The blasticidin S resistance gene (bsr) selectable in a single copy state in the Bacillus subtilis chromosome

The blasticidin S resistance gene (bsr), originally isolated from Bacillus cereus, was studied in Bacillus subtilis. It was found that a 617 bp fragment including the intact bsr gene and its 5' flanking region could confer BS resistance on B. subtilis when integrated in its chromosome, even in a single copy state. The construction of a bsr gene cassette and its practical application as a novel selection marker for B. subtilis are reported.     

Blasticidin S-resistance gene (bsr): a novel selectable marker for mammalian cells.

Blasticidin S is a microbial antibiotic that inhibits protein synthesis in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The blasticidin S-resistance gene (bsr), isolated from Bacillus cereus K55-S1 strain, was inserted into pSV2 plasmid vector and introduced into cultured mammalian cells by transfection. The bsr gene was integrated into the genome and conferred blasticidin S resistance on HeLa cells. The transfection frequency of the bsr gene was as high as that of the aminoglycoside phosphotransferase gene, the so-called neo gene, which is a representative selectable marker for mammalian cells. Transfectants in which several copies of bsr had been integrated into the genome were highly resistant to blasticidin S. Furthermore, blasticidin S killed the cells more rapidly than G418, which is conventionally used as a selective drug for the neo gene. Thus bsr is concluded to be useful as a drug-resistance marker for mammalian cells.     

Over expression of the selectable marker blasticidin S deaminase gene is toxic to human keratinocytes and murine BALB/MK cells

Background  

The blasticidin S resistance gene (bsr) is a selectable marker used for gene transfer experiments. The bsr gene encodes for blasticidin S (BS) deaminase, which has a specific activity upon BS. Therefore, its expression is supposed to be harmless in cells. The work reported on herein consisted of experiments to verify a possible toxicity of bsr on mammalian cells, which include several cell lines and primary cultures.     

稻瘟净（Blasticidin S）脱氨酶基因的克隆

从一株抗稻瘟净（ＢＳ）的Ａｓｐｅｒｇｉｌｌｕｓ ｔｅｒｒｅｕｓ菌中克隆到一个ｂｌａｓｔｉｅｉｄｉｎＳ脱氨酶基因,命名为ｂｓｒＡＳ。ＤＮＡ序列分析表明ｂｓｒＡＳ不含内含子。编码区长３９０ｂｐ,编码１３０个氨基酸。将ｂｓｒＡＳ转化到稻瘟菌中,能使受体菌表达出ＢＳ脱氨酶的活性,从而产生抗药性。该基因可作为抗药标记基因使用,建立稻瘟菌的基因转化系统。     

Expression of the selectable marker gene bsrm in BALB/MK cells induces apoptosis by overproduction of hydrogen peroxide.

Transduction of the retroviral vector LBmSN, which expresses the blasticidin S resistance gene bsrm in the murine keratinocyte cell line BALB/MK, induces death in these cells. Cell death is caused by a factor called DOKEB (death factor obtained from keratinocytes expressing bsrm), which is released before the cells' death. In this report we describe and discuss the purification and characterization of DOKEB. Our results were as follows. (i) The 5-day-old medium from the modified BALB/MK cells with LBmSN was used for purification and characterization by filtration and chromatography: DOKEB was a stable and highly hydrophilic compound, with a molecular mass less than that of 1 amino acid. (ii) The conditioned medium containing DOKEB was reactive against thiobarbituric acid and dichlorofluorescein diacetate. (iii) DOKEB activity was neutralized by the incubation of the conditioned medium with catalase. Therefore, our conclusion is that the BALB/MK cells expressing bsrm produce a large amount of hydrogen peroxide, which catalyzes the process of apoptosis of those cells.     

Lentiviral and MLV based retroviral vectors for ex vivo and in vivo gene transfer

Retroviral vectors have become an important tool for gene transfer in vitro and in vivo. Classical Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) based retroviral vectors have been used for over 20 years to transfer genes into dividing cells. Cell lines for production of retroviral vectors have become commonly available and modifications in retroviral vector design and use of envelope proteins have made the production of high titer, helper-free, infectious virus stocks relatively easy. More recently, lentiviral vectors, another class of retroviruses, have been modified for in vitro and in vivo gene transfer. The ability of lentiviral vectors to transduce non-dividing cells has made them especially attractive for in vivo gene transfer into differentiated, non-dividing tissues. Several improvements in helper plasmids and vectors have made lentivirus a safe vector system for ex vivo and in vivo gene transfer. This review will briefly summarize the background of these vector systems and provide some common protocols available for the preparation of MLV based retroviral vectors and HIV-1 based lentiviral vectors.     

A new transformation system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with blasticidin S deaminase gene

A new method for transformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that allows selection was developed. As the frequency of spontaneous blasticidin S resistant mutants from diploid type yeast strain (X-2180AB) was 5.2×10^–6, which was a thousandfold less than that from haploid type yeast strain (X-2180B), it was considered that the mechanism of spontaneous blasticidin S resistant mutations was related to recessive gene. Industrial yeasts, which were diploid, were transformed with blasticidin S deaminase gene from Aspergillus terreus to blasticidin S resistance. Expression of blasticidin S deaminase gene allowed selection of transformants from industrial yeasts.     

Cloning of the blasticidin S deaminase gene (BSD) from Aspergillus terreus and its use as a selectable marker for Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Pyricularia oryzae

Aspergillus terreus produces a unique enzyme, blasticidin S deaminase, which catalyzes the deamination of blasticidin S (BS), and in consequence confers high resistance to the antibiotic. A cDNA clone derived from the structural gene for BS deaminase (BSD) was isolated by transforming Escherichia coli with an Aspergillus cDNA expression library and directly selecting for the ability to grow in the presence of the antibiotic. The complete nucleotide sequene of BSD was determined and proved to contain an open reading frame of 393 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 130 amino acids. Comparison of its nulceotide sequence with that of bsr, the BS deaminase gene isolated from Bacillus cereus, indicated no homology and a large difference in codon usage. The activity of BSD expressed in E. coli was easily quantified by an assay based on spectrophotometric recording. The BSD gene was placed in a shuttle vector for Schizosaccharomyces pombe, downstream of the SV40 early region promoter, and this allowed direct selection with BS at high frequency, following transformation into the yeast. The BSD gene was also employed as a selectable marker for Pyricularia oryzae, which could not be transformed to BS resistance by bsr. These results promise that the BSD gene will be useful as a new dominant selectable marker for eukaryotes.     

Stem Cell Selection In Vivo Using Foamy Vectors Cures Canine Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency

Background

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy has cured immunodeficiencies including X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1) and adenine deaminase deficiency (ADA). For these immunodeficiencies corrected cells have a selective advantage in vivo, and low numbers of gene-modified cells are sufficient to provide therapeutic benefit. Strategies to efficiently transduce and/or expand long-term repopulating cells in vivo are needed for treatment of diseases that require higher levels of corrected cells, such as hemoglobinopathies. Here we expanded corrected stem cells in vivo in a canine model of a severe erythroid disease, pyruvate kinase deficiency.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We used a foamy virus (FV) vector expressing the P140K mutant of methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMTP140K) for in vivo expansion of corrected hematopoietic repopulating cells. FV vectors are attractive gene transfer vectors for hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy since they efficiently transduce repopulating cells and may be safer than more commonly used gammaretroviral vectors. Following transplantation with HSCs transduced ex vivo using a tri-cistronic FV vector that expressed EGFP, R-type pyruvate kinase, and MGMTP140K, we were able to increase marking from approximately 3.5% to 33% in myeloid long-term repopulating cells resulting in a functional cure.

Conclusions/Significance

Here we describe in one affected dog a functional cure for a severe erythroid disease using stem cell selection in vivo. In addition to providing a potential cure for patients with pyruvate kinase deficiency, in vivo selection using foamy vectors with MGMTP140K has broad potential for several hematopoietic diseases including hemoglobinopathies.     

Green marker for colonies of Bacillus subtilis

A Bacillus subtilis plasmid encoding a green fluorescence protein gene (gfp) was constructed. The fluorescence of B. subtilis colonies having this plasmid on agar plates was so high that they could be readily discerned visually under UV light. The fluorescence could be effectively expressed in three ways (i) through use of a strong bsr promoter (blasticidin S resistance gene), (ii) by efficient translation with the bsr translation system, and (iii) through increase in the copy number per cell. The high stability of the GFP plasmid was demonstrated by using more complicated growth conditions without any antibiotic for selection.     

Cloning of the blasticidin S deaminase gene (BSD) from Aspergillus terreus and its use as a selectable marker for Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Pyricularia oryzae

Aspergillus terreus produces a unique enzyme, blasticidin S deaminase, which catalyzes the deamination of blasticidin S (BS), and in consequence confers high resistance to the antibiotic. A cDNA clone derived from the structural gene for BS deaminase (BSD) was isolated by transforming Escherichia coli with an Aspergillus cDNA expression library and directly selecting for the ability to grow in the presence of the antibiotic. The complete nucleotide sequene of BSD was determined and proved to contain an open reading frame of 393 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 130 amino acids. Comparison of its nulceotide sequence with that of bsr, the BS deaminase gene isolated from Bacillus cereus, indicated no homology and a large difference in codon usage. The activity of BSD expressed in E. coli was easily quantified by an assay based on spectrophotometric recording. The BSD gene was placed in a shuttle vector for Schizosaccharomyces pombe, downstream of the SV40 early region promoter, and this allowed direct selection with BS at high frequency, following transformation into the yeast. The BSD gene was also employed as a selectable marker for Pyricularia oryzae, which could not be transformed to BS resistance by bsr. These results promise that the BSD gene will be useful as a new dominant selectable marker for eukaryotes.     

In Vivo Assessment of Gene Delivery to Keratinocytes by Lentiviral Vectors

For skin gene therapy, introduction of a desired gene into keratinocyte progenitor or stem cells could overcome the problem of achieving persistent gene expression in a significant percentage of keratinocytes. Although keratinocyte stem cells have not yet been completely characterized and purified for gene targeting purposes, lentiviral vectors may be superior to retroviral vectors at gene introduction into these stem cells, which are believed to divide and cycle slowly. Our initial in vitro studies demonstrate that lentiviral vectors are able to efficiently transduce nondividing keratinocytes, unlike retroviral vectors, and do not require the lentiviral accessory genes for keratinocyte transduction. When lentiviral vectors expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) were directly injected into the dermis of human skin grafted onto immunocompromised mice, transduction of dividing basal and nondividing suprabasal keratinocytes could be demonstrated, which was not the case when control retroviral vectors were used. However, flow cytometry analysis demonstrated low transduction efficiency, and histological analysis at later time points provided no evidence for progenitor cell targeting. In an alternative in vivo method, human keratinocytes were transduced in tissue culture (ex vivo) with either lentiviral or retroviral vectors and grafted as skin equivalents onto immunocompromised mice. GFP expression was analyzed in these human skin grafts after several cycles of epidermal turnover, and both the lentiviral and retroviral vector-transduced grafts had similar percentages of GFP-expressing keratinocytes. This ex vivo grafting study provides a good in vivo assessment of gene introduction into progenitor cells and suggests that lentiviral vectors are not necessarily superior to retroviral vectors at introducing genes into keratinocyte progenitor cells during in vitro culture.     

Expression of the blasticidin S deaminase gene (bsr) in tobacco: Fungicide tolerance and a new selective marker for transgenic plants

Summary Blasticidin S (BS), a fungicide of microbial origin, is used for the practical control of rice blast disease. It has broad antimicrobial activity but occasionally exhibits adverse phytotoxic effects on some dicot plants. An inactivating enzyme, BS deaminase, was discovered in the BS resistant strain, Bacillus cereus K55-S1, and the structural gene, bsr, for the enzyme has been cloned. We introduced the bsr gene into tobacco plants using the Ti plasmid vector system and demonstrated that the bsr gene conferred a BS resistant phenotype to the plants. Thus the bsr gene could be useful as a selective marker for plant transformation and provides an example for a new approach to the solution of phytotoxicity problems associated with the use of some types of fungicide.     

Blasticidin S Deaminase Gene (BSD): a New Selection Marker Gene for Transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum

Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tahacum were transformed to blasticidin S (BS) resistance with BSD (the BS deaminase gene from Aspergillus terreus) using the Agrohacterium-mediated transformation method. Expression of BSD allowed direct selection of transformants by the fungicide, and both kinds of transgenic plants showed high level of resistance phenotype at 100 ppm of BS sprayed on the leaves. Using Botrytis cinerea, the causal fungus of gray mold disease, it was exemplified that application of BS could control the disease in transgenic tobacco with negligible phytotoxicity.     

Modifying the host range properties of retroviral vectors

Gene therapy protocols would be greatly facilitated by the availability of targetable injectable vectors which could deliver genes in vivo to specific target cells or to specific disease sites. Efforts to develop such retroviral vectors are therefore a high priority in gene therapy research. In this review, we describe the current state of our understanding of the structure and function of the retroviral envelope glycoprotein complex. We then discuss the results of the various strategies that have been devised to modify the host range of the retroviral envelope glycoproteins with a view to achieving retroviral vectors capable of delivering their genes in a highly specific manner to selected human target cells. The strengths and limitations of these strategies are examined.     

Modular bacterial artificial chromosome vectors for transfer of large inserts into mammalian cells

To facilitate the use of large-insert bacterial clones for functional analysis, we have constructed new bacterial artificial chromosome vectors, pPAC4 and pBACe4. These vectors contain two genetic elements that enable stable maintenance of the clones in mammalian cells: (1) The Epstein-Barr virus replicon, oriP, is included to ensure stable episomal propagation of the large insert clones upon transfection into mammalian cells. (2) The blasticidin deaminase gene is placed in a eukaryotic expression cassette to enable selection for the desired mammalian clones by using the nucleoside antibiotic blasticidin. Sequences important to select for loxP-specific genome targeting in mammalian chromosomes are also present. In addition, we demonstrate that the attTn7 sequence present on the vectors permits specific addition of selected features to the library clones. Unique sites have also been included in the vector to enable linearization of the large-insert clones, e. g., for optical mapping studies. The pPAC4 vector has been used to generate libraries from the human, mouse, and rat genomes. We believe that clones from these libraries would serve as an important reagent in functional experiments, including the identification or validation of candidate disease genes, by transferring a particular clone containing the relevant wildtype gene into mutant cells or transgenic or knock-out animals.     

Use and comparison of different internal ribosomal entry sites (IRES) in tricistronic retroviral vectors

Background  

Polycistronic retroviral vectors that contain several therapeutic genes linked via internal ribosome entry sites (IRES), provide new and effective tools for the co-expression of exogenous cDNAs in clinical gene therapy protocols. For example, tricistronic retroviral vectors could be used to genetically modify antigen presenting cells, enabling them to express different co-stimulatory molecules known to enhance tumor cell immunogenicity.     

Cytotoxic effect of co-expression of human hepatitis A virus 3C protease and bifunctional suicide protein FCU1 genes in a bicistronic vector

Recent reports on various cancer models demonstrate a great potential of cytosine deaminase/5-fluorocytosine suicide system in cancer therapy. However, this approach has limited success and its application to patients has not reached the desirable clinical significance. Accordingly, the improvement of this suicide system is an actively developing trend in gene therapy. The purpose of this study was to explore the cytotoxic effect observed after co-expression of hepatitis A virus 3C protease (3C) and yeast cytosine deaminase/uracil phosphoribosyltransferase fusion protein (FCU1) in a bicistronic vector. A set of mono- and bicistronic plasmid constructs was generated to provide individual or combined expression of 3C and FCU1. The constructs were introduced into HEK293 and HeLa cells, and target protein synthesis as well as the effect of 5-fluorocytosine on cell death and the time course of the cytotoxic effect was studied. The obtained vectors provide for the synthesis of target proteins in human cells. The expression of the genes in a bicistronic construct provide for the cytotoxic effect comparable to that observed after the expression of genes in monocistronic constructs. At the same time, co-expression of FCU1 and 3C recapitulated their cytotoxic effects. The combined effect of the killer and suicide genes was studied for the first time on human cells in vitro. The integration of different gene therapy systems inducing cell death (FCU1 and 3C genes) in a bicistronic construct allowed us to demonstrate that it does not interfere with the cytotoxic effect of each of them. A combination of cytotoxic genes in multicistronic vectors can be used to develop pluripotent gene therapy agents.