水动力转染技术的应用进展

水动力转染技术是一种快速、方便、高效的外源基因转染方法,是指通过小鼠尾静脉快速注射大体积含有目的基因的生理盐水,从而实现外源目的基因在小鼠体内的高效表达。此方法在肝脏疾病、糖尿病、心肌炎、肾脏疾病和抗肿瘤等实验动物模型的研究以及这些疾病的基因免疫疗法的研究中已有应用。此外,水动力转染技术在对活体动物基因功能、基因调节、蛋白表达以及基因治疗等方面也有广泛应用。     

应用水动力转染技术使人低密度脂蛋白受体、CD81和浸入诱导蛋白L同时在小鼠体内表达

为建立人低密度脂蛋白受体（LDLR）、CD81和浸入诱导蛋白L（Sip—L）等多个HCV感染相关分子共表达的转基因小鼠,首先分别构建了白蛋白启动子调控的人LDLR、CD81和Sip-L基因的小鼠肝脏组织特异性表达载体,将3种质粒同时采用水动力转染技术导入小鼠体内,FIT—PCR和免疫组化技术检测转入体内基因的表达及持续时间。结果表明,转染8h后即可检测到3种基因在体内转录,人LDLR和CD81在转染1～4d后可在50％-90％的肝细胞中高效表达,7d后检测不到目的基因表达。为了进一步延长转染基因在小鼠体内的表达时间,又分别构建了人LDLR、CD81和Sip—L的染色体整合型表达载体,将它们与噬菌体ФC31的整合酶表达载体同时水动力转染小鼠,3种基因在体内表达时间可持续到转染后25d。以上结果表明建立了多个HCV感染相关分子共表达的转基因小鼠,为确定这些分子能否使小鼠感染HCV奠定了基础。     

小鼠sIL1ra基因克隆与其在骨髓抑制恢复中的功能研究

目的：构建鼠分泌型白细胞介素1受体拮抗剂（sIL1ra）基因的真核表达载体,进行体内表达,并研究其在5氟尿嘧啶（5-FU）所致骨髓抑制恢复中的作用。方法：根据鼠sIL1ra基因序列设计特异引物,以RT—PCR克隆其编码序列,并构建至phCMV真核表达载体中,通过胫前肌肌肉注射、随后电击转染等方法获得了该基因在小鼠体内的高效表达,并研究了sIL1m的药效学功能。结果：体内表达sIL1ra能增加5-FU注射后小鼠外周血白细胞数以及骨髓细胞数（P〈0．05或P〈0.01）。结论：体内转染sIL1ra可以促进小鼠骨髓抑制后造血的恢复。     

pEGFP—HPV16E7重组融合蛋白质粒的构建及其表达

应用基因重组技术,构建增强绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)与人乳头瘤病毒16型E7(HPV16E7)的重组融合表达质粒,经限制性内切酶酶切鉴定和PCR分析后,用基因转染技术将其导入小鼠肝癌细胞,荧光显微镜下观察融合蛋白的表达。酶切鉴定和PCR分析证实重组质粒中插入目的基因片段的大小、方向和插入位点均正确,在转染的小鼠肝癌细胞中观察到绿色荧光蛋白的表达。构建的pEGFP-HPV16E7融合表达质粒能直观地反映转染细胞中EGFP-HPV16E7融合蛋白的表达。由于转化率与表达率融为一体,故有利于对转染细胞的筛选,缩短转染细胞在体外的筛选的时间适用于对：HPV16E7分子生物学特性．致瘤机理及APC提呈等的研究。为建立表达HPV16E7的实体瘤动物模型奠定了基础。     

精胺对Azin1基因敲除小鼠体内Atp8a1基因表达调控的研究

目的 研究精胺对Azin1基因敲除小鼠体内Atp8a1基因表达的影响,并对其作用机理进行初步的探讨.方法 利用Real-time PCR检测正常小鼠和Azin1基因敲除小鼠体内Atp8a1基因的在mRNA水平上的差异表达情况;构建Atp8a1基因的启动子虫荧光素酶报告质粒;将启动子重组质粒转染NTH3T3细胞后,在细胞培养液中加入精胺,检测精胺对启动子活性的影响.结果 Atp8a1基因在Azin1基因敲除小鼠体内的表达量明显增加;精胺能够增强Atp8a1的启动子活性.结论 精胺能够通过增强Atp8a1的启动子活性而增强其在Ain1基因敲除小鼠体内转录水平的表达.     

pEGFP-HPV16E7重组融合蛋白质粒的构建及其表达

应用基因重组技术,构建增强绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)与人乳头瘤病毒16型E7(HPV16E7)的重组融合表达质粒,经限制性内切酶酶切鉴定和PCR分析后,用基因转染技术将其导入小鼠肝癌细胞,荧光显微镜下观察融合蛋白的表达.酶切鉴定和PCR分析证实重组质粒中插入目的基因片段的大小、方向和插入位点均正确,在转染的小鼠肝癌细胞中观察到绿色荧光蛋白的表达.构建的pEGFP-HPV16E7融合表达质粒能直观地反映转染细胞中EGFP-HPV16E7融合蛋白的表达.由于转化率与表达率融为一体,故有利于对转染细胞的筛选,缩短转染细胞在体外的筛选的时间适用于对HPV16E7分子生物学特性、致瘤机理及APC提呈等的研究.为建立表达HPV16E7的实体瘤动物模型奠定了基础.     

肝素酶超表达对HEK293细胞中Arc基因的调节

目的:利用RT-PCR验证基于肝素酶转基因小鼠的大脑皮层组织表达芯片发现的表达上调基因Arc,研究肝素酶基因Hpse对Arc基因表达的影响。方法:在稳定转染小鼠肝素酶基因Hpse的HEK293细胞体系中,采用半定量PCR的方法分析Arc的mRNA表达情况。结果:与前期的小鼠大脑皮层表达芯片结果相反,Hpse下调Arc基因的表达。结论:推断肝素酶可能通过影响Arc基因的表达,从而影响细胞功能。     

小鼠脂联素与绿色荧光蛋白融合基因表达载体的构建及在COS-7细胞中的表达

以绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)基因(gfp)为报告基因,构建小鼠脂联素(mADPN)基因(mAd)与gfp的融合基因mAd/gfp表达载体pCI-neo-apoEHCR-hAATp-mAd-gfp,脂质体法转染体外培养的COS-7细胞,荧光显微镜观察GFP在细胞中的表达可间接反映mADPN的表达,并通过RT-PCR在核酸水平进一步确证mAd的表达.荧光显微镜观察及RT-PCR结果均证明mADPN在COS-7细胞中获得了高效表达,表明mADPN重组表达载体pCI-neo-apoEHCR-hAATp-mAd可以在真核细胞COS-7中高效表达mADPN,为进一步探讨mAd在小鼠体内的表达提供了可行性依据.     

低分子量聚乙亚胺介导的基因转染系统及动物皮肤组织基因转染试验

将带有绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)报告基因的真核表达质粒与阳离子聚合物聚乙亚胺(PEI)结合,用肝癌细胞株CM7221实验,研究其转染效率及可能引起的细胞毒性;进一步用此PEI／DNA复合物转染小鼠皮肤组织,通过报告基因检测,研究转染基因的表达位置及持续表达时间。结果发现,低分子量PEI介导的细胞转染效率最高可达550%,转染效率与PEI结构无关,但是随着分子量的增加,转染活性略有下降。同时,随着分子量的增加,PEI对细胞的毒性也相应的加大;动物皮肤转染实验显示,转染24h后,GFP基因在皮肤组织的毛囊、汗腺、皮脂腺等处高效表达,表达可持续7天。表明低分子量PEI是低毒性、高转染效率的有用非病毒转染载体,能够在动物皮肤组织中进行基因转移,这对皮肤疾病的基因治疗具有潜在的应用价值。     

Polyethylenimine-mediated suicide gene transfer induces a therapeutic effect for hepatocellular carcinoma in vivo by using an Epstein-Barr virus-based plasmid vector

The present study aimed to establish a novel efficient nonviral strategy for suicide gene transfer in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in vivo. We employed branched polyethylenimine (PEI) and combined it with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-based plasmid vectors. The HCC cells transfected with an EBV-based plasmid carrying the herpes simplex virus-1 thymidine kinase (HSV-1 Tk) gene (pSES.Tk) showed up to 30-fold higher susceptibilities to ganciclovir (GCV) than those transfected with a conventional plasmid vector carrying the HSV-1 Tk gene (pS.Tk). The therapeutic effect in vivo was tested by intratumoral injection of the plasmids into HuH-7 hepatomas transplanted into C.B-17 scid/scid mutant (SCID) mice and subsequent GCV administrations. Treatment with pSES.Tk, but not pS.Tk, markedly suppressed growth of hepatomas in vivo, resulting in a significantly prolonged survival period of the mice. These findings suggest that PEI-mediated gene transfer system can confer efficient expression of the suicide gene in HCC cells in vivo by using EBV-based plasmid vectors.     

Use of fluorescent microspheres to localize in vivo gene transfer injection sites

The potential for using gene therapy to treat a variety of disease states is growing rapidly. Many vector types and delivery systems have been developed that allow the optimization of protein production levels and kinetics for a given therapeutic gene product. In cases in which a transient, localized delivery of gene product is desired, any determination of the locale of transfected tissue by non-marker genes is problematic. We describe a technique by which the use of fluorescent microspheres can help in identifying potentially transfected tissue. Adenovirus containing the gene for beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) was mixed with fluorescent microspheres and injected into rat skeletal muscle and porcine myocardium. The injection sites could be visualized under ultraviolet light and correlated with beta-gal enzyme expression. This method is simple, inexpensive and generally useful for in vivo gene transfer experiments.     

Expression of the chimeric IgE gene in cell culture and in various mouse tissues

Transient expression of recombinant gene constructs is now more widely used in gene therapy as well as in DNA vaccination. In this study, the ability of one and the same genetic construct to drive gene expression both in cell culture and in tissues of the whole organism was demonstrated. Chinese hamster ovarian cells (CHO) were transfected in vitro with plasmids bearing the genes for chimeric IgE (mouse/human) antibodies under control of the human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) promoter. Secretion of recombinant IgE antibodies by transfected cells reached 60% of the intracellular concentration of antibodies. The same gene constructs were introduced into various mouse tissues using ballistic transfection in vivo. The IgE content in blood after transfection of cartilage was found to be several times lower than after transfection of the liver, spleen, or foot pad. At the same time, the content of antibodies to the xenogenous determinants of IgE was essentially independent of the tissue type. These data can be employed in selecting conditions for genetic immunization and gene therapy.     

Introduction of the human growth hormone gene into the guinea pig mammary gland by in vivo transfection promotes sustained expression of human growth hormone in the milk throughout lactation

We tested the feasibility of transfecting mammary tissue in vivo with an expression plasmid encoding the human growth hormone (hGH) gene, under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter. Guinea pig mammary glands were transfected with plasmid DNA infused through the nipple canal and expression was monitored in control and transfected glands by radioimmunoassay of milk samples for hGH. Sustained expression of hGH throughout lactation was attained with a polyion transfection complex shown to be optimal for the transfection of bovine mammary cells, in vitro. However, contrary to expectations, hGH expression was consistently 5- to 10-fold higher when DEAE-dextran was used alone for transfection. Thus polyion complexes which are optimal for the transfection of cells in vitro may not be optimal in vivo. The highest concentrations of hGH in milk were obtained when glands were transfected within 3 days before parturition. This method may have application for studying the biological role or physical properties of recombinant proteins expressed in low quantities, or for investigating the regulation of gene promoters without the need to construct viral vectors or produce transgenic animals.     

Differential protein expression in MCF7 breast cancer cells transfected with ErbB2, neomycin resistance and luciferase plus yellow fluorescent protein

Gene transfection is frequently used to explore the molecular and phenotypic consequences of introduced genes. Breast cancer cell lines transfected with genes for growth factor receptors, intracellular signaling molecules or genes that generate luminescent signals are widely used in basic science and preclinical studies. Typically, a target gene of interest is co-transfected with selectable markers that are generally assumed to be innocuous. Perturbations of the cellular genome by transfected sequences may induce subtle and/or unexpected modulations in protein expression, only some of which may be attributable to the target gene of interest. In this study, we show that neomycin resistant MCF7 cells (MCF7 Neo(r)) proliferate twice as rapidly in nude mice as do the untransfected parent cells, but show similar growth rates in vitro. MCF7 transfected with the ErbB2 gene shows minimal alteration in growth rate in vitro, and approximately a threefold increased growth rate in vivo. MCF7 cells that express luciferase and yellow fluorescent protein proliferate slowly in vitro and show essentially no growth in vivo suggesting that overexpression of these tracking proteins adversely affects cellular proliferative capacity. The molecular basis for alterations in proliferative capacity of the transfected sub-lines is poorly understood. We performed two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) to compare relative protein expression among the cell lines. Relative to the parental MCF7, transfected cell lines displayed numerous differentially expressed proteins (69 to 149), relative to parental MCF7. Twenty-one of these differentially expressed proteins were identified by mass spectrometry, and included metabolic, structural, and signaling proteins. Possible roles of differentially expressed proteins in altering cellular proliferation are discussed.     

Bovine herpesvirus tegument protein VP22 enhances thymidine kinase/ganciclovir suicide gene therapy for neuroblastomas compared to herpes simplex virus VP22

Herpesvirus tegument protein VP22 can enhance the effect of therapeutic proteins in gene therapy, such as thymidine kinase (tk) and p53; however, the mechanism is unclear or controversial. In this study, mammalian expression vectors carrying bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) VP22 (BVP22) or herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) VP22 (HVP22) and equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) tk (Etk) were constructed in order to evaluate and compare the therapeutic potentials of BVP22 and HVP22 to enhance Etk/ganciclovir (Etk/GCV) suicide gene therapy for neuroblastomas by GCV cytotoxicity assays and noninvasive bioluminescent imaging in vitro and in vivo. BVP22 enhanced Etk/GCV cytotoxicity compared to that with HVP22 both in vitro and in vivo. However, assays utilizing a mixture of parental and stably transfected cells indicated that the enhancement was detected only in transfected cells. Thus, the therapeutic potential of BVP22 and HVP22 in Etk/GCV suicide gene therapy in this tumor system is not due to VP22 delivery of Etk into surrounding cells but rather is likely due to an enhanced intracellular effect.