Green Fluorescent Protein Labeling Research Articles

Overexpression of SLFN5 induced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human lung cancer cell line A549 through β-catenin/Snail/E-cadherin pathway

Lung cancer is a disease with increasing morbidity worldwide in recent years. Approaches such as chemotherapy and biological targeting for its treatment are urgently needed. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important initiation stage for tumor cells to acquire invasive and metastatic abilities. Increasing findings have shown that human schlafen family member 5 (SLFN5) plays a key role in malignant tumors. However, the role of SLFN5 in lung cancer cells is not completely elucidated yet. In this study, overexpression or knockdown of SLFN5 gene were induced by lentiviral transfection in human lung cancer cell line A549, then the EMT of A549 was detected by green fluorescent protein labeling method, the migrative and invasive abilities were evaluated via transwell and wound-healing tests in vitro and chick chorioallantoic membrane inoculation in vivo, and the possible mechanism was studied by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. Our results demonstrated that overexpression of SLFN5 promoted the morphology transformation of A549 from epithelial to mesenchymal, as well as migration and invasion. However, knockdown of SLFN5 resulted in the opposite results. Moreover, with the development of EMT after SLFN5 was overexpressed, A549 exhibited enhanced translocation of β-catenin from membrane to cytoplasm or nucleus, with higher level of EMT-related transcription factor Snail, and lower expression of adhesin E-cadherin. Together these results suggest that SLFN5 may act as a synergist in lung cancer cell tumorigenesis and progression, providing a potential target for developing drugs for lung cancer therapy in future.

Genetic Transformation and Green Fluorescent Protein Labeling in Ceratocystis paradoxa from Coconut.

Ceratocystis paradoxa, the causal agent of stem-bleeding disease of the coconut palm, causes great losses to the global coconut industry. As the mechanism of pathogenicity of C. paradoxa has not been determined, an exogenous gene marker was introduced into the fungus. In this study, pCT74-sGFP, which contains the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, and the hygromycin B resistance gene as a selective marker, was used as an expression vector. Several protoplast release buffers were compared to optimize protoplast preparation. The plasmid pCT74-sGFP was successfully transformed into the genome of C. paradoxa, which was verified using polymerase chain reaction and green fluorescence detection. The transformants did not exhibit any obvious differences from the wild-type isolates in terms of growth and morphological characteristics. Pathogenicity tests showed that the transformation process did not alter the virulence of the X-3314 C. paradoxa strain. This is the first report on the polyethylene glycol-mediated transformation of C. paradoxa carrying a ‘reporter’ gene GFP that was stably and efficiently expressed in the transformants. These findings provide a basis for future functional genomics studies of C. paradoxa and offer a novel opportunity to track the infection process of C. paradoxa.

Imaging and Tracking Stem Cell Engraftment in Ischemic Hearts by Near-Infrared Fluorescent Protein (iRFP) Labeling.

Stem cell-based therapies hold great promise as alternative therapeutic strategies for various chronic diseases, including ischemic cardiomyopathy. Tracking the engraftment of transplanted stem cells is critical to the assessment of donor cell survival in the host environment. Fluorescent proteins, such as green fluorescent protein (GFP), have been widely used to track the fate of donor cells; however, GFP labeling has limitations with regard to noninvasively measuring cell engraftment in vivo. Our research indicates that near-infrared fluorescent protein (iRFP) labeling offers advantages for noninvasive in vivo imaging and histological assessment. Here, we present a protocol for using the lentiviral vector-mediated iRFP vector system to label and track donor stem cells in ischemic mouse hearts.

Potential Long-Term Treatment of Hemophilia a By Early Postnatal Co-Transplantation of Cord Blood Derived Endothelial Colony-Forming Cells and Placental Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Hemophilia A (HA) is an X-linked recessive disorder caused by mutations in the Factor VIII (FVIII) gene leading to deficient blood coagulation. As a monogenic disorder, HA is an ideal target for gene or cell-based therapy. Both mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been used independently to correct the HA phenotype, but poor survival and insufficient retention of transplanted cells in the long term limit their application. In this study, we sought to determine whether co-transplantation of endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) with placental mesenchymal stem cells (PMSCs) can achieve stable, long-term engraftment. To investigate stem cell engraftment and therapeutic potential, ECFCs and PMSCs were transduced with a B domain deleted factor VIII (BDD-FVIII) expressing lentiviral vector. To distinguish between PMSCs and ECFCs in the co-transplantation group, a Td-Tomato containing lentiviral vector was used to label PMSCs while a green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeling vector was used to label ECFCs. They were then transplanted intramuscularly either as ECFC only group, PMSC only group or co-transplantation of ECFCs and PMSCs group into neonatal (3 days) or adult (12 weeks) immune deficient NOD scid gamma (NSG) mice. Using an in vivo bioluminescence imaging system, we investigated cell engraftment for up to 26 weeks after transplantation. ECFC only and the co-transplantation groups achieved better engraftment than PMSCs only group in both neonatal and adult mice during the entire study period. The co-transplantation group showed higher engraftment rate than the ECFC only group at 16 weeks and 20 weeks post-transplantation. In addition, transplantation of ECFCs only or in combination with PMSCs in neonatal period achieved higher engraftment than transplantation in adult period. Immunohistochemical analyses were further employed to determine the fate and functionality of the engrafted cells. We found that engrafted ECFCs maintained endothelial phenotype and expressed high level of FVIII at 26 weeks post-transplantation. The presence of ECFCs in the co-transplantation group also promoted formation of functional vasculature after transplantation. To study the functional reversal of HA phenotype we co-transplanted ECFCs and PMSCs into F8 knock-out HA mice. The transplanted cells reduced the blood loss volume from 562.13±19.84µl of blood to 155.78±44.93µl in a tail clip assay in these HA mice. This work demonstrates that co-transplantation of ECFCs with PMSCs at the neonatal period is a promising strategy to achieve stable, long-term engraftment of transplanted cells, and thus holds great promise for the treatment of HA and other genetic diseases and tissue regeneration applications. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

O‐GlcNAc Transferase is Required to Maintain Satellite Cell Viability

O‐GlcNAcylation is the addition and removal of UDP‐GlcNAc to proteins by O‐GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and O‐GlcNAcase (OGA), respectively. This process functions as a nutrient sensing pathway because UDP‐GlcNAc, synthesized in the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway, fluctuates with nutrient levels available to the cell. Although previous studies have established the critical role of OGT in metabolism in a variety of cell types, the role of OGT in satellite cells (SCs) remains unknown. In this study, we generated SC‐specific OGT knock‐out (cKO) mice to investigate the functional role of OGT in SC homeostasis. Initially we subjected WT and cKO muscle to cardiotoxin‐induced injury to assess SC regenerative capacity during muscle regeneration. Compared to WT mice, the cKO mice experienced severely impaired regenerative myogenesis. To investigate whether OGT deficiency induced lack of regeneration was caused by changes in SC intrinsic properties, we traced SCs cycling and self‐renewal in vivo by monitoring the turnover rate of green fluorescent protein (GFP) intensity using a H2B‐GFP lineage tracing strategy. Flow cytometry analysis of the GFP labeling revealed that cKO SCs possessed a higher percentage of GFP‐retained subpopulation than WT SCs after a 10‐week chase period, indicating that SCs lacking OGT had impaired self‐renewal. We then assessed SC proliferative capacity in vitro using clone assay and observed SCs from cKO mice had significantly reduced clone size compared to their WT counterparts. Morphologically, cKO SCs exhibited larger cell size and increased complexity compared to WT SCs, suggesting the lack of proliferation may be caused by the impairment of SC's ability to divide. Taken together, our findings suggest that OGT, and thus O‐GlcNAc signaling, plays a critical role in SC self‐renewal, proliferation, and tissue repair through mediating nutrient sensitive cell division.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

In vivo imaging of adeno-associated viral vector labelled retinal ganglion cells

A defining characteristic of optic neuropathies, such as glaucoma, is progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Current clinical tests only provide weak surrogates of RGC loss, but the possibility of optically visualizing RGCs and quantifying their rate of loss could represent a radical advance in the management of optic neuropathies. In this study we injected two different adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector serotypes in the vitreous to enable green fluorescent protein (GFP) labelling of RGCs in wild-type mice for in vivo and non-invasive imaging. GFP-labelled cells were detected by confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy 1-week post-injection and plateaued in density at 4 weeks. Immunohistochemical analysis 5-weeks post-injection revealed labelling specificity to RGCs to be significantly higher with the AAV2-DCX-GFP vector compared to the AAV2-CAG-GFP vector. There were no adverse functional or structural effects of the labelling method as determined with electroretinography and optical coherence tomography, respectively. The RGC-specific positive and negative scotopic threshold responses had similar amplitudes between control and experimental eyes, while inner retinal thickness was also unchanged after injection. As a positive control experiment, optic nerve transection resulted in a progressive loss of labelled RGCs. AAV vectors provide strong and long-lasting GFP labelling of RGCs without detectable adverse effects.

Live Imaging of Xist RNA.

Live imaging gives additional layers of information such as physical dynamics of a molecule of your interest. Aptamer-based green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeling is suitable for visualization of RNA molecules. Here we describe a method to visualize Xist RNA using the Bgl aptamer system.

Variable expression of GFP in different populations of peripheral cholinergic neurons of ChATBAC-eGFP transgenic mice.

Immunohistochemistry is used widely to identify cholinergic neurons, but this approach has some limitations. To address these problems, investigators developed transgenic mice that express enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) directed by the promoter for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the acetylcholine synthetic enzyme. Although, it was reported that these mice express GFP in all cholinergic neurons and non-neuronal cholinergic cells, we could not detect GFP in cardiac cholinergic nerves in preliminary experiments. Our goals for this study were to confirm our initial observation and perform a qualitative screen of other representative autonomic structures for the presences of GFP in cholinergic innervation of effector tissues. We evaluated GFP fluorescence of intact, unfixed tissues and the cellular localization of GFP and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), a specific cholinergic marker, in tissue sections and intestinal whole mounts. Our experiments identified two major tissues where cholinergic neurons and/or nerve fibers lacked GFP: 1) most cholinergic neurons of the intrinsic cardiac ganglia and all cholinergic nerve fibers in the heart and 2) most cholinergic nerve fibers innervating airway smooth muscle. Most cholinergic neurons in airway ganglia stained for GFP. Cholinergic systems in the bladder and intestines were fully delineated by GFP staining. GFP labeling of input to ganglia with long preganglionic projections (vagal) was sparse or weak, while that to ganglia with short preganglionic projections (spinal) was strong. Total absence of GFP might be due to splicing out of the GFP gene. Lack of GFP in nerve projections from GFP-positive cell bodies might reflect a transport deficiency.

Determination of Histone 2B-Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Retention in Intestinal Stem Cells.

The epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract represents the interface between the luminal contents of the gut and that of the host tissues and plays a central role not only in regulating absorption of dietary nutrients but also in providing a barrier to prevent the entry of bacteria and other pathogens. Repair and replacement of damaged aging cells within the epithelium is modulated by stem cells, which are located in the intestinal crypts of the small intestine.Two distinct populations of intestinal stem cells have been described in the literature, one population at the very base of the crypt and a second population of long-lived stem cells located just above the Paneth cell zone. Herein, we describe a method to label this population of long-lived GFP label retaining cells. This method is free from confounding factors of previous methodologies based on radioactive tracers and also enables functional studies not previously possible using the radioactive tracer techniques described in the literature.

Dynamics of Proliferative and Quiescent Stem Cells in Liver Homeostasis and Injury

Adult liver stem cells are usually maintained in a quiescent/slow-cycling state. However, a proliferative population, marked by leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 (LGR5), was recently identified as an important liver stem cell population. We aimed to investigate the dynamics and functions of proliferative and quiescent stem cells in healthy and injured livers. We studied LGR5-positive stem cells using diphtheria toxin receptor and green fluorescent protein (GFP) knock-in mice. In these mice, LGR5-positive cells specifically coexpress diphtheria toxin receptor and the GFP reporter. Lineage-tracing experiments were performed in mice in which LGR5-positive stem cells and their daughter cells expressed a yellow fluorescent protein/mTmG reporter. Slow-cycling stem cells were investigated using GFP-based, Tet-on controlled transgenic mice. We studied the dynamics of both stem cell populations during liver homeostasis and injury induced by carbon tetrachloride. Stem cells were isolated from mouse liver and organoid formation assays were performed. We analyzed hepatocyte and cholangiocyte lineage differentiation in cultured organoids. We did not detect LGR5-expressing stem cells in livers of mice at any stage of a lifespan, but only following liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride. In the liver stem cell niche, where the proliferating LGR5+ cells are located, we identified a quiescent/slow-cycling cell population, called label-retaining cells (LRCs). These cells were present in the homeostatic liver, capable of retaining the GFP label over 1 year, and expressed a panel of progenitor/stem cell markers. Isolated single LRCs were capable of forming organoids that could be carried in culture, expanded for months, and differentiated into hepatocyte and cholangiocyte lineages invitro, demonstrating their bona fide stem cell properties. More interestingly, LRCs responded to liver injury and gave rise to LGR5-expressing stem cells, as well as other potential progenitor/stem cell populations, including SOX9- and CD44-positive cells. Proliferative LGR5 cells are an intermediate stem cell population in the liver that emerge only during tissue injury. In contrast, LRCs are quiescent stem cells that are present in homeostatic liver, respond to tissue injury, and can give rise to LGR5 stem cells, as well as SOX9- and CD44-positive cells.

Abstract 1922: S-SHIP promoter expression identifies a putative cancer stem cell population in C3(1)/Tag murine mammary tumors

Abstract Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. The isolation and characterization of breast cancer stem cells (CSC) are crucial for understanding cancer biology and revealing potential therapeutic targets. One of the major issues in the study of CSC is the lack of reliable markers. A transgenic mouse model (Tg 11.5kb–GFP) was generated using the 11.5kb s-SHIP (stem-SH2-containing 5’-Inositol Phosphatase) promoter that specifically expressed enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) in embryonic and various tissue stem cells. In the mammary gland, previous experiments showed that GFP labels puberty cap cells and pregnancy basal alveolar bud cells, and it has been demonstrated that these mammary GFP+ cells are activated tissue stem cells. In order to determine if s-SHIP promoter expression could also mark mammary cancer stem cells, we generated a bi-transgenic mouse model by crossing Tg 11.5kb-GFP mice with Tg C3(1)/Tag mice. Tg C3(1)/Tag mice express SV40 T antigen under the regulatory control of the rat prostatic steroid binding protein C3(1) gene. In female mice, the transgene is expressed primarily in the mammary gland. Mice develop mammary hyperplasia by 3 months of age with subsequent development of mammary adenocarcinoma by 6 months of age. Here we show the presence of a rare population of GFP+ cells in mammary tumors of female bi-transgenic mice by using immunohistochemical and flow cytometry analysis. The GFP+ mammary cancer cells are also CD24+/CD49f+/CD29+. As compared to GFP- cells, GFP+ cells exhibit both a higher tumor sphere-forming potential, and a higher tumorigenicity when transplanted into SCID and FVB recipient mice. Moreover, upon subsequent transplantation, the GFP+ cells generated heterogeneous tumors that displayed properties similar to the primary tumor. Currently, we are conducting transcriptomic analysis of these GFP+ and GFP- cells in order to reveal differentially expressed genes. Altogether, these results suggest that s-SHIP promoter expression may be a new marker of mammary CSC that enables their identification and isolation via a single consistent parameter. Furthermore, our bi-transgenic C3(1)/Tag x 11.5kb-GFP mice provide a novel model for study of mammary cancer stem cells and investigation of potential therapeutic targets for breast cancer. Citation Format: Lu Tian, Chann Lagadec, Eric Adriaenssens, Emmanuel Bouchaert, Hélène Bauderlique-Le Roy, Xuefen LeBourhis, Roland P. Bourette. S-SHIP promoter expression identifies a putative cancer stem cell population in C3(1)/Tag murine mammary tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1922. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1922

Pantoea agglomerans SWg2 colonizes mulberry tissues, promotes disease protection and seedling growth

Mulberry bacterial blight caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. mori, is one of the most serious diseases on mulberry (Morus alba L.), and threatens sericulture development. An endophytic Pantoea agglomerans SWg2 (referred to as SWg2), originally isolated from roots of healthy mulberry, is extremely inhibitory activity to P. syringae. Greenhouse tests were first conducted to examine the biological control properties of SWg2. A suspension of SWg2, introduced to the host plant, significantly reduced disease symptoms caused by P. syringae. Likewise, when a suspension of SWg2 was sprayed onto plantlets 2days before inoculation with P. syringae, its disease control efficacy was up to 65.6% even after inoculation with P. syringae 18days later. Interestingly, the control effect of the traditional agrochemical streptomycin was just 33.2% at 18days post inoculation (DPI), although it was 55.6% at 9 DPI. Furthermore, SWg2 promoted the growth of mulberry seedlings. The immersion of 107CFUmL−1 suspension of SWg2 had the most distinctive growth-promoting role since the seed germination rate and radicle length development were enhanced up to 100% and 144.2%, respectively. Based on the green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeling technique and a re-isolation method, it was determined that the SWg2 strain colonized and spread in mulberry seedlings. The bacteria entered seedlings through the areas of emergence of root hairs and cracks in the rhizodermis. Eventually these cells spread to other tissues of the plant with colonization occurring mainly in the intercellular spaces. Furthermore, the GFP-tagged SWg2 strain could be detected in stems and leaves, but the quantity was smaller than that in roots. There appears to be no outward negative effects of SWg2 on treated plants and silkworms feed on them in a normal manner. This work indicates that P. agglomerans SWg2 possesses the biological potential to provide protection of its host against the pathogen of mulberry bacterial blight will at the same time promoting the growth and vigor of the host plant.

The Verticillium-specific protein VdSCP7 localizes to the plant nucleus and modulates immunity to fungal infections.

Fungal pathogens secrete effector proteins to suppress plant basal defense for successful colonization. Resistant plants, however, can recognize effectors by cognate R proteins to induce effector-triggered immunity (ETI). By analyzing secretomes of the vascular fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae, we identified a novel secreted protein VdSCP7 that targets the plant nucleus. The green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged VdSCP7 gene with either a mutated nuclear localization signal motif or with additional nuclear export signal was transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana, and investigated for induction of plant immunity. The role of VdSCP7 in V.dahliae pathogenicity was characterized by gene knockout and complementation, and GFP labeling. Expression of the VdSCP7 gene in N.benthamiana activated both salicylic acid and jasmonate signaling, and altered the plant's susceptibility to the pathogens Botrytis cinerea and Phytophthora capsici. The immune response activated by VdSCP7 was highly dependent on its initial extracellular secretion and subsequent nuclear localization in plants. Knockout of the VdSCP7 gene significantly enhanced V.dahliae aggressiveness on cotton. GFP-labeled VdSCP7 is secreted by V.dahliae and accumulates in the plant nucleus. We conclude that VdSCP7 is a novel effector protein that targets the host nucleus to modulate plant immunity, and suggest that plants can recognize VdSCP7 to activate ETI during fungal infection.

5HTR3A-driven GFP labels immature olfactory sensory neurons.

The ionotropic serotonin receptor, 5-HT3 , is expressed by many developing neurons within the central nervous system. Since the olfactory epithelium continues to generate new olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) throughout life, we investigated the possibility that 5-HT3 is expressed in the adult epithelium. Using a transgenic mouse in which the promoter for the 5-HT3a subunit drives expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP), we assessed the expression of this marker in the olfactory epithelium of adult mice. Both the native 5-HT3a mRNA and GFP are expressed within globose basal cells of the olfactory and vomeronasal epithelium in adult mice. Whereas the 5-HT3a mRNA disappears relatively quickly after final cell division, the GFP label persists for about 5 days, thereby labeling immature OSNs in both the main olfactory system and vomeronasal organ. The GFP-labeled cells include both proliferative globose basal cells as well as immature OSNs exhibiting the hallmarks of ongoing differentiation including GAP43, PGP9.5, but the absence of olfactory marker protein. Some of the GFP-labeled OSNs show characteristics of more mature yet still developing OSNs including the presence of cilia extending from the apical knob and expression of NaV1.5, a component of the transduction cascade. These findings suggest that 5-HT3a is indicative of a proliferative or developmental state, regardless of age, and that the 5-HT3A GFP mice may prove useful for future studies of neurogenesis in the olfactory epithelium. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:1743-1755, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Green Fluorescent Protein Labeling of Dopaminergic Neurons in Zebrafish for the Study of Parkinson’s Diseases

The loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is the pathological hallmark of Parkinson s disease PD associated with the characteristic motor deficits Despite all the recent progress in the identification of genes and pathways associated with PD we still lack a complete understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning the disease Our goals were to develop a new transgenic zebra fish line where tyrosine hydroxylase TH positive neurons were labeled with green fluorescent protein EGFP under the control of the zebra fish tyrosine hydroxylase th promoterand to demonstrate the usefulness of the model for the study of the mechanisms underlying cell death in a toxininduced model of PD A kb gene fragment of the th promoter was isolated and cloned into a mini Tol vector followed by EGFP and microinjected to originate the Tg th EGFP zebra fish line Tg th EGFP were visualized by fluorescence microscopy for EGFP and TH expression during development The levels of EGFP mRNA were detected by RT qPCR and protein expression was examined by western blot analysis The model of neurotoxicity was generated by treating transgenic zebra fish with hydroxydopamine OHDA followed by the analysis of cell death markers and behavior EGFP expression was detected mainly in the posterior tuberculum of the ventral diencephalon vDC In the vDC TH labeled neurons of groups were correctly labeled with EGFP Further we demonstrated that these neurons in larvae and adultsare sensitive to OHDA treatment resulting in cell loss and behavioral deficits In conclusion this transgenic line constitutes a powerful tool to visualize and study dopaminergic neurons throughout the zebra fish life cycle and enables high throughput screening of molecules of interest for PD

Rapid loss of a green fluorescent plasmid in Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Plasmids encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) are frequently used to label bacteria, allowing the identification and differentiation from background flora during experimental studies. Because of its common use in survival studies of the foodborne pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7, it is important to know the extent to which the plasmid is retained in this host system. Herein, the stability of a pGFPuv (Clontech Laboratories Inc) plasmid in six Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates was assessed in an oligotrophic environment (phosphate buffered saline, PBS) without antibiotic selective pressure. The six test isolates were recovered from a variety of animal and human sources (cattle, sheep, starlings, water buffalo, and human feces). GFP labeling of the bacteria was accomplished via transfer electroporation. The stability of the GFP plasmid in the different E. coli O157:H7 isolates was variable: in one strain, GFP plasmid loss was rapid, as early as one day and complete plasmid loss was exhibited by four of the six strains within 19 days. In one of the two isolates retaining the GFP plasmid beyond 19 days, counts of GFP-labeled E. coli O157:H7 were significantly lower than the total cell population (P < 0.001). In contrast, in the other isolate after 19 days, total E. coli O157:H7 counts and GFP-labeled E. coli counts were equivalent. These results demonstrate strain-to-strain variability in plasmid stability. Consequently the use of GFP-labeled E.coli O157:H7 in prolonged survival studies may result in the underestimation of survival time due to plasmid loss.

Green fluorescent protein labeling of food pathogens Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Labeling of bacteria with marker genes, such as green fluorescent protein, is a useful and practicable tool for tracking and enumerating bacterial cells in a complex environment e.g. discrimination from the indigenous background population. In this study, novel TurboGFP prokaryotic expression vector was utilized for labeling of Yersinia species. Y. enterocolitica biovar 1A, biovar 2, biovar 4 and Y. pseudotuberculosis were successfully transformed with the vector and expressed bright green fluorescence that was even detectable visually by eye. No adverse effects were observed in growth behavior of the labeled strains compared to wild type (parental) strains and vector maintenance for longer time periods could be achieved for Y. enterocolitica biovar 1A, Y. enterocolitica biovar 2 and Y. pseudotuberculosis.

Effective fluorescence-guided surgery of liver metastasis using a fluorescent anti-CEA antibody.

Delineation of adequate tumor margins is critical in oncologic surgery, particularly in resection of metastatic lesions. Surgeons are limited in visualization with bright-light surgery, but fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) has been efficacious in helping the surgeon achieve negative margins. The present study uses FGS in a mouse model that has undergone surgical orthotopic implantation (SOI) of colorectal liver metastasis tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP). An anti-CEA antibody conjugated to DyLight 650 was used to highlight the tumor. The fluorescent antibody clearly demarcated the lesion at deeper tissue depth compared to GFP. Fluorescence of the anti-CEA-DyLight650 showed maximal tumor-to-liver contrast at 72 hr. Fifteen mice underwent bright-light surgery (BLS) versus FGS with GFP versus FGS with anti-CEA-DyLight650. Mice that underwent FGS had a significantly smaller area of residual tumor (P < 0.001) and significantly longer overall survival (P < 0.001) and disease-free survival (P < 0.001). Within the two FGS groups, mice undergoing surgery with anti-CEA-DyLight650 improved survival compared to only GFP labeling. In the present report, we demonstrate that an anti-CEA antibody conjugated to a DyLight 650 nm dye clearly labeled colon cancer liver metastases, thereby enabling successful FGS. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;114:951-958. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hematopoietic stem cell-specific GFP-expressing transgenic mice generated by genetic excision of a pan-hematopoietic reporter gene.

Selective labeling of specific cell types by expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) within the hematopoietic system would have great utility in identifying, localizing, and tracking different cell populations in flow cytometry, microscopy, lineage tracing, and transplantation assays. In this report, we describe the generation and characterization of a new transgenic mouse line with specific GFP labeling of all nucleated hematopoietic cells and platelets. This new "Vav-GFP" mouse line labels the vast majority of hematopoietic cells with GFP during both embryonic development and adulthood, with particularly high expression in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). With the exception of transient labeling of fetal endothelial cells, GFP expression is highly selective for hematopoietic cells and persists in donor-derived progeny after transplantation of HSPCs. Finally, we also demonstrate that the loxP-flanked reporter allows for specific GFP labeling of different hematopoietic cell subsets when crossed to various Cre reporter lines. By crossing Vav-GFP mice to Flk2-Cre mice, we obtained robust and highly selective GFP expression in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These data describe a new mouse model capable of directing GFP labeling exclusively of hematopoietic cells or exclusively of HSCs.

Improved Resection and Outcome of Colon-Cancer Liver Metastasis with Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Using In Situ GFP Labeling with a Telomerase-Dependent Adenovirus in an Orthotopic Mouse Model.

Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) of cancer is an area of intense development. In the present report, we demonstrate that the telomerase-dependent green fluorescent protein (GFP)-containing adenovirus OBP-401 could label colon-cancer liver metastasis in situ in an orthotopic mouse model enabling successful FGS. OBP-401-GFP-labeled liver metastasis resulted in complete resection with FGS, in contrast, conventional bright-light surgery (BLS) did not result in complete resection of the metastasis. OBP-401-FGS reduced the recurrence rate and prolonged over-all survival compared with BLS. In conclusion, adenovirus OBP-401 is a powerful tool to label liver metastasis in situ with GFP which enables its complete resection, not possible with conventional BLS.