Non-viral vectors for cancer therapy

Regulation of Transgene Expression in Tumor Cells by Exploiting Endogenous Intracellular Signals

Recently, we have proposed a novel strategy for a cell-specific gene therapy system based on responses to intracellular signals. In this system, an intracellular signal that is specifically and abnormally activated in the diseased cells is used for the activation of transgene expression. In this study, we used protein kinase C (PKC)alpha as a trigger to activate transgene expression. We prepared a PKCalpha-responsive polymer conjugate [PPC(S)] and a negative control conjugate [PPC(A)], in which the phosphorylation site serine (Ser) was replaced with alanine (Ala). The phosphorylation for polymer/DNA complexes was determined with a radiolabel assay using [gamma-(32)P]ATP. PPC(S)/DNA complexes were phosphorylated by the addition of PKCalpha, but no phosphorylation of the PPC(A)/DNA complex was observed. Moreover, after microinjection of polymer/GFP-encoding DNA complexes into HepG2 cells at cation/anion (C/A) ratios of 0.5 to 2.0, significant expression of GFP was observed in all cases using PPC(S)/DNA complexes, but no GFP expression was observed in the negative control PPC(A)/DNA complex-microinjected cells at C/A ratios of 1.0 and 2.0. On the other hand, GFP expression from PPC(S)/DNA complexes was completely suppressed in cells pretreated with PKCalpha inhibitor (Ro31-7549). These results suggest that our gene regulation system can be used for tumor cell-specific expression of a transgene in response to PKCalpha activity.

HVJ envelope vector, a versatile delivery system: its development, application, and perspectives

An efficient and minimally invasive vector system is the "bottle neck" of both gene transfer and drug delivery. Numerous viral and non-viral (synthetic) delivery systems have been developed and improved. Hemagglutinating virus of Japan (HVJ, Sendai virus) envelope vector is a novel and unique system which combined the advantages of viral and non-viral vectors with the following features and advantages: (1) safe and easy as a "non-viral" transfection reagent; (2) delivery of various molecules including plasmid DNA, siRNA, protein, antisense oligonucleotide; (3) wide usability from in vitro to in vivo. In this review, the development, application, and perspectives of the HVJ envelope vector will be discussed.

Non-viral gene transfection technologies for genetic engineering of stem cells

The recent rapid progress of molecular biology together with the steady progress of genome projects has given us some essential and revolutionary information about DNA and RNA to elucidate various biological phenomena at a genetic level. Under these circumstances, the technology and methodology of gene transfection have become more and more important to enhance the efficacy of gene therapy for several diseases. In addition, gene transfection is a fundamental technology indispensable to the further research development of basic biology and medicine regarding stem cells. Stem cells genetically manipulated will enhance the therapeutic efficacy of cell transplantation. In this paper, the carrier and technology of gene delivery are briefly overviewed while the applications to the basic researches of biology and medicine as well as regenerative medical therapy are introduced. A new non-viral carrier and the cell culture system are described to efficiently manipulate stem cells.

Oncostatin M gene therapy attenuates liver damage induced by dimethylnitrosamine in rats

To assess the usefulness of oncostatin M (osm) gene therapy in liver regeneration, we examined whether the introduction of OSM cDNA enhances the regeneration of livers damaged by dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) in rats. Repeated injection of OSM cDNA enclosed in hemagglutinating virus of Japan envelope into the spleen resulted in the exclusive expression of OSM protein in Kupffer cells of the liver, which was accompanied by increases in body weight, liver weight, and serum albumin levels and the reduction of serum liver injury parameters (bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase) and a serum fibrosis parameter (hyaluronic acid). Histological examination showed that osm gene therapy reduced centrilobular necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration and augmented hepatocyte proliferation. The apoptosis of hepatocytes and fibrosis were suppressed by osm gene therapy. Time-course studies on osm gene therapy before or after DMN treatment showed that this therapy was effective not only in enhancing regeneration of hepatocytes damaged by DMN but in preventing hepatic cytotoxicity caused by subsequent treatment with DMN. These results indicate that OSM is a key mediator for proliferation and anti-apoptosis of hepatocytes and suggest that osm gene therapy is useful, as preventive and curative means, for the treatment of patients with liver damage.

Encapsulation of nucleic acids and opportunities for cancer treatment

The development of nucleic acid drugs for the treatment of various cancers has shown great promise in recent years. However, efficient delivery of these drugs to target cells remains a significant challenge towards the successful development of such therapies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of encapsulation technologies being developed for the delivery of nucleic acid-based anti-cancer agents. Both micro and nanoparticles systems are discussed along with their use in delivering plasmid DNA as well as oligonucleotides. The majority of the systems discussed have used DNA immunotherapy as the potential mode of anticancer therapy, which requires targeting to antigen presenting cells. Other applications, including those with oligonucleotides, focus on targeting tumor cells directly. The results obtained so far show the excellent promise of encapsulation as an efficient means of delivering therapeutic nucleic acids.

Suicide genes for cancer therapy

The principle of using suicide genes for gene directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT) of cancer has gained increasing significance during the 20 years since its inception. The astute application of suitable GDEPT systems should permit tumour ablation in the absence of off-target toxicity commonly associated with classical chemotherapy, a hypothesis which is supported by encouraging results in a multitude of pre-clinical animal models. This review provides a clear explanation of the rationale behind the GDEPT principle, outlining the advantages and limitations of different GDEPT strategies with respect to the roles of the bystander effect, the immune system and the selectivity of the activated prodrug in contributing to their therapeutic efficacy. An in-depth analysis of the most widely used suicide gene/prodrug combinations is presented, including details of the latest advances in enzyme and prodrug optimisation and results from the most recent clinical trials.

Microbubble-enhanced ultrasound exposure improves gene transfer in vascular endothelial cells

AIM: To explore the effects of ultrasound exposure combined with microbubble contrast agent (SonoVue) on the permeability of the cellular membrane and on the expression of plasmid DNA encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (pEGFP) transfer into human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).

METHODS: HUVECs with fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FD500) and HUVECs with pEGFP were exposed to continuous wave (1.9 MHz, 80.0 mW/cm²) for 5 min, with or without a SonoVue. The percentage of FD500 taken by the HUVECs and the transient expression rate of pEGFP in the HUVECs were examined by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, respectively.

RESULTS: The percentage of FD500-positive HUVECs in the group of ultrasound exposure combined with SonoVue was significantly higher than that of the group of ultrasound exposure alone (24.0% ± 5.5% vs 66.6% ± 4.1%, P < 0.001). Compared with the group of ultrasound exposure alone, the transfection expression rate of pEGFP in HUVECs was markedly increased with the addition of SonoVue (16.1% ± 1.9% vs 1.5% ± 0.2%, P < 0.001). No statistical significant difference was observed in the HUVECs survival rates between the ultrasound group with and without the addition of SonoVue (94.1% ± 2.3% vs 91.1% ± 4.1%).

CONCLUSION: The cell membrane permeability of HUVECs and the transfection efficiency of pEGFP into HUVECs exposed to ultrasound are significantly increased after addition of an ultrasound contrast agent without obvious damage to the survival of HUVECs. This non-invasive gene transfer method may be a useful tool for clinical gene therapy of hepatic tumors.

Carving Out Niches for Nanostructures: Implementation and Interplay of Building Blocks, Methods, and Tools

The number and diversity of techniques to create well-defined polymeric architectures has set the foundation to reinvent macromolecular chemistry’s tenor. This development offers the chance to build refined structures with multifaceted, cross-disciplinary applications. We discuss a few advances in the design and development of selected nanoobjects with far-reaching potential. Herein, well-defined building blocks and introduced methods to establish three-dimensional architectures will be presented. Sequential attachment strategies and tools taken from biological chemistries achieve new levels of specificity.