siRNAs targeted to gene promoters can direct epigenetic modifications that result in transcriptional gene silencing in human cells. It is not clear whether the antisense strand of the siRNAs bind directly to DNA or to a sense-stranded RNA transcript corresponding to the known promoter region. We present evidence that an RNA polymerase II expressed mRNA containing an extended 5 untranslated region that overlaps the gene promoter is required for RNA-directed epigenetic modifications and transcriptional silencing of the RNA-targeted promoter. These promoter-associated RNAs were detected by their hybridization to the antisense strand of the complementary promoter-directed siRNA. Antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides were used to degrade the promoter-associated RNA transcripts, the loss of which abrogated the effect of siRNA-mediated transcriptional gene silencing, as well as the complexing of the siRNA with the silent state histone methyl mark and the promoter-associated RNA. These data demonstrate that low-copy promoter-associated RNAs transcribed through RNAPII promoters are recognized by the antisense strand of the siRNA and function as a recognition motif to direct epigenetic silencing complexes to the corresponding targeted promoters to mediate transcriptional silencing in human cells.CCR5 ͉ epigenetic ͉ histone methylation ͉ siRNa ͉ transcription T he histone code was proposed to explain the role of epigenetic modifications of histones in gene regulation (1). Control of the histone code through specific targeted epigenetic marks could prove invaluable for long-term modulation of gene expression in treating diseases involving deregulated genes. However, the underlying mechanism responsible for governing the histone code is not yet well understood. Recently, it has become clear in human cells that siRNAs can modulate gene transcription in both a suppressive and activating manner through epigenetic modifications (2-4) suggestive of a role for RNA in directing the histone code. In human cells, RNAdirected transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) (2) can be initiated through promoter-targeted siRNAs and requires Argonautes 1 and 2 (5, 6). The resulting siRNA-targeted promoter exhibits a silent state histone methyl mark containing both histone H3 lysine-9 di-methylation (H3K9me2) and histone H3 lysine-27 tri-methylation (H3K27me3) (7,8). Furthermore, RNA polymerase II appears to be required for siRNA-mediated TGS in both Schizosaccharomyces pombe (9, 10) and human cells (6, 7). However, exactly how the siRNAs recognize and modulate TGS through histone methylation specifically at the targeted promoter has remained unclear. In S. pombe, transcription through the targeted genomic region is required for TGS (11), suggesting that there might also be a role for transcription through promoter regions in human cells. Results and DiscussionTo determine whether TGS of the elongation factor 1 alpha promoter (EF1a) in human cells (2) involves an RNA transcribed through the promoter, we performed a pull-down assay using v...

Anisotropic colloidal hybrid nanoparticles exhibit superior optical and physical properties compared to their counterparts with regular architectures. We herein developed a controlled, stepwise strategy to build novel, anisotropic, branched, gold nanoarchitectures (Au-tripods) with predetermined composition and morphology for bioimaging. The resultant Au-tripods with size less than 20 nm showed great promise as contrast agents for in vivo photoacoustic imaging (PAI). We further identified Au-tripods with two possible configurations as high-absorbance nanomaterials from various gold multipods using a numerical simulation analysis. The PAI signals were linearly correlated with their concentrations after subcutaneous injection. The in vivo biodistribution of Au-tripods favorable for molecular imaging was confirmed using small animal positron emission tomography (PET). Intravenous administration of cyclic Arg-Gly-Asp-d-Phe-Cys (RGDfC) peptide conjugated Au-tripods (RGD-Au-tripods) to U87MG tumor-bearing mice showed PAI contrasts in tumors almost 3-fold higher than for the blocking group. PAI results correlated well with the corresponding PET images. Quantitative biodistribution data revealed that 7.9% ID/g of RGD-Au-tripods had accumulated in the U87MG tumor after 24 h post-injection. A pilot mouse toxicology study confirmed that no evidence of significant acute or systemic toxicity was observed in histopathological examination. Our study suggests that Au-tripods can be reliably synthesized through stringently controlled chemical synthesis and could serve as a new generation of platform with high selectivity and sensitivity for multimodality molecular imaging.

Purpose One of the major obstacles of the clinical translation of 18F-labeled arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptides has been the laborious multistep radiosynthesis. In order to facilitate the application of RGD-based positron emission tomography (PET) probes in the clinical setting we investigated in this study the feasibility of using the chelation reaction between Al18F and a macrocyclic chelator-conjugated dimeric RGD peptide as a simple one-step 18F labeling strategy for development of a PET probe for tumor angiogenesis imaging. Methods Dimeric cyclic peptide E[c(RGDyK)]2 (RGD2) was first conjugated with a macrocyclic chelator, 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetic acid (NOTA), and the resulting bioconjugate NOTA-RGD2 was then radiofluorinated via Al18F intermediate to synthesize 18F-AlF-NOTA-RGD2. Integrin binding affinities of the peptides were assessed by a U87MG cell-based receptor binding assay using 125I-echistatin as the radioligand. The tumor targeting efficacy and in vivo profile of 18F-AlF-NOTA-RGD2 were further evaluated in a subcutaneous U87MG glioblastoma xenograft model by microPET and biodistribution. Results NOTA-RGD2 was successfully 18F-fluorinated with good yield within 40 min using the Al18F intermediate. The IC50 of 19F-AlF-NOTA-RGD2 was determined to be 46±4.4 nM. Quantitative microPET studies demonstrated that 18F-AlF-NOTA-RGD2 showed high tumor uptake, fast clearance from the body, and good tumor to normal organ ratios. Conclusion NOTA-RGD2 bioconjugate has been successfully prepared and labeled with Al18F in one single step of radiosynthesis. The favorable in vivo performance and the short radiosynthetic route of 18F-AlF-NOTA-RGD2 warrant further optimization of the probe and the radiofluorination strategy to accelerate the clinical translation of 18F-labeled RGD peptides.

A highly monodispersed hetero-nanostructure with two different functional nanomaterials (gold (Au) and iron oxide (Fe3O4, IO)) within one structure was successfully developed as Affibody based trimodality nanoprobe (positron emission tomography, PET; optical imaging; and magnetic resonance imaging, MRI) for imaging of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) positive tumors. Unlike other regular nanostructures with a single component, the Au-IO hetero-nanostructures (Au-IONPs) with unique chemical and physical properties have capability to combine several imaging modalities together to provide complementary information. The IO component within hetero-nanostructures serve as a T2 reporter for MRI; and gold component serve as both optical and PET reporters. Moreover, such hetero-nanoprobes could provide a robust nano-platform for surface-specific modification with both targeting molecules (anti-EGFR Affibody protein) and PET imaging reporters (radiometal 64Cu chelators) in highly efficient and reliable manner. In vitro and in vivo study showed that the resultant nanoprobe provided high specificity, sensitivity, and excellent tumor contrast for both PET and MRI imaging in the human EGFR-expressing cells and tumors. Our study data also highlighted the EGFR targeting efficiency of hetero-nanoparticles and the feasibility for their further theranostic applications.