Moloney murine leukemia virus. Medical search

Suppression of Moloney sarcoma virus immunity following sensitization with attenuated virus. (1/1467)

Murine sarcoma virus (Moloney strain) (MSV-M)-induced tumors are unusual in that they regularly appear less than 2 weeks after virus inoculation, progress for 1 to 2 weeks, and are rejected by normal adult BALB/c mice. Rejectio leaves the animals immune to tumor induction. In the present study, presensitization of normal adult BALB/c mice with attenuated MSV-M resulted in an altered pattern of tumor immunity. Injection of active MSV-M into the presensitized animals resulted in tumor induction and rejection similar to that observed in normal animals, but rejection failed to produce protection against the secondary inoculation with MSV-M. After the second inoculation with active MSV-M, tumors appeared and progressed but ultimately were rejected. Over 80% of the mice died, 25% after the primary challenge and the remainder after the secondary challenge. At death, all mice had histological evidence of leukemia which was the probable cause of death. The animals that died following the secondary challenge also had evidence of disseminated MSV-M. Solid tumor nodules were found in skeletal muscle distant from the original site of inoculation, and active MSV-M was isolated from spleen and lungs. The possibility that the results were produced by specific suppression of MSV-Moloney leukemia virus immunity is discussed. (+info)

Inhibition of the rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat-driven transcription by in vitro methylation: different sensitivity in permissive chicken cells versus mammalian cells. (2/1467)

Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) enhancer sequences in the long terminal repeat (LTR) have previously been shown to be sensitive to CpG methylation. We report further that the high density methylation of the RSV LTR-driven chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter is needed for full transcriptional inhibition in chicken embryo fibroblasts and for suppression of tumorigenicity of the RSV proviral DNA in chickens. In nonpermissive mammalian cells, however, the low density methylation is sufficient for full inhibition. The time course of inhibition differs strikingly in avian and mammalian cells: although immediately inhibited in mammalian cells, the methylated RSV LTR-driven reporter is fully inhibited with a significant delay after transfection in avian cells. Moreover, transcriptional inhibition can be overridden by transfection with a high dose of the methylated reporter plasmid in chicken cells but not in hamster cells. The LTR, v-src, LTR proviral DNA is easily capable of inducing sarcomas in chickens but not in hamsters. In contrast, Moloney murine leukemia virus LTR-driven v-src induces sarcomas in hamsters with high incidence. Therefore, the repression of integrated RSV proviruses in rodent cells is directed against the LTR. (+info)

Gene transfer of cytokine inhibitors into human synovial fibroblasts in the SCID mouse model. (3/1467)

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of retrovirus-based gene delivery of inhibitory cytokines and cytokine inhibitors into human synovial fibroblasts in the SCID mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: The MFG vector was used for gene delivery of tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor (TNFalphaR) p55, viral interleukin-10 (IL-10), and murine IL-10 into RA synovial fibroblasts. The effect on invasion of these cells into human articular cartilage and on perichondrocytic cartilage degradation was examined after 60 days of coimplantation into the SCID mouse. RESULTS: TNFalphaR p55 gene transfer showed only a limited effect on inhibition of RA synovial fibroblast invasiveness and cartilage degradation. In contrast, invasion of the RA synovial fibroblasts into the coimplanted cartilage was strongly inhibited by both viral and murine IL-10. Perichondrocytic cartilage degradation was not affected by either form of IL-10. CONCLUSION: The data show that cytokines can be successfully inserted into the genome of human RA synovial fibroblasts using a retroviral vector delivery system, and that the SCID mouse model of human RA is a valuable tool for examining the effects of gene transfer. In addition, inhibition of more than one cytokine pathway may be required to inhibit both synovial- and chondrocyte-mediated cartilage destruction in RA. (+info)

Development of viral vectors for gene therapy of beta-chain hemoglobinopathies: optimization of a gamma-globin gene expression cassette. (4/1467)

Progress toward gene therapy of beta-chain hemoglobinopathies has been limited in part by poor expression of globin genes in virus vectors. To derive an optimal expression cassette, we systematically analyzed the sequence requirements and relative strengths of the Agamma- and beta-globin promoters, the activities of various erythroid-specific enhancers, and the importance of flanking and intronic sequences. Expression was analyzed by RNase protection after stable plasmid transfection of the murine erythroleukemia cell line, MEL585. Promoter truncation studies showed that the Agamma-globin promoter could be deleted to -159 without affecting expression, while deleting the beta-globin promoter to -127 actually increased expression compared with longer fragments. Expression from the optimal beta-globin gene promoter was consistently higher than that from the optimal Agamma-globin promoter, regardless of the enhancer used. Enhancers tested included a 2.5-kb composite of the beta-globin locus control region (termed a muLCR), a combination of the HS2 and HS3 core elements of the LCR, and the HS-40 core element of the alpha-globin locus. All three enhancers increased expression from the beta-globin gene to roughly the same extent, while the HS-40 element was notably less effective with the Agamma-globin gene. However, the HS-40 element was able to efficiently enhance expression of a Agamma-globin gene linked to the beta-globin promoter. Inclusion of extended 3' sequences from either the beta-globin or the Agamma-globin genes had no significant effect on expression. A 714-bp internal deletion of Agamma-globin intron 2 unexpectedly increased expression more than twofold. With the combination of a -127 beta-globin promoter, an Agamma-globin gene with the internal deletion of intron 2, and a single copy of the HS-40 enhancer, gamma-globin expression averaged 166% of murine alpha-globin mRNA per copy in six pools and 105% in nine clones. When placed in a retrovirus vector, this cassette was also expressed at high levels in MEL585 cells (averaging 75% of murine alpha-globin mRNA per copy) without reducing virus titers. However, recombined provirus or aberrant splicing was observed in 5 of 12 clones, indicating a significant degree of genetic instability. Taken together, these data demonstrate the development of an optimal expression cassette for gamma-globin capable of efficient expression in a retrovirus vector and form the basis for further refinement of vectors containing this cassette. (+info)

One-day ex vivo culture allows effective gene transfer into human nonobese diabetic/severe combined immune-deficient repopulating cells using high-titer vesicular stomatitis virus G protein pseudotyped retrovirus. (5/1467)

Retrovirus-mediated gene transfer into long-lived human pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is a widely sought but elusive goal. A major problem is the quiescent nature of most HSCs, with the perceived requirement for ex vivo prestimulation in cytokines to induce stem cell cycling and allow stable gene integration. However, ex vivo culture may impair stem cell function, and could explain the disappointing clinical results in many current gene transfer trials. To address this possibility, we examined the ex vivo survival of nonobese diabetic/severe combined immune-deficient (NOD/SCID) repopulating cells (SRCs) over 3 days. After 1 day of culture, the SRC number and proliferation declined twofold, and was further reduced by day 3; self-renewal was only detectable in noncultured cells. To determine if the period of ex vivo culture could be shortened, we used a vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (VSV-G) pseudotyped retrovirus vector that was concentrated to high titer. The results showed that gene transfer rates were similar without or with 48 hours prestimulation. Thus, the use of high-titer VSV-G pseudotyped retrovirus may minimize the loss of HSCs during culture, because efficient gene transfer can be obtained without the need for extended ex vivo culture. (+info)

Gene transfer to human pancreatic endocrine cells using viral vectors. (6/1467)

We have studied the factors that influence the efficiency of infection of human fetal and adult pancreatic endocrine cells with adenovirus, murine retrovirus, and lentivirus vectors all expressing the green fluorescent protein (Ad-GFP, MLV-GFP, and Lenti-GFP, respectively). Adenoviral but not retroviral vectors efficiently infected intact pancreatic islets and fetal islet-like cell clusters (ICCs) in suspension. When islets and ICCs were plated in monolayer culture, infection efficiency with all three viral vectors increased. Ad-GFP infected 90-95% of the cells, whereas infection with MLV-GFP and Lenti-GFP increased only slightly. Both exposure to hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) and dispersion of the cells by removal from the culture dish and replating had substantial positive effects on the efficiency of infection with retroviral vectors. Studies of virus entry and cell replication revealed that cell dispersion and stimulation by HGF/SF may be acting through both mechanisms to increase the efficiency of retrovirus-mediated gene transfer. Although HGF/SF and cell dispersion increased the efficiency of infection with MLV-GFP, only rare cells with weak staining for insulin were infected, whereas approximately 25% of beta-cells were infected with Lenti-GFP. We conclude that adenovirus is the most potent vector for ex vivo overexpression of foreign genes in adult endocrine pancreatic cells and is the best vector for applications where high-level but transient expression is desired. Under the optimal conditions of cell dispersion plus HGF/SF, infection with MLV and lentiviral vectors is reasonably efficient and stable, but only lentiviral vectors efficiently infect pancreatic beta-cells. (+info)

Transplantation of transduced nonhuman primate CD34+ cells using a gibbon ape leukemia virus vector: restricted expression of the gibbon ape leukemia virus receptor to a subset of CD34+ cells. (7/1467)

The transduction efficiencies of immunoselected rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) CD34+ cells and colony-forming progenitor cells based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis were comparable for an amphotropic Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) retroviral vector and a retroviral vector derived from the gibbon ape leukemia virus (GaLV) packaging cell line, PG13. On performing autologous transplantation studies using immunoselected CD34+ cells transduced with the GaLV envelope (env) retroviral vector, less than 1% of peripheral blood (PB) contained provirus. This was true whether bone marrow (BM) or cytokine-mobilized PB immunoselected CD34+ cells were reinfused. This level of marking was evident in two animals whose platelet counts never fell below 50,000/microliter and whose leukocyte counts had recovered by days 8 and 10 after having received 1.7 x 10(7) or greater of cytokine-mobilized CD34+ PB cells/kg. Reverse transcriptase(RT)-PCR analysis of CD34+ subsets for both the GaLV and amphotropic receptor were performed. The expression of the GaLV receptor was determined to be restricted to CD34+ Thy-1+ cells, and both CD34+ CD38+ and CD34+ CD38dim cells, while the amphotropic receptor was present on all CD34+ cell subsets examined. Our findings suggest that, in rhesus macaques, PG13-derived retroviral vectors may only be able to transduce a subset of CD34+ cells as only CD34+ Thy-1+ cells express the GaLV receptor. (+info)

Retrovirus integration site Mintb encoding the mouse homolog of hnRNP U. (8/1467)

Retroviral genes are not usually expressed in mouse embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells, but they are readily expressed upon differentiation of these cells. We previously reported the isolation of EC cell lines that express a neomycin resistance (neo) gene introduced by a recombinant transducing Moloney murine leukemia virus from specific integration sites, Minta, Mintb, Mintc, or Mintd. In some of these clones, the entire 5' long terminal repeat (LTR) was deleted, and the neo gene was expressed by read-through transcription from upstream cellular promoters in a "promoter-trap" fashion. One such promoter ("promoter B" at the Mintb locus) was found in a CpG island, associated with an upstream enhancer ("enhancer B"). Although enhancer B caused expression of the neo gene in the transductant EC cell line, no endogenous transcription from promoter B was detected in the parental EC or NIH3T3 cells. In contrast, we found a strong counter-flow endogenous transcription unit ("R" for reverse), which apparently interfered with transcription from promoter B. Promoter R turned out to have a bidirectional activity in transfection assays. In normal tissues, promoter R activates gene R, which encodes an 800-residue protein that is highly homologous to the rat and human heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (hnRNP U). Northern and in situ hybridization analyses revealed that gene R was abundantly expressed in the testis, especially in the pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids. (+info)