Synthesis and photo-/electro-catalytic properties of a 3D POMOF material based on an interpenetrated copper coordination polymer linked by in situ dual ligands and Dawson-type phosphotungstates.

A novel 3D polyoxometalate metal organic framework (POMOF), [{CuCu (H2O)5(pzc)10(pz)6}{P2W18O62}2]·4H2O (1) (Hpzc = pyrazine-2-carboxylic acid, pz = pyrazine) has been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by IR, TG, XRD, UV-vis and elemental analyses. In compound 1, the pzc and pz ligands are generated through in situ transformation from pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (pzdc) to remove one or two CO2 molecules. The ligands with four coordination modes connect nine crystallographically independent Cu atoms to form a super-big circle unit. Each ring unit is connected to the adjacent six rings via an edge-sharing way to form a 2-D Cu/pz/pzc MOF layer, which is further extended along two spatial directions by two kinds of insert modes to generate an interpenetrating and staggered 3-D metal organic network. The {P2W18} clusters as nine-node inorganic guest molecules are grafted on the Cu/pz/pzc framework forming a complex 3D POMOF with a new topology {4·6·83·10}2 {4·6·8}2 {4·62·82·10}2{4·63·82}2{4·85}2{42·62·82}2{42·63·8}{43·67·813·1010·123}2 {4}6{6·82}2{62·8}2 {64·8·10}{6}2{8}4. Additionally, compound 1 exhibits good electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of H2O2 and effective photocatalytic degradation ability for three azo dyes under UV irradiation.

A promising cancer gene therapy agent based on the matrix protein of vesicular stomatitis virus.

The matrix (M) protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) plays a key role in inducing cell apoptosis during infection. To investigate whether M protein-mediated apoptosis could be used in cancer therapy, its cDNA was amplified and cloned into eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1(+). The recombinant plasmid or the control empty plasmid pcDNA3.1(+) was mixed with cationic liposome and introduced into various tumor cell lines in vitro, including lung cancer cell LLC, A549, colon cancer cell CT26 and fibrosarcoma cell MethA. Our data showed that the M protein induced remarkable apoptosis of cancer cells in vitro compared with controls. Fifty micrograms of plasmid in a complex with 250 microg cationic liposome was injected intratumorally into mice bearing LLC or MethA tumor model every 3 days for 6 times. It was found that the tumors treated with M protein plasmid grew much more slowly, and the survival of the mice was significantly prolonged compared with the mice treated with the control plasmid. In MethA fibrosarcoma, the tumors treated with M protein plasmid were even completely regressed, and the mice acquired longtime protection against the same tumor cell in rechallenge experiments. Both apoptotic cells and CD8(+) T cells were widely distributed in M protein plasmid-treated tumor tissue. Activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) were further detected by means of (51)Cr release assay in the spleen of the treated mice. These results showed that M protein of VSV can act as both apoptosis inducer and immune response initiator, which may account for its extraordinary antitumor effect and warrant its further development in cancer gene therapy.

Vesicular stomatitis virus matrix protein gene enhances the antitumor effects of radiation via induction of apoptosis.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) matrix (M) protein can directly induce apoptosis by inhibiting host gene expression when it is expressed in the absence of other viral components. Previously, we found that the M protein gene complexed to DOTAP-cholesterol liposome (Lip-MP) can suppress malignant tumor growth in vitro and in vivo; however, little is known regarding the biological effect of Lip-MP combined with radiation. The present study was designed to determine whether Lip-MP could enhance the antitumor activity of radiation. LLC cells treated with a combination of Lip-MP and radiation displayed apparently increased apoptosis compared with those treated with Lip-MP or radiation alone. Mice bearing LLC or Meth A tumors were treated with intratumoral or intravenous injections of Lip-MP and radiation. The combined treatment significantly reduced mean tumor volumes compared with either treatment alone in both tumor models and prolonged the survival time in Meth A tumor models and the intravenous injection group of LLC tumor models. Moreover, the antitumor effects of Lip-MP combined with radiation were greater than their additive effects when compared with the expected effects of the combined treatment in vivo. This study suggests that Lip-MP enhanced the antitumor activity of radiation by increasing the induction of apoptosis.

Immunity against tumor angiogenesis induced by a fusion vaccine with murine beta-defensin 2 and mFlk-1.

PURPOSE: Previous studies indicated that humoral or cellular immunity against murine vascular endothelial growth factor 2 (mFlk-1) was elicited to inhibit tumor growth. Here we describe a genetic fusion vaccine, pMBD2-mFlk-1, based on the targeting of a modified mFlk-1 to antigen-presenting cells by a murine beta-defensin 2 (MBD2) protein to induce both humoral and cellular immunity against mFlk-1, with the targeting especially focused on immature dendritic cells. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The protective and therapeutic antitumor immunity of the fusion vaccine was investigated in mouse models. Antiangiogenesis effect was detected by immunohistochemical staining and alginate-encapsulate tumor cell assay. The mechanisms of the fusion vaccine were primarily explored by detection of autoantibodies and CTL activity and confirmed by the deletion of immune cell subsets. RESULTS: The fusion vaccine elicited a strong protective and therapeutic antitumor immunity through antiangiogenesis in mouse models, and this worked through stimulation of an antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell response as well as a specific B-cell response against mFlk-1. The findings were confirmed by depletion of immune cell subsets and in knockout mice. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that a fusion vaccine based on self immune peptide (MBD2) and self antigen (mFlk-1) induced autoimmunity against endothelial cells, resulting in inhibition of tumor growth, and could be further exploited in clinical applications of cancer immunotherapy.

[Investigation of role in antitumor immune of mouse recombinant alpha-fetoprotein conjugated with mannan].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate how to deliver AFP to the immune system for generating the appropriate immune response. METHODS: We prepared the oxidized mannan linked to recombinant mouse alpha-fetoprotein (mAFP) as a vaccine (Ox-M-mAFP), and the vaccine based on mAFP without mannan modification was also prepared as a control. RESULTS: We found that immunotherapy with Ox-M-mAFP was effective on protective and therapeutic antitumor immunity in mice. No marked toxicity was found in the immunized mice. CONCLUSION: These findings may be important to further exploration of the breaking of immune tolerance to self molecules, and may provide a new vaccine strategy for the treatment of AFP-positive hepatocellular carcinoma.