Expression of an exogenous gene in a mammalian cell by use...

Details Expression of an exogenous gene in a mammalian cell by use... Expression of an exogenous gene in a mammalian cell by use...

1997-09-11

2002-01-15

Park, Hankyel (Department: 1648)

Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology

Micro-organism, tissue cell culture or enzyme using process...

Recombinant dna technique included in method of making a...

C514S012200, C536S023200, C536S023500, C435S069100, C435S320100, C435S252300, C435S325000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06338953

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the use of a non-mammalian DNA virus to express an exogenous gene in a mammalian cell.
Current methods for expressing an exogenous gene in a mammalian cell include the use of mammalian viral vectors, such as those that are derived from retroviruses, adenoviruses, herpes viruses, vaccinia viruses, polio viruses, or adeno-associated viruses. Other methods of expressing an exogenous gene in a mammalian cell include direct injection of DNA, the use of ligand-DNA conjugates, the use of adenovirus-ligand-DNA conjugates, calcium phosphate precipitation, and methods that utilize a liposome- or polycation-DNA complex. In some cases, the liposome- or polycation-DNA complex is able to target the exogenous gene to a specific type of tissue, such as liver tissue.
Typically, viruses that are used to express desired genes are constructed by removing unwanted characteristics from a virus that is known to infect, and replicate in, a mammalian cell. For example, the genes encoding viral structural proteins and proteins involved in viral replication often are removed to create a defective virus, and a therapeutic gene is then added. This principle has been used to create gene therapy vectors from many types of animal viruses such as retroviruses, adenoviruses, and herpes viruses. This method has also been applied to Sindbis virus, an RNA virus that normally infects mosquitoes but which can replicate in humans, causing a rash and an arthritis syndrome.
Non-mammalian viruses have been used to express exogenous genes in non-mammalian cells. For example, viruses of the family Baculoviridae (commonly referred to as baculoviruses) have been used to express exogenous genes in insect cells. One of the most studied baculoviruses is Autographa genes in insect cells. One of the most studied baculoviruses is
Autographa californica
multiple nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV). Although some species of baculoviruses that infect crustacea have been described (Blissard, et al., 1990, Ann. Rev. Entomology 35:127), the normal host range of the baculovirus AcMNPV is limited to the order lepidoptera. Baculoviruses have been reported to enter mammalian cells (Volkman and Goldsmith, 1983, Appl. and Environ. Microbiol. 45:1085-1093; Carbonell and Miller, 1987, Appl. and Environ. Microbiol. 53:1412-1417; Brusca et al., 1986, Intervirology 26:207-222; and Tjia et al., 1983, Virology 125:107-117). Although an early report of baculovirus-mediated gene expression in mammalian cells appeared, the authors later attributed the apparent reporter gene activity to the reporter gene product being carried into the cell after a prolonged incubation of the cell with the virus (Carbonell et al., 1985, J. Virol. 56:153-160; and Carbonell and Miller, 1987, Appl. and Environ. Microbiol. 53:1412-1417). These authors reported that, when the exogenous gene gains access to the cell as part of the baculovirus genome, the exogenous gene is not expressed de novo. Subsequent studies have demonstrated baculovirus-mediated gene expression in mammalian cells (Boyce and Bucher, 1996, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 93:2348-2352). In addition to the Baculoviridae, other families of viruses naturally multiply only in invertebrates; some of these viruses are listed in Table 1.
Gene therapy methods are currently being investigated for their usefulness in treating a variety of disorders. Most gene therapy methods involve supplying an exogenous gene to overcome a deficiency in the expression of a gene in the patient. Other gene therapy methods are designed to counteract the effects of a disease. Still other gene therapy methods involve supplying an antisense nucleic acid (e.g., RNA) to inhibit expression of a gene of the host cell (e.g., an oncogene) or expression of a gene from a pathogen (e.g., a virus).
Certain gene therapy methods are being examined for their ability to correct inborn errors of the urea cycle, for example (see, e.g., Wilson et al., 1992, J. Biol. Chem. 267: 11483-11489). The urea cycle is the predominant metabolic pathway by which nitrogen wastes are eliminated from the body. The steps of the urea cycle are primarily limited to the liver, with the first two steps occurring within hepatic mitochondria. In the first step, carbamoyl phosphate is synthesized in a reaction that is catalyzed by carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPS-I). In the second step, citrulline in formed in a reaction catalyzed by ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC). Citrulline then is transported to the cytoplasm and condensed with aspartate into arginosuccinate by arginosuccinate synthetase (AS). In the next step, arginosuccinate lyase (ASL) cleaves arginosuccinate to produce arginine and fumarate. In the last step of the cycle, arginase converts arginine into ornithine and urea.
A deficiency in any of the five enzymes involved in the urea cycle has significant pathological effects, such as lethargy, poor feeding, mental retardation, coma, or death within the neonatal period (see, e.g., Emery et al., 1990, In: Principles and Practice of Medical Genetics, Churchill Livingstone, N.Y.). OTC deficiency usually manifests as a lethal hyperammonemic coma within the neonatal period. A deficiency in AS results in citrullinemia which is characterized by high levels of citrulline in the blood. The absence of ASL results in arginosuccinic aciduria (ASA), which results in a variety of conditions including severe neonatal hyperammonemia and mild mental retardation. An absence of arginase results in hyperarginemia which can manifest as progressive spasticity and mental retardation during early childhood. Other currently used therapies for hepatic disorders include dietary restrictions; liver transplantation; and administration of arginine freebase, sodium benzoate, and/or sodium phenylacetate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has been discovered that a non-mammalian DNA virus carrying an exogenous gene expression construct and having an “altered” coat protein can be used to increase the efficiency with which the non-mammalian DNA virus expresses an exogenous gene in the mammalian cell. For example, expression of vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein G (VSV-G) as an altered coat protein on the surface of a virus particle of a baculovirus enhances the ability of the baculovirus to express an exogenous gene (e.g., a therapeutic gene) in a mammalian cell. While not being obligated to know or disclose the manner in which the invention works, nor being bound by any theory, it is postulated that the enhancement of gene expression is due to an increased ability of a virus particle to gain entry into the cytosol of the mammalian cell.
Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention features a method of expressing an exogenous gene in a mammalian cell(s), involving (i) introducing into the cell a non-mammalian DNA virus having an altered coat protein, the genome of which virus carries the exogenous gene under the control of a promoter that induces expression of the exogenous gene in the cell, and (ii) maintaining the cell under conditions such that the exogenous gene is expressed.
In a second aspect, the invention features a method of treating a gene deficiency disorder in a mammal (e.g., a human or a mouse), involving introducing into a cell (in vivo or ex vivo) a therapeutically effective amount of a non-mammalian DNA virus having an altered coat protein, the genome of which virus carries an exogenous gene, and maintaining the cell under conditions such that the exogenous gene is expressed in the mammal.
The invention further features a method for treating a tumor in a mammal, involving introducing into a cancerous cell of the mammal (e.g., a cancerous hepatocyte) a non-mammalian DNA virus (e.g., a baculovirus) having an altered coat protein, the genome of which virus expresses a cancer-therapeutic gene (encoding, e.g., a tumor necrosis factor, thymidine kinase, diphtheria toxin chimera, or cytosine deaminase). The exogenous gene can be expressed in a variety of cells, e.g., hepatocytes; cells of the central nervous system, including neural cells such a

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