Regulation of cellular immune responses by selenium

Selenium (Se) is an essential nutritional factor that affects the development and expression of cell-mediated immune responses directed toward malignant cells. These studies have shown that dietary (2 ppm for 8 wk) or in in vitro (1×10⁻⁷ M) supplementation with Se (as sodium selenite) results in a significant enhancement of the proliferative responses of spleen lymphocytes from C57B1/6J mice in response to stimulation with mitogen or antigen. Se deficiency (0.02 ppm for 8 wk) had the opposite effect. The alterations in the ability of the cells to proliferate, which occurred in the absence of changes in the endogenous levels of interleukin-2 (II₂) or interleukin 1, were apparently related to the ability of Se to alter the kinetics of expression of high-affinity Il₂ receptors on the surface of activated lymphocytes. This resulted in an enhanced or delayed clonal expansion of the cells, and in an increased or decreased frequency of cytotoxic cells within a given cell population. The changes in tumor cytotoxicity were paralleled by changes in the amounts of lymphotoxin produced by the activated cells. Dietary Se modulations had a comparable effect on macrophage-mediated tumor cytodestruction. The results also suggested that Se exerts its effect 8–24 h after stimulation, and that it most likely affects processes in the cytoplasmic and/or nuclear compartments of activated lymphocytes.     

Inhibition of HCV Replication in HCV Replicon by shRNAs

We show that the vector-derived long dsRNA specifically inhibits the replication of HCV RNA in HCV replicon. We designed a long dsRNA targeted to the full-length HCV IRES/core elements (1-to 377-nt). Our results revealed that the replication of HCV RNA was reduced to near background levels in a sequence-specific manner by the long dsRNAs in the HCV replicon. We also designed four shRNAs against several regions (120- to 139-nt, 260- to 279-nt, 330- to 349-nt, and 340- to 359-nt) of the HCV IRES/Core elements. The two HCV IRES/core-specific shRNAs, 330- to 349-nt and 340- to 359-nt, containing the AUG initiation codon sequence showed stronger HCV inhibitory effects than the other two shRNAs, 120- to 139-nt and 260- to 279-nt.     

Reflections on the inhibition of RNAi by cell death signaling

Mutations and most transgenes that induce ectopic cell death in Drosophila will produce an inhibitory effect on RNA interference (RNAi) in adjacent cells. When extensive cell death is sporadically induced using a heat shock promoted-head involution defective (hs-hid) transgene, molecular attributes of this inhibition can be studied. For a Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) RNAi construct, cell death causes a greater accumulation of the mature mRNA and the double stranded RNA with an accompanying reduction in the homologous siRNAs. Endogenous transposable element expression is increased and there is an overall reduction in their corresponding siRNAs. The implications of this finding for the conduct of RNAi and potential reasons for its existence are discussed.     

Functional and intracellular localization properties of U6 promoter-expressed siRNAs, shRNAs, and chimeric VA1 shRNAs in mammalian cells

RNA polymerase III (Pol III) expression systems for short hairpin RNAs (U6 shRNAs or chimeric VA1 shRNAs) or individually expressed sense/antisense small interfering RNA (siRNA) strands have been used to trigger RNA interference (RNAi) in mammalian cells. Here we show that individually expressed siRNA expression constructs produce 21-nucleotide siRNAs that strongly accumulate as duplex siRNAs in the nucleus of human cells, exerting sequence-specific silencing activity similar to cytoplasmic siRNAs derived from U6 or VA1-expressed hairpin precursors. In contrast, 29-mer siRNAs separately expressed as sense/antisense strands fail to elicit RNAi activity, despite accumulation of these RNAs in the nucleus. Our findings delineate different intracellular accumulation patterns for the three expression strategies and suggest the possibility of a nuclear RNAi pathway that requires 21-mer duplexes.     

靶向糖基转移酶shRNA表达质粒对LoVo细胞侵袭和增殖能力的抑制作用

通过构建针对Ｎ-乙酰氨基葡萄糖转移酶Ⅴ(GnT-Ⅴ)的小片段发夹状RNA(shRNA)干扰表达质粒,研究了shRNA表达质粒沉默GnT-Ⅴ基因后对LoVo细胞增殖、黏附以及迁移、侵袭能力的影响．设计了靶向GnT-Ⅴ基因的小干扰RNA(siRNA)靶序列,构建shRNA表达载体并转染人结肠癌LoVo细胞,通过G418筛选建立稳定低表达GnT-Ⅴ基因的细胞株．分别采用半定量逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)和蛋白质印迹(Western blot)检测shRNA对GnT-Ⅴ基因mRNA及蛋白质表达的影响．并通过CCK-8增殖实验、异质黏附实验、划痕愈合实验、趋化运动实验、细胞侵袭实验评价pGPU6/GFP/Neo GnT-Ⅴ shRNA对人结肠癌LoVo细胞增殖、黏附以及迁移、侵袭能力的影响．实验成功地构建了GnT-Ⅴ shRNA表达质粒,并且该质粒明显下调GnT-Ⅴ的表达,LoVo GnT-Ⅴ/1564和LoVo GnT-Ⅴ/2224的mRNA水平的抑制率分别为82%和71.5%,蛋白质水平的抑制率分别为68%和56%．选择干扰效率较高的LoVo GnT-Ⅴ/1564进行进一步实验．CCK-8增殖实验显示,与阴性对照组相比,LoVo GnT-Ⅴ/1564的增殖受到明显抑制(P < 0.001),尤以72 h为著;下调GnT-Ⅴ表达可增强LoVo细胞的黏附能力( t = -3.357,P < 0.01),而显著抑制LoVo细胞的趋化运动能力( t = 44.051,P < 0.001);划痕实验结果也显示抑制GnT-Ⅴ表达延长LoVo细胞的愈合时间;用Matrigel胶介导的细胞侵袭实验结果显示,LoVo GnT-Ⅴ/1564和LoVo GnT-Ⅴ/NC的穿膜细胞数分别为(5.10 ± 1.25)个和(39.55 ± 2.16)个,GnT-Ⅴ/1564组较阴性对照组明显减少( t = 61.626,P < 0.001)．结果表明,靶向GnT-Ⅴ的shRNA真核表达质粒可以显著降低GnT-Ⅴ的表达,从而抑制LoVo细胞的增殖、迁移和侵袭能力,因此,该GnT-Ⅴ的siRNA序列可能成为治疗结直肠癌的有效靶点．     

Minimizing variables among hairpin-based RNAi vectors reveals the potency of shRNAs

RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular process regulating gene expression and participating in innate defense in many organisms. RNAi has also been utilized as a tool to query gene function and is being developed as a therapeutic strategy for several diseases. Synthetic small interfering (siRNAs) or expressed stem–loop RNAs (short-hairpin RNAs [shRNAs] or artificial microRNAs [miRNAs]) have been delivered to cultured cells and organisms to inhibit expression of a variety of genes. A persistent question in the field, however, is which RNAi expression system is most suitable for distinct applications. To date, shRNA- and artificial miRNA-based strategies have been compared with conflicting results. In prior comparisons, sequences required for efficient RNAi processing and loading of the intended antisense strand into the RNAi-induced silencing complex (RISC) were not considered. We therefore revisited the shRNA–miRNA comparison question. Initially, we developed an improved artificial miRNA vector and confirmed the optimal shRNA configuration by altering structural features of these RNAi substrates. Subsequently, we engineered and compared shRNA- and miRNA-based RNAi expression vectors that would be processed to yield similar siRNAs that exhibit comparable strand biasing. Our results demonstrate that when comparison variables are minimized, the shRNAs tested were more potent than the artificial miRNAs in mediating gene silencing independent of target sequence and experimental setting (in vitro and in vivo). In addition, we show that shRNAs are expressed at considerably higher levels relative to artificial miRNAs, thus providing mechanistic insight to explain their increased potency.     

Titers of lentiviral vectors encoding shRNAs and miRNAs are reduced by different mechanisms that require distinct repair strategies

RNAi-based gene therapy is a powerful approach to treat viral infections because of its high efficiency and sequence specificity. The HIV-1-based lentiviral vector system is suitable for the delivery of RNAi inducers to HIV-1 susceptible cells due to its ability to transduce nondividing cells, including hematopoietic stem cells, and its ability for stable transgene delivery into the host cell genome. However, the presence of anti-HIV short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and microRNA (miRNA) cassettes can negatively affect the lentiviral vector titers. We show that shRNAs, which target the vector genomic RNA, strongly reduced lentiviral vector titers but inhibition of the RNAi pathway via saturation could rescue vector production. The presence of miRNAs in the vector RNA genome (sense orientation) results in a minor titer reduction due to Drosha processing. A major cause for titer reduction of miRNA vectors is due to incompatibility of the cytomegalovirus promoter with the lentiviral vector system. Replacement of this promoter with an inducible promoter resulted in an almost complete restoration of the vector titer. We also showed that antisense poly(A) signal sequences can have a dramatic effect on the vector titer. These results show that not all sequences are compatible with the lentiviral vector system and that care should be taken in the design of lentiviral vectors encoding RNAi inducers.     

Differential responses of cellular immunity in patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery for carcinoma of the oesophagus

Background  To compare immune responses following neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy in combination with hyperthermia plus surgery to those induced by surgery alone in patients with oesophageal cancer. Methods  Thirty-two patients with histopathologically proven oesophageal cancer, scheduled for potentially curative transhiatal or transthoracic oesophagectomy with (neo, n = 20) or without (control, n = 12) neoadjuvant thermochemoradiation therapy (ThCR) were included. Peripheral blood samples were obtained before ThCR, after 2 weeks of ThCR, 1 day before surgery, on postoperative days 1, 3, 7, and 6 weeks after surgery, for white blood cell counts, lymphocyte subsets and T helper type 1 (Th1) and type 2 (Th2) lymphocyte responses. Results  Neo patients showed a significant decrease in granulocytes and lymphocyte subsets, and T cell cytokines after 2 weeks of ThCR. Only CD8+ (cytotoxic) T cells recovered after ThCR to reach normal levels prior to surgery. In contrast, CD4+ T (helper) cells, and NK- and B cells in neo patients did not recover prior to surgery (all P < 0.05). Oesophagectomy induced a significant increase in granulocytes and a decrease in lymphocytes (and subsets). Only those subsets that had not recovered after ThCR (CD4+ T cells, NK and B cells but not CD8+ T cells), were significantly lower (all P < 0.05) during the entire postoperative study period. Postoperatively, the stimulated cytokine production capacity of Th1 and Th2 cells, corrected for number of T cells, was not significantly different between the groups. Conclusion  Neoadjuvant thermochemoradiation for oesophageal cancer caused significant disturbances of host cellular immunity with reduced T, NK and B cell counts, and differential recovery of cytotoxic and helper T cells leading to prolonged T cell imbalance that extends beyond the time of surgery. The functional and anti-tumour consequences of this immunodisturbance need further investigation, as recovery of T helper cytokine production towards surgery was less impaired than T helper cell counts.     

RNAi 介导的组织因子基因沉默抑制裸鼠移植性结肠癌的生长

组织因子(tissue factor,TF) 是机体外源性凝血途径的启动因子,发挥生理性止血的重要作用.近来研究表明,TF 除凝血功能外尚与多种恶性肿瘤的血管生成,侵袭转移及预后密切相关.为探讨 TF 对人结肠癌细胞（LoVo 细胞）生长能力的影响,构建带有 TFsiRNA 的重组腺病毒Ad pTF 和不带有 TFsiRNA 的对照病毒 Ad pDC,分别感染 LoVo 细胞,采用RT PCR 和 Western 免疫印迹法检测被感染 LoVo 细胞的 TF mRNA 和蛋白表达水平,并通过体内成瘤实验,进一步分析对 LoVo 细胞生长能力的影响.结果显示,与感染 Ad pDC 的 LoVo 细胞相比,感染 Ad pTF 的 LoVo 细胞的 TF mRNA 和蛋白表达水平更低,皮下种植瘤的体积更小,局部侵袭范围也更局限.研究表明,腺病毒介导的 RNAi 能特异而有效地沉默 LoVo 细胞中 TF 基因的表达,进而抑制 LoVo 细胞体内种植瘤的生长侵袭能力.     

Identification of immunogenic cell death-associated subtypes and characterization of the tumor microenvironment in endometrial cancer

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is one of the mechanisms regulating cell death, which activates adaptive immunity in immunocompetent hosts and is associated with tumor progression, prognosis and therapeutic response. Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common malignancies of the female genital tract, and the potential role of immunogenic cell death-related genes (IRGs) in the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains unclear. We describe the variation of IRGs and assess the expression patterns in EC samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus cohorts. Based on the expression of 34 IRGs, we identified two different ICD-related clusters and subsequently differentially expressed genes between the two ICD-related clusters were used for the identification of two ICD gene clusters. We identified the clusters and found that alterations in the multilayer IRG were associated with patient prognosis and TME cell infiltration characteristics. On this basis, ICD score risk scores were calculated, and ICD signatures were constructed and validated for their predictive power in EC patients. To help clinicians better apply the ICD signature, an accurate nomogram was constructed. The low ICD risk group was characterized by high microsatellite instability, high tumor mutational load, high IPS score and stronger immune activation. Our comprehensive analysis of IRGs in EC patients suggested a potential role in the tumor immune interstitial microenvironment, clinicopathological features and prognosis. These findings may improve our understanding of the role of ICDs, and provide a new basis for assessing prognosis and developing more effective immunotherapeutic strategies in EC.     

Comparison of cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses against pancreatic cancer induced by dendritic cells transfected with total tumor RNA and fusion hybrided with tumor cell

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a deadly human malignancy. Dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy with whole tumor antigens demonstrates potential efficiency in cancer treatment. Tumor RNA and tumor fusion hybrid cells are sources of whole tumor antigens for preparing DC tumor vaccines. However, the efficacy of these sources in eliciting immune responses against PC has not yet to be directly compared. In the present study, patient-derived PC cells and DCs were fused (DC–tumor hybrids) and primary cultured PC cell-derived total RNA was electroporated into autologous DCs (DC–tumor RNA). The antitumor immune responses induced by DC–tumor hybrids and DC–tumor RNA were compared directly. The results showed that both RNA and hybrid methodologies could induce tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses, but pulsing DCs with total tumor RNA could induce a higher frequency of activated CTLs and T-helper cells than fusing DCs with autologous tumor cells. In addition, DC–tumor RNA triggered stronger autologous tumor cell lysis than DC–tumor hybrids. It could be concluded that DCs pulsed with whole tumor RNA are superior to those fused with tumor cells in priming anti-PC CTL responses. Electroporation with total tumor RNA may be more suitable for DC-based PC vaccination.     

Suppressors of the vestigial mutant phenotype increase the level of expression of the gene

Suppressor genes of the vestigial phenotype have been isolated in a wild-type population. These suppressors have an effect on different wing mutants and are allele-specific in the case of vestigial . In a vg^BG background they produced overgrowth of the imaginal wing disc. They also induce cell death in the wild-type strain and alter the distribution of cell death in the mutant strain. Expression of vestigial is increased in the wing disc only. Hypotheses formed to determine the nature of these suppressors are in favor of a direct interaction between these genes and vestigial .     

ISL2 is a putative tumor suppressor whose epigenetic silencing reprograms the metabolism of pancreatic cancer

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Real-time QCM-D monitoring of cellular responses to different cytomorphic agents

Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) is used for real-time in situ detection of cytoskeletal changes in live primary endothelial cells in response to different cytomorphic agents; namely, the surfactant Triton-X 100 (TX-100) and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Reproducible dissipation versus frequency (Df) plots provide unique signatures of the interactions between endothelial cells and cytomorphic agents. While the QCM-D response for TX-100 can be described in two steps (changes in the osmotic pressure of the medium prior to observing the expected cell lysis), LPS results in a different single-phase signal. A complementary analysis is carried out to evaluate the possible competitive effects of TX-100 and LPS through the QCM-D response to BAEC stress by analyzing the Df plots obtained. Experiments with non-toxic components (fibronectin or serum) produce a different QCM-D response than that observed for the toxic chemicals, suggesting the use of Df plot signatures for the possible differentiation between cytotoxic or non-cytotoxic effects. Observations obtained by QCM-D signals are confirmed by conducting fluorescence microscopy at the same time. Our results show that a fast (few minutes) sensing response can be obtained in situ and in real-time. The conclusions from this study suggest that QCM-D can potentially be used in biodetection for applications in drug screening tests and diagnosis.