Vector systems for prenatal gene therapy: principles of retrovirus vector design and production

Designing molecules: directing stem cell differentiation

Stem cells have been widely applied in regenerative and therapeutic medicine for their unique regenerative properties. Although much research has shown their potential, it remains tricky in directing stem cell differentiation. The advancement of genetic and therapeutic technologies, however, has facilitated this issue through development of design molecules. These molecules are designed to overcome the drawbacks previously faced, such as unexpected differentiation outcomes and insufficient migration of endogenous or exogenous MSCs. Here, we introduced aptamer, bacteriophage, and biological vectors as design molecules and described their characteristics. The methods of designing/developing discussed include various Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) procedures, in silico approaches, and non-SELEX methods for aptamers, and genetic engineering methods such as homologous recombination, Bacteriophage Recombineering of Electroporated DNA (BRED), Bacteriophage Recombineering with Infectious Particles (BRIP), and genome rebooting for bacteriophage. For biological vectors, methods such as alternate splicing, multiple promoters, internal ribosomal entry site, CRISPR-Cas9 system and Cre recombinase mediated recombination were used to design viral vectors, while non-viral vectors like exosomes are generated through parental cell-based direct engineering. Besides that, we also discussed the pros and cons, and applications of each design molecule in directing stem cell differentiation to illustrate their great potential in stem cells research. Finally, we highlighted some safety and efficacy concerns to be considered for future studies.

Generating Transgenic Mice by Lentiviral Transduction of Spermatozoa Followed by In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer

Most transgenic technologies rely on the oocyte as a substrate for genetic modification. Transgenics animals are usually generated by the injection of the gene constructs (including lentiviruses encoding gene constructs or modified embryonic stem cells) into the pronucleus of a fertilized egg followed by the transfer of the injected embryos into the uterus of a foster mother. Male germ cells also have potential as templates for transgenic development. We have previously shown that mature sperm can be utilized as template for lentiviral transduction and as such used to generate transgenic mice efficiently with germ line capabilities. We provide here a detailed protocol that is relatively simple, to establish transgenic mice using lentivirally transduced spermatozoa. This protocol employs a well-established lentiviral gene delivery system (usual for somatic cells) delivering a variety of transgenes to be directly used with sperm, and the subsequent use of these modified sperm in in vitro fertilization studies and embryo transfer into foster female mice, for the establishment of transgenic mice.

Enteric neurospheres are not specific to neural crest cultures: implications for neural stem cell therapies

Objectives

Enteric neural stem cells provide hope of curative treatment for enteric neuropathies. Current protocols for their harvesting from humans focus on the generation of ‘neurospheres’ from cultures of dissociated gut tissue. The study aims to better understand the derivation, generation and composition of enteric neurospheres.

Design

Gut tissue was obtained from Wnt1-Cre;Rosa26^Yfp/Yfp transgenic mice (constitutively labeled neural crest cells) and paediatric patients. Gut cells were cultured either unsorted (mixed neural crest/non-neural crest), or following FACS selection into neural crest (murine-YFP+ve/human-p75+ve) or non-neural crest (YFP-ve/p75-ve) populations. Cultures and resultant neurospheres were characterized using immunolabelling in vitro and following transplantation in vivo.

Results

Cultures of (i) unsorted, (ii) neural crest, and (iii) non-neural crest cell populations generated neurospheres similar in numbers, size and morphology. Unsorted neurospheres were highly heterogeneous for neural crest content. Neural crest-derived (YFP+ve/p75+ve) neurospheres contained only neural derivatives (neurons and glia) and were devoid of non-neural cells (i.e. negative for SMA, c-Kit), with the converse true for non-neural crest-derived (YFP-ve/p75-ve) ‘neurospheres’. Under differentiation conditions only YFP+ve cells gave rise to neural derivatives. Both YFP+ve and YFP-ve cells displayed proliferation and spread upon transplantation in vivo, but YFP-ve cells did not locate or integrate within the host ENS.

Conclusions

Spherical accumulations of cells, so-called ‘neurospheres’ forming in cultures of dissociated gut contain variable proportions of neural crest-derived cells. If they are to be used for ENS cell replacement therapy then improved protocols for their generation, including cell selection, should be sought in order to avoid inadvertent transplantation of non-therapeutic, non-ENS cells.

A novel radiotracer to image glycogen metabolism in tumors by positron emission tomography

The high rate of glucose uptake to fuel the bioenergetic and anabolic demands of proliferating cancer cells is well recognized and is exploited with (18)F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG-PET) to image tumors clinically. In contrast, enhanced glucose storage as glycogen (glycogenesis) in cancer is less well understood and the availability of a noninvasive method to image glycogen in vivo could provide important biologic insights. Here, we demonstrate that (18)F-N-(methyl-(2-fluoroethyl)-1H-[1,2,3]triazole-4-yl)glucosamine ((18)F-NFTG) annotates glycogenesis in cancer cells and tumors in vivo, measured by PET. Specificity of glycogen labeling was demonstrated by isolating (18)F-NFTG-associated glycogen and with stable knockdown of glycogen synthase 1, which inhibited (18)F-NFTG uptake, whereas oncogene (Rab25) activation-associated glycogen synthesis led to increased uptake. We further show that the rate of glycogenesis is cell-cycle regulated, enhanced during the nonproliferative state of cancer cells. We demonstrate that glycogen levels, (18)F-NFTG, but not (18)F-FDG uptake, increase proportionally with cell density and G1-G0 arrest, with potential application in the assessment of activation of oncogenic pathways related to glycogenesis and the detection of posttreatment tumor quiescence.