1.Inhibitory effects of ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction mediated HSV-TK/GCV system on ovarian cancer in BALB/c-nu mice
Xianlong ZHOU ; Yulu SHI ; Xiong LI ; Yinghui WANG ; Ping LI ; Wei WANG
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2012;21(10):897-901
Objective To investigate the anti-tumor effect of ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) mediated herpes simplex virus thymedine kinase (HSV-TK) on mice ovarian cancer.Methods Forty female BALB/c-nu mice were randomly divided into four groups after the models of subcutaneous transplantation tumors were established:(A)HSV-TK + Microbubbles + Ultrasound (HSV-TK+ MBs + US);(B) HSV-TK+ Ultrasound (HSV-TK + US);(C) HSV-TK;(D) PBS.TheTK protein and mRNA expression were separately detected by western-blot and real time RT-PCR.TUNEL staining was used to detect the tumor cell apoptosis.The inhibition rates and survival time of the animals were compared among all groups.Results The HSV-TK gene transfection efficacy and tumor inhibitory effect of HSV-TK on mice transplantable tumor in group A (HSV-TK + MBs + US) were significantly improved compared with group B (HSV-TK + US),group C (HSV-TK) and group D (PBS) (P <0.05).However,group A has no significant difference (P >0.05) with other groups in improving the survival time of tumor-bearing mice.Conclusions Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction can effectively transfect HSV-TK gene into target tissues and play a significant inhibition effect on ovarian cancer in mice.However,this new method is not able to improve the survival time of mice for a short-term observation.
2.Establishment of mouse models of lymphoma with dual-labeled EBV-immortalized lymphoblastoid cell lines by intravenous versus subcutaneous injection
Lanlan FANG ; Ting DONG ; Ying ZHOU ; Yulu SUN ; Yang GAO ; Yunqing XIONG ; Chaojiang GU
Chinese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2023;50(24):1243-1247
Objective:To establish a green fluorescent protein(GFP)and firefly luciferase(Luc)double-labeled Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)infec-ted B lymphoblastoid cell lines(B-LCL)and apply them to mouse models,then compare the advantages and disadvantages of models inocu-lated by intravenous(IV)or subcutaneous(SC).Methods:B lymphoblastoid cell lines double-tagged with GFP/Luc(B-LCL-GL)were con-structed through lentivirus transduction,puromycin intervention.Subcutaneous xenograft and hematogenous metastasis models were re-spectively established by subcutaneous or intravenous injection of B-LCL-GL cells at three concentrations in(NOD)/Prkdcscid/IL-2Rγnull(NPG)mice for in vivo bioluminescence imaging.Results:In the B-LCL-GL group,the ratio of the GFP-positive cell population was 92.5%,and the average luminescence intensity was as high as 4.80E+08 Photons/s,which was considerably higher than that of untreated B-LCLs.In the hematogenous metastasis models,tumor bioluminescence was initially located in the peritoneal area and then spread throughout the en-tire body between 7 and 28 days.In the subcutaneous xenograft models,strong central and weak peripheral tumor-related biolumines-cence signal was detected on day 7 in the three groups,which then spread throughout the body on day 28 in the high-dose group.Taken to-gether,there was no significant difference in tumor progression between the two routes of administration when using the same dose of B-LCL-GL cells.However,the survival analysis indicated that the IV injection group,in which all the mice ultimately died,had a shorter time frame for testing than that of the SC injection group,in which the mice survived until day 100 in the low-dose and medium-dose groups,thus allowing for long-term testing.Conclusions:GFP and Luc dual-positive B-LCLs were successfully established to generate hematogenous metastasis and subcutaneous xenograft models,which allow the monitoring of the location and size of lymphomas in vivo.It provide plat-form for the study of tumor characteristics and selecting anti-tumor drugs.
3.Significance of changes in levels of neutrophil extracellular traps during development of silicosis in mice
Lu HAN ; Ruru CHEN ; Yulu XIONG ; Ziye GUO ; Hailan HE ; Xiaohui HAO ; Heliang LIU ; Lingli GUO
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2024;41(12):1422-1427
Background Silicosis is an occupational disease mainly characterized by pulmonary progressive fibrosis induced by the accumulation of free silica (SiO2) in the lungs due to long-term exposure to SiO2 dust. It has been shown that neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are increased in the lung tissues of silicotic mice after 28 d SiO2 exposure, but it is unclear how the levels of NETs change throughout entire progression of silicosis in mice. Objective To observe the levels of NETs and pathological changes in the lungs of silicotic mice after different duration of SiO2 exposure, and to confirm the possible role and significance of NETsin the development of SiO2-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Methods A total of 28 SPF male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a control group, and a model group, and the model group was subdivided into, a 2 d model group, a 7 d model group, and a 28 d model group, with 7 mice in each group. The mice in the model groups were given intratracheal instillation with 10 mg SiO2 suspension (50 μL), and the mice in the control group were received same volume of saline. Mice were sacrificed and samples were collected at designed time points. The pathological changes of lung tissues of mice were observed after hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Van Gieson (VG) staining. Immunofluorescence was used to observe the NETs markers citrullination histone H3 (CitH3) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and the percentage of NETs-positive cells was calculated. PicoGreen fluorescent dye kit was used to detect the content of extracelluar DNA (ex-DNA) in mouse BALF, and the expression levels of fibrosis-related proteins α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibronectin (FN) and NETs marker CitH3 in lung tissues of mice were detected by Western blot (WB). Results Compared with the control group, inflammatory cells accumulation, alveolar wall thickening, and collagen deposition were obviously observed in the lungs of the silicosis model groups, and a large number of silicone nodules were recorded in the lung tissues in the 28 d group. Compared with the control group, the expressions of α-SMA and FN in the lung tissue of the 28 d group were significantly increased (P<0.05). The percentages of NETs in BALF increased significantly in the 2 d and the 7 d model group, then decreased in the 28 d model group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group (7.434±0.258) ng·mL−1, the ex-DNA levels in BALF of mice in the 2 d [(35.110±6.331) ng·mL−1], the 7 d [(39.491±6.948) ng·mL−1], and the 28 d [(23.360±4.809) ng·mL−1] model groups were increased (P<0.05), and the increase of ex-DNA in the 2 d and the 7 d model groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). In comparison with the control group, the protein level of CitH3 was significantly increased in the lung tissues of mice in the 7 d model group (P<0.05). Conclusion The content of NETs increases significantly and reaches a peak in the early inflammatory stage of silicosis, and decreases as the disease progresses to the fibrotic stage, suggesting that NETs may play a role in early stage of silicosis.