Gene therapy for hemophilia B mediated by recombinant adeno-associated viral vector with hFIXR338A, a high catalytic activity mutation of human coagulation factor IX

A mutant human factor IX with arginine at 338 residual changed to alanine (hFIXR338A) by site-directed mutagenesis was introduced into AAV vectors, and a recombinant adeno-associ-ated viral vector containing hFIXR338A, prepared by rHSV/AAV hybrid helper virus system, was directly introduced to the hind leg muscle of factor IX knock out mice. The expression and the biological activity of human factor IX mutant, hFIXR338A, and the immune response against it in the treated mice were assayed and detected. The results showed that (i) the high-level expression of human factor IX mutant protein, hFIXR338A, has been detected in rAAV-hFIXR338A treated hemophilia B mice and lasted more than 15 weeks; (ii) the clotting activity of hFIXR338A in plasma is 34.2%± 5.23%, which is remarkably higher than that of (14.27%±3.4%) of wild type hFIX treated mice in the activated partial thromboplastin assay; (iii) immune response against factor IX R338A was absent, with no factor IX mutant protein (hFIXR338A) inhibitors deve     

Increased mRNA expression and protein secretion of interleukin-6 in primary human osteoblasts differentiated in vitro from rheumatoid and osteoarthritic bone

We have investigated the expression and synthesis of potential bone-resorbing cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in rheumatoid arthritic (RA) and osteoarthritic (OA) bone, two common diseases which are associated with bone loss. Primary human osteoblast (hOB) cultures were established to determine the temporal mRNA expression of IL-6, IL-1 (alpha and beta), and TNF (alpha and beta) in relation to osteoblast growth and phenotypic genes. IL-6 mRNA levels were found to be significantly higher (P < 0.04) in both OA hOB (17 patients) and RA hOB (10 patients) compared to normal (NO) hOB (9 patients) and reached five-fold increases in OA hOB and 13-fold increases in RA hOB. Maximal levels of IL-6 are expressed at Day 21 which corresponds to the mineralization stage reflected by decreasing collagen I (alpha(1)), osteopontin, bone sialoprotein, alkaline phosphatase mRNA levels, while osteocalcin (OC) mRNA levels increased. IL-6 protein levels also were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in OA hOB and RA hOB compared to NO hOB. These increases were not attributable to sex or age of the donor bone. Neither the mRNA encoding IL-1(alpha and beta) and TNF(alpha and beta) nor the related proteins were detectable. These results indicate that differentiated OA hOB and RA hOB within a bone tissue-like matrix constitutively express and secrete high levels of IL-6. This inherent property suggests that these osteoblasts, independent of local inflammatory parameters, can contribute to enhanced recruitment of osteoclast progenitors and thereby bone resorption.     

Polo-like kinase-1 is a pivotal regulator of microtubule assembly during mouse oocyte meiotic maturation,fertilization, and early embryonic mitosis

Polo-like kinases (Plks) are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases that have been activated through phosphorylation. The activity of these kinases has been shown to be required for regulating multiple stages of mitotic progression in somatic cells. In this experiment, the changes in Plk1 expression were detected in mouse oocytes through Western blotting. The subcellular localization of Plk1 during oocyte meiotic maturation, fertilization, and early cleavage as well as after antibody microinjection or microtubule assembly disturbance was studied by confocal microscopy. The quantity of Plk1 protein remained stable during meiotic maturation and decreased gradually after fertilization. Plk1 was localized to the spindle poles of both meiotic and mitotic spindles at the early M phase and then translocated to the middle region. At anaphase and telophase, Plk1 was concentrated at the midbody of cytoplasmic cleavages. Plk1 was concentrated between the male and female pronuclei after fertilization. Plk1 disappeared at the spindle region when microtubule formation was inhibited by colchicine or staurosporine, while it was concentrated as several dots in the cytoplasm after taxol treatment. Plk1 antibody injection decreased the germinal vesicle breakdown rate and distorted MI spindle organization. Our results indicate that Plk1 is a pivotal regulator of microtubule organization during mouse oocyte meiosis, fertilization, and cleavage and that its functions may be regulated by other kinases, such as staurosporine-sensitive kinases.     

Coumarins from Malaysian Micromelum minutum

In a continuation of our study of the Rutaceae, detailed chemical investigation on Micromelum minutum (Rutaceae) collected from Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia gave four new coumarins. The structures of the coumarins have been fully characterised by spectroscopic methods as 3",4"-dihydrocapnolactone 1, 2',3'-epoxyisocapnolactone 2, 8-hydroxyisocapnolactone-2',3'-diol 3 and 8-hydroxy-3",4"-dihydrocapnolactone-2',3'-diol 4.