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Wang Y, Asakawa A, Inui A, Kosai KI. Leptin gene therapy in the fight against diabetes. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2011; 10:1405-14. [PMID: 20690892 DOI: 10.1517/14712598.2010.512286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD The incidence of diabetes is increasing worldwide, yet current treatments are not always effective for all patient or disease types. AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW Here, we summarize the biologic and clinical roles of leptin in diabetes, and discuss candidate viral vectors that may be employed in the clinical use of central leptin gene therapy for diabetes. WHAT THE READER WILL GAIN We discuss how studies on leptin, a regulator of the insulin-glucose axis, have significantly advanced our understanding of the roles of energy homeostasis and insulin resistance in the pathogeneses of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Recent studies have demonstrated the long-term therapeutic effects of central leptin gene therapy in obesity and diabetes via decreased insulin resistance and increased glucose metabolism. Many of these studies have employed viral vectors, which afford high in vivo gene transduction efficiencies compared with non-viral vectors. TAKE HOME MESSAGE Adeno-associated viral vectors are particularly well suited for central leptin gene therapy owing to their low toxicity and ability to drive transgene expression for extended periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqing Wang
- Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Department of Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544, Japan
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2
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France MR, Thomas DL, Liu J, McFadden G, MacNeill AL, Roy EJ. Intraventricular injection of myxoma virus results in transient expression of viral protein in mouse brain ependymal and subventricular cells. J Gen Virol 2011; 92:195-9. [PMID: 20861319 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.026690-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Oncolytic viruses that selectively infect and lyse cancer cells have potential as therapeutic agents. Myxoma virus, a poxvirus that is known to be pathogenic only in rabbits, has not been reported to infect normal tissues in humans or mice. We observed that when recombinant virus was injected directly into the lateral ventricle of the mouse brain, virally encoded red fluorescent protein was expressed in ependymal and subventricular cells. Cells were positive for nestin, a marker of neural stem cells. Rapamycin increased the number of cells expressing the virally encoded protein. However, protein expression was transient. Cells expressing the virally encoded protein did not undergo apoptosis and the ependymal lining remained intact. Myxoma virus appears to be safe when injected into the brain despite the transient expression of virally derived protein in a small population of periventricular cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan R France
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA
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Lavezzi AM, Corna MF, Matturri L. Ependymal alterations in sudden intrauterine unexplained death and sudden infant death syndrome: possible primary consequence of prenatal exposure to cigarette smoking. Neural Dev 2010; 5:17. [PMID: 20642831 PMCID: PMC2919533 DOI: 10.1186/1749-8104-5-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2010] [Accepted: 07/19/2010] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The ependyma, the lining providing a protective barrier and filtration system separating brain parenchyma from cerebrospinal fluid, is still inadequately understood in humans. In this study we aimed to define, by morphological and immunohistochemical methods, the sequence of developmental steps of the human ependyma in the brainstem (ventricular ependyma) and thoracic spinal cord (central canal ependyma) of a large sample of fetal and infant death victims, aged from 17 gestational weeks to 8 postnatal months. Additionally, we investigated a possible link between alterations of this structure, sudden unexplained fetal and infant death and maternal smoking. Results Our results demonstrate that in early fetal life the human ependyma shows a pseudostratified cytoarchitecture including many tanycytes and ciliated cells together with numerous apoptotic and reactive astrocytes in the subependymal layer. The ependyma is fully differentiated, with a monolayer of uniform cells, after 32 to 34 gestational weeks. We observed a wide spectrum of ependymal pathological changes in sudden death victims, such as desquamation, clusters of ependymal cells in the subventricular zone, radial glial cells, and the unusual presence of neurons within and over the ependymal lining. These alterations were significantly related to maternal smoking in pregnancy. Conclusions We conclude that in smoking mothers, nicotine and its derivatives easily reach the cerebrospinal fluid in the fetus, immediately causing ependymal damage. Consequently, we suggest that the ependyma should be examined in-depth first in victims of sudden fetal or infant death with mothers who smoke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M Lavezzi
- Department of Surgical, Reconstructive and Diagnostic Sciences, Lino Rossi Research Center, University of Milan, Via della Commenda 19, 20122 Milan, Italy.
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Del Bigio MR. Ependymal cells: biology and pathology. Acta Neuropathol 2010; 119:55-73. [PMID: 20024659 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-009-0624-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 234] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2009] [Revised: 12/03/2009] [Accepted: 12/04/2009] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The literature was reviewed to summarize the current understanding of the role of ciliated ependymal cells in the mammalian brain. Previous reviews were summarized. Publications from the past 10 years highlight interactions between ependymal cells and the subventricular zone and the possible role of restricted ependymal populations in neurogenesis. Ependymal cells provide trophic support and possibly metabolic support for progenitor cells. Channel proteins such as aquaporins may be important for determining water fluxes at the ventricle wall. The junctional and anchoring proteins are now fairly well understood, as are proteins related to cilia function. Defects in ependymal adhesion and cilia function can cause hydrocephalus through several different mechanisms, one possibility being loss of patency of the cerebral aqueduct. Ependymal cells are susceptible to infection by a wide range of common viruses; while they may act as a line of first defense, they eventually succumb to repeated attacks in long-lived organisms. Ciliated ependymal cells are almost certainly important during brain development. However, the widespread absence of ependymal cells from the adult human lateral ventricles suggests that they may have only regionally restricted value in the mature brain of large size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc R Del Bigio
- Department of Pathology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
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Butti E, Bergami A, Recchia A, Brambilla E, Del Carro U, Amadio S, Cattalini A, Esposito M, Stornaiuolo A, Comi G, Pluchino S, Mavilio F, Martino G, Furlan R. IL4 gene delivery to the CNS recruits regulatory T cells and induces clinical recovery in mouse models of multiple sclerosis. Gene Ther 2008; 15:504-15. [PMID: 18239607 DOI: 10.1038/gt.2008.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Central nervous system (CNS) delivery of anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 4 (IL4), holds promise as treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). We have previously shown that short-term herpes simplex virus type 1-mediated IL4 gene therapy is able to inhibit experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, in mice and non-human primates. Here, we show that a single administration of an IL4-expressing helper-dependent adenoviral vector (HD-Ad) into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation of immunocompetent mice allows persistent transduction of neuroepithelial cells and long-term (up to 5 months) CNS transgene expression without toxicity. Mice affected by chronic and relapsing EAE display clinical and neurophysiological recovery from the disease once injected with the IL4-expressing HD-Ad vector. The therapeutic effect is due to the ability of IL4 to increase, in inflamed CNS areas, chemokines (CCL1, CCL17 and CCL22) capable of recruiting regulatory T cells (CD4+CD69-CD25+Foxp3+) with suppressant functions. CSF delivery of HD-Ad vectors expressing anti-inflammatory molecules might represent a valuable therapeutic option for CNS inflammatory disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Butti
- Neuroimmunology Unit, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
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Absence of an intrathecal immune reaction to a helper-dependent adenoviral vector delivered into the cerebrospinal fluid of non-human primates. Gene Ther 2007; 15:233-8. [PMID: 17960158 DOI: 10.1038/sj.gt.3303050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Inflammation and immune reaction, or pre-existing immunity towards commonly used viral vectors for gene therapy severely impair long-term gene expression in the central nervous system (CNS), impeding the possibility to repeat the therapeutic intervention. Here, we show that injection of a helper-dependent adenoviral (HD-Ad) vector by lumbar puncture into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of non-human primates allows long-term (three months) infection of neuroepithelial cells, also in monkeys bearing a pre-existing anti-adenoviral immunity. Intrathecal injection of the HD-Ad vector was not associated with any sign of systemic or local toxicity, nor by signs of a CNS-specific immune reaction towards the HD-Ad vector. Injection of HD-Ad vectors into the CSF circulation may thus represent a valuable approach for CNS gene therapy allowing for long-term expression and re-administration.
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Barcia C, Gerdes C, Xiong WD, Thomas CE, Liu C, Kroeger KM, Castro MG, Lowenstein PR. Immunological thresholds in neurological gene therapy: highly efficient elimination of transduced cells might be related to the specific formation of immunological synapses between T cells and virus-infected brain cells. NEURON GLIA BIOLOGY 2006; 2:309-22. [PMID: 18084640 PMCID: PMC2139984 DOI: 10.1017/s1740925x07000579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
First-generation adenovirus can be engineered with powerful promoters to drive expression of therapeutic transgenes. Numerous clinical trials for glioblastoma multiforme using first generation adenoviral vectors have either been performed or are ongoing, including an ongoing, Phase III, multicenter trial in Europe and Israel (Ark Therapeutics, Inc.). Although in the absence of anti-adenovirus immune responses expression in the brain lasts 6-18 months, systemic infection with adenovirus induces immune responses that inhibit dramatically therapeutic transgene expression from first generation adenoviral vectors, thus, potentially compromising therapeutic efficacy. Here, we show evidence of an immunization threshold for the dose that generates an immune response strong enough to eliminate transgene expression from the CNS. For the systemic immunization to eliminate transgene expression from the brain, > or = 1 x 10(7) infectious units (iu) of adenovirus need to be used as immunogen. Furthermore, this immune response eliminates >90% of transgene expression from 1 x 10(7)-1 x 10(3) iu of vector injected into the striatum 60 days earlier. Importantly, elimination of transgene expression is independent of the nature of the promoter that drives transgene expression and is accompanied by brain infiltration of CD8(+) T cells and macrophages. In conclusion, once the threshold for systemic immunization (i.e. 1 x 10(7) iu) is crossed, the immune response eliminates transgene expression by >90% even from brains that receive as little as 1000 iu of adenoviral vectors, independently of the type of promoter that drives expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Barcia
- Gene Therapeutics Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Room 5094, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Christian Gerdes
- Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy Unit, Room 1.302, Stopford Building, University of Manchester, UK
| | - Wei-Dong Xiong
- Gene Therapeutics Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Room 5094, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Clare E. Thomas
- Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy Unit, Room 1.302, Stopford Building, University of Manchester, UK
| | - Chunyan Liu
- Gene Therapeutics Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Room 5094, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Kurt M. Kroeger
- Gene Therapeutics Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Room 5094, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Maria G. Castro
- Gene Therapeutics Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Room 5094, Los Angeles, USA
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Gerfen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, USA
| | - Pedro R. Lowenstein
- Gene Therapeutics Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Room 5094, Los Angeles, USA
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Gerfen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, USA
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Shimamura M, Sato N, Waguri S, Uchiyama Y, Hayashi T, Iida H, Nakamura T, Ogihara T, Kaneda Y, Morishita R. Gene Transfer of Hepatocyte Growth Factor Gene Improves Learning and Memory in the Chronic Stage of Cerebral Infarction. Hypertension 2006; 47:742-51. [PMID: 16505200 DOI: 10.1161/01.hyp.0000208598.57687.3e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
There is no specific treatment to improve the functional recovery in the chronic stage of ischemic stroke. To provide the new therapeutic options, we examined the effect of overexpression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in the chronic stage of cerebral infarction by transferring the HGF gene into the brain using hemagglutinating virus of Japan envelope vector. Sixty rats were exposed to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (day 1). Based on the sensorimotor deficits at day 7, the rats were divided equally into control vector or HGF-treated rats. At day 56, rats transfected with the HGF gene showed a significant recovery of learning and memory in Morris water maze tests (control vector 50±4 s; HGF 33±5 s;
P
<0.05) and passive avoidance task (control vector 132.4±37.5 s; HGF 214.8±26.5 s;
P
<0.05). Although the total volume of cerebral infarction was not related to the outcome, immunohistochemical analysis for Cdc42 and synaptophysin in the peri-infarct region revealed that HGF enhanced the neurite extension and increased synapses. Immunohistochemistry for glial fibriary acidic protein revealed that the formation of glial scar was also prevented by HGF gene treatment. Additionally, the number of the arteries was increased in the HGF group at day 56. These data demonstrated that HGF has a pivotal role for the functional recovery after cerebral infarction through neuritogenesis, improved microcirculation, and the prevention of gliosis. Our results also provide evidence for the feasibility of gene therapy in the chronic stage of cerebral infarction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munehisa Shimamura
- Division of Clinical Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
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