Showing papers by "Ba-Bie Teng published in 2004"
TL;DR: A new pathway by which complement activation may directly modulate the renal response to immunologic injury is defined, which is defined as C3aR activation in proximal tubular cells.
Abstract: Although complement activation and deposition have been associated with a variety of glomerulopathies, the pathogenic mechanisms by which complement directly mediates renal injury remain to be fully elucidated. Renal parenchymal tissues express a limited repertoire of receptors that directly bind activated complement proteins. We report the renal expression of the receptor for the C3 cleavage product C3a, a member of the anaphylatoxin family. C3aR is highly expressed in normal human and murine kidney, as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Its distribution is limited to epithelial cells only, as glomerular endothelial and mesangial cells showed no evidence of C3aR expression. The C3aR is also expressed by primary renal proximal tubular epithelial cells in vitro as demonstrated by FACS, Western blot, and RT-PCR. In vitro C3aR is functional in terms of its capacity to bind 125I-labeled C3a and generate inositol triphosphate. Finally, using microarray analysis, four novel genes were identified and confirmed as transcriptionally regulated by C3aR activation in proximal tubular cells. These studies define a new pathway by which complement activation may directly modulate the renal response to immunologic injury.
70 citations
TL;DR: Increased plasma NEFAs, PAF-AH mRNA and enzyme activities are associated with accelerated atherogenesis in these animal models.
Abstract: Animal models provide vital tools to explicate the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Accordingly, we established two atherosclerosis-prone mice models: (i) mice lacking the LDL (low-density lipoprotein) receptor (LDLR) and the ability to edit apo (apolipoprotein) B mRNA (Apobec1; designated LDb : LDLR -/- Apobec1 -/- ), and (ii) mice with the LDb background, who also overexpressed human apoB100 (designated LTp : LDLR -/- Apobec1 -/- ERhB +/+ ). Both LDb and LTp mice had markedly elevated levels of LDL and increased levels of NEFAs (non-esterified fatty acids) compared with C57BL / 6 wild-type mice. However, fasting glucose and insulin levels in both animals were not different than those in C57BL / 6 wild-type mice. It has been suggested that PAF-AH (platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase) increases susceptibility to vascular disease. Both LDb and LTp mice had significantly higher PAF-AH mRNA levels compared with C57BL / 6 wild-type mice. PAF-AH gene expression was also significantly influenced by age and sex. Interestingly, PAF-AH mRNA levels were significantly higher in both LTp male and female mice than in the LDb mice. This increased PAF-AH gene expression was associated with elevated plasma PAF-AH enzyme activities ( LTp > LDb > C57BL / 6 ). Moreover, a greater proportion of PAF-AH activity was associated with the apoB-containing lipoproteins: 29% in LTp and 13% in LDb mice compared with C57BL / 6 wild-type animals (6.7%). This may explain why LTp mice developed more atherosclerotic lesions than LDb mice by 8 months of age. In summary, increased plasma NEFAs, PAF-AH mRNA and enzyme activities are associated with accelerated atherogenesis in these animal models.
42 citations
TL;DR: DNA microarray analyses showed that S7+ IELs expressed higher levels of genes associated with activated T cells, whereas S7− Iels expressed genes used in the regulation of NK cells, and these findings define two functionally distinct populations of IELS based on CD43 expression independent of TCR class.
Abstract: CD43 has been linked to many function-associated T cell activities. Using mAbs that recognize two different CD43 determinants, we show that, although mouse small intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) expressed the CD43 core molecule reactive with mAb R2/60, only about one-half of the total IELs-including some but not all of the TCRalphabeta and TCRgammadelta cells-expressed the CD43 S7(-) reactive determinant. CD43 S7(+) IELs secreted more IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, and IFN-gamma following anti-CD3 stimulation, and were >4-fold more cytotoxic in fresh isolates and >16-fold more cytotoxic after anti-CD3 stimulation, than S7(-) IELs. S7(+) but not S7(-) IELs from the ileum of IL-10(-/-) mice spontaneously produced IFN-gamma. In vivo BrdU uptake by IELs in non-Ag-primed mice was greatest in the S7(+) population, indicating that significantly more S7(+) IELs than S7(-) IELs undergo cell expansion under normal homeostatic conditions. DNA microarray analyses showed that S7(+) IELs expressed higher levels of genes associated with activated T cells, whereas S7(-) IELs expressed genes used in the regulation of NK cells. These findings define two functionally distinct populations of IELs based on CD43 expression independent of TCR class, and they identify a subset of IELs that may serve as a target to better control intestinal inflammation.
18 citations
TL;DR: This study provided evidence that the rAAV2 single-strand vector mediated a prolonged but not efficient transduction in mouse liver and mediated a rapid and efficient gene expression in liver cells, which represents a better approach to express small molecules such as ribozyme.
Abstract: In humans, overproduction of apolipoprotein B (apoB) is positively associated with premature coronary artery diseases. To reduce the levels of apoB mRNA, we have designed an apoB mRNA-specific hammerhead ribozyme targeted at nucleotide sequences GUA6679 (RB15) mediated by adenovirus, which efficiently cleaves and decreases apoB mRNA by 80% in mouse liver and attenuates the hyperlipidemic condition. In the current study, we used an adeno-associated virus vector, serotype 2 (AAV2) and a self-complementary AAV2 vector (scAAV2) to demonstrate the effect of long-term tissue-specific gene expression of RB15 on the regulation apoB mRNA in vivo. We constructed a hammerhead ribozyme RB15 driven by a liver-specific transthyretin (TTR) promoter using an AAV2 vector (rAAV2-TTR-RB15). HepG2 cells and hyperlipidemic mice deficient in both the low density lipoprotein receptor and the apoB mRNA editing enzyme genes (LDLR-/-Apobec1-/-; LDb) were transduced with rAAV2-TTR-RB15 and a control vector rAAV-TTR-RB15-mutant (inactive ribozyme). The effects of ribozyme RB15 on apoB metabolism and atherosclerosis development were determined in LDb mice at 5-month after transduction. A self-complementary AAV2 vector expressing ribozyme RB15 (scAAV2-TTR-RB15) was also engineered and used to transduce HepG2 cells. Studies were designed to compare the gene expression efficiency between rAAV2-TTR-RB15 and scAAV2-TTR-RB15. The effect of ribozyme RB15 RNA on reducing apoB mRNA levels in HepG2 cells was observed only on day-7 after rAAV2-TTR-RB15 transduction. And, at 5-month after rAAV2-TTR-RB15 treatment, the apoB mRNA levels in LDb mice were significantly decreased by 43%, compared to LDb mice treated with control vector rAAV2-TTR-RB15-mutant. Moreover, both the rAAV2-TTR-RB15 viral DNA and ribozyme RB15 RNA were still detectable in mice livers at 5-month after treatment. However, this rAAV2-TTR-RB15 vector mediated a prolonged but low level of ribozyme RB15 gene expression in the mice livers, which did not produce the therapeutic effects on alteration the lipid levels or the inhibition of atherosclerosis development. In contrast, the ribozyme RB15 RNA mediated by scAAV2-TTR-RB15 vector was expressed immediately at day-1 after transduction in HepG2 cells. The apoB mRNA levels were decreased 47% (p = 0.001), compared to the control vector scAAV2-TTR-RB15-mutant. This study provided evidence that the rAAV2 single-strand vector mediated a prolonged but not efficient transduction in mouse liver. However, the scAAV2 double-strand vector mediated a rapid and efficient gene expression in liver cells. This strategy using scAAV2 vectors represents a better approach to express small molecules such as ribozyme.
7 citations