Bacterial magnetic particles (BMPs)-PEI as a novel and efficient non-viral gene delivery system

BACKGROUND: Non-viral methods of gene delivery, especially using polyethylenimine (PEI), have been widely used in gene therapy or DNA vaccination. However, the PEI system has its own drawbacks, which limits its applications. METHODS: We have developed a novel non-viral delivery system based on PEI coated on the surface of bacterial magnetic nanoparticles (BMPs). The ability of BMPs-PEI complexes to bind DNA was determined by retardation of plasmid DNA in agarose gel electrophoresis. The transfection efficiency of BMPs-PEI/DNA complexes into eukaryotic cells was determined by flow cytometric analysis. The MTT assay was invited to investigate the cytotoxicity of BMPs-PEI/DNA complexes. The expression efficiency in vivo of BMPs-PEI bound to the plasmid pCMVbeta encoding beta-galactosidase was evaluated intramuscularly inoculated into mice. The immune responses of in vivo delivery of BMPs-PEI bound plasmid pcD-VP1 were determined by MTT assay for T cell proliferation and ELISA for detecting total IgG antibodies. RESULTS: BMPs-PEI complexes could bind DNA and provide protection from DNase degradation. The transfection efficiency of BMPs-PEI/DNA complexes was higher than that in PEI/DNA complexes. Interestingly, in contrast to PEI, the BMPs-PEI complex was less cytotoxic to cells in vitro. We further demonstrated that the BMPs-PEI system can deliver an exogenous gene to animals and allow it to be expressed in vivo. Such expression resulted in higher levels of humoral and cellular immune responses against the target antigen compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed a novel BMPs-PEI gene delivery system with a high transfection efficiency and low toxicity, which presents an attractive strategy for gene therapy and DNA vaccination.     

Apoptosis induced by direct triggering of mitochondrial apoptosis proceeds in the near-absence of some apoptotic markers

Apoptotic cell death is characterized by the activation of the apoptotic signal transduction pathway on one hand and a number of regularly found morphological and biochemical features, such as nuclear condensation and mitochondrial depolarisation. Although much of our knowledge of apoptosis was obtained using noxious stimuli in cell culture, these apoptotic stimuli are likely to have numerous off-target effects that may contribute to or obscure the immediate effects of the apoptotic pathway. We have developed a cellular model where mitochondrial apoptosis is directly triggered by the tetracycline-regulated expression of the pro-apoptotic BH3-only protein Bim_S. We report the comparison of Bim_S-induced apoptosis with the commonly used apoptotic stimuli staurosporine and UV-light. While the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO, activation of caspases and nuclear morphological changes occurred with very similar kinetics, striking differences were found in other apoptotic assays. In particular, drop in mitochondrial membrane potential, loss of plasma membrane integrity and the appearance of sub-G1 nuclei were strongly reduced in cells dying upon Bim_S-induction, compared to staurosporine- or UV-induced apoptosis. The results thus indicate that the link between the apoptotic pathway and commonly used indicators of apoptosis is less tight than it appears from experiments with cytotoxic stimuli.     

Selective labeling and monitoring pH changes of lysosomes in living cells with fluorogenic pH sensors

New BODIPY-based pH probes have been designed with excitation and emission wavelengths suitable for fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. These pH probes are cell-permeable, selectively label lysosomes, and can be used for noninvasive monitoring of lysosomal pH changes during physiological and pathological processes.     

Epigenetic reprogramming,gene expression and in vitro development of porcine SCNT embryos are significantly improved by a histone deacetylase inhibitor—m-carboxycinnamic acid bishydroxamide (CBHA)

Insufficient epigenetic reprogramming of donor nuclei is believed to be one of the most important causes of low development efficiency of mammalian somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Previous studies have shown that both the in vitro and in vivo development of mouse SCNT embryos could be increased significantly by treatment with various histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), including Trichostatin A, Scriptaid, and m-carboxycinnamic acid bishydroxamide (CBHA), in which only the effect of CBHA has not yet been tested in other species. In this paperweexamine the effect ofCBHAtreatment on the development of porcine SCNT embryos. We have discovered the optimum dosage and time for CBHA treatment: incubating SCNT embryos with 2 μmol/L CBHA for 24 h after activation could increase the blastocyst rate from 12.7% to 26.5%. Immunofluorescence results showed that the level of acetylation at histone 3 lysine 9 (AcH3K9), acetylation at histone 3 lysine 18 (AcH3K18), and acetylation at histone 4 lysine 16 (AcH4K16) was raised after CBHAtreatment. Meanwhile,CBHAtreatment improved the expression of development relating genes such as pou5f1, cdx2, and the imprinted genes like igf2. Despite these promising in vitro results and histone reprogramming, the full term development was not significantly increased after treatment. In conclusion, CBHA improves the in vitro development of pig SCNT embryos, increases the global histone acetylation and corrects the expression of some developmentally important genes at early stages. As in mouse SCNT, we have shown that nuclear epigenetic reprogramming in pig early SCNTembryos can be modified by CBHA treatment.     

Dual functions of the steroid hormone receptor coactivator 3 in modulating resistance to thyroid hormone

Mutations of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRbeta) gene cause resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH). RTH is characterized by increased serum thyroid hormone associated with nonsuppressible thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and impaired growth. It is unclear how the actions of TRbeta mutants are modulated in vivo to affect the manifestation of RTH. Using a mouse model of RTH that harbors a knockin mutation of the TRbeta gene (TRbetaPV mouse), we investigated the effect of the steroid hormone receptor coactivator 3 (SRC-3) on RTH. In TRbetaPV mice deficient in SRC-3, dysfunction of the pituitary-thyroid axis and hypercholesterolemia was lessened, but growth impairment of RTH was worsened. The lessened dysfunction of the pituitary-thyroid axis was attributed to a significant decrease in growth of the thyroid and pituitary. Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) was further reduced in TRbetaPV mice deficient in SRC-3. This effect led to reduced signaling of the IGF-1/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway that is known to mediate cell growth and proliferation. Thus, SRC-3 modulates RTH by at least two mechanisms, one via its role as a receptor coregulator and the other via its growth regulatory role through the IGF-1/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling.     

Mechanism of natural rifampin resistance of Streptomyces spp

In a previous phylogenetic study of the genus Streptomyces using the rpoB gene, N531, which stands for an aspargine residue in position 531 of RpoB instead of serine (S531), known to be associated with natural rifampin resistance in several organisms, was also observed in the RpoB of several Streptomyces species. To determine whether N531 is associated with the rifampin resistance of Streptomyces strains, we analyzed the rifampin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 11 strains of the N531 RpoB type (putative rifampin resistant strains) and of 12 strains of the S531 RpoB type. (putative rifampin susceptible strains). In general, the N531 RpoB types showed higher MIC levels (16-128 microg/ml) than the S531 RpoB types (0-8 microg/ml). To determine the isolation frequencies of N531 RpoB types versus rifampin concentration, we applied screening methods involving different rifampin concentrations (0, 20 and 100 microg/ml) to Korean soils. Higher isolation frequencies of the N531 RpoB types were observed at the higher rifampin concentrations. In addition, during the course of this study we developed an allele specific PCR method to detect rifampin resistant Streptomyces strains. Our results strongly suggested that N531 might be involved in a major mechanism of natural rifampin resistance in strains of the genus Streptomyces.