CO-TRANSFECTION OF RAT BONE MARROW MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS WITH HUMAN BMP2 AND VEGF165 GENES

Objective To explore the feasibility and efficacy of lentivirus-mediated co-transfection of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs） with human vascular endothelial growth factor 165 （hVEGFI65） gene and human bone morphogenetic protein 2 （hBMP2） gene. Methods The hVEGF165 and hBMP2 cDNAs were obtained from human osteosarcoma cell line MG63 and cloned into lentiviral expression vectors designed to co-express the copepod green fluorescent protein （copGFP）. The expression lentivector and packaging Plasmid Mix were co-transferred to 293TN cells, which produced the lentivirus carrying hVEGF165 （Lv-VEGF） or hBMP2 （ Lv-BMP） , respectively. MSCs of Wistar rats were co-transfected with Lv-BMP and Lv-VEGF （BMP ＋ VEGF group）, or each alone （BMP group and VEGF group）, or with no virus （ Control group）. The mRNA and protein expressions of hVEGF165 and hBMP2 genes in each group were detected by real-time PCR and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Results Lentiviral expression vectors carrying hVEGF165 or hBMP2 were correctly constructed and confirmed by restriction endonucleses analysis and DNA sequencing analysis. A transfer efficiency up to 90% was archieved in all the transfected groups detected by the fraction of fluorescent cells using fluorescent microscopy. From the results generated by real-time PCR and ELISA, VEGF165 and BMP2 genes were co-expressed in BMP ＋ VEGF group. No significant difference of BMP2 expression was detected between BMP ＋ VEGF and BMP groups （ P 〉 0. 05）. Similarly, there was no significant difference of VEGF165 expression between BMP ＋ VEGF and VEGF groups （ P 〉 0. 05）. Conclusion VEGF165 and BMP2 genes were successfully co-expressed in MSCs by lentivirus-mediated co-transfection, which provided a further foundation for the combined gene therapy of bone regeneration.

Gene Amplification and High-Level Expression of Human Pro-Urokinase cDNA in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells

Human Pro-Urokinase (Pro-UK) is expressed in CHO-DHFR- cells at high efficiency by co-transfecting the mouse dhfr gene and Pro-UK cDNA under the control of the SV40 late promoter. After gene co-amplification, the product level could reach 2-3 μg/106 cells/24 h in the presence of 5×10-6 mol/ L MTX, and the levels can be further raised to 3. 5-4 μg/106 cells/24 h by PMA superinduction. The copy number of Pro-UK cDNA in the genomes of host cells is about 200-300 copies/cell. The Western blot analysis shows that the recombinant Pro-UK has similar molecular weight to its natural counterpart, and also the amidolytic activity of the product is determined by S-2444 assay.