Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Qinzhen Cheng, Yong Kang, Bin Yao, Jinrui Dong, Yalan Zhu, Yiling He, Xiaoyuan Ji
Summary: The advent of immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, offering significant clinical benefits. Cell membrane nanovesicles (CMNs) have emerged as a promising drug delivery system in cancer therapy due to their biocompatibility and low immunogenicity. Genetic engineering has enabled the development of genetically engineered-CMN (GCMN) for targeted cancer immunotherapy. This review provides an overview of surface engineering strategies for CMNs, highlights the features of various membrane sources, and discusses the challenges and prospects of GCMNs in clinical translation.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuanke Li, Haoqi Zhang, Ruikun Wang, Yuan Wang, Ruonan Li, Mingsheng Zhu, Xiangyun Zhang, Zhen Zhao, Yajuan Wan, Jie Zhuang, Hongkai Zhang, Xinglu Huang
Summary: By genetically engineering antibody-anchored membranes, agonistic antibody-boosted tumor cell nanovaccines were developed to activate costimulatory pathways and improve immune responses against tumors.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Paulo O. L. Moreira, Paula M. Nogueira, Rubens L. Monte-Neto
Summary: Despite decades of research, a safe and effective vaccine for leishmaniasis is still lacking. Therefore, finding a new prophylaxis alternative for controlling leishmaniasis should be a global priority.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Johannes C. van der Mijn, Kristian B. Laursen, Leiping Fu, Francesca Khani, Lukas E. Dow, Dawid G. Nowak, Qiuying Chen, Steven S. Gross, David M. Nanus, Lorraine J. Gudas
Summary: Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) are important for cancer research and therapy development. In this study, researchers developed two GEMMs using inducible CRISPR-Cas9 systems to simulate common chromosome deletions in kidney cancer. The models induced somatic mutations in the kidneys but did not cause tissue transformation. Further research is needed.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Jiayi Zhang, Annie Brown, Brendan Johnson, David Diebold, Kyle Asano, Gerard Marriott, Biao Lu
Summary: In this study, the effects of various membrane scaffolds on the physicochemical properties, molecular profiles, and cell uptake of extracellular vesicles (EVs) were investigated. The results showed that the incorporation of different molecular scaffolds altered the size, surface protein profiles, and cell uptake functions of EVs.
Article
Cell Biology
Amanda Cooper, Adam Sidaway, Abishek Chandrashekar, Elizabeth Latta, Krishnendu Chakraborty, Jingyou Yu, Katherine McMahan, Victoria Giffin, Cordelia Manickam, Kyle Kroll, Matthew Mosher, R. Keith Reeves, Rihab Gam, Elisa Arthofer, Modassir Choudhry, Tom Henley, Dan H. Barouch
Summary: Despite the rapid clinical translation of COVID-19 vaccines, there is still an opportunity for vaccine technology innovation to address current limitations and future pandemics. Researchers have developed a universal vaccine cell (UVC) that mimics the natural immune response to viral infection. In animal models and vaccinated individuals, this cellular vaccine has shown the ability to induce robust neutralizing antibodies and provide protection against viral variants.
CELL REPORTS MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Javier Gutierrez-Alvarez, Jose M. Honrubia, Raul Fernandez-Delgado, Li Wang, Carlos Castano-Rodriguez, Sonia Zuniga, Isabel Sola, Luis Enjuanes
Summary: There is a potential vaccine candidate for MERS-CoV developed by generating mutants with partial deletions in the E protein, which has been shown to be attenuated and provide complete protection against virulent MERS-CoV. This approach highlights the importance of identifying and targeting virulence factors to design efficient vaccines.
Review
Plant Sciences
Jacob Sebesta, Wei Xiong, Michael T. Guarnieri, Jianping Yu
Summary: Genetically engineered algae can convert light and carbon dioxide into industrially and commercially relevant chemicals. However, there is a need to address the potential risks of releasing these engineered algae into the natural environment, and develop effective biocontainment strategies.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Reem Alatrash, Maria Golubenko, Ekaterina Martynova, Ekaterina Garanina, Yana Mukhamedshina, Svetlana Khaiboullina, Albert Rizvanov, Ilnur Salafutdinov, Svetlana Arkhipova
Summary: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that cannot be cured and progressively damages the myelin sheath. Current therapy focuses on slowing neurodegeneration and suppressing the immune system. Inflammation, axon degeneration, and neurogliosis occur in the central nervous system in MS. This study explores the therapeutic potential of artificial microvesicles (MVs) derived from adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSC) and expressing nerve growth factor (NGF) on a mouse model of MS. The injection of ADMSC-MVs-NGF led to a significant decrease in neurogliosis and promoted axon regeneration in the MS model.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hamza Rafeeq, Nadia Afsheen, Sadia Rafique, Arooj Arshad, Maham Intisar, Asim Hussain, Muhammad Bilal, Hafiz M. N. Iqbal
Summary: In the recent era, the persistence of hazardous contaminants has had a severe impact on the world. Conventional approaches to remediation have failed to effectively remove these contaminants, leading to an increase in the use of genetically engineered microbes (GEMs) for bioremediation. GEMs are more powerful and cost-effective in degrading various pollutants, making genetic engineering a worthwhile process for environmental improvement and human health.
Article
Neurosciences
Masoumeh Rostami, Kamran Haidari, Hossein Amini, Majid Shahbazi
Summary: In this study, recombinant interleukin 23 receptor-engineered mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were used to investigate their therapeutic role in enhancing inflammation of nervous tissue in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). The results showed that RIL-23R-transfected MSCs could effectively target the inflamed regions, exert an enhanced suppressive function on T lymphocyte proliferation, and demonstrate improved therapeutic effects in EAE mice, including enhanced myelination and reduced infiltration of inflammatory cells.
MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Take Matsuyama, Hung-Ya Tu, Jianan Sun, Tomoyo Hashiguchi, Ryutaro Akiba, Junki Sho, Momo Fujii, Akishi Onishi, Masayo Takahashi, Michiko Mandai
Summary: Genetically engineered mouse ESC/iPSC-retinal sheet transplantation can restore visual function in mice, establish synaptic connections, reduce aberrant retinal ganglion cell spiking, and contribute to better visual recovery by improving neural integration.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yan Peng, Linjuan Shu, Xiongfei Deng, Xin Huang, Xianming Mo, Feng Du, Zhuo Tang
Summary: We developed a genetically encoded sensor for sensitive imaging and tracking of endogenous RNA in living cells. This sensor can specifically recognize target RNAs and induce structural changes to enable fluorescence imaging. We successfully demonstrated its application in monitoring mRNA expression and confirming RNA distribution in cancer cells and zebrafish embryos, respectively. This study provides an effective molecular tool for RNA imaging and has potential applications in disease diagnosis and treatment evaluation.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Nishta Krishnan, Fei-Xing Peng, Animesh Mohapatra, Ronnie H. Fang, Liangfang Zhang
Summary: In recent years, researchers have increasingly explored nanoparticles derived from cellular membranes for disease prevention and treatment. These biomimetic nanoparticles, with their flexible design and effective interaction with the surrounding environment, can outperform traditional synthetic nanoparticles. Genetic manipulation has proven to be a robust and flexible method to generate nanoformulations with augmented functionalities. This review provides an overview of genetic engineering approaches to express novel surface proteins and discusses the various biomedical applications of genetically modified cellular nanoparticles.
Article
Biology
Frank K. Lee, Jane C. Lee, Bo Shui, Shaun Reining, Megan Jibilian, David M. Small, Jason S. Jones, Nathaniel H. Allan-Rahill, Michael Re Lamont, Megan A. Rizzo, Sendoa Tajada, Manuel F. Navedo, Luis Fernando Santana, Nozomi Nishimura, Michael Kotlikoff
Summary: Optogenetic effectors and sensors in mice offer a powerful tool to study cellular signaling and have immense potential for investigating physiological processes.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Lin-Lin Luo, Jie Xu, Bing-Qiao Wang, Chen Chen, Xi Chen, Qiu-Mei Hu, Yu-Qiu Wang, Wan-Yun Zhang, Wan-Xiang Jiang, Xin-Ting Li, Hu Zhou, Xiao Xiao, Kai Zhao, Sen Lin
Summary: A novel AAV serotype, AAVYC5, introduced in this study, showed more efficient transduction into multiple retinal layers compared to AAV2, and enabled successful delivery of anti-angiogenic molecules in mice and non-human primates.