Down-regulated expression of plant-specific glycoepitopes in alfalfa

Compared with other plant expression systems used for pharmaceutical protein production, alfalfa offers the advantage of very homogeneous N -glycosylation. Therefore, this plant was selected for further attempts at glycoengineering. Two main approaches were developed in order to humanize N -glycosylation in alfalfa. The first was a knock-down of two plant-specific N -glycan maturation enzymes, β1,2-xylosyltransferase and α1,3-fucosyltransferases, using sense, antisense and RNA interference strategies. In a second approach, with the ultimate goal of rebuilding the whole human sialylation pathway, human β1,4-galactosyltransferase was expressed in alfalfa in a native form or in fusion with a targeting domain from N -acetylglucosaminyltransferase I, a glycosyltransferase located in the early Golgi apparatus in Nicotiana tabacum . Both knock-down and knock-in strategies strongly, but not completely, inhibited the biosynthesis of α1,3-fucose- and β1,2-xylose-containing glycoepitopes in transgenic alfalfa. However, recombinant human β1,4-galactosyltransferase activity in transgenic alfalfa completely prevented the accumulation of the Lewis a glycoepitope on complex N -glycans.     

Growth phase-dependent expression of proteins with decreased plant-specific N-glycans and immunogenicity in tobacco BY2 cells

Plants possess some desirable characteristics to synthesize recombinant glycoproteins for pharma-ceutical application. However, the mammalian glycoproteins produced in plants are somewhat different from their natural counterparts in terms of N-glycoforms. The immunogenicity of plant-specific glyco-epitopes is the major concern in human therapy. Here, the distribution of N-glycans in different growth phases of tobacco BY2 cells and their immunogenicity in mice were determined. It was ob-served that the percentage of β1,2-xylose and α1,3-fucose in proteins of growing cells increased and the corresponding protein extracts caused accelerated immune response in mice. Based on this ob-servation, the recombinant erythropoietin in BY2 cells was expressed and characterized, and Western blot analysis showed that the recombinant erythropoietin contained a relatively small amount of plant-specific glyco-epitopes in the early phase of culture growth. This study may provide a simple but effective strategy for the production of therapeutic glycoproteins with human-like N-glycan structures in plant hosts to avoid a great allergenic risk.     

Generation of glyco-engineered Nicotiana benthamiana for the production of monoclonal antibodies with a homogeneous human-like N-glycan structure

A common argument against using plants as a production system for therapeutic proteins is their inability to perform authentic human N -glycosylation (i.e. the presence of β1,2-xylosylation and core α1,3-fucosylation). In this study, RNA interference (RNAi) technology was used to obtain a targeted down-regulation of the endogenous β1,2- xylosyltransferase (XylT) and α1,3- fucosyltransferase (FucT) genes in Nicotiana benthamiana , a tobacco-related plant species widely used for recombinant protein expression. Three glyco-engineered lines with significantly reduced xylosylated and/or core α1,3-fucosylated glycan structures were generated. The human anti HIV monoclonal antibody 2G12 was transiently expressed in these glycosylation mutants as well as in wild-type plants. Four glycoforms of 2G12 differing in the presence/absence of xylose and core α1,3-fucose residues in their N -glycans were produced. Notably, 2G12 produced in XylT/FucT-RNAi plants was found to contain an almost homogeneous N -glycan species without detectable xylose and α1,3-fucose residues. Plant-derived glycoforms were indistinguishable from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-derived 2G12 with respect to electrophoretic properties, and exhibited functional properties (i.e. antigen binding and HIV neutralization activity) at least equivalent to those of the CHO counterpart. The generated RNAi lines were stable, viable and did not show any obvious phenotype, thus providing a robust tool for the production of therapeutically relevant glycoproteins in plants with a humanized N -glycan structure.     

慢病毒介导的RNA干扰ppGalNAc-T2基因表达抑制Jurkat细胞增殖和迁移

在肿瘤中,黏蛋白O-糖基化有着重要的生物学功能.控制O-糖基化起始合成的是多肽∶N-乙酰氨基半乳糖转移酶家族,研究该酶家族对阐明O-糖基化在肿瘤中的作用机制有重要的意义.探讨了靶向干扰ppGalNAc-T2基因表达对白血病Jurkat细胞株增殖及迁移的影响.首先合成ppGalNAc-T2特异shRNA干扰及对照序列,将其连接至慢病毒干扰载体YH1;重组载体经双酶切、测序鉴定正确后与包装质粒共转染293T细胞,获得的病毒颗粒经过滤纯化后感染Jurkat细胞,流式细胞分选仪进行细胞分选以获得ppGalNAc-T2基因稳定干扰表达的Jurkat细胞,然后使用RT-PCR和Western blot方法对各组别细胞中ppGalNAc-T2基因表达情况进行分析,以确定ppGalNAc-T2基因表达被有效干扰;进一步利用MTT实验和Transwell实验分析ppGalNAc-T2基因干扰表达对Jurkat细胞增殖及迁移的影响.结果表明,成功构建了靶向干扰ppGalNAc-T2基因表达的慢病毒载体,感染Jurkat细胞后能稳定干扰ppGalNAc-T2基因表达.MTT和Transwell实验研究发现,下调ppGalNAc-T2基因表达对Jurkat细胞增殖和迁移有抑制作用.     

RNA interference of the BMPR-IB gene blocks BMP-2-induced osteogenic gene expression in human bone cells

We have previously shown that human bone cells express bone morphogenetic protein receptor-IB (BMPR-IB). However, little is known about the precise role of this receptor in the response of osteoblastic genes to the BMP in these cells. To determine BMPR-IB-dependent osteoblastic gene expression, the present study examined the effects of BMPR-IB knockdown on BMP-induced osteoblast-associated genes. BMPR-IB mRNA and protein were markedly suppressed by transfection of cells with BMPR-IB siRNA. Using three different bone cell samples, BMP-2 stimulation of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OC), distal-less homeobox-5 (Dlx5) and core binding factor alpha-1 (Cbfa1) was found to be specifically and significantly reduced in the BMPR-IB siRNA-transfected cultures compared with that of control cultures. Our study has provided evidence that BMPR-IB-dependent signaling plays a crucial role in BMP-2 up-regulation of the ALP, OC, Dlx5 and Cbfa1 genes in bone cells, suggesting a pivotal role of this receptor in BMP-2-induced osteoblast differentiation in vitro. These findings thus suggest the possibility that BMPR-IB could be a therapeutic target for enhancing bone regeneration in vivo.     

Salt-Adaptation of Tobacco BY2 Cells Induces Change in Glycoform of N-Glycans: Enhancement of Exo- and Endo-Glycosidase Activities by Salt-Adaptation

In this report, we describe that a salt adaptation of plant cells induces glycoform changes in N-glycoproteins. Intracellular and cell-wall glycopeptides were prepared from glycoproteins expressed in wild-type BY2 cells and salt-adapted cells. N-Glycans were liberated from those glycopeptides by hydrazinolysis, and the released oligosaccharides were N-acetylated and pyridylaminated. The structures of pyridylaminated (PA-) N-glycans were analyzed by a combination of two-dimensional sugar-chain mapping, MS analysis, and exoglycosidase digestion. In both wild-type cells and salt-adapted cells, the plant complex type structure was predominant among N-glycans expressed on glycoproteins, but we found that the Man2Xyl1Fuc1GlcNAc2 structure was significantly expressed on intracellular and cell-wall glycoproteins of the salt-adapted cells. Furthermore, enhancement of the specific activities of α-mannosidase and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase was observed in the salt-adapted BY2 cells, suggesting that the glycoform changes are due to changes in glycosidase activities.     

Inhibition of protease activity by antisense RNA improves recombinant protein production in Nicotiana tabacum cv. Bright Yellow 2 (BY‐2) suspension cells

Recombinant proteins produced in plant suspension cultures are often degraded by endogenous plant proteases when secreted into the medium, resulting in low yields. To generate protease‐deficient tobacco BY‐2 cell lines and to retrieve the sequence information, we cloned four different protease cDNAs from tobacco BY‐2 cells (NtAP, NtCP, NtMMP1, and NtSP), which represent the major catalytic classes. The simultaneous expression of antisense RNAs against these endogenous proteases led to the establishment of cell lines with reduced levels of endogenous protease expression and activity at late stages of the cultivation cycle. One of the cell lines showing reduced proteolytic activity in the culture medium was selected for the expression of the recombinant full‐length IgG1(κ) antibody 2F5, recognizing the gp41 surface protein of HIV‐1. This cell line showed significantly reduced degradation of the 2F5 heavy chain, resulting in four‐fold higher accumulation of the intact antibody heavy chain when compared to transformed wild type cells expressing the same antibody. N‐terminal sequencing data revealed that the antibody has two cleavage sites within the CDR‐H3 and one site at the end of the H4‐framework region. These cleavage sites are found to be vulnerable to serine proteases. The data provide a basis for further improvement of plant cells for the production of recombinant proteins in plant cell suspension cultures.     

Persistent RNA virus infection of lepidopteran cell lines: Interactions with the RNAi machinery

RNAi is broadly used as a technique for specific gene silencing in insects but few studies have investigated the factors that can affect its efficiency. Viral infections have the potential to interfere with RNAi through their production of viral suppressors of RNAi (VSRs) and the production of viral small RNAs that can saturate and inactivate the RNAi machinery. In this study, the impact of persistent infection of the RNA viruses Flock house virus (FHV) and Macula-like virus (MLV) on RNAi efficiency was investigated in selected lepidopteran cell lines. Lepidopteran cell lines were found to be readily infected by both viruses without any apparent pathogenic effects, with the exception of Bombyx-derived Bm5 and BmN4 cells, which could not be infected by FHV. Because Sf21 cells were free from both FHV and MLV and Hi5-SF were free from FHV and only contained low levels of MLV, they were tested to evaluate the impact of the presence of the virus. Two types of RNAi reporter assays however did not detect a significant interference with gene silencing in infected Sf21 and Hi5-SF cells when compared to virus-free cells. In Hi5 cells, the presence of FHV could be easily cleared through the expression of an RNA hairpin that targets its VSR gene, confirming that the RNAi mechanism was not inhibited. Sequencing indicated that the B2 RNAi inhibitor gene of FHV and a putative VSR gene from MLV were intact in persistently infected cell lines, indicating that protection against RNAi remains essential for virus survival. It is proposed that infection levels of persistent viruses in the cell lines are too low to have an impact on RNAi efficiency in the lepidopteran cell lines and that encoded VSRs act locally at the sites of viral replication (mitochondrial membranes) without affecting the rest of the cytoplasm.     

Generation of genome-modified Drosophila cell lines using SwAP

The ease of generating genetically modified animals and cell lines has been markedly increased by the recent development of the versatile CRISPR/Cas9 tool. However, while the isolation of isogenic cell populations is usually straightforward for mammalian cell lines, the generation of clonal Drosophila cell lines has remained a longstanding challenge, hampered by the difficulty of getting Drosophila cells to grow at low densities. Here, we describe a highly efficient workflow to generate clonal Cas9-engineered Drosophila cell lines using a combination of cell pools, limiting dilution in conditioned medium and PCR with allele-specific primers, enabling the efficient selection of a clonal cell line with a suitable mutation profile. We validate the protocol by documenting the isolation, selection and verification of eight independently Cas9-edited armadillo mutant Drosophila cell lines. Our method provides a powerful and simple workflow that improves the utility of Drosophila cells for genetic studies with CRISPR/Cas9.     

靶向Ang2的RNAi慢病毒载体的构建及其对恶性黑色素瘤细胞中Ang2基因表达的影响

目的 构建携带促血管生成素2-小干扰RNA（Ang2-siRNA）慢病毒载体,观察其对恶性黑色素瘤细胞中Ang2基因表达的干扰作用.方法 将经XbaⅠ酶切电泳鉴定的带有加强绿色荧光蛋白的转移质粒（pNL-EGFP）载体与pSilencer 1.0-U6启动子-促血管生成素2-小干扰RNA（pSilencer 1.0-U6-Ang2-siRNA）重组质粒连接,产生加强绿色荧光蛋白的转移质粒-U6启动子-促血管生成素2-Ⅰ（pNL-EGFP-U6-Ang2-Ⅰ）、加强绿色荧光蛋白的转移质粒-U6启动子-促血管生成素2-Ⅱ（pNL-EGFP-U6-Ang2-Ⅱ）慢病毒转移质粒,电泳筛选阳性克隆,测序鉴定.用连接成功的慢病毒转移质粒、水疱性口炎病毒G蛋白（pVSVG）包膜质粒和pHelper包装质粒共转染293T细胞,产生pNL-EGFP-U6-Ang2-Ⅰ、pNL-EGFP-U6-Ang2-Ⅱ慢病毒.收集病毒上清,测定病毒滴度.将收集的病毒上清感染恶性黑色素瘤细胞,通过实时荧光定量RT-PCR测定抑制Ang2基因表达的效率.结果 酶切电泳与测序鉴定证实成功构建了Ang2-SiRNA慢病毒载体,293T细胞测定病毒原液滴度为8.0×103/ml.实时荧光定量RT-PCR结果显示：Ang2-siRNA慢病毒载体感染恶性黑色素瘤细胞,抑制了恶性黑色素瘤细胞中Ang2基因的表达（P＜0.05）.结论 成功构建了Ang2-SiRNA慢病毒载体,体外研究显示Ang2-SiRNA慢病毒载体能抑制恶性黑色素瘤细胞中Ang2 mRNA的表达,为下一步进行裸鼠恶性黑色素瘤移植瘤生长的干预实验奠定基础,为肿瘤的基因治疗提供实验依据.     

Production of recombinant human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor in rice cell suspension culture with a human-like N-glycan structure

The rice α-amylase 3D promoter system, which is activated under sucrose-starved conditions, has emerged as a useful system for producing recombinant proteins. However, using rice as the production system for therapeutic proteins requires modifications of the N-glycosylation pattern because of the potential immunogenicity of plant-specific sugar residues. In this study, glyco-engineered rice were generated as a production host for therapeutic glycoproteins, using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to down-regulate the endogenous α-1,3-fucosyltransferase (α-1,3-FucT) and β-1,2-xylosyltransferase (β-1,2-XylT) genes. N-linked glycans from the RNAi lines were identified, and their structures were compared with those isolated from a wild-type cell suspension. The inverted-repeat chimeric RNA silencing construct of α-1,3-fucosyltransferase and β-1,2-xylosyltransferase (Δ3FT/XT)-9 glyco-engineered line with significantly reduced core α-1,3-fucosylated and/or β-1,2-xylosylated glycan structures was established. Moreover, levels of plant-specific α-1,3-fucose and/or β-1,2-xylose residues incorporated into recombinant human granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) produced from the N44 + Δ3FT/XT-4 glyco-engineered line co-expressing ihpRNA of Δ3FT/XT and hGM-CSF were significantly decreased compared with those in the previously reported N44-08 transgenic line expressing hGM-CSF. None of the glyco-engineered lines differed from the wild type with respect to cell division, proliferation or ability to secrete proteins into the culture medium.     

Generation of tobacco lines with widely different reduction in nicotine levels via RNA silencing approaches

Issues related to the nicotine content of tobacco have been public concerns.Several reports have described decreasing nicotine levels by silencing the putrescine N-methyltransferase (PMT) genes, but the reported variations of nicotine levels among transgenic lines are relatively low in general. Here we describe the generation in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) lines with widely different, reduced nicotine levels using three kinds of RNA-silencing approaches.The relative efficacies of suppression were compared among the three approaches regarding the aspect of nicotine level in tobacco leaves.By suppressing expression of the PMT genes, over 200 transgenic lines were obtained with nicotine levels reduced by 9.1-96.7%. RNA interference (RNAi) was the most efficient method of reducing the levels of nicotine,whereas cosuppression and antisense methods were less effective. This report gives clues to the efficient generation of plants with a variety of metabolite levels, and the results demonstrate the relative efficiencies of various RNA-silencing methods.     

RNA interference technology to improve the baculovirus-insect cell expression system

The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is a popular manufacturing platform for the production of recombinant proteins, antiviral vaccines, gene therapy vectors, and biopesticides. Besides its successful applications in the industrial sector, the system has also played a significant role within the academic community given its extensive use in the production of hard-to-express eukaryotic multiprotein complexes for structural characterization for example. However, as other expression platforms, BEVS has to be continually improved to overcome its limitation and adapt to the constant demand for manufacturing processes that provide recombinant products with improved quality at higher yields and lower production cost.RNA interference, or RNAi, is a relatively recent technology that has revolutionized how scientist study gene function. Originally introduced as a tool to study biological and disease-related processes it has recently been applied to improve the yield and quality of recombinant proteins produced in several expression systems. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the impact that RNAi-mediated silencing of cellular or viral genes in the BEVS has on the production of recombinant products. We also propose a critical analysis of several aspects of the methodologies described in the literature for the use of RNAi technology in the BEVS with the intent to provide the reader with eventually useful guidance for designing experiments.     

抑制NDRG2基因表达对宫颈癌Hela细胞紫杉醇化疗敏感性的影响

目的:NDRG2是N-Myc downstream regulated gene家族的成员之一,与细胞增殖和分化相关.前期研究发现,抑制NDRG2表达可以提高宫颈癌Hela细胞对于顺铂的化疗敏感性,本研究采用RNA干扰技术抑制人宫颈癌Hela细胞中NDRG2基因的表达研究其对Hela细胞紫杉醇化疗敏感性的影响.方法:利用化学合成的针对NDRG2特异性siRNA瞬时转染Hela细胞株,采用RT-PCR和Western Blot检测NDRG2 mRNA和蛋白表达情况,通过MTT法检测其与对照细胞在顺铂作用下的体外存活率差异.SPSSll.0统计包处理,采用t检验,P＜0.05为差异有统计学意义.结果:在mRNA和蛋白水平,化学合成的NDRG2特异性siRNA oligomer可使Hela细胞的NDRG2表达水平明显降低.在0.1、1、10、100、500、1000 μg/mL紫杉醇浓度组,Negative-control和NDRG2siRNA细胞的相应细胞存活率分别为97.21±2.38、90.09±2.42、83.35±3.86、62.93±3.75、18.22±5.46、1.14± 0.67和99.62±3.15、94.91±3.83、85.71±2.93、58.59± 3.36、17.99±3.40、0.73±0.34,组间比较P值均大于0.05,差异无统计学意义.结论:抑制NDRG2表达不影响宫颈癌Hela细胞在紫杉醇作用下的细胞存活率,不能提高其对紫杉醇的化疗敏感性.进一步拓展了对该基因的功能认知.     

Suppression of bcl-2 gene by RNA interference increases chemosensitivity to cisplatin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE1

To explore the effect of suppressing BCL-2 expression using RNA interference (RNAi) technique in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE1. CNE1 cell lines stably expressing shRNAs targeted bcl-2 and GL3 gene were established and gene expression inhibition was assessed by Western blotting analysis. The effect of suppressing bcl-2 by RNAi on cell growth was studied, the apoptosis induction and the sensitization of CNE1 cells to cisplatin were quantified by MTT assay and flow cytometry. The results showed that: stable transfection of CNE1     

Evaluation of silicone tubing toxicity using tobacco BY2 culture

Summary Silicone tubing is frequently used for gas exchange in cell culture systems, due to its biocompatibility and high permeability to CO₂ and O₂. In cell culture chambers, medium pH and oxygen levels are often maintained by gas exchange through a coil of silicone tubing. Culture medium is recirculated between the gas exchanger and the culture chamber which contains a suspension of cells. We report that the type of agent used for silicone vulcanization (peroxide or platinum) can markedly affect its biocompatibility, and that tobacco cell culture represents a particularly sensitive indicator of tubing cytotoxicity. Under the conditions studied (cell suspension maintained with forward-reverse flow and stirring), peroxide-cured silicone tubing was toxic to the tobacco BY2 cell culture, in contrast to the platinum-cured silicone tubing that was completely biocompatible. Upon further investigation by mass spectrometry, it was determined that a component with a molecular mass of 288 Da, possibly a tetrachlorinated biphenyl, was present in culture medium in contact with peroxide-cured tubing but not in medium in contact with platinum-cured tubing. Additional curing of peroxide-cured tubing resulted in cell morphology and viability comparable to controls. These data suggest that improperly cured silicone tubing can release catalytic byproducts which can be toxic to plant cells, and that the BY2 tobacco cells represent a suitable model system for studies of materials biocompatibility.