title: [Control of spatiotemporal distribution of interferon γ by genetically fusing functional peptides].
abstract: Type II interferon (IFNγ) is a representative Th1 cytokine and it possesses a variety of functions, including immune regulation, antiviral and antitumor activity. Because of its multifunctional nature, IFNγ is expected to be applied to the treatment of autoimmune diseases, cancer and viral infection. Although IFNγ has therapeutic potential for such diseases, the clinical use of IFNγ has been limited due to its short in vivo half-life and serious adverse effects. In contrast, gene delivery of IFNγ is an alternative approach to increasing the retention time of IFNγ. To extend transgene expression after plasmid DNA (pDNA) gene transfer, we designed and developed pDNA with varying numbers of CpG motifs. CpG-reduced pDNA resulted in more durable transgene expression than its CpG replete counterpart in mice. Comparison of the effect of promoter/enhancer elements on transgene expression showed that ROSA26 promoter-mediated IFNγ expression was safe because of the lack of an initial surge after hydrodynamic gene transfer. We also designed an IFNγ-mouse serum albumin (MSA) fusion protein, IFNγ-MSA. Gene transfer of this fusion protein resulted in a sustained concentration of IFNγ fusion protein in mouse serum, and inhibited tumor metastasis in mice. These results provide experimental evidence that IFNγ gene therapy can be a useful treatment for a variety of diseases.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Makiya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takakura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018899:CpG Islands; D004247:DNA / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015195:Drug Design; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012709:Serum Albumin; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012709:Serum Albumin; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D004247:DNA