scholarly journals Design of in vitro Transcribed mRNA Vectors for Research and Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 391-394
Author(s):  
Marina Tusup ◽  
Lars E. French ◽  
Mara De Matos ◽  
David Gatfield ◽  
Thomas Kundig ◽  
...  

The use of in vitro transcribed messenger RNA (ivt mRNA) for vaccination, gene therapy and cell reprograming has become increasingly popular in research and medicine. This method can be used in vitro (transfected in cells) or administered naked or formulated (lipoplexes, polyplexes, and lipopolyplexes that deliver the RNA to specific organs, such as immune structures, the lung or liver) and is designed to be an immunostimulatory or immunosilent agent. This vector contains several functional regions (Cap, 5' untranslated region, open reading frame, 3' untranslated region and poly-A tail) that can all be optimised to generate a highly efficacious ivt mRNA. In this study, we review these aspects and report on the effect of the ivt mRNA purification method on the functionality of this synthetic transient genetic vector.

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
D A Rubin ◽  
J H Youson ◽  
L E Marra ◽  
R M Dores

ABSTRACT A cDNA containing the sequence of GH was cloned and sequenced from a pituitary cDNA library for the holostean fish Lepisosteus osseus (common name: gar). The gar GH cDNA contained an open reading frame of 633 nucleotides and a 3′ untranslated region (including the terminal codon TAG) of 1058 nucleotides. The overall length of the gar GH cDNA including leader sequence, signal sequence, hormone sequence and 3′ untranslated region was 1713 nucleotides. Thus, the gar GH cDNA is the largest vertebrate GH cDNA yet cloned. A comparison of GH sequences from ancient (holostean fishes — gar and bowfin; one chondrostean fish — the Russian sturgeon) and more modern (27 species of teleosts) members of class Actinopterygii indicate that members of this class have maintained many of the invariant residues deemed necessary for GH folding motifs (intramolecular relationships) observed in mammals.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 894-905
Author(s):  
R A Voelker ◽  
W Gibson ◽  
J P Graves ◽  
J F Sterling ◽  
M T Eisenberg

The nucleotide sequence of the Drosophila melanogaster suppressor of sable [su(s)] gene has been determined. Comparison of genomic and cDNA sequences indicates that an approximately 7,860-nucleotide primary transcript is processed into an approximately 5-kb message, expressed during all stages of the life cycle, that contains an open reading frame capable of encoding a 1,322-amino-acid protein of approximately 150 kDa. The putative protein contains an RNA recognition motif-like region and a highly charged arginine-, lysine-, serine-, aspartic or glutamic acid-rich region that is similar to a region contained in several RNA-processing proteins. In vitro translation of in vitro-transcribed RNA from a complete cDNA yields a product whose size agrees with the size predicted by the open reading frame. Antisera against su(s) fusion proteins recognize the in vitro-translated protein and detect a protein of identical size in the nuclear fractions from tissue culture cells and embryos. The protein is also present in smaller amounts in cytoplasmic fractions of embryos. That the su(s) protein has regions similar in structure to RNA-processing protein is consistent with its known role in affecting the transcript levels of those alleles that it suppresses.


2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (7) ◽  
pp. 1699-1708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Li ◽  
Cristina W. Cunha ◽  
Christopher J. Davies ◽  
Katherine L. Gailbreath ◽  
Donald P. Knowles ◽  
...  

Ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2), a rhadinovirus in the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae, is the causative agent of sheep-associated malignant catarrhal fever (SA-MCF), a frequently fatal lymphoproliferative disease primarily of ruminants worldwide. Inability to propagate the virus in vitro has made it difficult to study OvHV-2 replication. Aerosol inoculation of sheep with OvHV-2 from nasal secretions collected from naturally infected sheep during shedding episodes results in infection of naive sheep, providing an excellent system to study OvHV-2 initial replication in the natural host. In this study, we showed that OvHV-2 delivered through the nasal route by nebulization resulted in infection in all lambs, but no infection was established in any lambs after intravenous or intraperitoneal injection. In nebulized lambs, while it was not detected initially in any other tissues, OvHV-2 DNA became detectable in the lung at 3 days post-infection (p.i.), increased to about 900 copies per 50 ng DNA at 5 days p.i., reached peak levels (∼7500 copies) at 7 days p.i., and then declined to an average of 800 copies at 9 days p.i. Transcripts of OvHV-2 open reading frame 25 (coding for the capsid protein), an indicator of virus replication, were only detected in lung tissues, and were positively correlated with OvHV-2 DNA levels in the lungs. In addition, selected immune response genes were also highly expressed in the lung at 5 and 7 days p.i. The data indicate that lung is the primary replication site for OvHV-2 during initial infection in sheep and suggest that viral replication is promptly controlled by a host defence mechanism.


Genetics ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
N L Glass ◽  
L Lee

Abstract In the filamentous fungus, Neurospora crassa, mating type is regulated by a single locus with alternate alleles, termed A and a. The mating type alleles control entry into the sexual cycle, but during vegetative growth they function to elicit heterokaryon incompatibility, such that fusion of A and a hypha results in death of cells along the fusion point. Previous studies have shown that the A allele consists of 5301 bp and has no similarity to the a allele; it is found as a single copy and only within the A genome. The a allele is 3235 bp in length and it, too, is found as a single copy within the a genome. Within the A sequence, a single open reading frame (ORF) of 288 amino acids (mt A-1) is thought to confer fertility and heterokaryon incompatibility. In this study, we have used repeat induced point (RIP) mutation to identify functional regions of the A idiomorph. RIP mutations in mt A-1 resulted in the isolation of sterile, heterokaryon-compatible mutants, while RIP mutations generated in a region outside of mt A-1 resulted in the isolation of mutants capable of mating, but deficient in ascospore formation.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (4) ◽  
pp. R1649-R1656 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Yuh-Lin Yu ◽  
Chin-Hon Pon ◽  
Hui-Chen Ku ◽  
Chih-Ting Wang ◽  
Yung-Hsi Kao

Galanin is a hormone 29 or 30 amino acids (aa) long that is widely distributed within the body and exerts numerous biological effects in vertebrates. To fully understand its physiological roles in reptiles, we analyzed preprogalanin cDNA structure and expression in the turtle pituitary. Using the Chinese soft-shell turtle ( Pelodiscus sinensis order Testudines), we obtained a 672-base pair (bp) cDNA containing a 99-bp 5′-untranslated region, a 324-bp preprogalanin coding region, and a 249-bp 3′-untranslated region. The open-reading frame encoded a 108-aa preprogalanin protein with a putative 23-aa signal sequence at the NH2 terminus. Based on the location of putative Lys-Arg dibasic cleavage sites and an amidation signal of Gly-Lys-Arg, we propose that turtle preprogalanin is processed to yield a 29-aa galanin peptide with Gly1 and Thr29 substitutions and a COOH-terminal amidation. Sequence comparison revealed that turtle preprogalanin and galanin-29 had 48–81% and 76–96% aa identities with those of other vertebrates, respectively, suggesting their conservative nature. Expression of the turtle galanin gene was detected in the pituitary, brain, hypothalamus, stomach, liver, pancreas, testes, ovaries, and intestines, but not in the adipose or muscle tissues, suggesting tissue-dependent differences. An in vitro study that used pituitary tissue culture indicated that treatment with 17β-estradiol, testosterone, or gonadotropin-releasing hormone resulted in increased galanin mRNA expression with dose- or time-dependent differences, whereas leptin and neuropeptide Y reduced galanin mRNA levels. These results suggest a hormone-dependent effect on hypophyseal galanin mRNA expression.


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