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Plasticity supports the remarkable adaptability and robustness of cortical processing. It allows the brain to learn and remember patterns in the sensory world, to refine motor control, to predict and obtain reward, or to recover function after injury. Behind this great flexibility hide a range of plasticity mechanisms, affecting different aspects of neuronal communication. However, little is known about the precise computational roles of some of these mechanisms. Here, we show that the interaction between spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP), intrinsic plasticity and synaptic scaling enables neurons to learn efficient representations of their inputs. In the context of reward-dependent learning, the same mechanisms allow a neural network to solve a working memory task. Moreover, although we make no any apriori assumptions on the encoding used for representing inputs, the network activity resembles that of brain regions known to be associated with working memory, suggesting that reward-dependent learning may be a central force in working memory development. Lastly, we investigated some of the clinical implications of synaptic scaling and showed that, paradoxically, there are situations in which the very mechanisms that normally are required to preserve the balance of the system, may act as a destabilizing factor and lead to seizures. Our model offers a novel explanation for the increased incidence of seizures following chronic inflammation.
Die Entwicklung des Verständnisses von globaler Ordnung ist eng mit der Etablierung dessen verbunden, was in den Internationalen Beziehungen gemeinhin als „Westfälisches Staatensystem“ bezeichnet wird. Der Abschluss der Westfälischen Friedensverträge im Jahr 1648, die den Beginn einer auf rechtlicher Gleichheit und Selbstbestimmung basierenden internationalen Ordnung in Europa markieren sollen, wird dabei häufig auch als ein zentraler Meilenstein in der Entstehung der spezifischen politischen Praxis „Außenpolitik“ verstanden. Deren konstitutives Merkmal wird insbesondere im Konzept der „Souveränität“ verortet, eine befähigende Eigenschaft politischer Akteure, frei von Fremdeinfluss in einem größeren Kontext unter Herstellung von Innen-/Außen-Grenzen handeln zu können. Somit ist dieser Begriff einer der Grundprämissen, die in der Vorstellung eines „internationalen Systems“ zum Ausdruck kommt, in dem „souveräne“ Akteure in Beziehungen zu anderen „souveränen“ Akteuren treten – also „Außenpolitik“ betreiben. Nun ist die Denkfigur des Westfälischen Staatensystems bereits aus mehreren disziplinären Perspektiven heraus kritisiert worden, dennoch scheint die Vorstellung eines Systems souveräner Nationalstaaten beachtliche Standfestigkeit zu beweisen. Das Westfälische Staatenmodell – mit seinem „master concept“ Souveränität - verbindet das Konzept von politischer Autorität mit Territorialität und Gruppe und stellt somit ein einschlägiges wie analytisch handliches Ordnungsprinzip internationaler Beziehungen bereit. Oder in Stephen Krasners Worten: „it orders the minds of the policy-makers“.
The physical and functional borders of transit peptide-like sequences in secondary endosymbionts
(2010)
Background: Plastids rely on protein supply by their host cells. In plastids surrounded by two membranes (primary plastids) targeting of these proteins is facilitated by an N-terminal targeting signal, the transit peptide. In secondary plastids (surrounded by three or four membranes), transit peptide-like regions are an essential part of a bipartite topogenic signal sequence (BTS), and generally found adjacent to a N-terminally located signal peptide of the plastid pre-proteins. As in primary plastids, for which no wealth of functional information about transit peptide features exists, the transit peptide-like regions used for import into secondary ones show some common features only, which are also poorly characterised. Results: We modified the BTS (in the transit peptide-like region) of the plastid precursor fucoxanthin-chlorophyll a/c binding protein D (FcpD) fused to GFP as model substrate for the characterisation of pre-protein import into the secondary plastids of diatoms. Thereby we show that (i) pre-protein import is highly charge dependent. Positive net charge is necessary for transport across the plastid envelope, but not across the periplastid membrane. Acidic net charge perturbs pre-protein import within the ER. Moreover, we show that (ii) the mature domain of the pre-protein can provide intrinsic transit peptide functions. Conclusions: Our results indicate important characteristics of targeting signals of proteins imported into secondary plastids surrounded by four membranes. In addition, we show a self-targeting mechanism, in which the mature protein domain contributes to the transit peptide function. Thus, this phenomenon lowers the demand for pre-sequences evolved during the course of endosymbiosis.
Within the visual cortex, it has been proposed that interhemispheric interactions serve to re-establish the continuity of the visual field across its vertical meridian (VM) by mechanisms similar to those used by intrinsic connections within a hemisphere. However, other specific functions of transcallosal projections have also been proposed, including contributing to disparity tuning and depth perception. Here, we consider whether interhemispheric connections modulate specific response properties, orientation and direction selectivity, of neurons in areas 17 and 18 of the ferret by combining reversible thermal deactivation in one hemisphere with optical imaging of intrinsic signals and single-cell electrophysiology in the other hemisphere. We found interhemispheric influences on both the strength and specificity of the responses to stimulus orientation and direction of motion, predominantly at the VM. However, neurons and domains preferring cardinal contours, in particular vertical contours, seem to receive stronger interhemispheric input than others. This finding is compatible with interhemispheric connections being involved in horizontal disparity tuning. In conclusion, our results support the view that interhemispheric interactions mainly perform integrative functions similar to those of connections intrinsic to one hemisphere. Key words: cooling deactivation , corpus callosum , ferret , optical imaging , orientation selectivity
Background: A number of the deeper divergences in the placental mammal tree are still inconclusively resolved despite extensive phylogenomic analyses. A recent analysis of 200 kbp of protein coding sequences yielded only limited support for the relationships among Laurasiatheria (cow, dog, bat and shrew), probably because the divergences occurred only within a few million years from each other. It is generally expected that increasing the amount of data and improving the taxon sampling enhance the resolution of narrow divergences. Therefore these and other difficult splits were examined by phylogenomic analysis of the hitherto largest sequence alignment. The increasingly complete genome data of placental mammals also allowed developing a novel and stringent data search method. Results: The rigorous data handling, recursive BLAST, successfully removed the sequences from gene families, including those from well-known families hemoglobin, olfactory, myosin and HOX genes, thus avoiding alignment of possibly paralogous sequences. The current phylogenomic analysis of 3,012 genes (2,844,615 nucleotides) from a total of 22 species yielded statistically significant support for most relationships. While some major clades were confirmed using genomic sequence data, the placement of the treeshrew, bat and the relationship between Boreoeutheria, Xenarthra and Afrotheria remained problematic to resolve despite the size of the alignment. Phylogenomic analysis of divergence times dated the basal placental mammal splits at 95–100 million years ago. Many of the following divergences occurred only a few (2–4) million years later. Relationships with narrow divergence time intervals received unexpectedly limited support even from the phylogenomic analyses. Conclusion: The narrow temporal window within which some placental divergences took place suggests that inconsistencies and limited resolution of the mammalian tree may have their natural explanation in speciation processes such as lineage sorting, introgression from species hybridization or hybrid speciation. These processes obscure phylogenetic analysis, making some parts of the tree difficult to resolve even with genome data.
It has often been proposed that regions of the human parietal and/or frontal lobe may modulate activity in visual cortex, for example, during selective attention or saccade preparation. However, direct evidence for such causal claims is largely missing in human studies, and it remains unclear to what degree the putative roles of parietal and frontal regions in modulating visual cortex may differ. Here we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) concurrently, to show that stimulating right human intraparietal sulcus (IPS, at a site previously implicated in attention) elicits a pattern of activity changes in visual cortex that strongly depends on current visual context. Increased intensity of IPS TMS affected the blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) signal in V5/MT+ only when moving stimuli were present to drive this visual region, whereas TMS-elicited BOLD signal changes were observed in areas V1–V4 only during the absence of visual input. These influences of IPS TMS upon remote visual cortex differed significantly from corresponding effects of frontal (eye field) TMS, in terms of how they related to current visual input and their spatial topography for retinotopic areas V1–V4. Our results show directly that parietal and frontal regions can indeed have distinct patterns of causal influence upon functional activity in human visual cortex. Key words: attention, frontal cortex, functional magnetic resonance imaging, parietal cortex, top--down, transcranial magnetic stimulation
Studying the role of human parietal cortex in visuospatial attention with concurrent TMS-fMRI
(2010)
Combining transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows study of how local brain stimulation may causally affect activity in remote brain regions. Here, we applied bursts of high- or low-intensity TMS over right posterior parietal cortex, during a task requiring sustained covert visuospatial attention to either the left or right hemifield, or in a neutral control condition, while recording blood oxygenation-level–dependent signal with a posterior MR surface coil. As expected, the active attention conditions activated components of the well-described “attention network,” as compared with the neutral baseline. Also as expected, when comparing left minus right attention, or vice versa, contralateral occipital visual cortex was activated. The critical new finding was that the impact of high- minus low-intensity parietal TMS upon these visual regions depended on the currently attended side. High- minus low-intensity parietal TMS increased the difference between contralateral versus ipsilateral attention in right extrastriate visual cortex. A related albeit less pronounced pattern was found for left extrastriate visual cortex. Our results confirm that right human parietal cortex can exert attention-dependent influences on occipital visual cortex and provide a proof of concept for the use of concurrent TMS–fMRI in studying how remote influences can vary in a purely top–down manner with attentional demands. Key words: concurrent TMS--fMRI, posterior parietal cortex, statedependence, visuospatial attention
Gamma synchronization has generally been associated with grouping processes in the visual system. Here, we examine in monkey V1 whether gamma oscillations play a functional role in segmenting surfaces of plaid stimuli. Local field potentials (LFPs) and spiking activity were recorded simultaneously from multiple sites in the opercular and calcarine regions while the monkeys were presented with sequences of single and superimposed components of plaid stimuli. In accord with the previous studies, responses to the single components (gratings) exhibited strong and sustained gamma-band oscillations (30–65 Hz). The superposition of the second component, however, led to profound changes in the temporal structure of the responses, characterized by a drastic reduction of gamma oscillations in the spiking activity and systematic shifts to higher frequencies in the LFP (~10% increase). Comparisons between cerebral hemispheres and across monkeys revealed robust subject-specific spectral signatures. A possible interpretation of our results may be that single gratings induce strong cooperative interactions among populations of cells that share similar response properties, whereas plaids lead to competition. Overall, our results suggest that the functional architecture of the cortex is a major determinant of the neuronal synchronization dynamics in V1. Key words: attention , gamma , gratings , oscillation , visual cortex
Understanding how temperature affects cod (Gadus morhua) ecology is important for forecasting how populations will develop as climate changes in future. The effects of spawning-season temperature and habitat size on cod recruitment dynamics have been investigated across the North Atlantic. Ricker and Beverton and Holt stock–recruitment (SR) models were extended by applying hierarchical methods, mixed-effects models, and Bayesian inference to incorporate the influence of these ecosystem factors on model parameters representing cod maximum reproductive rate and carrying capacity. We identified the pattern of temperature effects on cod productivity at the species level and estimated SR model parameters with increased precision. Temperature impacts vary geographically, being positive in areas where temperatures are <5°C, and negative for higher temperatures. Using the relationship derived, it is possible to predict expected changes in population-specific reproductive rates and carrying capacities resulting from temperature increases. Further, carrying capacity covaries with available habitat size, explaining at least half its variability across stocks. These patterns improve our understanding of environmental impacts on key population parameters, which is required for an ecosystem approach to cod management, particularly under ocean-warming scenarios. Key words: carrying capacity , cod , hierarchical models , North Atlantic , temperature , uncertainty
The massive amount of genomic sequence data that is now available for analyzing evolutionary relationships among 31 placental mammals reduces the stochastic error in phylogenetic analyses to virtually zero. One would expect that this would make it possible to finally resolve controversial branches in the placental mammalian tree. We analyzed a 2,863,797 nucleotide-long alignment (3,364 genes) from 31 placental mammals for reconstructing their evolution. Most placental mammalian relationships were resolved, and a consensus of their evolution is emerging. However, certain branches remain difficult or virtually impossible to resolve. These branches are characterized by short divergence times in the order of 1-4 million years. Computer simulations based on parameters from the real data show that as little as about 12,500 amino acid sites could be sufficient to confidently resolve short branches as old as about 90 million years ago. Thus, the amount of sequence data should no longer be a limiting factor in resolving the relationships among placental mammals. The timing of the early radiation of placental mammals coincides with a period of climate warming some 100 - 80 million years ago and with continental fragmentation. These global processes may have triggered the rapid diversification of placental mammals. However, the rapid radiations of certain mammalian groups complicate phylogenetic analyses, possibly due to incomplete lineage sorting and introgression. These speciation-related processes led to a mosaic genome and conflicting phylogenetic signals. Split network methods are ideal for visualizing these problematic branches and can therefore depict data conflict and possibly the true evolutionary history better than strictly bifurcating trees. Given the timing of tectonics, of placental mammalian divergences, and the fossil record, a Laurasian rather than Gondwanan origin of placental mammals seems the most parsimonious explanation. Key words: continental drift , Cretaceous warming , genome analysis , hybridization , phylogenomics , split decomposition
We examined the neural signatures of stimulus features in visual working memory (WM) by integrating functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potential data recorded during mental manipulation of colors, rotation angles, and color–angle conjunctions. The N200, negative slow wave, and P3b were modulated by the information content of WM, and an fMRI-constrained source model revealed a progression in neural activity from posterior visual areas to higher order areas in the ventral and dorsal processing streams. Color processing was associated with activity in inferior frontal gyrus during encoding and retrieval, whereas angle processing involved right parietal regions during the delay interval. WM for color–angle conjunctions did not involve any additional neural processes. The finding that different patterns of brain activity underlie WM for color and spatial information is consistent with ideas that the ventral/dorsal “what/where” segregation of perceptual processing influences WM organization. The absence of characteristic signatures of conjunction-related brain activity, which was generally intermediate between the 2 single conditions, suggests that conjunction judgments are based on the coordinated activity of these 2 streams. Keywords: EEG, fMRI, source analysis, visual, working memory
Fucoxanthin chlorophyll proteins (Fcps), the light-harvesting antennas of heterokont algae, are encoded by a multigene family and are highly similar with respect to their molecular masses as well as to their pigmentation, making it difficult to purify single Fcps. In this study, a hexa-histidine tag was genetically added to the C-terminus of the FcpA protein of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. A transgenic strain expressing the recombinant His-tagged FcpA protein in addition to the endogenous wild type Fcps was created. This strategy allowed, for the first time, the purification of a specific, stable trimeric Fcp complex. In addition, a pool of various trimeric Fcps was also purified from the wild-type cells using sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation and gel filtration. In both the His-tagged and the wild-type Fcps, excitation energy coupling between fucoxanthin and chlorophyll a was intact and the existence of a chlorophyll a/fucoxanthin excitonic dimer was demonstrated using circular dichroism spectroscopy. Mass spectrometric analyses of the trimeric His-tagged complex indicated that it is composed of FcpA and FcpE polypeptides. It is confirmed here that a trimer is the basic organizational unit of Fcps in P. tricornutum. From circular dichroism spectra, it is proposed that the organization of the pigments on the polypeptide backbone of Fcps is a conserved feature in the case of chlorophyll a/c containing algae.
I-kappaB-Kinase epsilon - ein neues Zielprotein für die Pharmakotherapie bei Schmerz und Entzündung?
(2010)
Der Transkriptionsfaktor NF-kappaB spielt eine wichtige Rolle bei der Regulation von Immunantworten, Apoptose und Entzündungen sowie bei der Entstehung und Verarbeitung von Schmerzen. Ein pharmakologischer Eingriff in die NF-kappaB-Aktivierungskaskade könnte daher eine Schmerzhemmung bewirken und so Ansätze für die Entwicklung neuer Therapien für pathophysiologische Schmerzen liefern. Die NF-kappaB-Signalübertragungskaskade bietet verschiedene Angriffspunkte für Pharmaka, wobei zurzeit IkappaB Kinasen (IKK) als hoffnungsvolle Zielmoleküle im Fokus der Untersuchungen stehen. Verschiedene IKKs regulieren die Aktivität von NF-kappaB über die Phosphorylierung des inhibitorischen Proteins IkappaB oder über die direkte Phosphorylierung von NF-kappaB. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Rolle der neu entdeckten IKK epsilon bei der Schmerzentstehung und -verarbeitung sowie deren Eignung als neues Zielmolekül für die Schmerztherapie näher untersucht. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass IKK epsilon konstitutiv in Geweben der Maus, welche an der Entstehung und Verarbeitung von Schmerzen beteiligt sind, exprimiert ist. Im Rückenmark konnte die Lokalisation von IKK epsilon in den schmerzrelevanten Laminae I und II des Dorsalhorns nachgewiesen werden und auch in den Hinterwurzelganglien (Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG’s)) war IKK epsilon in kleinen, nozizeptiven Neuronen exprimiert. Nach peripherer entzündlich-nozizeptiver Stimulation mit Formalin oder Zymosan kam es im Lumbalmark und den DRG’s zu einem signifikanten Anstieg der IKK epsilon-Expression sowohl auf mRNA- als auch auf Proteinebene. Diese Beobachtungen machten eine Beteiligung von IKK epsilon an der Prozessierung von Schmerz sehr wahrscheinlich. Um die Rolle von IKK epsilon während der Schmerzentstehung und -verarbeitung besser beurteilen zu können wurde das Verhalten von IKK epsilon defizienten Mäusen in akuten und inflammatorischen Schmerzmodellen charakterisiert. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Knockout von IKK epsilon zu einem signifikant verringerten nozizeptiven Verhalten im Formalintest und einer Hemmung der mechanischen Hyperalgesie nach Zymosaninjektion im Vergleich zu Wildtyp-Mäusen führte. Gleichzeitig konnte kein Unterschied im akut nozizeptiven Verhalten festgestellt werden. Der Knockout von IKK epsilon hatte demnach keine Auswirkung auf den akuten physiologischen Nozizeptorschmerz, zeigte jedoch eine Verbesserung bei pathophysiologischen Schmerzen. Das verringerte nozizeptive Verhalten der IKK epsilon defizienten Mäuse im Formalintest ging mit einer Hemmung der NF-kappaB-Aktivierung im Rückenmark einher. Auch konnte eine verringerte mRNA-Expression der NF-kappaB-abhängigen Gene Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), Matrixmetalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) und induzierbare Stickstoffmonoxid-Synthase (iNOS), die an der Regulation von Entzündungsschmerzen beteiligt sind, im Rückenmark und den DRG’s nachgewiesen werden. Da IKK epsilon bisher hauptsächlich mit der Aktivierung des TypI Interferon-Signalweges in Zusammenhang gebracht wurde, wurde außerdem geprüft, ob es nach Injektion mit Formalin zu einer Aktivierung des Trankriptionsfaktors Interferon-regulierender Faktor (IRF)-3 in Wildtyp-Mäusen kommt, was nicht beobachtet werden konnte. Der Knockout von IKK epsilon scheint demnach seine antinozizeptive Wirkung direkt über eine fehlende Aktivierung von NF-kappaB zu entfalten, wonach IKK epsilon eine bedeutendere Rolle als bisher angenommen bei der Aktivierung von NF-kappaB spielt. Dies konnte durch in vitro Daten untermauert werden. Der Knockdown von IKK epsilon in Makrophagen-Zellkultur mit spezifischer siRNA verhinderte die Phosphorylierung von NF-kappaBp65 am Serinrest 536 nach Stimulation mit LPS. Anhand der vorliegenden Daten lässt sich also schlussfolgern, dass IKK epsilon an der Schmerzentstehung und verarbeitung bei Entzündungen beteiligt zu sein scheint. Eine Hemmung dieser Kinase könnte demnach ein neues, lohnendes Ziel für die Entwicklung neuer Medikamente für die Schmerztherapie sein.
Transcripts of NANOG and OCT4 have been recently identified in human t(4;11) leukemia and in a model system expressing both t(4;11) fusion proteins. Moreover, downstream target genes of NANOG/OCT4/SOX2 were shown to be transcriptionally activated. However, the NANOG1 gene belongs to a gene family, including a gene tandem duplication (named NANOG2 or NANOGP1) and several pseudogenes (NANOGP2-P11). Thus, it was unclear which of the NANOG family members were transcribed in t(4;11) leukemia cells. 5'-RACE experiments revealed novel 5'-exons of NANOG1 and NANOG2, which could give rise to the expression of two different NANOG1 and three different NANOG2 protein variants. Moreover, a novel PCR-based method was established that allows distinguishing between transcripts deriving from NANOG1, NANOG2 and all other NANOG pseudogenes (P2–P11). By applying this method, we were able to demonstrate that human hematopoietic stem cells and different leukemic cells transcribe NANOG2. Furthermore, we functionally tested NANOG1 and NANOG2 protein variants by recombinant expression in 293 cells. These studies revealed that NANOG1 and NANOG2 protein variants are functionally equivalent and activate a regulatory circuit that activates specific stem cell genes. Therefore, we pose the hypothesis that the transcriptional activation of NANOG2 represents a ‘gain-of-stem cell function’ in acute leukemia.
Aptamers that can be regulated with light allow precise control of protein activity in space and time and hence of biological function in general. In a previous study, we showed that the activity of the thrombin-binding aptamer HD1 can be turned off by irradiation using a light activatable "caged" intramolecular antisense-domain. However, the activity of the presented aptamer in its ON state was only mediocre. Here we studied the nature of this loss in activity in detail and found that switching from 5'- to 3'-extensions affords aptamers that are even more potent than the unmodified HD1. In particular we arrived at derivatives that are now more active than the aptamer NU172 that is currently in phase 2 clinical trials as an anticoagulant. As a result, we present light-regulatable aptamers with a superior activity in their ON state and an almost digital ON/OFF behavior upon irradiation.
Recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) exploits the possibility to unidirectionally exchange any genetic material flanked by heterotypic recombinase recognition sites (RRS) with target sites in the genome. Due to a limited number of available pre-fabricated target sites, RMCE in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells has not been tapped to its full potential to date. Here, we introduce a universal system, which allows the targeted insertion of any given transcriptional unit into 85 742 previously annotated retroviral conditional gene trap insertions, representing 7013 independent genes in mouse ES cells, by RMCE. This system can be used to express any given cDNA under the control of endogenous trapped promoters in vivo, as well as for the generation of transposon ‘launch pads’ for chromosomal region-specific ‘Sleeping Beauty’ insertional mutagenesis. Moreover, transcription of the gene-of-interest is only activated upon Cre-recombinase activity, a feature that adds conditionality to this expression system, which is demonstrated in vivo. The use of the RMCE system presented in this work requires one single-cloning step followed by one overnight gateway clonase reaction and subsequent cassette exchange in ES cells with efficiencies of 40% in average.
Durch die Behandlung HIV-positiver Patienten mit einer Kombinationstherapie verschiedener antiviraler Substanzen (HAART = hochaktive antiretrovirale Therapie) kann die Virusreplikation über einen längeren Zeitraum unterdrückt werden. Allerdings hat diese Therapie Limitationen. Die Medikamente verursachen hohe Therapiekosten, haben zum Teil starke Nebenwirkungen und es entstehen mit der Zeit resistente Viren. Eine Alternative besteht in der somatischen Gentherapie der HIV-Infektion. Bei diesen Ansätzen werden Zellen der Patienten genetisch modifiziert, so dass sie ein antivirales Genprodukt exprimieren. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde ein membrangebundenes, antivirales C46 Peptid (maC46) sowohl in vitro in Zelllinien und primären humanen T-Zellen als auch in vivo in zwei humanisierten Mausmodellen getestet. Das C46 Peptid entstammt der C-terminalen "heptad repeat" Sequenz des HIV Hüllproteins gp41. C-Peptide wie C46 oder auch T20, welches bereits für die HAART Therapie zugelassen ist, binden während der Fusion des Virus mit der Zielzelle an gp41 und inhibieren so die Fusion. Werden T-Zelllinien oder primäre humane T-Zellen mit einem gammaretroviralen Vektor, der maC46 codiert, transduziert, können sie sehr effizient vor einer Infektion mit HIV geschützt werden [30]. Dieser Vektor wurde bereits in einer klinischen Studie mit T-Zellen von 10 HIV-positiven Patienten getestet [142]. Dabei konnte allerdings kein antiviraler Effekt der Gentherapie beobachtet werden. Hier wurde nun ein lentiviraler Vektor für maC46 (LV-maC46-GFP) verwendet. Lentivirale Vektoren transduzieren im Gegensatz zu gammaretroviralen auch ruhende Zellen, was ein kürzeres ex vivo Aktivierungs- und Transduktionsprotokoll ermöglicht. Außerdem ist für lentivirale Vektoren das Risiko der Transformation der Zelle niedriger als für gammaretrovirale. Für eine mögliche klinische Anwendung sollte es daher tolerierbar sein, für lentivirale Vektoren eine höhere MOI zu verwenden als für gammaretrovirale. Eine höhere Transduktionseffizienz sollte auf der anderen Seite auch eine effektive und langanhaltende Transgenexpression ermöglichen. Zunächst wurde gezeigt, dass sowohl die T-Zelllinie PM-1 als auch primäre humane T-Zellen nach Transduktion mit LV-maC46-GFP vor einer Infektion mit HIV geschützt waren und während der Infektion einer gemischten Kultur einen Selektionsvorteil gegenüber nicht-transduzierten Zellen hatten. Dabei konnte auch durch konfokale Mikroskopie gezeigt werden, dass das Virus die maC46-exprimierenden Zellen nicht injizieren konnte, sondern lediglich auf der Zelloberfläche gebunden wurde. Im Weiteren wurden zwei humanisierte Mausmodelle etabliert, um LV-maC46-GFP in vivo zu testen. Im humanen Immunsystem Mausmodell (HIS-Mausmodell) wurden immundefiziente Mäuse mit humanen Blutstammzellen repopuliert. In den Tieren kam es zu einer de novo Bildung von humanen, reifen T-Lymphozyten durch Thymopoese. Dabei wurden im Blut der Tiere humane, maC46- exprimierende CD4+ T-Zellen detektiert. Nach Infektion der Tiere mit HIV wurden diese T-Zellen depletiert. Es kam allerdings nicht zu einer Anreicherung oder einem selektiven Überleben der genmodifizierten T-Zellen. Eine Erklärung dafür könnte eine gestörte T-Zellhomeostase in den Tieren sein. Das zweite humanisierte Mausmodell (T-Zellmausmodell) verwendete immundefiziente Mäuse, die mit transduzierten humanen T-Zellen repopuliert wurden. Die Infektion mit HIV erfolgte entweder in vitro vor Transplantation der Zellen oder in vivo nach Repopulierung der Tiere. In beiden Fällen konnte ein selektives Überleben maC46-exprimierender CD4+ T-Zellen nach HIV-Infektion beobachtet werden. Im letzten Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Weiterentwicklung von maC46, eine sekretierte Variante des C46-Peptids (iSAVE), im T-Zellmausmodell getestet. Ein sekretierter Fusionsinhibitor stellt insofern eine Weiterentwicklung des membrangebundenen dar, als nicht nur die genmodifizierten Zellen, sondern zusätzlich auch nicht-modifizierte Nachbarzellen vor einer Infektion mit HIV geschützt werden könnten. Dadurch erhöht sich auch das Spektrum an möglichen Produzentenzellen für den Fusionsinhibitor. In den hier beschriebenen Experimenten wurden humane T-Zellen entweder mit einem gammaretroviralen (RV-iSAVE) oder einem lentiviralen Vektor (LV-iSAVE) transduziert und die Experssion das iSAVE-Peptids wurde im Serum der Tiere gemessen. In beiden Ansätzen konnte iSAVE Peptid im Serum der Tiere detektiert werden. In weiteren Experimenten sollte nun untersucht werden, ob dieses in vivo sekretierte iSAVE Peptid antiviral aktiv ist und die humanisierten Mäuse vor einer Infektion mit HIV schützen kann.
Human Transformer2-beta (hTra2-beta) is an important member of the serine/arginine-rich protein family, and contains one RNA recognition motif (RRM). It controls the alternative splicing of several pre-mRNAs, including those of the calcitonin/calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) protein and the tau protein. Accordingly, the RRM of hTra2-beta specifically binds to two types of RNA sequences [the CAA and (GAA)2 sequences]. We determined the solution structure of the hTra2-beta RRM (spanning residues Asn110–Thr201), which not only has a canonical RRM fold, but also an unusual alignment of the aromatic amino acids on the beta-sheet surface. We then solved the complex structure of the hTra2-beta RRM with the (GAA)2 sequence, and found that the AGAA tetra-nucleotide was specifically recognized through hydrogen-bond formation with several amino acids on the N- and C-terminal extensions, as well as stacking interactions mediated by the unusually aligned aromatic rings on the beta-sheet surface. Further NMR experiments revealed that the hTra2-beta RRM recognizes the CAA sequence when it is integrated in the stem-loop structure. This study indicates that the hTra2-beta RRM recognizes two types of RNA sequences in different RNA binding modes.