选择性复制型腺病毒介导的自杀基因HSV -tk 在 肿瘤基因治疗中的应用

自杀基因治疗是肿瘤基因治疗的手段之一,治疗效果与自杀基因能否被高效、选择性的导入肿瘤细胞有关。肿瘤选择性复制型腺病毒（conditionally replication adenovirus,CRADs）可以特异性的在肿瘤细胞中复制,在复制的同时所携带的治疗基因也大量表达。由CRAds介导的自杀基因,实现了对肿瘤的病毒治疗和基因治疗的结合,提高了治疗效率和使用复制型腺病毒的安全性。     

Cyanide bystander effect of the linamarase/linamarin killer-suicide gene therapy system

Background

The killer‐suicide system linamarase/linamarin (lis/lin) uses the plant gene linamarase (β‐glucosidase) to convert the cyanogenic glucoside substrate, linamarin, into glucose and cyanide. We have studied the bystander effect associated with this new system mediated by the production of the cyanide ion that diffuses freely across membranes.

Methods

Immunofluorescent staining of cells treated with an anti‐linamarase antibody allowed us to localize the enzyme within the cells. Flow cytometry was used to determine the sensitivity of different mixtures of cells, C6lis and C6gfp (green), to linamarin as a percentage of cell survival.

Results

We demonstrate here that rat glioblastoma C6 cells carrying the linamarase gene (lis), mixed with naive C6 cells and exposed to linamarin, induce generalized cell death. Cells expressing lis efficiently export linamarase, whereas linamarin enters cells poorly by endocytosis; as a result most of the cyanide is produced outside the cells. The study was facilitated by the presence of the green fluorescent protein (gfp) gene in the bystander population. As few as 10% C6lis‐positive cells are sufficient to eliminate the entire cell culture in 96 h.

Conclusions

This bystander mechanism does not preferentially kill toxic metabolite producer cells compared with bystander cells, thus allowing production of sufficient cyanide to cause tumor regression. In this report we confirm the potential of the lis/lin gene therapy system as a powerful tool to eliminate tumors in vivo. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

Application of HSVtk suicide gene to X-SCID gene therapy: ganciclovir treatment offsets gene corrected X-SCID B cells

Recently, a serious adverse effect of uncontrolled clonal T cell proliferation due to insertional mutagenesis of retroviral vector was reported in X-SCID gene therapy clinical trial. To offset the side effect, we have incorporated a suicide gene into therapeutic retroviral vector for selective elimination of transduced cells. In this study, B-cell lines from two X-SCID patients were transduced with bicistronic retroviral vector carrying human gamma c chain cDNA and Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene. After confirmation of functional reconstitution of the gamma c chain, the cells were treated with ganciclovir (GCV). The gamma c chain positive cells were eliminated under low concentration without cytotoxicity on untransduced cells and have not reappeared at least for 5 months. Furthermore, the gamma c chain transduced cells were still sensitive to GCV after five months. These results demonstrated the efficacy of the suicide gene therapy although further in vivo studies are required to assess feasibility of this approach in clinical trial.     

Combination of cytosine deaminase with uracil phosphoribosyl transferase leads to local and distant bystander effects against RM1 prostate cancer in mice

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of gene-directed enzyme-prodrug therapy (GDEPT) using cytosine deaminase in combination with uracil phosphoribosyl transferase (CDUPRT) against intraprostatic mouse androgen-refractory prostate (RM1) tumors in immunocompetent mice. The product of the fusion gene, CDUPRT, converts the prodrug, 5-fluorocytosine (5FC), into 5-fluorouracil (5FU) and other cytotoxic metabolites that kill both CDUPRT-expressing and surrounding cells, via a 'bystander effect'. METHODS: Stably transformed andogen-independent mouse prostate cancer (PC) cells, RM1-CDUPRT, -GFP or GFP/LacZ cells were used. To assess the local bystander effects of CDUPRT-GDEPT, immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice implanted with cell mixtures of RM1-GFP/CDUPRT and RM1-GFP cells in different proportions intraprostatically were treated with 5FC. Pseudo-metastases in the lungs were established by a tail vein injection of untransfected RM1 cells. At necropsy, prostate weight/volume and lung colony counts were assessed. Tumors, lymph nodes, spleens and lungs were frozen or fixed for immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: CDUPRT expression in RM1-GFP/CDUPRT cells or tumors was confirmed by enzymic conversion of 5FC into 5FU, using HPLC. Treatment of mice bearing intraprostatic RM1-GFP/CDUPRT tumors with 5FC resulted in complete regression of the tumors. A 'local bystander effect' was seen, even though only 20% of the cells expressed CDUPRT. More importantly a significant reduction in pseudo-metastases of RM1 cells in lungs indicated a 'distant bystander effect'. Immunohistochemical evaluation of the treated tumors showed increased necrosis and apoptosis, with decreased tumor vascularity. There was also a significant increase in tumour-infiltration by macrophages, CD4+ T and natural killer cells. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that CDUPRT-GDEPT significantly suppressed the aggressive growth of RM1 prostate tumors and lung pseudo-metastases via immune mechanisms involving necrosis and apoptosis.     

The use of suicide gene systems in vascular cells in vitro

To investigate the efficiency of suicide gene systems on vascular cells,HSV-tk/GCV and EC-CD/5-FC systems were established on vascular endothelial cells in vitro by retroviral transduction.Both modified cell lines were highly sensitive to prodrugs,the IC50 for GCV was less than 0.4 μM,and IC50 for 5-FC was less than 75μM,while the parental endothelial cells were insensitive even at the highest concentrations of prodrugs in this experiment.Mixed cellular assay showed that significant bystander effect was exhibited in modifed endothelial cells,when only 10% or 30% of the mixed cells were tk positive and exposed to 20μM GCV for 6 days.more than 60% or 90% of the wholoe polulation was killed.Similar result was also found in CD positve cells.These results indicated that both HSV-tk/GCV and EC-CD/5-FC systems could efficiently suppress endothelial cell growth in vitro.     

Transfectant mosaic spheroids: a new model for evaluation of tumour cell killing in targeted radiotherapy and experimental gene therapy

Background

We describe an in vitro tumour model for targeted radiotherapy and gene therapy that incorporates cell population heterogeneity.

Materials and methods

Transfectant mosaic spheroids (TMS) and transfected mosaic monolayers (TMM) are composed of two cell populations derived from a single cell line. The cells of one population were transfected with the noradrenaline transporter gene (NAT), allowing active uptake of a radiolabelled targeting agent meta‐[¹³¹I]iodobenzylguanidine ([¹³¹I]MIBG); the other population of cells was derived from the same parent line and transfected with a marker gene – green fluorescent protein (GFP). After treatment with [¹³¹I]MIBG, cell kill was determined in TMM by clonogenic assay and in TMS by clonogenic assay and spheroid growth delay.

Results

We have used the TMS model to assess the ‘radiological bystander effect’ (radiation cross‐fire) conferred by the β‐emitting radiopharmaceutical [¹³¹I] MIBG whose cellular uptake is facilitated by the transfected gene encoding NAT. We show that cell killing by [¹³¹I]MIBG in both TMS and TMM cultures increased in direct proportion to the fraction of NAT‐transfected cells and that the degree of cell killing against fraction transfected was greater in TMS, suggestive of a greater bystander effect in the three‐dimensional culture system.

Conclusions

TMS provide a useful model for assessment of the effectiveness of targeted radiotherapy in combination with gene therapy when less than 100% of the target cell population is expressing the NAT transgene. Further, this novel model offers the unique opportunity to investigate radiation‐induced bystander effects and their contribution to cell cytotoxicity in radiotherapy and other gene therapy applications. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

An efficient targeted radiotherapy/gene therapy strategy utilising human telomerase promoters and radioastatine and harnessing radiation-mediated bystander effects

BACKGROUND: Targeted radiotherapy achieves malignant cell-specific concentration of radiation dosage by tumour-affinic molecules conjugated to radioactive atoms. Combining gene therapy with targeted radiotherapy is attractive because the associated cross-fire irradiation of the latter induces biological bystander effects upon neighbouring cells overcoming low gene transfer efficiency. METHODS: We sought to maximise the tumour specificity and efficacy of noradrenaline transporter (NAT) gene transfer combined with treatment using the radiopharmaceutical meta-[(131)I]iodobenzylguanidine ([(131)I]MIBG). Cell-kill was achieved by treatment with the beta-decay particle emitter [(131)I]MIBG or the alpha-particle emitter [(211)At]MABG. We utilised our novel transfected mosaic spheroid model (TMS) to determine whether this treatment strategy could result in sterilisation of spheroids containing only a small proportion of NAT-expressing cells. RESULTS: The concentrations of [(131)I]MIBG and [(211)At]MABG required to reduce to 0.1% the survival of clonogens derived from the TMS composed of 100% of NAT gene-transfected cells were 1.5 and 0.004 MBq/ml (RSV promoter), 8.5 and 0.0075 MBq/ml (hTR promoter), and 9.0 and 0.008 MBq/ml (hTERT promoter), respectively. The concentrations of radiopharmaceutical required to reduce to 0.1% the survival of clonogens derived from 5% RSV/NAT and 5% hTERT/NAT TMS were 14 and 23 MBq/ml, respectively, for treatment with [(131)I]MIBG and 0.018 and 0.028 MBq/ml, respectively, for treatment with [(211)At]MABG. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the telomerase promoters have the capacity to drive the expression of the NAT. The potency of [(211)At]MABG is approximately three orders of magnitude greater than that of [(131)I]MIBG. Spheroids composed of only 5% of cells expressing NAT under the control of the RSV or hTERT promoter were sterilised by radiopharmaceutical treatment. This observation is indicative of bystander cell-kill.     

基因治疗研究中脂质体介导的基因转移技术

对于脂质体的深入研究特别是阳离子脂质体的研制使其逐步成为重要的基因转移载体之一,并且初步应用于基因治疗研究,同时多种靶向脂质体的研制也为体内靶向基因转移和表达奠定了基础。本文就脂质体的结构、功能、在基因治疗研究中的应用以及各种靶向脂质体的研制进行了介绍。     

The piggyBac transposon is an integrating non-viral gene transfer vector that enhances the efficiency of GDEPT

Gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT) is a strategy developed to selectively target cancer cells. However, the clinical benefit is limited due to its poor gene transfer efficiency. To overcome this obstacle, we took advantage of piggyBac (PB) transposon, a natural non-viral gene vector that can induce stable chromosomal integration and persistent gene expression in vertebrate cells, including human cells. To determine whether the vector can also mediate stable gene expression in ovarian cancer cells, we constructed a PB transposon system that simultaneously expresses the Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene and the monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP1) reporter gene. The recombinant plasmid, pPB/TK, was transfected into ovarian adenocarcinoma cells SKOV3 with FuGENE HD reagent, and the efficiency was given by the percentage of mRFP1-positive cells detected by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The specific expression of HSV-tk in transfected cells was confirmed by RT-PCR and western blotting. The sensitivity of transfected cells to pro-drug ganciclovir (GCV) was determined by methylthiazoletetrazolium (MTT) assay. A total of 56.4 ± 8.4% cells transfected with pPB/TK were mRFP1 positive, compared to no measurable mRFP1 expression in pORF-HSVtk-transfected cells. The expression level of HSV-tk in pPB/TK-transfected cells was ∼10 times higher than in pORF-HSVtk-transfected cells. The results show that pPB/TK transfection increases the sensitivity of cells to GCV in a dose-dependent manner. Our data indicate that the PB transposon system could enhance the anti-tumor efficiency of GDEPT in ovarian cancer.     

Effect of genetic background and culture conditions on the production of herpesvirus-based gene therapy vectors.

Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) represents a unique vehicle for the introduction of foreign DNA to cells of a variety of tissues. The nature of the vector, the cell line used for propagation of the vector, and the culture conditions will significantly impact vector yield. An ideal vector should be deficient in genes essential for replication as well as those that contribute to its cytotoxicity. Advances in the engineering of replication-defective HSV-1 vectors to reduce vector-associated cytotoxicity and attain sustained expression of target genes make HSV-1 an attractive gene-delivery vehicle. However, the yield of the less-cytotoxic vectors produced in standard tissue-culture systems is at least three order of magnitudes lower than that achieved with wild-type virus. The low overall yield and the complexity involved in the preparation of HSV vectors at high concentrations represent major obstacles in use of replication-defective HSV-derived vectors in gene therapy applications. In this work, the dependence of the vector yield on the genetic background of the virus is examined. In addition, we investigated the production of the least toxic, lowest-yield vector in a CellCube bioreactor system. After initial optimization of the operational parameters of the cellcube system, we were able to attain virus yields similar to or better than those values attained using the tissue culture flask system for vector production with significant savings with respect to time, labor, and cost.     

Connexin Over-Expression Differentially Suppresses Glioma Growth and Contributes to the Bystander Effect Following HSV-Thymidine Kinase Gene Therapy

Neoplastic transformation is frequently associated with a loss of gap junctional intercellular communication and reduced expression of connexins. The introduction of connexin genes into tumor cells reverses the proliferative characteristics of such cells. However, there is very little comparative information on the effects of different connexins on cancer cell growth. We hypothesized that Cx26, Cx32, or Cx43 would display differential growth suppression of C6 glioma cells and uniquely modulate the bystander effect following transduction of C6 cells with HSVtk followed by suicide gene therapy. The bystander phenomenon is the death of a greater number of tumor cells than are expressing the HSVtk gene, presumably due to the passage of toxic molecules through gap junction channels. To test this hypothesis, we used retroviral vectors to infect C6 glioma cells producing connexin-expressing and HSVtk-expressing cell lines. All three connexin-expressing cell lines grew significantly slower than GFP-infected or native C6 cells. Cx32 and Cx26 were significantly more effective at mediating the bystander effect in cocultures of C6-connexin cells with C6-HSVtk cells. These studies indicate that connexins have unique properties that contribute to their tumor suppressive function.     

受强力霉素调节的自杀基因表达载体系统的构建和在乳腺癌细胞株(MCF-7)的表达

自杀基因治疗是恶性肿瘤基因治疗中最常用的途径之一,以递转录病毒载体-pRevTRE为基础进行载体构建,首先使用PCR技术对单纯疱疹病毒胸苷激酶基因（HSVtk)进行扩增,将HSVtk基因插入到pRe-vTRE,形成重组载体pRevTRE/HSVtk,用磷酸钙共沉淀法,经过两轮转染,分别将pRevTRE/HSVtk和pRevTet-On质粒导入乳腺癌细胞株（MCF-7）经过潮霉素B（HygromycinB)和G418筛选,建立了一株稳定的受四环素衍生物-强力霉素（Doxycycline,Dox)调控,表达HSVtk基因产物的人乳腺癌细胞株MCF/TRE/tk/Tet-On,HSVtk基因表达产物可以将无毒性的药物前体Ganciclovir(GCV)转变成一种有毒的代谢产物,从而杀死乳腺癌细胞株（MCF-7）,达到基因治疗的目的。     

肿瘤基因治疗的研究进展

基因治疗作为一种新的治疗手段,给许多绝症患者带来希望。基因治疗的范围已从最初的单基因疾病扩展到恶性肿瘤、心脑血管及自身免疫等诸多领域,其中以恶性肿瘤为主要对象。本文综述了肿瘤基因治疗中的基因转移方法、基因治疗策略、导向基因治疗及其在应用上的问题与展望。     

The state of the art of adeno-associated virus-based vectors in gene therapy

Background

Genotyping of HBV is generally used for determining the epidemiological relationship between various virus strains and origin of infection mostly in research studies. The utility of genotyping for clinical applications is only beginning to gain importance. Whether HBV genotyping will constitute part of the clinical evaluation of Hepatitis B patients depends largely on the availability of the relevance of the evidence based information. Since Pakistan has a HBV genotype distribution which has been considered less virulent as investigated by earlier studies from south East Asian countries, a study on correlation between HBV genotypes and risk of progression to further complex hepatic infection was much needed

Methods

A total of 295 patients with HBsAg positive were selected from the Pakistan Medical Research Council's (PMRC) out patient clinics. Two hundred and twenty six (77%) were males, sixty nine (23%) were females (M to F ratio 3.3:1).

Results

Out of 295 patients, 156 (53.2%) had Acute(CAH), 71 (24.2%) were HBV Carriers, 54 (18.4%) had Chronic liver disease (CLD) Hepatitis. 14 (4.7%) were Cirrhosis and HCC patients. Genotype D was the most prevalent genotype in all categories of HBV patients, Acute (108), Chronic (39), and Carrier (53). Cirrhosis/HCC (7) were HBV/D positive. Genotype A was the second most prevalent with 28 (13%) in acute cases, 12 (22.2%) in chronics, 14 (19.7%) in carriers and 5 (41.7) in Cirrhosis/HCC patients. Mixed genotype (A/D) was found in 20 (12.8%) of Acute patients, 3 (5.6%) of Chronic and 4 (5.6%) of carriers, none in case of severe liver conditions.

Conclusion

Mixed HBV genotypes A, D and A/D combination were present in all categories of patients except that no A/D combination was detected in severe conditions. Genotype D was the dominant genotype. However, genotype A was found to be more strongly associated with severe liver disease. Mixed genotype (A/D) did not significantly appear to influence the clinical outcome.     

Implication of functional activity for determining therapeutic efficacy of suicide genes in vitro

Gene-Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy (GDEPT), commonly known as suicide gene therapy, provides a selective approach to eradicate tumor cells that is currently considered as an alternate approach to conventional therapy for cancers due to its high efficacy. Herein, we have demonstrated functional activity of the cytosine deaminase (CD) and the hybrid cytosine deaminase-uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (CD-UPRT) suicide genes in transfected cell lines. We have monitored retention profiles of various metabolites that were formed during enzymatic conversion of the prodrug 5-flurocytosine (5-FC) using reverse phase HPLC method. Therapeutic effect of suicide genes was established by cell viability and toxicity assay, whereas apoptotic induction was confirmed by DNA fragmentation ELISA. Our results demonstrated that 5-FC/CD-UPRT-mediated apoptotic cell death was more than 5-FC/CD, which could be further potentiated with anticancer compound curcumin. Such results corroborated 5-FC/CD-UPRT in combination with curcumin as a better chemosensitization method.