Abstract
Background: Inhibition of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression can ameliorate the inflammation induced by ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in animal models. However, current strategies to reduce ICAM-1 expression have been limited by the lack of stability, poor specificity, and the transient nature of synthesized regulatory molecules (antisense/ribozyme). Methods: A chimeric expression vector was generated by fusing a ribozyme targeting sequence against ICAM-1 to stabilizing stem-loop structures and nuclear localization signals that are components of endogenous U1 small nuclear RNA. Oligonucleotide scanning was used to predict accessible sites for targeting within the rat ICAM-1 transcript. Efficacy of the chimeric ribozyme vector was tested by transfection of rat aortic endothelial (RAE) cells (in vitro) and intraportal delivery in a rat hepatic IRI model (in vivo). Results: Transfection of RAE cells with the chimeric ribozyme vector produced potent and specific inhibition of ICAM-1 mRNA and protein levels by >65%. This reduction in ICAM-1 expression was accompanied by a proportional decrease in neutrophil adhesion to RAE cells. In vivo intraportal delivery of the chimeric targeting vector to rats sustaining hepatic IRI produced a marked reduction in ICAM-1 expression on liver endothelium after reperfusion. Conclusions: A chimeric ribozyme vector effectively inhibited ICAM-1 expression in vascular endothelial cells and in rat liver following IRI, demonstrating a novel gene targeting technique that may be ideally suited to clinical applications aimed at ameliorating IRI.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1394-1402 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Gene Medicine |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2004 |
Keywords
- Antisense oligonucleotides
- Cell adhesion molecules
- Gene targeting
- Reperfusion injury
- Vascular endothelium
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Medicine
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Drug Discovery
- Genetics(clinical)