Biomedical subjects

Ping Lei

Publications and source records attributed to Ping Lei.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Selection and characterization of an internalizing epidermal-growth-factor-receptor antibody.

Antibody-therapeutic agent conjugates to be delivered directly into the cytosol of tumour cells is required for many target-based therapeutic strategies. For this work, a large non-immune phage-display library was used to select internalizing scFv (single chain variable fragment) directed against EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor), a tyrosine kinase receptor that is overexpressed in a wide range of tumour cells. The CHO-EGFR-GFP1 (where CHO is Chinese-hamster ovary) cell line, a transfected cell line expressing EGFR-GFP (green fluorescent protein) fusion protein on membranes, and the untransfected cell line CHO-K1 were used as EGFR-positive cells and -negative cells respectively in the subtractive selection procedure. A novel human anti-EGFR scFv (F4-scFv) was isolated. F4-scFv bound native EGFR-bearing cell lines and could be internalized, but did not bind EGFR-negative cell lines. The K(D) value of F4-scFv was 472 nM as determined on A431 cells. F4-scFv could be used to target therapeutic agents into tumour cells and was expected to be non-immunogenic in humans. Use of a transfected cell line expressing GFP-tagged receptors allows selection and characterization of antibodies to native receptors without the need for protein expression and purification, significantly speeding up the generation of targeting antibodies.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) induces apoptosis in a transfected cell line expressing EGF receptor on its membrane.

Interaction between epidermal growth factor (EGF) and EGF receptor (EGFR) promotes cell growth in most cell lines, but in a number of cell lines, EGF paradoxically inhibits proliferation. In the present study, we established a cell line expressing full-length human EGFR on membrane with a GFP fluorescence reporter at the C-terminal and studied the effects of EGF on cell proliferation in the transfected cell line. Our results suggested that low concentrations of EGF promoted proliferation, while high concentrations of EGF induced loss of adhesion, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and inhibition of proliferation. The effects of EGF on cell proliferation correlated well with the expression levels of EGFR. High concentrations of EGF induced both EGFR expression and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Our study reported, for the first time, a relationship between the effects of EGF on cell proliferation and levels of EGFR expression in one cell line expressing different levels of EGFR caused by different concentrations of EGF treatment. The study should provide considerable insight into the effects of EGF on cell proliferation and tumor cell metastasis.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Construction, expression and in vitro biological behaviors of Ig scFv fragment in patients with chronic B cell leukemia.

The expression vector of SmIg scFv fragment was constructed in patient with B cell chronic lymphocyte leukemia (B-CLL) and expressed in E. coli to obtain scFv fragment, and the effect of the protein on the proliferation of stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was investigated in vitro. Two pairs of primers were designed, and variable region genes of light chain and heavy chain were amplified by PCR respectively from the pGEM-T vectors previously constructed in our laboratory which containing light chain gene or Fd fragment of heavy chain gene. The PCR product was digested, purified and inserted into pHEN2 vector to construct the soluble expression vector pHEN2-scFv. After the induction by IPTG, the scFv protein was identified by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and purified by Ni-NTA-Chromatography. MTT was used to determine the effect of purified protein on the proliferation of stimulated PBMC in vitro. Plasmid PCR and restriction enzyme digestion of pHEN2-scFv revealed the pHEN2-scFv vector was constructed successfully. Id-scFv protein was expressed in positive clone after induced by IPTG. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the relative molecular weight of fusion protein was about 30 kD (1 kD= 0.9921 ku), which was consistent with the theoretically predicted value. Proliferation of PBMC could be induced by purified Id-scFv. It was suggested that the expression vector of SmIg scFv fragment was constructed successfully, and scFv protein was expressed and secreted from E. coli, which could induce proliferation of PBMC. This may lay an experimental foundation for further research of Id-HSP complex vaccine for B-CLL.

Cell Proliferation↗

PubMed2006

1,1-Bis(3'-indolyl)-1-(p-substituted phenyl)methanes inhibit ovarian cancer cell growth through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-dependent and independent pathways.

1,1-Bis(3'-indolyl)-1-(p-t-butylphenyl)methane (DIM-C-pPhtBu) is a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) agonist, and treatment of SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells with this compound (5 micromol/L) inhibits cell proliferation, whereas up to 15 micromol/L rosiglitazone had no effect on cell growth. DIM-C-pPhtBu also inhibits G0-G1 to S phase cell cycle progression and this is linked, in part, to PPARgamma-dependent induction of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21. DIM-C-pPhtBu induces PPARgamma-independent down-regulation of cyclin D1 and we therefore further investigated activation of receptor-independent pathways. DIM-C-pPhtBu also induced apoptosis in SKOV3 cells and this was related to induction of glucose-related protein 78, which is typically up-regulated as part of the unfolded protein response during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Activation of ER stress was also observed in other ovarian cancer cell lines treated with DIM-C-pPhtBu. In addition, DIM-C-pPhtBu induced CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein through both ER stress and c-jun NH2-terminal kinase-dependent pathways, and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein activated death receptor 5 and the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. These results show that DIM-C-pPhtBu inhibits growth and induces apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells through both PPARgamma-dependent and PPARgamma-independent pathways, and this complex mechanism of action will be advantageous for future clinical development of these compounds for treatment of ovarian cancer.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Human scFv antibody fragments specific for hepatocellular carcinoma selected from a phage display library.

AIM: To identify the scFv antibody fragments specific for hepatocellular carcinoma by biopanning from a large human naive scFv phage display library. METHODS: A large human naive scFv phage library was used to search for the specific targets by biopanning with the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2 for the positive-selecting and the normal liver cell line L02 for the counter-selecting. After three rounds of biopanning, individual scFv phages binding selectively to HepG2 cells were picked out. PCR was carried out for identification of the clones containing scFv gene sequence. The specific scFv phages were selected by ELISA and flow cytometry. DNA sequences of positive clones were analyzed by using Applied Biosystem Automated DNA sequencers 3 730. The expression proteins of the specific scFv antibody fragments in E.coli HB2151 were purified by the affinity chromatography and detected by SDS-PAGE, Western blot and ELISA. The biological effect of the soluble antibody fragments on the HepG2 cells was investigated by observing the cell proliferation. RESULTS: Two different positive clones were obtained and the functional variable sequences were identified. Their DNA sequences of the scFv antibody fragments were submitted to GenBank (accession nos: AY686498 and AY686499). The soluble scFv antibody fragments were successfully expressed in E.coli HB2151. The relative molecular mass of the expression products was about 36 ku, according to its predicted M(r) value. The two soluble scFv antibody fragments also had specific binding activity and obvious growth inhibition properties to HepG2 cells. CONCLUSION: The phage library biopanning permits identification of specific antibody fragments for hepatocellular carcinoma and affords experiment evidence for its immunotherapy study.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗

PubMed2005

Impact of environmental factors on the toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis IPS82 to Chironomus kiiensis.

To determine the feasibility of microbiological control of chironomid larvae in water sources for the city of Shenzhen, China, the toxicity characteristics of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) IPS82 on Chironomus kiiensis Tokunaga were studied. Tests on fermentation products of IPS82 showed good correlations between toxicity, cell density, dissolved oxygen, and the spore-forming phase. In this study, bioassays were carried out with different stage larvae. Results showed that the LC50s (24 h postexposure) were 8.2, 15.2, 24.7, and 38.6 mg/liter for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th instars, respectively. Tests on environmental factors influencing toxicity of Bti to C. kiiensis showed that sunlight is the most important factor, shortening the half-life of Bti from 21 days in dark to 10 days under sunlight. Temperature variations (15-30 degrees C) caused no impact on toxicity, but a 16% increase in larval mortality was observed at 35 degrees C. The toxicity of IPS82 was greatest at a pH of 7. In field trials, dosages above 100 mg/liter were effective in the control of C. kiiensis. Our study indicated that it is feasible to use Bti to control C. kiiensis in city source water.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Construction and co-expression of bicistronic plasmid encoding human WEE1 and stem cell factor.

To protect the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from apoptosis induced by chemotherapy and promote HSC proliferation, bi-functional gene delivery systems are increasingly investigated in gene therapy. In the present study, we constructed a bicistronic vector, pWISG, expressing the anti-apoptotic protein human WEE1 (WEE1Hu) and the fusion protein of the proliferation-stimulating stem cell factor (SCF) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) separately with internal ribosome entry site (IRES). We first examined the expression and location of WEE1Hu in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and showed that WEE1Hu was located in the nucleus, which was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. We determined the expression and receptor-binding ability of the SCF-EGFP fusion protein on CD34+ cells, which were proved by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry, respectively. Furthermore, inhibition of cisplatin-induced apoptosis was observed in CD34+ cells transfected with pWISG, which implies that protection for CD34+ cells was achieved via WEE1Hu and SCF-EGFP. Our study suggests that the introduction of two functional genes via bicistronic vector is more powerful and efficient than single gene therapy.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

The inhibitory effects of mouse ICOS-Ig gene-modified mouse dendritic cells on T cells.

The main approach to reduce graft rejection has been focused on the development of immunosuppressive agents at present. Although these strategies have reportedly reduced graft rejection, there has been a reciprocal increase in more severe immunosuppression and lethal infections, as well as severe side effects. Blockade of costimulatory T cell response has been proved as one of useful strategies to reduce graft rejection. Furthermore, it has been shown that infusion of dendritic cells (DCs) with a potent negative regulatory ability for T cells could prolong allograft survival. In this study mouse DCs (mDCs) were transfected with the recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.0 containing mouse inducible costimulator-Ig (mICOS-Ig) cDNA by electroporation. The transient expression of mICOS-Ig in mDC could be detected by ELISA and SDS-PAGE. Mouse ICOS-Ig fusion protein expressed in mDC and mICOS-Ig gene-modified mDC could inhibit lymphocyte proliferation in mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) in vitro. Furthermore, mICOS-Ig gene-modified mDC could inhibit lymphocyte proliferation in recipient mice. These results suggested that mICOS-Ig gene-modified mDC exerted inhibitory effects on T cells, and might be suitable for treatment or prevention of graft rejection and immunopathologic diseases.

Animals↗