scholarly journals Development of a Keratinocyte-Based Screening Model for Antipsoriatic Drugs Using Green Fluorescent Protein Under the Control of an Endogenous Promoter

2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arno Pol ◽  
Fred Van Ruissen ◽  
Joost Schalkwijk

Inflamed epidermis (psoriasis, wound healing, ultraviolet-irradiated skin) harbors keratinocytes that are hyperproliferative and display an abnormal differentiation program. A distinct feature of this so-called regenerative maturation pathway is the expression of proteins such as the cytokeratins CK6, CK16, and CK17 and the antiinflammatory protein SKALP/elafin. These proteins are absent in normal skin but highly induced in lesional psoriatic skin. Expression of these genes can be used as a surrogate marker for psoriasis in drug-screening procedures of large compound libraries. The aim of this study was to develop a keratinocyte cell line that contained a reporter gene under the control of a psoriasis-associated endogenous promoter and demonstrate its use in an assay suitable for screening. We generated a stably transfected keratinocyte cell line that expresses enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), under the control of a 0.8-kb fragment derived from the promoter of the SKALP/elafin gene, which confers high levels of tissue-specific expression at the mRNA level. Induction of the SKALP promoter by tumor necrosis factor-ca resulted in increased expression levels of the secreted SKALP-EGFP fusion protein as assessed by direct readout of fluorescence and fluorescence polarization in 96-well cell culture plates. The fold stimulation of the reporter gene was comparable to that of the endogenous SKALP gene as assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Although the dynamic range of the screening system is limited, the small standard deviation yields a Z factor of 0.49. This indicates that the assay is suitable as a high-throughput screen, and provides proof of the concept that a secreted EGFP fusion protein under the control of a physiologically relevant endogenous promoter can be used as a fluorescence-based high-throughput screen for differentiation-modifying or antiinflammatory compounds that act via the keratinocyte.

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (S1) ◽  
pp. S339-S341
Author(s):  
K. E. Luker ◽  
G. D. Luker ◽  
C. M. Pica ◽  
J. L. Dahlheimer ◽  
T. J. Fahrner ◽  
...  

1997 ◽  
Vol 139 (6) ◽  
pp. 1465-1476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norio Sakai ◽  
Keiko Sasaki ◽  
Natsu Ikegaki ◽  
Yasuhito Shirai ◽  
Yoshitaka Ono ◽  
...  

We expressed the γ-subspecies of protein kinase C (γ-PKC) fused with green fluorescent protein (GFP) in various cell lines and observed the movement of this fusion protein in living cells under a confocal laser scanning fluorescent microscope. γ-PKC–GFP fusion protein had enzymological properties very similar to that of native γ-PKC. The fluorescence of γ-PKC– GFP was observed throughout the cytoplasm in transiently transfected COS-7 cells. Stimulation by an active phorbol ester (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate [TPA]) but not by an inactive phorbol ester (4α-phorbol 12, 13-didecanoate) induced a significant translocation of γ-PKC–GFP from cytoplasm to the plasma membrane. A23187, a Ca2+ ionophore, induced a more rapid translocation of γ-PKC–GFP than TPA. The A23187-induced translocation was abolished by elimination of extracellular and intracellular Ca2+. TPA- induced translocation of γ-PKC–GFP was unidirected, while Ca2+ ionophore–induced translocation was reversible; that is, γ-PKC–GFP translocated to the membrane returned to the cytosol and finally accumulated as patchy dots on the plasma membrane. To investigate the significance of C1 and C2 domains of γ-PKC in translocation, we expressed mutant γ-PKC–GFP fusion protein in which the two cysteine rich regions in the C1 region were disrupted (designated as BS 238) or the C2 region was deleted (BS 239). BS 238 mutant was translocated by Ca2+ ionophore but not by TPA. In contrast, BS 239 mutant was translocated by TPA but not by Ca2+ ionophore. To examine the translocation of γ-PKC–GFP under physiological conditions, we expressed it in NG-108 cells, N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor–transfected COS-7 cells, or CHO cells expressing metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (CHO/mGluR1 cells). In NG-108 cells , K+ depolarization induced rapid translocation of γ-PKC–GFP. In NMDA receptor–transfected COS-7 cells, application of NMDA plus glycine also translocated γ-PKC–GFP. Furthermore, rapid translocation and sequential retranslocation of γ-PKC–GFP were observed in CHO/ mGluR1 cells on stimulation with the receptor. Neither cytochalasin D nor colchicine affected the translocation of γ-PKC–GFP, indicating that translocation of γ-PKC was independent of actin and microtubule. γ-PKC–GFP fusion protein is a useful tool for investigating the molecular mechanism of γ-PKC translocation and the role of γ-PKC in the central nervous system.


2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 406-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Cosma ◽  
Silja Bühler ◽  
Rashmi Nagaraj ◽  
Caroline Staib ◽  
Anna-Lena Hammarin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Vaccination against smallpox is again considered in order to face a possible bioterrorist threat, but the nature and the level of the immune response needed to protect a person from smallpox after vaccination are not totally understood. Therefore, simple, rapid, and accurate assays to evaluate the immune response to vaccinia virus need to be developed. Neutralization assays are usually considered good predictors of vaccine efficacy and more informative with regard to protection than binding assays. Currently, the presence of neutralizing antibodies to vaccinia virus is measured using a plaque reduction neutralization test, but this method is time-consuming and labor-intensive and has a subjective readout. Here, we describe an innovative neutralization assay based on a modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) vector expressing the green fluorescent protein (MVA-gfp). This MVA-gfp neutralization assay is rapid and sensitive and has a high-throughput potential. Thus, it is suitable to monitor the immune response and eventually the efficacy of a large campaign of vaccination against smallpox and to study the vector-specific immune response in clinical trials that use genetically engineered vaccinia viruses. Most importantly, application of the highly attenuated MVA eliminates the safety concern in using the replication-competent vaccinia virus in the standard clinical laboratory.


Development ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 124 (20) ◽  
pp. 4105-4111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Long ◽  
A. Meng ◽  
H. Wang ◽  
J.R. Jessen ◽  
M.J. Farrell ◽  
...  

In this study, DNA constructs containing the putative zebrafish promoter sequences of GATA-1, an erythroid-specific transcription factor, and the green fluorescent protein reporter gene, were microinjected into single-cell zebrafish embryos. Erythroid-specific activity of the GATA-1 promoter was observed in living embryos during early development. Fluorescent circulating blood cells were detected in microinjected embryos 24 hours after fertilization and were still present in 2-month-old fish. Germline transgenic fish obtained from the injected founders continued to express green fluorescent protein in erythroid cells in the F1 and F2 generations. The green fluorescent protein expression patterns in transgenic fish were consistent with the pattern of GATA-1 mRNA expression detected by RNA in situ hybridization. These transgenic fish have allowed us to isolate, by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, the earliest erythroid progenitor cells from developing embryos for in vitro studies. By generating transgenic fish using constructs containing other zebrafish promoters and green fluorescent protein reporter gene, it should be possible to visualize the origin and migration of any lineage-specific progenitor cells in a living embryo.


Viruses ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yíngyún Caì ◽  
Masaharu Iwasaki ◽  
Brett Beitzel ◽  
Shuīqìng Yú ◽  
Elena Postnikova ◽  
...  

Lassa virus (LASV), a mammarenavirus, infects an estimated 100,000–300,000 individuals yearly in western Africa and frequently causes lethal disease. Currently, no LASV-specific antivirals or vaccines are commercially available for prevention or treatment of Lassa fever, the disease caused by LASV. The development of medical countermeasure screening platforms is a crucial step to yield licensable products. Using reverse genetics, we generated a recombinant wild-type LASV (rLASV-WT) and a modified version thereof encoding a cleavable green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter for rapid and quantitative detection of infection (rLASV-GFP). Both rLASV-WT and wild-type LASV exhibited similar growth kinetics in cultured cells, whereas growth of rLASV-GFP was slightly impaired. GFP reporter expression by rLASV-GFP remained stable over several serial passages in Vero cells. Using two well-characterized broad-spectrum antivirals known to inhibit LASV infection, favipiravir and ribavirin, we demonstrate that rLASV-GFP is a suitable screening tool for the identification of LASV infection inhibitors. Building on these findings, we established a rLASV-GFP-based high-throughput drug discovery screen and an rLASV-GFP-based antibody neutralization assay. Both platforms, now available as a standard tool at the IRF-Frederick (an international resource), will accelerate anti-LASV medical countermeasure discovery and reduce costs of antiviral screens in maximum containment laboratories.


2006 ◽  
Vol 309 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 130-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi-Lai Huang ◽  
Cheng Chen ◽  
Yun-Zi Chen ◽  
Chen-Guang Gong ◽  
Lin Cao ◽  
...  

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