The production and characteristics of transgenic mice expressing the surface protein gene of the human hepatitis B virus

Transgenic mice were obtained that contained a gene of human hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The integrated HBsAg DNA sequences were inherited in the normal Mendelian fashion. 6 of 25 investigated transgenic mice expressed the HBsAg. The expression was detected in the serum and within the cytoplasm of hepatocytes. Specific tissue pathology was shown in these animals, including systemic hyperplasia of lymphoid tissue and degenerative changes in the liver and kidney parenchymatous cell elements.     

复制型HBV转基因小鼠遗传稳定性研究

目的：提高复制型HBV转基因小鼠的遗传稳定性。方法：应用回交传代及双杂交育种法,经荧光定量PCR、ELISA和化学发光法研究HBV基因在小鼠体内的复制与表达。结果：HBV转基因小鼠已稳定传至第23代,血清HBsAg达4122.31±2044.74IU/ml,93.93%的转基因小鼠血清HBV DNA达104-106copies/ml,表达复制水平较早期有显著提高并稳定传代;雌雄小鼠之间表达水平无显著性差异。结论：该转基因小鼠经过培育传代,已成为一个高表达且遗传稳定的复制型HBV小鼠模型。     

比较不同血清型AAV携带HBV基因组建立乙肝小鼠模型效果

近年来,用8型腺相关病毒携带1.3拷贝HBV(Hepatitis B virus)基因组建立的HBV持续感染小鼠模型受到越来越多的关注。本研究比较了除AAV8之外的其他4种血清型重组腺相关病毒(Recombinant adeno-associated virus,rAAV)建立乙肝小鼠模型效果。首先,将携带1.3拷贝ayw亚型HBV基因组的1型、2型、5型、8型、9型腺相关病毒分别以1×10~(11) vg/只(Viral genome,vg)的剂量尾静脉注射C57BL/6J小鼠;利用ELISA方法监测小鼠血清中HBeAg和HBsAg表达水平;用定量PCR方法检测小鼠血清和肝脏中HBV DNA拷贝数;用免疫组化方法检测小鼠肝脏中HBc Ag的表达;用HE染色检测小鼠肝脏病理变化。结果显示,在持续8周中,5组小鼠血清中都检测到HBeAg和HBsAg的表达,血清和肝脏中均检测到HBV DNA的存在。HBeAg、HBsAg、HBV DNA表达水平高低依次为AAV8AAV9AAV1AAV5AAV2。5组小鼠用免疫组化方法都检测到肝脏中HBcAg表达,HE染色病理检测均观察到不同程度的肝损伤。本研究扩大了能用于建立乙肝小鼠持续感染模型可选择的AAV载体种类,发现虽然AAV1、2、5、9的建模效果不如AAV8,但它们都可以介导建立持续感染的乙肝小鼠模型,建模效果依次为AAV8AAV9AAV1AAV5AAV2。其中AAV9介导的建模效果与AAV8载体最为接近,可以替代AAV8载体用于有效地建立HBV持续感染的小鼠模型。     

广西HBsAg阳性母亲的胎儿肝、肾细胞中乙肝病毒DNA存在状态的研究

采用核酸分子杂交Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ印迹法,以３２Ｐ标记的ＨＢＶＤＮＡ为探针,检测ＨＢｓＡｇ阳性母亲引产的４０例胎儿的肝、肾组织。结果有２例胎肝和１例胎肾细胞ＤＮＡ出现大于３．２ｋｂ的杂交带,表明ＨＢＶＤＮＡ已处于整合状态。胎肾细胞基因组中查出ＨＢＶＤＮＡ整合为首次报道。     

Persistence of the Recombinant Genomes of Woodchuck Hepatitis Virus in the Mouse Model

Hydrodynamic injection (HI) with a replication competent hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome may lead to transient or prolonged HBV replication in mice. However, the prolonged HBV persistence after HI depends on the specific backbone of the vector carrying HBV genome and the genetic background of the mouse strain. We asked whether a genetically closely related hepadnavirus, woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV), may maintain the gene expression and replication in the mouse liver after HI. Interestingly, we found that HI of pBS-WHV1.3 containing a 1.3 fold overlength WHV genome in BALB/c mouse led to the long presence of WHV DNA and WHV proteins expression in the mouse liver. Thus, we asked whether WHV genome carrying foreign DNA sequences could maintain the long term gene expression and persistence. For this purpose, the coding region of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) was inserted into the WHV genome to replace the corresponding region. Three recombinant WHV-HBV genomes were constructed with the replacement with HBsAg a-determinant, major HBsAg, and middle HBsAg. Serum HBsAg, viral DNA, hepatic WHV protein expression, and viral replication intermediates were detected in mice after HI with recombinant genomes. Similarly, the recombinant genomes could persist for a prolonged period of time up to 45 weeks in mice. WHV and recombinant WHV-HBV genomes did not trigger effective antibody and T-cell responses to viral proteins. The ability of recombinant WHV constructs to persist in mice is an interesting aspect for the future investigation and may be explored for in vivo gene transfer.     

Analysis of tissue-specific expression of human type II collagen cDNA driven by different sizes of the upstream region of the beta-casein promoter

To investigate the ability of 1.8 kb or 3.1 kb bovine beta-casein promoter sequences for the expression regulation of transgene in vivo, transgenic mice were produced with human type II collagen gene fused to 1.8 kb and 3.1 kb of bovine beta-casein promoter by DNA microinjection. Five and three transgenic founder mice were produced using transgene constructs with 1.8 kb and 3.1 kb of bovine beta-casein promoters respectively. Founder mice were outbred with the wild type to produce F1 and F2 progenies. Total RNAs were extracted from four tissues (mammary gland, liver, kidney, and muscle) of female F1 transgenic mice of each transgenic line following parturition. RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis revealed that the expression level of transgene was variable among the transgenic lines, but transgenic mice containing 1.8 kb of promoter sequences exhibited more leaky expression of transgene in other tissues compared to those with 3.1 kb promoter. Moreover, Western blot analysis of transgenic mouse milk showed that human type II collagen proteins secreted into the milk of lactating transgenic mice contained 1.8 kb and 3.1 kb of bovine beta-casein promoter. These results suggest that promoter sequences of 3.1 kb bovine beta-casein gene can be used for induction of mammary gland-specific expression of transgenes in transgenic animals.     

重组8型腺相关病毒介导HBV急性感染树鼩模型建立

目的利用重组8型腺相关病毒介导1.3拷贝HBV基因组（1.3HBV,ayw亚型）在树鼩肝脏表达,建立HBV急性感染树鼩模型。方法通过大腿内侧静脉注射将携带有1.3 HBV的重组8型腺相关病毒（recombi-nant adeno-associated virus 8,rAAV8-1.3HBV）导入树鼩肝脏,通过ELISA检测树鼩血清中HBsAg、HBeAg、HBsAb、HBeAb、HBcAb,荧光定量PCR检测树鼩肝脏和血清中HBV DNA,全自动生化分析仪检测血清中ALT水平,并观察感染后肝脏的病变情况。结果 HBV感染主要血清标志物1～2周内均检测阳性;30 d后肝组织仍可检测到病毒抗原阳性细胞;55 d时肝组织HBV DNA拷贝数仍可达到104～105;树鼩血清中HBV DNA拷贝数持续一个月高于正常组;肝组织炎细胞略增多,血清ALT水平持续升高。结论 rAAV8所携带的HBV基因组高效专一导入树鼩肝细胞并复制表达,成功建立HBV急性感染树鼩模型,为进一步探索rAAV8树鼩慢性感染模型打下一定的基础。     

Adenoviral-vector mediated transfer of HBV-targeted ribonuclease can inhibit HBV replication in vivo

Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-targeted ribonuclease (HBV-TR) is a fused protein of HBV core protein and a ribonuclease, human eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (hEDN). Our previous results showed that HBV-TR could effectively inhibit HBV replication in vitro. To test whether HBV-TR can inhibit HBV replication in vivo, we constructed a recombinant adenoviral vector expressing HBV-TR (Ad-TR) and used it to treat HBV-transgenic mice. Immunohistochemical staining showed that TR was expressed at varied levels in different tissues of Ad-TR-treated mice. Serum HBsAg concentration was decreased by 64.8% for the Ad-TR-treated mice compared with empty adenoviral vector-treated control mice. The amount of HBV-DNA in the livers of the Ad-TR-treated mice was 0.74 × 10⁷ copies/μg of genomic DNA while the amount of HBV-DNA in the livers of the empty adenoviral vector-treated control mice was 2.86 × 10⁷ copies/μg of genomic DNA. Serum HBV-DNA of Ad-TR-treated mice was also decreased by 71.4% compared with empty adenoviral vector-treated control mice. In addition, for some Ad-TR-treated mice, the expression of HBsAg in the liver cells turned negative. No discernible adverse effects were observed for Ad-TR-treated mice. Taken together, our results indicated that adenovirus mediated transfer of HBV-TR can inhibit HBV replication in vivo.     

Therapeutic inhibition of hepatitis B virus surface antigen expression by RNA interference

RNA interference (RNAi) mediated inhibition of virus-specific genes has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy against virus induced diseases. Human hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) has proven to be a significant risk factor in HBV induced liver diseases, and an increasing number of mutations in HBsAg are known to enhance the difficulty in therapeutic interventions. The key challenge for achieving effective gene silencing in particular for the purpose of the therapeutics is primarily based on the effectiveness and specificity of the RNAi targeting sequence. To explore the therapeutic potential of RNAi on HBV induced diseases in particular resulted from aberrant or persistent expression of HBsAg, we have especially screened and identified the most potent and specific RNAi targeting sequence that directly mediated inhibition of the HBsAg expression. Using an effective DNA vector-based shRNA expression system, we have screened 10 RNAi targeting sequences (HBsAg-1 to 10) that were chosen from HBsAg coding region, in particular the major S region, and have identified four targeting sequences that could mediate sequence specific inhibition of the HBsAg expression. Among these four shRNAs, an extremely potent and highly sequence specific HBsAg-3 shRNA was found to inhibit HBsAg expression in mouse HBV model. The inhibition was not only preventive in cotransfection experiments, but also had therapeutic effect as assessed by post-treatment protocols. Moreover, this HBsAg-3 shRNA also exhibited a great potency of inhibition in transgenic mice that constitutively expressed HBsAg. These results indicate that HBsAg-3 shRNA can be considered as a powerful therapeutic agent on HBsAg induced diseases.     

Replication and gene expression of hepatitis B virus in a transgenic mouse that contains the complete viral genome.

We have sought to address the problem of the host and tissue specificity of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) by using transgenic mice obtained after injection of head-to-tail dimers of the HBV genome. Viral DNA replication and protein synthesis were obtained in one of nine transgenic mice containing integrated HBV DNA. The RNAs encoding the HBV surface antigen and the core antigen were synthesized in the liver, the kidney, and the heart. In these organs, DNA replicative intermediates similar to those found during normal infection were associated with corelike structures. Large amounts of core polypeptides and capsids were detected in the nuclei in the absence of any pathological effect. These results show that the different steps of HBV multiplication can take place in nonliver nonhuman cells once the problem of entry into the host cell is overcome. In the absence of a small laboratory animal infectable by HBV, such transgenic mice should be helpful for the study of many aspects of viral multiplication.     

乙型肝炎病毒表面抗原基因在墨西哥酸浆中的表达及其免疫原性的初步研究

以墨西哥酸浆子叶作为外植体,与农杆菌EHA105（含质粒p130HBs)共培养3天,通过延迟筛选的方法用潮霉素加压直接诱导成芽,抗性芽经诱导生根获得转化植株。经PCR、Southern点杂交等分子检测,证实目的基因已整合到墨西哥酸浆基因组中。ELISA检测证实了在墨西哥酸浆中表达的HBsAg具有较好的活性。初步比较了目的基因在转化植株、不同器官的表达水平差异。取注射注免1次但抗体水平明显下降的Babl/c小鼠,口服饲喂加强免疫,有明显的特异性抗体回升反应。表明转基因墨西哥酸浆疫苗作为口服加强免疫具有重要的理论和实用价值。