AIM:To generate an adenoviral vector specifically targeting the EphA2 receptor(EphA2R) highly expressed on pancreatic cancer cells in vivo.METHODS:YSA,a small peptide ligand that binds the EphA2R with high affinity,wa...AIM:To generate an adenoviral vector specifically targeting the EphA2 receptor(EphA2R) highly expressed on pancreatic cancer cells in vivo.METHODS:YSA,a small peptide ligand that binds the EphA2R with high affinity,was inserted into the HI loop of the adenovirus serotype 5 fiber knob.To further increase the specificity of this vector,binding sites for native adenoviral receptors,the coxsackie and adenovirus receptor(CAR) and integrin,were ablated from the viral capsid.The ablated retargeted adenoviral vector was produced on 293T cells.Specifi c targeting of this novel adenoviral vector to pancreatic cancer was investigated on established human pancreatic cancer cell lines.Upon demonstrating specifi c in vitro targeting,in vivo targeting to subcutaneous growing human pancreatic cancer was tested by intravenous and intraperitoneal administration of the ablated adenoviral vector.RESULTS:Ablation of native cellular binding sites reduced adenoviral transduction at least 100-fold.Insertion of the YSA peptide in the HI loop restored adenoviral transduction of EphA2R-expressing cells but not of cells lacking this receptor.YSA-mediated transduction was inhibited by addition of synthetic YSA peptide.The transduction specificity of the ablated retargeted vector towards human pancreatic cancer cells was enhanced almost 10-fold in vitro.In a subsequent in vivo study in a nude(nu/nu) mouse model however,no increased adenoviral targeting to subcutaneously growing human pancreas cancer nodules was seen upon injection into the tail vein,nor upon injection into the peritoneum.CONCLUSION:Targeting the EphA2 receptor increases specificity of adenoviral transduction of human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro but fails to enhance pancreatic cancer transduction in vivo.展开更多
Collective migration of loosely or closely associated cell groups is prevalent in animal development, physiological events, and cancer metastasis. However, our understanding of the mechanisms of collective cell migrat...Collective migration of loosely or closely associated cell groups is prevalent in animal development, physiological events, and cancer metastasis. However, our understanding of the mechanisms of collective cell migration is incomplete. Drosophila border cells provide a powerful in vivo genetic model to study collective migration and identify essential genes for this process. Using border cell-specific RNAi-silencing in Drosophila, we knocked down 360 conserved signaling transduction genes in adult flies to identify essential pathways and genes for border cell migration. We uncovered a plethora of signaling genes, a large proportion of which had not been reported for border cells, including Rack1 （Receptor of activated C kinase） and brk （brinker）, mad （mother against dpp）, and sax （saxophone）, which encode three components of TGF-β signaling. The RNAi knock down phenotype was validated by clonal analysis of Rack1 mutants. Our data suggest that inhibition of Src activity by Rackl may be important for border cell migration and cluster cohesion maintenance. Lastly, results from our screen not only would shed light on signaling pathways involved in collective migration during embryogenesis and organogenesis in general, but also could help our understanding for the functions of conserved human genes involved in cancer metastasis.展开更多
Activation of B-cells is initiated by the ligation of B-cell receptors by its cognate antigen, inducing a series of signal cascades. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of these important events is a crucial goal f...Activation of B-cells is initiated by the ligation of B-cell receptors by its cognate antigen, inducing a series of signal cascades. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of these important events is a crucial goal for immunologists. Chimeric B cell re- ceptors provide a powerful tool for analysis of B-cell signal function. However, this method can only be used in tool cells, but cannot be used for in vivo study. Here, we constructed a retroviral vector to encode both heavy chains and light chains of a membrane immunoglobulin, and expressed them in primary B-cells using retroviral gene transfer. Our results demonstrate that the membrane immunoglobulin expressed by retroviral vectors transfer can initiate B-cell receptor-mediated signaling, result- ing in the phosphorylation of Syk and Erkl/2 proteins. The results showed that B-cells expressing membrane immunoglobulin can make proliferative responses to cognate antigen both in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, we provide a methodology for rapidly analyzing the downstream signals of B-cell receptors both in vitro and in vivo, which could expedite the identification of proteins involved in B-cell function.展开更多
基金Supported by Maurits en Anna de Kock fund to MA van Geer
文摘AIM:To generate an adenoviral vector specifically targeting the EphA2 receptor(EphA2R) highly expressed on pancreatic cancer cells in vivo.METHODS:YSA,a small peptide ligand that binds the EphA2R with high affinity,was inserted into the HI loop of the adenovirus serotype 5 fiber knob.To further increase the specificity of this vector,binding sites for native adenoviral receptors,the coxsackie and adenovirus receptor(CAR) and integrin,were ablated from the viral capsid.The ablated retargeted adenoviral vector was produced on 293T cells.Specifi c targeting of this novel adenoviral vector to pancreatic cancer was investigated on established human pancreatic cancer cell lines.Upon demonstrating specifi c in vitro targeting,in vivo targeting to subcutaneous growing human pancreatic cancer was tested by intravenous and intraperitoneal administration of the ablated adenoviral vector.RESULTS:Ablation of native cellular binding sites reduced adenoviral transduction at least 100-fold.Insertion of the YSA peptide in the HI loop restored adenoviral transduction of EphA2R-expressing cells but not of cells lacking this receptor.YSA-mediated transduction was inhibited by addition of synthetic YSA peptide.The transduction specificity of the ablated retargeted vector towards human pancreatic cancer cells was enhanced almost 10-fold in vitro.In a subsequent in vivo study in a nude(nu/nu) mouse model however,no increased adenoviral targeting to subcutaneously growing human pancreas cancer nodules was seen upon injection into the tail vein,nor upon injection into the peritoneum.CONCLUSION:Targeting the EphA2 receptor increases specificity of adenoviral transduction of human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro but fails to enhance pancreatic cancer transduction in vivo.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31271488,31171335,31071219)to Chen Jiong
文摘Collective migration of loosely or closely associated cell groups is prevalent in animal development, physiological events, and cancer metastasis. However, our understanding of the mechanisms of collective cell migration is incomplete. Drosophila border cells provide a powerful in vivo genetic model to study collective migration and identify essential genes for this process. Using border cell-specific RNAi-silencing in Drosophila, we knocked down 360 conserved signaling transduction genes in adult flies to identify essential pathways and genes for border cell migration. We uncovered a plethora of signaling genes, a large proportion of which had not been reported for border cells, including Rack1 （Receptor of activated C kinase） and brk （brinker）, mad （mother against dpp）, and sax （saxophone）, which encode three components of TGF-β signaling. The RNAi knock down phenotype was validated by clonal analysis of Rack1 mutants. Our data suggest that inhibition of Src activity by Rackl may be important for border cell migration and cluster cohesion maintenance. Lastly, results from our screen not only would shed light on signaling pathways involved in collective migration during embryogenesis and organogenesis in general, but also could help our understanding for the functions of conserved human genes involved in cancer metastasis.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2011CB965203)to Yue Huang
文摘Activation of B-cells is initiated by the ligation of B-cell receptors by its cognate antigen, inducing a series of signal cascades. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of these important events is a crucial goal for immunologists. Chimeric B cell re- ceptors provide a powerful tool for analysis of B-cell signal function. However, this method can only be used in tool cells, but cannot be used for in vivo study. Here, we constructed a retroviral vector to encode both heavy chains and light chains of a membrane immunoglobulin, and expressed them in primary B-cells using retroviral gene transfer. Our results demonstrate that the membrane immunoglobulin expressed by retroviral vectors transfer can initiate B-cell receptor-mediated signaling, result- ing in the phosphorylation of Syk and Erkl/2 proteins. The results showed that B-cells expressing membrane immunoglobulin can make proliferative responses to cognate antigen both in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, we provide a methodology for rapidly analyzing the downstream signals of B-cell receptors both in vitro and in vivo, which could expedite the identification of proteins involved in B-cell function.
