Humanized mice efficiently engrafted with fetal hepatoblasts and syngeneic immune cells develop human monocytes and NK cells

Human liver chimeric mice are useful models of human hepatitis virus infection, including hepatitis B and C virus infections. Independently, immunodeficient mice reconstituted with CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) derived from fetal liver reliably develop human T and B lymphocytes. Combining these systems has long been hampered by inefficient liver reconstitution of human fetal hepatoblasts. Our study aimed to enhance hepatoblast engraftment in order to create a mouse model with syngeneic human liver and immune cells.The effects of human oncostatin-M administration on fetal hepatoblast engraftment into immunodeficient fah(-/-) mice was tested. Mice were then transplanted with syngeneic human hepatoblasts and HSC after which human leukocyte chimerism and functionality were analyzed by flow cytometry, and mice were challenged with HBV.Addition of human oncostatin-M enhanced human hepatoblast engraftment in immunodeficient fah(-/-) mice by 5-100 fold. In contrast to mice singly engrafted with HSC, which predominantly developed human T and B lymphocytes, mice co-transplanted with syngeneic hepatoblasts also contained physiological levels of human monocytes and natural killer cells. Upon infection with HBV, these mice displayed rapid and sustained viremia.Our study provides a new mouse model with improved human fetal hepatoblast engraftment and an expanded human immune cell repertoire. With further improvements, this model may become useful for studying human immunity against viral hepatitis.Important human pathogens such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus only infect human cells which complicates the development of mouse models for the study of these pathogens. One way to make mice permissive for human pathogens is the transplantation of human cells into immune-compromised mice. For instance, the transplantation of human liver cells will allow the infection of these so-called liver chimeric mice with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus. The co-transplantation of human immune cells into liver chimeric mice will further allow the study of human immune responses to hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus. However, for immunological studies it will be crucial that the transplanted human liver and immune cells are derived from the same human donor. In our study we describe the efficient engraftment of human fetal liver cells and immune cells derived from the same donor into mice. We show that liver co-engraftment resulted in an expanded human immune cell repertoire, including monocytes and natural killer cells in the liver. We further demonstrate that these mice could be infected with hepatitis B virus, which lead to an expansion of natural killer cells. In conclusion we have developed a new mouse model that could be useful to study human immune responses to human liver pathogens

Tyrphostins that suppress the growth of human papilloma virus 16‐immortalized human keratinocytes

ABSTRACT Human papilloma virus 16 (HPV16) is considered to be the causative agent for cervical cancer, which ranks second to breast cancer in women's malignancies. In an attempt to develop drugs that inhibit the malignant transformation of HPV16-immortalized epithelial cells, we examined the effect of tyrphostins on such cells. We examined the effect of tyrphostins from four different families on the growth of HPV16-immortalized human keratinocytes (HF-1) cells. We found that they alter their cell cycle distribution, their morphology, and induce cell death by apoptosis. The effects of tyrphostins on HF-1 cells are different from their effects on normal keratinocytes. Growth suppression by AG555 and AG1478 is accompanied by 30% apoptosis in HF-1 cells, but this is not observed in normal keratinocytes. Tyrphostin treatment produces distinctive morphological changes in HF-1 cells and in normal keratinocytes; however, the culture organization of normal keratinocytes is less disrupted. These differential effects of the tyrphostins on HPV16-immortalized keratinocytes compared with their effects on normal keratinocytes suggests that these compounds are suitable candidates for the treatment of papilloma. Previous and present results indicate that group 1 tyrphostins, which inhibit Cdk2 activation, and group 2 tyrphostins, represented by AG1478, a potent epidermal growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor, induce cell cycle arrest; and, in the case of HF-1 cells, apoptosis and differentiation. Cells accumulate in the G 1 phase of the cell cycle at the expense of S and G 2 ϩ M. These compounds block the growth of normal keratinocytes without inducing apoptosis or differentiation, causing them to accumulate in G 1 . AG17, which belongs to group 4, exerts its antiproliferative effect mainly by increasing the fractions of cells in G 1 with a concomitant decrease in the fraction of cells in S and G 2 ϩ M

Peroxiredoxin II Regulates Effector and Secondary Memory CD8+ T cell Responses

Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) generated in response to receptor stimulation play an important role in cellular responses. However, the effect of increased H2O2on an antigen-specific CD8+ T cell response was unknown. Following T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation, the expression and oxidation of peroxiredoxin II (PrdxII), a critical antioxidant enzyme, increased in CD8+ T cells. Deletion of PrdxII increased ROI, S phase entry, division, and death during in vitro division. During primary acute viral and bacterial infection, the number of effector CD8+ T cells in PrdxII-deficient mice was increased, while the number of memory cells were similar to those of the wild-type cells. Adoptive transfer of P14 TCR transgenic cells demonstrated that the increased expansion of effector cells was T cell autonomous. After rechallenge, effector CD8+ T cells in mutant animals were more skewed to memory phenotype than cells from wild-type mice, resulting in a larger secondary memory CD8+ T cell pool. During chronic viral infection, increased antigen-specific CD8+ T cells accumulated in the spleens of PrdxII mutant mice, causing mortality. These results demonstrate that PrdxII controls effector CD8+ T cell expansion, secondary memory generation, and immunopathology

Developmental Regulation of Hepatitis B Virus Biosynthesis by Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4α

The host cellular factors that promote persistent viral infections in vivo are, in general, poorly understood. Utilizing the hepatitis B virus (HBV) transgenic mouse model of chronic infection, we demonstrate that the nuclear receptor, hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α, NR2A1), is essential for viral biosynthesis in the liver. The dependency of HBV transcription on HNF4α links viral biosynthesis and persistence to a developmentally regulated transcription factor essential for host viability

Calpain-Catalyzed Proteolysis of Human dUTPase Specifically Removes the Nuclear Localization Signal Peptide

Calpain proteases drive intracellular signal transduction via specific proteolysis of multiple substrates upon Ca(2+)-induced activation. Recently, dUTPase, an enzyme essential to maintain genomic integrity, was identified as a physiological calpain substrate in Drosophila cells. Here we investigate the potential structural/functional significance of calpain-activated proteolysis of human dUTPase.Limited proteolysis of human dUTPase by mammalian m-calpain was investigated in the presence and absence of cognate ligands of either calpain or dUTPase. Significant proteolysis was observed only in the presence of Ca(II) ions, inducing calpain action. The presence or absence of the dUTP-analogue α,β-imido-dUTP did not show any effect on Ca(2+)-calpain-induced cleavage of human dUTPase. The catalytic rate constant of dUTPase was unaffected by calpain cleavage. Gel electrophoretic analysis showed that Ca(2+)-calpain-induced cleavage of human dUTPase resulted in several distinctly observable dUTPase fragments. Mass spectrometric identification of the calpain-cleaved fragments identified three calpain cleavage sites (between residues (4)SE(5); (7)TP(8); and (31)LS(32)). The cleavage between the (31)LS(32) peptide bond specifically removes the flexible N-terminal nuclear localization signal, indispensable for cognate localization.Results argue for a mechanism where Ca(2+)-calpain may regulate nuclear availability and degradation of dUTPase

TbPIF5 Is a Trypanosoma brucei Mitochondrial DNA Helicase Involved in Processing of Minicircle Okazaki Fragments

Trypanosoma brucei's mitochondrial genome, kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), is a giant network of catenated DNA rings. The network consists of a few thousand 1 kb minicircles and several dozen 23 kb maxicircles. Here we report that TbPIF5, one of T. brucei's six mitochondrial proteins related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial DNA helicase ScPIF1, is involved in minicircle lagging strand synthesis. Like its yeast homolog, TbPIF5 is a 5′ to 3′ DNA helicase. Together with other enzymes thought to be involved in Okazaki fragment processing, TbPIF5 localizes in vivo to the antipodal sites flanking the kDNA. Minicircles in wild type cells replicate unidirectionally as theta-structures and are unusual in that Okazaki fragments are not joined until after the progeny minicircles have segregated. We now report that overexpression of TbPIF5 causes premature removal of RNA primers and joining of Okazaki fragments on theta structures. Further elongation of the lagging strand is blocked, but the leading strand is completed and the minicircle progeny, one with a truncated H strand (ranging from 0.1 to 1 kb), are segregated. The minicircles with a truncated H strand electrophorese on an agarose gel as a smear. This replication defect is associated with kinetoplast shrinkage and eventual slowing of cell growth. We propose that TbPIF5 unwinds RNA primers after lagging strand synthesis, thus facilitating processing of Okazaki fragments

RNAi for Treating Hepatitis B Viral Infection

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the leading causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Current treatment strategies of HBV infection including the use of interferon (IFN)-α and nucleotide analogues such as lamivudine and adefovir have met with only partial success. Therefore, it is necessary to develop more effective antiviral therapies that can clear HBV infection with fewer side effects. RNA interference (RNAi), by which a small interfering RNA (siRNA) induces the gene silence at a post-transcriptional level, has the potential of treating HBV infection. The successful use of chemically synthesized siRNA, endogenous expression of small hairpin RNA (shRNA) or microRNA (miRNA) to silence the target gene make this technology towards a potentially rational therapeutics for HBV infection. However, several challenges including poor siRNA stability, inefficient cellular uptake, widespread biodistribution and non-specific effects need to be overcome. In this review, we discuss several strategies for improving the anti-HBV therapeutic efficacy of siRNAs, while avoiding their off-target effects and immunostimulation. There is an in-depth discussion on the (1) mechanisms of RNAi, (2) methods for siRNA/shRNA production, (3) barriers to RNAi-based therapies, and (4) delivery strategies of siRNA for treating HBV infection

Identification of a Bacterial-Like HslVU Protease in the Mitochondria of Trypanosoma brucei and Its Role in Mitochondrial DNA Replication

ATP-dependent protease complexes are present in all living organisms, including the 26S proteasome in eukaryotes, Archaea, and Actinomycetales, and the HslVU protease in eubacteria. The structure of HslVU protease resembles that of the 26S proteasome, and the simultaneous presence of both proteases in one organism was deemed unlikely. However, HslVU homologs have been identified recently in some primordial eukaryotes, though their potential function remains elusive. We characterized the HslVU homolog from Trypanosoma brucei, a eukaryotic protozoan parasite and the causative agent of human sleeping sickness. TbHslVU has ATP-dependent peptidase activity and, like its bacterial counterpart, has essential lysine and N-terminal threonines in the catalytic subunit. By epitope tagging, TbHslVU localizes to mitochondria and is associated with the mitochondrial genome, kinetoplast DNA (kDNA). RNAi of TbHslVU dramatically affects the kDNA by causing over-replication of the minicircle DNA. This leads to defects in kDNA segregation and, subsequently, to continuous network growth to an enormous size. Multiple discrete foci of nicked/gapped minicircles are formed on the periphery of kDNA disc, suggesting a failure in repairing the gaps in the minicircles for kDNA segregation. TbHslVU is a eubacterial protease identified in the mitochondria of a eukaryote. It has a novel function in regulating mitochondrial DNA replication that has never been observed in other organisms

A leucine aminopeptidase is involved in kinetoplast DNA segregation in <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i>

The kinetoplast (k), the uniquely packaged mitochondrial DNA of trypanosomatid protists is formed by a catenated network of minicircles and maxicircles that divide and segregate once each cell cycle. Although many proteins involved in kDNA replication and segregation are now known, several key steps in the replication mechanism remain uncharacterized at the molecular level, one of which is the nabelschnur or umbilicus, a prominent structure which in the mammalian parasite Trypanosoma brucei connects the daughter kDNA networks prior to their segregation. Here we characterize an M17 family leucyl aminopeptidase metalloprotease, termed TbLAP1, which specifically localizes to the kDNA disk and the nabelschur and represents the first described protein found in this structure. We show that TbLAP1 is required for correct segregation of kDNA, with knockdown resulting in delayed cytokinesis and ectopic expression leading to kDNA loss and decreased cell proliferation. We propose that TbLAP1 is required for efficient kDNA division and specifically participates in the separation of daughter kDNA networks