Differential Requirement for CCR6 in IL-23-Mediated Skin and Joint Inflammation

CCR6 is important for the trafficking of IL-17A-producing γδ T cells and required for the development of psoriasiform dermatitis in an IL-23 intradermal injection model. The role of CCR6, however, in IL-23-mediated joint inflammation is unclear. We herein hydrodynamically delivered IL-23 minicircle DNA into wild-type and CCR6-deficient (CCR6-knockout) mice to induce overexpression of IL-23 systemically. After IL-23 gene transfer, wild-type mice exhibited concurrent skin and joint changes that recapitulate some features found in human psoriatic skin and joints. CCR6-knockout mice were resistant to IL-23-induced skin inflammation but exhibited no changes in joint inflammation compared with wild-type mice. Depletion of neutrophils protected wild-type mice from skin and joint disease without suppressing T helper type 17 cytokine expression. In contrast, mice lacking γδ T cells showed a partial reduction in neutrophilic recruitment and a significant decrease in IL-17A expression in skin and paw tissue. Thus, in an IL-23-mediated model that allows concurrent assessment of both skin and joint disease, we showed that CCR6 is critical for inflammation in the skin but not in the joint. Furthermore, our data suggest that neutrophils and γδ T cells are key effector cells in IL-23-mediated skin and joint inflammation in mice.

Treatment of Cystathionine β-Synthase Deficiency in Mice Using a Minicircle-Based Naked DNA Vector

Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) deficiency is a recessive inborn error of metabolism characterized by extremely elevated total homocysteine (tHcy) in the blood. Patients diagnosed with CBS deficiency have a variety of clinical problems, including dislocated lenses, osteoporosis, cognitive and behavioral issues, and a significantly increased risk of thrombosis. Current treatment strategies involve a combination of vitamin supplementation and restriction of foods containing the homocysteine precursor methionine. Here, a mouse model for CBS deficiency (Tg-I278T Cbs-/-) was used to evaluate the potential of minicircle-based naked DNA gene therapy to treat CBS deficiency. A 2.3 kb DNA-minicircle containing the liver-specific P3 promoter driving the human CBS cDNA (MC.P3-hCBS) was delivered into Tg-I278T Cbs-/- mice via a single hydrodynamic tail vein injection. Mean serum tHcy decreased from 351 μM before injection to 176 μM 7 days after injection (p = 0.0005), and remained decreased for at least 42 days. Western blot analysis reveals significant minicircle-directed CBS expression in the liver tissue. Liver CBS activity increased 34-fold (12.8 vs. 432 units; p = 0.0004) in MC.P3-hCBS-injected animals. Injection of MC.P3-hCBS in young mice, subsequently followed for 202 days, showed that the vector can ameliorate the mouse homocystinuria alopecia phenotype. The present findings show that minicircle-based gene therapy can lower tHcy in a mouse model of CBS deficiency.

Fluorescent zinc(ii) complexes for gene delivery and simultaneous monitoring of protein expression

Two new zinc(ii) complexes, [Zn(l-His)(NIP)]+(1) and [Zn(acac)2(NIP)](2) (where NIP is 2-(naphthalen-1-yl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline, acac = acetyl acetone), have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, UV-vis, fluorescence, IR, 1H NMR and electron spray ionization mass spectroscopies. Gel retardation assay, atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering studies show that 1 and 2 can induce the condensation of circular plasmid pBR322 DNA into nanometer size particles under ambient conditions. Treatment of 2 with 5 mM EDTA restored 30% of the supercoiled form of DNA, revealing partial reversibility of DNA condensation. The in vitro transfection experiment demonstrates that the complexes can be used to deliver pCMV-tdTomato-N1 plasmid which expresses red fluorescent protein. The confocal studies show that the fluorescent nature of complexes is advantageous for visualizing the intracellular delivery of metal complexes as well as transfection efficiency using two distinct emission windows.

Physical Characterization of Gemini Surfactant-Based Synthetic Vectors for the Delivery of Linear Covalently Closed (LCC) DNA Ministrings

In combination with novel linear covalently closed (LCC) DNA minivectors, referred to as DNA ministrings, a gemini surfactant-based synthetic vector for gene delivery has been shown to exhibit enhanced delivery and bioavailability while offering a heightened safety profile. Due to topological differences from conventional circular covalently closed (CCC) plasmid DNA vectors, the linear topology of LCC DNA ministrings may present differences with regards to DNA interaction and the physicochemical properties influencing DNA-surfactant interactions in the formulation of lipoplexed particles. In this study, N,N-bis(dimethylhexadecyl)-α,ω-propanediammonium(16-3-16)gemini-based synthetic vectors, incorporating either CCC plasmid or LCC DNA ministrings, were characterized and compared with respect to particle size, zeta potential, DNA encapsulation, DNase sensitivity, and in vitro transgene delivery efficacy. Through comparative analysis, differences between CCC plasmid DNA and LCC DNA ministrings led to variations in the physical properties of the resulting lipoplexes after complexation with 16-3-16 gemini surfactants. Despite the size disparities between the plasmid DNA vectors (CCC) and DNA ministrings (LCC), differences in DNA topology resulted in the generation of lipoplexes of comparable particle sizes. The capacity for ministring (LCC) derived lipoplexes to undergo complete counterion release during lipoplex formation contributed to improved DNA encapsulation, protection from DNase degradation, and in vitro transgene delivery.

Self in vivo production of a synthetic biological drug CTLA4Ig using a minicircle vector

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 immunoglobulin fusion protein (CTLA4Ig, abatacept) is a B7/CD28 costimulation inhibitor that can ward off the immune response by preventing the activation of naïve T cells. This therapeutic agent is administered to patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Its antiarthritic efficacy is satisfactory, but the limitations are the necessity for frequent injection and high cost. Minicircles can robustly express the target molecule and excrete it outside the cell as an indirect method to produce the protein of interest in vivo. We inserted the sequence of abatacept into the minicircle vector, and by successful in vivo injection the host was able to produce the synthetic protein drug. Intravenous infusion of the minicircle induced spontaneous production of CTLA4Ig in mice with collagen-induced arthritis. Self-produced CTLA4Ig significantly decreased the symptoms of arthritis. Injection of minicircle CTLA4Ig regulated Foxp3(+) T cells and Th17 cells. Parental and mock vectors did not ameliorate arthritis or modify the T cell population. We have developed a new concept of spontaneous protein drug delivery using a minicircle vector. Self in vivo production of a synthetic protein drug may be useful when biological drugs cannot be injected because of manufacturing or practical problems.

Vector systems for prenatal gene therapy: principles of non-viral vector design and production

Gene therapy vectors based on viruses are the most effective gene delivery systems in use today and although efficient at gene transfer their potential toxicity (Hacein-Bey-Abina et al., Science 302:415-419, 2003) provides impetus for the development of safer non-viral alternatives. An ideal vector for human gene therapy should deliver sustainable therapeutic levels of gene expression without affecting the viability of the host at either the cellular or somatic level. Vectors, which comprise entirely human elements, may provide the most suitable method of achieving this. Non-viral vectors are attractive alternatives to viral gene delivery systems because of their low toxicity, relatively easy production, and great versatility. The development of more efficient, economically prepared, and safer gene delivery vectors is a crucial prerequisite for their successful clinical application and remains a primary strategic task of gene therapy research.

Minicircle DNA-based gene therapy coupled with immune modulation permits long-term expression of α-L-iduronidase in mice with mucopolysaccharidosis type I

Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) is a lysosomal storage disease characterized by mutations to the α-L-iduronidase (IDUA) gene resulting in inactivation of the IDUA enzyme. The loss of IDUA protein results in the progressive accumulation of glycosaminoglycans within the lysosomes resulting in severe, multi-organ system pathology. Gene replacement strategies have relied on the use of viral or nonviral gene delivery systems. Drawbacks to these include laborious production procedures, poor efficacy due to plasmid-borne gene silencing, and the risk of insertional mutagenesis. This report demonstrates the efficacy of a nonintegrating, minicircle (MC) DNA vector that is resistant to epigenetic gene silencing in vivo. To achieve sustained expression of the immunogenic IDUA protein we investigated the use of a tissue-specific promoter in conjunction with microRNA target sequences. The inclusion of microRNA target sequences resulted in a slight improvement in long-term expression compared to their absence. However, immune modulation by costimulatory blockade was required and permitted for IDUA expression in MPS I mice that resulted in the biochemical correction of pathology in all of the organs analyzed. MC gene delivery combined with costimulatory pathway blockade maximizes safety, efficacy, and sustained gene expression and is a new approach in the treatment of lysosomal storage disease.

Molecular mechanism of immune response induced by foreign plasmid DNA after oral administration in mice

AIM: To study immune response induced by foreign plasmid DNA after oral administration in mice.

METHODS: Mice were orally administered with 200 μg of plasmid pcDNA3 once and spleen was isolated 4 h and 18 h after administration. Total RNA was extracted from spleen and gene expression profile of BALB/c mice spleen was analyzed by using Affymetrix oligonucleotide GeneChip. Functional cluster analysis was conducted by GenMAPP software.

RESULTS: At 4 h and 18 h after oral plasmid pcDNA3 administration, a number of immune-related genes, including cytokine and cytokine receptors, chemokines and chemokine receptor, complement molecule, proteasome, histocompatibility molecule, lymphocyte antigen complex and apoptotic genes, were up-regulated. Moreover, MAPPFinder results also showed that numerous immune response processes were up-regulated. In contrast, the immunoglobulin genes were down-regulated.

CONCLUSION: Foreign plasmid DNA can modulate the genes expression related to immune system via the gastrointestinal tract, and further analysis of the related immune process may help understand the molecular mechanisms of immune response induced by foreign plasmid via the gastrointestinal tract.

Theoretical considerations involving the pharmacokinetics of plasmid DNA

Success of in vivo gene therapy relies on the development of gene delivery technologies, by which a well-controlled transgene expression is achieved as far as the spatial and temporal profile of the expression is concerned. Because transgene expression only occurs in cells that are transduced with the gene administered, the tissue distribution of genes is an important factor determining the efficacy of in vivo gene transfer. Plasmid DNA is the simplest vector and its administration in naked or complexed form results in significant transgene expression in various organs. The route of administration, the use of cationic vectors and the administration technique greatly affects the tissue distribution of plasmid DNA and the subsequent transgene expression. Therefore, a clear understanding of the tissue distribution of naked and complexed plasmid DNA is a prerequisite for strategies for developing effective in vivo gene transfer methods. Pharmacokinetics translates the tissue distribution properties of plasmid DNA into quantitative parameters, which can be compared with parameters obtained under different conditions, or with physiological parameters such as blood flow rate. Here we discuss the pharmacokinetic evaluation of the tissue distribution characteristics of plasmid DNA, in the free and complexed forms.

Hydrodynamics-based transfection of the liver: entrance into hepatocytes of DNA that causes expression takes place very early after injection

BACKGROUND

The mechanism of gene transfer into hepatocytes by the hydrodynamics-based transfection procedure is not clearly understood. It has been shown that, after a hydrodynamic injection, a large proportion of plasmid DNA remains intact in the liver where it is bound to plasma membrane and suggested that this DNA could be responsible for the efficiency of the transfection.

METHODS

We have investigated the problem by giving mice a hydrodynamic injection of isotonic NaCl, followed at different time intervals by a conventional injection of DNA, cold or labelled with (35)S, with cDNA of luciferase as a reporter gene. Then, we determined the consequences of that dual injection on luciferase expression and on DNA uptake by the liver and its intracellular fate. By such experiments, it is possible to establish the time dependency of the induction of liver changes caused by a hydrodynamic injection on the one hand and the expression and DNA uptake and fate on the other. Moreover, some experiments have been performed on primary cultures of hepatocytes isolated after a hydrodynamic injection of DNA.

RESULTS

When DNA is given to mice by a conventional injection a few seconds after an hydrodynamic injection of isotonic NaCl, luciferase expression in the liver is considerably lower than that observed after a single hydrodynamic injection of the plasmid. On the other hand, as assessed by the rate of DNA degradation and by centrifugation results obtained after injection of (35)S-DNA, the uptake and the intracellular fate of the bulk of DNA are similar whether DNA is administered by a single hydrodynamic injection or by a conventional injection given up to at least 2 h after a hydrodynamic injection of isotonic NaCl. Hepatocytes isolated a few minutes after a hydrodynamic injection exhibit a maximal expression that does not depend on the large amount of DNA that remains bound to the plasma membrane for a relatively long time.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that the efficiency of hydrodynamics-based transfection depends on a process that takes place very quickly after injection and is not linked to a delay of DNA degradation and the persistence of a large proportion of DNA bound to hepatocytes of the plasma membrane, strongly suggesting that expression after a hydrodynamic injection is caused by a small proportion of DNA molecules that rapidly enter the cytosol probably by plasma membrane pores generated by the hydrodynamic pressure.

Localization and dynamics of small circular DNA in live mammalian nuclei

While genomic DNA, packaged into chromatin, is known to be locally constrained but highly dynamic in the nuclei of living cells, little is known about the localization and dynamics of small circular DNA molecules that invade cells by virus infection, application of gene therapy vectors or experimental transfection. To address this point, we have created traceable model substrates by direct labeling of plasmid DNA with fluorescent peptide nucleic acids, and have investigated their fate after microinjection into living cells. Here, we report that foreign DNA rapidly undergoes interactions with intranuclear structural sites that strongly reduce its mobility and restrict the DNA to regions excluding nucleoli and nuclear bodies such as PML bodies. The labeled plasmids partially co-localize with SAF-A, a well characterized marker protein for the nuclear 'scaffold' or 'matrix', and are resistant towards extraction by detergent and, in part, elevated salt concentrations. We show that the localization and the low mobility of plasmids is independent of the plasmid sequence, and does not require the presence of either a scaffold attachment region (SAR) DNA element or a functional promoter.

Shear-induced degradation of plasmid DNA

The majority of gene therapy clinical trials use plasmid DNA that is susceptible to shear-induced degradation. Many processing steps in the extraction, purification, and preparation of plasmid-based therapeutics can impart significant shear stress that can fracture the phosphodiester backbone of polynucleotides, and reduce biological activity. Much of the mechanistic work on shear degradation of DNA was conducted over 30 years ago, and we rely heavily on this early work in an attempt to explain the empirical observations of more recent investigations concerning the aerosolization of plasmids. Unfortunately, the sporadic reports of shear degradation in the literature use different experimental systems, making it difficult to quantitatively compare results and reach definitive mechanistic conclusions. In this review, we describe the forces imparted to DNA during shear stress, and use published data to quantitatively evaluate their relative effects. In addition, we discuss the effects of molecular weight, strain rate, particle size, flexibility, ionic strength, gas-liquid interfaces, and turbulence on the fluid flow degradation of supercoiled plasmid DNA. Finally, we speculate on computational methods that might allow degradation rates in different experimental systems to be predicted.

Plasmid DNA induces increased lymphocyte trafficking: a specific role for CpG motifs

Bacterial DNA, primarily through immunostimulatory cytosine-guanine (CpG) motifs, induces the secretion of cytokines and activates a variety of effector cells. We investigated the possibility that CpG motifs might also modulate immunosurveillance by altering cell trafficking through a regional lymph node. Intradermal injection of plasmid DNA induced rapid and prolonged increases in the number of lymphocytes collected in efferent lymph. This effect on cell trafficking was not dependent on the expression of an encoded reporter gene but varied with plasmid construct and required a circular form. Injection of synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides containing CpG motifs did not alter lymphocyte trafficking but CpG-enhanced plasmid induced a dose-dependent increase in cell trafficking. Phenotypic analyses revealed that the increase in cell trafficking involved all lymphocyte subpopulations and represented a mass movement of cells. These observations reveal that bacterial DNA, through immunostimulatory CpG motifs, alters immunosurveillance by increasing cell recruitment to a regional lymph node.

Persistence and expression of circular DNAs encoding Drosophila amylase, bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, and others in Xenopus laevis embryos

We injected circular forms of several different DNAs into fertilized eggs of Xenopus laevis, and studied the persistence and expression of the injected DNAs during early embryonic development. When we injected plasmids which contained Drosophila amylase genes, the copy number of the injected DNA increased only slightly during cleavage, started to decrease at the blastula stage, then became very small at the tadpole stage. In such embryos, Drosophila amylase activity was detected at and after the gastrula stage. When we injected other kinds of circular DNAs (pX1r101A, cDm2055, pII25.1, pBR322, and pSP-64-L14), their copy number did not increase throughout the early stages. When circular plasmids that contained bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) genes were injected, their copy number usually did not increase, but sometimes, for unknown reasons, it increased extensively throughout the blastula to gastrula stages. In both cases, CAT enzyme activity started to be expressed during the blastula to gastrula stages and disappeared at the 2 day-old tadpole stage. The level of CAT enzyme activity was roughly proportional to the amount of CAT mRNA formed, and also to the copy number of injected genes. From these results, we concluded that in Xenopus embryos, exogenously-injected circular DNAs are preserved for the most part as circular DNAs, and that the increase in their copy number within the embryos is not prerequisite for the expression of their genetic information.