826. Transduction of Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells by RD114-TR-Pseudotyped Lentiviral Vectors

HIV-1-derived lentiviral vectors are efficiently pseudotyped by a chimeric envelope (RD114-TR) encoding the extracellular and transmembrane domains of the FLV RD114 glycoprotein fused to cytoplasmic tail (TR) of the MLV 4070A amphotropic glycoprotein. RD114-TR pseudotyped vectors may be concentrated by centrifugation, are resistant to complement inactivation, and are of particular interest for both ex vivo and in vivo gene therapy applications. We carried out a comparative analysis of VSV-G and RD114-TR-pseudotyped lentiviral vectors in transducing human cord blood-derived CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Transduction efficiency was comparatively analysed in CD34+ cells in liquid culture, in the progeny of CD34+ clonogenic progenitors in semi-solid culture, and in the progeny of CD34+ repopulating stem cells after xeno-transplantation in NOD-SCID mice. In all cases, RD114-TR-pseudotyped vectors transduced hematopoietic cells at lower m.o.i., resulting in lower toxicity and more efficient stable transduction at comparable vector copy number per genome. Potential changes in CD34+ cells transcription profile and phenotype upon transduction with RD114-TR or VSV-G-pseudotyped vectors was investigated by Affymetrix Gene Chips microarray analysis. We found no significant difference in gene expression patterns between mock-RD114-TR and VSV-G-transduced cells. Our study show that the biology of repopulating hematopoietic stem cells and their progeny is not affected by transduction with RD114-TR-pseudotyped lentiviral vectors

Spin-orbit readout using thin films of topological insulator Sb2Te3 deposited by industrial magnetron sputtering

Driving a spin-logic circuit requires the production of a large output signal by spin-charge interconversion in spin-orbit readout devices. This should be possible by using topological insulators, which are known for their high spin-charge interconversion efficiency. However, high-quality topological insulators have so far only been obtained on a small scale, or with large scale deposition techniques which are not compatible with conventional industrial deposition processes. The nanopatterning and electrical spin injection into these materials has also proven difficult due to their fragile structure and low spin conductance. We present the fabrication of a spin-orbit readout device from the topological insulator Sb2Te3 deposited by large-scale industrial magnetron sputtering on SiO2. Despite a modification of the Sb2Te3 layer structural properties during the device nanofabrication, we measured a sizeable output voltage that can be unambiguously ascribed to a spin-charge interconversion process

Ultrafast spin-currents and charge conversion at \u3ci\u3e3d-5d\u3c/i\u3e interfaces probed by time-domain terahertz spectroscopy

Spintronic structures are extensively investigated for their spin-orbit torque properties, required for magnetic commutation functionalities. Current progress in these materials is dependent on the interface engineering for the optimization of spin transmission. Here, we advance the analysis of ultrafast spin-charge conversion phenomena at ferromagnetic-Transition metal interfaces due to their inverse spin-Hall effect properties. In particular, the intrinsic inverse spin-Hall effect of Pt-based systems and extrinsic inverse spin-Hall effect of Au:W and Au:Ta in NiFe/Au:(W,Ta) bilayers are investigated. The spin-charge conversion is probed by complementary techniques-ultrafast THz time-domain spectroscopy in the dynamic regime for THz pulse emission and ferromagnetic resonance spin-pumping measurements in the GHz regime in the steady state-to determine the role played by the material properties, resistivities, spin transmission at metallic interfaces, and spin-flip rates. These measurements show the correspondence between the THz time-domain spectroscopy and ferromagnetic spin-pumping for the different set of samples in term of the spin mixing conductance. The latter quantity is a critical parameter, determining the strength of the THz emission from spintronic interfaces. This is further supported by ab initio calculations, simulations, and analysis of the spin-diffusion and spin-relaxation of carriers within the multilayers in the time domain, permitting one to determine the main trends and the role of spin transmission at interfaces. This work illustrates that time-domain spectroscopy for spin-based THz emission is a powerful technique to probe spin-dynamics at active spintronic interfaces and to extract key material properties for spin-charge conversion

Activated macrophages promote hepatitis C virus entry in a tumor necrosis factor-dependent manner

10.1002/hep.26911Hepatology5941320-133

Functional and Biochemical Characterization of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Particles Produced in a Humanized Liver Mouse Model

Lipoprotein components are crucial factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) assembly and entry. As hepatoma cells producing cell culture-derived HCV (HCVcc) particles are impaired in some aspects of lipoprotein metabolism, it is of upmost interest to biochemically and functionally characterize the in vivo produced viral particles, particularly regarding how lipoprotein components modulate HCV entry by lipid transfer receptors such as scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI). Sera from HCVcc-infected liver humanized FRG mice were separated by density gradients. Viral subpopulations, termed HCVfrg particles, were characterized for their physical properties, apolipoprotein association, and infectivity. We demonstrate that, in contrast to the widely spread distribution of apolipoproteins across the different HCVcc subpopulations, the most infectious HCVfrg particles are highly enriched in apoE, suggesting that such apolipoprotein enrichment plays a role for entry of in vivo derived infectious particles likely via usage of apolipoprotein receptors. Consistent with this salient feature, we further reveal previously undefined functionalities of SR-BI in promoting entry of in vivo produced HCV. First, unlike HCVcc, SR-BI is a particularly limiting factor for entry of HCVfrg subpopulations of very low density. Second, HCVfrg entry involves SR-BI lipid transfer activity but not its capacity to bind to the viral glycoprotein E2. In conclusion, we demonstrate that composition and biophysical properties of the different subpopulations of in vivo produced HCVfrg particles modulate their levels of infectivity and receptor usage, hereby featuring divergences with in vitro produced HCVcc particles and highlighting the powerfulness of this in vivo model for the functional study of the interplay between HCV and liver components

Viral entry and escape from antibody-mediated neutralization influence hepatitis C virus reinfection in liver transplantation

End-stage liver disease caused by chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause for liver transplantation (LT). Due to viral evasion from host immune responses and the absence of preventive antiviral strategies, reinfection of the graft is universal. The mechanisms by which the virus evades host immunity to reinfect the liver graft are unknown. In a longitudinal analysis of six HCV-infected patients undergoing LT, we demonstrate that HCV variants reinfecting the liver graft were characterized by efficient entry and poor neutralization by antibodies present in pretransplant serum compared with variants not detected after transplantation. Monoclonal antibodies directed against HCV envelope glycoproteins or a cellular entry factor efficiently cross-neutralized infection of human hepatocytes by patient-derived viral isolates that were resistant to autologous host-neutralizing responses. These findings provide significant insights into the molecular mechanisms of viral evasion during HCV reinfection and suggest that viral entry is a viable target for prevention of HCV reinfection of the liver graft

E. coli NfsA: an alternative nitroreductase for prodrug activation gene therapy in combination with CB1954

Prodrug activation gene therapy is a developing approach to cancer treatment, whereby prodrug-activating enzymes are expressed in tumour cells. After administration of a non-toxic prodrug, its conversion to cytotoxic metabolites directly kills tumour cells expressing the activating enzyme, whereas the local spread of activated metabolites can kill nearby cells lacking the enzyme (bystander cell killing). One promising combination that has entered clinical trials uses the nitroreductase NfsB from Escherichia coli to activate the prodrug, CB1954, to a potent bifunctional alkylating agent. NfsA, the major E. coli nitroreductase, has greater activity with nitrofuran antibiotics, but it has not been compared in the past with NfsB for the activation of CB1954. We show superior in vitro kinetics of CB1954 activation by NfsA using the NADPH cofactor, and show that the expression of NfsA in bacterial or human cells results in a 3.5- to 8-fold greater sensitivity to CB1954, relative to NfsB. Although NfsB reduces either the 2-NO2 or 4-NO2 positions of CB1954 in an equimolar ratio, we show that NfsA preferentially reduces the 2-NO2 group, which leads to a greater bystander effect with cells expressing NfsA than with NfsB. NfsA is also more effective than NfsB for cell sensitisation to nitrofurans and to a selection of alternative, dinitrobenzamide mustard (DNBM) prodrugs

Antibody-Directed Lentiviral Gene Transduction for Live-Cell Monitoring and Selection of Human iPS and hES Cells

The identification of stem cells within a mixed population of cells is a major hurdle for stem cell biology–in particular, in the identification of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells during the reprogramming process. Based on the selective expression of stem cell surface markers, a method to specifically infect stem cells through antibody-conjugated lentiviral particles has been developed that can deliver both visual markers for live-cell imaging as well as selectable markers to enrich for iPS cells. Antibodies recognizing SSEA4 and CD24 mediated the selective infection of the iPS cells over the parental human fibroblasts, allowing for rapid expansion of these cells by puromycin selection. Adaptation of the vector allows for the selective marking of human embryonic stem (hES) cells for their removal from a population of differentiated cells. This method has the benefit that it not only identifies stem cells, but that specific genes, including positive and negative selection markers, regulatory genes or miRNA can be delivered to the targeted stem cells. The ability to specifically target gene delivery to human pluripotent stem cells has broad applications in tissue engineering and stem cell therapies

High TWIST1 mRNA expression is associated with poor prognosis in lymph node-negative and estrogen receptor-positive human breast cancer and is co-expressed with stromal as well as ECM related genes

Introduction: The TWIST homolog 1 (TWIST1) is a transcription factor that induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), a key process in metastasis. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether TWIST1 expression predicts disease progression in a large breast cancer cohort with long-term clinical follow-up, and to reveal the biology related to TWIST1 mediated disease progression.Methods: TWIST1 mRNA expression level was analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 1,427 primary breast cancers. In uni- and multivariate analysis using Cox regression, TWIST1 mRNA expression level was associated with metastasis-free survival (MFS), disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Separate analyses in lymph node-negative patients (LNN, n = 778) who did not receive adjuvant systemic therapy, before and after stratification into estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (n = 552) and ER-negative (n = 226) disease, were also performed. The association of TWIST1 mRNA with survival endpoints was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Using gene expression arrays, genes showing a significant Spearman rank correlation with TWIST1 were used to identify overrepresented Gene Ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG)-annotated biological pathways.Results: Increased mRNA expression level of TWIST1 analyzed as a continuous variable in both uni- and multivariate analysis was associated with shorter MFS in all patients (hazard ratio (HR): 1.17, 95% confidence interval, (95% CI):1.09 to 1.26; and HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.26; respectively), in LNN patients (HR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.36; and HR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.36; respectively) and in the ER-positive subgroup of LNN patients (HR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.17 to 1.53; and HR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.14 to 1.53; respectively). Similarly, high TWIST1 expression was associated with shorter DFS and OS in all patients and in the LNN/ER-positive subgroup. In contrast, no association of TWIST1 mRNA expression with MFS, DFS or OS was observed in ER-negative patients. Genes h