Double Recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG Strain for Screening of Primary and Rationale-Based Antimycobacterial Compounds

Conventional antimycobacterial screening involves CFU analysis, which poses a great challenge due to slow growth of mycobacteria. Recombinant strains carrying reporter genes under the influence of constitutive promoters allow rapid and wide screening of compounds but without revealing their modes of action. Reporter strains using pathway-specific promoters provide a better alternative but allow a limited screening of compounds interfering with only a particular metabolic pathway. This reduces these strains to merely a second-line screening system, as they fail to identify even the more potent compounds if they are not inhibiting the pathway of interest. In this study, we have generated a double recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG strain carrying firefly and Renilla luciferase genes as two reporters under the control of a constitutive and an inducible mycobacterial promoter. The presence of dual reporters allows simultaneous expression and analysis of two reporter enzymes within a single system. The expression profile of the firefly luciferase gene, rendered by a constitutive mycobacterial promoter, coincides with the decline in bacterial growth in response to a wide range of antimycobacterial drugs, while the enhanced expression of Renilla luciferase mirrors the selective induction of the reporter gene expression as a result of pathway-specific inhibition. Thus, the double recombinant strain allows the screening of both primary and rationally synthesized antimycobacterial compounds in a single assay. The inhibiting response of drugs was monitored with a dual-luciferase reporter assay which can be easily adapted in high-throughput mode.     

Transcriptional activities of two newly identified Haemaphysalis longicornis tick‐derived promoter regions in the Ixodes scapularis tick cell line (ISE6)

Ticks are obligate haematophagous ectoparasites considered to be second to mosquitoes as vectors of human diseases and the most important vector for animals. Despite efforts to control tick infestations, they remain a serious health problem. Gene manipulation has been established in mosquitoes and led to the control of mosquito populations and of mosquito‐borne pathogens. Therefore, gene manipulation could be useful for controlling ticks and tick‐borne pathogens. To investigate effective gene expression vectors for ticks, the promoter activities of commercial plasmids were evaluated in a tick cell line (ISE6). Dual luciferase assays revealed that pmirGLO, the human phosphoglycerate kinase promoter contained plasmid vector, showed the highest activity in ISE6 cells amongst the tested plasmids. Moreover, we identified the promoter regions of the Haemaphysalis longicornis actin (HlAct) and the intracellular ferritin (HlFer1) genes. To construct a more effective expression vector for ticks, these promoter regions were inserted into pmirGLO (pmirGLO‐HlAct pro and pmirGLO‐HlFer1 pro). The pmirGLO‐HlAct pro vector showed significantly higher promoter activity than pmirGLO, whereas the pmirGLO‐HlFer1 pro vector demonstrated significantly lower promoter activity than pmirGLO in ISE6 cells. The HlAct promoter region may have high promoter activity in ISE6 cells. The results of the present study provide useful information for the development of a genetic modification system in ticks.     

A Method to Rapidly and Accurately Compare the Relative Efficacies of Non-invasive Imaging Reporter Genes in a Mouse Model and its Application to Luciferase Reporters

Purpose

Our goal is to develop a simple, quantitative, robust method to compare the efficacy of imaging reporter genes in culture and in vivo. We describe an adenoviral vector?Cliver transduction procedure and compare the luciferase reporter efficacies.

Procedures

Alternative reporter genes are expressed in a common adenoviral vector. Vector amounts used in vivo are based on cell culture titrations, ensuring that the same transduction efficacy is used for each vector. After imaging, in vivo and in vitro values are normalized to hepatic vector transduction using quantitative real-time PCR.

Results

We assayed standard firefly luciferase (FLuc), enhanced firefly luciferase (EFLuc), luciferase 2 (Luc2), humanized Renilla luciferase (hRLuc), Renilla luciferase 8.6-535 (RLuc8.6), and a membrane-bound Gaussia luciferase variant (extGLuc) in cell culture and in vivo. We observed greater than 100-fold increase in bioluminescent signal for both EFLuc and Luc2 when compared to FLuc and greater than 10⁶-fold increase for RLuc8.6 when compared to hRLuc. ExtGLuc was not detectable in liver.

Conclusions

Our findings contrast, in some cases, with conclusions drawn in prior comparisons of these reporter genes and demonstrate the need for a standardized method to evaluate alternative reporter genes in vivo. Our procedure can be adapted for reporter genes that utilize alternative imaging modalities (fluorescence, bioluminescence, MRI, SPECT, PET).     

Native and baculovirus-expressed forms of the immunoprotective protein BM86 from Boophilus microplus are anchored to the cell membrane by a glycosylphosphatidyl inositol linkage

A glycoprotein (BM86) from the gut cells of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus, when used to vaccinate cattle, has been shown to protect cattle from tick infestation. A recombinant BM86 protein is the principal component of a novel tick vaccine currently under development. The nature of the anchorage of BM86 to tick gut epithelial cells has been investigated using BM86 from B. microplus and recombinant BM86 proteins expressed in insect cells using the baculovirus expression system. BM86 from B. microplus and a full length recombinant BM86 are shown to be anchored to the extracellular surface of tick gut epithelial cells and baculovirus-infected insect cells, respectively by a glycosyl-phosphatidyl inositol membrane anchor. A recombinant BM86 truncated by the removal of a hydrophobic region coding for thirty amino acids at the carboxy-terminal end was secreted from baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells. This secreted form of recombinant BM86 showed strong protective activity against ticks in cattle vaccinated with this protein.     

Identification of a functional luciferase gene in the non‐luminous diurnal firefly,Lucidina biplagiata

We isolated a luciferase gene (LbLuc) from the non‐luminous diurnal firefly, Lucidina biplagiata, with high similarity to that from the nocturnal firefly, Photinus pyralis. The recombinant LbLuc showed luminescence activity comparable to that of the luciferases from P. pyralis and Luciola cruciata. To understand the non‐luminosity of L. biplagiata, we determined the amount of luciferase in the adult specimen using the luciferin–luciferase reaction and found that the content of luciferase in L. biplagiata was estimated to be only 0.1% of that in L. cruciata. As previously reported, the content of luciferin in L. biplagiata was less than 0.1% of that in L. cruciata. Thus, the non‐luminosity of L. biplagiata might be explained by low levels of both luciferase and luciferin.     

Repetitive, noninvasive imaging of cyclooxygenase-2 gene expression in living mice.

The cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene plays a role in a wide variety of normal physiologic pathways and is a major target of pharmacologic intervention in a large number of pathophysiologic contexts, including pain, fever, inflammation, and cancer. Expression of the COX-2 gene is induced in a wide range of cells, in response to an ever-increasing number of stimuli. The regulation of the COX-2 gene has been the subject of extensive study, using traditional transfection techniques with reporter gene constructs. Regulation of the COX-2 gene in living animals, however, requires sacrifice of the animal and in situ hybridization and/or immunohistochemical studies. We have utilized in vivo optical imaging technology with a cooled charged coupled device camera to image the expression of the firefly luciferase gene in tumor xenografts that are stably transfected with a chimeric gene containing the first kilobase of the murine COX-2 promoter. Induction of luciferase gene expression following systemic lipopolysaccharide/endotoxin administration can be robustly demonstrated; both a dose-response relationship and a time course for luciferase expression from the COX-2 promoter can be noninvasively analyzed in the tumor xenografts. These data suggest expression from the COX-2 promoter will be easily analyzed in transgenic mice, in knock-in mice, and in somatic cell and gene transfer experiments.     

Cloning and expression of ecto 5'-nucleotidase from the cattle tick Boophilus microplus

Although 5′-nucleotidases are ubiquitous in higher vertebrates, the arthropod enzymes have been little studied. The cDNA sequence of the mature 5′-nucleotidase from the tick Boophilus microplus was therefore determined (Gen Bank accession number: U80634). The enzyme has 39–41% sequence identity with the vertebrate 5′-nucleotidases and contains binuclear metal ion binding sites. There are no significant introns within the coding region of the genomic sequence. Southern blot analysis indicates the presence of multiple related genes encoding 5′-nucleotidases. Recombinant tick 5′-nucleotidase was expressed in both Escherichia coli and in baculovirus-infected insect cells. The E. coli recombinant protein was truncated, inactive and produced in abundance. The enzyme was expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells as a secreted, soluble, glycosylated and enzymatically active protein. This represents the first successful expression and characterization of enzymatically active recombinant 5′-nucleotidase from any organism. Supplementation of the culture medium with 25 μm zinc resulted in a twofold increase in the activity of the expressed protein. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity. It exists under non-denaturing conditions as a homodimer, with an apparent molecular mass of 135 kDa. The K_m for the hydrolysis of AMP was 0.37 μm and the k_cat= 11.5/s, in agreement with data for the native enzyme.     

A soluble inorganic pyrophosphatase from the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus capable of hydrolysing polyphosphates

Polyphosphates have been found in all cell types examined to date and play diverse roles depending on the cell type. In eukaryotic organisms, polyphosphates have been investigated mainly in mammalian cells, and only a few studies have addressed arthropods. Pyrophosphatases have been shown to regulate polyphosphate metabolism. However, these studies were restricted to trypanosomatids. Here we focus on the tick Rhipicephalus microplus, a haematophagous ectoparasite that is highly harmful to cattle. We produced a recombinant R. microplus pyrophosphatase (rRmPPase) with the aim of investigating its kinetic parameters using polyphosphates as substrate. Molecular docking assays of RmPPase with polyphosphates were also carried out. The kinetic and Hill coefficient parameters indicated that rRmPPase has a greater affinity, higher catalytic efficiency and increased cooperativity for sodium phosphate glass type 15 (polyP₁₅) than for sodium tripolyphosphate (polyP₃). Through molecular docking, we found that polyP₃ binds close to the Mg²⁺ atoms in the catalytic region of the protein, participating in their coordination network, whereas polyP₁₅ interactions involve negatively charged phosphate groups and basic amino acid residues, such as Lys56, Arg58 and Lys193; polyP₁₅ has a more favourable theoretical binding affinity than polyP₃, thus supporting the kinetic data. This study shows, for the first time in arthropods, a pyrophosphatase with polyphosphatase activity, suggesting its participation in polyphosphate metabolism.     

Comparison of Optical Bioluminescence Reporter Gene and Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide MR Contrast Agent as Cell Markers for Noninvasive Imaging of Cardiac Cell Transplantation

Purpose  In this study, we compared firefly luciferase (Fluc) reporter gene and superparamagnetic iron oxide (Feridex) as cell markers for longitudinal monitoring of cardiomyoblast graft survival using optical bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), respectively. Procedures  Rats (n = 31) underwent an intramyocardial injection of cardiomyoblasts (2 × 10⁶) labeled with Fluc, Feridex, or no marker (control) or an injection of Feridex alone (75 μg). Afterward, rats were serially imaged with BLI or MRI and killed at different time points for histological analysis. Results  BLI revealed a drastically different cell survival kinetics (half-life = 2.65 days over 6 days) than that revealed by MRI (half-life = 16.8 days over 80 days). Injection of Feridex alone led to prolonged tissue retention of Feridex (≥16 days) and persistent MR signal (≥42 days). Conclusions  Fluc BLI reporter gene imaging is a more accurate gauge of transplanted cell survival as compared to MRI of Feridex-labeled cells.     

异丙酚对脂多糖诱导肺泡巨噬细胞高迁移率族蛋白B1启动子转录活性的影响

目的 探讨异丙酚对脂多糖(lipopolysaccharide,LPS)诱导肺泡巨噬细胞(alveolar maerophages,AM)高迁移率族蛋白B1(high mobility group box l protein,HMGB1)启动子转录激活的影响.方法 以基因重组技术将HMGB1启动子克隆入荧光素酶报告基因表达载体pGl3-Basic,得到重组质粒pGL3-HMGB1P,采用脂质体介导的转染技术将质粒转染AM细胞.根据转染质粒和施加刺激的不同分为以下各组:未转染组;转染pGL3-Basic组;转染pGL3-HMGB1P组;转染pGL3-HMGB1P+LPS(100 mg/L)刺激组;转染pGL3-HMGB1P+LPS(100 mg/L)+异丙酚(5 mg/L)处理组.通过检测荧光素酶活性米观察启动子活性变化,分别采用Western blot和RT-PCR方法检测细胞HMGB1蛋白和mRNA的表达.应用单因素方差分析进行不同组别问的比较.结果 酶切和测序结果证实重组体pGL3-HMGB1P构建止确,荧光素酶活性检测显永pGL3-HMGB1P在AM细胞中有效表达.与转染pGL3-HMGB1P组比较,转染pGL3-HMGB1P+LPS刺激组HMGB1启动子的转录活性(423±27),HMGB1蛋白(0.49±0.03)和mRNA(0.48±0.04)的表达均显著增加(P＜0.05);与转染pGL3-HMGB1P+LPS刺激组比较,转染pGL3-HMGB1P+LPS+异丙酚处理组HMGB1启动子的转录活性(207±13),HMGB1蛋白(0.17±0.02)和mRNA(0.13±0.02)的表达均显著降低(P＜0.05).结论 异丙酚在转录水平通过抑制LPS诱导HMGB1启动子的转录激活而影响HMGB1的表达.     

Sustained expression after nonviral ocular gene transfer using mammalian promoters

The CMV promoter drives high transgene expression and is one of the most commonly used promoters for gene transfer. Tissue-specific mammalian promoters provide an alternative, and it would be useful to have a system to directly compare them to viral promoters free from potential confounding vector-related effects. In this study, we describe how electroporation after subretinal injection of plasmid DNA can be used to perform comparative quantitative analysis of promoter activities. Luciferase assay of eyecup homogenates was carried out after coinjection/electroporation of pGL2, a plasmid containing the promoter fragment of interest coupled to the firefly luciferase gene, and pRL-CMV, a plasmid containing the CMV promoter coupled to the Renilla luciferase gene for normalization. This technique was used to compare activity of different fragments of the 5'-upstream region of the vitelliform macular dystrophy 2 (VMD2) gene, which is selectively expressed in the retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells, and results indicated positive regulatory elements between -104 and -154 bp and between -424 and -585 bp. Addition of a fragment from intron 1 reduced the activity of the -585/+38 bp fragment by 75%. Deletion analysis implicated a 342 bp region near the 5'-end of intron 1 in the repression. Results of transient transfections in two cell lines that constitutively express VMD2 were similar, and results in transgenic mice were consistent, providing validation for promoter analysis by in vivo electroporation. We then explored the time course of expression of the -585/+38 VMD2 promoter fragment and found that compared to cassettes driven by CMV or SV40 promoters, which showed peak luciferase activity on day 2 followed by a rapid decrease in activity, the VMD2 promoter fragment showed lower activity initially, but the activity was sustained for up to 56 days (longest time point measured). A promoter fragment from another RPE-specific gene, Rpe65, showed a similar pattern of sustained expression for at least 112 days. These data indicate that nonviral gene transfer can be used to quantitatively evaluate the activity of promoter fragments independent of influence from viral vectors. A potentially important finding using this new technique is the demonstration that relatively sustained passenger gene expression can be achieved with nonviral gene transfer using mammalian rather than viral promoters.     

Amblyomma americanum tick saliva insulin‐like growth factor binding protein‐related protein 1 binds insulin but not insulin‐like growth factors

Silencing Amblyomma americanum insulin‐like growth factor binding protein‐related protein 1 (AamIGFBP‐rP1) mRNA prevented ticks from feeding to repletion. In this study, we used recombinant (r)AamIGFBP‐rP1 in a series of assays to obtain further insight into the role(s) of this protein in tick feeding regulation. Our results suggest that AamIGFBP‐1 is an antigenic protein that is apparently exclusively expressed in salivary glands. We found that both males and females secrete AamIGFBP‐rP1 into the host during feeding and confirmed that female ticks secrete this protein from within 24–48 h after attachment. Our data suggest that native AamIGFBP‐rP1 is a functional insulin binding protein in that both yeast‐ and insect cell‐expressed rAamIGFBP‐rP1 bound insulin, but not insulin‐like growth factors. When subjected to anti‐blood clotting and platelet aggregation assays, rAamIGFBP‐rP1 did not have any effect. Unlike human IGFBP‐rP1, which is controlled by trypsinization, rAamIGFBP‐rP1 is resistant to digestion, suggesting that the tick protein may not be under mammalian host control at the tick feeding site. The majority of tick‐borne pathogens are transmitted 48 h after the tick has attached. Thus, the demonstrated antigenicity and secretion into the host within 24–48 h of the tick starting to feed makes AamIGFBP‐rP1 an attractive target for antitick vaccine development.     

调控组织因子基因表达的药物筛选研究

本研究建立TF启动子转录活性的荧光素酶基因稳定细胞株,应用该细胞模型筛选调控TF基因表达的药物,并为深入研究其分子机制打下基础。构建TF启动子的一系列5′端截短型的荧光素酶报告基因质粒(包括-2174 bp~+128 bp,-684 bp~+128 bp,-247 bp~+128 bp,-201 bp~+128 bp),将质粒电转染至U937细胞中,建立表达荧光素酶报告基因的稳定细胞株。应用ATRA验证该细胞株的功能;应用bortezomib、尿多酸肽(CDA-II)等药物处理该细胞株24小时,分析荧光素酶基因活性,筛选出能够调控TF基因表达的药物。结果发现,5 nmol/L bortezomib能激活其转录活性,上调TF转录本表达水平;1 mg/ml CDA-Ⅱ抑制TF启动子的转录活性,下调TF转录本的表达水平。TF启动子逐步截短功能分析发现,bortezomib及CDA-ⅡII调控TF启动子转录活性的区域位于-201 bp—0 bp之间。结论:本研究建立了表达TF启动子荧光素酶活性的U937稳定细胞株,并筛选出能够调控TF基因转录的药物CDA-II及bortezomib,为将来筛选新药物及深入研究其分子机...