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Yu-Chen Hu

Publications and source records attributed to Yu-Chen Hu.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Formation of enterovirus-like particle aggregates by recombinant baculoviruses co-expressing P1 and 3CD in insect cells.

The assembly of enterovirus requires the cleavage of P1 polyprotein by protease 3CD into individual structural proteins. Two recombinant baculoviruses were constructed to encode P1 and 3CD of enterovirus 71 (EV71), respectively. The expressed 3CD successfully cleaved P1 in vitro and in vivo. Also, the co-infection in insect cells resulted in crystalline virus-like particle structures morphologically resembling the authentic EV71 aggregates, which are reported for the first time.

3C Viral Proteases↗

Enhancement and prolongation of baculovirus-mediated expression in mammalian cells: focuses on strategic infection and feeding.

The baculovirus/insect cell system has been widely used for recombinant protein production. Since the finding that baculovirus was able to infect hepatocytes in 1995, various attempts to utilize baculovirus as a gene delivery vehicle into mammalian cells have been reported. In this study, we intended to explore the possibility of utilizing a baculovirus/mammalian cell system as a nonlytic, continuous protein production system. A recombinant baculovirus vector carrying enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under the control of cytomegalovirus immediate-early (CMV-IE) promoter was constructed. This virus was used to infect four common mammalian cell lines, and HeLa was found to yield the highest expression level. Additions of butyrate and valproic acid both enhanced the expression level, but butyrate exhibited a more profound effect. More importantly, HeLa cells were found to be superinfected by baculovirus, a result not observed in the conventional baculovirus/insect cell system. The effects of multiplicity of infection (MOI) and infection timing were also compared. High MOI up to 800 increased the expression in the short term (4 days), but the relatively higher cell death and lower cell density compromised the overall protein yield thereafter. The highest overall expression for a long term was obtained at MOI = 200 when the cells were initially infected at the mid-exponential phase and superinfected with additional baculovirus (MOI = 200) together with a one-time supplement of butyrate. In summary, the strategic infection and feeding enhanced the expression level 9-fold (compared with unsuperinfected culture) and prolonged the duration of expression to 16 days. This study reveals that this baculovirus/mammalian cell system has great potential to become a novel continuous, nonlytic expression system.

Animals↗

A novel rotating-shaft bioreactor for two-phase cultivation of tissue-engineered cartilage.

A novel rotating-shaft bioreactor (RSB) was developed for two-phase cultivation of tissue-engineered cartilage. The reactor consisted of a rotating shaft on which the chondrocyte/scaffold constructs (7.5 mm diameter x 3.5 mm thickness) were fixed and a reactor vessel half-filled with medium. The horizontal rotation of the shaft resulted in alternating exposure of the constructs to gas and liquid phases, thus leading to efficient oxygen and nutrient transfer, as well as periodically changing, mild shear stress exerting on the construct surfaces (0-0.32 dyn/cm2 at 10 rpm), as revealed by computer simulation. Strategic operation of the RSB (maintaining rotating speed at 10 rpm for 3 weeks and lowering the speed to 2 rpm in week 4) in combination with higher seeding density (6 x 10(6) chondrocytes/scaffold) and medium perfusion resulted in uniform cell distribution and increased glycosaminoglycan (3.1 mg/scaffold) and collagen (7.0 mg/scaffold) deposition. The 4-week constructs resembled native cartilages in terms of not only gross appearance and cell morphology but also distributions of glycosaminoglycan, total collagen, and type II collagen, confirming the maintenance of chondrocyte phenotype and formation of cartilage-like constructs in the RSB cultures. In summary, the novel RSB may be implicated for in vitro study of chondrogenesis and de novo cartilage development under periodic mechanical loading. With proper optimization of the culture conditions, a RSB may be employed for the production of cartilage-like constructs.

Animals↗