Triplex formation involving 2'-O,4'-C-methylene bridged nucleic acid (2',4'-BNA) with 1-isoquinolone base analogue: efficient and selective recognition of C:G interruption

For the effective recognition of C x G interruption in homopurine-homopyrimidine duplex DNA, we examined triplex-forming ability and sequence-selectivity of a triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) involving of 2'-O, 4'-C-methylene bridged nucleic acid with 1-isoquinolone base analogue. We found that the modified TFO formed stable triplex with high binding affinity and sequence-selectivity.     

Intracellular generation of single-stranded DNA for chromosomal triplex formation and induced recombination

Synthetic triple helix-forming oligodeoxyribonucleotides (TFOs) have been used to alter gene expression and to induce targeted genome modification in cells and animals. However, the efficacy of such oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs) depends on efficient intracellular delivery. A novel vector system was tested for the production of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) to serve as a TFO in mouse cells. Mouse cells carrying a substrate that can report triplex-stimulated intrachromosomal recombination were transfected with a series of ssDNA vectors, and induced recombination was assayed. Transfection with a vector set designed to generate a 34 nt G-rich ssDNA capable of triplex formation at a 30 bp polypurine target site within the reporter substrate yielded recombinants at a frequency of 196 × 10^–6, versus a background frequency of 45 × 10^–6 in mock transfected cells. No induction was seen when a vector set lacking the TFO sequence insert was tested or when the component vectors were transfected individually. Vectors engineered to express a C-rich 34 nt sequence (not expected to form triplex under physiological conditions) had no effect over background. Primer extension analyses on lysates from transfected cells confirmed the production of the intended ssDNAs. These results suggest that ssDNA molecules of a defined sequence can be generated intracellularly using a novel vector system and that such molecules are active in mediating triplex-dependent chromosomal events. The ability to produce active TFOs within cells may provide a new foundation for triplex-based gene targeting strategies.     

Development of a complementing cell line and a system for construction of adenovirus vectors with E1 and E2a deleted.

Although adenovirus vectors offer many advantages, it would be desirable to develop vectors with improved expression and decreased toxicity. Toward this objective, an adenovirus vector system with deletion of both the El and E2a regions was developed. A 5.9-kb fragment of the adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) genome containing the E2a gene and its early and late promoters was transfected into 293 cells. A complementing cell line, designated 293-C2, expressed the E2a mRNA and protein and was found to complement the defect in Ad5 viruses with temperature-sensitive or deletion mutations in E2a. A deletion of 1.3 kb removing codons 40 to 471 of the 529 amino acids of E2a was introduced into plasmids for preparation of viruses and vectors. An Ad5 virus with disruption of the El gene and deletion of E2a grew on 293-C2 cells but not on 293 cells. Vectors with E1 and E2a deleted expressing Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase or human alpha1-antitrypsin were prepared and expressed the reporter genes after intravenous injection into mice. This vector system retains sequences in common between the complementing cell line and the vectors, including 3.4 kb upstream and 1.1 kb downstream of the deletion. These vectors have potential advantages of increased capacity for insertion of transgene sequences, elimination of expression of E2a, and possibly reduction in expression of other viral proteins. Although the titers of the vectors with deleted are about 10- to 30-fold below those of vectors with E2a wild-type regions, the former vectors are suitable for detailed studies with animals to evaluate the effects on host immune responses, on duration of expression, and on safety.     

Negative and positive regulation in trans of gene expression from adeno-associated virus vectors in mammalian cells by a viral rep gene product.

We previously described use of the human parvovirus, adeno-associated virus (AAV), as a vector for transient expression in mammalian cells of the gene for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT). In the AAV vector, pTS1, the CAT gene is expressed under the control of the major AAV promoter p40. This promoter is embedded within the carboxyl-terminal region of an open reading frame (orf-1) which codes for a protein (rep) required for AAV DNA replication. We show here that the rep product has additional trans-acting properties to regulate gene expression. First, deletion or frame-shift mutations in orf-1, which occurred far upstream of p40, increased expression of CAT in human 293 (adenovirus-transformed) cells. This increased CAT expression was abolished when such mutant AAV vectors were transfected into 293 cells together with a second AAV vector which could supply the wild-type AAV rep product in trans. Thus, an AAV rep gene product was a negative regulator, in trans, of expression of CAT in uninfected 293 cells. In adenovirus-infected 293 cells, the function of the AAV rep product was more complex, but in some cases, it appeared to be a trans activator of the expression from p40. In HeLa cells, only trans activation by rep was seen in the absence or presence of adenovirus. Neither activation nor repression by the rep product required replication per se of the AAV vector DNA. Thus, trans-acting negative or positive regulation of gene expression by the AAV rep gene is modulated by factors in the host cell and by the helper adenovirus.     

Activation of adenylyl cyclases, regulation of insulin status, and cell survival by G(alpha)olf in pancreatic beta-cells

Because we recently identified the G(alpha)olf subunit in rat pancreatic beta-cells, we investigated the downstream effectors and the biological functions of this G protein in HEK-293T cells and the insulin-secreting mouse betaTC-3 cell line. With the use of transient transfection of HEK-293T cells with constitutively activated G(alpha)olf (G(alpha)olfQ214L, i.e., AG(alpha)olf), together with expression vectors encoding the adenylyl cyclase (AC) isoforms (AC-I to -VIII and soluble AC), compared with cotransfections using AG(alphas) (G(alphas)R201C), we observed that AG(alpha)olf preferentially activates AC-I and -VIII, which are also expressed in beta-cells. Stable overexpression of wild-type or AG(alpha)olf in betaTC-3 cells resulted in partial attenuation of insulin secretion and biosynthesis, suggesting that chronic activation of the G(alpha)olf-signaling pathway is associated with beta-cell desensitization. In agreement, transfected betaTC-3 cells present a decreased insulin content with respect to parental cells, whereas the proinsulin convertases PC-1 and PC-2 were unaffected. Furthermore, betaTC-3-AG(alpha)olf cells are resistant to serum starvation-induced apoptosis. Our findings suggest that G(alpha)olf is involved in insulin status, cell survival, and regeneration of the insulin-secreting beta-cells during development and diabetes.     

High expression of exogenous cDNAs directed by HIV-1 long terminal repeat in human cells constitutively producing HIV-1 tat and adenovirus E1A/E1B

A eukaryotic vector-host cell system is described where the additive transactivating effects of HIV-1 tat and adenovirus E1A on HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) are exploited to increase expression of exogenous cDNAs. Human 143B and 293 cells, the latter constitutively producing E1A, were used as host cell lines. The bacterial gene chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs-Ag) gene were employed as reporter genes inserted in pRPneoU3R, an episomal vector containing BK virus replication origin and early region, where cDNAs are expressed under control of HIV-1 LTR. The 293 cells were transformed by tat expression vectors to constitutively express tat. Stable cell clones of 293tat cells, constitutively expressing CAT after transformation with pRPneoU3R-CAT, show a CAT activity 600-fold higher than normal 293 transformed cells. CAT expression obtained in normal 293 cells can be transiently increased 10-fold by transfection by vectors expressing tat. The 293tat cells transformed by pRPneoU3R-HBs, an episomal vector expressing HBs-Ag from HIV LTR, yielded stable cell clones secreting HBs-Ag in the culture medium at a concentration up to 744 ng/ml or 44 ng/10(6) cells/24 h, 48-fold more than normal 293 cells. The use of this system for constitutive or inducible expression of sequences under control of HIV-1 LTR is discussed in view of possible applications for diagnostic, vaccinal and therapeutic purposes.     

The stability of DNA triplexes inside cells as studied by iodine-125 radioprinting.

We studied the stability of a DNA triplex resulting from the binding of a 38 nt long purine motif triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) to a covalently closed plasmid containing a target sequence from the human HPRT gene. Our in vitro experiments showed that the triplex formed at plasmid and TFO concentrations as low as 10(-9)M. Once formed, the triplex was remarkably stable and could withstand 10 min incubation at 65 degrees C. We next delivered these TFO-plasmid complexes into cultured human cells. To monitor the TFO-plasmid complexes inside cells we applied a new technique that we call 'radioprinting'. Because the TFO was(125)I labeled, we could quantitatively monitor the triplexes by measuring(125)I-induced DNA strand breaks in the target plasmid sequence. We found that the triplexes remain stable inside the cells for at least 48 h. Based on these findings we propose using TFO for indirect labeling of intact plasmid DNA. As a demonstration, we show that the intracellular distribution of a fluorescein-labeled TFO was different when it was liposome-delivered into cultured human cells alone or in a complex with the plasmid. In the latter case, the fluorescence was detected in nearly all the cells while detection of the plasmid by use of a marker gene (beta-galactosidase) revealed expression of the gene in only half of the cells.     

Promotion of triplex formation by a fixed N-form sugar puckering: thermodynamic and kinetic studies.

We analyzed the effect of a fixed N-form sugar puckering of TFO (triplex-forming oligonucleotide) on the pyrimidine motif triplex formation at neutral pH, a condition where pyrimidine motif triplexes are unstable. Both thermodynamic and kinetic analyses revealed that the binding constant of the pyrimidine motif triplex formation at pH 6.8 with modified TFO containing the fixed N-form sugar puckering was about 20-times larger than that observed with unmodified TFO. Kinetic data also demonstrated that the observed increase in the binding constant at neutral pH by the fixed N-form sugar puckering resulted from the considerable decrease in the dissociation rate constant. Our results certainly support the idea that the fixed N-form sugar puckering of TFO could be a key modification and may eventually lead to progress in therapeutic applications of the antigene strategy in vivo.     

Sema4C及其相互作用蛋白GIPC的亚细胞定位及荧光共定位研究

目的：观察脑信号蛋白Sema4C及其相互作用蛋白GIPC的亚细胞定位及两者的荧光共定位情况,为明确Sema4C和GIPC在亚细胞水平的相互作用提供佐证。方法：将Sema4C的基因编码区全长、胞外段和胞内段分别构建到pEGFPNl和pEGFPCI表达载体中,将GIPC编码区基因构建到pDsRed-C1表达载体中,分别转染HEK293细胞,观察亚细胞定位;将pEGFPNl-Sema4C和pDsRed-GIPC分别共转染HEl（293和COS7细胞,观察两者的荧光共定位情况。结果：酶切鉴定及测序结果表明重组载体构建正确,Sema4C蛋白全长和胞外段呈跨膜分布,而胞内段在全细胞中呈弥散样分布;GIPC在胞浆内呈斑块状聚集分布;pEGFPNl-Sema4C和pDsRed-GIPC存在荧光共定位区域。结论：Sema4C主要在胞膜和胞浆内表达,GIPC主要在胞浆内呈斑块样聚集分布;Sema4C和GIPC之间存在荧光共定位。     

Production of lentiviral vectors in suspension cells using low proportion of supercoiled circular plasmid DNA

The supercoiled circular (SC) topology form of plasmid DNA has been regarded to be advantageous over open circular or linearized analogue in transfection and expression efficiency, and therefore are largely demanded in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing. However, production of high-purity SC plasmid DNA would result in high manufacturing cost. The effect of SC proportion in plasmid DNA on the quality of packaged lentiviral vectors has never been reported. In this study, we established an efficient system for production of high-titer lentiviral vectors using suspension HEK293SF cells in serum-free media, and the lentiviral titer was not associated with the proportion of SC plasmid DNA. Plasmids DNA with different proportion of SC, open-circular, and linearized forms were prepared using the thermal denaturation method, and were transfected to adherent HEK293T or suspension HEK293SF cells for packaging of lentiviral vectors. The titer of lentiviral vectors from HEK293T cells, but not from HEK293SF cells, was significantly impaired when the proportion of SC plasmid DNA decreased from 60–80% to 30–40%. Further decrease of SC plasmid proportion to 3% led to a dramatic reduction of lentiviral titer no matter the packaging cell line was. However, lentiviral vectors from HEK293SF cells still showed a high titer even when the proportion of SC plasmid DNA was 3%. This study demonstrated that extremely high proportion of SC plasmid DNA was not required for packaging of high-titer lentiviral vector in HEK293SF cells, at least under our manufacturing process.     

Decreased agonist, but not antagonist, binding to the naturally occurring Thr92Lys variant of the h5-HT7(a) receptor

In the present study on transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK)293 cells, we aimed at establishing whether expression of the naturally occurring Thr92Lys variation of the Gs-coupled h5-HT7(a) receptor leads to changes of ligand binding properties, of agonist-evoked cAMP formation and/or of antagonist-mediated blockade of the latter. Binding of [3H]5-carboxamidotryptamine ([3H]5-CT) to membranes and stimulated [3H]cAMP accumulation in whole cells were determined. Saturation binding experiments in membranes of transiently transfected cells expressing either the wild-type or the variant receptor revealed a single binding site in both cases and no difference in Bmax between both receptor isoforms. In competition binding experiments in membranes of stably transfected cells, the Thr92Lys variant exhibited a 2.8-11 times lower binding affinity of the ligands 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), 5-CT, 5-methoxy-3-(1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-4yl)-1H-indole (RU24969), (+/-)-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin hydrobromide (8-OH-DPAT) and sumatriptan compared to the wild-type receptor. However, the variant did not differ from the wild-type with respect to the binding properties of the antagonists (R)-3-(2-(2-(4-methylpiperidin-1-yl)ethyl)-pyrrolodine-1-sulfonyl)phenol hydrochloride (SB-269970), risperidone, mesulergine and clozapine. In agreement with the decreased binding affinity of 5-HT, 5-CT, RU24969 and 8-OH-DPAT for the variant receptor, these agonists were less potent in stimulating [3H]cAMP accumulation in cells stably expressing the Thr92Lys h5-HT7(a) receptor. Sumatriptan did not stimulate cAMP accumulation in spite of its affinity for both receptor isoforms pointing to a putative weak antagonistic property of this drug at the h5-HT7 receptor. SB-269970 and clozapine were equipotent at both the variant and the wild-type receptor in producing a rightward shift of the 5-HT concentration-response curve for its stimulant effect on [3H]cAMP accumulation. In view of, e.g., the purported involvement of the 5-HT7 receptor in the regulation of circadian rhythm, it may be concluded that the decrease in affinity of 5-HT and other 5-HT receptor agonists at the (Thr92Lys) h5-HT7 receptor may be associated with changes of sleep physiology and of actions of new 5-HT7 receptor agonists designed to treat circadian dysregulation.     

Targeted delivery of a triplex-forming oligonucleotide to hepatic stellate cells

Liver fibrosis is characterized by abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), namely, fibrillar collagens in the hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Earlier, we developed an antigene approach, using a type alpha1(I) collagen gene promoter specific triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) to inhibit collagen gene expression. In this paper, to enhance overall delivery of TFOs to the liver and more specifically to HSCs, we synthesized mannose 6-phosphate-bovine serum albumin (M6P-BSA) by phosphorylating p-nitrophenyl-alpha-d-mannopyranoside, reducing its nitro group, and reacting it with thiophosgene to produce p-isothiocyanatophenyl-6-phospho-alpha-d-mannopyranoside (itcM6P) for conjugation with BSA. (33)P-TFO was conjugated with M6P-BSA via a disulfide bond, and the stability of the (M6P)(20)-BSA-TFO conjugate was determined. Following tail vein injection into rats, (M6P)(20)-BSA-(33)P-TFO rapidly cleared from the circulation and accumulated mainly in the liver. Almost 66% of the injected (M6P)(20)-BSA-(33)P-TFO accumulated in the liver at 30 min postinjection, which was significantly higher than that deposited after injection of (33)P-TFO. A large proportion of the injected (M6P)(20)-BSA-(33)P-TFO was taken up by the HSCs as evidenced by determination of radioactivity in the digested liver cells upon liver perfusion and separation on a Nycodenz gradient. Therefore, this TFO conjugate may be used for the treatment of liver fibrosis.