Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.2.1.23 (beta-galactosidase)
14,648 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Replication-deficient adenovirus (Ad) vectors are effective to specifically target the respiratory epithelium for either corrective gene therapy such as cystic fibrosis or for mucosal immunization. As a consequence of transducing the lower respiratory tract with an E1/E3 deleted Ad5 vector, host responses have been characterized by the duration of transgene expression and by the induction of CTL responses. However, limited emphasis has been devoted to understanding the contribution of CD4+ T cell responses to the Ad vector. Both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells migrate into the lung following sequential intratracheal Ad5 transgene instillations. Isolated CD3+ T lymphocytes from the lungs were predominantly of the Th2 type, and after cell sorting, the IL-4-producing T cells were largely CD4+, while IFN-gamma expression was associated with both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Ab responses to the Ad5 vector and to the expressed transgene beta-galactosidase (beta gal) revealed elevated bronchial and serum IgA and IgG Abs with low neutralization titers. Analysis of serum IgG subclass responses showed IgG1 and IgG2b with lower IgG2a Abs to Ad5 and IgG2a and IgG2b Ab responses to beta gal. Ad5-specifc CD4+ T cells produced both Th1 (IFN-gamma and IL-2)- and Th2 (IL-4, IL-5, IL-6)-type cytokines, while beta gal-specific CD4+ T cells secreted IFN-gamma and IL-6. This study provides direct evidence for the concomitant induction of Th2- with Th1-type responses in both the pulmonary systemic and mucosal immune compartments to the Ad5 vector as well as a Th1-dominant response to the transgene.
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PMID:Adenoviral gene delivery elicits distinct pulmonary-associated T helper cell responses to the vector and to its transgene. 921 83

Fetal gene therapy offers the promise of cure for certain genetic diseases, like cystic fibrosis and surfactant protein B deficiency. The authors hypothesized that a fetoscopic approach could attain a high level of organ-specific gene transfer to the fetal lung late in gestation. To test this hypothesis the authors examined the efficacy, specificity, and toxicity of recombinant adenovirus-mediated transfer of the beta-galactosidase marker gene to the lung of late gestation fetal sheep using a fetoscopic technique. Twelve fetal sheep of 125 to 135 days' gestation (term, 145 days) underwent fetoscopic bronchoscopy and intratracheal administration of a replication-deficient adenoviral vector that transduces the beta-galactosidase marker gene. Escape of administered virus was prevented by the fetoscopic deployment of a detachable silicone balloon in the fetal trachea. All fetuses survived until being killed at 2 days after vector delivery for the histopathologic assessment of vector efficacy and specificity. Optimal beta-galactosidase transgene expression was observed at a viral titer of 2 x 10(12) particles per milliliter of administered volume. Expression was greatest in the distal pulmonary parenchyma, particularly in type II pneumocytes, and extended out to the pleura. There was no evidence of gene transfer in either the large conducting airways or in any other fetal organ. The authors have developed a minimally invasive technique for the specific pulmonary delivery of gene therapy vectors to the fetus with no associated acute toxicity. Gene transfer to the late gestation fetus for the treatment of congenital pulmonary disease may be feasible through fetoscopy.
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PMID:Fetoscopic gene therapy for congenital lung disease. 924 13

With the aim of developing foetal gene therapy for cystic fibrosis, we have investigated the possibility of gene targeting to the mouse foetus with two different viral vector systems and at different times of gestation. We report here that recombinant retrovirus producing cells administered into the intra-amniotic cavity of mid- to late-gestation mouse MF1 foetuses survive in the amniotic fluid and are able to engraft to a certain extent in foetal tissues. By production of infectious virus they mediate transduction and beta-galactosidase transgene expression in neighbouring foetal tissues 24 to 72 h following injection. Retrovirus producer cells could, therefore, become a means to overcome the limitations of low retroviral titre, for in vivo foetal gene transfer. To investigate the developmental stage at which transduction of the airways and enteral systems can be obtained we also administered a highly infective first generation adenoviral vector (AdRSV beta gal) into the amniotic cavity of foetal mice between 13 to 16 days post coitus, beta-galactosidase activity was detected between 24 to 120 h after injection. The highest levels of transgene expression were generally observed between 48 to 72 h following injection of the adenoviral vector. We demonstrate that infection of the pulmonary airways is dependent on the developmental stage of the foetus and can be achieved on the 15th day of gestation.
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PMID:Foetal gene delivery in mice by intra-amniotic administration of retroviral producer cells and adenovirus. 934 24

Mucin-specific adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa plays an important role in the initial colonization of this organism in the airways of cystic fibrosis patients. We report here that the flagellar cap protein, FliD, participates in this adhesion process. A polar chromosomal insertional mutation in the P. aeruginosa fliD gene made this organism nonadhesive to mucin in an in vitro mucin adhesion assay. The adhesive phenotype was restored by providing the fliD gene alone on a multicopy plasmid, suggesting involvement of this gene in mucin adhesion of P. aeruginosa. Further supporting this observation, the in vitro competition experiments demonstrated that purified FliD protein inhibited the mucin adhesion of nonpiliated P. aeruginosa PAK-NP, while the same concentrations of PilA and FlaG proteins of P. aeruginosa were ineffective in this function. The regulation of the fliD gene was studied and was found to be unique in that the transcription of the fliD gene was independent of the flagellar sigma factor sigma28. Consistent with this finding, no sigma28 binding sequence could be identified in the fliD promoter region. The results of the beta-galactosidase assays suggest that the fliD gene in P. aeruginosa is regulated by the newly described transcriptional regulator FleQ and the alternate sigma factor sigma54 (RpoN).
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PMID:The Pseudomonas aeruginosa flagellar cap protein, FliD, is responsible for mucin adhesion. 948 88

Trials of gene transfer for cystic fibrosis (CF) are currently underway. However, direct application to the airways may be impeded by the presence of airway secretions. We have therefore assessed the effect of CF sputum on the expression of the reporter gene beta-galactosidase complexed with the cationic liposome DC-Chol/DOPE in a number of cell lines in vitro. Transfection was markedly inhibited in the presence of sputum; the effect was concentration dependent and was only partially ameliorated by removal of sputum with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) washing before gene transfer. However, treatment of the sputum-covered cells with recombinant human DNase (rhDNase, 50 micrograms/ml) but not with N-acetylcysteine, Nacystelyn, lysine (all 20 mM) or recombinant alginase (0.5 U/ml) significantly (P < 0.005) improved gene transfer. Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer efficiency in the presence of sputum was similarly inhibited, and again, treatment with rhDNase before transfection significantly improved gene transfer (P < 0.005). Transfection of Cos 7 cells in the presence of exogenous genomic DNA alone demonstrated similar inhibition to that observed with sputum and was also ameliorated by pre-treatment of DNA-covered cells with rhDNase. In a separate series of experiments performed in the absence of added sputum or genomic DNA, increasing concentrations of rhDNase resulted in a concentration-related decline in transfection efficiency. However, even at the highest concentration (500 micrograms/ml of rhDNase), transfection efficiency remained more than 50% of control. Thus, pre-treatment of CF airways with rhDNase may be appropriate before liposome or adenovirus-mediated gene therapy.
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PMID:The effect of mucolytic agents on gene transfer across a CF sputum barrier in vitro. 953 69

Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients have endobronchial inflammation caused by infection with mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Since adenovirus vectors are being studied for gene therapy for CF, we sought to determine whether bronchopulmonary inflammation would influence adenovirus-mediated gene transfer. We hypothesized that bronchopulmonary inflammation in mice inoculated with mucoid P. aeruginosa would be associated with a decrease in the efficacy of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer. Agarose beads embedded with mucoid P. aeruginosa (6 x 10(4) c.f.u. per mouse) were inoculated transtracheally into C57BL/6 mice. Control mice received sterile agarose beads. Ten days after inoculation with agarose beads, recombinant adenovirus containing the beta-galactosidase reporter gene (Ad2/beta Gal-2) was administered intranasally (1.1 x 10(9) IU per mouse), and mice were killed 3 days later. The extent of inflammation, determined by neutrophil numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and by areal lung inflammation, was significantly greater in mice inoculated with P. aeruginosa-laden agarose beads and Ad2/beta Gal-2 compared with controls. Mice that had received Pseudomonas-laden agarose beads and Ad2/beta Gal-2 had significantly fewer (P < 0.015) airway epithelial cells transduced (4.1 +/- 0.9%) compared with mice that received sterile agarose beads and Ad2/beta Gal-2 (9.4 +/- 1.4%). These results indicate that the efficacy of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer is reduced in Pseudomonas-induced bronchopulmonary inflammation.
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PMID:Effects of bronchopulmonary inflammation induced by pseudomonas aeruginosa on adenovirus-mediated gene transfer to airway epithelial cells in mice. 961 54

Gallbladders from cystic fibrosis (CF) mice (Cftrtm1Cam and Cftrtm2Cam) were examined with the short-circuit current technique. The tissues failed to show any electrogenic anion transport in response to forskolin (cAMP stimulus) but responded to the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin. Administration of the plasmid pTrial10-CFTR2 complexed with cationic liposomes (3beta-[N-(dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl]cholesterol and L-alpha-phosphatidylethanolamine dioleolyl) to the airways restored the phenotype of CF gallbladders to that of the wild type, but did not do so when given orally. Formation of human CFTR mRNA in gallbladders of transfected CF null mice was demonstrated. Using the reporter genes pCMV-luc and pCMV-LacZ, we showed that 1) the intratracheal route was more effective than the oral,intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intraperitoneal routes in expressing luciferase activity in the gallbladder and 2) beta-galactosidase staining after pCMV-LacZ was confined to the columnar epithelium lining the gallbladder without any discernible activity in it smooth muscle. The discovery of an unusual route for gene transfer to the biliary system may give useful insight into counteracting the consequences of biliary fibrosis in human CF patients.
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PMID:Restoration by intratracheal gene transfer of bicarbonate secretion in cystic fibrosis mouse gallbladder. 969 5

Replication-deficient adenovirus vectors (Avs) have shown high-efficiency gene transfer in a variety of animal models, but demonstrated lower than expected efficiency in the intensely inflammatory milieu of the respiratory tract of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). Specific acquired immune responses directed at adenovirus capsid proteins are known to limit the duration of transgene expression and the effectiveness of vector readministration. In these models, however, nonspecific inflammation is also frequently noted to accompany specific immune responses. Because inflammation can occur early after Av administration, we hypothesized that inflammation may block Av-mediated gene transfer in the lung independent of specific immune responses. To evaluate this hypothesis, we measured pulmonary gene transfer and expression in the absence or presence of the potent antiinflammatory agent dexamethasone. To address and eliminate concerns over the potentially confounding effects of systemic, vector-specific acquired immune responses, evaluations were confined to a 3-day period following Av administration and were carried out, in parallel, in normal and immunodeficient (athymic) mice. Dexamethasone significantly reduced Av-associated inflammation in all animals as measured by a significant reduction of blinded, quantitative lung histopathology scores and by reduced proinflammatory cytokine release. Concomitant with reduced inflammation, gene transfer efficiency was significantly increased in both normal and immunodeficient animals as measured by transgene product activity (beta-galactosidase) in total lung homogenates 3 days after vector administration. This finding could not be explained by a direct effect of dexamethasone on transgene specific activity. To begin to understand the molecular mechanisms of Av-induced inflammatory responses, lung levels of the chemoattractive chemokines MIP-2, MIP-1alpha, and MCP-1 were quantified. All were elevated significantly in Av-exposed animals. Dexamethasone reduced levels of MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha, but not MIP-2, consistent with the observed pattern of inflammatory cell changes. Expression of several proinflammatory cytokines including TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1beta, and IFN-gamma were also elevated in Av-exposed animals and modulated by dexamethasone. These observations demonstrate that nonspecific inflammation is an important determinant of the efficiency of in vivo pulmonary gene transfer and expression independent of specific immune responses and may have important implications for human gene therapy for diseases of the lung.
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PMID:Nonspecific inflammation inhibits adenovirus-mediated pulmonary gene transfer and expression independent of specific acquired immune responses. 979 5

Nebulisation is currently the most acceptable and practical delivery system for repeated applications of gene therapy to the lower airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. We have assessed whether this route of administration offers other benefits with regard to respiratory gene transfer. A standard jet nebuliser (Acorn System 22, Medicaid) was used to transfer the reporter gene beta-galactosidase complexed with the cationic liposome DC-Chol/DOPE to three epithelial cell lines in vitro, two non-CF and one CF, using a novel collection system. In all three cell lines, nebulisation resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) improved transfection efficiency compared with instillation. At a constant DNA: liposome ratio of 1:5 (wt:wt), transfection efficiency was inversely related to increasing concentrations of DNA-liposomes before nebulisation. This effect was not related to the amount of DNA delivered and measurements of both zeta potential and mean aerodynamic particle size before and after nebulisation did not show concentration-related differences. The increased transfection efficiency did not relate either to the physical consequences of the nebulisation processes nor the effects of nebulisation on the complexes before instillation. Significantly increased transfection efficiency was seen following nebulisation with 95% O2/5% CO2 in comparison with 21% O2/78% N2 (air); this did not relate to changes in either the pH or temperature of the solution bathing the cells. The data confirm that nebulisation is appropriate for gene delivery to the lower airways in clinical practice and points to factors that may optimise gene transfer efficiency.
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PMID:The effects of jet nebulisation on cationic liposome-mediated gene transfer in vitro. 979 62

Human tracheal gland serous (HTGS) cells are now believed to be a major target of cystic fibrosis (CF) gene therapy. To evaluate the efficiency of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer in these cells we tested the adenovirus construction containing beta-galactosidase cDNA. We observed that the endogenous beta-galactosidase activity in cultured CF-HTGS cells was too strong to allow us to detect any exogenous beta-galactosidase activity. Immunohistological study on sections of human tracheal tissue confirmed the presence of beta-galactosidase in the serous component of the submucosal glands. We then looked for other lysosomal activities in normal and CF-HTGS cells. We showed that normal cells already have elevated enzyme values and that CF-HTGS cells contained 2-4-fold more beta-galactosidase, alpha-fucosidase, alpha-mannosidase and beta-glucuronidase activities than normal cells. An analysis of their kinetic constants has shown that this difference could be attributed to a lower K(m) of CF lysosomal enzymes. More importantly, these differences are eliminated after adenovirus-mediated CFTR gene transfer and not after beta-galactosidase gene transfer.
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PMID:High lysosomal activities in cystic fibrosis tracheal gland cells corrected by adenovirus-mediated CFTR gene transfer. 998 41


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