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Barzi M, Chen T, Gonzalez TJ, Pankowicz FP, Oh SH, Streff HL, Rosales A, Ma Y, Collias S, Woodfield SE, Diehl AM, Vasudevan SA, Galvan TN, Goss J, Gersbach CA, Bissig-Choisat B, Asokan A, Bissig KD. A humanized mouse model for adeno-associated viral gene therapy. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1955. [PMID: 38438373 PMCID: PMC10912671 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46017-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Clinical translation of AAV-mediated gene therapy requires preclinical development across different experimental models, often confounded by variable transduction efficiency. Here, we describe a human liver chimeric transgene-free Il2rg-/-/Rag2-/-/Fah-/-/Aavr-/- (TIRFA) mouse model overcoming this translational roadblock, by combining liver humanization with AAV receptor (AAVR) ablation, rendering murine cells impermissive to AAV transduction. Using human liver chimeric TIRFA mice, we demonstrate increased transduction of clinically used AAV serotypes in primary human hepatocytes compared to humanized mice with wild-type AAVR. Further, we demonstrate AAV transduction in human teratoma-derived primary cells and liver cancer tissue, displaying the versatility of the humanized TIRFA mouse. From a mechanistic perspective, our results support the notion that AAVR functions as both an entry receptor and an intracellular receptor essential for transduction. The TIRFA mouse should allow prediction of AAV gene transfer efficiency and the study of AAV vector biology in a preclinical human setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes Barzi
- Alice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Tong Chen
- Alice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Trevor J Gonzalez
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Francis P Pankowicz
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Seh Hoon Oh
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Helen L Streff
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Alan Rosales
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Yunhan Ma
- Alice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Sabrina Collias
- Alice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Sarah E Woodfield
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Divisions of Pediatric Surgery and Surgical Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Department of Surgery, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Anna Mae Diehl
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Sanjeev A Vasudevan
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Divisions of Pediatric Surgery and Surgical Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Department of Surgery, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Thao N Galvan
- Department of Surgery, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Division of Abdominal Transplantation and Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - John Goss
- Department of Surgery, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Division of Abdominal Transplantation and Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Charles A Gersbach
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke Cancer Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
- Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
- Duke Regeneration Center, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Alice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Aravind Asokan
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
- Duke Regeneration Center, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Alice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
- Duke Cancer Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
- Duke Regeneration Center, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
- Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
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Padilla J, Osman NM, Bissig-Choisat B, Grimm SL, Qin X, Major AM, Yang L, Lopez-Terrada D, Coarfa C, Li F, Bissig KD, Moore DD, Fu L. Circadian dysfunction induces NAFLD-related human liver cancer in a mouse model. J Hepatol 2024; 80:282-292. [PMID: 37890720 PMCID: PMC10929560 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2023.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Chronic circadian dysfunction increases the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the underlying mechanisms and direct relevance to human HCC have not been established. In this study, we aimed to determine whether chronic circadian dysregulation can drive NAFLD-related carcinogenesis from human hepatocytes and human HCC progression. METHODS Chronic jet lag of mice with humanized livers induces spontaneous NAFLD-related HCCs from human hepatocytes. The clinical relevance of this model was analysed by biomarker, pathological/histological, genetic, RNA sequencing, metabolomic, and integrated bioinformatic analyses. RESULTS Circadian dysfunction induces glucose intolerance, NAFLD-associated human HCCs, and human HCC metastasis independent of diet in a humanized mouse model. The deregulated transcriptomes in necrotic-inflammatory humanized livers and HCCs bear a striking resemblance to those of human non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis, and HCC. Stable circadian entrainment of hosts rhythmically paces NASH and HCC transcriptomes to decrease HCC incidence and prevent HCC metastasis. Circadian disruption directly reprogrammes NASH and HCC transcriptomes to drive a rapid progression from hepatocarcinogenesis to HCC metastasis. Human hepatocyte and tumour transcripts are clearly distinguishable from mouse transcripts in non-parenchymal cells and tumour stroma, and display dynamic changes in metabolism, inflammation, angiogenesis, and oncogenic signalling in NASH, progressing to hepatocyte malignant transformation and immunosuppressive tumour stroma in HCCs. Metabolomic analysis defines specific bile acids as prognostic biomarkers that change dynamically during hepatocarcinogenesis and in response to circadian disruption at all disease stages. CONCLUSION Chronic circadian dysfunction is independently carcinogenic to human hepatocytes. Mice with humanized livers provide a powerful preclinical model for studying the impact of the necrotic-inflammatory liver environment and neuroendocrine circadian dysfunction on hepatocarcinogenesis and anti-HCC therapy. IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS Human epidemiological studies have linked chronic circadian dysfunction to increased hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk, but direct evidence that circadian dysfunction is a human carcinogen has not been established. Here we show that circadian dysfunction induces non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related carcinogenesis from human hepatocytes in a murine humanized liver model, following the same molecular and pathologic pathways observed in human patients. The gene expression signatures of humanized HCC transcriptomes from circadian-disrupted mice closely match those of human HCC with the poorest prognostic outcomes, while those from stably circadian entrained mice match those from human HCC with the best prognostic outcomes. Our studies establish a new model for defining the mechanism of NASH-related HCC and highlight the importance of circadian biology in HCC prevention and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Padilla
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Noha M Osman
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Y.T. and Alice Chen Pediatric Genetics and Genomics Research Center, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Sandra L Grimm
- Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Xuan Qin
- NMR and Drug Metabolic Core, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Angela M Major
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Li Yang
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Dolores Lopez-Terrada
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Cristian Coarfa
- Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Feng Li
- NMR and Drug Metabolic Core, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Y.T. and Alice Chen Pediatric Genetics and Genomics Research Center, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - David D Moore
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA94720, USA.
| | - Loning Fu
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
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3
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Barzi M, Johnson CG, Chen T, Rodriguiz RM, Hemmingsen M, Gonzalez TJ, Rosales A, Beasley J, Peck CK, Ma Y, Stiles AR, Wood TC, Maeso-Diaz R, Diehl AM, Young SP, Everitt JI, Wetsel WC, Lagor WR, Bissig-Choisat B, Asokan A, El-Gharbawy A, Bissig KD. Rescue of glutaric aciduria type I in mice by liver-directed therapies. Sci Transl Med 2023; 15:eadf4086. [PMID: 37075130 PMCID: PMC10676743 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adf4086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023]
Abstract
Glutaric aciduria type I (GA-1) is an inborn error of metabolism with a severe neurological phenotype caused by the deficiency of glutaryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (GCDH), the last enzyme of lysine catabolism. Current literature suggests that toxic catabolites in the brain are produced locally and do not cross the blood-brain barrier. In a series of experiments using knockout mice of the lysine catabolic pathway and liver cell transplantation, we uncovered that toxic GA-1 catabolites in the brain originated from the liver. Moreover, the characteristic brain and lethal phenotype of the GA-1 mouse model was rescued by two different liver-directed gene therapy approaches: Using an adeno-associated virus, we replaced the defective Gcdh gene or we prevented flux through the lysine degradation pathway by CRISPR deletion of the aminoadipate-semialdehyde synthase (Aass) gene. Our findings question the current pathophysiological understanding of GA-1 and reveal a targeted therapy for this devastating disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes Barzi
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Collin G Johnson
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Tong Chen
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Ramona M Rodriguiz
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Mouse Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Analysis Core Facility, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Madeline Hemmingsen
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Trevor J Gonzalez
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Alan Rosales
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - James Beasley
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Cheryl K Peck
- Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, Children's Hospital Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Yunhan Ma
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Ashlee R Stiles
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Timothy C Wood
- Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, Children's Hospital Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Raquel Maeso-Diaz
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Anna Mae Diehl
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Sarah P Young
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Jeffrey I Everitt
- Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - William C Wetsel
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Mouse Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Analysis Core Facility, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - William R Lagor
- Department of Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Aravind Asokan
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Duke Cancer Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Areeg El-Gharbawy
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Duke Cancer Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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4
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Bissig-Choisat B, Alves-Bezerra M, Zorman B, Ochsner SA, Barzi M, Legras X, Yang D, Borowiak M, Dean AM, York RB, Galvan NTN, Goss J, Lagor WR, Moore DD, Cohen DE, McKenna NJ, Sumazin P, Bissig KD. A human liver chimeric mouse model for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. JHEP Rep 2021; 3:100281. [PMID: 34036256 PMCID: PMC8138774 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2021.100281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background & Aims The accumulation of neutral lipids within hepatocytes underlies non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which affects a quarter of the world's population and is associated with hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite insights gained from both human and animal studies, our understanding of NAFLD pathogenesis remains limited. To better study the molecular changes driving the condition we aimed to generate a humanised NAFLD mouse model. Methods We generated TIRF (transgene-free Il2rg -/-/Rag2 -/-/Fah -/-) mice, populated their livers with human hepatocytes, and fed them a Western-type diet for 12 weeks. Results Within the same chimeric liver, human hepatocytes developed pronounced steatosis whereas murine hepatocytes remained normal. Unbiased metabolomics and lipidomics revealed signatures of clinical NAFLD. Transcriptomic analyses showed that molecular responses diverged sharply between murine and human hepatocytes, demonstrating stark species differences in liver function. Regulatory network analysis indicated close agreement between our model and clinical NAFLD with respect to transcriptional control of cholesterol biosynthesis. Conclusions These NAFLD xenograft mice reveal an unexpected degree of evolutionary divergence in food metabolism and offer a physiologically relevant, experimentally tractable model for studying the pathogenic changes invoked by steatosis. Lay summary Fatty liver disease is an emerging health problem, and as there are no good experimental animal models, our understanding of the condition is poor. We here describe a novel humanised mouse system and compare it with clinical data. The results reveal that the human cells in the mouse liver develop fatty liver disease upon a Western-style fatty diet, whereas the mouse cells appear normal. The molecular signature (expression profiles) of the human cells are distinct from the mouse cells and metabolic analysis of the humanised livers mimic the ones observed in humans with fatty liver. This novel humanised mouse system can be used to study human fatty liver disease.
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Key Words
- ALP, alkaline phosphatase
- ALT, alanine aminotransferase
- AST, aspartate aminotransferase
- CBPEGs, cholesterol biosynthesis pathway enzyme genes
- CE, cholesteryl ester
- CER, ceramide
- CHHs, chimeric human hepatocytes
- CMHs, chimeric mouse hepatocytes
- CT, confidence transcript
- DAG, diacylglycerol
- DCER, dihydroceramide
- DEG, differentially expressed gene
- FA, fatty acid
- FAH, fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase
- FFA, free fatty acid
- GGT, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase
- HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma
- HCER, hexosylceramide
- HCT, high confidence transcriptional target
- Human disease modelling
- Humanised mice
- LCER, lactosylceramide
- LPC, lysophosphatidylcholine
- LPE, lysophosphatidylethanolamine
- Lipid metabolism
- MAG, monoacylglycerol
- MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acid
- NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
- NC, normal chow
- NTBC, nitisinone
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- PC, phosphatidylcholine
- PE, phosphatidylethanolamine
- PI, phosphatidylinositol
- PNPLA3, patatin-like-phospholipase domain-containing protein 3
- PUFA, polyunsaturated free FA
- SM, sphingomyelin
- SREBP, sterol regulatory element-binding protein
- Steatosis
- TAG, triacylglycerol
- TIRF, transgene-free Il2rg-/-/Rag2-/-/Fah-/-
- WD, Western-type diet
- hALB, human albumin
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michele Alves-Bezerra
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Barry Zorman
- Texas Children’s Cancer Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Scott A. Ochsner
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mercedes Barzi
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Xavier Legras
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Diane Yang
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Malgorzata Borowiak
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Institute for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz Universtiy, Poznan, Poland
| | - Adam M. Dean
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Robert B. York
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - John Goss
- Department of Surgery, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - William R. Lagor
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David D. Moore
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David E. Cohen
- Joan & Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Neil J. McKenna
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Pavel Sumazin
- Texas Children’s Cancer Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Y.T. and Alice Chen Pediatric Genetics and Genomics Research Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Corresponding author. Address: Duke University, Division of Medical Genetics, 905 South LaSalle street, Durham, NC-27708, USA. Tel.: +1 919 660 0761; fax: +1 919 660 0762.
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5
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Kruse RL, Barzi M, Legras X, Pankowicz FP, Furey N, Liao L, Xu J, Bissig-Choisat B, Slagle BL, Bissig KD. A hepatitis B virus transgenic mouse model with a conditional, recombinant, episomal genome. JHEP Rep 2021; 3:100252. [PMID: 33733079 PMCID: PMC7940981 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2021.100252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 12/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Background & Aims Development of new and more effective therapies against hepatitis B virus (HBV) is limited by the lack of suitable small animal models. The HBV transgenic mouse model containing an integrated overlength 1.3-mer construct has yielded crucial insights, but this model unfortunately lacks covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), the episomal HBV transcriptional template, and cannot be cured given that HBV is integrated in every cell. Methods To solve these 2 problems, we generated a novel transgenic mouse (HBV1.1X), which generates an excisable circular HBV genome using Cre/LoxP technology. This model possesses a HBV1.1-mer cassette knocked into the ROSA26 locus and is designed for stable expression of viral proteins from birth, like the current HBV transgenic mouse model, before genomic excision with the introduction of Cre recombinase. Results We demonstrated induction of recombinant cccDNA (rcccDNA) formation via viral or transgenic Cre expression in HBV1.1X mice, and the ability to regulate HBsAg and HBc expression with Cre in mice. Tamoxifen-inducible Cre could markedly downregulate baseline HBsAg levels from the integrated HBV genome. To demonstrate clearance of HBV from HBV1.1X mice, we administered adenovirus expressing Cre, which permanently and significantly reduced HBsAg and core antigen levels in the murine liver via rcccDNA excision and a subsequent immune response. Conclusions The HBV1.1X model is the first Cre-regulatable HBV transgenic mouse model and should be of value to mimic chronic HBV infection, with neonatal expression and tolerance of HBV antigens, and on-demand modulation of HBV expression. Lay summary Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can only naturally infect humans and chimpanzees. Mouse models have been developed with the HBV genome integrated into mouse chromosomes, but this prevents mice from being cured. We developed a new transgenic mouse model that allows for HBV to be excised from mouse chromosomes to form a recombinant circular DNA molecule resembling the natural circular HBV genome. HBV expression could be reduced in these mice, enabling curative therapies to be tested in this new mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert L Kruse
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mercedes Barzi
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.,Y.T. and Alice Chen Pediatric Genetics and Genomics Research Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Xavier Legras
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.,Y.T. and Alice Chen Pediatric Genetics and Genomics Research Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Francis P Pankowicz
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Nika Furey
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.,Y.T. and Alice Chen Pediatric Genetics and Genomics Research Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Lan Liao
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Janming Xu
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.,Y.T. and Alice Chen Pediatric Genetics and Genomics Research Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Betty L Slagle
- Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.,Y.T. and Alice Chen Pediatric Genetics and Genomics Research Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Duke Center for Virology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.,Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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6
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Pankowicz FP, Barzi M, Kim KH, Legras X, Martins CS, Wooton-Kee CR, Lagor WR, Marini JC, Elsea SH, Bissig-Choisat B, Moore DD, Bissig KD. Rapid Disruption of Genes Specifically in Livers of Mice Using Multiplex CRISPR/Cas9 Editing. Gastroenterology 2018; 155:1967-1970.e6. [PMID: 30170115 PMCID: PMC6420307 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.08.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Revised: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Despite advances in gene editing technologies, generation of tissue-specific knockout mice is time-consuming. We used CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing to disrupt genes in livers of adult mice in just a few months, which we refer to as somatic liver knockouts. METHODS In this system, Fah-/- mice are given hydrodynamic tail vein injections of plasmids carrying CRISPR/Cas9 designed to excise exons in Hpd; the Hpd-edited hepatocytes have a survival advantage in these mice. Plasmids that target Hpd and a separate gene of interest can therefore be used to rapidly generate mice with liver-specific deletion of nearly any gene product. RESULTS We used this system to create mice with liver-specific knockout of argininosuccinate lyase, which develop hyperammonemia, observed in humans with mutations in this gene. We also created mice with liver-specific knockout of ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 11, which encodes the bile salt export pump. We found that these mice have a biochemical phenotype similar to that of Abcb11-/- mice. We then used this system to knock out expression of 5 different enzymes involved in drug metabolism within the same mouse. CONCLUSIONS This approach might be used to develop new models of liver diseases and study liver functions of genes that are required during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francis P Pankowicz
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mercedes Barzi
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kang Ho Kim
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xavier Legras
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Celeste Santos Martins
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Clavia Ruth Wooton-Kee
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - William R. Lagor
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Juan C Marini
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sarah H Elsea
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
| | - Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David D Moore
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
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7
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Kruse RL, Shum T, Tashiro H, Barzi M, Yi Z, Whitten-Bauer C, Legras X, Bissig-Choisat B, Garaigorta U, Gottschalk S, Bissig KD. HBsAg-redirected T cells exhibit antiviral activity in HBV-infected human liver chimeric mice. Cytotherapy 2018; 20:697-705. [PMID: 29631939 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2018.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Revised: 02/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains incurable. Although HBsAg-specific chimeric antigen receptor (HBsAg-CAR) T cells have been generated, they have not been tested in animal models with authentic HBV infection. METHODS We generated a novel CAR targeting HBsAg and evaluated its ability to recognize HBV+ cell lines and HBsAg particles in vitro. In vivo, we tested whether human HBsAg-CAR T cells would have efficacy against HBV-infected hepatocytes in human liver chimeric mice. RESULTS HBsAg-CAR T cells recognized HBV-positive cell lines and HBsAg particles in vitro as judged by cytokine production. However, HBsAg-CAR T cells did not kill HBV-positive cell lines in cytotoxicity assays. Adoptive transfer of HBsAg-CAR T cells into HBV-infected humanized mice resulted in accumulation within the liver and a significant decrease in plasma HBsAg and HBV-DNA levels compared with control mice. Notably, the fraction of HBV core-positive hepatocytes among total human hepatocytes was greatly reduced after HBsAg-CAR T cell treatment, pointing to noncytopathic viral clearance. In agreement, changes in surrogate human plasma albumin levels were not significantly different between treatment and control groups. CONCLUSIONS HBsAg-CAR T cells have anti-HBV activity in an authentic preclinical HBV infection model. Our results warrant further preclinical exploration of HBsAg-CAR T cells as immunotherapy for HBV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert L Kruse
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Thomas Shum
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Haruko Tashiro
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Mercedes Barzi
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Zhongzhen Yi
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | | | - Xavier Legras
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | | | - Stephen Gottschalk
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Children's Cancer Center, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
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8
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Barzi M, Pankowicz FP, Zorman B, Liu X, Legras X, Yang D, Borowiak M, Bissig-Choisat B, Sumazin P, Li F, Bissig KD. Erratum: A novel humanized mouse lacking murine p450 oxidoreductase for studying human drug metabolism. Nat Commun 2017; 8:984. [PMID: 29042563 PMCID: PMC5645338 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01314-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes Barzi
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Francis P Pankowicz
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Graduate Program, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Barry Zorman
- Texas Children's Cancer Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Xing Liu
- Alkek Center for Molecular Discovery, Advanced Technology Core, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Xavier Legras
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Diane Yang
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Graduate Program, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Malgorzata Borowiak
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Graduate Program, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,McNair Medical Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Pavel Sumazin
- Texas Children's Cancer Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Feng Li
- Alkek Center for Molecular Discovery, Advanced Technology Core, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. .,Graduate Program, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. .,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. .,Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. .,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
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9
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Velasquez-Mao AJ, Tsao CJM, Monroe MN, Legras X, Bissig-Choisat B, Bissig KD, Ruano R, Jacot JG. Differentiation of spontaneously contracting cardiomyocytes from non-virally reprogrammed human amniotic fluid stem cells. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0177824. [PMID: 28545044 PMCID: PMC5435315 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Accepted: 05/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect. The limiting factor in tissue engineering repair strategies is an autologous source of functional cardiomyocytes. Amniotic fluid contains an ideal cell source for prenatal harvest and use in correction of congenital heart defects. This study aims to investigate the potential of amniotic fluid-derived stem cells (AFSC) to undergo non-viral reprogramming into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) followed by growth-factor-free differentiation into functional cardiomyocytes. AFSC from human second trimester amniotic fluid were transfected by non-viral vesicle fusion with modified mRNA of OCT4, KLF4, SOX2, LIN28, cMYC and nuclear GFP over 18 days, then differentiated using inhibitors of GSK3 followed 48 hours later by inhibition of WNT. AFSC-derived iPSC had high expression of OCT4, NANOG, TRA-1-60, and TRA-1-81 after 18 days of mRNA transfection and formed teratomas containing mesodermal, ectodermal, and endodermal germ layers in immunodeficient mice. By Day 30 of cardiomyocyte differentiation, cells contracted spontaneously, expressed connexin 43 and β-myosin heavy chain organized in sarcomeric banding patterns, expressed cardiac troponin T and β-myosin heavy chain, showed upregulation of NKX2.5, ISL-1 and cardiac troponin T with downregulation of POU5F1, and displayed calcium and voltage transients similar to those in developing cardiomyocytes. These results demonstrate that cells from human amniotic fluid can be differentiated through a pluripotent state into functional cardiomyocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Madeline N. Monroe
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Xavier Legras
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Rodrigo Ruano
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal Fetal Medicine Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey G. Jacot
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States of America
- Congenital Heart Surgery Service, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, United States of America
- University of Colorado Denver, Department of Bioengineering, Aurora, CO, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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10
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Pankowicz FP, Barzi M, Legras X, Hubert L, Mi T, Tomolonis JA, Ravishankar M, Sun Q, Yang D, Borowiak M, Sumazin P, Elsea SH, Bissig-Choisat B, Bissig KD. Reprogramming metabolic pathways in vivo with CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to treat hereditary tyrosinaemia. Nat Commun 2016; 7:12642. [PMID: 27572891 PMCID: PMC5013601 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Many metabolic liver disorders are refractory to drug therapy and require orthotopic liver transplantation. Here we demonstrate a new strategy, which we call metabolic pathway reprogramming, to treat hereditary tyrosinaemia type I in mice; rather than edit the disease-causing gene, we delete a gene in a disease-associated pathway to render the phenotype benign. Using CRISPR/Cas9 in vivo, we convert hepatocytes from tyrosinaemia type I into the benign tyrosinaemia type III by deleting Hpd (hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxigenase). Edited hepatocytes (Fah(-/-)/Hpd(-/-)) display a growth advantage over non-edited hepatocytes (Fah(-/-)/Hpd(+/+)) and, in some mice, almost completely replace them within 8 weeks. Hpd excision successfully reroutes tyrosine catabolism, leaving treated mice healthy and asymptomatic. Metabolic pathway reprogramming sidesteps potential difficulties associated with editing a critical disease-causing gene and can be explored as an option for treating other diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francis P. Pankowicz
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Graduate Program, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Mercedes Barzi
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Xavier Legras
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Leroy Hubert
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Tian Mi
- Department of Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Julie A. Tomolonis
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Milan Ravishankar
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Qin Sun
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Diane Yang
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Graduate Program, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- McNair Medical Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Malgorzata Borowiak
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Graduate Program, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- McNair Medical Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Pavel Sumazin
- Department of Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA
- Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Sarah H. Elsea
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Graduate Program, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
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11
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Bissig-Choisat B, Kettlun-Leyton C, Legras XD, Zorman B, Barzi M, Chen LL, Amin MD, Huang YH, Pautler RG, Hampton OA, Prakash MM, Yang D, Borowiak M, Muzny D, Doddapaneni HV, Hu J, Shi Y, Gaber MW, Hicks MJ, Thompson PA, Lu Y, Mills GB, Finegold M, Goss JA, Parsons DW, Vasudevan SA, Sumazin P, López-Terrada D, Bissig KD. Novel patient-derived xenograft and cell line models for therapeutic testing of pediatric liver cancer. J Hepatol 2016; 65:325-33. [PMID: 27117591 PMCID: PMC5668139 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2016.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2015] [Revised: 04/04/2016] [Accepted: 04/08/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Pediatric liver cancer is a rare but serious disease whose incidence is rising, and for which the therapeutic options are limited. Development of more targeted, less toxic therapies is hindered by the lack of an experimental animal model that captures the heterogeneity and metastatic capability of these tumors. METHODS Here we established an orthotopic engraftment technique to model a series of patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDTX) from pediatric liver cancers of all major histologic subtypes: hepatoblastoma, hepatocellular cancer and hepatocellular malignant neoplasm. We utilized standard (immuno) staining methods for histological characterization, RNA sequencing for gene expression profiling and genome sequencing for identification of druggable targets. We also adapted stem cell culturing techniques to derive two new pediatric cancer cell lines from the xenografted mice. RESULTS The patient-derived tumor xenografts recapitulated the histologic, genetic, and biological characteristics-including the metastatic behavior-of the corresponding primary tumors. Furthermore, the gene expression profiles of the two new liver cancer cell lines closely resemble those of the primary tumors. Targeted therapy of PDTX from an aggressive hepatocellular malignant neoplasm with the MEK1 inhibitor trametinib and pan-class I PI3 kinase inhibitor NVP-BKM120 resulted in significant growth inhibition, thus confirming this PDTX model as a valuable tool to study tumor biology and patient-specific therapeutic responses. CONCLUSIONS The novel metastatic xenograft model and the isogenic xenograft-derived cell lines described in this study provide reliable tools for developing mutation- and patient-specific therapies for pediatric liver cancer. LAY SUMMARY Pediatric liver cancer is a rare but serious disease and no experimental animal model currently captures the complexity and metastatic capability of these tumors. We have established a novel animal model using human tumor tissue that recapitulates the genetic and biological characteristics of this cancer. We demonstrate that our patient-derived animal model, as well as two new cell lines, are useful tools for experimental therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Claudia Kettlun-Leyton
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xavier D. Legras
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Barry Zorman
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mercedes Barzi
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Leon L. Chen
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mansi D. Amin
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yung-Hsin Huang
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Robia G. Pautler
- Small Animal Imaging Facility, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Oliver A. Hampton
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Masand M. Prakash
- Department of Pediatric Radiology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Diane Yang
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Graduate Program Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Malgorzata Borowiak
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Graduate Program Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,McNair Medical Institute, Houston, USA
| | - Donna Muzny
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Jianhong Hu
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yan Shi
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Division of Abdominal Transplantation and Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Surgery, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - M. Waleed Gaber
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Small Animal Imaging Facility, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - M. John Hicks
- Department of Pathology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Yiling Lu
- Department of Systems Biology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Gordon B. Mills
- Department of Systems Biology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Milton Finegold
- Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Pathology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - John A. Goss
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Division of Abdominal Transplantation and Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Surgery, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - D. Williams Parsons
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sanjeev A. Vasudevan
- Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Division of Abdominal Transplantation and Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Surgery, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Pavel Sumazin
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Dolores López-Terrada
- Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA,Department of Pathology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Graduate Program Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
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Bissig-Choisat B, Wang L, Legras X, Saha PK, Chen L, Bell P, Pankowicz FP, Hill MC, Barzi M, Leyton CK, Leung HCE, Kruse RL, Himes RW, Goss JA, Wilson JM, Chan L, Lagor WR, Bissig KD. Development and rescue of human familial hypercholesterolaemia in a xenograft mouse model. Nat Commun 2015; 6:7339. [PMID: 26081744 PMCID: PMC4557302 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2015] [Accepted: 04/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Diseases of lipid metabolism are a major cause of human morbidity, but no animal model entirely recapitulates human lipoprotein metabolism. Here we develop a xenograft mouse model using hepatocytes from a patient with familial hypercholesterolaemia caused by loss-of-function mutations in the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR). Like familial hypercholesterolaemia patients, our familial hypercholesterolaemia liver chimeric mice develop hypercholesterolaemia and a 'humanized‘ serum profile, including expression of the emerging drug targets cholesteryl ester transfer protein and apolipoprotein (a), for which no genes exist in mice. We go on to replace the missing LDLR in familial hypercholesterolaemia liver chimeric mice using an adeno-associated virus 9-based gene therapy and restore normal lipoprotein profiles after administration of a single dose. Our study marks the first time a human metabolic disease is induced in an experimental animal model by human hepatocyte transplantation and treated by gene therapy. Such xenograft platforms offer the ability to validate human experimental therapies and may foster their rapid translation into the clinic. Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a congenital disease associated with high plasma cholesterol levels. Here, the authors recapitulate FH in chimeric mice, in which livers are repopulated with hepatocytes from an FH patient, and successfully correct the disease using adenovirus-mediated gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Bissig-Choisat
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Lili Wang
- Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Xavier Legras
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Pradip K Saha
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Leon Chen
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Peter Bell
- Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Francis P Pankowicz
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Matthew C Hill
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Graduate Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Mercedes Barzi
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Claudia Kettlun Leyton
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Hon-Chiu Eastwood Leung
- Department of Pediatrics, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, and Alkek Center for Molecular Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Robert L Kruse
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Ryan W Himes
- Department of Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - John A Goss
- Department of Surgery, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - James M Wilson
- Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Lawrence Chan
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - William R Lagor
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Karl-Dimiter Bissig
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, and Alkek Center for Molecular Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
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13
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Boghenbor KK, On SLW, Kokotovic B, Baumgartner A, Wassenaar TM, Wittwer M, Bissig-Choisat B, Frey J. Genotyping of human and porcine Yersinia enterocolitica, Yersinia intermedia, and Yersinia bercovieri strains from Switzerland by amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis. Appl Environ Microbiol 2006; 72:4061-6. [PMID: 16751516 PMCID: PMC1489625 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01996-05] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, 231 strains of Yersinia enterocolitica, 25 strains of Y. intermedia, and 10 strains of Y. bercovieri from human and porcine sources (including reference strains) were analyzed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), a whole-genome fingerprinting method for subtyping bacterial isolates. AFLP typing distinguished the different Yersinia species examined. Representatives of Y. enterocolitica biotypes 1A, 1B, 2, 3, and 4 belonged to biotype-related AFLP clusters and were clearly distinguished from each other. Y. enterocolitica biotypes 2, 3, and 4 appeared to be more closely related to each other (83% similarity) than to biotypes 1A (11%) and 1B (47%). Biotype 1A strains exhibited the greatest genetic heterogeneity of the biotypes studied. The biotype 1A genotypes were distributed among four major clusters, each containing strains from both human and porcine sources, confirming the zoonotic potential of this organism. The AFLP technique is a valuable genotypic method for identification and typing of Y. enterocolitica and other Yersinia spp.
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14
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Bütikofer B, Bissig-Choisat B, Regula G, Corboz L, Wittwer M, Danuser J. [Incidence of zoonoses in petting zoos and evaluation of hygiene measures to prevent the transmission to humans]. SCHWEIZ ARCH TIERH 2006; 147:532-40. [PMID: 16398191 DOI: 10.1024/0036-7281.147.12.532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In summer 2003, a study was performed in thirty Swiss petting zoos with the objective to determine the prevalence of zoonotic agents, and to describe hygiene measures implemented to reduce the risk of human infection. Fecal samples from different animal species were collected from the floor of pens to determine the prevalence of Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., verocytotoxin producing E. coli/ VTEC and Francisella tularensis. A questionnaire on hygiene measures, number of animals per species, housing system, care procedures and feeding was administered to every petting zoo to estimate exposure of visitors to zoonotic microorganisms. In total, 423 fecal samples were examined. Of these samples, 41 were positive for Campylobacter spp., which were mainly isolates from pigs and poultry (35% positive samples from each species). In pigs, 50% of the positive samples (6 samples) were typed as C. jejuni. The others were typed as C. coli (3) and C lan' (3), respectively. Five poultry isolates were typed as C. jejuni, and two as C. coli. Two samples were positive for Salmonella spp. Salmonella typhimurium was isolated from a goat, the other isolate could not be identified by serotyping. Neither Francisella tularensis nor verocytotoxin producing E. coli/ VTEC were found. The low prevalence of zoonotic microorganisms in Swiss petting zoos could be attributed to the cleanness of enclosures and animals, low stocking rates and good animal care. However, there is room for improvement concerning visitors' information on hygiene and hand washing. Furthermore, a strict separation between picnic - areas and animals should be enforced.
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Bögli-Stuber K, Kohler C, Seitert G, Glanemann B, Antognoli MC, Salman MD, Wittenbrink MM, Wittwer M, Wassenaar T, Jemmi T, Bissig-Choisat B. Detection of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in Swiss dairy cattle by real-time PCR and culture: a comparison of the two assays. J Appl Microbiol 2005; 99:587-97. [PMID: 16108801 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2005.02645.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AIMS To compare the two different diagnostic assays for the detection of Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis, the aetiological agent of paratuberculosis. METHODS AND RESULTS Faecal samples were derived from 310 cows, representing 13 commercial dairy herds in various locations in Switzerland with expected increased risk because of a past history of disease. Detection assays for M. avium ssp. paratuberculosis were culture (gold standard) and a newly designed real-time PCR. Real-time PCR identified 31 of 310 animals as positive within this risk population whereas culture identified 20 positive animals. The specificity of real-time PCR was confirmed by DNA sequencing of the PCR product. Depending on the test used, the paratuberculosis prevalence in our tested risk population ranged from 6.5 to 10%. CONCLUSIONS Real-time PCR and culture data were in good agreement, and real-time PCR generates data in a short time in contrast to culture. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY We consider real-time PCR as a suitable alternative method to culture for the detection of M. avium ssp. paratuberculosis in a national surveillance programme.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Bögli-Stuber
- Laboratories of the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
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16
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Wittwer M, Keller J, Wassenaar TM, Stephan R, Howald D, Regula G, Bissig-Choisat B. Genetic diversity and antibiotic resistance patterns in a campylobacter population isolated from poultry farms in Switzerland. Appl Environ Microbiol 2005; 71:2840-7. [PMID: 15932975 PMCID: PMC1151798 DOI: 10.1128/aem.71.6.2840-2847.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The diversity and genetic interrelation of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli isolated from Swiss poultry were assessed by three independent typing methods. Samples were derived prior to slaughter from 100 randomly selected flocks (five birds per flock) raised on three different farm types. The observed flock prevalence was 54% in total, with 50% for conventional and 69% for free-range farms. Birds held on farms with a confined roaming area had the lowest prevalence of 37%. Campylobacter isolates were characterized by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), restriction fragment length polymorphism of flaA PCR fragments (flaA-RFLP), and disk diffusion testing for eight antimicrobial agents that are commonly used in veterinary or human medicine in Switzerland. Analysis of the genotypic results indicates that the Campylobacter population in Swiss poultry is genetically highly diverse. Nevertheless, occasionally, isolates with identical or nearly identical characteristics were isolated from different farms or farm types in different locations. Genetic typing by AFLP and flaA-RFLP was found to be complementary. The majority of isolates (67%) were susceptible to all tested antibiotics; however, single, double, and triple resistances were observed in 7%, 23%, and 2% of the strains, respectively. There was no correlation between genotype and antibiotic resistance. Surprisingly, sulfonamide resistance was frequently found together with streptomycin resistance. Our findings illustrate the results of common genetic exchange in the studied bacterial population.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Wittwer
- Swiss Federal Veterinary Office, Bern, Switzerland
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17
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Regula G, Lo Fo Wong DMA, Ledergerber U, Stephan R, Danuser J, Bissig-Choisat B, Stärk KDC. Evaluation of an antimicrobial resistance monitoring program for campylobacter in poultry by simulation. Prev Vet Med 2005; 70:29-43. [PMID: 15967240 DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2005.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2004] [Revised: 01/25/2005] [Accepted: 02/17/2005] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
An ideal national resistance monitoring program should deliver a precise estimate of the resistance situation for a given combination of bacteria and antimicrobial at a low cost. To achieve this, decisions need to be made on the number of samples to be collected at each of different possible sampling points. Existing methods of sample size calculation can not be used to solve this problem, because sampling decisions do not only depend on the prevalence of resistance and sensitivity and specificity of resistance testing, but also on the prevalence of the bacteria, and test characteristics of isolation of these bacteria. Our aim was to develop a stochastic simulation model that optimized a national resistance monitoring program, taking multi-stage sampling, imperfect sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests, and cost-effectiveness considerations into account. The process of resistance testing of Campylobacter spp. isolated from cloacal swab samples from poultry was modeled using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo model. Different sampling scenarios on the number of flocks to be tested, the number of birds from each flock, and the number of campylobacter colonies submitted to susceptibility testing were evaluated regarding the precision of the resulting prevalence estimate. Precision of the prevalence estimate was defined as the absolute difference between apparent and true prevalence of resistance. A partial budget approach was utilized to find the most cost-effective combination of samples to obtain a defined precision of the prevalence estimate. For a sampling scenario testing 100 flocks, five birds per flock, and one campylobacter colony per sample, the median error of the prevalence estimate was 2.5%, and 95% of the simulations resulted in an error of 7% or less. When the total number of samples was kept constant, maximizing the number of flocks tested, and only testing one bird per flock resulted in the most precise prevalence estimate. Submitting more than one campylobacter colony to resistance testing did not improve the prevalence estimate. Partial budget analysis indicated that the most cost-effective strategy was testing of two birds per flock, and submitting one colony per sample to resistance testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Regula
- Swiss Federal Veterinary Office, Monitoring, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland.
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18
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Schuppers ME, Stephan R, Ledergerber U, Danuser J, Bissig-Choisat B, Stärk KDC, Regula G. Clinical herd health, farm management and antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter coli on finishing pig farms in Switzerland. Prev Vet Med 2005; 69:189-202. [PMID: 15907569 DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2005.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2004] [Revised: 12/23/2004] [Accepted: 02/07/2005] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The world-wide increase of antimicrobial resistance in micro-organisms complicates medical treatment of infected humans. We did a risk-factor analysis for the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter coli on 64 Swiss pig finishing farms. Between May and November 2001, 20 faecal samples per farm were collected from the floor of pens holding finishing pigs shortly before slaughter. Samples were pooled and cultured for Campylobacter species. Isolated Campylobacter strains were tested for resistance against selected antimicrobials. Additionally, information on herd health and management aspects was available from another study. Because data quality on the history of antimicrobial use on the farms was poor, only non-antimicrobial risk factors could be analysed. Statistical analyses were performed for resistance against ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, streptomycin, tetracycline, and for multiple resistance, which was defined as resistance to three or more antimicrobials. Risk factors for these outcomes--corrected for dependency of samples at herd level--were analysed in five generalised estimation-equation models. Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among Campylobacter isolates was ciprofloxacin 26.1%, erythromycin 19.2%, streptomycin 78.0%, tetracycline 9.4%, and multiple resistance 6.5%. Important risk factors contributing to the prevalence of resistant strains were shortened tails, lameness, skin lesions, feed without whey, and ad libitum feeding. Multiple resistance was more likely in farms which only partially used an all-in-all-out system (OR = 37), or a continuous-flow system (OR = 3) compared to a strict all-in-all-out animal-flow. Presence of lameness (OR = 25), ill-thrift (OR = 15), and scratches at the shoulder (OR = 5) in the herd also increased the odds for multiple resistance. This study showed that on finishing farms which maintained a good herd health status and optimal farm management, the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was also more favourable.
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Affiliation(s)
- M E Schuppers
- Safe Food Solutions Inc., Bremgartenstrasse 109A, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
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Sauli I, Danuser J, Geeraerd AH, Van Impe JF, Rüfenacht J, Bissig-Choisat B, Wenk C, Stärk KDC. Estimating the probability and level of contamination with of feed for finishing pigs produced in Switzerland?the impact of the production pathway. Int J Food Microbiol 2005; 100:289-310. [PMID: 15854713 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2004.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2004] [Accepted: 10/06/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Contaminated feed is a source of infection with Salmonella for livestock, including pigs. Because pigs rarely show clinical signs of salmonellosis, undetected carriers can enter the food production chain. In a "Farm to Fork" food safety concept, safe feed is the first step for ensuring safe food. Heat treatment or adding organic acids are process steps for reducing or eliminating a contamination with Salmonella. The aims of this study were (I) to estimate the probability and the level of Salmonella contamination in batches of feed for finishing pigs in Swiss mills and (II) to assess the efficacy of specific process steps for reducing the level of contamination with Salmonella. A quantitative release assessment was performed by gathering and combining data on the various parameters having an influence on the final contamination of feed. Fixed values and probability distributions attributed to these parameters were used as input values for a Monte Carlo simulation. The simulation showed that-depending on the production pathway-the probability that a batch of feed for finishing pigs contains Salmonella ranged from 34% (for feed on which no specific decontaminating step was applied) to 0% (for feed in which organic acids were added and a heat treatment was implemented). If contamination occurred, the level of contamination ranged from a few Salmonella kg(-1) feed to a maximum of 8E+04 Salmonella kg(-1) feed. Probability and levels of contamination were highest when no production process able to reduce or eliminate the pathogen was implemented. However, most of the Swiss production was shown to undergo some kind of decontaminating step. A heat treatment, in combination with the use of organic acids, was found as a solution of choice for the control of Salmonella in feed.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Sauli
- Swiss Federal Veterinary Office, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland.
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Thoerner P, Bin Kingombe CI, Bögli-Stuber K, Bissig-Choisat B, Wassenaar TM, Frey J, Jemmi T. PCR detection of virulence genes in Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and investigation of virulence gene distribution. Appl Environ Microbiol 2003; 69:1810-6. [PMID: 12620874 PMCID: PMC150046 DOI: 10.1128/aem.69.3.1810-1816.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
PCR-based assays were developed for the detection of plasmid- and chromosome-borne virulence genes in Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, to investigate the distribution of these genes in isolates from various sources. The results of PCR genotyping, based on 5 virulence-associated genes of 140 strains of Y. enterocolitica, were compared to phenotypic tests, such as biotyping and serotyping, and to virulence plasmid-associated properties such as calcium-dependent growth at 37 degrees C and Congo red uptake. The specificity of the PCR results was validated by hybridization. Genotyping data correlated well with biotype data, and most biotypes resulted in (nearly) homogeneous genotypes for the chromosomal virulence genes (ystA, ystB, and ail); however, plasmid-borne genes (yadA and virF) were detected with variable efficiency, due to heterogeneity within the bacterial population for the presence of the virulence plasmid. Of the virulence genes, only ystB was present in biotype 1A; however, within this biotype, pathogenic and apathogenic isolates could not be distinguished based on the detection of virulence genes. Forty Y. pseudotuberculosis isolates were tested by PCR for the presence of inv, yadA, and lcrF. All isolates were inv positive, and 88% of the isolates contained the virulence plasmid genes yadA and lcrF. In conclusion, this study shows that genotyping of Yersinia spp., based on both chromosome- and plasmid-borne virulence genes, is feasible and informative and can provide a rapid and reliable genotypic characterization of field isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Thoerner
- Section of Microbiology, Federal Veterinary Office, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, CH-3003 Bern-Liebefeld, Switzerland
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