腺病毒siRNA抑制RhoA基因并联合TNF-α诱导肝癌细胞凋亡的研究

目的建立RhoA基因的腺病毒siRNA系统,并联合TNF-α诱导肝癌细胞凋亡,分析RhoA在肿瘤细胞中的功能和作用。方法用已构建的RhoA干扰质粒构建RhoA的腺病毒siRNA系统,筛选重组病毒并感染HepG2细胞,应用Western blot和RT-PCR检测RhoA蛋白表达和基因表达水平。感染Ad-siRNA-RhoA腺病毒的肝癌细胞用TNF-α诱导后进行MTT以及细胞内DNA片段化检测。结果成功构建RhoA基因的siRNA腺病毒系统。用重组病毒感染肝癌细胞,RhoA蛋白表达抑制率为76.48%;RhoA基因的mRNA转录水平降低74.46%。MTT检测显示,感染腺病毒Ad-U6-control对照组以及感染腺病毒Ad-siRNA-RhoA实验组的细胞A值差异无统计学意义(F=5.41,P>0.01),即利用siRNA抑制肝癌细胞中RhoA表达,肿瘤细胞凋亡不明显。TUNEL检测显示,RhoA腺病毒siRNA联合TNF-α致肿瘤细胞凋亡作用显著。结论构建的腺病毒siRNA载体系统能抑制目的基因RhoA的表达,联合TNF-α能抑制肿瘤细胞生长和增殖并诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡,为肿瘤基因功能的基础研究和肿瘤基因治疗打下了实验基础。     

哺乳动物雷帕霉素靶蛋白调控前列腺癌22RV1细胞雄激素受体及Akt磷酸化

目的:探索哺乳动物雷帕霉素靶蛋白mTORC1和mTORC2在前列腺癌22RV1细胞增殖及凋亡中的作用。方法:噻唑蓝(MTT)比色法检测mTORC1和mTORC2沉默后前列腺癌22RV1细胞增殖改变;流式细胞术(FCM)检测mTORC1和mTORC2沉默后前列腺癌22RV1细胞凋亡;Western印迹检测mTORC1和mTORC2沉默后前列腺癌22RV1细胞雄激素受体(AR)和Akt磷酸化表达。结果:MTT显示mTORC1沉默后,前列腺癌22RV1细胞的生长率无明显变化(P>0.05),而mTORC2沉默后,细胞的增殖受到了显著抑制(P<0.01);FCM显示mTORC1沉默后,细胞的凋亡率明显增加(P<0.01),而mTORC2沉默后,细胞的凋亡率无明显变化(P>0.05);Western印迹检测显示mTORC1沉默后,前列腺癌22RV1细胞中AR和Akt磷酸化表达显著增加(P<0.05),而mTORC2沉默后则显著抑制了前列腺癌22RV1细胞中AR和Akt磷酸化表达(P<0.05)。结论:mTORC2对于前列腺癌22RV1细胞的存活是必需的,mTORC2有可能成为治疗前列腺癌的一个有意义的靶点。     

Posttraumatic reduction of edema with aquaporin-4 RNA interference improves acute and chronic functional recovery

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common in young children and adolescents and is associated with long-term disability and mortality. The neuropathologic sequelae that result from juvenile TBI are a complex cascade of events that include edema formation and brain swelling. Brain aquaporin-4 (AQP4) has a key role in edema formation. Thus, development of novel treatments targeting AQP4 to reduce edema could lessen the neuropathologic sequelae. We hypothesized that inhibiting AQP4 expression by injection of small-interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting AQP4 (siAQP4) after juvenile TBI would decrease edema formation, neuroinflammation, neuronal cell death, and improve neurologic outcomes. The siAQP4 or a RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC)-free control siRNA (siGLO) was injected lateral to the trauma site after controlled cortical impact in postnatal day 17 rats. Magnetic resonance imaging, neurologic testing, and immunohistochemistry were performed to assess outcomes. Pups treated with siAQP4 showed acute (3 days after injury) improvements in motor function and in spatial memory at long term (60 days after injury) compared with siGLO-treated animals. These improvements were associated with decreased edema formation, increased microglial activation, decreased blood–brain barrier disruption, reduced astrogliosis and neuronal cell death. The effectiveness of our treatment paradigm was associated with a 30% decrease in AQP4 expression at the injection site.     

Minocycline suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by increasing tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that are secreted by activated T cells play a significant role in degradation of the extracellular matrix around the blood vessels and facilitate autoimmune neuroinflammation; however, it remains unclear how MMPs act in lesion formation and whether MMP‐targeted therapies are effective in disease suppression. In the present study, we attempted to treat experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) by administration of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for MMP‐2, MMP‐9, and minocycline, all of which have MMP‐inhibiting functions. Minocycline, but not siRNAs, significantly suppressed disease development. In situ zymography revealed that gelatinase activities were almost completely suppressed in the spinal cords of minocycline‐treated animals, while significant gelatinase activities were measured in the EAE lesions of control animals. However, MMP‐2 and MMP‐9 mRNAs and proteins in the spinal cords of treated rats were unexpectedly upregulated. At the same time, mRNA for tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMP)‐1 and ‐2 were also upregulated. The EnzChek Gelatinase/Collagenase assay using tissue containing native MMPs and TIMPs demonstrated that gelatinase activity levels in the spinal cords of treated rats were suppressed to the same level as those in normal spinal cord tissues. Finally, double immunofluorescent staining demonstrated that MMP‐9 immunoreactivities of treated rats were almost the same as those of control rats and that MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 immunoreactivities were colocalized in the spinal cord. These findings suggest that minocycline administration does not suppress MMPs at mRNA and protein levels but that it suppresses gelatinase activities by upregulating TIMPs. Thus, MMP‐targeted therapies should be designed after the mechanisms of candidate drugs have been considered.     

Expression patterns and potential roles of SIRT1 in human medulloblastoma cells in vivo and in vitro

Medulloblastoma is a primitive neuroectodermal tumor, which originates in the cerebellum, presumably due to the alterations of some neurogenetic elements. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), a class III histone deacetylase (HDAC), regulates differentiation of neuronal stem cells but its status in medulloblastomas remains largely unknown. The current study aimed to address this issue by checking SIRT1 expression in noncancerous cerebellar tissues, medulloblastoma tissues and established cell lines. The roles of SIRT1 in proliferation and survival of UW228‐3 medulloblastoma cells were analyzed by SIRT1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection and SIRT1 inhibitor nicotinamide treatment. The results revealed that the frequency of SIRT1 expression in medulloblastoma tissues was 64.17% (77/120), while only one out of seven tumor‐surrounding noncancerous cerebellar tissues showed restricted SIRT1 expression in the cells within the granule layer. Of the three morphological subtypes, the rates of SIRT1 detection in the large cell/anaplastic cell (79.07%; 34/43) and the classic medulloblastomas (60.29%; 41/68) are higher than that (22.22%; 2/9) in nodular/desmoplastic medulloblastomas (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Heterogeneous SIRT1 expression was commonly observed in classic medulloblastoma. Inhibition of SIRT1 expression by siRNA arrested 64.96% of UW228‐3 medulloblastoma cells in the gap 1 (G1) phase and induced 14.53% of cells to apoptosis at the 48‐h time point. Similarly, inhibition of SIRT1 enzymatic activity with nicotinamide brought about G1 arrest and apoptosis in a dose‐related fashion. Our data thus indicate: (i) that SIRT1 may act as a G1‐phase promoter and a survival factor in medulloblastoma cells; and (ii) that SIRT1 expression is correlated with the formation and prognosis of human medulloblastomas. In this context, SIRT1 would be a potential therapeutic target of medulloblastomas.     

Increased expression of fatty acid binding protein 4 in preeclamptic Placenta and its relevance to preeclampsia

The aim of this investigation was to determine the expression of fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) in the placenta from women with preeclampsia and normal pregnancy, and to delineate the regulatory effects on thophoblast cell by FABP4. We determined the expression of FABP4 by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) or enzyme-linked immunesorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blotting for protein. Small interference of ribonucleic acid (siRNA) and specific FABP4 inhibitor were used to inhibit FABP4. The proliferation, migration and invasion of trophoblastic cells (Swan-71 and Jar) were evaluated with cell counting kit-8, wound-healing test and transwell analysis respectively. We found the expression of FABP4 was significantly higher in the placenta of preeclamptic women than that of women with normal pregnancy (t = 4.244, P < 0.001 for mRNA; t = 4.536, P < 0.001 for protein). FABP4 siRNA significantly reduced the proliferation of trophoblasts (P < 0.001). The specific inhibition of FABP4 inhibited the proliferation of trophoblasts in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.001) and the inhibitory effect increased as the concentration of inhibitor increased. FABP4 siRNA and specific inhibitor significantly decreased the migration (P < 0.001) and invasion (P < 0.001) of trophoblasts. We concluded the increase in placental FABP4 expression in preeclampsia may affect the function of trophoblast, and this increase may have a role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.     

siRNA沉默c－myc对肾上腺皮质癌SW－13细胞增殖的影响

目的：应用siRNA干扰肾上腺皮质癌SW－13细胞c－myc基因的表达,探讨siRNA沉默c－myc对肾上腺皮质癌细胞增殖的影响。方法将siRNA－c－myc转染入SW－13细胞中,采用荧光定量PCR和Wes-tern blot检测转染后c－myc的表达,MTT分析SW－13细胞的增殖,荧光定量PCR检测转染后FHIT在SW－13细胞中的表达。结果 c－myc mRNA在转染48 h后明显下降,c－myc蛋白在转染72 h后明显下降。 SW－13细胞增殖能力在转染24 h后开始下降,48 h和72 h后受到明显抑制。沉默c－myc基因后,FHIT在SW－13细胞的表达有所升高。结论 siRNA沉默c－myc使肾上腺皮质癌细胞增殖受到抑制。 siRNA沉默c－myc基因为肾上腺皮质癌的靶向治疗提供新的理论依据。     

RNA interference-mediated inhibition of brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression increases cocaine's cytotoxicity in cultured cells

Previous studies showed that cocaine exposure decreased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) function and resulted in neuronal cell death. To investigate a role of BDNF in cocaine's cytotoxicity, an RNA interference (RNAi) approach was used. Transfection of neuroblastoma SK-N-AS cells or primary rat hippocampal neurons with the small double-stranded interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting BDNF mRNA, but not the scrambled siRNA, resulted in reductions in levels of BDNF mRNA and proteins by more than 70% in the transfected cells as compared with the control group, suggesting an RNAi-mediated, sequence-specific gene silencing. The results also showed that cocaine-induced cytotoxicity, assessed by the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazodium bromide) assay, was more pronounced in the cells transfected with the siRNA than in the cells transfected with the scrambled siRNA or in the cells treated with Lipofectamine 2000 alone (the control group), suggesting that inhibition of BDNF expression enhances cocaine's cytotoxicity. Together with previous studies showing that cocaine suppresses BDNF expression, the present data suggest that the drug-induced reduction of BDNF productions may make neurons more vulnerable to cocaine's toxic effects and precipitate cocaine-induced central nervous system damages.     

Can we increase the speed and efficacy of antidepressant treatments? Part II. Glutamatergic and RNA interference strategies

In the second part we focus on two treatment strategies that may overcome the main limitations of current antidepressant drugs. First, we review the experimental and clinical evidence supporting the use of glutamatergic drugs as fast-acting antidepressants. Secondly, we review the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) and the use of small RNAs (e.g.., small interfering RNAs or siRNAs) to knockdown genes in monoaminergic and non-monoaminergic neurons and induce antidepressant-like responses in experimental animals.The development of glutamatergic agents is a promising venue for antidepressant drug development, given the antidepressant properties of the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine. Its unique properties appear to result from the activation of AMPA receptors by a metabolite [(2 S,6 S;2 R,6 R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK)] and mTOR signaling. These effects increase synaptogenesis in prefrontal cortical pyramidal neurons and enhance serotonergic neurotransmission via descending inputs to the raphe nuclei. This view is supported by the cancellation of ketamine's antidepressant-like effects by inhibition of serotonin synthesis.We also review existing evidence supporting the involvement of miRNAs in MDD and the preclinical use of RNA interference (RNAi) strategies to target genes involved in antidepressant response. Many miRNAs have been associated to MDD, some of which e.g., miR-135 targets genes involved in antidepressant actions. Likewise, SSRI-conjugated siRNA evokes faster and/or more effective antidepressant-like responses. Intranasal application of sertraline-conjugated siRNAs directed to 5-HT_1A receptors and SERT evoked much faster changes of pre- and postsynaptic antidepressant markers than those produced by fluoxetine.     

STAT3-siRNA induced B16.F10 melanoma cell death: more association with VEGF downregulation than p-STAT3 knockdown

STAT3 knockdown by small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been described to inhibit carcinogenic growth in various types of tumors. Earlier we have reported delivery of siRNA by oleic acid- and stearic acid-modified-polyethylenimine and enhancement of silencing of STAT3 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) in B16.F10 melanoma cell lines and consequent tumor suppression. Present investigation mainly focused on the downstream events involved in B16.F10 melanoma cell death and consequent tumor suppression following knockdown of p-STAT3 by siRNA. Lipid-substituted polyethylenimine (PEI)-p-STAT3-siRNA were prepared and characterized by measuring its N/P ratio, zeta potential, size, association and dissociation with siRNA. B16.F10 melanoma cells were treated with six different concentrations of PEI-p-STAT3-siRNA (200, 100, 50, 25, 12.5 and 6.25?nM). Downregulation of p-STAT3 and VEGF were studied using western blot and ELISA in association with the melanoma cell death. PEI-p-STAT3-siRNA hydrodynamic diameter ranged from 110 to 270?nm. PEI assisted p-STAT3-siRNA delivery exhibited increased uptake by B16.F10, when analyzed by fluorescent and confocal microscopy along with flowcytometry. It induced concentration-dependent knockdown of the p-STAT3 that also downregulated VEGF expression in similar fashion and induced B16.F10 cell death. Higher concentrations of p-STAT3-siRNA appear to significantly downregulate the VEGF expression via p-STAT3 knockdown. Decreasing survival of B16.F10 cells with the increasing concentration of p-STAT3-siRNA significantly correlated with VEGF downregulation, not with p-STAT3 expression. Data suggest that VEGF downregulation following knockdown of p-STAT3 may be a key event in survival reduction in B16.F10 melanoma cells and.