title: In vitro biological activity of anti-C II TA hammerhead ribozyme--a novel approach for autoimmune diseases.
abstract: This study investigated the feasibility of using an hammerhead ribozyme against C II TA, a major regulator of MHC II antigens, to repress the expression of MHC II molecules on Hela cells. A hammerhead ribozyme (Rz464) specific to 463-465 GUC triplet of C II TA and its target gene were transcribed, then mixed up and incubated in vitro. The cleavage products were analyzed by PAGE and silver-staining. Rz464 was then inserted into the pIRES2-EGFP vector (pRz464). Stable transfectants of Hela with pRz464 were tested for class II MHC induction by recombinant human interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). mRNA of C II TA was measured by RT-PCR. Our results showed that Rz464 could exclusively cleave C II TA RNA. When induced with IFN-gamma, the expression of HLA-DR, -DP, -DQ on pRz464+ Hela was induced, and the mRNA content of C II TA decreased too. It is concluded that Rz464 could inhibit C II TA and thus the family of genes was regulated by C II TA:MHC II molecules. These results provided insight into the future application of Rz464 as a new nucleic acid drug against auto-immune diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hematology, Xiehe Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Huazhong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Huahua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D001483:Base Sequence; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006682:HLA-DP Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D006682:HLA-DP Antigens; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; C083728:MHC class II transactivator protein; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; C427204:hammerhead ribozyme; D007371:Interferon-gamma