Novel Disulfide-Containing Poly(β-amino ester)-Functionalised Magnetic Nanoparticles for Efficient Gene Delivery

2016 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yucheng Liu ◽  
Shufeng Li ◽  
Liandong Feng ◽  
Hao Yu ◽  
Xiaoliang Qi ◽  
...  

Poly(β-amino ester)s (PBAEs) have been proved to effectively transfer DNA to various cell types. However, PBAEs with high molecular weights also show considerable toxicities, partly resulting from inadequate degradation of their polyester backbone. In this study, we created novel poly(β-amino ester)s (SF-1, 2, 3, and 4; notation SFs refers to all the four polymers) which were characterised by the cleavable disulfide bonds. Moreover, a new technique, termed magnetofection that uses magnetic nanoparticles to enhance gene expression, has recently been well developed. The negatively charged magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with good biocompatibility in vitro were prepared here to subsequently combine with SFs and DNA via electrostatic interaction, leading to the formation of the magnetic gene complexes MNP/SFs/DNA. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays and transfection experiments were performed in A549 cells to investigate all the resulting complexes. Studies indicated that the synthesised PBAEs exhibited good biodegradation and regulated release of DNA as a result of the reductive cleavage of the disulfide bonds, giving higher transfection efficiency along with much lower cytotoxicity compared with commercially available transfection agent polyethylenimine (Mw 25 kDa). Furthermore, when MNP was involved at a MNP/DNA weight ratio of 0.5, the magnetic gene complexes MNP/SFs/DNA showed enhanced levels of gene expression while maintaining low cytotoxicity.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Alvarez ◽  
Elior Rahmani ◽  
Brandon Jew ◽  
Kristina M. Garske ◽  
Zong Miao ◽  
...  

AbstractSingle-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) measures gene expression in individual nuclei instead of cells, allowing for unbiased cell type characterization in solid tissues. Contrary to single-cell RNA seq (scRNA-seq), we observe that snRNA-seq is commonly subject to contamination by high amounts of extranuclear background RNA, which can lead to identification of spurious cell types in downstream clustering analyses if overlooked. We present a novel approach to remove debris-contaminated droplets in snRNA-seq experiments, called Debris Identification using Expectation Maximization (DIEM). Our likelihood-based approach models the gene expression distribution of debris and cell types, which are estimated using EM. We evaluated DIEM using three snRNA-seq data sets: 1) human differentiating preadipocytes in vitro, 2) fresh mouse brain tissue, and 3) human frozen adipose tissue (AT) from six individuals. All three data sets showed various degrees of extranuclear RNA contamination. We observed that existing methods fail to account for contaminated droplets and led to spurious cell types. When compared to filtering using these state of the art methods, DIEM better removed droplets containing high levels of extranuclear RNA and led to higher quality clusters. Although DIEM was designed for snRNA-seq data, we also successfully applied DIEM to single-cell data. To conclude, our novel method DIEM removes debris-contaminated droplets from single-cell-based data fast and effectively, leading to cleaner downstream analysis. Our code is freely available for use at https://github.com/marcalva/diem.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (19) ◽  
pp. 4903-4908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong-Xia Wang ◽  
Ziyuan Song ◽  
Yeh-Hsing Lao ◽  
Xin Xu ◽  
Jing Gong ◽  
...  

Effective and safe delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing elements remains a challenge. Here we report the development of PEGylated nanoparticles (named P-HNPs) based on the cationic α-helical polypeptide poly(γ-4-((2-(piperidin-1-yl)ethyl)aminomethyl)benzyl-l-glutamate) for the delivery of Cas9 expression plasmid and sgRNA to various cell types and gene-editing scenarios. The cell-penetrating α-helical polypeptide enhanced cellular uptake and promoted escape of pCas9 and/or sgRNA from the endosome and transport into the nucleus. The colloidally stable P-HNPs achieved a Cas9 transfection efficiency up to 60% and sgRNA uptake efficiency of 67.4%, representing an improvement over existing polycation-based gene delivery systems. After performing single or multiplex gene editing with an efficiency up to 47.3% in vitro, we demonstrated that P-HNPs delivering Cas9 plasmid/sgRNA targeting the polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) gene achieved 35% gene deletion in HeLa tumor tissue to reduce the Plk1 protein level by 66.7%, thereby suppressing the tumor growth by >71% and prolonging the animal survival rate to 60% within 60 days. Capable of delivering Cas9 plasmids to various cell types to achieve multiplex gene knock-out, gene knock-in, and gene activation in vitro and in vivo, the P-HNP system offers a versatile gene-editing platform for biological research and therapeutic applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1170-1176
Author(s):  
Minchen Liu ◽  
Yulan Hu ◽  
Yi Feng

This study aimed to examine the transfection ability of polyethylenimine (PEI) (1800 Da)-grafted chitosan (10 kDa) (CP), a newly synthesized PEI derivative, in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The safety evaluation of the complex/DNA was studied in vitro and in vivo. In addition, CP/pGL3 was applied to investigate the effects of transfection efficiency. In this study, CP/DNA can be formed with compatible physicochemical characteristics for gene delivery. CP cytotoxicity decreased in A549 cells. Moreover, a zebrafish embryo model was used for evaluating the safety in vivo. Compared to the PEI (25 kDa) group, the zebrafish hatching rate increased and the mortality rate decreased in the CP/DNA group, which provided an indication of the safety of CP. In comparison with chitosan (100 kDa)-PEI (1200 Da), CP's transfection efficiency was higher in both A549 cells and MSCs. This study aimed to lay the foundation for further applications of CP in gene delivery. Therefore, further gene therapy investigations of CP by using MSCs need to be performed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. eaay3255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Rui ◽  
David R. Wilson ◽  
John Choi ◽  
Mahita Varanasi ◽  
Katie Sanders ◽  
...  

Efficient cytosolic protein delivery is necessary to fully realize the potential of protein therapeutics. Current methods of protein delivery often suffer from low serum tolerance and limited in vivo efficacy. Here, we report the synthesis and validation of a previously unreported class of carboxylated branched poly(β-amino ester)s that can self-assemble into nanoparticles for efficient intracellular delivery of a variety of different proteins. In vitro, nanoparticles enabled rapid cellular uptake, efficient endosomal escape, and functional cytosolic protein release into cells in media containing 10% serum. Moreover, nanoparticles encapsulating CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) induced robust levels of gene knock-in (4%) and gene knockout (>75%) in several cell types. A single intracranial administration of nanoparticles delivering a low RNP dose (3.5 pmol) induced robust gene editing in mice bearing engineered orthotopic murine glioma tumors. This self-assembled polymeric nanocarrier system enables a versatile protein delivery and gene editing platform for biological research and therapeutic applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Williams ◽  
Sanlin Robinson ◽  
Babak Alaei ◽  
Kimberly Homan ◽  
Maryam Clausen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims Questions abound regarding the translation of in vitro 2D cell culture systems to the human setting. This is especially true of the kidney in which there is a complex hierarchical structure and a multitude of cell types. While it is well accepted that extracellular matrix plays a large part in directing cellular physiology emerging research has highlighted the importance of shear stresses and flow rates too. To fully recapitulate the normal gene expression and function of a particular renal cell type how important is it to completely reconstitute their in vivo surroundings? Method To answer this question, we have cultured proximal tubular (PT) epithelial cells in a 3-dimensional channel embedded within an engineered extracellular matrix (ECM) under physiological flow that is colocalised with an adjacent channel lined with renal microvascular endothelial cells that mimic a peritubular capillary. Modifications to the system were made to allow up to 12 chips to be run in parallel in an easily handleable form. After a period of maturation under continuous flow, both cell types were harvested for RNAseq analyses. RNA expression data was compared with cells cultured under static 2-dimensional conditions on plastic or the engineered ECM. Additionally, the perfusion of glucose through this 3D vascularised PT model has been investigated in the presence and absence of known diabetes modulating agents. Results PCA of RNAseq data showed that a) static non-coated, b) static matrix-coated and c) flow matrix-coated conditions separated into 3 distinct groups, while cell co-culture had less impact. Analysis of transcriptomic signatures showed that many genes were modulated by the matrix with additional genes influenced under flow conditions. Several of these genes, classified as transporters, are of particular importance when using this model to assess drug uptake and safety implications. Co-culture regulated some interesting genes, but fewer than anticipated. Preliminary experiments are underway to monitor glucose uptake and transport between tubules under different conditions. Conclusion We have developed a medium throughput system in which matrix and flow modulate gene expression. This system can be used to study the physiology of molecular cross-talk between cells. Ongoing analysis will further consider relevance to human physiology.


F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Garabedian ◽  
Charles A. Harris ◽  
Freddy Jeanneteau

Glucocorticoids via the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) have effects on a variety of cell types, eliciting important physiological responses via changes in gene expression and signaling. Although decades of research have illuminated the mechanism of how this important steroid receptor controls gene expression using in vitro and cell culture–based approaches, how GR responds to changes in external signals in vivo under normal and pathological conditions remains elusive. The goal of this review is to highlight recent work on GR action in fat cells and liver to affect metabolism in vivo and the role GR ligands and receptor phosphorylation play in calibrating signaling outputs by GR in the brain in health and disease. We also suggest that both the brain and fat tissue communicate to affect physiology and behavior and that understanding this “brain-fat axis” will enable a more complete understanding of metabolic diseases and inform new ways to target them.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 2860-2866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongwon Lee ◽  
Richard Lockey ◽  
Shyam Mohapatra

Chitosan-mediated gene delivery has gained an increasing interest due to its ability to treat cancers and genetic diseases. However, low transfection efficiency and lack of target specificity limit its application for gene and drug delivery. In the present work, folic acid was covalently conjugated to chitosan as a targeting ligand in an attempt to specifically deliver DNA to folate receptor-overexpressing cancer cells. Folic acid-conjugated chitosan (FACN) was successfully synthesized and characterized by 1H-NMR and is biocompatible. In vitro gene transfer potential of FACN was evaluated in human epithelial ovarian cancer OV2008 cells and human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. FACN at a weight ratio of 10 : 1 exhibited significantly (< 0.01) enhanced gene transfer potential in folate receptor-overexpressing cancer cells as compared to unmodified chitosan. Transfection of FACN/pDNA nanocomplexes is competitively inhibited by free folic acid, suggesting the specific gene delivery of FACN/pDNA nanocomplexes is achieved through folate receptor-mediated endocytosis. Taken together, these results demonstrate that FACN provides a promising carrier for cancer gene therapy.


2010 ◽  
Vol 298 (4) ◽  
pp. C866-C874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicoletta Pedemonte ◽  
Valeria Tomati ◽  
Elvira Sondo ◽  
Luis J. V. Galietta

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the CFTR chloride channel. Deletion of phenylalanine 508 (F508del), the most frequent CF mutation, impairs the maturation and gating of the CFTR protein. Such defects may be corrected in vitro by pharmacological modulators named as correctors and potentiators, respectively. We have evaluated a panel of correctors and potentiators derived from various sources to assess potency, efficacy, and mechanism of action. For this purpose, we have used functional and biochemical assays on two different cell expression systems, Fischer rat thyroid (FRT) and A549 cells. The order of potency and efficacy of potentiators was similar in the two cell types considered, with phenylglycine PG-01 and isoxazole UCCF-152 being the most potent and least potent, respectively. Most potentiators were also effective on two mutations, G551D and G1349D, that cause a purely gating defect. In contrast, corrector effect was strongly affected by cell background, with the extreme case of many compounds working in one cell type only. Our findings are in favor of a direct action of potentiators on CFTR, possibly at a common binding site. In contrast, most correctors seem to work indirectly with various mechanisms of action. Combinations of correctors acting at different levels may lead to additive F508del-CFTR rescue.


2007 ◽  
Vol 193 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Jian He ◽  
Masami Hirata ◽  
Nobuhiko Yamauchi ◽  
Seiichi Hashimoto ◽  
Masa-aki Hattori

The circadian clock, regulating hormonal secretion and metabolisms in accordance with the environmental light–dark cycle, resides in almost all peripheral tissues as well as in the superchiasmatic nucleus. Clock gene expression has been found to be noncyclic during spermatogenesis and the differentiation of thymocytes. However, currently little is known about how cell differentiation could affect circadian clockwork. We performed this study using the in vitro real-time oscillation monitoring system to examine the clockwork in several types of differentiating cells originated from reproductive tissues of transgenic rats (constructed with Period gene 2 (Per2) promoter-destabilized luciferase reporter gene). After treatment with dexamethasone (DXM), persistent oscillation of Per2 expression was observed in both gonadotropin-induced and pregnant ovarian luteal cells, proliferative uterine stromal cells (USCs), and nondifferentiating testicular interstitial cells, with a cyclic period of ~24 h. In contrast to these cell types, only one cycle of oscillation was sustained in granulosa cells undergoing differentiation. Additionally, Per2 oscillation was irregular in USCs undergoing decidualization induced by medroxyprogesterone acetate plus N6, 2-O-dibutyryl adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate. Furthermore, no oscillation of Per2 expression was evoked by DXM in Leydig cells and thymocytes. In conclusion, the present study characterized the oscillation of Per2 gene expression in several types of ovarian, uterine, and testicular cells, and it is strongly suggested that circadian clockwork is affected during cellular differentiation.


Author(s):  
Alicia M. Barnett ◽  
Jane A. Mullaney ◽  
Charlotte Hendriks ◽  
Lisa Le Borgne ◽  
Warren C. McNabb ◽  
...  

The development of alternative in vitro culture methods has increased in the last decade as three-dimensional organoids of various tissues, including those of the small and large intestines. Due to their multicellular composition, organoids offer advantages over traditionally used immortalized or primary cell lines. However, organoids must be accurate models of their tissues of origin. This study compared gene expression profiles with respect to markers of specific cell-types (stem-cells, enterocytes, goblet and enteroendocrine cells) and barrier maturation (tight junctions) of colonoid and enteroid cultures with their tissues of origin, and colonoids with enteroids. Colonoids derived from three healthy pigs formed multi-lobed structures with a monolayer of cells similar to the crypt structures in colonic tissue. Colonoid and enteroid gene expression signatures were more similar to those found for the tissues of their origin than to each other. However, relative to their derived tissues, organoids had increased gene expression levels of stem-cell markers Sox9 and Lgr5 encoding Sex determining region Y-box 9 and leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled rector 5, respectively. In contrast, expression levels of Occl and Zo1 encoding occludin and zonula occludens 1 respectively, were decreased. Expression levels of the cell lineage markers Atoh1, Cga and Muc2 encoding atonal homolog 1, chromogranin A and mucin 2 respectively, were decreased in colonoids, while Sglt1 and Apn encoding sodium-glucose transporter 1 and aminopeptidase A respectively, were decreased in enteroids. These results indicate colonoid and enteroid cultures were predominantly comprised of undifferentiated cell-types with decreased barrier maturation relative to their tissues of origin.


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