Influence of Connexin43 on the Bystander Effect Induced by Double Suicide Genes System in Vitro and in Vivo

Objective： To observe the influence of connexin 43 （Cx43） on the bystander effect induced by cytosine deaminase （CD） and herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase （HSV-tk） coexpression suicide genes system in human cholangiocarcinoma QBC939 cells and transplantation tumors in nude mice. Methods： In vitro, the CD＋tk＋ and CD＋tk＋Cx＋ cells were respectively treated with 5-fluorocytosine （5-Fc） and Ganciclovir （GCV）. The cytotoxic effect was evaluated by MTT method. In order to investigate the influence of Cx43 on the bystander effect, the size of transplantation tumors of the CD＋tk＋ and CD＋tk＋Cx＋ cells was measured before and after application of 5-Fc and GCV. Results： CD and tk genes were stably expressed in transfected QBC939 cells. The increased expression of Cx43 was determined by testing for the presence of Cx43 mRNA by RT-PCR and the presence of Cx43 protein by Western Blot in CD＋tk＋Cx＋ cells. The killing effect of 5-Fc and GCV on CD＋tk＋Cx＋ cells was more effective than that on CD＋tk＋ cells both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion： Double suicide genes system CD/5-Fc＋tk/GCV could induce remarkable killing effect on cholangiocarcinoma cells in vitro and transplantation tumors in vivo. The cotransfection of Cx43 gene could enhance the bystander effect and hence the inhibition of carcinoma cells.

Antitumor effects and radiosensitization of cytosine deaminase and thymidine kinase fusion suicide gene on colorectal carcinoma cells

AIM: To investigate the killing effect and radiosensitization of double suicide gene mediated by adenovirus on colorectal carcinoma cells. METHODS: Colorectal carcinoma cell line SW480 was transfected with adenovirus expression vector containing cytosine deaminase (CD) and thymidine kinase (TK) fusion gene. The expression of CD-TK fusion gene was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The toxic effect of ganciclovir (GCV) and 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) on infected cells was determined by MTT assay. The radiosensitization of double suicide gene was evaluated by clonogenic assay. RESULTS: After prodrugs were used, the survival rate of colorectal carcinoma cells was markedly decreased. When GCV and 5-FC were used in combination, the cytotoxicity and bystander effect were markedly superior to a single prodrug (X2 = 30.371, P<0.01). Both GCV and 5-FC could sensitize colorectal carcinoma cells to the toxic effect of radiation, and greater radiosensitization was achieved when both prodrug were used in combination. CONCLUSION: CD-TK double suicide gene can kill and radiosensitize colorectal carcinoma cells.

Evaluation of miR-122-regulated suicide gene therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma in an orthotopic mouse model

Objective： Intratumoral administration of adenoviral vector encoding herpes simplex virus （HSV） thymidine kinase （TK） gene （Ad-TK） followed by systemic ganciclovir （GCV） is an effective approach in treating experimental hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）. However, hepatotoxicity due to unwanted vector spread and suicide gene expression limited the application of this therapy, miR-122 is an abundant, liver-specific microRNA whose expression is decreased in human primary HCC and HCC-derived cell lines. These different expression profiles provide an opportunity to induce tumor-specific gene expression by miR-122 regulation. Methods： By inserting miR-122 target sequences （miR-122T） in the 3＇ untranslated region （UTR） ofTK gene, we constructed adenovirus （Ad） vectors expressing miR-122-regulated TK （Ad-TK-122T） and report genes. After intratumoral administration of Ad vectors into an orthotopic miR-122-deficient HCC mouse model, we observed the miR-122-regulated transgene expression and assessed the antitumor activity and safety of Ad-TK-122T. Results： Insertion of miR-122T specifically down-regulated transgene expression in vitro and selectively protected the miR-122-positive cells from killing by TK/GCV treatment. Insertion of miR-122T led to significant reduction of tansgene expression in the liver without inhibition of its expression in tumors in vivo, resulting in an 11-fold improvement of tumor-specific transgene expression. Intratumoral injection of Ad vectors mediated TK/GCV system led to a vector dosage-dependent regression of tumor. The insertion of miR-122T does not influence the antitumor effects of suicide gene therapy. Whereas mice administrated with Ad-TK showed severe lethal hepatotoxicity at the effective therapeutic dose, no liver damage was found in Ad-TK-122T group. Conclusions： miR-122-regulated TK expression achieved effective anti-tumor effects and increased the safety of intratumoral delivery of adenovirus-mediated TK/GCV gene therapy for miR-122-deficient HCC.

Kinase domain insert containing receptor promoter controlled suicide gene system selectively kills human umbilical vein endothelial cells

AIM： To study the selective killing of human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVECs） by a double suicide gene under the regulation of a kinase domain insert containing receptor （KDR） promoter and mediated by an adenoviral gene vector. METHODS： Human KDR promoter was cloned by polymerase chain reaction （PCR）, and two recombinant adenoviral plasmids pAdKDR-CdgIyTK, pAdCMV-CDglyTK were constructed according to a two-step transformation protocol. These two newly constructed plasmids were then transfected into 293 packaging cells to grow adenovirus, which were further multiplied and purified. HUVECs and LoVo cells were infected with either of the two resultant recombinant adenoviruses （AdKDR-CDglyTK and AdCMV-CDglyTK） respectively, and the infection rates were estimated by detection of green fluorescent protein （GFP） expression. Infected cells were cultured in culture media containing different concentrations of 5-fiuoroo/tosine （5-FC） and ganciclovir （GCV）, and the killing effects were measured. RESULTS： The two recombinant adenoviral plasmids pAdKDR-CdglyTK, pAdCMV-CDglyTK were successfully constructed and transfected into 293 cells. The resultant recombinant adenoviruses infected cells caused similar infection rates; and the infected cells exhibited different sensitivity to the prodrugs： HUVECs infected with AdCMV-CDglyTK and LoVo cells infected with AdCMVo CDglyTK were highly sensitive to the prodrugs, and HUVECs infected with AdKDR-CDglyTK were similarly sensitive but significantly more sensitive than the LoVo cells infected with AdKDR-CdglyTK （P 〈 0.001）. CONCLUSION： Selective killing of HUVECs may be achieved by gene transfer of double suicide gene under the regulation of the KDR promoter. This finding may provide an optional way to target gene therapy of malignant tumors by abrogation of tumor blood vessels.

Kinase domain insert containing receptor promotor controlled suicide gene system kills human umbilical vein endothelial cells

AIM: To evaluate the killing effect of double suicide gene mediated by adenovirus and regulated under kinase domain insert containing receptor (KDR) promoter on human umbilical vein endothelial cells. METHODS: By PCR technology, human KDR promoter gene, Escherichia coli(E. coli) cytosine deaminase (CD) gene and the herpes simple virus-thymidine kinase (TK) gene were cloned. Plasmid pKDR-CDglyTK was constructed with them. Then, a recombinant adenoviral plasmid pAdKDRCDglyTK was constructed in a 'two-step transformation protocol'. The newly constructed plasmids were transfected to 293 packaging cells to grow adenoviruses, which were further propagated and purified. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were infected with a different multiplicity of infection (MOI) of resultant recombinant adenovirus, the infection rate was measured with the aid of (GFP) expression. Infected cells were cultured in culture media containing different concentrations of (GCV) and/or 5-(FC), and the killing effects were measured.RESULTS: Recombinant adenoviruses AdKDR-CDglyTK were successfully constructed, and they infected HUVEC cells efficiently. Our data indicated that the infection rate was relevant to MOI of recombinant adenoviruses. HUVEC cells infected with AdKDR-CDglyTK were highly sensitive to the prodrugs, their survival rate correlated to both the concentration of the prodrugs and the MOI of recombinant adenoviruses. Our data also indicated that the two prodrugs used in combination were much more effective on killing transgeneic cells than GCV or 5-FC used alone. CONCLUSION: Prodrug/KDR-CDglyTK system is effective on killing HUVEC cells, its killing effect correlates to the concentration of prodrugs and recombinant adenovirus' MOI. Combined use of the two prodrugs confers better killing effects on transgeneic cells.

Bifunctional chimeric SuperCD suicide gene -YCD: YUPRT fusion is highly effective in a rat hepatoma model

AIM： To investigate the effects of catalytically superior gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy systems on a rat hepatoma model. METHODS： To increase hepatoma cell chemosensitivity for the prodrug 5-fluorocytosine （5-FC）, we generated a chimeric bifunctional SuperCD suicide gene, a fusion of the yeast cytosine deaminase （YCD） and the yeast uracil phosphoribosyltransferase （YUPRT） gene. RESULTS： In vitro stably transduced Morris rat hepatoma cells （MH） expressing the bifunctional SuperCD suicide gene （MH SuperCD） showed a clearly marked enhancement in cell killing when incubated with 5-FC as compared with MH cells stably expressing YCD solely （MH YCD） or the cytosine deaminase gene of bacterial origin （MH BCD）, respectively. In vivo, MH SuperCD tumors implanted both subcutaneously as well as orthotopically into the livers of syngeneic ACI rats demonstrated significant tumor regressions （P〈0.01） under both high dose as well as low dose systemic 5-FC application, whereas MH tumors without transgene expression （MH naive） showed rapid progression. For the first time, an order of in vivo suicide gene effectiveness （SuperCD〉〉 YCD〉〉BCD〉〉〉negative control） was defined as a result of a direct in vivo comparison of all three suicide genes. CONCLUSION： Bifunctional SuperCD suicide gene expression is highly effective in a rat hepatoma model, thereby significantly improving both the therapeutic index and the efficacy of hepatocellular carcinoma killing by fluorocytosine.

Construction of dual suicide gene therapy system pTRKH2/CD and pTRKH2/UPRT in Bifidobacterium infantis and its characterization

Objective:We recombine the suicide gene CD,UPRT into plasmid pTRKH2 and clone the recombinant dual suicide gene therapy system into tumor-hypoxia-targeting vector Bifidobacterium infantis and characterize its function.Methods:CD gene,UPRT gene and lactic acid bacteria expression plasmid pTRKH2 were digested by restriction endonuclease BamH I and Sal I,and constructed recombinant plasmids pTRKH2/CD and pTRKH2/UPRT in E.coli.The recombinant plasmids were then transfected into Bifidobacterium Infantis by electroporation.Identification of pTRKH2/CD and pTRKH2/UPRT was processed by dual restriction endonuclease digesting and sequencing.RT-PCR and SDS-PAGE were used to examine the expression of CD and UPRT genes at RNA and protein levels.The killing effects on Melanoma B16-F10 cells by pTRKH2/CD and pTRKH2/UPRT suicide gene therapy system with 5-FC were examined by MTT assay.Results:The CD gene and UPRT gene was successfully recombined into lactic acid bacteria expression plasmid pTRKH2.After dual endonuclease digestion of plasmid purified from the positively transfected E.coli,two fragments of 6.9 Kb and 1.3 Kb were found for CD gene and two fragments of 6.9 Kb and 620 bp were found for UPRT gene.The sequencing of CD gene and UPRT gene proved consistent sequences with Genebank published data.A fragment of 1.3 Kb for CD gene and fragment of 620 bp for UPRT gene was found in recombinant Bifidobacterium by RT-PCR.A 52 KDa protein for CD gene was identified in whole-cell protein of recombinant Bifidobacterium and a 26 KDa protein for UPRT gene was identified in supernatant fluid of recombinant Bifidobacterium.The survival rate of tumor cells treated by extracts from culture of recombinant Bifidobacterium with 5-FC showed a strong killing effects of pTRKH2/CD and pTRKH2/UPRT dual suicide gene therapy system on Melanoma B16-F10 cells.Conclusion:CD gene and UPRT gene are successfully inserted into pTRKH2 and transfected into tumor-hypoxia-targeting vector Bifidobacterium Infantis.This dual suicide gene therapy system shows a high efficiency for tumor cells killing.

The use of suicide gene systems in vascular cells in vitro

To investigate the efficiency of suicide gene systems on vascular cells, HSV-tk/GCV and EC-CD/5-FC systems were established on vascular endothelial cells in vitro by retroviral transduction. Both modified cell lines were highly sensitive to prodrugs, the IC50 for GCV was less than 0.4 μM, and IC50 for 5-FC was less than 75 μM,while the parental endothelial cells were insensitive even at the highest concentrations of prodrugs in this experiment. Mixed cellular assay showed that significant bystander effect was exhibited in modified endothelial cells.When only 10% or 30% of the mixed cells were tk positive and exposed to 20 μM GCV for 6 days, more than 60% or 90% of the whole population was killed. Similar result was also found in CD positive cells. These results indicated that both HSV-tk/GCV and EC-CD/5-FC systems could efficiently suppress endothelial cell growth in vitro.

RETROVIRAL-MEDIATED SUICIDE GENE THERAPY OF EXPERIMENTAL GLIOMA

Objective: To establish a retroviral mediated suicide gene therapy system for experimental glioma and test its efficacy. Methods: C6 rat glioma cells were infected with recombinant retrovirus containing HSV tk gene. The C6/tk cell line which stably expressed tk was selected and cloned. The sensitivities of C6/tk cells to several nucleoside analogues, such as GCV, BVdU, ACV were compared by the growth inhibition studies. Antitumor effects were also observed after GCV treatment in nude mice bearing tumors derived from C6/tk cells. Results: The growth inhibition studies showed that GCV was the most efficient prodrug in this system. C6/tk cells were highly sensitive to GCV, with an IC 50 <0.2 μmol/L, being 500 fold less than that in tk negative C6 cells. In vivo studies showed significant tumor inhibition in the treatment group. Conclusion: Glioma cells can be eradicated by using retroviral mediated suicide gene system in vitro as well as in vivo .

Establishment of Surfactant-associated Protein A Suicide Gene System and Analysis of Its Activity

Summary： Alveolar epithelial type II （AT II） cells are essential for lung development and remodeling, as they are precursors for type I cells and also produce other non-repair cells （fibroblasts）. Progenitor ceils are believed to possess capability of multi-potent transdifferentiation, which is closely related to the niche, suggesting the importance of establishment of a lung progenitor cell niche model. We hypothesized that pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A （SPA） suicide gene system would cause AT II cell to kill itself through apoptosis and leave its niche. In vitro, the recombinant adeno-associated virus vectors-SPA-thymidine kinase （rAAV-SPA-TK） system was established to get targeted apoptotic AT II cells. The apoptosis of AT II cells was detected by using MTT. The results showed that cloned SPA gene promoter had specific transcriptional activity in SPA high expression cells, and SPA high expression cells （H441） transfected with TK gene had higher sensitivity to ganciclovir （GCV） than SPA low expression cells （A549）. In vivo, increased apoptosis of AT II cells induced by GCV in rAAV-SPA-TK system was observed by TUNEL. Finally, the successful packaging and application of rAAV-SPA-TK system provide experimental basis to get specific lung progenitor cell （AT II） niche in vitro and in vivo.

Experimental Studies on PNP Suicide Gene Therapy of Hepatoma

Summary: To investigate the killing effect of PNP/MeP-dR suicide gene system on hepatoma cells, pcDNA3.0/PNP, an eukaryotic expression vector harboring E. coli PNP gene, was transfected into human hepatoma HepG2 cells by liposome-mediated method. A HepG2 cell line with stable PNP gene expression, HepG2/PNP, was established with presence of G418 selection. The cell growth curves were determined with trypan blue staining. The sensitivity of HepG2/PNP to MeP-dR and bystander effects were assayed by MTT and FCM methods. The enzymatic activity of the product of PNP gene was determined by HPLC method. The cytotoxic effects of MeP-dR on HepG2/PNP cells were obvious (IC 50=4.5 μmol/L) and all HepG2/PNP cells were killed 4 days after the treatment with 100 μmol/L MeP-dR. In mixed cultures containing increasing percentages of HepG2/PNP cells, total population killing was demonstrated when HepG2/PNP cells accounted for as few as 5 % of all HepG2 cells 8 days after the treatment with 100μmol MeP-dR. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) demonstrated that the PNP enzyme could convert MeP-dR into 6-MP. PNP/MeP-dR suicide gene system had an advantage over traditional suicide gene systems for hepatoma gene therapy. Our e results suggest that high-level bystander effects of this system result in significant anti-tumor responses to hepatoma gene therapy, especially in vivo.

ENHANCED ANTITUMOR EFFECTS OF SUICIDE GENETHERAPY BY SIMULTANEOUS TRANSFER OF GM CSF GENE IN LEUKEMIABEARING MICE

In the present report, antitumor effect of combined transfer of suicide gene and cytokine gene was studied. Adenovirus engineered to express E. Coli. Cytosine deaminase (AdCD) and/or adenovirus engineered to express murine granulocytemacrophage colonystimulating factor (AdGMCSF) were used for the treatment of leukemiabearing mice. The mice were inoculated s.c. with FBL3 erythroleukemia cells and 3 days later received intratumoral injection of AdCD in the presence or absence of AdGMCSF followed by intraperitoneal 5fluorocytosine (5FC) treatment. The results demonstrated that mice received combined therapy of AdCD/5FC and AdGMCSF developed tumors most slowly and survived much longer when compared with mice treated with AdCD/5FC alone, AdGMCSF alone, AdlacZ/5FC or PBS. Combined transfer of CD gene and GMCSF gene achieved higher specific CTL activity than control therapies. Pathological examination illustrated that the tumor mass showed obvious necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration in mice after combined therapy. The results demonstrated that combined transfer of suicide gene and cytokine gene could synergistically inhibit the growth of leukemia in mice and induce antitumor immunity of the host. The combination therapy might be a potential approach for cancer gene therapy.

Construction and Application of Plasmid pUC19-CM-D

[Objective] The aims were to construct a new suicide plasmid of Lactobacillus and gene deletion engineering bacteria of Lactobacillus with pUC19 vector. [Methods] pUC19-CM was constructed by inserting a chloramphenicol resistant gene into the multi-cloning site of pUC19,and then two homologous fragments were cloned into each side of the pUC19-CM to construct suicide plasmid pUC19-CM-D. [Results] A replacement mutant strain,whose target gene was replaced by resistant gene,could be obtained by transforming the suicide plasmid pUC19-CM-D into Lactobacillus for resistance screening. [Conclusion] The construction and application of pUC19-CM-D provided a fast and efficient means of construction of gene deletion engineering bacteria of Lactobacillus,and laid a foundation for study of gene function of Lactobacillus.

Inhibitory Effect of Pulmonary Carcinoma by Adenovirus-Mediated CD/UPRT Gene

The cell killing effects and bystander effects of double suicide gene on pulmonary carcinoma cells were explored. Lung adenocarcinoma cells （A549） were transfected with different titers of adenovirus vector and followed with different concentrations of 5-FC after a recombinant adenovirus vector carrying CD/UPRT gene （Ad-CD/UPRT） was constructed. The cell viability was measured by MTT assay 4 days later. The cell viability was dropped to 30.57 %-8.62 % after 10 MOI of Ad-CD/UPRT transfected and 5-FC （10-1000 μg/mL） administration. Furthermore, Ad-CD/UPRTinfected A549 cells showed a profound neighbor cell killing effect in the same methods. These results suggested that Ad-CD/UPRT/5-FC system can effectively suppress growth of lung adenocarcinoma cells, which may provide a novel and powerful candidate for lung cancer gene therapy strategies.

Telomerase activity: An attractive target for cancer therapeutics

Telomeres are non-coding tandem repeats of 1000-2000 TTAGGG nucleotide DNA sequences on the 3’ termini of human chromosomes where they serve as protective “caps” from degradation and loss of genes. The “cap” at the end of chromosome required to protect its integ-rity is a 150-200 nucleotide-long single stranded G-rich 3’ overhang that forms two higher order structures, a T-loop with Sheltering complex, or a G-quadruplex com-plex. Telomerase is a human ribonucleoprotein reverse transcriptase that continually added single stranded TTAGGG DNA sequences onto the single strand 3’ of telomere in the 5’ to 3’ direction. Telomerase activity is detected in male germ line cells, proliferative cells of renewal tissues, some adult pluripotent stem cells, embryonic cells, but in most somatic cells is not de-tected. Re-expression or up-regulation of telomerase in tumours cells is considered as a critical step in cell tumorigenesis and telomerase is widely considered as a tumour marker and a target for anticancer drugs. Dif-ferent approaches have been used in anticancer thera-peutics targeting telomerase. Telomerase inhibitors can block directly Human TElomerase Reverse Transcrip-tase （hTERT） or Human TElomerase RNA telomerase subunits activity, or G-quadruplex and Sheltering complex components, shortening telomeres and inhibiting cell proliferation. Telomerase can become an immune target and GV1001, Vx-001, I540 are the most wide-spread vaccines used with encouraging results. Another method is to use hTERT promoter to drive suicide gene expression or to control a lytic virus replication. Recently telomerase activity was used to activate pro-drugs such as Acycloguanosyl 5’-thymidyltriphosphate, a synthetic ACV-derived molecule when it is activated by telomer-ase it does not require any virus or host active immune response to induce suicide gene therapy. Advantage of all these therapies is that target only neoplastic cells without any effects in normal cells, avoiding toxicity and adverse effects of the current chemotherapy. However, as not all the approaches are equally effcient, further studies will be necessary.

Gene therapy targeted to telomerase in HCC by AF-hTERT-TK/GCV

Objective： The aim of this study was to observe the affection of targeted therapy to plasmid AF-pGL3-hTERT-TK in HCC cell line HepG2. Methods： We constructed therapeutic plasmid pGL3-hTERT-TK （containing suicide gene TK that promoted by promoter of hTERT） and was conjugated with AF-liposome （a protein that can combine with the receptor ASPGR on HCC cell surface）. Then we transfected HCC cell line HepG2 and hepatic cell L02 with AF-pGL3-hTERT-TK, observed the effects of therapeutic plasmid AF-pGL3-hTERT-TK for HCC cell line growth and apoptosis in vitro by Flow cytometry and Tun- nel method. Results： Our results showed that TK gene was 1100 bp in plasmid pGL3-hTERT-TK. Plasmid pGL3-hTERT-TK can effectively transfect HCC cell HepG2 and the transfection rate was 8.91%. By recognizing and combining effects of recep- tor protein ASPGR on HCC cell surface the therapeutic plasmid AF-pGL3-hTERT-TK could easily enter into HCC cell HepG2 and induce its apeptosis. The apoptosis rate was 85.87% while only 8.65% in L02 cell. Four days after AF-pGL3-hTERT-TK transfected HepG2 was intervention by ganciclovir （GCV）, a lot of apeptotic bodies were found by Tunnel analysis, while little apoptotic body was found in hepatic cell L02. Conclusion： AF-pGL3-hTERT-TK can target to HCC cell line and induce it to apoptesis, almost has no influence on hepatic cell L02. AF-pGL3-hTERT-TK has the potential therapeutic effects for HCC.

Antitumor activity of mutant bacterial cytosine deaminase gene for colon cancer

AIM： To evaluate bacterial cytosine deaminase （bCD） mutant D314A and 5-fluorocytosine （5-FC） for treatment of colon cancer in a mouse model. METHODS： Recombinant lentivirus vectors that contained wild-type bCD gene （bCDwt）, and bCD mutant D314A gene （bCD-D314A） with green fluorescence protein gene were constructed and used to infect hu- man colon carcinoma LoVo cells, to generate stable transfected cells, LoVo/null, LoVo/bCDwt or LoVo/bCD- D314A. These were injected subcutaneously into Balb/c nude mice to establish xenograft models. Two weeks post-LoVo cell inoculation, PBS or 5-FC （500 mg/kg） was administered by intraperitoneal （i.p.） injection once daily for 14 d. On the day after LoVo cell injection, mice were monitored daily for tumor volume and survival. RESULTS： Sequence analyses confirmed the construction of recombinant lentiviral plasmids that contained bCDwt or bCD-D314A. The lentiviral vector had high elficacy for gene delivery, and RT-PCR showed that bCDwt or bCD-D314A gene was transferred to LoVo cells. Among these treatment groups, gene delivery or 5-FC administration alone had no effect on tumor growth. However, bCDwt/5-FC or bCD-D314A/5-FC treatment inhibited tumor growth and prolonged survival of mice significantly （P 〈 0.05）. Importantly, the tumor volume in the bCD-D314A/5-FC-treated group was lower than that in the bCDwt/5-FC group （P 〈 0.05）, and bCD- D314A plus 5-FC significantly prolonged survival of mice in comparison with bCDwt plus 5-FC （P 〈 0.05）. CONCLUSION： The bCD mutant D314A enhanced significantly antitumor activity in human colon cancer xenograft models, which provides a promising approach for human colon carcinoma therapy.

A STUDY ON THE TREATMENT OF GASTRIC CANCER BY CD GENE COMBINED WITH 5-FC IN VITRO AND IN VIVO

Objective: To study the killing effect of suicide gene CD on mouse gastric cancer. Methods: CD gene was transduced with the retroviral vector. The killing effect and bystander effect of CD gene on mouse gastric cancer cell line MFC were observed. The mouse gastric cancer model was used for in vivo study. The CD gene containing virus was injected into the tumors. The volumes of the tumors in every group were measured in time. Results: Significant killing effect and bystander effect were observed by CD gene in vitro, 70–80% cell death resulting from 20% of CD gene transduction. In vivo, CD/5-Fc caused tumor to diminution. Conclusion: CD/5-Fc system has significant killing effect on mouse gastric cancer

Suicide gene therapy of human breast cancer in SCID mice model by the regulation of Tet-On

Background RevTet-On gene expression system was used to deliver the suicide gene tk to human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and control the tk gene expression level. The animal model of human breast cancer on severe combined immune deficie ncy (SCID) mice was set up to explore the suicide gene therapy by the regulation of Tet-On.Methods Herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene was inserted into the plasmid pRevTRE and the recombinant retroviral vector pRevTRE/HSVtk was constructed. Using modified calcium phosphate co-precipitation method, two transfections, pRevTRE/HSVtk and pRevTet-On were performed for MCF-7 cell line and selected by hygromycin B and G418. MCF-7 cell line that stably expressed Tet-regulated tk gene was established. HSVtk gene expression in the MCF/TRE/tk/Tet-On cell line was under the control of Doxycycline (Dox). Cell viability was also determined by MTT assay, whereas HSVtk gene expression was analyzed by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR).Results MCF/TRE/tk/Tet-On cell survival rate was decreased from 100% to less than 20% when ganciclovir (GCV) concentration was increased from 0 to 1000 μg/ml at 1 μg/ml of Dox after 72 hours of GCV administration. At 1 μg/ml of GCV concentration, the cell numbers decreased from 7×10 4 cells/ml to 2×10 4 cells/ml when Dox concentration was increased from 0 to 1500 ng/ml after 72 hours culture. In addition, bystander effects were generated in vitro when 10 %-25% of transduced MCF-7 cells were mixed in untransduced MCF-7 cells. On the other hand, the human breast cancer models in SCID mice were set up. The tk gene was expressed with the regulated character after MCF/TRE/tk/Tet-On cells were implanted into the female SCID mice 7 days after Dox induction followed by intraperitoneally administration of GCV for 23 days. Subcutaneous tumors in SCID mice that were implanted with MCF/TRE/tk/Tet-On cells shrank remarkably after Dox and GCV administration as compared with the control.Conclusion The human breast tumor cells (MCF-7) expressing HSVtk gene can be eradicated by administration of GCV and induced with tetracycline or its derivative Dox in vitro and in vivo.

Killing effect of coexpressing cytosine deaminase and thymidine kinase on rat vascular smooth muscle cells

Background Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation following arterial injury plays a critical role in a variety of vascular proliferative disorders, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis after balloon angioplasty. Herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase (HSV-TK)/ganciclovir (GCV) and E.coli cytosine deaminase (CD)/5-fluorocytosine (5-Fc) suicide gene systems have been successfully employed in cardiovascular gene therapy, respectively. We reasoned that coexpression of both HSV-TK with CD suicide genes would lead to increased cell killing. To test this imagine, the adenoviral vectors expressing TK and/or CD genes were developed and tested on vascular smooth muscle cells. Methods Adenoviral vectors, including Ad-EF1α-CD-cytomegolovirus (CMV)-TK coexpressing both CD and TK double suicide genes, Ad-EF1α-CD and Ad-CMV-TK expressing CD and TK respectively, and control vector Ad-CMV-LacZ, were constructed and prepared with homologous recombination in RecA+E.coli cells. Integration and expression of CD and/or TK gene were identified by PCR and Western blot. Primary cultured VSMCs were infected at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 20 with exposure to their matching prodrugs 5-Fc and GCV. Cell mortality was measured by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assays. Flow cytometry analysis was used to detect cell death. Apoptotic cells were analyzed using Hoechst 33342 fluorescence dye as a DNA probe. Genomic DNA cleavage of apoptotic VSMCs was tested by agarose gel electrophoresis. Results Recombinant adenovirus expressing CD and/or TK suicide genes were successfully constructed. Both single and double suicide genes could be integrated into adenoviral genome and expressed. Cytotoxic effects of Ad-EF1α-CD-CMV-TK double suicide genes combined with 5-Fc and GCV were higher than those of Ad-CMV-TK and Ad-EF1α-CD single gene groups. The rate of cell survival was only (9±3)% in the Ad-EF1α-CD-CMV-TK group, but (37±3)% in the Ad-CMV-TK and (46±4)% in the Ad-EF1α-CD groups (P<0.05). Flow cytometry analysis indicated that the killing mechanisms of the groups were different. Necrosis and apoptosis were involved in the mechanism of the double gene group. Based on the DNA stainability with Hoechst 33342, the apoptotic rates of VSMCs in the Ad-EF1α-CD-CMV-TK [(11.0±2.1)%] and Ad-CMV-TK [(12.0±2.2)%] groups were higher than those in Ad-CMV-LacZ [(1.2±0.11)%] and Ad-EF1α-CD [(5.0±1.8)%] groups (P<0.05, respctively). DNA smear could be observed in both Ad-CMV-TK and Ad-EF1α-CD-CMV-TK groups after administration of prodrugs. Conclusions The killing effect on rat VSMCs mediated by adenoviral CD/TK double suicide genes is superior to that of single suicide gene. The killing mechanism of recombinant adenovirus coexpressing CD/TK double suicide genes is mainly through cytotoxic effect and apoptosis.