Current gene therapy最新文献

Introduction: Breast Cancer (BC) is treatable in early stages but has high mortality rates in advanced cases, highlighting the need for better treatment methods. Oncolytic Viruses (OVs) have emerged as a promising approach to specifically target and kill BC tumor cells, although their effectiveness is limited by the immune response. To overcome this challenge, researchers are investigating the use of cell carriers. This study aims to evaluate the effects of mesenchymal stem cells carrying Echovirus (MSCs-ECHO) in a BC mouse model.

Method: The effectiveness of MSCs-ECHO was evaluated in a mouse model of BC induced by the subcutaneous injection of live 4T1 cells (1×104) in female Balb/c mice. Its effects were assessed using several parameters, including Tumor Size (TS), Survival Probability (SP), and indicators of immune system response, such as the Splenocyte Proliferation Index (SPI), Nitric Oxide (NO), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), and cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IFN-γ, and TGF-β) in the supernatant of splenocytes.

Results: Our findings revealed that treatment with MSCs-ECHO significantly increased SP, SPI, LDH, NO, and IFN-γ levels, while reducing TS, TGF-β, IL-4, and IL-10 levels in treated mice compared to the control group. Additionally, MSCs-ECHO demonstrated superior therapeutic effects compared to treatment with cell-free virus.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that ECHO treatment may represent a promising therapeutic approach for BC. Based on the results of the present study, the utilization of MSCs as carriers for OV appears to be a viable complementary strategy in the management of BC.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health burden worldwide, with a persistent need for molecular target drugs. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a major concern during HCC, as it has an incompletely solved action. CRISPR/Cas9 is a gene editing tool that aids in cancer treatment research; thus, this study evaluated the effect of in vitro knockout of AFP on HCC using CRISPR/Cas9 technique.

Methods: Two sgRNAs targeting specific sites in AFP exon 2 were separately cloned to the mammalian expression vector pSpCas9 (BB)-2a-GFP (PX458). HepG2 cells were transfected with CRISPR constructs I and II, and a pool of the two constructs (M) for 6 -, 24- and 39 hours using liopfectamine3000. AFP editing was evaluated regarding genomic DNA sequence, RNA, and protein expression levels. In addition, the effect of AFP knocking out on HepG2 viability, and apoptotic genes mRNA and protein expression levels were evaluated using crystal violet assay, real-time PCR, and western blot analysis respectively.

Results: The results revealed efficient delivery of the AFP/CRISPR constructs to HepG2 cells. Insertion and deletion mutations introduced to the AFP genomic sequence were analyzed using TIDE software analysis and the Expasy translation tool. The viability of the HepG2 cells was reduced 39 hours post-transfection with significant modulation in the expression of the apoptotic markers P53, BAX, Bcl2, and caspase-3.

Conclusion: This study succeeded in developing AFP/CRISPR constructs that could disrupt the AFP genomic sequence, reduce its expression, and restore the activity of cell-specific apoptotic factors, demonstrating the potential inhibitory effect of AFP downregulation on HCC progression.

Background: Dysbiosis of Intestinal Flora Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) is implicated in Diabetic Nephropathy (DN), yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to elucidate the causal relationship between bacterial LPS and DN, with the goal of informing targeted therapeutic strategies.

Methods: DN datasets GSE30528 and GSE96804 were analyzed. Bacterial LPS-related genes (LPS-RGs) were retrieved from the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) database. Differential expression analysis identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were cross-referenced with LPS-RGs to derive DE-LPS-RGs. Mendelian randomization (MR) was applied to explore correlations between exposure factors and outcomes using GWAS data. miRNA-mRNA and TFmRNA regulatory networks were constructed using data from the TarBase and ENCODE databases, and potential therapeutic agents were identified through the DGIdb database.

Results: Seven DE-LPS-RGs were identified, with CD14 and LY86 selected as biomarkers. GSEA and GeneMANIA analyses indicated that these genes participate in signal transduction and chargelike receptor signaling pathways. The regulatory networks demonstrated that LY86 interacts with miRNA hsa-mir-26a-5p, while TF ELK1 regulates both CD14 and LY86. Additionally, CD14 was associated with three potential drugs: VB-201, IC14, and Lovastatin.

Conclusion: CD14 and LY86 represent promising biomarkers for DN, offering new perspectives for its prediction, diagnosis, and therapeutic intervention.

The increasing approval of nucleic acid therapeutics has led to a significant advancement in medicines, demonstrating their potential to revolutionize the prevention and treatment of numerous diseases. However, challenges like nuclease degradation and difficult cellular delivery hinder their use as therapeutic agents. The rising demand for precise gene therapy delivery has positioned nanobiosystems as a groundbreaking solution, with their customizable properties enabling targeted and efficient delivery. Nucleic Acid therapeutics, encompassing antisense DNA, mRNA, small interfering RNA (siRNA), and microRNA (miRNA), have been rigorously investigated for their capacity to modulate gene expression. Notably, integrating these gene therapies with nanoscale delivery platforms has significantly broadened their scope, facilitating sophisticated advancements in bioanalysis, gene silencing, protein replacement therapies, and the development of vaccines. This review provides a thorough review of recent advancements in nanobiosystems for therapeutic nucleic acid delivery. We explore the unique characteristics of various nanobiosystems, including gene therapy-based delivery, nanoparticles, stimuli-responsive systems, smart nanocarriers, and extracellular vesicle-based delivery. We offer a detailed overview of their applications in nucleic acid delivery. Furthermore, we address biological barriers and strategies for the therapeutic delivery of nucleic acids. Ultimately, this review provides critical insights into the strategic development of nextgeneration delivery vectors for nucleic acid therapeutics.

Background: In lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the metabolism of amino acids (AAs) plays a crucial role in the growth, infiltration, and metastasis of tumor cells. Nevertheless, the potential of AA metabolism-associated genes (AAMRGs) to serve as prognostic indicators in LUAD remains ambiguous. Thus, this study sought to evaluate the prognostic value of AAMRGs in LUAD patients.

Methods: Herein, we extracted LUAD transcriptomic information from two key repositories, namely The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus. The non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) clustering technique was used to categorize the LUAD cases based on their AAM profiles before assessing the survival rates and composition of immune cells. Using limma software, shared dysregulated transcripts were identified across subgroups before functional annotation via DAVID, which comprised exploration of gene ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway. The prognostic framework was developed using five prognostic indicators through TCGA-derived LUAD specimens. We performed the analysis using singlevariable Cox, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, and multi-factorial Cox regression. Molecular pathways between cohorts were compared with gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis were utilized to validate the key genetic components of the model.

Results: NMF clustering analysis was performed to categorize 497 LUAD patients into three distinct subgroups with obvious variations in the survival rates. The subtypes exhibited substantial disparities in immune cell populations, particularly in monocytes and mast cells. Analysis of 176 shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed enrichment in T lymphocyte stimulation, immunological reactions, and extra immune-related processes within the subgroups. The prognostic framework was constructed using biomarkers, such as ERO1LB, HPGDS, LOXL2, TMPRSS11E, and SLC34A2. Moreover, GSEA demonstrated a correlation between elevated risk and cell cycle processes, but lower risk was linked with arachidonic acid metabolic pathways. Analysis of 1128 DEGs revealed enrichment in various physiological processes, including cellular division, p53 signaling cascades, immunological responses, and additional pathways upon the comparison of high and low-risk cohorts. The RT-qPCR analysis confirmed elevated expression levels of ERO1LB and TMPRSS11E in LUAD specimens. Consistent with RT-qPCR analysis, the IHC results affirmed that the expression levels of ERO1LB and TMPRSS11E were increased in LUAD specimens.

Conclusion: The five identified AAMRGs in LUAD were validated and appropriately utilized to construct a risk assessment model that could potentially act as prognostic biomarkers for LUAD patients.

Objective: Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors are comprised of a capsid protein encapsulating a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) transgene that has been used in the gene therapy field showing potential to treat a range of genetic diseases. Methods in the field of gene therapy should be optimized or enhanced to deepen understanding of AAVs, specifically around charge heterogeneity of capsid species.

Methods: In this study, a versatile approach was presented for investigating the charge heterogeneity of Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) capsid proteins of a variety of serotypes. This method employs Imaged Capillary Isoelectric Focusing (icIEF) coupled with native fluorescence imaging detection and has undergone exhaustive validation.

Results: Demonstrating its platform nature, this method analyzed seven different AAV serotypes from multiple manufacturing platforms. The distinctive profiles generated for each AAV serotype serve as valuable indicators for both identity confirmation and stability assessment. It was shown that thermal stress and pH conditions play a role in increasing acidic charged variants over time, affecting the charge heterogeneity of AAVs, which can be serotype-specific. Reverse phase LC-MS was used to identify and confirm the increased presence of Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs) that are linked to increasing acidic species variants relative to non-stressed AAVs.

Conclusion: These PTMs have biological consequences reflected in the diminished expression of the protein of interest in vitro. This cIEF method successfully analyzed a variety of AAV serotypes, and increasing trends of acidic variants led to reduced in vitro potency.

NGS (Next-generation sequencing) has emerged as the primary approach for gene finding in uncommon hereditary disorders. Targeted gene panels, whole genome sequencing (WGS), and whole exome sequencing (WES) are uses of next-generation sequencing and other related technologies. It is possible to explain personal or individual genome sequencing using NGS technology, as well as to detect disease-causing mutations using NGS findings. NGS, deep sequencing or massively parallel are similar words that describe a method of DNA sequencing leading to revolutionary change in genomic research. Due to its cost-effectiveness, Whole-Exome sequencing (WES) using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) is becoming increasingly popular in the field of human genetics. As a diagnostic tool, this technology can reduce the duration of the diagnostic process for several patients and has mostly made a significant contribution to the identification of new genes responsible for causing diseases. Considering the diverse range of phenotypic presentations of the diagnosis, NGS has the potential to uncover causative mutations, including de novo, new, and familial variants, related to epileptic syndromes and significantly enhance molecular diagnosis. The present study centres on the potential applications of next-generation exome sequencing in clinical diagnostics and the challenges encountered in the data processing of such data.