AlveoMPU: Bridging the Gap in Lung Model Interactions Using a Novel Alveolar Bilayer Film.

The alveoli, critical sites for gas exchange in the lungs, comprise alveolar epithelial cells and pulmonary capillary endothelial cells. Traditional experimental models rely on porous polyethylene terephthalate or polycarbonate membranes, which restrict direct cell-to-cell contact. To address this limitation, we developed AlveoMPU, a new foam-based mortar-like polyurethane-formed alveolar model that facilitates direct cell-cell interactions. AlveoMPU features a unique anisotropic mortar-shaped configuration with larger pores at the top and smaller pores at the bottom, allowing the alveolar epithelial cells to gradually extend toward the bottom. The underside of the film is remarkably thin, enabling seeded pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells to interact with alveolar epithelial cells. Using AlveoMPU, it is possible to construct a bilayer structure mimicking the alveoli, potentially serving as a model that accurately simulates the actual alveoli. This innovative model can be utilized as a drug-screening tool for measuring transepithelial electrical resistance, assessing substance permeability, observing cytokine secretion during inflammation, and evaluating drug efficacy and pharmacokinetics.

Efficient transduction of cytotoxic and anti-HIV-1 genes by a gene-regulatable lentiviral vector.

Lentiviral vectors modified from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) offer a promising approach for gene therapy, facilitating transduction of genes into non-dividing cells both in vitro and in vivo. When transducing cytotoxic or anti-HIV genes, however, the vector must avoid self-inhibition by the transgene that can lead to a disruption in production of infectious virions. In this study, we constructed two HIV-1-based lentiviral vectors harboring the mifepristone-inducible gene expression unit in either the forward or the reverse orientation with respect to the direction of viral genomic RNA. The ability of these vectors to transduce cytotoxic and anti-HIV genes was evaluated. When human CD14 was used as a transgene, infectious lentiviral vectors were produced by both forward and reverse vector systems. CD14 expression was efficiently induced in cells transduced by both lentiviral vectors following treatment with mifepristone. However, a higher level of basal transgene expression was observed in the forward vector system in the absence of mifepristone. In contrast, high titers of infectious lentiviral vector containing the cytotoxic vesicular stomatitis virus M gene were successfully generated using the reverse vector, but not the forward vector. In addition, when a VPS4Bdominant negative mutant against HIV-1 budding was cloned into the reverse vector, significant amounts of lentiviral vector were obtained. Subsequent transduction of cells with the VPS4B mutant resulted in approximately 50% inhibition of HIV-1 production only in the presence of mifepristone. Our study thus demonstrates that incorporation of a mifepristone-regulatable gene expression unit in the reverse orientation makes significant advances toward development of a lentiviral vector that allows transduction of harmful genes.

Collaborative work on evaluation of ovarian toxicity. 14) Two- or four-week repeated-dose studies and fertility study of atrazine in female rats.

To investigate the optimal administration period for evaluating ovarian toxicity that reflects abnormal female fertility in the repeated dose toxicity study, atrazine, a potent herbicide with endocrine-disrupting activity, was administered to female Sprague-Dawley (Slc:SD) rats for two or four weeks at doses of 3, 30 or 300 mg/kg for the repeated dose toxicity study, and at doses of 3, 30 or 100 mg/kg for the female fertility study from two weeks before mating to Day 7 of gestation. In the two-week repeated dose toxicity study, prolongation of diestrus and histopathological findings such as loss of the currently formed corpora lutea, decrease in the numbers of previously formed corpora lutea, increase in large-sized atretic follicles, and swelling of the previously formed luteal cells were observed in the 300 mg/kg group, suggesting that atrazine had an anovulatory effect through suppression of the luteinizing hormone surge. In the female fertility study, copulation failure caused by prolongation of diestrus was observed in one animal in the 100 mg/kg group, which could be due to the anovulatory effect of atrazine. It is demonstrated that the effect of atrazine on female fertility can be assessed by detailed histopathological examination of ovaries in a two-week repeated dose toxicity study, provided the appropriate dose levels are selected.