壳聚糖作为基因药物载体的研究进展

以壳聚糖及其衍生物作为基因的载体的转染效率受到许多因素的影响, 如复合物粒子大小、壳聚糖/DNA的比值、壳聚糖的分子量、脱乙酰度、转染过程中血清的浓度、介质的pH值等。对壳聚糖进行一定程度的修饰, 可以改变壳聚糖的转染效率。介绍了壳聚糖作为基因转移载体的转染条件, 转染效率和转染机制的研究情况及研究进展。     

Development of Novel Biodegradable Polymeric Nanoparticles-in-Microsphere Formulation for Local Plasmid DNA Delivery in the Gastrointestinal Tract

There is a critical need for development of novel delivery systems to facilitate the translation of nucleic acid-based macromolecules into clinically-viable therapies. The aim of this investigation was to develop and evaluate a novel nanoparticles-in-microsphere oral system (NiMOS) for gene delivery and transfection in specific regions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Plasmid DNA, encoding for the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP-N1), was encapsulated in type B gelatin nanoparticles. NiMOS were prepared by further protecting the DNA-loaded nanoparticles in a poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) matrix to form microspheres of less than 5.0 μm in diameter. In order to evaluate the biodistribution following oral administration, radiolabeled (¹¹¹In-labeled) gelatin nanoparticles and NiMOS were administered orally to fasted Balb/C mice. The results of biodistribution studies showed that, while gelatin nanoparticles traversed through the GI tract fairly quickly with more than 54% of the administered dose per gram localizing in the large intestine at the end of 2 h, NiMOS resided in the stomach and small intestine for relatively longer duration. Following oral administration of EGFP-N1 plasmid DNA at 100 μg dose in the control and test formulations, the quantitative and qualitative results presented in this study provide the necessary evidence for transfection potential of NiMOS upon oral administration. After 5 days post-administration, transgene expression in the small and large intestine of mice was observed. Based on these results, NiMOS show significant potential as novel gene delivery vehicle for therapeutic and vaccination purposes.     

纳米基因转运体——原理、研制与应用

基因转移是基因治疗的关键技术,一直以来也是制约基因治疗成功开展的瓶颈问题.随着纳米技术的发展,纳米基因转运体的研制获得了积极发展,其系统内和细胞内基因转移机理得到了深入阐明.设计与研制在体内循环时间长、具有靶特异性的纳米转运体为突破基因转移瓶颈,实现安全、高效和靶向性基因治疗带来了新的希望.     

一种新的非病毒基因转移载体及其体外细胞转染活性研究

目的：用低分子量的聚乙亚胺(PEI)有效地进行基因转染,为基因转染在基因治疗中的应用提供一种可靠、廉价、高效的方法。方法：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,用肝癌细胞系SMMC7721实验,研究PEI分子量与转染活性以及可能引起的细胞毒性之间的关系;进一步研究在血清存在的情况下,PEG(聚乙二醇8000)、叶酸等物质对PEI介导的转染效率的影响。结果：分子量为600Da的PEI在pH值为6．0时与质粒DNA以1：1的质量比混合,细胞转染效率最高为43．6 /-7．3％,随着分子量的增大,转染活性略有下降;进一步研究发现,在血清存在下,20μM的叶酸和15％的PEG能有效地改善PEI介导的转染活性,使其转染活性提高了13％;用光学相差显微镜检测了PEI潜在的细胞毒性,结果发现分子量为600Da的PEI没有使细胞形态改变或死亡,但是随着分子量的增大,PEI潜在的细胞毒性也相应增大。结论：PEI是一种高效、有用的非病毒载体,能够在培养的哺乳动物细胞中进行基因转移,这对疾病的基因治疗具有潜在的应用价值。     

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Cell Responses to Electroporation,a Classical Gene Delivery Approach

Electroporation, as an established nonviral technology for breaching cell membrane, has been accepted for the delivery of nucleic acids. Despite satisfactory delivery efficiencies have been achieved on multiple cell kinds by simply exhausting all possible electrical parameters, electroporation is still inefficient, or even invalid, for various kinds of cells. This is largely due to the lack of comprehensive understanding of cell responses to electrical stimulation at biological aspect. Moreover, a systematically investigation of protein variation of electroporated cells is also required for biosafety evaluation before clinically applying electroporation. By employing quantitative proteomic analysis, the biological mechanism of electroporation is explored from the molecular level. The results reveal that electrical stimulations widely influence many biological processes including nucleic acid stabilization, protein synthesis, cytoskeleton dynamic, inflammation, and cell apoptosis. It is found that several antivirus‐related processes appeared in the enrichment results. Moreover, SAMD9, a broad spectrum antiviral and antitumor factor, is dramatically downregulated on easy‐to‐transfect cells while electroporation can not alter SAMD9 expression on hard‐to‐transfect cells, hinting that electroporation, a pure physical treatment, can induce antivirus‐like defensive responses and the altering of SAMD9 can be used to predict the effectiveness of electroporation on transfecting specific kinds of cells.     

经皮给药载体载MD-CPT透明质酸纳米乳的细胞吞噬与体内药代动力学研究

本文在研究制备了包载10,11-亚甲二氧基喜树碱(MD-CPT)的透明质酸纳米乳(HANs)经皮给药系统的基础上,进一步研究了载MD-CPT透明质酸纳米乳的细胞吞噬,并进行了体内药代动力学分析.通过优化制备条件,得到了皮肤渗透性良好的缓释剂型.从CLSM观察到药物被细胞摄入并传递入细胞核,同时,载药纳米乳的细胞吞噬效率呈时间依赖性,不同细胞株HSF、HUVES、MCF-7、KF的细胞吞噬率略有不同.用Rhodanmine B标记HANs,通过荧光显微镜观察到载药纳米乳透过角质层到达真皮层的拟动态过程.利用HPLC检测MD-CPT血药浓度,测得经皮给药半衰期T1/2是静脉注射的3.6倍,肌肉注射的1.6倍,体内药物滞留时间显著增加;血药浓度峰谷值差异小,曲线平缓,说明经皮给药能保证血药浓度呈现可控的持续性.最终通过活体成像系统和组织切片荧光显微镜,直观地反映出经皮给药后药物在大鼠体内的分布情况和各组织器官药物含量,确定载药纳米乳主要采取胞间渗透的扩散方式,在局部给药的区域滞留时间较长,有利于对浅表性的病灶区持续给药,延长药效,而剩余的MD-CPT和解离的HANs都进入了血液循环,最终通过新陈代谢被排出体外.为无创型HANs经皮给药系统应用于浅表性肿瘤治疗提供了理论基础.     

硅纳米颗粒作为基因转染载体的研究

通过不同浓度的NaCl、NaI修饰硅纳米颗粒,用琼脂糖凝胶电泳分析硅纳米颗粒与DNA结合力及对DNA的保护作用,同时用绿色荧光蛋白基因作报告基因,以硅纳米颗粒作为基因转染的载体,转染HT1080细胞。经电镜观察证实硅纳米颗粒进入细胞内;硅纳米颗粒与DNA结合后,能对DNA起保护作用;并且硅颗粒作为基因转染的载体,将绿色荧光蛋白基因导入HT1080细胞,用荧光显微镜观察到发绿色荧光的细胞。结果表明,硅纳米颗粒可作为基因转染的载体。     

新型"脂质-HAP-DNA复合体"的制备和用于真核细胞基因转染研究

为寻找一种简单、经济、有效的DNA递送系统用于基因转染和基因治疗,制备了表面电荷为正电的纳米HAP,与表面电荷为负电的DNA结合形成DNA-HAP复合物,采用逆向蒸发法,用卵磷脂、DOPE和胆固醇制备成脂质体包封DNA-HAP复合物形成脂质-HAP-DNA复合体,脂质体和HAP对照,对所形成的脂质-HAP-DNA复合体(LHD)的特性、包封率、转染Hela细胞的效果进行初步检测研究。所获得的脂质-HAP-DNA复合体呈球形、平均粒径为643nm;平均包封率达11.67%,为中性脂质体;能有效转染真核细胞。该方法可作为提高基因转染效果的简单、经济、有效的手段之一,也为进一步提高非病毒载体的转染效率提供了一个思路。     

Transient Expression of Proteins by Hydrodynamic Gene Delivery in Mice

Efficient expression of transgenes in vivo is of critical importance in studying gene function and developing treatments for diseases. Over the past years, hydrodynamic gene delivery (HGD) has emerged as a simple, fast, safe and effective method for delivering transgenes into rodents. This technique relies on the force generated by the rapid injection of a large volume of physiological solution to increase the permeability of cell membranes of perfused organs and thus deliver DNA into cells. One of the main advantages of HGD is the ability to introduce transgenes into mammalian cells using naked plasmid DNA (pDNA). Introducing an exogenous gene using a plasmid is minimally laborious, highly efficient and, contrary to viral carriers, remarkably safe. HGD was initially used to deliver genes into mice, it is now used to deliver a wide range of substances, including oligonucleotides, artificial chromosomes, RNA, proteins and small molecules into mice, rats and, to a limited degree, other animals. This protocol describes HGD in mice and focuses on three key aspects of the method that are critical to performing the procedure successfully: correct insertion of the needle into the vein, the volume of injection and the speed of delivery. Examples are given to show the application of this method to the transient expression of two genes that encode secreted, primate-specific proteins, apolipoprotein L-I (APOL-I) and haptoglobin-related protein (HPR).     

衰老相关新基因CSIG的cDNA克隆和功能

为了获得 2BS细胞衰老过程中表达下降的差异基因片段Y6 2的编码序列 ,以cDNA末端快速扩增法获得细胞衰老相关新基因CSIG(cellularsenescenceinhibitedgene ,细胞衰老抑制基因 )的cDNA全长 .CSIGcDNA长 196 1bp ,编码 4 90个氨基酸 ,在多种重要组织中都有不同程度的表达 ;蛋白产物位于细胞核内特定位点 ,可能在核仁中聚集 .细胞转染表明 :CSIG可抑制细胞衰老并延长细胞寿限 ,可能通过核糖体生物合成过程或基因转录调节来调控细胞衰老过程     

Human Artificial Chromosome with a Conditional Centromere for Gene Delivery and Gene Expression

Human artificial chromosomes (HACs), which carry a fully functional centromere and are maintained as a single-copy episome, are not associated with random mutagenesis and offer greater control over expression of ectopic genes on the HAC. Recently, we generated a HAC with a conditional centromere, which includes the tetracycline operator (tet-O) sequence embedded in the alphoid DNA array. This conditional centromere can be inactivated, loss of the alphoid^tet-O (tet-O HAC) by expression of tet-repressor fusion proteins. In this report, we describe adaptation of the tet-O HAC vector for gene delivery and gene expression in human cells. A loxP cassette was inserted into the tet-O HAC by homologous recombination in chicken DT40 cells following a microcell-mediated chromosome transfer (MMCT). The tet-O HAC with the loxP cassette was then transferred into Chinese hamster ovary cells, and EGFP transgene was efficiently and accurately incorporated into the tet-O HAC vector. The EGFP transgene was stably expressed in human cells after transfer via MMCT. Because the transgenes inserted on the tet-O HAC can be eliminated from cells by HAC loss due to centromere inactivation, this HAC vector system provides important novel features and has potential applications for gene expression studies and gene therapy.     

Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 for therapeutic genome editing

The clustered, regularly‐interspaced, short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)‐associated nuclease 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) is emerging as a promising genome‐editing tool for treating diseases in a precise way, and has been applied to a wide range of research in the areas of biology, genetics, and medicine. Delivery of therapeutic genome‐editing agents provides a promising platform for the treatment of genetic disorders. Although viral vectors are widely used to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 elements with high efficiency, they suffer from several drawbacks, such as mutagenesis, immunogenicity, and off‐target effects. Recently, non‐viral vectors have emerged as another class of delivery carriers in terms of their safety, simplicity, and flexibility. In this review, we discuss the modes of CRISPR/Cas9 delivery, the barriers to the delivery process and the application of CRISPR/Cas9 system for the treatment of genetic disorders. We also highlight several representative types of non‐viral vectors, including polymers, liposomes, cell‐penetrating peptides, and other synthetic vectors, for the therapeutic delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 system. The applications of CRISPR/Cas9 in treating genetic disorders mediated by the non‐viral vectors are also discussed.     

Nanoparticulate systems for polynucleotide delivery

Nanotechnology has tremendously influenced gene therapy research in recent years. Nanometer-size systems have been extensively investigated for delivering genes at both local and systemic levels. These systems offer several advantages in terms of tissue penetrability, cellular uptake, systemic circulation, and cell targeting as compared to larger systems. They can protect the polynucleotide from a variety of degradative and destabilizing factors and enhance delivery efficiency to the cells. A variety of polymeric and non-polymeric nanoparticles have been investigated in an effort to maximize the delivery efficiency while minimizing the toxic effects. This article provides a review on the most commonly used nanoparticulate systems for gene delivery. We have discussed frequently used polymers, such as, polyethyleneimine, poly (lactide-co-glycolide), chitosan, as well as non-polymeric materials such as cationic lipids and metallic nanoparticles. The advantages and limitations of each system have been elaborated.     

Gene Transfer by Means of Lipo- and Polyplexes: Role of Clathrin and Caveolae-Mediated Endocytosis

In this paper we address the contribution of different endocytic pathways to the intracellular uptake and processing of differently sized latex particles and of plasmid DNA complexes by means of fluorescence microscopy and FACS analysis. By using a number of specific inhibitors of either clathrin-dependent or caveolae-dependent endocytosis we were able to discriminate between these two pathways. Latex particles smaller than 200 nm were internalized exclusively by clathrin-mediated endocytosis, whereas larger particles entered the cells via a caveolae-dependent pathway.

The route of uptake of plasmid DNA complexes appears strongly dependent on the nature of the complexes. Thus, lipoplexes containing the cationic lipid DOTAP, were exclusively internalized by a clathrin-dependent mechanism, while polyplexes prepared from the cationic polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI) were internalized in roughly equal proportions by both pathways. Upon incubation of cells with lipoplexes containing the luciferase gene abundant luciferase expression was observed, which was effectively blocked by inhibitors of clathrin-dependent endocytosis but not by inhibitors of the caveolae-dependent uptake mechanism. By contrast, luciferase transfection of the cells with polyplexes was unaffected by inhibition of clathrin-mediated endocytosis, but was nearly completely blocked by inhibitors interfering with the caveolae pathway. The results are discussed with respect to possible differences in the mechanism by which plasmid DNA is released from lipoplexes and polyplexes into the cytosol and to the role of size in the uptake and processing of the complexes. Our data suggest that improvement of non-viral gene transfection could very much benefit from controlling particle size, which would allow targeting of particle internalization via a non-degradative pathway, involving caveolae-mediated endocytosis.     

Rational Vector Design for Efficient Non-viral Gene Delivery: Challenges Facing the Use of Plasmid DNA

Although non-viral gene delivery is a very straightforward technology, there are currently no FDA-approved gene medicinal products available. Therefore, improving potency, safety, and efficiency of current plasmid DNA vectors will be a major task for the near future. This article will provide an overview on factors influencing production yield and quality as well as safety issues that emerge from the vector design itself. Special focus will be on generating bacterial pDNA vectors by circumventing the use of antibiotic resistance genes, to generate safer gene medicinal products as well as smaller, more efficient DNA vectors.     

Development and Characterization of Pectinate Micro/Nanoparticles for Gene Delivery

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using pectinate micro/nanoparticles as gene delivery systems. Pectinate micro/nanoparticles were produced by ionotropic gelation. Various factors were studied for their effects on the preparation of pectinate micro/nanoparticles: the pH of the pectin solution, the ratio of pectin to the cation, the concentration of pectin and the cation, and the type of cation (calcium ions, magnesium ions and manganese ions). After the preparation, the size and charge of the pectin micro/nanoparticles and their DNA incorporation efficiency were evaluated. The results showed that the particle sizes decreased with the decreased concentrations of pectin and cation. The type of cations affected the particle size. Sizes of calcium pectinate particles were larger than those of magnesium pectinate and manganese pectinate particles. The DNA loading efficiency showed that Ca-pectinate nanoparticles could entrap DNA up to 0.05 mg when the weight ratio of pectin:CaCl₂:DNA was 0.2:1:0.05. However, Mg-pectinate could entrap only 0.01 mg DNA when the weight ratio of pectin:MgCl₂:DNA was 1:100:0.01 The transfection efficiency of both Ca-pectinate and Mg-pectinate nanoparticles yielded relatively low levels of green fluorescent protein expression and low cytotoxicity in Huh7 cells. Given the negligible cytotoxic effects, these pectinate micro/nanoparticles can be considered as potential candidates for use as safe gene delivery carriers.     

CRISPR/Cas系统递送技术及其应用研究进展

基于CRISPR/Cas的基因编辑系统是近年来研究发展最重要的生物技术之一,其在基因编辑、核酸成像、转录调控、基因检测与疾病诊断、动物模型建立、农作物改良等领域均有十分广泛的应用.本文主要介绍了CRISPR/Cas基因编辑技术的背景与发展历程,梳理了包括纳米载体在内的各类递送技术,总结了该技术应用于疾病治疗的临床前和临床研究进展,简述了CRISPR/Cas在其他更广泛领域的应用,并就该技术面临的挑战、发展趋势和应用前景做了展望.     

An Orthotopic Bladder Cancer Model for Gene Delivery Studies

Bladder cancer is the second most common cancer of the urogenital tract and novel therapeutic approaches that can reduce recurrence and progression are needed. The tumor microenvironment can significantly influence tumor development and therapy response. It is therefore often desirable to grow tumor cells in the organ from which they originated. This protocol describes an orthotopic model of bladder cancer, in which MB49 murine bladder carcinoma cells are instilled into the bladder via catheterization. Successful tumor cell implantation in this model requires disruption of the protective glycosaminoglycan layer, which can be accomplished by physical or chemical means. In our protocol the bladder is treated with trypsin prior to cell instillation. Catheterization of the bladder can also be used to deliver therapeutics once the tumors are established. This protocol describes the delivery of an adenoviral construct that expresses a luciferase reporter gene. While our protocol has been optimized for short-term studies and focuses on gene delivery, the methodology of mouse bladder catheterization has broad applications.     

Gene Expression in Tilapia Following Oral Delivery of Chitosan-Encapsulated Plasmid DNA Incorporated into Fish Feeds

DNA delivery into fish is important for transient gene expression, (e.g., DNA vaccination). Previous studies have generally focused on intramuscular injection of DNA vaccines into fish. However, this method is obviously impractical and laborious for injecting large numbers of fishes. This study reports oral delivery of a construct expressing the β-galactosidase reporter gene into fish by encapsulating the DNA in chitosan and incorporating it into fish feeds. We found that β-galactosidase expression could be observed in the stomachs, spleens, and gills of fishes fed with flakes containing the chitosan-DNA complex. These results suggest that DNA vaccines and other constructs can be easily and cheaply delivered into fishes orally by use of carriers and incorporation into fish feeds.