a marker gene at the target locus. In addition, the GFP cre fusion gene will prove useful in tracing tissue-specific Cre expression in transgenic animals, thereby facilitating the generation and analysis of conditional gene knockout mice.     

Construction and Characterization of a Novel Recombinant Attenuated and Replication-Deficient Candidate Human Adenovirus Type 3 Vaccine: ‘‘Adenovirus Vaccine Within an Adenovirus Vector'

Human adenoviruses(HAd Vs) are highly contagious and result in large number of acute respiratory disease(ARD) cases with severe morbidity and mortality. Human adenovirus type 3(HAd V-3) is the most common type that causes ARD outbreaks in Asia,Europe, and the Americas. However, there is currently no vaccine approved for its general use. The hexon protein contains the main neutralizing epitopes, provoking strong and lasting immunogenicity. In this study, a novel recombinant and attenuated adenovirus vaccine candidate against HAd V-3 was constructed based on a commercially-available replication-defective HAd V-5 gene therapy and vaccine vector. The entire HAd V-3 hexon gene was integrated into the E1 region of the vector by homologous recombination using a bacterial system. The resultant recombinants expressing the HAd V-3 hexon protein were rescued in AD293 cells, identified and characterized by RT-PCR, Western blots, indirect immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy. This potential vaccine candidate had a similar replicative efficacy as the wild-type HAd V-3 strain. However, and importantly, the vaccine strain had been rendered replication-defective and was incapable of replication in A549 cells after more than twentygeneration passages in AD293 cells. This represents a significant safety feature. The mice immunized both intranasally and intramuscularly by this vaccine candidate raised significant neutralizing antibodies against HAd V-3. Therefore, this recombinant,attenuated, and safe adenovirus vaccine is a promising HAd V-3 vaccine candidate. The strategy of using a clinically approved and replication-defective HAd V-5 vector provides a novel approach to develop universal adenovirus vaccine candidates against all the other types of adenoviruses causing ARDs and perhaps other adenovirus-associated diseases.     

Optimized self-excising Cre-expression cassette for mammalian cells

We observed that overexpression of Cre recombinase in 293 T cells has toxic effects and that the chicken beta-actin promoter is active in Escherichia coli, causing expression of Cre in bacteria. This led to significant problems in the cloning of Cre/loxP constructs. Leaky Cre-expression in E. coli, and toxicity of the Cre overexpression in mammalian cells, were solved by constructing a novel silent self-inactivating Cre (SSi-Cre) expression cassette. The SSi-Cre is based on modified loxP sites flanking the Cre/Int/DsRed fusion gene containing a Cre coding sequence interrupted by an intron, which prevents leaky expression of Cre in E. coli. Additionally, this system contains a reporter gene to visualize Cre activity by fluorescent microscopy. The SSi-Cre cassette provides a universal strategy for the generation of Cre/loxP constructs, as well as a solution to the toxicity caused by the overexpression of Cre in target cells. SSi-Cre should thus provide a useful tool for various applications based on the Cre/loxP system.     

L7/Pcp-2-specific expression of Cre recombinase using knock-in approach

We report a knock-in mouse expressing Cre recombinase from the translational initiation site (ATG) of the endogenous L7/Pcp-2 gene. The resulting Cre expression matches the pattern of L7/Pcp-2 expression that is restricted to cerebellar Purkinje cells and retinal cells. Moreover, the Cre mouse showed no significant behavioral abnormality. Thus, our novel Cre mouse can be used for generation of Purkinje cells and retinal cell-specific gene expression and/or knockout in mouse using the Cre/loxP system.     

Spontaneous ectopic recombination in cell-type-specific Cre mice removes loxP-flanked marker cassettes in vivo

Conditional gene targeting using the Cre/loxP technology generally includes integration of a selection marker cassette flanked by loxP recognition sites (floxed) in the target gene locus. Subsequent marker removal avoids possible impairment of gene expression or mosaicism due to partial and total deletions after Cre-mediated recombination in vivo. The use of deleter Cre mice for in vivo marker removal in floxed connexin43 mice revealed considerable mosaicism, but no selective marker removal. In addition, we noted that several Cre transgenic lines displayed spontaneous ectopic activity, reminiscent of deleter Cre mice, and required the confirmation of cell type-specific deletion in every individual mouse. When we used myosin heavy chain promoter Cre (alphaMyHC-Cre) mice for cardiomyocyte specific deletion, we observed, in addition to cardiomyocyte-restricted or complete excision, selective marker removal in a subgroup of mice as well. Thus, selective marker removal can be achieved as a byproduct of cell-type restricted deletion.     

An integral membrane green fluorescent protein marker, Us9-GFP, is quantitatively retained in cells during propidium iodide-based cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry

Previously, we described GFP-spectrin, a membrane-localized derivative of the green fluorescent protein that can be employed as a marker during the simultaneous identification of transfected cells and cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry (Kalejta et al., Cytometry 29: 286-291, 1997). A membrane-anchored GFP fusion protein is necessary because the ethanol permeabilization step required to achieve efficient propidium iodide staining allows cytoplasmic GFP to leach out of the cell. However, viable cells expressing GFP-spectrin are not as bright as cells expressing cytoplasmic GFP and their fluorescence intensity is further diminished after ethanol treatment. Here, we demonstrate that the fluorescence intensity of cells expressing an integral membrane GFP fusion protein (Us9-GFP) is similar to that of cells expressing cytoplasmic GFP and is quantitatively maintained in cells after ethanol treatment. By allowing an accurate assessment of the expression level of GFP, Us9-GFP allows a more precise analysis of the effects of a cotransfected plasmid on the cell cycle and thus represents an improvement upon the original membrane-associated GFP fusion proteins employed in this assay.     

CD/TK单、双自杀基因重组腺病毒的制备及初步应用

为制备表达大肠杆菌胞嘧啶脱氨酶 (cytosinedeaminase ,CD)和单纯疱疹病毒 1 胸苷激酶(herpessimplexvirustype 1thymidinekinase ,TK)双自杀基因的重组腺病毒载体 ,为再狭窄基因治疗的应用奠定基础 ,首先构建了含单、双自杀基因的腺病毒穿梭载体 ,细菌内同源重组法获得重组腺病毒质粒 .脂质体介导下转染 2 93细胞进行包装并大量扩增得到Ad TK、Ad CD、Ad TK CD、Ad LacZ 4种重组腺病毒 .氯化铯 (CsCl)梯度离心法纯化后利用报告基因绿色荧光蛋白 (GFP)测定病毒滴度 ,可达 10 9pfu ml .PCR和Western印迹法对外源基因进行鉴定 ,证明单、双自杀基因均已整合入腺病毒基因组并表达 .重组腺病毒感染血管平滑肌细胞后 ,用MTT法比较了单、双自杀基因的杀伤作用 ,发现在感染复数≤ 2 0时 ,双自杀基因对细胞的抑制作用明显高于单基因 .成功地构建腺病毒双自杀基因共表达载体 ,为进一步的体内外实验奠定了基础 .     

Site-specific recombination mediated by an adenovirus vector expressing the Cre recombinase protein: a molecular switch for control of gene expression.

We have constructed replication-defective human adenovirus (Ad) type 5 vectors containing the gene for the Cre recombinase from bacteriophage P1 under control of the human cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter (AdCre). Expression of the protein was detected in replication-permissive (293) and in nonpermissive (MRC5) cell lines, and its biochemical activity was demonstrated in a cell-free recombination assay using a plasmid containing two loxP sites. To study Cre-mediated recombination in an intracellular system, we constructed an Ad vector (AdMA19) containing the luciferase cDNA under control of the human cytomegalovirus promoter but separated from it by an extraneous spacer sequence flanked by loxP sites which blocked luciferase expression. Upon coinfection of 293 or MRC5 cells with AdMA19 and AdCre, luciferase expression was specifically induced by Cre-mediated excision of the intervening sequence. The use of Ad vectors combined with the Cre-loxP system for regulation of gene expression and other possible applications is discussed.