Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) is a lysosomal glycosaminoglycan (GAG) storage disorder caused by deficiency of alpha-l-iduronidase (IDUA). In this study, we evaluated the potential to perform gene therapy for MPS I by direct in vivo injection of a lentiviral vector, using an IDUA gene knockout murine model. We compared the efficacy in newborn versus young adult MPS I mice of a single intravenous injection of the lentiviral vector. The extent of transduction was dose-dependent, with the liver receiving the highest level of vector, but other somatic organs reaching almost the same level. The phenotypic manifestations of disease were partially improved in the mice treated as young adults, but were nearly normalized at every end-point measured in the mice treated as neonates. In the neonatally treated mice, the expressed IDUA activity resulted in decreased GAG storage, prevention of skeletal abnormalities, a more normal gross appearance, and improved survival. Most strikingly, significant levels of IDUA enzyme were produced in the brain of mice treated as neonates, with transduction of neurons at high levels. The sustained expression of enzymatically active IDUA in multiple organs had a significant beneficial effect on the phenotypic abnormalities of MPS I, which may be translated to clinical gene therapy of patients with Hurler disease.

SUMMARYThe ability of freshly isolated primary human alveolar epithelial cells (type II pneumocytes) to induce leucocyte migration across an endothelial monolayer was investigated. Three-way factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that resting alveolar endothelial cells (AEC) could produce detectable quantities of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), which was upregulated in response to tumour necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) in a dose-and time-dependent fashion. Interferon-c (IFN-c) had no signi®cant effect on this process. TNF-a and IFN-c both induced AEC to provoke migration of CD14 + monocytes and CD3 + lymphocytes across endothelium. IFN-c and TNF-a synergized in their ability to induce production of T lymphocyte, but not monocyte, chemoattractants from AEC. Leucocyte transendothelial migration was inhibited by anti-MCP-1 neutralizing antibody and by heparin, a polyanionic glycosaminoglycan (GAG). These data suggest that human AEC play a role in the multiple mechanisms that facilitate monocyte and T lymphocyte migration into the alveolar compartment of the lung under homeostasis and in¯ammatory conditions. One of these mechanisms is mediated via constitutive MCP-1 production by alveolar epithelial cells, which is upregulated by TNF-a.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is an incurable paediatric malignancy. Identifying the molecular drivers of DIPG progression is of the utmost importance. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent a large family of disease- and tissue-specific transcripts, whose functions have not yet been elucidated in DIPG. Herein, we studied the oncogenic role of the development-associated H19 lncRNA in DIPG. Bioinformatic analyses of clinical datasets were used to measure the expression of H19 lncRNA in paediatric high-grade gliomas (pedHGGs). The expression and sub-cellular location of H19 lncRNA were validated in DIPG cell lines. Locked nucleic acid antisense oligonucleotides were designed to test the function of H19 in DIPG cells. We found that H19 expression was higher in DIPG vs. normal brain tissue and other pedHGGs. H19 knockdown resulted in decreased cell proliferation and survival in DIPG cells. Mechanistically, H19 buffers let-7 microRNAs, resulting in the up-regulation of oncogenic let-7 target (e.g., SULF2 and OSMR). H19 is the first functionally characterized lncRNA in DIPG and a promising therapeutic candidate for treating this incurable cancer.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is an incurable paediatric malignancy. Identifying molecular drivers of DIPG progression is of utmost importance. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent a large family of disease- and tissue-specific transcripts, whose functions have not been yet elucidated in DIPG. Here, we study the oncogenic role of the development-associated H19 lncRNA in DIPG. Bioinformatic analyses of clinical datasets were used to measure the expression of H19 lncRNA in paediatric high-grade gliomas (pedHGG). Expression and sub-cellular location of H19 lncRNA was validated in DIPG cell lines. Locked nucleic acid antisense oligonucleotides were designed to test the function of H19 in DIPG cells. We found that H19 expression was higher in DIPG vs normal brain tissue and other pedHGGs. H19 knockdown resulted in decreased cell proliferation and survival in DIPG cells. Mechanistically, H19 buffers let-7 microRNAs, resulting in up-regulation of oncogenic let-7 target (e.g SULF2, OSMR). H19 is the first functionally characterized lncRNA in DIPG and a promising therapeutic candidate to treat this incurable cancer.