Sesquiterpene lactones from Artemisia vulgaris L. as potential NO inhibitors in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophage cells.

Twelve new guaianolide sesquiterpene lactones (1-12), along with ten known analogs (13-22) were isolated from an EtOH extract of the dried aerial parts of Artemisia vulgaris L. The new structures were elucidated via abundant spectroscopic data analyses (HRESIMS, IR, 1D, and 2D NMR), and the absolute configurations of these compounds were determined by X-ray crystallography and ECD calculations. The compounds (1-22) were identified as guaiane-type sesquiterpenes with characteristic α-methylene-γ-lactone and α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl moieties. All compounds were tested for their inhibitory activity against NO production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. The isolated sesquiterpenoids dose-dependently exhibited an NO production inhibitory activity by inhibiting the expression of inducible NO oxidase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) with IC50 values ranging from 1.0 to 3.6 µM. The inhibitory effect on the NO production of the compounds (1-4 and 6-22) is better than that of the positive control (dexamethasone). The different substitutions of compounds on C-8 influence anti-inflammatory effects, as evidenced by the in silico analysis of related binding interactions of new compounds (1-12) with iNOS.

Anti-herpes simplex virus efficacies of 2-aminobenzamide derivatives as novel HSP90 inhibitors.

After the widespread use of the acyclic purine nucleoside analogues for therapy of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection since the 1980s, new antiviral strategies are urgently needed to counter the emergence of drug-resistant clinical isolates. In this report, we define the anti-HSV efficacies of three optimized 2-aminobenzamide derivatives in vitro and in vivo. The synthetic analogues SNX-25a, SNX-2112 and SNX-7081, which selectively bind to the N-terminal ATP pocket of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), exhibited significant anti-HSV-1 and HSV-2 activities at non-cytotoxic concentrations in Vero cells, with EC(50) values close to that of acyclovir (ACV). The in vivo antiviral potentials were then confirmed using a herpes simplex keratitis (HSK) rabbit model, where eye gels containing 0.1% or 0.025% SNX-25a displayed the highest efficacies against HSV-1 infection, which were better than that obtained with 0.1% ACV. SNX-2112 and SNX-7081 gels were also effective against HSV-1 with different magnitude of activities. Our results for the first time confirmed the anti-HSV efficacies of these 2-aminobenzamide derivatives and suggest that with alternative mechanisms of action these novel HSP90 inhibitors, especially SNX-25a, could be potent as new anti-HSV clinical trial candidates.

On-line monitoring of oxygen in Tubespin, a novel, small-scale disposable bioreactor.

A novel, optical sensor was fixed in a new type of disposable bioreactor, Tubespin, for the on-line (real-time) monitoring of dissolved oxygen concentrations during cell culture. The cell density, viability and volumetric mass transfer coefficient were also determined to further characterize the bioreactors. The k(L)a value of the Tubespin at standard conditions was 24.3 h(-1), while that of a spinner flask was only 2.7 h(-1). The maximum cell density in the Tubespin bioreactor reached 6 × 10(6) cells mL(-1), which was two times higher than the cell density in a spinner flask. Furthermore, the dynamic dissolved oxygen level was maintained above 90% air-saturation in the Tubespin, while the value was only 1.9% in a spinner flask. These results demonstrate the competitive advantage of using the Tubespin system over spinner flasks for process optimization and scale-down studies of oxygen transfer and cell growth.

[Purification of Cyanovirin-N with antiviral activity and preparation as well as modification of its polyclonal antibody].

AIM: To purify the recombinant Cyanovirin-N (CVN) and determine its anti-influenza virus A (H1N1) activity, and to prepare the polyclonal antibody of CVN, purify it and label it with an enzyme for future application. METHODS: The recombinant CVN were rapidly purified by two rounds of Ni-NTA chelating chromatography intervened with a SUMO protease cleavage step. Anti-H1N1 activity of CVN was determined using cytopathogenic effect assay (CPE). The rabbits were immunized with the purified CVN and the antibody was identified by ELISA and Western blot. IgG was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by DEAE chromatography and the purified IgG was labeled by HRP. RESULTS: The purity of the obtained CVN protein which showed obvious Anti-H1N1 activity in vitro was higher than 95%.The polyclonal antibody of CVN was successfully produced in the rabbits and the results of ELISA and Western blot showed that the antiserum had high titer and high specificity. The purified antibody with a titer up to 1:6 400 was successfully obtained and the anti-CVN antibody-HRP conjugate was achieved after labeling the purified antibody with HRP. CONCLUSION: The purified antibody against CVN has been purified and further coniugated with HRP, with can be used for future research.

Synthesis and in vitro anti-HSV-1 activity of a novel Hsp90 inhibitor BJ-B11.

In this study, a novel Hsp90 inhibitor BJ-B11, was synthesized and evaluated for in vitro antiviral activity against several viruses. Possible anti-HSV-1 mechanisms were also investigated. BJ-B11 displayed no antiviral activity against coxsackievirus B(3) (CVB(3)), human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza virus (H1N1), but exhibited potent anti-HSV-1 and HSV-2 activity with EC(50) values of 0.42±0.18 µM and 0.60±0.21 µM, respectively. Additionally, the inhibitory effects of BJ-B11 against HSV-1 were likely to be introduced at early stage of infection. Our results indicate that BJ-B11 with alternative mechanisms of action is potent as an anti-HSV clinical trial candidate.

Pentagalloylglucose downregulates cofilin1 and inhibits HSV-1 infection.

To investigate the anti-herpesvirus mechanism of pentagalloylglucose (PGG), we compared the proteomic changes between herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infected MRC-5 cells with or without PGG-treatment, and between non-infected MRC-5 cells with or without PGG-treatment by 2-DE and MS-based analysis. Differentially expressed cellular proteins were mainly involved with actin cytoskeleton regulation. Significantly, PGG can down-regulate cofilin1, a key regulator of actin cytoskeleton dynamics. PGG can inhibit HSV-1-induced rearrangements of actin cytoskeleton which is important for infectivity. Furthermore, cofilin1 knockdown by siRNA also inhibited the HSV-1-induced actin-skeleton rearrangements. Both PGG-treatment and cofilin1 knockdown can reduce HSV-1 DNA, mRNA, protein synthesis and virus yields. Altogether, the results suggested that down-regulating cofilin1 plays a role in PGG inhibiting HSV-1 infection. PGG may be a promising anti-herpesvirus agent for drug development.

Transient expression of recombinant sPDGFR alpha-Fc in CHO DG44 cells using 50-mL orbitally shaking disposable bioreactors.

Overactivity of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) has been linked to malignant cancers. High levels of PDGF result in the activation of its receptors (PDGFRs) and the over-proliferation of cells. Therefore, interfering with this signaling pathway in cancer cells could be significant for anti-cancer drug development. In a previous study, the sPDGFR alpha-Fc fusion protein expressed in static CHO-k(1) cells showed an anti-proliferative effect on vascular endothelial cells. However, it was difficult to obtain a large quantity of this fusion protein for further functional studies. In the present study, the sPDGFR alpha-Fc fusion protein was transiently expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) DG44 cells in 50-mL orbital shaking bioreactors. sPDGFR alpha-Fc was expressed as a 250-kDa dimeric protein with potential glycosylation. The final yield of sPDGFR alpha-Fc in the culture supernatant was as high as 16.68 mg/L. Our results suggest that transient expression in orbital shaking bioreactors may be feasible for preparation of recombinant proteins used for preclinical studies.

Phyllaemblicin B inhibits Coxsackie virus B3 induced apoptosis and myocarditis.

Coxsackie virus B3 (CVB3) is believed to be a major contributor to viral myocarditis since virus-associated apoptosis plays a role in the pathogenesis of experimental myocarditis. In this study, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo antiviral activities of Phyllaemblicin B, the main ellagitannin compound isolated from Phyllanthus emblica, a Chinese herb medicine, against CVB3. Herein we report that Phyllaemblicin B inhibited CVB3-mediated cytopathic effects on HeLa cells with an IC(50) value of 7.75+/-0.15microg/mL. In an in vivo assay, treatment with 12mgkg(-1)d(-1) Phyllaemblicin B reduced cardiac CVB3 titers, decreased the activities of LDH and CK in murine serum, and alleviated pathological damages of cardiac muscle in myocarditic mice. Moreover, Phyllaemblicin B clearly inhibited CVB3-associated apoptosis effects both in vitro and in vivo. These results show that Phyllaemblicin B exerts significant antiviral activities against CVB3. Therefore, Phyllaemblicin B may represent a potential therapeutic agent for viral myocarditis.

[Influence of nm23-H1 gene silence in K562 cell on its differentiation toward megakaryocyte].

OBJECTIVE: To construct a stable nm23-H1-knock-down cell model with K562 cell line and study its differentiation toward megakaryocyte. METHODS: Eukaryotic expression vector pSilencer 4.1-CMV-sinm23 expressing siRNA targeting nm23-H1 was transfected into K562 cells with lipofectamine2000. Cells with stably nm23-H1 silence were screened out by G418. Real-time quantitative PCR, immunocytochemistry, western blot were used to confirm the nm23-H1-knock-down K562 model. Cell differentiation capacity was detected by NBT reduction assay. Surface antigen Gp IIb-IIIa (CD41) of knock-down cells treated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate was analyzed by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to detect the ERK1/2 signal pathway after the stimulation of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. RESULTS: Endogenous nm23-H1 was silenced by pSilencer 4.1-CMV-sinm23 and the silence efficiency was up to 75% and 70% in mRNA and protein levels respectively compared with the mock cells. Under phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate treatment, the knock-down cells displayed a significantly increased differentiation ability toward megakaryocyte compared with control. The NBT reduction values were (0.31 +/- 0.07) and (0.23 +/- 0.05) respectively. Further results revealed that nm23-H1 gene regulating the megakaryocytic differentiation was due in part to the increased ERK1/2 phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS: A stable nm23-H1-knock-down K562 cell model is successfully constructed. nm23-H1 involves in regulating the megakaryocytic differentiation of K562 cell line.

[Efficient purification of recombinant human NDPK-A in pilot-scale].

To purify recombinant human nucleoside diphosphate kinase A (rhNDPK-A) efficiently in pilot scale, cells of rhNDPK-A producing E. coli were homogenized by high pressure under 4 degrees C, 950 Pa. The insoluble debris was removed by microfiltration and the soluble portion was concentrated by ultrafiltration. The resulted crude sample was loaded on DEAE-sepharose Fast Flow. The target fraction was collected and then load on Cibacron Blue 3GA Sepharose CL-4B. Eluted with buffer containing ATP from the AC column, rhNDPK-A was polished with ultrafiltration. The results showed that after homogenized 2 rounds, 1500g cells of E. coli brought crude sample containing 47.6g NDPK-A. Treated with microfiltration and ultrafiltration, 27.3g of NDPK-A were recovered from this bacteria homogenate. After 2-step purification with column chromatography and then polished with ultrafiltration, 17.2 g rhNDPK-A were collected with purity of 96.3%. The recovery of the whole purification process was 36.2%, and the productivity of rhNDPK-A was 1.15 g per 100 g wet cells. Comparing the recovery of each purification step, it was found that the recovery of polish is higher than that of affinity chromatography, which is higher than that of ion exchange chromatography. The limit step was the process of sample pretreatment among the 4 purification steps. Combine with the fermentation results reported before, it was deduced that the productivity of rhNDPK-A was 510 mg/L. In conclusion, an easily controlled purification condition with high yield provides material for the translation researches of NDPK; In addition, it was suggested the crucial step determine the recovery of non-secretive recombinant proteins might be the process of sample pretreatment, not be the process of column chromatography.

[Analysis of the relationship between nm23-H1 gene and human chronic myeloblastic leukemia using siRNA].

To investigate the relationship between nm23-H1 gene and human chronic myeloblastic leukemia we designed siRNAs which target nm23-H1 gene. According to the principles of designing siRNA, we selected three siRNAs and transfected them into K562 cells by lipofectamine2000. The expression levels of nm23-H1 mRNA were detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction after transfection for 24 hours. The expression levels of nm23-H1 protein were assayed by immunocytochemical method after transfection for 48 hours. And after transfection for 24, 48 and 72 hours, cell proliferation was determined by MTT method. Among the three siRNAs, siNM526 can effectively inhibit the expression of nm23-H1 on mRNA and protein levels. The growth of K562 cells was suppressed after transfection of siNM526. These results suggest that low expression level of nm23-H1 in K562 cells inhibited cell proliferation, namely reduced malignant degree of them. Therefore nm23-H1 gene might be a potential target of leukemia treatment.

Immunogenicity of SARS inactivated vaccine in BALB/c mice.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a serious infectious threat to public health. To create a novel trial vaccine and evaluate its potency, we attempted to generate a SARS inactivated vaccine using SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) strain F69 treated with formaldehyde and mixed with Al(OH)3. Three doses of the vaccine were used to challenge three groups of BALB/c mice. We found that the mice exhibited specific IgM on day 4 and IgG on day 8. The peak titers of IgG were at day 47 in low-dose group (1:19,200) and high-dose group (1:38,400) whereas in middle-dose group (1:19,200), the peak was at day 40. On day 63, the IgG levels reached a plateau. Neutralization assay demonstrated that the antisera could protect Vero-E6 cells from SARS-CoV's infection. Analysis of the antibody specificity revealed that the mouse antisera contained a mixture of antibodies specifically against the structure proteins of SARS-CoV. Furthermore, the mouse antisera conferred higher amount of antibodies against protein N, polypeptide S4 and S2 than those of proteins M and 3CL. These findings suggest that the inactivated SARS-CoV could preserve its antigenicity and the inactivated vaccine can stimulate mice to produce high levels of antibodies with neutralization activity. Results also suggest that polypeptides originating from protein N or S might be a potential target for the generation of a recombinant SARS vaccine.

[Physical and chemical characters of recombinant human nucleoside diphosphate kinase A].

To purify recombinant human nucleoside diphosphate kinase A (rhNDPK-A) and determine its physical and chemical characters, recombinant NDPK-A producing E. coli was cultured in 80L fermentor under high cell density culture (HCDC) conditions. The harvested cells were treated with high pressure to break the cell up, tangential-flow microfiltration to remove the bacteria debris and ultrafiltration to concentrate the filtered solution containing target protein. The crude NDPK-A was purified by ion exchange chromatography with DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow, affinity chromatography with Cibarcron Blue 3GA Sepharose CL-4B and gel filtration with Sephadex G-100. The purity of rhNDPK-A was analyzed with SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC. The Enzymatic activity was determined with RP-HPLC. The molecular weight (MW) was measured with matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight MS (MALDI-TOF MS). The N-terminal residue was sequenced with Edman method. The apparent molecular weight of rhNDPK-A in solution was determined with multiangle laser light-scattering method (MALS). It was found that the purity of rhNDPK-A was 97.3% with SDS-PAGE method and 99.2% with RP-HPLC method. The specific enzymatic activity was (900 +/- 100) u/mg. The molecular weight was 17017, which was 132 less than the calculated value according to the amino acid sequence of NDPK-A. The sequencing result of rhNDPK-A revealed that its N-terminal residue was Ala, which was the second residue on N-terminal of native NDPK-A. The calculated MW of N-terminal deleted rhNDPK-A was 17017, exactly equal to the experimental value. The result of apparent MW determination revealed that rhNDPK-A formed homohexamer in solution with a MW of 102kD. These results suggested that rhNDPK-A possessed character identical to its native counterpart of assembling into hexamer. Confirming the identity of rhNDPK-A to its native counterpart provided a good foundation for drug development and mechanism study of NDPK-A.

[Influence of the reductase deficient Escherichia coli on the solubility of recombinant proteins produced in it].

The cytoplasm of E. coli is a reducing environment where cysteines do not engage in disulfide bonds. Any disulfide bonds that do appear are rapidly reduced through the action of disulfide reducing enzymes such as thioredoxin and glutaredoxin. To study the influence of E. coli cytoplasm on the solubility of recombinant proteins produced in it, bovine fibroblast growth factor (BbFGF), with single disulfide bond, and anti-HBsAg single-chain Fv (HBscFv), with two disulfide bonds, were selected as the pattern molecules of simple protein and complex protein, respectively. pJN98-BbFGF, a BbFGF expressing plasmid based on the vector pET3c, was constructed and transformed into normal host BL21(DE3) and a reductase deficient strain, E. coli Origami(DE3). At the same time, pQE-HBscFv, a HBscFv expressing plasmid was constructed and transformed into M15 [pREP4] and Origami(DE3). The recombinant BbFGF and HBscFv were produced in 2 types of bacteria and their solubilities and bioactivities were determined, respectively. It was found that the majority of BbFGF had formed inclusion body in the cytoplasm of BL21 (DE3) and all of them turned into soluble protein in Origami(DE3). It was also found the productivity of BbFGF in Origami (DE3) was 5% - 10% of the total protein and the value was 15% - 23% in BL21(DE3). BbFGFs produced in 2 recombinant bacteria were purified by cation exchange and heparin affinity chromatography. MTT assay revealed that the bioactivity of BbFGF purified from Origami(DE3) was higher than its counterpart from BL21(DE3). The ED50 of BbFGFs from different bacteria was 1.6ng/mL and 2.2ng/mL, respectively. As far as HBscFvs, both of them formed inclusion body in the cytoplasm of M15 [pQE-HBscFv] and Origami [pQE-HBscFv]. The inclusion body was solubilized in 6mol/L GuHCl, purified with a His-Trap column and then refolded by dialysis step-by-step against buffers containing downtrend concentration of GuHCl. Indirect ELISA was applied to determine the HBsAg binding activity of HBscFvs. It was found there was no obvious difference between the bioactivity of refolded HBscFvs produced from 2 recombinant bacteria. On the other hand, the supernatant of Origami [pQE-HBscFv] lysate displayed weak bioactivity and its counterpart from M15 [pQE-HBscFv] displayed without any bioactivity. The soluble HBsFv in the cytoplasm of Origami [pQE-HBscFv] was purified by cation exchange and immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and the yield was 1 - 2mg/L. Those results suggested that modification of the redox environment of E. coli cytoplasm greatly improved the solubility of recombinant disulfide-bonded proteins produced in it. In the next step, we had like to co-express of molecular chaperones or refoldase to raise the yield of soluble recombinant proteins, as well as optimizing the culture condition of the "oxidizing" E. coli.