Search results for "Dependovirus"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
A Robust and All-Inclusive Pipeline for Shuffling of Adeno-Associated Viruses.
2018
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are attractive templates for engineering of synthetic gene delivery vectors. A particularly powerful technology for breeding of novel vectors with improved properties is DNA family shuffling, i.e., generation of chimeric capsids by homology-driven DNA recombination. Here, to make AAV DNA shuffling available to a wider community, we present a robust experimental and bioinformatical pipeline comprising: (i) standardized and partially codon-optimized plasmids carrying 12 different AAV capsid genes; (ii) a scalable protocol including troubleshooting guide for viral library production; and (iii) the freely available software SALANTO for comprehensive analysis of ch…
Genetics and Gene Therapy of Anderson-Fabry Disease.
2018
Fabry's disease is a genetic disorder of X-linked inheritance caused by mutations in the alpha galactosidase A gene resulting in deficiency of this lysosomal enzyme. The progressive accumulation of glycosphingolipids, caused by the inadequate enzymatic activity, is responsible of organ dysfunction and thus of clinical manifestations. In the presence of a high clinical suspicion, a careful physical examination and specific laboratory tests are required, finally diagnosis of Fabry's disease is confirmed by the demonstration of absence or reduced alpha-galactosidase A enzyme activity in hemizygous men and gene typing in heterozygous females; in fact the performance of enzymatic activity assay …
Profilin 1 delivery tunes cytoskeletal dynamics toward CNS axon regeneration
2020
After trauma, regeneration of adult CNS axons is abortive, causing devastating neurologic deficits. Despite progress in rehabilitative care, there is no effective treatment that stimulates axonal growth following injury. Using models with different regenerative capacities, followed by gain- and loss-of-function analysis, we identified profilin 1 (Pfn1) as a coordinator of actin and microtubules (MTs), powering axonal growth and regeneration. In growth cones, Pfn1 increased actin retrograde flow, MT growth speed, and invasion of filopodia by MTs, orchestrating cytoskeletal dynamics toward axonal growth. In vitro, active Pfn1 promoted MT growth in a formin-dependent manner, whereas localizati…
AAV vector-mediated overexpression of CB1 cannabinoid receptor in pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus protects against seizure-induced excitoxicity.
2010
The CB1 cannabinoid receptor is the most abundant G-protein coupled receptor in the brain and a key regulator of neuronal excitability. There is strong evidence that CB1 receptor on glutamatergic hippocampal neurons is beneficial to alleviate epileptiform seizures in mouse and man. Therefore, we hypothesized that experimentally increased CB1 gene dosage in principal neurons would have therapeutic effects in kainic acid (KA)-induced hippocampal pathogenesis. Here, we show that virus-mediated conditional overexpression of CB1 receptor in pyramidal and mossy cells of the hippocampus is neuroprotective and moderates convulsions in the acute KA seizure model in mice. We introduce a recombinant a…
Semaphorin 6A Improves Functional Recovery in Conjunction with Motor Training after Cerebral Ischemia
2010
Stroke is a major health problem in industrialized societies. Despite numerous attempts at developing acute stroke therapies aimed at minimizing acute infarct development, the only approved therapy so far is recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA). In recent years, the attention of the stroke community has therefore also put increased emphasis on understanding processes of post-stroke recovery, and their potential exploitability for therapeutic purposes. The brain has a remarkable ability to adapt to changes after stroke. Mechanisms that contribute to this plasticity are re-mapping and expansion of cortical areas to neighboring regions of functional motor cortex areas after injury […
Pathways of Cell Infection by Parvoviruses and Adeno-Associated Viruses
2004
Animal viruses have developed various strategies for infecting cells, and all begin with adsorption to cell surface receptors, penetration into the cytosol, uncoating or release of the viral genome, and targeting the genome and any required accessory proteins toward the correct cellular organelle or compartment for replication (26, 48, 63). Since genome delivery and release require the rearrangement of the viral structures, infection is normally a multistep process involving various viral and cellular components. Viruses that replicate in the nucleus must have mechanisms for transporting the genome and other components to the vicinity of the nuclear pore and into the nucleus (84). The endos…
Transgene detection by digital droplet PCR
2014
Somatic gene therapy is a promising tool for the treatment of severe diseases. Because of its abuse potential for performance enhancement in sports, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) included the term 'gene doping' in the official list of banned substances and methods in 2004. Several nested PCR or qPCR-based strategies have been proposed that aim at detecting long-term presence of transgene in blood, but these strategies are hampered by technical limitations. We developed a digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) protocol for Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF1) detection and demonstrated its applicability monitoring 6 mice injected into skeletal muscle with AAV9-IGF1 elements and 2 controls over a 3…
AAV Vector–mediated RNAi of Mutant Huntingtin Expression Is Neuroprotective in a Novel Genetic Rat Model of Huntington's Disease
2008
We report the characterization of a new rapid-onset model of Huntington's disease (HD) generated by adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector–mediated gene transfer of N-terminal huntingtin (htt) constructs into the rat striatum. Expression of exon 1 of mutant htt containing 70 CAG repeats rapidly led to neuropathological features associated with HD. In addition, we report novel data relating to neuronal transduction of AAV vectors that modulated the phenotype observed in this model. Quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) revealed that AAV vector–mediated expression in the striatum increased by >100-fold as compared to the endogenous htt level. Moreover, AAV vectors…
Muscle follistatin gene delivery increases muscle protein synthesis independent of periodical physical inactivity and fasting
2020
Blocking of myostatin and activins effectively counteracts muscle atrophy. However, the potential interaction with physical inactivity and fasting in the regulation of muscle protein synthesis is poorly understood. We used blockade of myostatin and activins by recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)-mediated follistatin (FS288) overexpression in mouse tibialis anterior muscle. To investigate the effects on muscle protein synthesis, muscles were collected 7 days after rAAV-injection in the nighttime or in the daytime representing high and low levels of activity and feeding, respectively, or after overnight fasting, refeeding, or ad libitum feeding. Muscle protein synthesis was increased by…
Neuroligin-2 Expression in the Prefrontal Cortex is Involved in Attention Deficits Induced by Peripubertal Stress
2016
Emerging evidence indicates that attention deficits, which are frequently observed as core symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders, may be elicited by early life stress. However, the mechanisms mediating these stress effects remain unknown. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been implicated in the regulation of attention, including dysfunctions in GABAergic transmission, and it is highly sensitive to stress. Here, we investigated the involvement of neuroligin-2 (NLGN-2), a synaptic cell adhesion molecule involved in the stabilization and maturation of GABAergic synapses, in the PFC in the link between stress and attention deficits. First, we established that exposure of rats to stress during th…