scholarly journals Gene Therapy: A Lipofection Approach for Gene Transfer into Primary Endothelial Cells

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 573-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. L. Young ◽  
J. R. T. Lakey ◽  
A. G. Murray ◽  
R. B. Moore

Despite the great potential of gene therapy to become a new treatment modality in future medicine, there are still many limitations to overcome before this gene approach can pass to the stage of human trial. The foremost obstacle is the development of a safe, efficient, and efficacious vector system for in vivo gene application. This study evaluated the efficacy of lipofection as a gene delivery vehicle into primary endothelial cells. Transfection efficiency of several lipid-based reagents (Effectene, Fugene 6, DOTAP) was examined at experimental temperatures of 37°C, 24°C, and 6°C. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were transfected with the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) using precise amounts of DNA (Effectene, 0.2 μg; Fugene 6, 0.5 μg; DOTAP, 2.5 μg) and lipids (Effectene, 10 μl; Fugene 6, 6 μl; DOTAP, 15 μl) optimized in our laboratory. Duration of incubation in the DNA/lipid transfection mixture varied for each lipid transfectant as follows: 5 h for both Fugene 6 and DOTAP and 3 h for Effectene. Efficiency of transfection was quantified by microscopic evaluation of EFGP expression in a minimum of 100 cells per group. Transfection efficiencies achieved with these lipofection agents were 34 ± 1.3% (mean ± SEM), 33 ± 1.4%, and 18 ± 1.5% for Effectene, Fugene 6, and DOTAP, respectively, at 37°C. Transfection results were lower at 24°C with mean efficiencies of 26 ± 2.4% for Effectene, 14 ± 2.9% for Fugene 6, and 15 ± 3.2% for DOTAP. Furthermore, mean efficiencies at 6°C were 6 ± 0.5%, 8 ± 1.5%, and 6 ± 0.0% for Effectene, Fugene 6, and DOTAP, respectively. Efficiency of transfection appeared to be temperature dependent (ANOVA; p < 0.0001). In spite of a significant decrease (37°C vs. 24°C: p < 0.0001; 37°C vs. 6°C: p < 0.0001; 24°C vs. 6°C: p < 0.0115) in transfection efficiency at low temperatures, the successful in vitro gene manipulation renders lipofection a potential gene delivery strategy for in vivo gene therapy.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zikun Yu ◽  
Zhimin Zhang ◽  
Jing Yan ◽  
Ziyin Zhao ◽  
Chenglong Ge ◽  
...  

Guanidine-rich helical polypeptides bearing hydrophobic amino acid pendants displayed high transfection efficiency both in vitro and in vivo and low cytotoxicity toward applications in gene therapy.


1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (05) ◽  
pp. 0975-0980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Gálvez ◽  
Goretti Gómez-Ortiz ◽  
Maribel Díaz-Ricart ◽  
Ginés Escolar ◽  
Rogelio González-Sarmiento ◽  
...  

SummaryThe effect of desmopressin (DDAVP) on thrombogenicity, expression of tissue factor and procoagulant activity (PCA) of extracellular matrix (ECM) generated by human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultures (HUVEC), was studied under different experimental conditions. HUVEC were incubated with DDAVP (1, 5 and 30 ng/ml) and then detached from their ECM. The reactivity towards platelets of this ECM was tested in a perfusion system. Coverslips covered with DD A VP-treated ECMs were inserted in a parallel-plate chamber and exposed to normal blood anticoagulated with low molecular weight heparin (Fragmin®, 20 U/ml). Perfusions were run for 5 min at a shear rate of 800 s1. Deposition of platelets on ECMs was significantly increased with respect to control ECMs when DDAVP was used at 5 and 30 ng/ml (p <0.05 and p <0.01 respectively). The increase in platelet deposition was prevented by incubation of ECMs with an antibody against human tissue factor prior to perfusion. Immunofluorescence studies positively detected tissue factor antigen on DDAVP derived ECMs. A chromogenic assay performed under standardized conditions revealed a statistically significant increase in the procoagulant activity of the ECMs produced by ECs incubated with 30 ng/ml DDAVP (p <0.01 vs. control samples). Northern blot analysis revealed increased levels of tissue factor mRNA in extracts from ECs exposed to DDAVP. Our data indicate that DDAVP in vitro enhances platelet adhesion to the ECMs through increased expression of tissue factor. A similar increase in the expression of tissue factor might contribute to the in vivo hemostatic effect of DDAVP.


1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (06) ◽  
pp. 1182-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich M Vischer ◽  
Claes B Wollheinn

Summaryvon Willebrand factor (vWf) is released from endothelial cell storage granules after stimulation with thrombin, histamine and several other agents that induce an increase in cytosolic free calcium ([Ca2+]i). In vivo, epinephrine and the vasopressin analog DDAVP increase vWf plasma levels, although they are thought not to induce vWf release from endothelial cells in vitro. Since these agents act via a cAMP-dependent pathway in responsive cells, we examined the role of cAMP in vWf secretion from cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. vWf release increased by 50% in response to forskolin, which activates adenylate cyclase. The response to forskolin was much stronger when cAMP degradation was blocked with IBMX, an inhibitor of phosphodiesterases (+200%), whereas IBMX alone had no effect. vWf release could also be induced by the cAMP analogs dibutyryl-cAMP (+40%) and 8-bromo-cAMP (+25%); although their effect was weak, they clearly potentiated the response to thrombin. Epinephrine (together with IBMX) caused a small, dose-dependent increase in vWf release, maximal at 10-6 M (+50%), and also potentiated the response to thrombin. This effect is mediated by adenylate cyclase-coupled β-adrenergic receptors, since it is inhibited by propranolol and mimicked by isoproterenol. In contrast to thrombin, neither forskolin nor epinephrine caused an increase in [Ca2+]j as measured by fura-2 fluorescence. In addition, the effects of forskolin and thrombin were additive, suggesting that they act through distinct signaling pathways. We found a close correlation between cellular cAMP content and vWf release after stimulation with epinephrine and forskolin. These results demonstrate that cAMP-dependent signaling events are involved in the control of exocytosis from endothelial cells (an effect not mediated by an increase in [Ca2+]i) and provide an explanation for epinephrine-induced vWf release.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 821-830
Author(s):  
Prasad Pofali ◽  
Adrita Mondal ◽  
Vaishali Londhe

Background: Current gene therapy vectors such as viral, non-viral, and bacterial vectors, which are used for cancer treatment, but there are certain safety concerns and stability issues of these conventional vectors. Exosomes are the vesicles of size 40-100 nm secreted from multivesicular bodies into the extracellular environment by most of the cell types in-vivo and in-vitro. As a natural nanocarrier, exosomes are immunologically inert, biocompatible, and can cross biological barriers like the blood-brain barrier, intestinal barrier, and placental barrier. Objective: This review focusses on the role of exosome as a carrier to efficiently deliver a gene for cancer treatment and diagnosis. The methods for loading of nucleic acids onto the exosomes, advantages of exosomes as a smart intercellular shuttle for gene delivery and therapeutic applications as a gene delivery vector for siRNA, miRNA and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) and also the limitations of exosomes as a gene carrier are all reviewed in this article. Methods: Mostly, electroporation and chemical transfection are used to prepare gene loaded exosomes. Results: Exosome-mediated delivery is highly promising and advantageous in comparison to the current delivery methods for systemic gene therapy. Targeted exosomes, loaded with therapeutic nucleic acids, can efficiently promote the reduction of tumor proliferation without any adverse effects. Conclusion: In the near future, exosomes can become an efficient gene carrier for delivery and a biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aparna Bansal ◽  
Himanshu

Introduction: Gene therapy has emerged out as a promising therapeutic pave for the treatment of genetic and acquired diseases. Gene transfection into target cells using naked DNA is a simple and safe approach which has been further improved by combining vectors or gene carriers. Both viral and non-viral approaches have achieved a milestone to establish this technique, but non-viral approaches have attained a significant attention because of their favourable properties like less immunotoxicity and biosafety, easy to produce with versatile surface modifications, etc. Literature is rich in evidences which revealed that undoubtedly, non–viral vectors have acquired a unique place in gene therapy but still there are number of challenges which are to be overcome to increase their effectiveness and prove them ideal gene vectors. Conclusion: To date, tissue specific expression, long lasting gene expression system, enhanced gene transfection efficiency has been achieved with improvement in delivery methods using non-viral vectors. This review mainly summarizes the various physical and chemical methods for gene transfer in vitro and in vivo.


Author(s):  
Susan Gallogly ◽  
Takeshi Fujisawa ◽  
John D. Hung ◽  
Mairi Brittan ◽  
Elizabeth M. Skinner ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Endothelial dysfunction is central to the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome. The study of diseased endothelium is very challenging due to inherent difficulties in isolating endothelial cells from the coronary vascular bed. We sought to isolate and characterise coronary endothelial cells from patients undergoing thrombectomy for myocardial infarction to develop a patient-specific in vitro model of endothelial dysfunction. Methods In a prospective cohort study, 49 patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with thrombus aspiration. Specimens were cultured, and coronary endothelial outgrowth (CEO) cells were isolated. CEO cells, endothelial cells isolated from peripheral blood, explanted coronary arteries, and umbilical veins were phenotyped and assessed functionally in vitro and in vivo. Results CEO cells were obtained from 27/37 (73%) atherothrombotic specimens and gave rise to cells with cobblestone morphology expressing CD146 (94 ± 6%), CD31 (87 ± 14%), and von Willebrand factor (100 ± 1%). Proliferation of CEO cells was impaired compared to both coronary artery and umbilical vein endothelial cells (population doubling time, 2.5 ± 1.0 versus 1.6 ± 0.3 and 1.2 ± 0.3 days, respectively). Cell migration was also reduced compared to umbilical vein endothelial cells (29 ± 20% versus 85±19%). Importantly, unlike control endothelial cells, dysfunctional CEO cells did not incorporate into new vessels or promote angiogenesis in vivo. Conclusions CEO cells can be reliably isolated and cultured from thrombectomy specimens in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Compared to controls, patient-derived coronary endothelial cells had impaired capacity to proliferate, migrate, and contribute to angiogenesis. CEO cells could be used to identify novel therapeutic targets to enhance endothelial function and prevent acute coronary syndromes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ha-Rim Seo ◽  
Hyo Eun Jeong ◽  
Hyung Joon Joo ◽  
Seung-Cheol Choi ◽  
Jong-Ho Kim ◽  
...  

Background: Human body contains many kinds of different type of endothelial cells (EC). However, cellular difference of their angiogenic potential has been hardly understood. We compared in vitro angiogenic potential between arterial EC and venous EC and investigated its underlying molecular mechanisms. Method: Used human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) which was indicated from arterial EC and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) indicated from venous EC. To explore angiogenic potential in detail, we adopted a novel 3D microfluidic angiogenesis assay system, which closely mimic in vivo angiogenesis. Results: In 3D microfluidic angiogenesis assay system, HAEC demonstrated stronger angiogenic potential compared to HUVEC. HAEC maintained its profound angiogenic property under different biophysical conditions. In mRNA microarray sorted on up- regulated or down-regulated genes, HAEC demonstrated significantly higher expression of gastrulation brain homeobox 2 (GBX2), fibroblast grow factor 2 (FGF2), FGF5 and collagen 8a1. Angiogenesis-related protein assay revealed that HAEC has higher secretion of endogenous FGF2 than HUVEC. HAEC has only up-regulated FGF2 and FGF5 in this part of FGF family. Furthermore, FGF5 expression under vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) stimulation was higher in HAEC compared to HUVEC although VEGF-A augmented FGF5 expression in both HAEC and HUVEC. Those data suggested that FGF5 expression in both HAEC and HUVEC is partially dependent to VEGF-A stimulate. HUVEC and HAEC reduced vascular density after FGF2 and FGF5 siRNA treat. Conclusion: HAEC has stronger angiogenic potential than HUVEC through up-regulation of endogenous FGF2 and FGF5 expression


2013 ◽  
Vol 113 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helong Zhao ◽  
Appakkudal Anand ◽  
Ramesh Ganju

Abstract Introduction: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is one of the critical factors which induce endothelial inflammation during the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, endocarditis and sepsis shock induced heart injury. The secretory Slit2 protein and its endothelial receptors Robo1 and Robo4 have been shown to regulate mobility and permeability of endothelial cells, which could be functional in regulating LPS induced endothelial inflammation. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that in addition to regulating permeability and migration of endothelial cells, Slit2-Robo1/4 signaling might regulate other LPS-induced endothelial inflammatory responses. Methods and Results: Using Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) culture, we observed that Slit2 treatment suppressed LPS-induced secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (including GM-CSF), cell adhesion molecule upregulation and monocyte (THP-1 cell) adhesion. With siRNA knock down techniques, we further confirmed that this anti-inflammatory effect is mediated by the interaction of Slit2 with its dominant receptor in endothelial cells, Robo4, though the much lesser expressed minor receptor Robo1 is pro-inflammatory. Our signaling studies showed that downstream of Robo4, Slit2 suppressed inflammatory gene expression by inhibiting the Pyk2 - NF-kB pathway following LPS-TLR4 interaction. In addition, Slit2 can induce a positive feedback to its expression and downregulate the pro-inflammatory Robo1 receptor via mediation of miR-218. Moreover, both in in vitro studies using HUVEC and in vivo mouse model studies indicated that LPS also causes endothelial inflammation by downregulating the anti-inflammatory Slit2 and Robo4 and upregulating the pro-inflammatory Robo1 during endotoxemia, especially in mouse arterial endothelial cells and whole heart. Conclusions: Slit2-Robo1/4 signaling is important in regulation of LPS induced endothelial inflammation, and LPS in turn causes inflammation by interfering with the expression of Slit2, Robo1 and Robo4. This implies that Slit2-Robo1/4 is a key regulator of endothelial inflammation and its dysregulation during endotoxemia is a novel mechanism for LPS induced cardiovascular pathogenesis.


Hypertension ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 36 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 706-707
Author(s):  
Robert Q Miao ◽  
Jun Agata ◽  
Lee Chao ◽  
Julie Chao

P76 Kallistatin is a serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin) which has multifunctions including regulation of tissue kallikrein activity, blood pressure, inflammation and neointima hyperplasia. In this study, we investigated the potential role of kallistatin in vascular biology by studying its effects on the proliferation, migration and adhesion of cultured primary human endothelial cells in vitro, and angiogenesis in the ischemic hindlimb of rats. Purified kallistatin significantly inhibits cultured endothelial cell proliferation, migration and adhesion induced by VEGF or bFGF. To further investigate the role of kallistatin in vascular growth in vivo, we prepared adenovirus carrying the human kallistatin gene under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter/enhancer (Ad.CMV-cHKBP). Expression of recombinant human kallistatin in HEK 293 cells transfected with Ad.CMV-cHKBP was identified by a specific ELISA. The effect of adenovirus-mediated kallistatin gene delivery on angiogenesis was evaluated in a rat model of hindlimb ischemia. Adenovirus carrying the human kallistatin or green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene were injected locally into the ischemic adductor at the time of surgery. Histological and morphometric analysis at 14 days post injection showed that adenovirus-mediated kallistatin gene delivery significantly reduced capillary density in the ischemic muscle as compared to that of control rats injected with GFP. The anti-angiogenic effect of kallistatin was associated with reduced regional blood flow in the ischemic hindlimb measured by microsphere assays. Expression of human kallistatin was identified in the injected muscle and immunoreactive human kallistatin levels were measured in the muscle and in the circulation of rats following kallistatin gene delivery. These results demonstrate a novel role of kallistatin in the inhibition of angiogenesis and in vascular remodeling.


2020 ◽  
Vol 127 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Adamiak ◽  
Yaxuan Liang ◽  
Cherrie Sherman ◽  
Shweta Lodha ◽  
Erik Kohlbrenner ◽  
...  

Gene therapy is a promising approach for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Current strategies for myocardial gene transfer include the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. However, AAVs may not be ideal for gene therapy vectors owing to pre-existing AAV capsid immunity in the human population that may reduce transduction efficacy and hinder preclinical-to-clinical translation. Interestingly, recent studies suggest that exosome-mediated encapsulation may protect viruses from neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against the capsid and promote viral infectivity. Here, we describe the ability of exosome-enveloped AAVs, i.e. exosomal AAVs (eAAVs), to evade NAbs and serve as a highly efficient gene delivery tool for cardiovascular therapeutics. We have developed a method to purifiy eAAVs from AAV-producing HEK-293T cells, and used electron/confocal microscopy, qPCR, immunoblotting, dynamic light scattering and interferometric imaging measurements to characterize eAAV morphology, contents and mechanism of action. We confirmed eAAVs represent vesicular fractions that exhibit common exosome phenotype, along with the presence of virus particles, and demonstrated that eAAV infectious entry potentially involves trafficking via endocytic compartments. Using flow cytometry, Langendorff perfusion system and bioluminescence imaging, we then evaluated efficiency of heart targeting for eAAV9/eAAV6 and standard AAV9/AAV6 encoding for mCherry or firefly luciferase in human cardiomyocytes in vitro and in mouse model in vivo . Regardless of the presence or absence of NAbs, we showed that eAAVs are more efficient in transduction in the same titer ranges as compared to standard AAVs. To test therapeutic efficacy, we intramyocardially injected eAAV9 or AAV9 vectors encoding for SERCA2a in NAb+ post-myocardial infarction mice and further evaluated cardiac function using echocardiography. Remarkably, eAAV9-SERCA2a outperformed standard AAVs significantly improving cardiac function in the presence of NAbs (%EF 55.14 ± 3.50 compared to 27.31 ± 1.63 at 6 weeks, respectively). In summary, delivery of AAVs protected by carrier exosomes (i.e. eAAVs) may retain the clinical benefits of AAVs while addressing one of its major challenges.


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