Background: Osteoblasts participating in the inflammation regulation gradually obtain concerns. However, its role in joint inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the role of osteoblastic pleckstrin homology domain-containing family O member 1 (PLEKHO1), a negative regulator of osteogenic lineage activity, in regulating joint inflammation in RA. Methods: The level of osteoblastic PLEKHO1 in RA patients and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice was examined. The role of osteoblastic PLEKHO1 in joint inflammation was evaluated by a CIA mice model which was induced in osteoblast-specific Plekho1 conditional knockout mice and mice expressing high Plekho1 exclusively in osteoblasts, respectively. The effect of osteoblastic PLEKHO1 inhibition was explored in a CIA mice model. The mechanism of osteoblastic PLEKHO1 in regulating joint inflammation was performed by a series of in vitro studies. Results: PLEKHO1 was highly expressed in osteoblasts from RA patients and CIA mice. Osteoblastic Plekho1 deletion ameliorated joint inflammation, whereas overexpressing Plekho1 only within osteoblasts exacerbated local inflammation in CIA mice. PLEKHO1 was required for TNF receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2)-mediated the ubiquitination of receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIP1) to activate nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B (NF-kB) pathway for inducing inflammatory cytokines production in osteoblasts. Moreover, osteoblastic PLEKHO1 inhibition improved joint inflammation and attenuated bone formation reduction in CIA mice. Conclusions: These data strongly suggest that highly expressed PLEKHO1 in osteoblasts mediates joint inflammation in RA. Targeting osteoblastic PLEKHO1 may exert dual therapeutic action of alleviating joint inflammation and promoting bone repair in RA.

Dichloroacetate (DCA) is an investigational drug for the treatment of genetic mitochondrial diseases. Its primary site of action is the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex, which it stimulates by altering its phosphorylation state and stability. DCA is metabolized by and inhibits the bifunctional zeta-1 family isoform of glutathione transferase/maleylacetoacetate isomerase. Polymorphic variants of this enzyme differ in their kinetic properties toward DCA, thereby influencing its biotransformation and toxicity, both of which are also influenced by subject age. Results from open label studies and controlled clinical trials suggest chronic oral DCA is generally well-tolerated by young children and may be particularly effective in patients with PDH deficiency. Recent in vitro data indicate that a combined DCA and gene therapy approach may also hold promise for the treatment of this devastating condition.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether the combination of 2 angiogenic growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor 165(VEGF165) and angiopoietin-1 (Ang1), could increase angiogenesis and cardiomyocyte(CM) proliferation in an infarcted myocardium. Methods: Myocardial ischemia was induced in rats by ligation of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. Replication-deficient adenoviruses encoding VEGF165 (Ad-VEGF165), Ang1 (Ad-Ang1) or enhanced green fluorescence protein (Ad-EGFP) was injected into the ischemic myocardium immediately. Bromodexyuridine (BrdU) was administered intraperitoneally 1 week after ligation. One week later, the hearts were harvested and sectioned for hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and immunohistochemistry to evaluate densities of capillary, arteriole and double labelled BrdU(+) CM. M-mode echocardiography was used to evaluate the cardiac function. Results: Ang1 significantly increased collateral vessel formation. Both VEGF165 and Ang1 significantly increased densities of capillary and arteriole, as well as the number of double labelled BrdU(+) CM, and improved cardiac function. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the combination of VEGF165 and Ang1 can increase both myocardial angiogenesis and CM proliferation following myocardial ischemia in rats, leading to improved cardiac function.

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京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第20673号 / 医博第4283号 / 新制||医||1024(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 長船 健二, 教授 横出 正之, 教授 山下 潤 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

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Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and their associated (Cas) proteins co-opted as biotechnological tools have improved the simplicity and accessibility of gene editing for fields ranging from crop science to the treatment of human disease. These technologies, however, come with an inherent degree of risk associated with off-target events or direct misuse, accidental or intentional, leading to permanent genetic damage to ecosystems, livestock, or people. Naturally occurring anti-CRISPR proteins have been described, as well as synthetic small molecule inhibitors, but each of these approaches, while suitable for certain applications, leaves something to be desired in deliverability or efficacy in the face of many possible adverse CRISPR-related events. Inspired by strides in the field of oligonucleotide therapeutics, we developed the first reported anti-CRISPR nucleic acids for Streptococcus pyogenes (Sp)Cas9 to address the critical need for fail-safe inhibitors of Cas enzymes. These inhibitors, termed small nucleic acid-based inhibitors of Cas9 (SNuBs), comprise two modules which act in tandem to bind and disable the SpCas9 RNP. We have demonstrated that SNuBs inhibit Cas9 in vitro and in human cells. Successive rounds of optimization on our initial designs have yielded inhibitors capable of carrier-free uptake into human cells, high nuclease resistance, and robust inhibition at low stoichiometric concentrations relative to Cas9 and its RNA guide. In their current form, SNuBs quite possibly present the most tenable approach to inhibiting Cas9 in a variety of contexts including therapeutic applications in the near future.

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Thesis advisor: Eranthie Weerapana / Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) has been developed into a powerful therapeutic tool - in the last ten years it has acted as a gene-delivery vehicle in several approved therapeutics and many more therapeutics on trial. Despite extensive research, gaps in our understanding of AAV’s infectious cycle still exist, and further development is needed for the creation of improved gene therapy vectors. Technology to incorporate Unnatural Amino Acids (UAAs) into the AAV capsid has recently been developed, and could aid in both furthering our understanding of AAV’s biology and in the therapeutic advancement of AAV. In this work, we demonstrate how the functionalization of the AAV capsid using UAA incorporation can advance our control over the AAV capsid and aid in probing and manipulating AAV biology. We describe our use UAA incorporation to place a bio-orthogonal reactive handle into AAV’s capsid followed by functionalization with a targeting moiety and demonstrate the unprecedented amount of control that UAA incorporation provides in the creation of a functional virus conjugate. We are able to control both the precise placement and the stoichiometry of the targeting moiety on the AAV capsid, providing a platform that, for the first time, can undergo rigorous optimization analogous to that which medicinal chemists put small molecules through. We also describe the creation of a new platform to site-specifically modify the AAV capsid using cysteine incorporation, a technique that retains the ability to site-specifically modify the capsid as UAA incorporation does, but does not require the excess machinery that UAA incorporation requires. Next we discuss the incorporation of a photocaging amino acid, NBK, into the AAV capsid. Using NBK, we were able to effectively block AAV’s primary binding interaction with Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan (HSPG) and control the timing of AAV infection using light to chemically remove the photo-protecting group. While photocaging the HSPG interaction is only a proof of concept, it demonstrates the remarkable amount of control that UAA incorporation affords, and lends insight to what could be accomplished using the functionalities that can be placed on the AAV capsid with UAAs. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.

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