• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.441-451
• /
• 2017

Imperatorin, a major bioactive furanocoumarin with multifunctions, can be used for treating neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of imperatorin transport in the brain. Experiments of the present study were designed to study imperatorin transport across the blood-brain barrier both in vivo and in vitro. In vivo study was performed in rats using single intravenous injection and in situ carotid artery perfusion technique. Conditionally immortalized rat brain capillary endothelial cells were as an in vitro model of blood-brain barrier to examine the transport mechanism of imperatorin. Brain distribution volume of imperatorin was about 6 fold greater than that of sucrose, suggesting that the transport of imperatorin was through the blood-brain barrier in physiological state. Both in vivo and in vitro imperatorin transport studies demonstrated that imperatorin could be transported in a concentration-dependent manner with high affinity. Imperatorin uptake was dependent on proton gradient in an opposite direction. It was significantly reduced by pretreatment with sodium azide. However, its uptake was not inhibited by replacing extracellular sodium with potassium or N-methylglucamine. The uptake of imperatorin was inhibited by various cationic compounds, but not inhibited by TEA, choline and organic anion substances. Transfection of plasma membrane monoamine transporter, organic cation transporter 2 and organic cation/carnitine transporter 2/1 siRNA failed to alter imperatorin transport in brain capillary endothelial cells. Especially, tramadol, clonidine and pyrilamine inhibited the uptake of [$^3H$]imperatorin competitively. Therefore, imperatorin is actively transported from blood to brain across the blood-brain barrier by passive and carrier-mediated transporter.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.189-194
• /
• 2006

Sperm-mediated gene transfer(SMGT) can be used to transfer exogenous DNA into the oocyte at fertilization. The main objective of this study was to assess efficiency of transferring mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA) fragment into boar spermatozoa in either presence or absence of liposome and quality of transfected spermatozoa. The mtDNA of chicken liver was isolated and purified by phenol and alkaline lysis extraction, and it was inserted to plasmid. The genome of transfected spermatozoa treated with DNase I was purified by alkaline lysis, and then amplified by the PCR analysis. After electrophoresis, DNA quantitation of each well was calculated by comparison of the band intensity with standard. As a result, exogenous DNA was composed of mtDNA fragment(1.2 kb) and plasmid(2.7 kb). On the other hand, efficiency of transfection by liposome($9.0{\pm}0.34ng/{\mu}l$) in SMGT was higher than that by DNA solution($6.9{\pm}0.53ng/{\mu}l$). However, there was no significant difference. Transfering exogenous DNA into spermatozoa was completed within 90 min of incubation. In another experiment, there were significant (p<0.05) differences between transfected spermatozoa using both DNA solution and DNA/liposome completes with unheated spermatozoa for viability ($70.8{\pm}1.80$ and $68.0{\pm}2.16%$ vs. $83.3{\pm}1.69%$, respectively) and motility($78.7{\pm}1.59$ and $79.3{\pm}2.14%$ vs. $86.7{\pm}1.59%$, respectively). This study indicates that exogenous mtDNA can be efficiently transferred into boar spermatozoa regardless of the presence of liposome, and transfected spermatozoa can also use insemination and in vitro fertilization to generate transgenic pig.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.3437-3445
• /
• 2016

Background: There is an increasing concern in the role of microRNA (miRNA) in the pathogenesis of bone metastasis (BM) secondary to prostate cancer (CaP). In this exploratory study, we hypothesized that the expression of vinculin (VCL) and chemokine X3C ligand 1 (CX3CL1) might be down-regulated in clinical samples, most likely due to the post-transcriptional modification by microRNAs. Targeted genes would be up-regulated upon transfection of the bone metastatic prostate cancer cell line, PC3, with specific microRNA inhibitors. Materials and Methods: MicroRNA software predicted that miR-21 targets VCL while miR-29a targets CX3CL1. Twenty benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 16 high grade CaP formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) specimens were analysed. From the bone scan results, high grade CaP samples were further classified into CaP with no BM and CaP with BM. Transient transfection with respective microRNA inhibitors was done in both RWPE-1 (normal) and PC3 cell lines. QPCR was performed in all FFPE samples and transfected cell lines to measure VCL and CX3CL1 levels. Results: QPCR confirmed that VCL messenger RNA (mRNA) was significantly down-regulated while CX3CL1 was up-regulated in all FFPE specimens. Transient transfection with microRNA inhibitors in PC3 cells followed by qPCR of the targeted genes showed that VCL mRNA was significantly upregulated while CX3CL1 mRNA was significantly down-regulated compared to the RWPE-1 case. Conclusions: The down-regulation of VCL in FFPE specimens is most likely regulated by miR-21 based on the in vitro evidence but the exact mechanism of how miR-21 can regulate VCL is unclear. Up-regulated in CaP, CX3CL1 was found not regulated by miR-29a. More microRNA screening is required to understand the regulation of this chemokine in CaP with bone metastasis. Understanding miRNA-mRNA interactions may provide additional knowledge for individualized study of cancers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Embryo Transfer Conference
• /
• 2003.10a
• /
• pp.104-104
• /
• 2003

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
• /
• 2003.06a
• /
• pp.49-49
• /
• 2003

본 연구에서는 vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein (VSV-G)를 envelope로 가지는 pantropic retrovirus vector system을 이용하여 재조합 human FSH 유전자가 전이된 형질전환 닭을 생산하고자 하였다. Human FSH $\alpha$ 및 $\beta$ 유전자와 CTP linker는 human pituitary gland cDNA library에서 RT-PCR 방법을 이용하여 cloning하였으며, 각각의 fragment는 FSH$\beta$-CTP-FSH$\alpha$ 순서의 단일사슬로 연결하였다. 연결된 FSH$\beta$-CTP-FSH$\alpha$는 retroviral vector 내의 $\beta$-actin promoter의 조절 하에 도입한 후, PT67 packaging cell line에 transfection하여 virus를 생산하였으며 생산된 virus는 pantropic한 virus producing cell인 GP293에 infection하여 FSH 유전자가 도입된 virus를 생산하였다. FSH 유전자의 발현을 in vitro에서 확인하기 위하여 CHO (chinese hamster ovary) 세포에 virus를 감염시킨 후, 세포의 배양액을 취하여 electrochemilumine-scence immunoassay 방법으로 정량하였다. In vitro에서 전이 후 발현이 확인된 FSH 외래유전자의 retroviral vector virus를 초원심분리로 고농축하여 stageX의 계란의 배반엽 층에 주입하였으며, 그 결과 18%의 부화율과 91%의 부화한 닭의 유전자 전이율을 확인할 수 있었다. 전이된 유전자의 확인은 FSH$\beta$와 Neo 유전자에 대한 primer를 이용한 RT-PCR의 방법을 이용하였다. In vitro에서와는 달리 in vivo에서는 FSH 유전자의 전이는 확인되었으나 발현을 확인하지는 못하였는데, 이는 적은 수의 실험군이 형질전환율에 비해 상대적이지 못하였거나, 외래 유전자인 FSH의 발현에 의한 생리적인 부작용이 유발되어 해당개체가 부화되지 못한 것으로 추정된다. 본 문제점을 해결하기 위하여 실험군의 수를 늘리고 외래 유전자에 대한 controllable expression system이 보완될 필요성이 요구되며, 이러한 점이 해결된다면 높은 유전자 전이율에 기인하여 retrovirus를 이용한 형질전환 방법은 형질전환 가금의 생산에 있어서 매우 효율적이고 주목할 만한 방법으로 사료된다.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.859-869
• /
• 2007

Naked DNA and standard vectors have been previously used for gene delivery. Among these, PEI can efficiently condense DNA and has high intrinsic endosomal activities. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the cationic polycation PEI could increase the transfection efficiency of BMP expressing DNA using a vector-loaded collagen sponge model. BMP-2/pcDNA3.1 plasmid was constructed by subcloning human BMP-2 cDNA into the pcDNA3.1 plasmid vector. PEI/DNA complexes were prepared by mixing PEI and BMP-2/pcDNA3.1 and the constructed complexes were loaded into the collagen sponges. In vitro studies, BMSCs were transfected with the PEI/BMP-2/pcDNA3.1 complexes from collgen sponge. The level of secreted BMP-2 and alkaline phosphatase activities of transfected BMSCs were significantly higher in PEI/BMP-2/pcDNA3.1 group than in BMP-2/pcDNA3.1 group (p<0.05). Transfected BMSCs were cultured and mineralization was observed only in cells treated with PEI/BMP-2/pcDNA3.1 complexes. In vivo studies, PEI/BMP-2/pcDNA3.1/collagen, BMP-2/pcDNA3.1/collagen and blank collagen were grafted in skeletal muscle of nude mice. Ectopic bone formation was shown in PEI/BMP-2/pcDNA3.1/collagen grafted mouse 4 weeks postimplantation, while not in BMP-2/pcDNA3.1 grafted tissue. This study suggests that PEI-condensed DNA encoding for BMP-2 is capable of inducing bone formation in ectopic site and might increase the transfection rate of BMP-2/pcDNA3.1. As a non-viral vector, PEI offers the potential in gene therapy for bone engineering.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.1271-1284
• /
• 1997

Background : Tumor necrosis factor(TNF) has been considered as an important candidate for cancer gene therapy based on its potent anti-tumor activity. However, since the efficiency of current techniques of gene transfer is not satisfactory, the majority of current protocols is aiming the in vitro gene transfer to cancer cells and re-introducing genetically modified cancer cells to host. In the previous study, it was shown that TNF-sensitive cancer cells transfected with TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA would become highly resistant to TNF, and the probability was shown that the acquired resistance to TNF might be associated with synthesis of some protective protein. Understanding the mechanisms of TNF-resistance in TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfected cancer cells would be an important step for improving the efficacy of cancer gene therapy as well as for better understandings of tumor biology. This study was designed to evaluate whether the levels of TNF receptor mRNA expression and soluble TNF receptor release from cancer cells are changed after TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfection. Method : We transfected TNF-$\alpha$ c-DNA to WEHI164(murine fibrosarcoma cell line), NCI-H2058(human mesothelioma cell line), A549(human non-small cell lung cancer cell line), ME180(human cervix cancer cell line) cells using retroviral vector(pLT12SN(TNF)) and confirm the expression of TNF with PCR, EUSA, MTT assay. Then we determined the TNF resistance of TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfected cells(WEHI164-TNF, NCIH2058-TNF, A549-TNF, ME180-TNF) and evaluated the TNF receptor mRNA expression with Northern blot analysis and soluble TNF receptor release with EUSA. Results : The TNF receptor mRNA expressions of parental cells and genetically modified cells were not significantly different. The soluble TNF receptor levels of media from genetically modified cells were lower than those from parental cells. Conclusion : The acquired resistance to TNF after TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfection may not be associated with the change in the TNF receptor and the soluble TNF receptor expression.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.103-110
• /
• 2016

As a degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA) constitutes a major cause of disability that seriously affects the quality of life of a large population of people worldwide. However, effective treatment that can successfully reverse OA progression is lacking until now. The present study aimed to determine whether two small non-coding RNAs miR-29a and miR-140, which are significantly down-regulated in OA, can be applied together as potential therapeutic targets for OA treatment. MiRNA synergy score was used to screen the miRNA pairs that potentially synergistically regulate OA. An in vitro model of OA was established by treating murine chondrocytes with IL-$1{\beta}$. Transfection of miR-29a and miR-140 via plasmids was investigated on chondrocyte proliferation and expression of nine genes such as ADAMTS4, ADAMTS5, ACAN, COL2A1, COL10A1, MMP1, MMP3, MMP13 and TIMP metallopeptidase inhibitor 1 (TIMP1). Western blotting was used to determine the protein expression level of MMP13 and TIMP1, and ELISA was used to detect the content of type II collagen. Combined use of miR-29a and miR-140 successfully reversed the destructive effect of IL-$1{\beta}$ on chondrocyte proliferation, and notably affected the MMP13 and TIMP1 gene expression that regulates extracellular matrix. Although co-transfection of miR-29a and miR-140 did not show a synergistic effect on MMP13 protein expression and type II collagen release, but both of them can significantly suppress the protein abundance of MMP13 and restore the type II collagen release in IL-$1{\beta}$ treated chondrocytes. Compared with single miRNA transfection, cotransfection of both miRNAs exceedingly abrogated the suppressed the protein production of TIMP1 caused by IL-$1{\beta}$, thereby suggesting potent synergistic action. These results provided1novel insights into the important function of miRNAs' collaboration in OA pathological development. The reduced MMP13, and enhanced TIMP1 protein production and type II collagen release also implies that miR-29a and miR-140 combination treatment may be a possible treatment for OA.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.129-136
• /
• 1999

Transient transfection assay has been done to evaluate whether the c-jun activation would be prerequisite to the induction of permissiveness against human cytomegalovirus using in vitro cell model in which U937 has been induced to express CD11b and CD14 to become potential monocyte/macrophage cells by TPA treatment. U937 cells were treated with $10\;{\mu}M$, $50\;{\mu}M$ or $100\;{\mu}M$ of TPA. The cell morphology change was observed and the expression of the CD11b and CD14 was confirmed by FACS. Differentiated cells were transfected with pJLuc reporter vector which contained the wild type murine c-jun promoter spanning the SP1, CTF, ATF/CREB and MEF-2 binding sites upstream of the firefly luciferase gene. After 48 hrs of transfection, the cells were infected with HCMV Towne strain and the luciferase activity was assessed at 1 hand 4 h pi. The transfection assay showed no activation of the c-jun promoter at 1 h pi, instead, it showed 2 times increase of the its activity at 4 h pi. There was no difference of the c-jun promoter activation between TPA treated and untreated U937 cells, implying that c-jun activation might not be prerequisite for allowing cells to be premissive to HCMV, although HCMV infection itself could activate c-jun promoter.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.396-407
• /
• 2022

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) has a high morbidity and mortality worldwide. 20 (S)-ginsenoside Rh2 (G-Rh2) is a natural compound extracted from ginseng, which exhibits anticancer effects in many cancer types. In this study, we demonstrated the effect and underlying molecular mechanism of G-Rh2 in CRC cells in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Cell proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle, and western blot assays were performed to evaluate the effect of G-Rh2 on CRC cells. In vitro pull-down assay was used to verify the interaction between G-Rh2 and Axl. Transfection and infection experiments were used to explore the function of Axl in CRC cells. CRC xenograft models were used to further investigate the effect of Axl knockdown and G-Rh2 on tumor growth in vivo. Results: G-Rh2 significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induced apoptosis and G₀/G₁ phase cell cycle arrest in CRC cell lines. G-Rh2 directly binds to Axl and inhibits the Axl signaling pathway in CRC cells. Knockdown of Axl suppressed the growth, migration and invasion ability of CRC cells in vitro and xenograft tumor growth in vivo, whereas overexpression of Axl promoted the growth, migration, and invasion ability of CRC cells. Moreover, G-Rh2 significantly suppressed CRC xenograft tumor growth by inhibiting Axl signaling with no obvious toxicity to nude mice. Conclusion: Our results indicate that G-Rh2 exerts anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo by suppressing the Axl signaling pathway. G-Rh2 is a promising candidate for CRC prevention and treatment.