Bone induction by AdBMP-2/collagen implants.

BACKGROUND: Demineralized bone matrix and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 or 7 (BMP-2 or BMP-7)-containing collagenous matrix have been shown to induce new bone formation in orthotopic and heterotopic sites. We examined the ability of subcutaneous implants of collagen combined with adenoviral vector containing the BMP-2 gene (AdBMP-2) to induce bone formation in rats. We also evaluated whether targeting the AdBMP-2 vector through an alternative receptor pathway, fibroblast growth factor (FGF), would increase the vector's potency. METHODS: In a time-course study, rat subcutaneous sites were implanted with (1) AdBMP-2 in rat-bone-derived collagen or (2) rat-bone-derived collagen alone. Samples were collected three, seven, fourteen, or thirty-five days after treatment. In a dose-response study, bone induction by AdBMP-2 in collagen (AdBMP-2/collagen) or by AdBMP-2 and FGF2 Fab' anti-adenovirus knob protein antibody in collagen (FGF2-AdBMP-2/collagen) was tested at fourteen days. Viral vector doses of 1 x 10(9) PN (viral particle number), 3 x 10(9) PN, 1 x10(10) PN, 3 x 10(10) PN, or 1 x 10(11) PN per implant were used. Equal amounts of collagen (25 mg) were used to formulate all implants. Explanted tissues were evaluated histologically to determine bone formation, specific activity of alkaline phosphatase, and calcium content. RESULTS: AdBMP-2/collagen implants induced robust bone formation. New bone was formed by the fourteenth day after implantation. In contrast, little or no bone was induced by the implant containing collagen alone. FGF2-AdBMP-2/collagen implants stimulated significantly more bone formation (p < 0.05) than did AdBMP-2/collagen implants, regardless of the dose of viral particles. CONCLUSIONS: Local delivery of AdBMP-2 in a collagen matrix rapidly induces bone formation, and targeting the virus through FGF receptors enhances the osteogenic potential of AdBMP-2.

Repair of osteochondral defects with allogeneic tissue engineered cartilage implants.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of allogeneic tissue engineered cartilage implants on healing of osteochondral defects. Rabbit chondrocytes were cultured in monolayer, then seeded onto biodegradable, three-dimensional polyglycolic acid meshes. Cartilage constructs were cultured hydrodynamically to yield tissue with relatively more (mature) or less (immature) hyalinelike cartilage, as compared with adult rabbit articular cartilage. Osteochondral defects in the patellar grooves of both stifle joints either were left untreated or implanted with allogeneic tissue engineered cartilage. Histologic samples from in and around the defect sites were examined 3, 6, 9, and 12, and 24 months after surgery. By 9 months after surgery, defects sites treated with cartilage implants contained significantly greater amounts of hyalinelike cartilage with high levels of proteoglycan, and had a smooth, nonfibrillated articular surface as compared to untreated defects. In contrast, the repair tissue formed in untreated defects had fibrillated articular surfaces, significant amounts of fibrocartilage, and negligible proteoglycan. These differences between treated and untreated defects persisted through 24 months after surgery. The results of this study suggest that the treatment of osteochondral lesions with allogenic tissue engineered cartilage implants may lead to superior repair tissue than that found in untreated osteochondral lesions.

A method for tissue engineering of cartilage by cell seeding on bioresorbable scaffolds.

This chapter describes a method for the in vitro generation of a 3-dimensional cartilage matrix from articular chondrocytes seeded onto a bioresorbable polymeric scaffold. This particular growth system was chosen for the subject of this chapter owing to the relative simplicity of the methods required and the ease with which the necessary materials can be obtained. The tissue produced using this protocol is a cellular, metabolically active hyaline-like matrix, containing the major cartilage constituents: sulfated proteoglycan, collagen type II, and water. It serves as a useful in vitro tool for studying the influence of various mechanical and chemical factors on cartilage metabolism, as well as providing an implantable material for in vivo cartilage repair studies.

Binding of low affinity N-formyl peptide receptors to G protein. Characterization of a novel inactive receptor intermediate.

G protein-coupled seven-transmembrane-containing receptors, such as the N-formyl peptide receptor (FPR) of neutrophils, likely undergo a conformational change upon binding of ligand, which enables the receptor to transmit a signal to G proteins. We have examined the functional significance of numerous conserved charged amino acid residues proposed to be located within or near the transmembrane domains. Whereas the wild type FPR exhibits a Kd for an agonist of 1-3 nM, which is reduced to approximately 40 nM in the presence of guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio)triphosphate (GTP gamma S), substitution of either Asp71 or Arg123 resulted in mutant receptors that bound ligand with only low affinity (Kd = 30-50 nM) independent of GTP gamma S. In contrast, substitution of Arg163, predicted to be located at a similar depth within the membrane as Asp71, had no effect on ligand binding. Replacement of residues Arg309-Glu310-Arg311 resulted in an FPR with intermediate ligand binding characteristics. Functional analysis of the mutant receptors revealed that substitution of either Asp71 or Arg123 resulted in a mutant receptor that was unable to mediate calcium mobilization, whereas replacement of residues Arg309-Glu310-Arg311 yielded a receptor with an EC50 of 50 nM, compared with 0.5 nM for the wild type FPR. In order to determine the point of the defect in signal transduction, we performed reconstitution of the solubilized receptors with purified G proteins. The wild type FPR displayed a Kd for G protein of approximately 0.6 microM compared with the Arg309/Glu310/Arg311 mutant with a Kd of approximately 30 microM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Domains of the human neutrophil N-formyl peptide receptor involved in G protein coupling. Mapping with receptor-derived peptides.

Chemotactic signaling by the human neutrophil N-formyl peptide receptor requires its association with heterotrimeric G protein. Synthetic peptides and a fusion protein derived from the intracellular regions of the receptor were used to identify sites which interact with G protein. A peptide derived from the second intracellular loop (C12R), and peptides (F15R and S22L) and a fusion protein derived from the receptor's carboxyl terminus inhibited binding of anti-Gi alpha antibody (R16,17) to Gi alpha in a competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay, and antagonized pertussis-toxin catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of Gi alpha. C12R also inhibited G protein-dependent, high affinity ligand binding to the receptor and physical coupling of receptor to G protein. In contrast, a peptide consisting of the entire third loop of the N-formyl peptide receptor was totally inactive in these assays. Collectively, these data suggest that the second intracellular loop and the carboxyl-terminal tail are important for effective N-formyl peptide receptor/G protein coupling, but that the third intracellular loop is less important in coupling, unlike previous findings with other G protein-coupled receptor systems. The chemoattractant receptor family may rely on different structural determinants to interact with GTP-binding proteins.

Reconstitution of recombinant N-formyl chemotactic peptide receptor with G protein.

A recombinant human neutrophil N-formyl peptide receptor (rFPR) expressed in transfected mouse fibroblasts (TX2 cells) was analyzed for its ability to couple physically with the heterotrimeric G protein, Gi. Immunoprecipitation of photoaffinity-labeled rFPR and endogenous neutrophil formyl peptide receptor (nFPR) with an anti-FPR peptide antibody demonstrated that the receptors were identical in both size and extent of glycosylation. Coupling of rFPR with endogenous TX2 Gi was demonstrated by coimmunoprecipitation of the two proteins with an anti-Gi antibody. Moreover, rFPR was able to form a physical complex with purified Gi in a soluble reconstitution system. We observed similar affinities of rFPR and nFPR for Gi. This report provides the first direct evidence that rFPR associates physically with Gi and provides a foundation for analysis of the G protein coupling capacity of mutant rFPRs.

Reconstitution of a physical complex between the N-formyl chemotactic peptide receptor and G protein. Inhibition by pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP ribosylation.

Photoaffinity-labeled N-formyl chemotactic peptide receptors from human neutrophils solubilized in octyl glucoside exhibit two forms upon sucrose density gradient sedimentation, with apparent sedimentation coefficients of approximately 4 and 7 S. The 7 S form can be converted to the 4 S form by guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) with an EC50 of approximately 20 nM, suggesting that the 7 S form may represent a physical complex of the receptor with endogenous G protein (Jesaitis, A. J., Tolley, J. O., Bokoch, G. M., and Allen, R. A. (1989) J. Cell Biol. 109, 2783-2790). To probe the nature of the 7 S form, we reconstituted the 7 S form from the 4 S form by adding purified G protein. The 4 S form, obtained by solubilizing GTP gamma S-treated neutrophil plasma membranes, was incubated with purified (greater than 95%) Gi protein from bovine brain (containing both Gi alpha 1 and Gi alpha 2) or with neutrophil G protein (Gn), and formation of the 7 S complex was analyzed on sucrose density gradients. The EC50 of 7 S complex formation induced by the two G proteins was 70 +/- 25 and 170 +/- 40 nM for Gn and Gi, respectively. No complexation was measurable when bovine transducin (Gt) was used up to 30 times the EC50 for Gn. The EC50 for Gi was the same for receptors, obtained from formyl peptide-stimulated or unstimulated cells. The addition of 10 microM GTP gamma S to the reconstituted 7 S complex caused a complete revision of the receptor to the 4 S form, and anti-Gi peptide antisera immunosedimented the 7 S form. ADP-ribosylation of Gi prevented formation of the 7 S form even at 20 times the concentration of unribosylated Gi normally used to attain 50% conversion to the 7 S form. These observations suggest that the 7 S species is a physical complex containing N-formyl chemotactic peptide receptor and G protein.

Expression of murine Fc receptors for IgG.

There are two distinct genes that encode murine low affinity Fc gamma RII, murine Fc gamma RII alpha, and murine Fc gamma RII beta, which are transcribed in specific cell lineages. Fc gamma RII alpha transcripts are present in macrophages, NK cells, and mesangial cells; Fc gamma RII beta transcripts are expressed in Fc gamma R-bearing B cells, T cells, and macrophages. We have devised a sandwich ELISA to quantify the expression of Fc gamma RII alpha protein. The ELISA is specific for Fc gamma RII alpha, and does not detect the closely related Fc gamma RII beta protein. Upon stimulation with IFN-gamma the Fc gamma RII beta- macrophage cell line J774a expressed a twelvefold enhanced level of Fc gamma RII alpha protein. Peritoneal macrophages synthesized varying amounts of Fc gamma RII alpha. High levels of Fc gamma RII alpha were observed in resident and thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages, but no Fc gamma RII alpha was detected in Bacillus Calmette Guérin-elicited macrophages. J774a cells stimulated with rIL-6 bound approximately twice as much anti-Fc gamma RII mAb 2.4G2 IgG as did unstimulated controls. However, the Fc gamma RII alpha-specific ELISA showed no change in the amount of Fc gamma RII alpha expressed. A probe encompassing the extracellular coding sequence of Fc gamma RII beta hybridized to two distinct transcripts that were elevated in rIL-6-stimulated J774a cells. One of these transcripts had the same mobility in electrophoresis as Fc gamma RII alpha mRNA and hybridized to an Fc gamma RII alpha-specific probe, whereas the other transcript was larger and did not hybridize to probes specific for either Fc gamma RII alpha or Fc gamma RII beta. Moreover, we confirmed, with an Fc gamma RII beta-specific probe, that J774a cells do not make Fc gamma RII beta mRNA. Thus, the larger transcript appears to encode a novel Fc gamma RII. We suggest that the increased level of binding of the anti-Fc gamma RII mAb 2.4G2 to rIL-6-induced cells represents translation of a Fc gamma R distinct from Fc gamma RII alpha or Fc gamma RII beta.