Efficient generation of recombinant adenoviral vectors by Cre-lox recombination in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Although recombinant adenovirus vectors are attractive for use in gene expression studies and therapeutic applications, the construction of these vectors remains relatively time-consuming. We report here a strategy that simplifies the production of adenoviruses using the Cre-loxP system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Full-length recombinant adenovirus DNA was generated in vitro by Cre-mediated recombination between loxP sites in a linearized shuttle plasmid containing a transgene and adenovirus genomic DNA. RESULTS: After transfection of Cre-treated DNA into 293 cells, replication-defective viral vectors were rapidly obtained without detectable wild-type virus. CONCLUSION: This system facilitates the development of recombinant adenoviral vectors for basic and clinical research.     

An efficient method of directly cloning chimpanzee adenovirus as a vaccine vector

Adenoviral vectors have shown great promise as vaccine carriers and in gene transfer to correct underlying genetic diseases. Traditionally, construction of adenoviral vectors is complex and time consuming. In this paper, we provide an improved method for efficient generation of novel adenoviral vectors by using direct cloning. We introduce a feasible and detailed protocol for the development of chimpanzee adenoviruses (Ads) as molecular clones, as well as for the generation of recombinant virus from the molecular clones. Recombinant viruses are genetically stable and induce potent immune responses in animals. Generation of new Ad molecular clones or new recombinant Ad can be achieved in 2 months or 2 weeks, respectively.     

Generation of recombinant adenovirus vectors with modified fibers for altering viral tropism.

To expand the utility of recombinant adenovirus vectors for gene therapy applications, methods to alter native viral tropism to achieve cell-specific transduction would be beneficial. To this end, we are pursuing genetic methods to alter the cell recognition domain of the adenovirus fiber. To incorporate these modified fibers into mature virions, we have developed a method based on homologous DNA recombination between two plasmids. A fiber-deleted, propagation-defective rescue plasmid has been designed for recombination with a shuttle plasmid encoding a variant fiber gene. Recombination between the two plasmids results in the derivation of recombinant viruses containing the variant fiber gene. To establish the utility of this method, we constructed a recombinant adenovirus containing a fiber gene with a silent mutation. In addition, we generated an adenovirus vector containing chimeric fibers composed of the tail and shaft domains of adenovirus serotype 5 and the knob domain of serotype 3. This modification was shown to alter the receptor recognition profile of the virus containing the fiber chimera. Thus, this two-plasmid system allows for the generation of adenovirus vectors containing variant fibers. This method provides a rapid and facile means of generating fiber-modified recombinant adenoviruses. In addition, it should be possible to use this system in the development of adenovirus vectors with modified tropism to allow cell-specific targeting.     

A protocol for rapid generation of recombinant adenoviruses using the AdEasy system

Recombinant adenoviruses provide a versatile system for gene expression studies and therapeutic applications. We have developed an approach that simplifies the generation and production of such viruses called the AdEasy system. A recombinant adenoviral plasmid is generated with a minimum of enzymatic manipulations, employing homologous recombination in bacteria rather than in eukaryotic cells. After transfection of such plasmids into a mammalian packaging cell line, viral production is conveniently followed with the aid of GFP encoded by a gene incorporated into the viral backbone. This system has expedited the process of generating and testing recombinant adenoviruses for a variety of purposes. In this protocol, we describe the practical aspects of using the AdEasy system for generating recombinant adenoviruses. The full protocol usually takes 4-5 weeks to complete.     

Recombinant adenoviral vectors can induce expression of p73 via the E4-orf6/7 protein

Despite the utility of recombinant adenoviral vectors in basic research, their therapeutic promise remains unfulfilled. Most engineered adenoviral vectors use a heterologous promoter to transcribe a foreign gene. We show that adenoviruses containing the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter induce the expression of the proapoptotic cellular protein TAp73 via the cyclin-dependent kinase-retinoblastoma protein-E2F pathway in murine embryonic fibroblasts. Cells transduced with these vectors also expressed high levels of the adenoviral E4-orf6/7 and E2A proteins. By contrast, adenoviruses containing the ubiquitin C promoter failed to elicit these effects. E4-orf6/7 is necessary and sufficient for increased TAp73 expression, as shown by using retrovirus-mediated E4-orf6/7 expression and adenovirus with the E4-orf6/7 gene deleted. Activation of TAp73 likely occurs via E4-orf6/7-induced dimerization of E2F and subsequent binding to the inverted E2F-responsive elements within the TAp73 promoter. In addition, adenoviral vectors containing the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter, but not the ubiquitin C promoter, cooperated with chemotherapeutic agents to decrease cellularity in vitro. In contrast to murine embryonic fibroblasts, adenoviruses containing the ubiquitin C promoter, but not the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter, induced both E4-orf6/7 and TAp73 in human foreskin fibroblasts, emphasizing the importance of cellular context for promoter-dependent effects. Because TAp73 is important for the efficacy of chemotherapy, adenoviruses that increase TAp73 expression may enhance cancer therapies by promoting apoptosis. However, such adenoviruses may impair the long-term survival of transduced cells during gene replacement therapies. Our findings reveal previously unknown effects of foreign promoters in recombinant adenoviral vectors and suggest means to improve the utility of engineered adenoviruses by better controlling their impact on viral and cellular gene expression.     

New insights into stability of recombinant adenovirus vector genomes in mammalian cells

Recombinant adenoviruses are widely used in basic virology research, therapeutic applications, vaccination studies or simply as a tool for genetic manipulation of eukaryotic cells. Dependent on the application, transient or stable maintenance of the adenoviral genome and transgene expression are required. The newest generation of recombinant adenoviral vectors is represented by high-capacity adenoviral vectors (HC-AdVs) which lack all viral coding sequences. HC-AdVs were shown to result in long-term persistence of transgene expression and phenotypic correction in small and large animal models with negligible toxicity.Although there is evidence that adenoviral vectors predominantly persist as episomal DNA molecules with a low integration frequency into the host genome, detailed information about the nuclear fate and the molecular status of the HC-AdV genome once inside the nucleus is lacking. In recent years we have focused on analyzing and modifying the nuclear fate of HC-AdVs after infection of mammalian cells. We have focused on investigating the molecular DNA forms of HC-AdV genomes and we have designed strategies to excise and stably integrate a transgene from an episomal adenovirus vector genome into the host chromosomes by recombinases. This review article provides a state-of-the art overview of the current knowledge of episomal HC-AdV persistence and it discusses strategies for changing the nuclear fate of a transgene inserted into the HC-AdV genome by somatic integration into host chromosomes.     

DNA Prime-Adenovirus Boost Immunization Induces a Vigorous and Multifunctional T-Cell Response against Hepadnaviral Proteins in the Mouse and Woodchuck Model

Induction of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific cytotoxic T cells by therapeutic immunization may be a strategy to treat chronic hepatitis B. In the HBV animal model, woodchucks, the application of DNA vaccine expressing woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) core antigen (WHcAg) in combination with antivirals led to the prolonged control of viral replication. However, it became clear that the use of more potent vaccines is required to overcome WHV persistence. Therefore, we asked whether stronger and more functional T-cell responses could be achieved using the modified vaccines and an optimized prime-boost vaccination regimen. We developed a new DNA plasmid (pCGWHc) and recombinant adenoviruses (AdVs) showing high expression levels of WHcAg. Mice vaccinated with the improved plasmid pCGWHc elicited a stronger WHcAg-specific CD8⁺ T-cell response than with the previously used vaccines. Using multicolor flow cytometry and an in vivo cytotoxicity assay, we showed that immunization in a DNA prime-AdV boost regimen resulted in an even more vigorous and functional T-cell response than immunization with the new plasmid alone. Immunization of naïve woodchucks with pCGWHc plasmid or AdVs induced a significant WHcAg-specific degranulation response prior to the challenge, this response had not been previously detected. Consistently, this response led to a rapid control of infection after the challenge. Our results demonstrate that high antigen expression levels and the DNA prime-AdV boost immunization improved the T-cell response in mice and induced significant T-cell responses in woodchucks. Therefore, this new vaccination strategy may be a candidate for a therapeutic vaccine against chronic HBV infection.     

HIV-1 C亚型密码子优化gp120基因重组腺病毒载体的构建及表达

目的构建含有HIV-1C亚型gp120基因重组腺病毒载体,并在293细胞中表达gp120蛋白。方法PCR扩增,获得HIV-1C亚型gp120片段,定向克隆人腺病毒转移载体pTrack-CMV,线性化后转化至含有腺病毒骨架载体pAd-easy-1的大肠埃希菌BJ5183,获得重组子prAd—gp120,PacI酶切纯化后转染293细胞,包装成复制缺陷型重组腺病毒vAd—gp120。结果经PCR、酶切及DNA测序,插入片段大小、方向正确,获得了具有感染力的vAd—gp120重组腺病毒;通过Western印迹检测,重组腺病毒在293细胞中表达出分子量为120kD的蛋白。结论成功构建了含有HIV-1C亚型gp120基因重组腺病毒载体,并获得该基因的表达。     

人成纤维细胞生长因子受体2IIIc及其突变型重组腺病毒的获得和在乳腺癌细胞中的表达

获得人成纤维细胞生长因子受体2Ⅲc(FGFR2Ⅲc)及其S252W突变型重组腺病毒,感染乳腺癌细胞MDA-MB-231,为下一步研究FGFR2Ⅲc基因的功能和作用机制奠定基础。以本实验室保存的含FGFR2Ⅲc基因的质粒为模板,PCR扩增得到FGFR2Ⅲc基因,重叠延伸法PCR获得FGFR2ⅢcS252W突变型基因;分别将上述野生型和突变型基因克隆至腺病毒穿梭质粒pAdTrack-CMV上,得到重组穿梭质粒pAdTrack-FGFR2Ⅲc和pAdTrack-FGFR2ⅢcS252W,DNA测序证实。Pme I酶切后分别与腺病毒骨架质粒pAdEasy-1共转化BJ-5183感受态细菌同源重组,得到的重组表达质粒Ad-FGFR2Ⅲc和Ad-FGFR2ⅢcS252W Pac I酶切线性化后转染HEK293A细胞进行重组腺病毒的包装和扩增,通过GFP报告基因观察病毒表达情况。收集重组病毒颗粒并测定滴度,进一步感染乳腺癌细胞MDA-MB-231,RT-PCR和Western blotting方法检测目的基因的表达,3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2)-2,5-二苯基四氮唑溴盐(MTT)法和流式细胞术分析细胞增殖情况。结果表明,成功构建了人FGFR2Ⅲc及其S252W突变型基因的重组腺病毒表达载体,获得的重组腺病毒颗粒能高效感染MDA-MB-231细胞,并表达目的基因。MTT结果显示FGFR2Ⅲc和S252W均能抑制MDA-MB-231细胞增殖,S252W抑制效果更加明显。流式细胞术表明FGFR2Ⅲc和S252W均能使MDA-MB-231细胞周期停滞于G0/G1期,抑制细胞增殖。     

Efficient directional cloning of recombinant adenovirus vectors using DNA-protein complex.

We describe an efficient cloning system utilizing adenoviral DNA-protein complexes which allows the directional cloning of genes into adenoviral expression vectors in a single step. DNA-protein complexes derived from a recombinant adenovirus (AVC2.null) were isolated by sequential use of CsCl step gradients followed by isopycnic centrifugation in a mixture of CsCl and guanidine HCl. AVC2.null is an adenoviral expression vector containing unique restriction sites between the human CMV-IE promoter and the SV40 intron/polyadenylation site. Transgenes were prepared for cloning into this vector by introduction of compatible restriction sites by PCR. A vector expressing rat granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was constructed using DNA-protein complex as well as by traditional recombination techniques. The efficacy of our adenoviral cloning system utilizing DNA-protein complex was two logs higher than that seen using homologous recombination. All viruses generated by directional ligation of the insert into the vector DNA-protein complexes contained the desired transgene in the correct orientation. This technique greatly simplifies and accelerates the generation of recombinant adenoviral vectors.     

Red体内同源重组介导的egfp、kan基因融合和重组质粒构建

重组工程是近年来建立的一种基于高效率体内同源重组的新型遗传工程技术,可应用于靶DNA序列的敲入、敲除和基因克隆等。在应用重组工程技术进行基因亚克隆时发现,体外重叠PCR法难以获得高质量的目的DNA打靶片段,严重影响重组效率。为了解决上述问题,根据Red重组酶介导的体内同源重组工作原理进行了技术改进。先用PCR方法合成egfp和kan两条末端互补的线性DNA片段,然后将其电击共转化进入携带Red重组酶和pcDNA3．1载体DNA的大肠杆菌DY331菌株内,经体内同源重组直接产生的pcDNA3.1—egfp-kan环状重组质粒DNA分子可通过抗生素标记筛选获得,阳性率可达到45％。瞬时转染pcDNA3．1-egfp-kan可获得绿色荧光蛋白在293细胞中的表达。     

A novel and simple method for construction of recombinant adenoviruses

Recombinant adenoviruses have been widely used for various applications, including protein expression and gene therapy. We herein report a new and simple cloning approach to an efficient and robust construction of recombinant adenoviral genomes based on the mating-assisted genetically integrated cloning (MAGIC) strategy. The production of recombinant adenovirus serotype 5-based vectors was greatly facilitated by the use of the MAGIC procedure and the development of the Adeasy™ adenoviral vector system. The recombinant adenoviral plasmid can be generated by a direct and seamless substitution, which replaces the stuff fragment in a full-length adenoviral genome with the gene of interest in a small plasmid in Escherichia coli. Recombinant adenoviral plasmids can be rapidly constructed in vivo by using the new method, without manipulations of the large adenoviral genome. In contrast to other traditional systems, it reduces the need for multiple in vitro manipulations, such as endonuclease cleavage, ligation and transformation, thus achieving a higher efficiency with negligible background. This strategy has been proven to be suitable for constructing an adenoviral cDNA expression library. In summary, the new method is highly efficient, technically less demanding and less labor-intensive for constructing recombinant adenoviruses, which will be beneficial for functional genomic and proteomic researches in mammalian cells.     

pAd5-Blue: direct ligation system for engineering recombinant adenovirus constructs.

We have engineered a new vector that makes use of direct ligation for the generation of replication-defective recombinant adenovirus constructs. In the pAd5-Blue vector, unique yet common restriction endonuclease sites exist, that allow cloning in a directional manner of a gene of interest under control of a cytomegalovirus promoter, upstream of a simian virus 40 polyadenylation signal. The insertion of the new gene replaces the beta-galactosidase alpha gene fragment in the pAd5-Blue vector, allowing the identification of recombinants in bacterial culture by the selection of white colonies. Plasmid DNA from white colonies is digested with PacI and transfected into 293 cells, resulting in the generation of a homogenous population of adenovirus containing the gene of interest. The pAd5-Blue vector system does not rely on recombination either in mammalian or bacterial cells. Furthermore, because of compatible overhangs, the variety of restriction endonucleases that can be used to generate the inserted gene gives flexibility to the process for greater ease of use. The system is quick and straightforward, allowing the generation of recombinant adenoviruses within three weeks of obtaining an appropriate insert. This new vector should greatly enhance the ease and speed with which new recombinant adenovirus constructs can be made.     

CD/TK单、双自杀基因重组腺病毒的制备及初步应用

为制备表达大肠杆菌胞嘧啶脱氨酶 (cytosinedeaminase ,CD)和单纯疱疹病毒 1 胸苷激酶(herpessimplexvirustype 1thymidinekinase ,TK)双自杀基因的重组腺病毒载体 ,为再狭窄基因治疗的应用奠定基础 ,首先构建了含单、双自杀基因的腺病毒穿梭载体 ,细菌内同源重组法获得重组腺病毒质粒 .脂质体介导下转染 2 93细胞进行包装并大量扩增得到Ad TK、Ad CD、Ad TK CD、Ad LacZ 4种重组腺病毒 .氯化铯 (CsCl)梯度离心法纯化后利用报告基因绿色荧光蛋白 (GFP)测定病毒滴度 ,可达 10 9pfu ml .PCR和Western印迹法对外源基因进行鉴定 ,证明单、双自杀基因均已整合入腺病毒基因组并表达 .重组腺病毒感染血管平滑肌细胞后 ,用MTT法比较了单、双自杀基因的杀伤作用 ,发现在感染复数≤ 2 0时 ,双自杀基因对细胞的抑制作用明显高于单基因 .成功地构建腺病毒双自杀基因共表达载体 ,为进一步的体内外实验奠定了基础 .     

甲型H5N1流感病毒M2与HA双基因载体疫苗在小鼠体内的免疫学评价

高致病性H5N1亚型禽流感病毒 (AIV) 严重威胁到人类健康,因此研制高效、安全的禽流感疫苗具有重要意义。以我国分离的首株人H5N1亚型禽流感病毒 (A/Anhui/1/2005) 作为研究对象,PCR扩增基质蛋白2 (M2) 和血凝素 (HA) 基因全长开放阅读框片段,构建共表达H5N1亚型AIV膜蛋白基因 M2和HA的重组质粒pStar-M2/HA。此外,还通过同源重组以293细胞包装出表达M2基因的重组腺病毒Ad-M2以及表达HA基因的重组腺病毒Ad-HA。用间接免疫荧光 (IFA) 方法检测到了各载体上插入基因的表达。按初免-加强程序分别用重组质粒pStar-M2/HA和重组腺病毒Ad-HA+Ad-M2免疫BALB/c小鼠,共免疫4次,每次间隔14 d。第1、3次用DNA疫苗,第2、4次用重组腺病毒载体疫苗,每次免疫前及末次免疫后14 d采集血清用于检测体液免疫应答,末次免疫后14 d采集脾淋巴细胞用于检测细胞免疫应答。血凝抑制 (HI) 实验检测到免疫后小鼠血清中的HI活性。ELISA实验检测到免疫后小鼠血清中抗H5N1亚型流感病毒表面蛋白的IgG抗体。ELISPOT实验检测到免疫后小鼠针对M2蛋白和HA蛋白的特异性细胞免疫应答。流感病毒M2与HA双基因共免疫的研究,为研究开发新型重组流感疫苗奠定了基础。     

Construction of adenovirus for high level expression of small RNAs in mammalian cells

A series of plasmid vectors have been generated to allow the rapid construction of adenoviral vectors designed to express small RNA sequences. A truncated human U6 gene containing convenient restriction sites has been shown to be expressed at high levels following electroporation into a series of human cell lines. This gene was ligated into a promoterless adenoviral plasmid, and we have generated high titer virus by homologous recombination with adenoviral Addl327 DNA in 293 cells. Recombinant adenovirus containing a hammerhead ribozyme sequence targeted toward the Bcl-2 mRNA has been used to transduce a panel of human tumor cell lines. We have demonstrated high level expression of the recombinant U6 gene containing the ribozyme and reduction of Bcl-2 protein in transduced cells. These plasmids are suitable for the development of adenoviral vectors designed to express both ribozymes and antisense RNA in human cells.     

SOCS3基因重组腺病毒的构建及其在猪脂肪细胞中的表达

本研究旨在构建细胞因子信号转导抑制因子3(Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3,SOCS3)的重组腺病毒表达载体,获得有感染性的病毒颗粒。以pcDNA3-SOCS3质粒为模板扩增SOCS3基因,将其亚克隆至腺病毒穿梭载体pAdTrack-CMV,经测序验证后,重组的穿梭质粒用PmeI酶切线性化后转化到BJ5183感受态细菌中与其内的骨架载体pAdEasy-1进行同源重组,获得的重组质粒pAd-SOCS3,经PacI线性化后转染至HEK293细胞中进行包装和扩增,纯化后用TCID50法测定病毒滴度。以重组的病毒感染原代培养的猪脂肪细胞后,荧光显微镜下观察报告基因GFP的表达,RT-PCR和Western blotting检测细胞内SOCS3 mRNA和蛋白的表达。重组腺病毒载体pAd-SOCS3经酶切及PCR鉴定正确,病毒滴度为1.2×109PFU/mL;感染原代培养的猪脂肪细胞后,荧光显微镜观察可见报告基因GFP的表达;RT-PCR和Western blotting检测到细胞中SOCS3 mRNA和蛋白的表达显著提高。本研究成功构建了SOCS3基因的重组腺病毒,感染原代培养的猪脂肪细胞可稳定表达SOCS3蛋白,为深入研究SOCS3的功能奠定了基础。     

Targeted modification of the complete chicken lysozyme gene by poxvirus-mediated recombination.

We have developed a novel ex vivo system for the rapid one-step targeted modification of large eucaryotic DNA sequences. The highly recombinant environment resulting from infection of rabbit cornea cells with the Shope fibroma virus was exploited to mediate precise modifications of the complete chicken lysozyme gene domain (21.5 kb). Homologous recombination was designed to occur between target DNA (containing the complete lysozyme gene domain) maintained in a lambda bacteriophage vector and modified targeting DNA maintained in a plasmid. The targeting plasmids were designed to transfer exogenous sequences (for example, beta-galactosidase alpha-complement, green fluorescent protein, and hydrophobic tail coding sequences) to specific sites within the lysozyme gene domain. Cotransfection of the target phage and a targeting plasmid into Shope fibroma virus infected cells resulted in the poxvirus-mediated transfer of the modified sequences from plasmid to phage. Phage DNA (recombinant and nonrecombinant) was then harvested from the total cellular DNA by packaging into lambda phage particles and correct recombinants were identified. Four different gene-targeting pairings were carried out, and from 3% to 11% of the recovered phages were recombinant. Using this poxvirus-mediated targeting system, four different regions of the chicken lysozyme gene domain have been modified precisely by our research group overall with a variety of inserts (6-971 bp), deletions (584-3000 bp), and replacements. We have never failed to obtain the desired recombinant. Poxvirus-mediated recombination thus constitutes a routine, rapid, and remarkably efficient genetic engineering system for the precise modification of large eucaryotic gene domains when compared with traditional practices.