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Hildegard Büning

Publications and source records attributed to Hildegard Büning.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Transduction of CLL cells by CD40 ligand enhances an antigen-specific immune recognition by autologous T cells.

Several features of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) suggest that immune-based strategies may have therapeutic potential. A promising approach is provided by the transduction of CLL cells with CD40 ligand (CD40L) by viral vectors to enhance their immunogenicity. We compared the antigen-presenting capacity of CD40L-transduced CLL cells with mock-transduced or CD40L-stimulated CLL cells (CD40-CLL). A significantly higher number of T cells could be expanded using CD40L-transduced CLL cells as antigen-presenting cells (APCs) compared with the control group (P = .008). Using 5 different CLL-associated tumor antigens, including fibromodulin, MDM2 (murine double minute 2), survivin, p53, and KW-13, we show in interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays after 35 days of in vitro culture that the number of antigen-specific autologous T cells was also significantly higher when CD40L-transduced CLL cells were used as APCs (P < .001). Thus, CD40L-transduced CLL cells are able to induce an antigen-specific T-cell response and might be superior to CD40-CLL cells for immune-based therapeutic strategies in CLL.

Aged↗

Embryonic endothelial progenitor cells expressing a broad range of proangiogenic and remodeling factors enhance vascularization and tissue recovery in acute and chronic ischemia.

Clonal embryonic endothelial progenitor cells (eEPCs) isolated from embryonic day 7.5 mice home specifically to hypoxic areas in mouse tumor metastases but spare normal organs and do not form carcinomas. Based on these results, we assessed the potential of eEPCs to enhance vascularization and limit organ dysfunction after ischemia in syngenic and xenotypic organisms. The angiogenic potential of eEPCs was evaluated in chronic ischemic rabbit hindlimbs after regional application by retroinfusion. eEPC treatment improved limb perfusion, paralleled by an increase in capillary density and collateral blood vessel number. Systemic eEPC infusion into mice after ischemic cardiac insult increased postischemic heart output measured by a marked improvement in left ventricle developed pressure and both systolic and diastolic functions. In vitro, eEPCs strongly induced vascular outgrowths from aortic rings. To address the molecular basis of this intrinsic angiogenic potential, we investigated the eEPC transcriptome. Genome-wide Affymetrix GeneChip analysis revealed that the eEPCs express a wealth of secreted factors known to induce angiogenesis, tissue remodeling, and organogenesis that may contribute to the eEPC-mediated beneficial effects. Our findings show that eEPCs induce blood vessel growth and cardioprotection in severe ischemic conditions providing a readily available source to study the mechanisms of neovascularization and tissue recovery.

Animals↗

Recombinant adeno-associated virus type 2-mediated gene transfer into human keratinocytes is influenced by both the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase.

Efficient gene delivery into keratinocytes is a prerequisite for successful skin gene therapy. Vectors based on recombinant adeno-associated virus type 2 (rAAV-2) offer several promising features that make them attractive for cutaneous applications. However, highly efficient gene delivery may be hampered by different cellular factors, including lack of viral receptors, impairment of cytoplasmic trafficking or limitations in viral second-strand synthesis. This study was undertaken to find factors that influence rAAV-2-mediated in vitro gene transfer into human keratinocytes and, consequently, ways to optimize gene delivery. Transduction experiments using rAAV-2 vectors expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) demonstrated that impaired cellular trafficking of vector particles and high levels of autophosphorylation at epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGF-R TK) have a negative influence on gene transfer into keratinocytes. Treatment of keratinocytes with proteasome inhibitor MG132 resulted in a transient augmentation of GFP expression in up to 37% of cells. Treatment with EGF-R TK inhibitors (quinazoline type) enhanced transgene expression in 10-14.5% of the cells. Gene expression was stable for more than 10 weeks and persisted until proliferative senescence occurred. This stable gene expression allows speculation that keratinocyte stem cells have initially been transduced. These findings might have relevance for the use of rAAV-2 vectors in skin gene therapy: transient enhancement of rAAV-2 transduction with proteasome inhibitors might be useful for genetic promotion of wound healing or skin-directed vaccination. Treatment with quinazolines may increase rAAV-2 transduction of keratinocyte stem cells, which is important for gene therapy approaches to inherited diseases.

Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors↗

Adeno-associated virus serotypes 1 to 5 mediated tumor cell directed gene transfer and improvement of transduction efficiency.

BACKGROUND: Gene therapy is an attractive new approach for the treatment of cancer. Therefore, the development of efficient vector systems is of crucial importance in this field. Different adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotypes have been characterized so far, which show considerable differences in tissue tropism. Consequently, we aimed to characterize the most efficient serotype for this application. METHODS: To exclude all influences other than those provided by the capsid, all serotypes contained the same transgene cassette flanked by the AAV2 inverted terminal repeats. We systematically compared these vectors for efficiency in human cancer cell directed gene transfer. In order to identify limiting steps, the influence of second-strand synthesis and proteasomal degradation of AAV in a poorly transducible cell line were examined. RESULTS: AAV2 was the most efficient serotype in all solid tumor cells and primary melanoma cells with transduction rates up to 98 +/- 0.3%. Transduction above 70% could be reached with serotypes 1 (in cervical and prostate carcinoma) and 3 (in cervical, breast, prostate and colon carcinoma) using 1000 genomic particles per cell. In the colon carcinoma cell line HT-29 proteasomal degradation limited AAV1-AAV4-mediated gene transfer. Moreover, inefficient second-strand synthesis prevents AAV2-mediated transgene expression in this cell line. CONCLUSIONS: Recent advances in AAV-vector technology suggest that AAV-based vectors can be used for cancer gene therapy. Our comparative analysis revealed that, although AAV2 is the most promising candidate for such an application, serotypes 1 and 3 are valid alternatives. Furthermore, the use of self-complementary AAV vectors and proteasome inhibitors significantly improves cancer cell transduction.

Cell Line, Tumor↗

Efficient gene transfer of CD40 ligand into ovarian carcinoma cells with a recombinant adeno-associated virus vector.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus type 2 (rAAV) has many properties of an ideal vector for gene therapy: broad spectrum of susceptible cells, efficient gene transfer, persistent transgene expression in vivo, and no indiction of vector-related toxicity. Ovarian carcinoma cell lines, however, were previously reported to be quite resistant to rAAV transduction. Using an optimized adenovirus-free packaging system, highly purified rAAV vectors coding for the enhanced green fluorescent protein (AAV/EGFP) and for mCD40 ligand (AAV/CD40L) were generated. Their transduction efficiency in ovarian carcinoma cell lines was assessed with and without irradiation prior to infection. As measured by flow cytometry, transgene expression in up to 92% of cells was achieved with AAV/EGFP. gamma-irradiation (20 Gy) significantly increased the transduction rates up to 3.5-fold in cell lines with low susceptibility to AAV infection. The aquired capability of AAV/CD40L transduced tumor cells to activate dendritic cells was demonstrated in a second step. Dendritic cells were generated from human peripheral blood monocytes and maturized by stimulation with IL-4 and GM-CSF. Co-cultivation of mCD40L transgenic tumor cells with these dendritic cells resulted in strong ELISA-determined expression of IL-12 as an indicator of dendritic cell activation. We conclude that transduction of tumor cells with rAAV encoding mCD40L is a promising strategy for tumor immunotherapy which may be further developed to a vaccination approach with transgenic ovarian carcinoma cells generated by ex vivo transduction.

Animals↗

Targeted gene delivery to vascular tissue in vivo by tropism-modified adeno-associated virus vectors.

BACKGROUND: Gene therapy offers an unprecedented opportunity to treat diverse pathologies. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a promising gene delivery vector for cardiovascular disease. However, AAV transduces the liver after systemic administration, reducing its usefulness for therapies targeted at other sites. Because vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are in contact with the bloodstream and are heterogeneous between organs, they represent an ideal target for site-specific delivery of biological agents. METHODS AND RESULTS: We isolated human venous EC-targeting peptides by phage display and genetically incorporated them into AAV capsids after amino acid 587. Peptide-modified AAVs transduced venous (but not arterial) ECs in vitro, whereas hepatocyte transduction was significantly lower than with native AAV. Intravenous infusion of engineered AAVs into mice produced reduced vector accumulation in liver measured 1 hour and 28 days after injection and delayed blood clearance rates compared with native AAV. Peptide-modified AAVs produced enhanced uptake of virions in the vena cava with selective transgene expression. Retargeting was dose dependent, and coinfusion of either heparin or free competing peptides indicated that uptake was principally independent of native AAV tropism and mediated via the peptide. CONCLUSIONS: AAV tropism can be genetically engineered by use of phage display-derived peptides to generate vectors that are selective for the vasculature.

Animals↗

Development of efficient viral vectors selective for vascular smooth muscle cells.

The vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) is integral to the pathogenesis of neointimal formation associated with late vein graft failure, in-stent restenosis, and transplant arteriopathy. Viral vectors transduce SMC with low efficiency and hence, there is a need for improvement. We aimed to enhance the efficiency and selectivity of gene delivery to human SMC. Targeting ligands were identified using phage display on primary human saphenous vein SMC with linear and cyclic libraries. Two linear peptides, EYHHYNK (EYH) and GETRAPL (GET), were incorporated into the HI loop of adenovirus (Ad) fibers and the capsid protein of adeno-associated virus-2 (AAV-2). Exposure of human venous SMC to EYH-modified (but not the GET-modified) Ad vector resulted in a significant increase in transgene expression levels at short, clinically relevant exposure times. Similarly, the EYH-modified AAV vector resulted in enhanced gene transfer to human venous SMC but not endothelial cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The EYH-modified AAV vector also enhanced (up to 70-fold) gene delivery to primary human arterial SMC. Hence, incorporation of EYH into Ad and AAV capsids resulted in a significant and selective enhancement in transduction of SMC and has implications for improving local gene delivery to the vasculature.

Adenoviridae↗

Progress in the use of adeno-associated viral vectors for gene therapy.

The development of safe and efficient gene transfer vectors is crucial for the success of gene therapy trials. A viral vector system promising to meet these requirements is based on the apathogenic adeno-associated virus (AAV-2), a member of the parvovirus family. The advantages of this vector system is the stability of the viral capsid, the low immunogenicity, the ability to transduce both dividing and non-dividing cells, the potential to integrate site specifically and to achieve long-term gene expression even in vivo, and its broad tropism allowing the efficient transduction of diverse organs including the skin. All this makes AAV-2 attractive and efficient for in vitro gene transfer and local injection in vivo. This review covers the progress made in AAV vector technology including the development of AAV vectors based on other serotypes, summarizes the results obtained by AAV targeting vectors and outlines potential applications in the field of cutaneous gene therapy.

Animals↗

Analysis of site-specific transgene integration following cotransduction with recombinant adeno-associated virus and a rep encodingplasmid.

BACKGROUND: Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) has many advantages for gene therapeutic applications in comparison with other vector systems. One of the most promising features is the ability of wild-type (wt) AAV to integrate site-specifically into human chromosome 19. However, this feature is lost in rAAV vectors due to the removal of the rep-coding sequences. METHODS: HeLa cells were transfected with a rep expression plasmid, infected by rAAV and grown with or without selection pressure. Single cell clones were generated and genomic DNA was analyzed for site-specific integration by Southern blotting analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). RESULTS: Transfection of HeLa cells with a rep expression plasmid followed by transduction with a rAAV vector resulted in site-specific integration of the transgene at AAVS1 on human chromosome 19 in 7 of 10 cell clones analyzed. In marked contrast, transduction of cells with rAAV alone did not result in any site-specific integration of the transgene. CONCLUSIONS: The high frequency with which the site-specific integration took place in the presence of Rep protein is comparable with the results observed with wtAAV. These results offer opportunities for the development of specifically integrating rAAV vectors.

Adenoviridae↗

Enhancement of gene transfer with recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors into primary B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells by CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides.

OBJECTIVE: Transduction of primary B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) cells with recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors is dependent on preactivation of leukemic cells by CD40L. CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs) are able to activate cytokine production and proliferation of B-CLL cells. Therefore CpG-ODNs were tested for their potential to enhance transgene expression in CLL cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using an optimized adenovirus-free packaging system, rAAV vectors coding for the enhanced green fluorescent protein (AAV/EGFP) were packaged and highly purified resulting in infectious titers up to 5 x 10(9)/mL. Cells obtained from patients with B-CLL were infected with AAV/EGFP at a multiplicity of infection of 100 while being stimulated with CpG-ODNs and/or CD40L-expressing HeLa/SF cells. Transgene expression was assessed after 48 hours by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Stimulation of B-CLL cells by CpG-ODNs resulted in up-regulation of costimulatory molecules and G(1)/S-phase transition at similar levels compared to activation by HeLa/SF cells, but use of CpG-ODNs alone did not result in any efficient AAV/EGFP transduction. Combined stimulation of B-CLL cells with HeLa/SF cells and CpG-ODNs during AAV/EGFP transduction significantly enhanced transgene expression compared to feeder stimulation alone (p=0.004). In addition, the copy number per single cell was significantly increased by addition of CpG-ODNs as detected by quantitative real-time PCR (p=0.04). Use of self-complementary AAV vectors that are not dependent on target cell DNA synthesis did not result in increased transgene expression compared to single-stranded AAV vectors (p=0.30). CONCLUSION: Stimulation by CD40L is crucial for efficient gene transfer into B-CLL cells by rAAV vectors, whereas transduction efficiency can be significantly enhanced by CpG-ODNs.

CD40 Ligand↗

In vitro selection of viral vectors with modified tropism: the adeno-associated virus display.

Improving the efficiency and specificity of gene vectors is critical for the success of gene therapy. In an effort to generate viral mutants with controlled tropism we produced a library of adeno-associated virus (AAV) clones with randomly modified capsids and used it for the selection of receptor-targeting mutants. After several rounds of selection on different cell lines that were resistant to infection by wild-type (wt) AAV, infectious mutants were harvested at high titers. These mutants transduced target cells with an up to 100-fold increased efficiency, in a receptor-specific manner and without interacting with the primary receptor for wt AAV. The results demonstrate for the first time that a combinatorial approach based on a eukaryotic virus library allows one to generate efficient, receptor-specific targeting vectors with desired tropism.

Base Sequence↗

AAV-based gene transfer.

Gene therapy remains an attractive form of treatment for a variety of diseases, both inherited and acquired. Recent experience in clinical gene therapy has highlighted important safety issues pertaining to gene delivery in humans. As such, the choice of gene delivery system for individual applications is fundamentally important and must afford efficiency and safety. Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors have unique potential among the repertoire of vector systems currently available. Here, we highlight recent developments to suggest that AAV vectors will play a key role in the future deployment of genetic medicine in humans.

Animals↗

Efficient gene transfer of CD40 ligand into primary B-CLL cells using recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors.

B cells of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) are resistant to transduction with most currently available vector systems. Using an optimized adenovirus-free packaging system, recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors coding for the enhanced green fluorescent protein (AAV/EGFP) and CD40 ligand (AAV/CD40L) were packaged and highly purified resulting in genomic titers up to 3 x 10(11)/mL. Cells obtained from 24 patients with B-CLL were infected with AAV/EGFP or AAV/CD40L at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 100 resulting in transgene expression in up to 97% of cells as detected by flow cytometry 48 hours after infection. Viral transduction could be specifically blocked by heparin. Transduction with AAV/CD40L resulted in up-regulation of the costimulatory molecule CD80 not only on infected CLL cells but also on noninfected bystander leukemia B cells, whereas this effect induced specific proliferation of HLA-matched allogeneic T cells. Vaccination strategies for patients with B-CLL using leukemia cells infected ex vivo by rAAV vectors now seems possible in the near future.

Adult↗

Adeno-associated virus capsids displaying immunoglobulin-binding domains permit antibody-mediated vector retargeting to specific cell surface receptors.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus type 2 (rAAV2) is a promising vector for human somatic gene therapy. However, its broad host range is a disadvantage for some applications, because it reduces the specificity of the gene transfer. To overcome this limitation, we sought to create a versatile rAAV vector targeting system which would allow us to redirect rAAV binding to specific cell surface receptors by simple coupling of different ligands to its capsid. For this purpose, an immunoglobulin G (IgG) binding domain of protein A, Z34C, was inserted into the AAV2 capsid at amino acid position 587. The resulting AAV2-Z34C mutants could be packaged and purified to high titers and bound to IgG molecules. rAAV2-Z34C vectors coupled to antibodies against CD29 (beta(1)-integrin), CD117 (c-kit receptor), and CXCR4 specifically transduced distinct human hematopoietic cell lines. In marked contrast, no transduction was seen in the absence of antibodies or in the presence of specific blocking reagents. These results demonstrate for the first time that an immunoglobulin binding domain can be inserted into the AAV2 capsid and coupled to various antibodies, which mediate the retargeting of rAAV vectors to specific cell surface receptors.

Animals↗