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G Chadeuf

Publications and source records attributed to G Chadeuf.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Characterization of adenovirus-induced inverted terminal repeat-independent amplification of integrated adeno-associated virus rep-cap sequences.

Stable packaging cell lines expressing the rep and cap genes for recombinant adeno-associated virus type 2 (rAAV-2) assembly constitute an attractive alternative to transient transfection protocols. We recently characterized a stable HeLa rep-cap cell clone (HeRC32) and demonstrated that upon vector transfection and adenovirus infection, efficient rAAV assembly correlated with a 100-fold amplification of the integrated rep-cap sequence with the inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) deleted. We now report a more detailed analysis of this phenomenon and highlight the key cellular and viral factors involved. Determination of the rep-cap copy number of HeRC32 cells indicated that maximum rep-cap amplification occurred between 24 and 48 h following adenovirus infection. Analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of adenovirus-infected HeRC32 cells indicated that amplified rep-cap sequences were found in an extrachromosomal form. Amplification of the rep-cap sequence with the ITRs deleted was not dependent on adenovirus replication and still occurred when the highly specific adenovirus polymerase was inactivated. In contrast, amplification was inhibited in the presence of aphidicolin, indicating that cellular polymerases were needed. Our study also documented that among the adenovirus gene products, the DNA-binding protein (DBP) was essential, since rep-cap amplification was severely abrogated when HeRC32 cells were infected at a nonpermissive temperature with an adenovirus mutant encoding a thermosensitive DBP. Furthermore, expression of DBP alone in HeRC32 cells was sufficient to induce a sustained level of rep-cap amplification. Finally, immunofluorescence analysis showed that HeRC32 cells expressing the DBP also simultaneously expressed the Rep proteins, suggesting a possible involvement of the latter in rep-cap amplification. Indeed, the lack of detectable amplification in an adenovirus-infected stable rep-cap HeLa cell clone unable to produce Rep proteins further supported that, among the viral gene products, both the DBP and Rep proteins are necessary to induce the targeted amplification of the integrated rep-cap sequences in the absence of the AAV ITRs.

Adenoviridae↗

Novel cis-acting replication element in the adeno-associated virus type 2 genome is involved in amplification of integrated rep-cap sequences.

This study identifies a region of the adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV-2) rep gene (nucleotides 190 to 540 of wild-type AAV-2) as a cis-acting Rep-dependent element able to promote the replication of transiently transfected plasmids. This viral element is also shown to be involved in the amplification of integrated sequences in the presence of adenovirus and Rep proteins.

Base Sequence↗

Factors influencing recombinant adeno-associated virus production.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) is produced by transfecting cells with two constructs: the rAAV vector plasmid and the rep-cap plasmid. After subsequent adenoviral infection, needed for rAAV replication and assembly, the virus is purified from total cell lysates through CsCl gradients. Because this is a long and complex procedure, the precise titration of rAAV stocks, as well as the measure of the level of contamination with adenovirus and rep-positive AAV, are essential to evaluate the transduction efficiency of these vectors in vitro and in vivo. Our vector core is in charge of producing rAAV for outside investigators as part of a national network promoted by the Association Française contre les Myopathies/Généthon. We report here the characterization of 18 large-scale rAAV stocks produced during the past year. Three major improvements were introduced and combined in the rAAV production procedure: (i) the titration and characterization of rAAV stocks using a stable rep-cap HeLa cell line in a modified Replication Center Assay (RCA); (ii) the use of different rep-cap constructs to provide AAV regulatory and structural proteins; (iii) the use of an adenoviral plasmid to provide helper functions needed for rAAV replication and assembly. Our results indicate that: (i) rAAV yields ranged between 10(11) to 5 x 10(12) total particles; (ii) the physical particle to infectious particle (measured by RCA) ratios were consistently below 50 when using a rep-cap plasmid harboring an ITR-deleted AAV genome; the physical particle to transducing particle ratios ranged between 400 and 600; (iii) the use of an adenoviral plasmid instead of an infectious virion did not affect the particles or the infectious particles yields nor the above ratio. Most of large-scale rAAV stocks (7/9) produced using this plasmid were free of detectable infectious adenovirus as determined by RCA; (iv) all the rAAV stocks were contaminated with rep-positive AAV as detected by RCA. In summary, this study describes a general method to titrate rAAV, independently of the transgene and its expression, and to measure the level of contamination with adenovirus and rep-positive AAV. Furthermore, we report a new production procedure using adenoviral plasmids instead of virions and resulting in rAAV stocks with undetectable adenovirus contamination.

Animals↗

Human thrombin variable region 1, including E39, is involved in interactions with alpha 1-antitrypsin M358R and protein C.

We used an antithrombin autoantibody (IgG D), the epitope of which encompasses ABE1 and amino acids located within variable region 1, to study thrombin interactions with R358 alpha 1-AT and protein C. IgG D inhibited the thrombin interaction with R358 alpha 1-AT, while hirugen had no effect, indicating that the interaction of R358 alpha 1-AT with thrombin may involve the VR1 subsite. We also obtained evidence that VR1 may be involved in the activation of protein C by thrombin in the absence of thrombomodulin. Moreover, IgG D attenuated the inhibitory effect of calcium ions during protein C activation by thrombin, probably by masking E39 within the VR1 site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A phenylalanine 402 to leucine mutation is responsible for a stable inactive conformation of antithrombin.

In a South African family with antithrombin deficiency and unexplained thrombosis, genomic DNA analysis revealed a substitution of Phe 402 by Leu. This mutation involves an amino acid located in the carboxyterminal side of the antithrombin reactive loop and has already been observed in a French family (antithrombin Maisons-Laffitte). In both cases, the expression of the mutation is pleiotropic, i.e. results in a reduction in the circulating concentration of antithrombin and impairs both its anti-thrombin activity and its ability to bind heparin. The effect of a denaturing agent (sodium dodecyl sulfate) on the recognition of the plasma antithrombin by a polyclonal antibody was studied in an immuno-enzymatic assay. The Phe to Leu mutation decreased the sensitivity to denaturation, suggesting that the mutation increases the stability of the protein. Whether this stable conformation is due to a partial insertion of the amino-terminal side of the reactive loop, which would explain how both protease binding and heparin binding are affected, remains to be determined.

Adolescent↗

Arg-129 plays a specific role in the conformation of antithrombin and in the enhancement of factor Xa inhibition by the pentasaccharide sequence of heparin.

Small amounts of a variant antithrombin (AT) bearing an Arg-129 to Gln mutation were purified from plasma by means of affinity chromatography on insolubilized heparin at very low ionic strength. As a control, two variant antithrombins, one bearing a Pro-41 to Leu mutation and the other an Arg-47 to His mutation, were purified in the same way. The biochemical characterization of the variants and the kinetic study of thrombin and activated factor X (F Xa) inhibition in the presence of heparin and heparin derivatives suggest that Arg-129 plays a specific role in AT conformation and F Xa inhibition enhancement. Indeed, the purified variant adopted the locked conformation described for AT submitted to mild denaturing conditions (Carrell, R.W., Evans, D.Li. and Stein, P.E. (1991) Nature 353, 576-578) and resembling the latent form of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) (Mottonen, J., Strand, A., Symersky, J., Sweet, R.M., Danley, D.E., Geoghegan, K.F., Gerard, R.D. and Goldsmith, E.J. (1992) Nature 355, 270-273). Moreover, the mutant AT was partially reactivated by heparin for thrombin inhibition, but did not respond to the specific pentasaccharide domain of heparin for F Xa inhibition.

Antithrombins↗

Three novel mutations of antithrombin inducing high-molecular-mass compounds.

We have identified three novel mutations of the antithrombin (AT) gene in patients with thrombotic complications: a Cys 128 --> Tyr mutations, a G --> A mutation in the intervening sequence 4 (IVS4) 14 nucleotide 5' to exon 5, and a 9 bp deletion in the 3' end of exon 6 resulting in a short aberrant sequence after Arg 425. The latter mutation was associated with an Arg 47 --> His mutation in two compound heterozygous brothers. These three mutations led to the expression in the circulation of small amounts of inactive molecules with a high molecular mass in immunoblot analysis. In reducing conditions, these variant molecules had a normal molecular mass, which led us to postulate that these mutations prevent the formation of one intramolecular disulfide bond and allow the formation of intermolecular disulfide bonds. Plasma from a heterozygous patients bearing the Cys 128 --> Tyr mutation and from a compound heterozygote bearing the Arg 47 --> His mutation and the 9 bp deletion in exon 6 were passed through a heparin-sepharose column. In both cases a population of high-molecular-weight AT molecules with no binding affinity and no AT activity was separated from a population of normal molecules in the first patient, together with a population of molecules with a reduced binding affinity for heparin due to the substitution of Arg 47, in the compound heterozygote. The common feature of these three mutations is that they lead to partial misfolding and to the formation of intermolecular disulfide bonds with other plasma components, inducing the pleiotropic phenotypes observed.

Adolescent↗

Molecular basis of antithrombin type I deficiency: the first large in-frame deletion and two novel mutations in exon 6.

We report three novel mutations accounting for cases of inherited type I antithrombin (AT) deficiency. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing of the coding sequences of the AT gene, we found one mutation in exon 4 and two in exon 6. A deletion of 105 bp causing an in-frame deletion of 35 amino acids between Tyr 240 and Gly 276 was found in exon 4. In a second kindred, deletion of two adenines in codon 412-413 introduced a frameshift and a stop codon at position 431. The last mutation was an insertion of ACCG in codon 387, generating a frameshift with a stop codon located at the normal position. The finding of a sequence repeat of nine residues located at the 5' and 3' ends of the deleted fragment might explain the 105 bp deletion by slippage and mispairing at the replication fork during DNA synthesis. The second mutation is the fourth described within a region of six amino acids (between Phe 408 and Arg 413), which seems to be a cluster of mutations. In this case, the presence of a double repeat sequence--TTCCT and AACA--flanking this region could be particularly favorable for slipped mispairing. These results confirm that human gene mutations are not random events but are strongly influenced by DNA flanking sequences.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Significance of high levels of heparin cofactor II in the plasma and urine of adult patients with nephrotic syndrome.

Heparin cofactor II (HCII) is a thrombin inhibitor in human plasma which displays similarities with antithrombin III (ATIII). Hereditary HCII deficiency was recently reported to be associated with thrombophilia. Since thromboembolism constitutes one of the main complications of the nephrotic syndrome (NS), both activities and antigen concentrations of HCII and ATIII were measured in the plasma and urine of 33 adult patients with nephrotic syndrome. The mean HCII plasma level was significantly increased whereas the ATIII level was decreased. Plasma HCII was significantly correlated with proteinuria and with the fibrinogen level, suggesting that HCII could act as an acute phase reactant in patients with NS. HCII antigen was detectable in 16 of the 24 available urine samples, whereas ATIII antigen was present in all of them. In addition, functionally active HCII was detected in most of the urine samples containing HCII antigen, while ATIII was only present in the inactive form. In conclusion, these findings suggest that HCII is submitted to a metabolic pathway different from that of ATIII in patients with NS.

Adolescent↗

Purification of heparin cofactor II from human plasma.

Heparin cofactor II (HCII) is an inhibitor of thrombin in human plasma whose activity is enhanced by heparin and dermatan sulphate. HCII was purified to homogeneity from normal human plasma with an overall yield of 7.5%. After treatment with barium chloride, precipitation with 50% saturated ammonium sulphate and dialysis of the resuspended precipitate against 0.02 M Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), the sample was chromatographed on a heparin-Sepharose CL 6B affinity column, DEAE-Sepharose CL 6B ion-exchange gel and an AcA 34 gel permeation column. For the final steps, a high-performance liquid chromatographic system was used which included ion-exchange chromatography on a Mono-Q column and gel permeation using a Superose column. The purified protein was homogeneous by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The specific activity of purified HCII was 12.2 U/mg. The HCII activity was evaluated as antithrombin dermatan sulphate cofactor activity. A specific antiserum against HCII was raised in the rabbit.

Chromatography, Affinity↗

Involvement of heparin cofactor II in chymotrypsin neutralization and in the pancreatic proteinase-antiproteinase interaction during acute pancreatitis in man.

Heparin cofactor II is a proteinase inhibitor which inhibits both chymotrypsin and thrombin, and displays great similarities with antithrombin III, the main inhibitor of thrombin in human plasma. Since acute pancreatitis is known to be associated with modification of the proteinase-antiproteinase equilibrium, we studied heparin cofactor II and antithrombin III as well as other biochemical and haematological parameters in 10 patients experiencing attacks of acute pancreatitis. Heparin cofactor II activity decreased during the first week of illness, while its antigen concentration remained subnormal. This discrepancy between antigen concentration and activity which persisted during the first week of illness was due both to complex formation of heparin cofactor II with its target proteinases and to partial proteolysis of the inhibitor. Heparin cofactor II was shown to form a complex with chymotrypsin in the plasma of such patients. Antithrombin III levels remained unchanged throughout the study, with no discrepancy between its activity and antigen concentration. No modification of haemostasis was shown either, except for a rise in the fibrinogen level during the first days of illness. It is concluded that, unlike antithrombin III, heparin cofactor II is involved in the proteinase-inhibitor equilibrium in patients with acute pancreatitis, and that heparin cofactor II might react as an inhibitor of pancreatic proteinases rather than an inhibitor of thrombin.

Acute Disease↗

Clinical and biochemical characterization of antithrombin III Franconville, a variant with Pro 41 Leu mutation.

We describe a familial study of AT III, a type III antithrombin III variant which was identified in the propositus by gene analysis as Pro 41 Leu heterozygous mutation. None of the four members of the family who presented with defective heparin cofactor (hep-cofactor) activity, and therefore probably carried the mutation, had experienced deep venous thrombosis. The abnormal AT III was purified from the propositus' plasma, taking advantage of the difference in NaCl concentrations required to elute variant and normal AT III from heparin-Sepharose. The antithrombin and anti-Xa activities of the purified variant AT III were comparable to those observed for normal AT III, but hep-cofactor activity was strikingly reduced. The enhancement by heparin of thrombin and F Xa inhibition by normal and variant AT III was compared in the absence of NaCl and in the presence of normal NaCl concentrations. The difference between the degrees of inhibition by normal and variant AT III was maximal at physiological ionic strength (i.e. at a concentration of 0.15 M). The quantification of heparin AT III interaction with both normal and variant purified proteins in a double reciprocal plot yielded similar dissociation constants but a 9-fold decrease in the maximal pseudo-first order constant. This suggests that Pro 41 is more involved in the molecular changes induced by heparin than in the primary binding of the activator.

Adult↗

Molecular characterization of antithrombin III (ATIII) variants using polymerase chain reaction. Identification of the ATIII Charleville as an Ala 384 Pro mutation.

The genes of seven structural mutants of antithrombin III (ATIII), presenting either defective serine protease reactivity or abnormal heparin binding, were analyzed. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the corresponding gene exon and the mutation was identified by either dot blot analysis using a battery of allele-specific oligonucleotide probes or sequencing. Variants Paris and Paris 2 were identified as Arg 47 Cys mutations, and Clichy, Clichy 2, and Franconville were found to be Pro 41 Leu mutations. All five are heparin binding-site variants. ATIII Avranches is an Arg 393 His mutation and ATIII Charleville is an Ala 384 Pro mutation. These two mutations impair the reactive site of the molecule. ATIII Charleville is a new mutation of the reactive center, as predicted by previous biochemical data. The position of this new mutation, together with the other previously described mutations of the reactive center, sheds light on the molecular function of this site in inhibiting thrombin. Finally, genomic amplification by PCR is a powerful technique for the fast identification of antithrombin III mutations and their homozygous/heterozygous status, and should be useful for predicting thrombotic risk.

Adult↗

Antithrombin III Avranches, a new variant with defective serine-protease inhibition--comparison with antithrombin III Charleville.

A decreased plasma antithrombin activity in presence or in absence of heparin was discovered in a 47-year-old patient presenting with recurrent venous thromboembolism. The immunoreactive material (AT III-IR) was normal. The same biological abnormalities were found in two relatives of the patient, leading to the diagnosis of hereditary qualitative AT III deficiency. The propositus' AT III was coeluted with normal AT III from an heparin-sepharose column. An additional step of ion-exchange chromatography on a Mono Q column using a FPLC system (Pharmacia, St-Quentin en Yvelines, France) allowed the purification of a protein which was homogenous in SDS-10% polyacrylamide electrophoresis gel (PAGE). AT III purified from propositus' plasma, normal plasma and the plasma of the patient known to have an AT III variant with defective protease binding (AT III Charleville) were compared. The specific activities measured as heparin cofactor antithrombin or factor Xa inhibition in absence of heparin were decreased to half the normal value. Kinetic studies confirmed a decreased rate of thrombin inhibition for both abnormal AT III preparations. SDS-PAGE experiments performed in purified system and immunoblots obtained from plasma showed that the two variants have different behaviour: in the case of AT III Charleville thrombin induced an apparent 5 k delta increase in molecular mass, probably due to a conformational change. AT III Avranches did not form stoechiometric complexes with thrombin, but was unmodified by the protease.

Antithrombin III↗

Baculovirus vector requires electrostatic interactions including heparan sulfate for efficient gene transfer in mammalian cells.

BACKGROUND: Recently, several reports have described the ability of recombinant baculoviruses to transduce a variety of mammalian cells. Yet, mechanisms involved in baculovirus entry in those cells remain largely unexplored, particularly at the primary binding step of the virions to the cell membrane. METHODS: This report focused on the primary virus-cell interactions that lead to in vitro transduction of human 293 cells using a polyhedrin-deleted baculovirus harboring a CMV-driven beta-galactosidase gene (BacLacZ). RESULTS: Infection rate monitored for 8 h and transduction rate with a multiplicity of infection of up to 800 were, both, non-saturable. Temperatures from 37 degrees C to 4 degrees C dramatically impaired BacLacZ but not adenovirus cell attachment. Competitive infections performed with an excess of a non LacZ-expressing baculovirus hardly competed at a 1/1 ratio. Consistent with an adsorptive binding process onto the cell surface, interactions through electrostatic charges between both viral and cell membranes appeared to be critical for BacLacZ transduction. The addition of polybrene to the cells prior to or during the infection prevented both virus binding and LacZ gene transfer, suggesting the involvement of negatively charged epitopes exposed at the cell surface. The simultaneous presence of the highly charged heparin abrogated BacLacZ binding to the cell surface and subsequent gene transfer. Lastly, direct in vitro binding of BacLacZ to heparin but not BSA columns could be demonstrated after elution of infectious BacLacZ virus in high salt molarity. CONCLUSION: Electrostatic charges play a critical role during the first step in mammalian cell transduction mediated by a recombinant baculovirus.

Animals↗

Efficient recombinant adeno-associated virus production by a stable rep-cap HeLa cell line correlates with adenovirus-induced amplification of the integrated rep-cap genome.

BACKGROUND: A possible procedure for the production of clinical grade recombinant adeno-associated virus type 2 (rAAV) would include the use of packaging cell lines, harboring the rep-cap genes and the vector, combined with a replication defective adenoviral plasmid to provide the helper activities. Several studies have already shown that rAAV can be efficiently assembled by infecting the stable packaging cell line with adenovirus. However, the direct comparison with an adenoviral plasmid has never been reported. METHODS: To investigate this point, a clone of HeLa and 293 cells harboring one to two rep-cap copies per cell genome (HeRC32 and 293RC21, respectively) were generated. Recombinant AAV was produced by transiently transfecting the AAVCMVLacZ vector and supplying the adenoviral helper activities by either wild-type adenovirus or an adenoviral plasmid (pAdc). As a control, rAAV was similarly produced from naive Hela and 293 cells additionally transfected with a rep-cap plasmid. RESULTS: Despite satisfactory rAAV yields from Hela and 293 cells, we show that those from HeRC32 and 293RC21 cells dramatically decrease when adenovirus is replaced by the adenoviral plasmid (pAdc). The analysis performed to identify the factors hampering efficient rAAV assembly by HeRC32 cells in the presence of pAdc shows that: (1) while upon adenovirus infection the integrated rep-cap genome undergoes a dramatic amplification leading to a 100-fold increase in the rep-cap copy number, no amplification is detected upon transfection of pAdc; (2) in pAdc-transfected HeRC32 cells, the intracellular localization of the adenovirus E4orf6 and E1B-55kDa proteins is abnormal as compared to adenovirus-infected cells. CONCLUSIONS: This study documents that stable rep-cap cells lines are severely hampered for rAAV assembly when a replicative adenovirus is substituted with an adenoviral plasmid. Furthermore, our results also suggest that the lack of amplification of the rep-cap genes, eventually combined with the altered distribution of the adenoviral proteins, E4orf6 and E1B-55kDa, is related to the low rAAV yields observed under these conditions.

Adenovirus E1B Proteins↗