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Mohammad Dezashibi H, Farzad-Mohajeri S, Bandehpour M, Shabani A, Kazemi B. Ectopic expression of insulin in a type 1 diabetic rat model by injection of manipulated mesenchymal stem cells with an insulin construct driven by a glucose-sensitive promoter in the port vein. Cell Biochem Funct 2023; 41:1412-1421. [PMID: 37877623 DOI: 10.1002/cbf.3876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
The treatment of type 1 diabetes through islet cell transplantation is a complex process, facing challenges such as allograft rejections and a limited supply of donors. One potential solution is to utilize the liver as an alternative for natural insulin production, as hepatocytes can secrete proteins and respond to glucose levels. Recent research has shown promising results in using mesenchymal stem cells as a potential cure for diabetes. The study utilized a diabetic rat model, confirmed through blood sugar measurement. A plasmid vector was designed with specific genetic components, synthesized by biotech company, and then Inserted vector into a plasmid with resistance genes and bacterial origin. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) were cultured and transfected with the plasmid using Lipofectamine 3000. Polymerase chain reaction was employed to confirm successful transfection using specific primers. For the animal study, 30 male Wistar rats were divided into six groups, each comprising five rats. The control group did not receive any treatment, while the second group received MSCs via Portal Vein Injection. The third group received MSCs transfected with a specific construct via Portal Vein Injection. The fourth group was induced to develop diabetes through streptozotocin (STZ) injection, the fifth group developed diabetes and received untransfected MSCs via Portal Vein Injection, and the sixth group received MSCs transfected with the specific construct via Portal Vein Injection. To manage Pain, appropriate pain control was administered to the rats for 3 days after the surgery. Fixed liver tissues obtained from the euthanized rats were utilized for immunohistochemistry. In this study, immunohistochemical techniques were used to examine insulin expression in different groups of rats. The control groups showed high levels of insulin expression, while the diabetic groups exhibited lower expression. However, there was a significant difference between the diabetic groups treated with MSC and transgenic MSC cells. All groups had similar baseline glucose levels, but the diabetic groups showed a significant increase after STZ injection, whereas the control and MSC groups did not. Postintervention, both the control and MSC groups had similar glucose levels to the post-STZ levels. However, diabetes-induced groups experienced a significant decrease in glucose levels, with the transfected MSCs showing a greater decrease than the untransfected MSCs. The study suggested that treatment with MSCs, especially transfected ones, can effectively reduce glucose levels in rats with diabetes. In this research, rat BM-MSCs were utilized to create insulin-producing mesenchymal cells with glucose-sensitive insulin expression. The cells were transferred to the liver of diabetic rats via portal vein injection, leading to an increase in insulin expression. This study proposes a novel approach for cell therapy and delivery in the treatment of type 1 diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Saeed Farzad-Mohajeri
- Department of Surgery and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
- Departnent of Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Biomedical Research, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mojgan Bandehpour
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Biotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Aliakbar Shabani
- Medical Biotechnology Department, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Bahram Kazemi
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Biotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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2
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Sia KC, Fu ZY, Calne RY, Nathwani AC, Lee KO, Gan SU. Modification of a Constitutive to Glucose-Responsive Liver-Specific Promoter Resulted in Increased Efficacy of Adeno-Associated Virus Serotype 8-Insulin Gene Therapy of Diabetic Mice. Cells 2020; 9:cells9112474. [PMID: 33202992 PMCID: PMC7696068 DOI: 10.3390/cells9112474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
We have previously used a hepatotropic adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector with a modified human insulin gene to treat diabetic mice. The HLP (hybrid liver-specific promoter) used was constitutively active and non-responsive to glucose. In this study, we examined the effects of addition of glucose responsive elements (R3G) and incorporation of a 3' albumin enhancer (3'iALB) on insulin expression. In comparison with the original promoter, glucose responsiveness was only observed in the modified promoters in vitro with a 36 h lag time before the peak expression. A 50% decrease in the number of viral particles at 5 × 109 vector genome (vg)/mouse was required by AAV8-R3GHLP-hINSco to reduce the blood sugar level to near normoglycemia when compared to the original AAV8-HLP-hINSco that needed 1 × 1010 vg/mouse. The further inclusion of an 860 base-pairs 3'iALB enhancer component in the 3' untranslated region increased the in vitro gene expression significantly but this increase was not observed when the packaged virus was systemically injected in vivo. The addition of R3G to the HLP promoter in the AAV8-human insulin vector increased the insulin expression and secretion, thereby lowering the required dosage for basal insulin treatment. This in turn reduces the risk of liver toxicity and cost of vector production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kian Chuan Sia
- Department of Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore; (K.C.S.); (Z.Y.F.); (R.Y.C.)
| | - Zhen Ying Fu
- Department of Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore; (K.C.S.); (Z.Y.F.); (R.Y.C.)
| | - Roy Y. Calne
- Department of Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore; (K.C.S.); (Z.Y.F.); (R.Y.C.)
- Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Amit C. Nathwani
- Department of Haematology, UCL Cancer Institute, London WC1E 6DD, UK;
| | - Kok Onn Lee
- Department of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore;
| | - Shu Uin Gan
- Department of Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore; (K.C.S.); (Z.Y.F.); (R.Y.C.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +65-6601-2465
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3
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Beikmohammadi L, Bandehpour M, Hashemi SM, Kazemi B. Generation of insulin-producing hepatocyte-like cells from human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells as an alternative source of islet cells. J Cell Physiol 2019; 234:17326-17336. [PMID: 30790280 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.28352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2018] [Revised: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Islet cell transplantation, as a treatment of type 1 diabetes, has a lot of complexity such as allograft rejections and an insufficient number of donors. The liver can be used as a replacement for endogenous insulin production. Hepatocytes can inherently respond to glucose levels and secrete proteins. Utilization of mesenchymal stem cells for curing diabetes represents a major focus of recent investigations. As a new choice for transplantation, we have proposed glucose-regulated insulin-producing hepatocyte-like cells, which produce insulin dependent on glucose levels. We have transfected human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells with the special construct, which included homology arms and glucose-responsive elements upstream of the minimum liver-type pyruvate kinase promoter-directed insulin gene. Then, we have differentiated these transfected cells to hepatocyte-like cells by using serial exposure of different inducing material and exogenous growth factors. Immunofluorescence analyses have demonstrated the expression of albumin, cytokeratin-18, Hep-Par1, α-fetoprotein, and insulin. The expression of hepatocyte marker genes in the differentiated cells was confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Interestingly, flow cytometry results showed that approximately 60% of the insulin-producing hepatocyte-like cells were simultaneously cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) and insulin positive. CYP3A4 is a significant enzyme found in mature liver tissue. This confirmed that the differentiation and the transfection procedures were done correctly. They were functionally active by releasing insulin in response to elevated glucose concentrations in vitro. These applicable cells could be used in the liver for cell therapy of diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Beikmohammadi
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mojgan Bandehpour
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Bahram Kazemi
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Jaén ML, Vilà L, Elias I, Jimenez V, Rodó J, Maggioni L, Ruiz-de Gopegui R, Garcia M, Muñoz S, Callejas D, Ayuso E, Ferré T, Grifoll I, Andaluz A, Ruberte J, Haurigot V, Bosch F. Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Insulin and Glucokinase Gene Therapy for Diabetes: 8-Year Follow-Up in Dogs. MOLECULAR THERAPY-METHODS & CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT 2017. [PMID: 28626777 PMCID: PMC5466581 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2017.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Diabetes is a complex metabolic disease that exposes patients to the deleterious effects of hyperglycemia on various organs. Achievement of normoglycemia with exogenous insulin treatment requires the use of high doses of hormone, which increases the risk of life-threatening hypoglycemic episodes. We developed a gene therapy approach to control diabetic hyperglycemia based on co-expression of the insulin and glucokinase genes in skeletal muscle. Previous studies proved the feasibility of gene delivery to large diabetic animals with adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors. Here, we report the long-term (∼8 years) follow-up after a single administration of therapeutic vectors to diabetic dogs. Successful, multi-year control of glycemia was achieved without the need of supplementation with exogenous insulin. Metabolic correction was demonstrated through normalization of serum levels of fructosamine, triglycerides, and cholesterol and remarkable improvement in the response to an oral glucose challenge. The persistence of vector genomes and therapeutic transgene expression years after vector delivery was documented in multiple samples from treated muscles, which showed normal morphology. Thus, this study demonstrates the long-term efficacy and safety of insulin and glucokinase gene transfer in large animals and especially the ability of the system to respond to the changes in metabolic needs as animals grow older.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Luisa Jaén
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Laia Vilà
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ivet Elias
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Veronica Jimenez
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Jordi Rodó
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Luca Maggioni
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Rafael Ruiz-de Gopegui
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Miguel Garcia
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sergio Muñoz
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - David Callejas
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Eduard Ayuso
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Tura Ferré
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Iris Grifoll
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Anna Andaluz
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Jesus Ruberte
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Virginia Haurigot
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Fatima Bosch
- Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, 28029 Madrid, Spain
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Thulé PM, Lin Y, Jia D, Olson DE, Tang SC, Sambanis A. mRNA destabilization improves glycemic responsiveness of transcriptionally regulated hepatic insulin gene therapy in vitro and in vivo. J Gene Med 2017; 19. [PMID: 28181342 DOI: 10.1002/jgm.2946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Revised: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatic insulin gene therapy (HIGT) employing a glucose and insulin sensitive promoter to direct insulin transcription can lower blood sugars within 2 h of an intraperitoneal glucose challenge. However, post-challenge blood sugars frequently decline to below baseline. We hypothesize that this 'over-shoot' hypoglycemia results from sustained translation of long-lived transgene message, and that reducing pro-insulin message half-life will ameliorate post-challenge hypoglycemia. METHODS We compared pro-insulin message content and insulin secretion from primary rat hepatocytes expressing insulin from either a standard construct (2xfur), or a construct producing a destabilized pro-insulin message (InsTail), following exposure to stimulating or inhibitory conditions. RESULTS Hepatocytes transduced with a 2xfur construct accumulated pro-insulin message, and exhibited increased insulin secretion, under conditions that both inhibit or stimulate transcription. By contrast, pro-insulin message content remained stable in InsTail expressing cells, and insulin secretion increased less than 2xfur during prolonged stimulation. During transitions from stimulatory to inhibitory conditions, or vice versa, amounts of pro-insulin message changed more rapidly in InsTail expressing cells than 2xfur expressing cells. Importantly, insulin secretion increased during the transition from stimulation to inhibition in 2xfur expressing cells, although it remained unchanged in InsTail expressing cells. Use of the InsTail destabilized insulin message tended to more rapidly reduce glucose induced glycemic excursions, and limit post-load hypoglycemia in STZ-diabetic mice in vivo. CONCLUSIONS The data obtained in the present study suggest that combining transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory strategies may reduce undesirable glycemic excursion in models of HIGT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Thulé
- Atlanta VA Medical Center, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Lipids, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, Georgia, USA.,Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Yulin Lin
- Atlanta VA Medical Center, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Lipids, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, Georgia, USA
| | - Dingwu Jia
- Atlanta VA Medical Center, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Lipids, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, Georgia, USA
| | - Darin E Olson
- Atlanta VA Medical Center, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Lipids, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, Georgia, USA
| | - Shiue-Cheng Tang
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,Department of Medical Science, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, USA
| | - Athanassios Sambanis
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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