High-titer manufacturing of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-pseudotyped VSV in stirred-tank bioreactors.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic highlighted the importance of vaccine innovation in public health. Hundreds of vaccines built on numerous technology platforms have been rapidly developed against SARS-CoV-2 since 2020. Like all vaccine platforms, an important bottleneck to viral-vectored vaccine development is manufacturing. Here, we describe a scalable manufacturing protocol for replication-competent SARS-CoV-2 Spike-pseudotyped vesicular stomatitis virus (S-VSV)-vectored vaccines using Vero cells grown on microcarriers in a stirred-tank bioreactor. Using Cytodex 1 microcarriers over 6 days of fed-batch culture, Vero cells grew to a density of 3.95 ± 0.42 ×106 cells/mL in 1-L stirred-tank bioreactors. Ancestral strain S-VSV reached a peak titer of 2.05 ± 0.58 ×108 plaque-forming units (PFUs)/mL at 3 days postinfection. When compared to growth in plate-based cultures, this was a 29-fold increase in virus production, meaning a 1-L bioreactor produces the same amount of virus as 1,284 plates of 15 cm. In addition, the omicron BA.1 S-VSV reached a peak titer of 5.58 ± 0.35 × 106 PFU/mL. Quality control testing showed plate- and bioreactor-produced S-VSV had similar particle-to-PFU ratios and elicited comparable levels of neutralizing antibodies in immunized hamsters. This method should enhance preclinical and clinical development of pseudotyped VSV-vectored vaccines in future pandemics.

ASPSCR1-TFE3 reprograms transcription by organizing enhancer loops around hexameric VCP/p97.

The t(X,17) chromosomal translocation, generating the ASPSCR1::TFE3 fusion oncoprotein, is the singular genetic driver of alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) and some Xp11-rearranged renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), frustrating efforts to identify therapeutic targets for these rare cancers. Here, proteomic analysis identifies VCP/p97, an AAA+ ATPase with known segregase function, as strongly enriched in co-immunoprecipitated nuclear complexes with ASPSCR1::TFE3. We demonstrate that VCP is a likely obligate co-factor of ASPSCR1::TFE3, one of the only such fusion oncoprotein co-factors identified in cancer biology. Specifically, VCP co-distributes with ASPSCR1::TFE3 across chromatin in association with enhancers genome-wide. VCP presence, its hexameric assembly, and its enzymatic function orchestrate the oncogenic transcriptional signature of ASPSCR1::TFE3, by facilitating assembly of higher-order chromatin conformation structures demonstrated by HiChIP. Finally, ASPSCR1::TFE3 and VCP demonstrate co-dependence for cancer cell proliferation and tumorigenesis in vitro and in ASPS and RCC mouse models, underscoring VCP's potential as a novel therapeutic target.

Programming of Vascular Dysfunction in the Intrauterine Milieu of Diabetic Pregnancies.

With the rising global tide of obesity, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) burgeoned into one of the most common antenatal disorders worldwide. Macrosomic babies born to diabetic mothers are more likely to develop risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) before they reach adulthood. Rodent studies in offspring born to hyperglycemic pregnancies show vascular dysfunction characterized by impaired nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vasodilation and increased production of contractile prostanoids by cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2). Vascular dysfunction is a key pathogenic event in the progression of diabetes-related vascular disease, primarily attributable to glucotoxicity. Therefore, glucose-induced vascular injury may stem directly from the hyperglycemic intrauterine environment of GDM pregnancy, as evinced by studies showing endothelial activation and inflammation at birth or in childhood in offspring born to GDM mothers. This review discusses potential mechanisms by which intrauterine hyperglycemia programs dysfunction in the developing vasculature.

Immunomodulatory activity of polyphenols derived from Cassia auriculata flowers in aged rats.

The immunomodulatory activity of Cassia auriculata (CA)-derived polyphenols was tested on aged rats. Rats (24-26 months old) were given CA polyphenols supplementation at doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg for 28 days. Flow cytometry analysis of CA polyphenols-treated aged rats showed increased T and B cells percentage along with enhanced proliferation of splenocytes in both resting and LPS-stimulated cells. Increased percentage of pan T cells is further supported by an elevation of CD4+, CD8+, and CD4+CD25+ regulatory cells. In terms of innate immune cell activity, CA polyphenol supplementation reduced the oxidative burst activity of neutrophils in response to PMA and Escherichia coli activation. Our results collectively show that polyphenols derived from CA boost T cell immunity by increasing the number of T cells and its sensitivity towards stimulants and decreasing ROS production by neutrophils that could potentially harm multiple biological systems in aged individuals.