Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction enhances AAV mediated gene transfection: human RPE cells in vitro and the rat retina in vivo

The present study was performed to investigate the efficacy and safety of Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) mediated rAAV2-EGFP to cultured human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells _in vitro_ and the rat retina _in vivo_. _In vitro_ study, cultured human RPE cells were exposed to US under different conditions with or without microbubbles. Furthermore, the effect of UTMD to rAAV2-EGFP itself and the cells were evaluated. _In vivo_ study, gene transfer was examined by injecting rAAV2-EGFP into the subretinal space of the rats with or without microbubbles and then exposed to US. We investigated EGFP expression _in vivo_ via stereomicroscopy and performed quantitative analysis by Axiovision 3.1 software. HE staining and frozen sections were used to observe tissue damage and location of EGFP gene expression. _In vitro_ study, the transfection efficiency of rAAV2-EGFP increased 74.85% under the optimal UTMD conditions. Furthermore, there was almost no cytotoxicity to the cells and rAAV2-EGFP itself. _In vivo_ study, UTMD could be used safely to enhance and accelerate transgene expression of the retina. Fluorescence expression was mainly located in the layer of retina. UTMD is a promising method for gene delivery to the retina

Detection of MTAP Protein and Gene Expression in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background and objective The abnormal expression of MTAP, a tumor suppressor gene, is found in a variety of tumor tissues. The aim of this study is to detect the expression of MTAP mRNA protein and the clinical significance for the therapy of non-small cell lung cancer tissue (NSCLC). Methods The expression of MTAP protein was detected by immunohistochemistry in 52 cases of NSCLC patients. The relative expression MTAP mRNA was detected by real-time quantitative PCR. Results The expression of MTAP protein in NSCLC tissue was significantly lower than that in paracarcinomous tissue and borderline lung tissue respectively (t=10.283, 10.940, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference among gender, age, smoking history, histology except differentiation (t=2.310, P=0.025). The MTAP mRNA relative expression in NSCLC tissue was significantly lower than that in paracarcinomous tissue (t=9.902, P < 0.001). Conclusion Downregulation of MTAP protein and gene expression is correlated to the oncogenesis and progression of NSCLC