Toward gene therapy for growth hormone deficiency via salivary gland expression of growth hormone

OBJECTIVES

Salivary glands are useful targets for gene therapeutics. After gene transfer into salivary glands, regulated secretory pathway proteins, such as human growth hormone, are secreted into saliva, whereas constitutive secretory pathway proteins, such as erythropoietin, are secreted into the bloodstream. Secretion of human growth hormone (hGH) into the saliva is not therapeutically useful. In this study, we attempted to redirect the secretion of transgenic hGH from the saliva to the serum by site-directed mutagenesis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We tested hGH mutants first in vitro with AtT20 cells, a model endocrine cell line that exhibits polarized secretion of regulated secretory pathway proteins. Selected mutants were further studied in vivo using adenoviral-mediated gene transfer to rat submandibular glands.

RESULTS

We identified two mutants with differences in secretion behavior compared to wild-type hGH. One mutant, ΔN1-6 , was detected in the serum of transduced rats, demonstrating that expression of this mutant in the salivary gland resulted in its secretion through the constitutive secretory pathway.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that mutagenesis of therapeutic proteins normally destined for the regulated secretory pathway may result in their secretion via the constitutive secretory pathway into the circulation for potential therapeutic benefit.

Abstract P4-01-20: Explore the differences and relationships between normal, ADH tissues and DCIS, IDC in breast by shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS)

Background: The mechanism that ADH changes to DCIS and even IDC is still not clear now. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful, non-invasive analytical tool which can provide detailed and meaningful information about biochemical composition of tissues at molecular level. Our aim was to find the differences and relationships between normal, ADH tissues and DCIS, IDC in breast based on their various biochemical characteristics by Raman spectroscopy.

Methods: The frozen sections were collected from 39 patients (all female; ages 27-74) who underwent surgical resection or mammotome biopsy at the Department of Breast Surgery, the First Hospital of Jilin University. After operation the samples were immediately frozen at -20∼-25°C and two contiguous sections (6 μm thickness) were cut from a sample by freezing microtome. One was stained with haematoxylin and eosin for routine histopathological analysis; the other was detected by Microscopic confocal Raman spectrometer (HORIBA JY Lab800, 633nm) with its mirror image (the H&E section). After the spectra we needed had been obtained, the Au@SiO2 shell-isolated nanoparticles (SHINs) were added to the surface of frozen sections immediately and then the spectra with SHINs were collected.

Results: A total of 475 Raman spectra and 470 SHINERS spectra were obtained from 9 normal breast tissues, 7 ADH, 8 DCIS, and 15 IDC breast tissues. The Raman signals were significantly enhanced by SHINs. The main spectral features of normal tissues at around 1301, 1442, 1654, and 1743 cm−1 are attributed to lipids. Meanwhile, no strong protein peaks emerged. The peaks of ADH, DCIS and IDC tissues located at 1004, 1033, 1610 and 1658 cm−1 from vibrational modes of proteins shows more stronger. 830, 880, 970, 1090 and 1157cm−1, representing DNA feature peaks, hold the same rules.

Table 1: Peak assignments of the Raman spectra of Breast tissues (wavenumbers in cm-1)NBADHDCISIDCMajor Assignments 880878880O-P-O stretch, DNA1003100410041003phenylalanine1092109210911090O-P-O stretch, DNA1301,14421302,14421303,14431303,1442CH2 twist and CH2 deformation, lipids  15261527C = C stretch of carotene 165816581658Amide I, α-helix1743174717451747C = O stretch, lipids

These show that diseased tissues contained more proteins and nucleic acids. The spectra of DCIS and IDC tissues contained 1527 cm−1, stemming from C = C stretching of carotene. The spectral features between ADH, DCIS and IDC tissues are described as followings: firstly, the concentrations of proteins, nucleic acids and carotene increased gradually but lipids content reduced from ADH to IDC. Secondly, ADH and DCIS tissues have extraordinary strong band of amide I, but in IDC tissues the peak almost cannot observed. Additionally, DCIS tissues have the red shifted and broad peak of CH2, which explains acyl backbone of lipids and proteins has fractured.

Conclusion: The changes including content and molecular structure of lipids, carotene, proteins and nucleic acids accompany with deterioration, indicating the Raman spectroscopy can be used to explore the differences and relationships between normal, ADH tissues and DCIS, IDC in breast. Simultaneously, it might be used to discover the mechanism that ADH convert to DCIS.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P4-01-20.

Characterization of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis: a survey of genetically diagnosed individuals

This exploratory study aims to create an evidence-based comprehensive characterization of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (hyperPP). HyperPP is a rare genetic disorder that causes episodes of flaccid paralysis. Disease descriptions in the literature are based upon isolated clinical encounters and case reports. We describe the experience of a large cohort of genetically diagnosed individuals with hyperPP. We surveyed genetically characterized individuals age 18 and over to assess disease comorbidities, diagnostic testing, management, and quality of life issues relevant to hyperPP. Myotonia was reported by 55.8 % of subjects and paramyotonia by 45.3 %. There is a relative risk of 3.6 (p < 0.0001) for thyroid dysfunction compared to the general population. Twenty-five percent of subjects experienced their sentinel attack in the second decade of life. It took an average of 19.4 years and visits to four physicians to arrive at the diagnosis of hyperPP. In addition to limbs and hands being affected during attacks, 26.1 % of subjects reported their breathing musculature was affected and 62.0 % reported their facial muscles were affected. There was a lifelong trend of increasing attack frequency, which was particularly common during childhood and adolescence. Approximately one-third of individuals experienced progressive myopathy. Permanent muscle weakness was evident and worsened during childhood and after age 40. Those with no chronic treatment regimen have a RR of 2.3 for inadequate disease control compared to those taking long-term medications. This study revealed a multitude of heretofore unidentified characteristics of hyperPP, in addition to providing a different perspective on some previously held notions regarding the condition.

Non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary infection in the immunocompetent host

Throughout much of the world, the incidence of non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary infections in immunocompetent hosts is on the rise. These organisms are widespread in the natural environment; the explanation for what appears to be an increased susceptibility among human hosts is uncertain. Among more than 120 known species, the most common pathogenic isolate in the USA is Mycobacterium avium complex. The diagnosis of pulmonary disease caused by M. avium complex requires a compatible history, suggestive radiographic findings (on chest computed tomography) and microbiologic confirmation on culture of respiratory samples (sputum or direct lung sampling). Treatment options have improved with inclusion of macrolide antibiotics in a multi-drug regimen, but failure rates remain high (20-40%) even after a prolonged course of therapy. Newer, less toxic and more effective anti-mycobacterial agents are greatly needed for treatment of this increasingly common respiratory disease.

Biodegradable and redox-responsive chitosan/poly(L-aspartic acid) submicron capsules for transmucosal delivery of proteins and peptides

The development of peptides and proteins is hampered by their rapid clearance in liver and other body tissues by proteolytic enzymes, so these drugs are difficult to administer except for the injection. Here, we designed and fabricated a novel biodegradable and redox-responsive submicron capsules through the layer-by-layer technique with poly(L-aspartic acid) and chitosan for transmucosal delivery of proteins and peptides. TEM graphs reveal that the intact submicron capsules were obtained and the shell of submicron capsules was about 40 nm. The mucoadhesion test indicates that the adsorption amount of the mucin could achieve up to 96.2 μg per 2 mg. The cell viability test shows that all types of submicron capsules had good cytocompatibility and the cell viability was above 90 %. As a drug model, the insulin could be loaded in the submicron capsules, and the loading efficiency was about 5 %. The release amount of insulin could be regulated by the levels of GSH. Therefore, the mucoadhesive submicron capsules as vehicles have a potential for the mucosal delivery (e.g. nasal and buccal) of therapeutic peptide and protein drugs.

Temperature-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-butyl methylacrylate) nanogel as an embolic agent: distribution, durability of vascular occlusion, and inflammatory reactions in the renal artery of rabbits

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

We have developed a new thermosensitive liquid embolic agent, PIB nanogel, that can be solidified at body temperature. We thus further investigated the distribution, durability of vascular occlusion, and inflammatory reactions of PIB in embolization of the renal artery of rabbits.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The bilateral renal arteries of 9 rabbits were first embolized with PIB at different injection rates. The distribution pattern of PIB was investigated by contact radiography and histology 1 hour after embolization. The right renal arteries of 20 rabbits were then embolized with PIB at the proper injection rate. Angiography and pathologic examination of the kidneys were performed at 1 week and 1, 2, and 3 months after embolization to evaluate the long-term outcomes.

RESULTS

With the injection rate increasing, PIB could reach the more distal branch of the renal artery. The proper injection rate was chosen as 0.10 mL/s due to the homogeneous distribution of PIB from the main renal artery to the precapillary level at this rate. During a 3-month follow-up observation period, no angiographic recanalization was observed. Histologically, we found no disruption of the vessel wall or subintimal bleeding, no extravasation of PIB, and no evidence of neovascularization. Moreover, there was only a mild inflammatory response, manifested by few lymphocytic and monocellular infiltration, without foreign body granuloma formation.

CONCLUSIONS

Embolization of the renal artery with PIB was easy and controllable, which could lead to a homogeneous and persistent occlusion without severe inflammatory changes. PIB might be a suitable material for intravascular embolization.

Abstract P1-07-12: Using Natural Language Processing to Identify and Extract HER2 Value from a large EMR system

Background: HER2 status is important in breast cancer prognosis but has not been well collected in NCI-SEER affiliated cancer registries until recent years. For example, in a cohort of 2,846 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer from 1997 to 2011 in a large health plan, only 49% of these patients had known HER2 status. However, many of these with missing HER2 status were documented in clinical notes. This study used Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to identify and extract HER2 status. NLP results were validated by comparison with cancer registry data and any discrepancies were manually reviewed.

Method: We assembled a cohort of 2,846 breast cancer patients from the membership of a health plan based in southern California, Kaiser Permanente. All free text notes including pathology reports, progress notes, and discharge summaries were extracted from our electronic medical record (EMR) system. A window of 9 months before and after the diagnosis date was applied to restrict the number of notes needed to be processed. Overall, 513,903 clinical notes were processed and indexed, which averages to 180 notes per patient. Separate ontologies were created for the HER2 terminology and HER2 status. HER2 status values included positive, negative, borderline, test performed and test not performed. The NLP system employed additional components such as spelling correction, acronym recognition and negation identification. The output from the NLP system was further processed in three steps: Identification of the HER2 concept, followed by extraction of the most likely HER2 value, and lastly, a decision module to select the most likely HER2 value if there were conflicting values.

Results: Use the cancer registry data as the gold standard, for positive and negative HER2 values, the sensitivity and specificity of the NLP algorithm were 94.7% and 93.3%, respectively, including the cases where NLP did not select either positive or negative values. A manual chart review was performed on the discrepant cases. We found that the NLP were correct for many of these cases. For example, out of the 39 NLP positive but registry negative cases, 4 were false positives and 35 were true positives. Compared to the cancer registry data, NLP increased capture of positive and negative HER2 cases from 49% to 73% of the cohort population.

Discussion: NLP provides the opportunity to process clinical notes which are added to the EMR after the cancer registry has completed documenting the patients' initial course of cancer treatment. On the other hand, NLP was not able to access some of the HER2 related clinical notes. For example, according to our chart review, some notes were stored as scanned images and not retrievable. In addition, clinical notes with incorrect filing dates so patients without any diagnosis date were not processed. We also identified key challenges in determining HER2 results using NLP in this study. First, non-standard terminology for the HER2 receptor in the clinical notes hampered the NLP effectiveness. Second, clinicians described HER2 results in many different ways.

Intravascular parasympathetic cardiac nerve stimulation prevents ventricular arrhythmias during acute myocardial ischemia

Although previous animal studies clearly demonstrated antiarrhythmic effects of vagal stimulation during acute myocardial ischemia, highly invasive nature of vagal stimulation limited its clinical use. Recently, intravascular parasympathetic cardiac nerve stimulation (IPS) has emerged as a novel approach to the cardiac autonomic nervous system. We hypothesized that IPS might prevent ventricular arrhythmias during acute myocardial ischemia.

METHODS

The IPS (36 V, 10 Hz) was performed in superior vena cava using an expandable electrode-basket catheter. In 18 open-chest dogs, left anterior descending coronary artery ligation was performed without IPS (control group, n= 6), with IPS (IPS group, n= 6) and with IPS and right atrial pacing at 180/min (IPS+P group, n=6). The ECGs were monitored for 60 min. The incidence and severity of ventricular arrhythmias were analyzed.

RESULTS

The IPS significantly decreased the frequency of premature ventricular contractions (control group: 9.1 &#177; 4.6/min, IPS group: 0.2 &#177; 0.4 /min, IPS+P group: 10.6 &#177; 4.2 / min; p&lt;0.05). The frequency of ventricular tachycardia was lower in IPS group (0 &#177; 0 /min) than in control group (0.15 &#177; 0.18 /min, p&lt;0.05) and than in IPS+P group (0.17 &#177; 0.12 /min, p<0.05). The incidence of ventricular fibrillation was lower in IPS group (0%) than in control group (33.3%) and than in IPS+P group (33.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

The IPS suppressed ventricular arrhythmias during acute ischemia mainly through its bradycardiac effect.

Characterization and emulsifying property of a novel bioemulsifier by Aeribacillus pallidus YM-1

AIMS

  Biosurfactants and bioemulsifiers commonly have the advantages of biodegradability, low toxicity, selectivity and biocompatibility over chemically synthesized surfactants. The goal of the study is to present a novel bioemulsifier with great application potential.

METHODS AND RESULTS

  Aeribacillus pallidus YM-1, isolated from crude oil contaminated soil, was found to produce a novel high molecular bioemulsifier with an emulsification index of 60 ± 1% without remarkable surface tension reduction (45·7 ± 0·1 mN m(-1) ). The number-average molecular weight was determined as 526 369 Da by gel permeation chromatography analysis. Bioemulsifier was subjected to FT-IR and a complex of carbohydrates (41·1%), lipids (47·6%) and proteins (11·3%) was determined.

CONCLUSIONS

  The bioemulsifier of A. pallidus YM-1 was isolated from the glucose-based culture medium and characterized with the help of chemical analytical techniques. The bioemulsifier exhibited a promising emulsifying property for biotechnology application potential in bioremediation and microbial enhanced oil recovery.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

  This is the first report of the bioemulsifier production by A. pallidus. The potential emulsifying activity of the bioemulsifier in the present study may be explored in various biotechnological and industrial applications.

Inferring coancestry in population samples in the presence of linkage disequilibrium

In both pedigree linkage studies and in population-based association studies there has been much interest in the use of modern dense genetic marker data to infer segments of gene identity by descent (ibd) among individuals not known to be related, to increase power and resolution in localizing genes affecting complex traits. In this article, we present a hidden Markov model (HMM) for ibd among a set of chromosomes and describe methods and software for inference of ibd among the four chromosomes of pairs of individuals, using either phased (haplotypic) or unphased (genotypic) data. The model allows for missing data and typing error, but does not model linkage disequilibrium (LD), because fitting an accurate LD model requires large samples from well-studied populations. However, LD remains a major confounding factor, since LD is itself a reflection of coancestry at the population level. To study the impact of LD, we have developed a novel simulation approach to generate realistic dense marker data for the same set of markers but at varying levels of LD. Using this approach, we present results of a study of the impact of LD on the sensitivity and specificity of our HMM model in estimating segments of ibd among sets of four chromosomes and between genotype pairs. We show that, despite not incorporating LD, our model has been quite successful in detecting segments as small as 10(6) bp (1 Mpb); we present also comparisons with fastIBD which uses an LD model in estimating ibd.

Difference in pre- and postchemotherapy vascular endothelial growth factor levels as a prognostic indicator in osteosarcoma

This retrospective analysis examined the difference in pre- and postchemotherapy levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as an indicator of osteosarcoma prognosis. VEGF protein levels were assessed immunohistochemically in primary tumour samples from 61 osteosarcoma patients diagnosed between February 2001 and July 2005. The difference in pre- and postchemotherapy VEGF protein reduction levels was categorized into weak (23 patients) and strong (38 patients). The 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in the weak VEGF reduction group (34.8%) than in the strong VEGF reduction group (73.7%). The weak VEGF reduction group had significantly higher rates of metastasis and recurrence. Multivariate analysis confirmed that the change in VEGF was an independent and significant factor for predicting a good prognosis. The analysis of VEGF will enable clinicians to tailor surgery and chemotherapy regimens more appropriately, earlier in the disease process.

Including the p53 ELAV-like protein-binding site in vector cassettes enhances transgene expression in rat submandibular gland

OBJECTIVE

ELAV-like proteins regulate mRNA stability and/or translation. We evaluated whether inclusion of binding sites for ELAV-like HuR proteins in vector cassettes could improve transgene expression in the salivary gland.

METHODS

Western blots and immunofluorescence staining were used to determine whether HuR protein was expressed in salivary cells and tissue. HuR binding sites were inserted into the pACEF1α-luc-BGH expression plasmid. Cell lines were transfected with plasmids in vitro and luciferase expression measured. Rat submandibular glands were transfected in vivo with plasmids containing ELAV-like HuR protein-binding sites. An adenoviral vector with p53 ELAV-like HuR protein-binding site was generated and also tested in vivo. Four unique 29mer HuR shRNA constructs were used in A5 cells to evaluate whether there was a specific interaction between HuR protein and the p53 HuR protein-binding site.

RESULTS

Salivary cells express HuR protein. Inclusion of the p53 ELAV-like HuR protein-binding site resulted in high luciferase activity in salivary cells in vitro, with similar results in vivo. In vitro shRNA data demonstrated that the high luciferase activity was mediated by the interaction between HuR protein and the p53 HuR protein-binding site. The AdEF1α-luc-p53BGH, including this binding site, mediated very high luciferase activity, ~4-fold that seen with the CMV promoter, in rat submandibular glands.

CONCLUSIONS

Including the p53 ELAV-like protein-binding site in transgene cassettes may enhance therapeutic vectors intended for use with salivary glands.

Differential expression and adherence of Porphyromonas gingivalis FimA genotypes

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a primary pathogen involved in the initiation and progression of adult chronic periodontitis. Its colonization on oral surfaces is a necessary first step leading to infection. FimA, a subunit protein of major (long) fimbriae, is a well-known virulence factor. Based on its nucleotide sequence, FimA is classified into several genotypes. We compared here the transcriptional levels of the fimA gene in several P. gingivalis strains using real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, fimbrial display on the P. gingivalis surface using transmission electronic microscopy, and the adherence competencies of P. gingivalis strains carrying different types of FimAs towards saliva and Streptococcus gordonii surfaces using mutagenesis analysis. We demonstrated differential expression of each fimA gene in these P. gingivalis strains. A correlation of the transcription level of fimA and binding activity of P. gingivalis was revealed. We show that P. gingivalis strains with genotype I and II of FimA are efficient in interaction with saliva or S. gordonii. This work highlights the important role of FimA type I and II in P. gingivalis attachment to oral surfaces.

Abashian-Booth-Crowe effect in basic double-pionic fusion: a new resonance?

We report on an exclusive and kinematically complete high-statistics measurement of the basic double-pionic fusion reaction pn→dπ(0)π(0) over the full energy region of the ABC effect, a pronounced low-mass enhancement in the ππ-invariant mass spectrum. The measurements, which cover also the transition region to the conventional t-channel ΔΔ process, were performed with the upgraded WASA detector setup at COSY. The data reveal the Abashian-Booth-Crowe effect to be uniquely correlated with a Lorentzian energy dependence in the integral cross section. The observables are consistent with a narrow resonance with m=2.37  GeV, Γ≈70  MeV and I(J(P))=0(3(+)) in both pn and ΔΔ systems. Necessary further tests of the resonance interpretation are discussed.