DNA/metabolism* ; Gene Editing ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans

Since CKD-712 has been developed as an anti-inflammatory agent, we examined the effect of CKD-712 during TLR4 signaling. Using HEK293 cells expressing TLR4, CKD-712 was pre-treated 1 hr before LPS stimulation. Activation of NF-kappaB was assessed by promoter assay. The activation of ERK, JNK, p38, IRF3 and Akt was measured by western blotting. CKD-712 inhibited the NF-kappaB signaling triggered by LPS. The activation of ERK, JNK, p38 or IRF3 was not inhibited by CKD-712. On the contrary the activation of these molecules was augmented slightly. The activation of Akt with stimulation of LPS was also enhanced with CKD-712 pre-treatment at lower concentration, but was inhibited at higher concentration. We suggest that during TLR4 signaling CKD-712 inhibits NF-kappaB activation. However, CKD-712 augmented the activation of Akt as well as Map kinases. Therefore, we suggest that CKD-712 might have a role as an immunomodulator.
Blotting, Western ; HEK293 Cells ; NF-kappa B ; Phosphotransferases ; Tetrahydroisoquinolines

Bombesin receptor subtype-3(BRS-3) is an orphan receptor in the bombesin receptor family. Its signal transduction mechanism and biological function have attracted much attention. Seeking the ligand for BRS-3 is of great significance for exploring its function. Considering the fact that the activation of BRS-3 receptor can induce the change in intracellular Ca~(2+) concentration, the fluo-rometric imaging plate reader(FLIPR) was utilized for ligand screening at the cellular level. Among more than 400 monomeric compounds isolated from Chinese herbs, yuanhunine from Corydalis Rhizoma and sophoraisoflavanone A and licoriphenone from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma antagonized BRS-3 to varying degrees. It was confirmed in HEK293 cells expressing BRS-3 that yuanhunine, sophoraisoflavanone A, and licoriphenone inhibited the calcium current response after the activation of BRS-3 by [D-Phe~6,β-Ala~(11),Phe~(13),Nle~(14)]bombesin-(6-14) in a dose-dependent manner with the IC_(50) values being 8.58, 4.10, and 2.04 μmol·L~(-1), respectively. Further study indicated that yuanhunine and sophoraisoflavanone A exhibited good selectivity for BRS-3. In this study, it was found for the first time that monomers derived from Chinese herbs had antagonistic activity against orphan receptor BRS-3, which has provided a tool for further study of BRS-3 and also the potential lead compounds for new drug discovery. At the same time, it provides reference for the research and development of innovative drugs based on the active ingredients of Chinese herbs.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Ligands ; Receptors, Bombesin

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether co-transfection of wild-type VWFpp with VWF mutant in D1 region is able to correct VWF defects in biosynthesis and secretion. METHODS: Four VWF mutant plasmids were single transfected into HEK 293 cells, or co-transfected into HEK 293 cells with the wild type VWFpp plasmids. The VWF in supernatant and lysate of transfected cells were analyzed by ELISA, vertical VWF multimer electrophoresis. The retention of VWF in endoplasmic reticulum of transfected cells were detected by immunofluorescence confocal microscope. RESULTS: In the vertical VWF multimer analysis, with co-expressing VWF mutant and VWFpp, the VWF multimer bands disappeared, and the VWF antigen in both supernatant and lysate of cells decreased, compared with the single expression of VWF mutant. Although the intracellular levels of VWF antigens decreased after co-expression, the retention rate of VWF mutant decreased in endoplasmic reticulum. CONCLUSION VWFpp can reduce the retention of VWF in endoplasmic reticulum, assists the transport of VWF between subcellular organelles. However, VWFpp inhibits the biosynthesis and secretion of VWF about the mutant in D1 domain.
HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; von Willebrand Diseases ; von Willebrand Factor/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: To explore the cytotoxicity of four wild mushrooms involved in a case of Yunnan sudden unexplained death (YNSUD), to provide the experimental basis for prevention and treatment of YNSUD. METHODS: Four kinds of wild mushrooms that were eaten by family members in this YNSUD incident were collected and identified by expert identification and gene sequencing. Raw extracts from four wild mushrooms were extracted by ultrasonic extraction to intervene HEK293 cells, and the mushrooms with obvious cytotoxicity were screened by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). The selected wild mushrooms were prepared into three kinds of extracts, which were raw, boiled, and boiled followed by enzymolysis. HEK293 cells were intervened with these three extracts at different concentrations. The cytotoxicity was detected by CCK-8 combined with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) Assay Kit, and the morphological changes of HEK293 cells were observed under an inverted phase contrast microscope. RESULTS: Species identification indicated that the four wild mushrooms were Butyriboletus roseoflavus, Boletus edulis, Russula virescens and Amanita manginiana. Cytotoxicity was found only in Amanita manginiana. The raw extracts showed cytotoxicity at the mass concentration of 0.1 mg/mL, while the boiled extracts and the boiled followed by enzymolysis extracts showed obvious cytotoxicity at the mass concentration of 0.4 mg/mL and 0.7 mg/mL, respectively. In addition to the obvious decrease in the number of HEK293 cells, the number of synapses increased and the refraction of HEK293 cells was poor after the intervention of Amanita manginiana extracts. CONCLUSIONS The extracts of Amanita manginiana involved in this YNSUD case has obvious cytotoxicity, and some of its toxicity can be reduced by boiled and enzymolysis, but cannot be completely detoxicated. Therefore, the consumption of Amanita manginiana is potentially dangerous, and it may be one of the causes of the YNSUD.
Humans ; HEK293 Cells ; Sincalide ; China ; Amanita ; Death, Sudden

Mycoplasma infection is the most prevalent contamination in cell culture. Analysis of cell culture in laboratories from different countries shows that mycoplasma contamination ranges from 15% to 80% and, in some cases, even reaches 100% (Chernov et al., 2014). Whilst mycoplasma infection is not visible to the naked eye in cell culture, the consequences of mycoplasma contamination have been shown to induce a number of cellular changes, for example, increased resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. Therefore, any results obtained from tissue culture studies, in the presence of mycoplasma contamination, potentially render the data invalid (Kim et al., 2015; Gedye et al., 2016). As such, mycoplasmas are not harmless bystanders and cannot be ignored in in vitro studies.
Arginine/pharmacology* ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Mycoplasma/isolation & purification* ; Plasmids ; Transfection

Animals ; Genetic Vectors ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; genetics ; Rats

In the present study, packaging system composed of pAAV-CMV-GFP, pAAV-RC and pHelper were transfected into human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK293 cells) mediated by polyethyleneimine (PEI) to explore an optimal transfection condition. Different total plasmid DNA dosages (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 μg) and different PEI/Plasmid ratios (1:1, 3:1, 5:1, 7:1) were tested with detection of green fluorescence protein (GFP) with ImagePro Plus6. 0 Software. Then transfection efficiency of the optimized transfection system was further observed for different time periods(12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 h). The results showed that total plasmid dosage of 4 μg/well with PEI/plasmid ratio of 3 : 1-5 : 1 was an efficient transfection condition. Transfection efficiency-time curve was an S-shaped curve. Transfection efficiency reached a plateau at 60 h after transfection. The optimized conditions for PEI-mediated transfection at the optimal time result in enhanced transfection efficiency of triple plasmid into HEK293 cells.
Green Fluorescent Proteins ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Plasmids ; Polyethyleneimine ; Transfection ; methods

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to construct endogenous exosomes abundantly loaded with miR-1 and investigate the role of exosome-mediated microRNA-1 (miR-1) delivery on CAL-27 cell proliferation. METHODS: Exosomes secreted by miR-1-overexpressing HEK293 cells (miR1-EXO) were purified via ultracentrifugation and subjected to transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle analysis, Western blot analysis, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). CAL-27 cells were cocultured with exosomes secreted by HEK293 cells (CON-EXO) and miR1-EXO and equivalent phosphate buffer saline. The intracellular transport of exosomes was measured by using immunofluorescence, the expression of miR-1 and its target gene MET were investigated via qPCR, CAL-27 cell proliferation was measured through MTT assay, and cell cycle state was determined by applying flow cytometry. RESULTS: Electron microscopy revealed that miR1-EXO and CON-EXO were spherical or cup-shaped with an average diameter of approximately 110 nm. The well-known exosome markers CD9, Tsg101, and Alix were enriched. The expression of miR-1 in miR1-EXO was higher than that in CON-EXO (285.80±14.33 vs 1.00±0.06, CONCLUSIONS Exosomes secreted from miR1-EXO cells could load abundant miR-1. Exosomal miR-1 delivered into CAL-27 cells by using miR1-EXO suppressed the expression of MET mRNA and inhibited cell proliferation.
Cell Cycle ; Cell Proliferation ; Exosomes ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; MicroRNAs

Gene therapy is a rapidly developing field. The most widely used technique for foreign gene transfer is lentiviral-mediated gene therapy. Lentiviral vector has been developed from the first generation to the third generation in terms of safety. The preparation of lentiviruses with high titer remains difficult. In this study, a Fibra-Cel sheet carrier was used as an HEK293T cell carrier matrix, and several sterile cell culture spinners were combined and cultured on a roller bottle machine to scale up the adherent cells. The virus titer was maximized by screening the factors to optimize the lentivirus titer in the third-generation lentivirus packaging process one by one. Fibra-Cel sheet vector was successfully used as the matrix of HEK293T cell adhesion to culture adherent cells at large scale. The optimal conditions for large-scale preparation of the third-generation lentivirus by bottle roller were screened and three batches of lentiviruses were produced on pilot scale. The production time of lentivirus was shortened from 120 hours to 54 hours from plasmid transfection to virus collection; in terms of cost, a rolling bottle machine was used instead of a bioreactor, leading to lower cost and no need for repeated sterilization during the whole process. The safe, effective and low-cost operation of successful production will provide a technical base for the large-scale preparation of lentivirus and thus lay a firm foundation for its clinical application.
Genetic Vectors ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; Transduction, Genetic ; Transfection