黒田 正幸

BACKGROUND: Glomerular lipidosis is a rare histological feature presenting the extensive glomerular accumulation of lipids with or without histiocytic infiltration, which develops under various conditions. Among its various etiologies, macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is a condition reported to be associated with histiocytic glomerular lipidosis. Here we describe the first case of glomerular lipidosis observed in a renal allograft that histologically mimicked histiocytic glomerulopathy owing to MAS. CASE PRESENTATION: A 42-year-old man underwent successful living-donor kidney transplantation. However, middle-grade proteinuria and increased serum triglyceride levels indicative of type V hyperlipidemia developed rapidly thereafter. An allograft biopsy performed 6 months after the transplantation showed extensive glomerular infiltration of CD68+ foam cells (histiocytes) intermingled with many CD3+ T-cells (predominantly CD8+ cells). Furthermore, frequent contact between glomerular T-cells and histiocytes, and the existence of activated CD8+ cells (CD8+, HLA-DR+ cells) were observed by double immunostaining. There was no clinicopathological data suggesting lipoprotein glomerulopathy or lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency, both of which are well-known causes of glomerular lipidosis. The histological findings were relatively similar to those of histiocytic glomerulopathy caused by MAS. As systemic manifestations of MAS, such as fever, pancytopenia, coagulation abnormalities, hyperferritinemia, increased liver enzyme levels, hepatosplenomegaly, and lymphadenopathy were minimal, this patient was clinicopathologically diagnosed as having renal-limited MAS. Although optimal treatment strategies for MAS in kidney transplant patients remains unclear, we strengthened lipid-lowering therapy using pemafibrate, without modifying the amount of immunosuppressants. Serum triglyceride levels were normalized with this treatment; however, the patient's extensive proteinuria and renal dysfunction did not improve. Biopsy analysis at 1 year after the transplantation demonstrated the disappearance of glomerular foamy changes, but the number of glomerular infiltrating cells remained similar. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of glomerular lipidosis in a transplanted kidney. Increased interaction-activation of histiocytes (macrophages) and CD8+ T-cells, the key pathogenic feature of MAS, was observed in the glomeruli of this patient, who did not demonstrate overt systemic manifestations, suggesting a pathological condition of renal-limited MAS. The clinical effects of triglyceride-lowering therapy were limited, suggesting that hypertriglyceridemia was not the cause of but rather may be a consequence of renal-limited MAS.

BACKGROUND: Although targeted treatments against human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) have improved survival in patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, long and repeated treatment is time-consuming and costly for patients. To reduce these burdens, we developed ex vivo gene-transduced adipocytes that secrete anti-HER2 antibodies and evaluated their anti-tumor effects. METHODS: Ceiling culture-derived proliferative adipocytes (ccdPA) secreting anti-HER2 antibody against domain IV receptors: TRA-ccdPA, and domain II receptors: PER-ccdPA, were constructed using a plasmid lentivirus. Delivery of secreted antibody and its specific binding to HER2 breast cancer were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. To optimize antibody production from ccdPA, different conditions of ccdPA implantation were examined. Anti-tumor efficacy was evaluated in HER2-positive-cancer-inoculated nude mice. RESULTS: Anti-HER2 antibody against domain II was identified in supernatants from PER-ccdPAs. The optimal method to achieve the highest concentration of antibody in mouse sera was injecting differentiated ccdPA cells into the mammary fat pad. Antibody in supernatants from PER-ccdPAs bound to the surface of HER2-positive breast cancer cells similar to pertuzumab. Antibodies in mouse sera were delivered to HER2-positive breast cancer tumors and tumor necrosis was observed microscopically. One-time administration of combined TRA-ccdPAs and PER-ccdPAs produced antibody continuously in mouse sera, and anti-tumor effects were maintained for the duration of this study in xenograft models. Furthermore, combination therapy significantly suppressed tumor growth compared with a single administration. CONCLUSION: Ex vivo gene-transduced adipocytes might be useful for cell-based gene therapy. This system may be a platform for various antibody therapies.

BACKGROUND: Familial lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency (FLD) is a severe inherited disease without effective treatment. Patients with FLD develop severe low HDL, corneal opacity, hemolytic anemia, and renal injury. OBJECTIVE: We developed genetically modified adipocytes (GMAC) secreting LCAT (LCAT-GMAC) for ex vivo gene therapy. GMACs were prepared from the patient's adipocytes to express LCAT by retroviral gene transduction to secrete functional enzymes. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of LCAT-GMAC implantation in an FLD patient. METHODS: Proliferative preadipocytes were obtained from a patient using a ceiling culture and retrovirally transduced with LCAT. After obtaining enough cells by expansion culture of the transduced cells, the resulting LCAT-GMACs were implanted into a patient with FLD. To evaluate the safety and efficacy, we analyzed the outcome of the autologous implantation for 24 weeks of observation and subsequent 240 weeks of the follow-up periods. RESULTS: This first-in-human autologous implantation of LCAT-GMACs was shown to be safe by evaluating adverse events. The LCAT-GMAC implantation increased serum LCAT activity by approximately 50% of the baseline and sustained over three years. Consistent with increased LCAT activity, intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL) and free cholesterol levels of the small and very small HDL fractions decreased. We found the hemoglobin/haptoglobin complex in the hemolyzed pre-implantation sera of the patient. After one week of the implantation, the hemoglobin/haptoglobin complex almost disappeared. Immediately after the implantation, the patient's proteinuria decreased temporarily to mild levels and gradually increased to the baseline. At 48 weeks after implantation, the patient's proteinuria deteriorated with the development of mild hypertension. By the treatment with antihypertensives, the patient's blood pressure normalized. With the normalization of blood pressure, the proteinuria rapidly decreased to mild proteinuria levels. CONCLUSIONS: LCAT-GMAC implantation in a patient with FLD is shown to be safe and appears to be effective, in part, for treating anemia and proteinuria in FLD.

The proband was a 53-year-old Japanese woman. Despite having no atherosclerotic vascular lesions on a physiological examination, markedly decreased levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were always noted at her annual medical checkup. She also had corneal opacities but neither xanthoma nor tonsillar hypertrophy. A biochemical examination showed decreased levels of both apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) (<5 mg/dL) and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity. Her brother and son also had low concentrations of HDL-cholesterol, suggesting the presence of a genetic abnormality. Therefore, a sequence analysis of the genes for ABCA1, LCAT and apoA-I proteins was performed in the proband. The analysis of the APOA1 gene revealed a novel homozygous two-nucleotide deletion in exon 4 (c.614_615delTC), which causes a frameshift after residue 205 of the apoA-I protein (p.Leu205fs). Since no mutation has been found in the ABCA1 or LCAT gene, functional abnormalities of the carboxyl-terminal region of the apoA-I protein in lipid binding might have caused the low HDL-cholesterol levels and decreased LCAT activity, possibly associated with corneal opacities but not premature CAD, in the patient.

Ceiling culture-derived preadipocytes (ccdPAs) and adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) can be harvested from human subcutaneous fat tissue using the specific gravity method. Both cell types possess a similar spindle shape without lipid droplets. We previously reported that ccdPAs have a higher adipogenic potential than ASCs, even after a 7-wk culture. We performed a genome-wide epigenetic analysis to examine the mechanisms contributing to the adipogenic potential differences between ccdPAs and ASCs. Methylation analysis of cytosines followed by guanine (CpG) using a 450-K BeadChip was performed on human ccdPAs and ASCs isolated from three metabolically healthy females. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing was performed to evaluate trimethylation at lysine 4 of histone 3 (H3K4me3). Unsupervised machine learning using t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding to interpret 450,000-dimensional methylation assay data showed that the cells were divided into ASC and ccdPA groups. In Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis of 1,543 genes with differential promoter CpG methylation, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) and adipocytokine signaling pathways ranked in the top 10 pathways. In the PPARγ gene, H3K4me3 peak levels were higher in ccdPAs than in ASCs, whereas promoter CpG methylation levels were significantly lower in ccdPAs than in ASCs. Similar differences in promoter CpG methylation were also seen in the fatty acid-binding protein 4 and leptin genes. In conclusion, we analyzed the epigenetic status of adipogenesis-related genes as a potential mechanism underlying the differences in adipogenic differentiation capability between ASCs and ccdPAs.

Sitosterolemia is an inherited metabolic disorder characterized by increased levels of plant sterols, such as sitosterol. This disease is caused by loss-of-function genetic mutations in ATP-binding cassette (ABC) subfamily G member 5 or member 8 (ABCG5 or ABCG8, respectively), both of which play important roles in selective excretion of plant sterols from the liver and intestine, leading to failure to prevent absorption of food plant sterols. This disorder has been considered to be extremely rare. However, accumulated clinical data as well as genetics suggest the possibility of a much higher prevalence. Its clinical manifestations resemble those observed in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), including tendon xanthomas, hyper LDL-cholesterolemia, and premature coronary atherosclerosis. We provide an overview of this recessive genetic disease, diagnostic as well as therapeutic tips, and the latest diagnostic criteria in Japan.

Primary chylomicronemia (PCM) is a rare and intractable disease characterized by marked accumulation of chylomicrons in plasma. The levels of plasma triglycerides (TGs) typically range from 1,000 - 15,000 mg/dL or higher. PCM is caused by defects in the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) pathway due to genetic mutations, autoantibodies, or unidentified causes. The monogenic type is typically inherited as an autosomal recessive trait with loss-offunction mutations in LPL pathway genes (LPL, LMF1, GPIHBP1, APOC2, and APOA5). Secondary/environmental factors (diabetes, alcohol intake, pregnancy, etc.) often exacerbate hypertriglyceridemia (HTG). The signs, symptoms, and complications of chylomicronemia include eruptive xanthomas, lipemia retinalis, hepatosplenomegaly, and acute pancreatitis with onset as early as in infancy. Acute pancreatitis can be fatal and recurrent episodes of abdominal pain may lead to dietary fat intolerance and failure to thrive. The main goal of treatment is to prevent acute pancreatitis by reducing plasma TG levels to at least less than 500-1,000 mg/dL. However, current TG-lowering medications are generally ineffective for PCM. The only other treatment options are modulation of secondary/environmental factors. Most patients need strict dietary fat restriction, which is often difficult to maintain and likely affects their quality of life. Timely diagnosis is critical for the best prognosis with currently available management, but PCM is often misdiagnosed and undertreated. The aim of this review is firstly to summarize the pathogenesis, signs, symptoms, diagnosis, and management of PCM, and secondly to propose simple diagnostic criteria that can be readily translated into general clinical practice to improve the diagnostic rate of PCM. In fact, these criteria are currently used to define eligibility to receive social support from the Japanese government for PCM as a rare and intractable disease. Nevertheless, further research to unravel the molecular pathogenesis and develop effective therapeutic modalities is warranted. Nationwide registry research on PCM is currently ongoing in Japan with the aim of better understanding the disease burden as well as the unmet needs of this life-threatening disease with poor therapeutic options.

Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX) is an autosomal recessive lipid storage disorder caused by mutations in the CYP27A1 gene, which encodes the mitochondrial enzyme sterol 27-hydroxylase. Decreased sterol 27-hydroxylase activity results in impaired bile acid synthesis, leading to reduced production of bile acids, especially chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), as well as elevated serum cholestanol and urine bile alcohols. The accumulation of cholestanol and cholesterol mainly in the brain, lenses, and tendons results in the characteristic clinical manifestations of CTX. Clinical presentation is characterized by systemic symptoms including neonatal jaundice or cholestasis, refractory diarrhea, juvenile cataracts, tendon xanthomas, osteoporosis, coronary heart disease, and a broad range of neuropsychiatric manifestations. The combinations of symptoms vary from patient to patient and the presenting symptoms, especially in the early disease phase, may be nonspecific, which leads to a substantial diagnostic delay or underdiagnosis. Replacement of CDCA has been approved as a first-line treatment for CTX, and can lead to biochemical and clinical improvements. However, the effect of CDCA treatment is limited once significant neuropsychiatric manifestations are established. The age at diagnosis and initiation of CDCA treatment correlate with the prognosis of patients with CTX. Therefore, early diagnosis and subsequent treatment initiation are essential.

Lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is a lipid-modification enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of the acyl chain from the second position of lecithin to the hydroxyl group of cholesterol (FC) on plasma lipoproteins to form cholesteryl acylester and lysolecithin. Familial LCAT deficiency is an intractable autosomal recessive disorder caused by inherited dysfunction of the LCAT enzyme. The disease appears in two different phenotypes depending on the position of the gene mutation: familial LCAT deficiency (FLD, OMIM 245900) that lacks esterification activity on both HDL and ApoB-containing lipoproteins, and fish-eye disease (FED, OMIM 136120) that lacks activity only on HDL. Impaired metabolism of cholesterol and phospholipids due to LCAT dysfunction results in abnormal concentrations, composition and morphology of plasma lipoproteins and further causes ectopic lipid accumulation and/or abnormal lipid composition in certain tissues/cells, and serious dysfunction and complications in certain organs. Marked reduction of plasma HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and corneal opacity are common clinical manifestations of FLD and FED. FLD is also accompanied by anemia, proteinuria and progressive renal failure that eventually requires hemodialysis. Replacement therapy with the LCAT enzyme should prevent progression of serious complications, particularly renal dysfunction and corneal opacity. A clinical research project aiming at gene/cell therapy is currently underway.

PURPOSE: Although recent advances in molecular target therapy have improved the survival of breast cancer patients, high cost and frequent hospital visits result in both societal and individual burden. To reduce these problems, it has been proposed to produce antibodies in vivo. Here, we constructed gene-transduced human ceiling culture-derived proliferative adipocytes secreting anti-HER2 antibody (HER2-ccdPAs) and evaluated their ability to secrete antibody and mediate an anti-tumor effect. METHODS: Plasmid lentivirus was used as a recipient for anti-HER2 antibody cDNA and transduced into human proliferative adipocyte. Secretory antibody expression was evaluated by ELISA and western blot. Specific binding of secretory antibody to HER2 was examined by immunofluorescence analysis. Direct and indirect anti-tumor effects of supernatants from HER2-ccdPAs were evaluated using BT474 (HER2+) and MDA-MB-231 (HER2-) breast cancer cell lines. Additionally, whether adipocyte differentiation affects antibody secretion was investigated using supernatant collected from different cell maturation states. RESULTS: Anti-HER2 antibody was identified in the supernatant from HER2-ccdPAs and its production increased with the differentiation into mature adipocyte. Antibodies in supernatants from HER2-ccdPAs bound to HER2-positive breast cancer cells similar to trastuzumab. Supernatant from HER2-ccdPAs inhibited the proliferation of BT474 but not MDA-MB-231 cells, and downregulated AKT phosphorylation in BT474 cells compared with controls. Supernatants from HER2-ccdPAs also had an indirect anti-tumor effect on BT474 cells through ADCC. Additionally, Single inoculation of HER2-ccdPAs showed an anti-tumor effect in BT474 xenograft model. CONCLUSIONS: HER2-ccdPAs might be useful for cell-based gene therapy. This system could be a platform for various antibody therapies.

Extract of Cyclolepis genistoides D. Don (vernacular name Palo azul; Palo) are traditionally consumed in the Republic of Paraguay in South America for the treatment of diabetes and kidney disease, and is sold in Japan as dietary supplement. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of anti-diabetes activity of Palo, especially focused on insulin resistance. Palo promoted adipocytes differentiation and regulated adipokine profiles in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by modulation of PPARγ, a major regulator of adipose differentiation. Human adipocyte showed almost similar profile with 3T3-L1 against Palo treatment. Furthermore, Palo treatment (250 or 1000 mg/kg) was performed with C57BL/6J mice for 14 weeks, being fed high-fat-diet (HFD60) simultaneously. Palo 250 mg/kg exhibited a tendency to decrease subcutaneous adipose volume along with increase of PPARγ and its target, adiponectin mRNA expression. In addition, as the other insulin targeted cell, effect on muscle differentiation was examined. Palo increased differentiation of C2C12 mouse muscle myoblasts by increase of IGF-1, myogenin, and myosine heavy chain (MHC) as well as 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. Palo subsequently promoted myotube formation under differentiation condition. From the above, it was clarified that Palo acts variously on the differentiation and maturation of both adipocytes and muscle cells, and from the viewpoint of the regulatory mechanism for adipocytes, PPARγ-inducing action was shown to be a mechanism that acts across species.

Background: Recessive inherited disorder lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency causes severe hypocholesterolemia and nephrotic syndrome. Characteristic lipoprotein subfractions have been observed in familial LCAT deficiency (FLD) with renal damage. Objective: We described a case of acquired LCAT deficiencies with literature review. Methods: The lipoprotein profiles examined by gel permeation–high-performance liquid chromatography (GP-HPLC) and native 2-dimensional electrophoresis before and after prednisolone (PSL) treatment. Results: Here we describe the case of a 67-year-old man with severely low levels of cholesterol. The serum LCAT activity was undetectable, and autoantibodies against it were detected. The patient developed nephrotic syndrome at the age of 70 years. Renal biopsy revealed not only membranous glomerulonephritis but also lesions similar to those seen in FLD. We initiated PSL treatment, which resulted in remission of the nephrotic syndrome. In GP-HPLC analysis, lipoprotein profile was similar to that of FLD although lipoprotein X level was low. Acquired LCAT deficiencies are extremely rare with only 7 known cases including ours. Patients with undetectable LCAT activity levels develop nephrotic syndrome that requires PSL treatment cases whose LCAT activity levels can be determined may also develop nephrotic syndrome, but spontaneously recover. Conclusion: Lipoprotein X may play a role in the development of renal impairment in individuals with FLD. However, the effect might be less significant in individuals with acquired LCAT deficiency.

Despite the critical need for lifelong treatment of inherited and genetic diseases, there are no developmental efforts for most such diseases due to their rarity. Recent progress in gene therapy, including the approvals of two products (Glybera and Strimvelis) that may provide patients with sustained effects, has shed light on the development of gene therapy products. Most gene therapy products are based on either adeno-associated virus-mediated in vivo gene transfer to target tissues or administration of ex vivo genetransduced hematopoietic cells. In such circumstances, there is room for different approaches to provide clinicians with other therapeutic options through a variety of principles based on studies not only to gain an understanding of the pathological mechanisms of diseases, but also to understand the physiological functions of target tissues and cells. In this review, we summarize recent progress in gene therapy-mediated enzyme replacement and introduce a different approach using adipocytes to enable lifelong treatment for intractable plasma protein deficiencies.

Familial lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency is a rare inherited disorder that causes an extremely low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration in serum. Recently, acquired LCAT deficiency caused by IgG antibodies to LCAT, without any LCAT gene mutation, was reported. Here we describe a case of acquired LCAT deficiency occurring in association with sarcoidosis. The patient was a Japanese female aged 70 years, had no mutation in the LCAT gene exon sequence, but had an LCAT inhibitor factor in her serum, detected using lipoprotein-deficient serum. She was diagnosed with acquired LCAT deficiency. Her abnormalities of serum lipoproteins improved spontaneously during three and a half years. Because they require different treatment strategies, distinction between familial lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency (FLD) and acquired LCAT deficiency by gene sequencing is warranted, especially in cases without corneal clouding.

Although protein replacement is an effective treatment for serum protein deficiencies such as diabetes and hemophilia, recombinant protein products are not available for all rare inherited diseases due to the instability of the recombinant proteins and/or to cost. Gene therapy is the most attractive option for treating patients with such rare diseases. To develop an effective ex vivo gene therapy-based protein replacement treatment requires recipient cells that differ from those used in standard gene therapy, which is performed to correct the function of the recipient cells. Adipose tissue is an expected source of proliferative cells for cell-based therapies, including regenerative medicine and gene transfer applications. Based on recent advances in cell biology and extensive clinical experience in transplantation therapy for adipose tissue, we focused on the mature adipocyte fraction, which is the floating fraction after collagenase digestion and centrifugation of adipose tissue. Proliferative adipocytes were propagated from the floating fraction by the ceiling culture technique. These cells are designated as ceiling culture-derived proliferative adipocytes (ccdPAs). We first focused on lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency, an inherited metabolic disorder caused by lcat gene mutation, and ccdPAs as a therapeutic gene vehicle for LCAT replacement therapy. In our recent in vitro and animal model studies, we developed an adipose cell manipulation procedure using advanced gene transduction methods and transplantation scaffolds. We herein introduce the progress made in novel adipose tissue-based therapeutic strategies for the treatment of protein deficiencies and describe their future applications for other intractable diseases.

Poor survival is a major problem of adipocyte transplantation. We previously reported that VEGF and MMPs secreted from transplanted adipocytes are essential for angiogenesis and adipogenesis. Pretreatment with low-dose (5 Gy) radiation (LDR) increased VEGF, MMP-2, and HIF-1 alpha mRNA expression in human ceiling culture-derived proliferative adipocytes (hccdPAs). Gene expression after LDR differed between adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) and hccdPAs. Pretreatment with LDR improved the survival of hccdPAs under hypoxia, which is inevitable in the early stages after transplantation. Upregulation of VEGF and MMP-2 after LDR in hccdPAs is mediated by HIF-1 alpha expression. Our results suggest that pretreatment with LDR may improve adipocyte graft survival in a clinical setting through upregulation of VEGF and MMP-2 via HIF-1 alpha. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

67歳男。64歳時の健診で血清中HDL-Cの著明低値を指摘された。血液検査でHDL-Cは1mg/dlと低値で、レシチンコレステロールアシルトランスフェラーゼ(LCAT)活性は測定感度以下であった。以前の健診や病歴、検査所見より原発性低HDL-C血症や2次性低HDL-C血症は否定され、原因不明の後天的なLCAT欠損症と考え経過観察を開始した。その後2年の経過でネフローゼ症候群を発症し、腎生検で異常脂質の沈着による腎炎と膜性腎症の合併と診断した。プレドニゾロンの投与を開始し、尿タンパクの速やかな改善と同時に脂質プロファイルの正常化を認めた。治療前の患者血清と健常者血清を用いた血液混合試験を行った結果、LCAT活性が希釈倍率に非依存的に低下していることが判明した。また、免疫沈降法でLCATと結合するIgGを認め、LCAT活性を阻害する抗LCAT自己抗体の存在が示唆された。

The objective of this study is to investigate interactions between adipocytes and breast cancer cells, and identify the responsible factors for the observed effects. In 27 breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy, mammary adipose tissue was obtained from the breast quadrant bearing the tumor and corresponding non-tumoral quadrant. Isolated normal breast adipocytes (NBAs) and cancer-associated adipocytes (CAAs) were cultured in collagen gels to mimic the in vivo environment. Immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR, and cell proliferation assays were performed to analyze adipocyte phenotypes. MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines were co-cultured with adipocytes to detect phenotypic changes. Migration of MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells was assessed in NBA- and CAA-conditioned media. Cytokine levels in conditioned media were measured by cytokine array. Migration assays were repeated using conditioned media containing neutralizing antibodies. NBAs and CAAs lost their morphological phenotype in culture, acquiring a spindle-like shape, and CAAs showed higher cell proliferation, suggesting reversion to an immature phenotype. In co-cultures with MCF7 or MDA-MB-231 cells, NBAs exhibited increased cell proliferation, indicating acquisition of the immature phenotype of CAAs. MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 showed higher migration in a CAA-conditioned medium than in an NBA-conditioned medium. Cytokine array analysis of conditioned media revealed higher levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in the CAA-conditioned medium. Neutralization experiments using antibodies against IL-6 or MCP-1 showed abrogation of migration-enhancing effects of the CAA-conditioned medium. Adipocytes revert to an immature and proliferative phenotype in the presence of breast cancer cells, and promote cancer cell migration via adipokines including IL-6 and MCP-1.

我々はvalosin-containing protein（VCP）遺伝子変異（p.G156C新規ヘテロ接合性変異）を有する家族性筋萎縮性側索硬化症（amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; ALS）に家族性脂質代謝異常症である魚眼症（lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase; LCAT）遺伝子のp.P10L既知ホモ接合性変異）を合併した症例を経験した．本例のVCP遺伝子変異（p.G156C）は，発端者の父親もALSを発症している点，本変異がVCPの既知の病原性変異好発部位の付近に位置している点，同一アミノ酸の病原性変異（inclusion body myopathy with Paget's disease of bone and frontotemporal dementia; IBMPFD）が報告されている点から，家族性ALSの病原性変異である可能性が考えられた．VCP遺伝子変異を伴う家族性ALSと魚眼症の報告はこれまでなく，貴重な症例と考えられた．

Objective-In familial lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency (FLD), deposition of abnormal lipoproteins in the renal stroma ultimately leads to renal failure. However, fish-eye disease (FED) does not lead to renal damage although the causative mutations for both FLD and FED lie within the same LCAT gene. This study was performed to identify the lipoproteins important for the development of renal failure in genetically diagnosed FLD in comparison with FED, using high-performance liquid chromatography with a gel filtration column. Approach and Results-Lipoprotein profiles of 9 patients with LCAT deficiency were examined. Four lipoprotein fractions specific to both FLD and FED were identified: (1) large lipoproteins (&gt;80 nm), (2) lipoproteins corresponding to large low-density lipoprotein (LDL), (3) lipoproteins corresponding to small LDL to large high-density lipoprotein, and (4) to small high-density lipoprotein. Contents of cholesteryl ester and triglyceride of the large LDL in FLD (below detection limit and 45.8 +/- 3.8%) and FED (20.7 +/- 6.4% and 28.0 +/- 6.5%) were significantly different, respectively. On in vitro incubation with recombinant LCAT, content of cholesteryl ester in the large LDL in FLD, but not in FED, was significantly increased (to 4.2 +/- 1.4%), whereas dysfunctional high-density lipoprotein was diminished in both FLD and FED. Conclusions-Our novel analytic approach using high-performance liquid chromatography with a gel filtration column identified large LDL and high-density lipoprotein with a composition specific to FLD, but not to FED. The abnormal lipoproteins were sensitive to treatment with recombinant LCAT and thus may play a causal role in the renal pathology of FLD.

Familial lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency is a hereditary disease characterized by an abnormal lipid profile, corneal opacity, anemia and progressive renal disease. We report a patient with complete loss of LCAT activity due to a novel lcat gene mutation of Cys74Tyr in the lid region of LCAT protein. Esterification of cholesterol in this patient was disturbed by disruption of a substrate binding loop of Cys50-Cys74 in LCAT protein. She had progressive renal dysfunction, proteinuria, corneal opacity, anemia and an abnormal lipid profile. Her serum lipids showed a significant increase in abnormal lipoproteins at the original position in agarose gel electrophoresis and VLDL-cholesterol, and a severe decrease in serum HDL-cholesterol. Lipoprotein analyzes also revealed the presence of an abnormal midband lipoprotein, and a maturation disturbance of HDL particles. Renal function and proteinuria improved following the adoption of a fat-restricted diet and administration of an angiotensin II receptor blocker. The abnormal lipoproteins also decreased after this treatment. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Auto-transplantation of adipose tissue is commonly used for the treatment of tissue defects in plastic surgery. The survival of the transplanted adipose tissue is not always constant, and one of reasons is the accelerated apoptosis of the implanted preadipocytes. We have recently established highly homogeneous preadipocytes, named ccdPAs. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the regulation of the potency of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on the apoptosis of ccdPAs in vitro. PRP stimulated the proliferation of the preadipocytes in a dose-dependent manner, and the stimulatory activity of 2% PRP was significantly higher than that of 2% FBS or 2% platelet-poor plasma (PPP). The presence of 2% PRP significantly inhibited serum starvation- or TNF-alpha/cycloheximide-induced apoptosis in comparison to 2% FBS or 2% PPP. DAPK1 and Bcl-2-interacting mediator of cell death (BIM) mRNAs were reduced in the preadipocytes cultured with 2% PRP in comparison to those cultured in 2% FBS. The gene expression levels were significantly higher in cells cultured without serum in comparison to cells cultured with 2% FBS, and the levels in the cells with 2% PRP were reduced to 5-10% of those in the cells without serum. These results indicated that ccdPAs exhibit anti-apoptotic activities, in addition to increased proliferation, when cultured in 2% PRP in comparison to the same concentration of FBS, and that this was accompanied with reduced levels of DAPK1 and BIM mRNA expression in in vitro culture. PRP may improve the outcome of transplantation of adipose tissue by enhancing the anti-apoptotic activities of the implanted preadipocytes.

Adipose tissue is expected to provide a source of cells for protein replacement therapies via autotransplantation. However, the conditioning of the environment surrounding the transplanted adipocytes for their long-term survival and protein secretion properties has not been established. We have recently developed a preparation procedure for preadipocytes, ceiling culture-derived proliferative adipocytes (ccdPAs), as a therapeutic gene vehicle suitable for stable gene product secretion. We herein report the results of our evaluation of using fibrin glue as a scaffold for the transplanted ccdPAs for the expression of a transduced gene in a three-dimensional culture system. The ccdPAs secreted the functional protein translated from an exogenously transduced gene, as well as physiological adipocyte proteins, and the long viability of ccdPAs (up to 84 days) was dependent on the fibrinogen concentrations. The ccdPAs spontaneously accumulated lipid droplets, and their expression levels of the transduced exogenous gene with its product were maintained for at least 56 days. The fibrinogen concentration modified the adipogenic differentiation of ccdPAs and their exogenous gene expression levels, and the levels of exogenously transduced gene expression at the different fibrinogen concentrations were dependent on the extent of adipogenic differentiation in the gel. These results indicate that fibrin glue helps to maintain the high adipogenic potential of cultured adipocytes after passaging in a 3D culture system, and suggests that once they are successfully implanted at the transplantation site, the cells exhibit increased expression of the transduced gene with adipogenic differentiation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Because of its availability and recent advances in cell biology, adipose tissue is now considered an ideal target site for the preparation of recipient cells and for the transplantation of gene-transduced cells for supplementation of therapeutic proteins. Inherited or acquired serum protein deficiencies are the ideal targets for gene therapy. However, to develop an effective ex vivo gene therapy-based protein replacement treatment, the requirements for the recipient cells are different from those for standard gene therapy that is intended to correct the function of the recipient cells themselves. To meet the requirements for such a therapeutic strategy, recent in vitro and animal model studies have developed new methods for the preparation, culture, expansion and manipulation of adipose cells using advanced gene transduction methods and transplantation scaffolds. In this short review, we introduce the progress made in novel adipose tissue-based therapeutic strategies for the treatment of protein deficiencies by our group and other investigators, and describe their future applications for diabetes and other metabolic diseases. (J Diabetes Invest, doi: 10.1111/j.2040-1124.2011.00133.x, 2011)

Asada S, Kuroda M, Aoyagi Y, Fukaya Y, Tanaka S, Konno S, Tanio M, Aso M, Satoh K, Okamoto Y, Nakayama T, Saito Y, Bujo H. Ceiling culture-derived proliferative adipocytes retain high adipogenic potential suitable for use as a vehicle for gene transduction therapy. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 301: C181-C185, 2011. First published April 6, 2011; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00080.2011.-Adipose tissue is expected to provide a source of proliferative cells for regenerative medicine and cell-transplantation therapies using gene transfer manipulation. We have recently identified ceiling culture-derived proliferative adipocytes (ccdPAs) from the mature adipocyte fraction as cells suitable as a therapeutic gene vehicle because of their stable proliferative capacity. In this study, we examined the capability of adipogenic differentiation of the ccdPAs compared with stromal vascular fraction (SVF)-derived progenitor cells (adipose-derived stem cells, ASCs) with regard to their multipotential ability to be converted to another lineage and therefore their potential to be used for regenerative medicine research. After in vitro passaging, the surface antigen profile and the basal levels of adipogenic marker genes of the ccdPAs were not obviously different from those of the ASCs. However, the ccdPAs showed increased lipid-droplet accumulation accompanied with higher adipogenic marker gene expression after stimulation of differentiation compared with the ASCs. The higher adipogenic potential of the ccdPAs than the ASCs from the SVF was maintained for 42 days in culture. Furthermore, the difference in the adipogenic response was enhanced after partial stimulation without indomethacin. These results indicate that the ccdPAs retain a high adipogenic potential even after in vitro passaging, thus suggesting the commitment of ccdPAs to stable mature adipocytes after autotransplantation, indicating that they may have potential for use in regenerative and gene-manipulated medicine.

The development of clinically applicable scaffolds is important for the application of cell transplantation in various human diseases. The aims of this study are to evaluate fibrin glue in a novel protein replacement therapy using proliferative adipocytes and to develop a mouse model system to monitor the delivery of the transgene product into the blood and the fate of the transduced cells after transplantation. Proliferative adipocytes from mouse adipose tissue were transduced by a retroviral vector harboring the human lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (lcat) gene, and were subcutaneously transplanted into mice combined with fibrin glue. The lcat gene transduction efficiency and the subsequent secretion of the product in mouse adipocytes were enhanced using a protamine concentration of 500 mu g/ml. Adipogenesis induction did not significantly affect the lcat gene-transduced cell survival after transplantation. Immunohistochemistry showed the ectopic enzyme production to persist for 28 days in the subcutaneously transplanted gene-transduced adipocytes. The increased viability of transplanted cells with fibrin glue was accompanied with the decrease in apoptotic cell death. The immunodetectable serum LCAT levels in mice implanted with the fibrin glue were comparable with those observed in mice implanted with Matrigel, indicating that the transplanted lcat gene-transduced adipocytes survived and functioned in the transplanted spaces with fibrin glue as well as with Matrigel for 28 days. Thus, this in vivo system using fibrin is expected to serve as a good model to further improve the transplanted cell/scaffold conditions for the stable and durable cell-based replacement of defective proteins in patients with LCAT deficiency.

We report the in vitro efficacy of recombinant LCAT produced by lcat gene-transduced proliferative adipocytes (ccdPA/lcat), which has been developed for enzyme replacement therapy. ApoA-I-specific immunodetection in combination with 1D and 2D gel electrophoreses showed that the disturbed high-density lipoprotein subpopulation profile was clearly ameliorated by the in vitro incubation with ccdPA/lcat-derived recombinant LCAT. Thus, these results using ccdPA/lcat strongly suggest the cell implantation could contribute the enzyme replacement for the patients with LCAT deficiency. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human proliferative adipocytes propagated via ceiling culture technique from subcutaneous fat tissue (designated as ccdPA) were herein evaluated for their potential as a recipient for retroviral vector-mediated gene transduction of a therapeutic protein delivery. Exposure to the ZsGreen-expressing vector supernatant using a cell preparation generated by a 7-day ceiling culture induced a 40-50% transduction efficiency, with less than two integrated copies of viral genome per cell on average. The lcat gene-transduced human ccdPA secreted functional LCAT protein, correlating with the integrated copy number of vector genome. The gene-transduced cells could be expanded up to nearly 10 12 cells from 1 g of fat tissue within one month after fat tissue preparation. The cells also maintained the potential to differentiate into adipocytes in vitro. The presence of human LCAT protein in serum was immunologically identified upon transplantation of lcatexpressing ccdPA into the adipose tissue of immune-deficient mice. These results indicated that human ccdPA has a novel therapeutic potential for LCAT-deficient patients. The clinical application in combination with cell transplantation shed a light on a development of a life-long protein replacement therapy for LCAT-deficient patients. © Kuroda et al.

Abstract Purpose: Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP), belonging to the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, are important regulators of cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. The biological effects of BMPs on malignant lymphoma, however, remain unknown. Promoter methylation of the BMP-6 gene in lymphomas was investigated. Experimental Design: We investigated BMP-6 promoter methylation and its gene expression in various histologic types of 90 primary lymphomas and 30 lymphoma cell lines. The effect of BMP-6 promoter hypermethylation on clinical outcome was also evaluated. Results: BMP-6 was epigenetically inactivated in subsets of lymphomas. The silencing occurred with high frequency in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Burkitt's lymphoma in association with aberrant BMP-6 promoter methylation. The methylation was observed in 60% (21 of 35) of DLBCL cases and 100% (7 of 7) of DLBCL cell lines, and in 83% (5 of 6) of Burkitt's lymphoma cases and 86% (12 of 14) of Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines. In contrast, other histologic types of primary lymphomas studied had little or no detectable methylation (1 of 49; 2%). The presence of BMP-6 promoter hypermethylation in DLBCL statistically correlated with a decrease in disease-free survival (P = 0.014) and overall survival (P = 0.038). Multivariate analysis showed that the methylation profile was an independent prognostic factor in predicting disease-free survival (P = 0.022) and overall survival (P = 0. 046). Conclusion: BMP-6 promoter was hypermethylated more often in aggressive types of lymphomas, and the hypermethylation is likely to be related to the histologic type of lymphomas. BMP-6 promoter methylation may be a potential new biomarker of risk prediction in DLBCL.

To elucidate the regulation of IL-27p28 gene, we analyzed the promoter region of the gene in DC2.4 cells with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treatment. The results indicate that a region (-648 to -364) of p28 promoter was responsible for LPS-induction. EMSA with DNA probes within the region reveals that binding of GATA motif bound proteins was decreased by LPS-treatment. We identified one of the proteins as non-POU domain-containing octamer binding protein (NonO). Taken together, LPS-induced activation of IL-27p28 gene can be accounted for by the displacement of bound NonO protein from the IL-27p28 promoter. © 2006.

ABSTRACT The purposeful induction of the lytic form of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection combined with ganciclovir (GCV) treatment has been advocated as a novel strategy for EBV-positive B-cell lymphoma. We demonstrated that rituximab had a synergistic effect with dexamethasone on induction of the lytic EBV infection in CD20-positive lymphoma cells. Addition of GCV to the dexamethasone/rituximab-treated cells was more effective than dexamethasone/rituximab alone in killing EBV-positive lymphoma cells in vitro and in lymphoma-bearing nude mice but not in EBV-negative cells. These data suggest that induction of the lytic EBV infection with dexamethasone/rituximab in combination with GCV could be a potential virally targeted therapy for EBV-associated B-cell lymphoma.

Epstein-Barr virus（EBV）nuclear antigen 1（EBNA1）はEBV感染増殖細胞で普遍的に発現され，環状EBVゲノム（episome）が感染細胞内で複製・維持されるために必須な唯一のウイルス蛋白である．したがってEBNA1は，格好のEBV陽性腫瘍の治療標的分子になりうると考えられる．我々は，野生型（wild-type, wt）EBNA1のN末側ドメインの大半を欠失するEBNA1変異体を独自に作製，これがwtEBNA1の機能を阻害することで，latency type，cell typeを問わず高率に感染細胞からEBV episome脱落を促進するdominant-negative（dn）EBNA1であることを明らかにした．さらにこのdnEBNA1はウイルスepisomeの追い出しに伴い，EBV陽性バーキットリンパ腫細胞の悪性増殖形質の抑制にも機能することがin vitro，in vivoで確認された．この結果は，dnEBNA1が様々なEBV腫瘍に対し汎用性を有する理想的な新規の特異的遺伝子治療用分子となりうることを示している．ウイルスのゲノム自体を細胞から駆逐するという治療理念は，EBVと同様episomeとして細胞に持続感染する他のウイルスによる難治性疾患にも応用できる可能性がある．また，このdnEBNA1の活用により，従来否定的な意見が多かったEBNA1の直接的な細胞増殖亢進への関与が明らかにできるものと期待される．

ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen leader protein (EBNA-LP) plays a critical role in transformation of primary B lymphocytes to continuously proliferating lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). To identify cellular genes in B cells whose expression is regulated by EBNA-LP, we performed microarray expression profiling on an EBV-negative human B-cell line, BJAB cells, that were transduced by a retroviral vector expressing the EBV EBNA-LP (BJAB-LP cells) and on BJAB cells that were transduced with a control vector (BJAB-vec cells). Microarray analysis led to the identification of a cellular gene encoding the CC chemokine TARC as a novel target gene that was induced by EBNA-LP. The levels of TARC mRNA expression and TARC secretion were significantly up-regulated in BJAB-LP compared with BJAB-vec cells. Induction of TARC was also observed when a subline of BJAB cells was converted by a recombinant EBV. Among the EBV-infected B-cell lines with the latency III phenotype that were tested, the LCLs especially secreted significantly high levels of TARC. The level of TARC secretion appeared to correlate with the level of full-length EBNA-LP expression. These results indicate that EBV infection induces TARC expression in B cells and that EBNA-LP is one of the viral gene products responsible for the induction.

Abstract A vibriophage, KVP241, and six of its relatives were isolated independently from seawater using Vibrio parahaemolyticus as the host. All of the phages had the same morphology (a hexagonal head and a tail with a contractile sheath) and the same host range (specific for some V. parahaemolyticus strains). DNA‐DNA hybridization experiments elucidated that their genomes are highly homologous to each other. Analyses of amino acid sequences of putative major capsid proteins indicated that KVP241 may be weakly related to T4‐type phages having a more elongated head.

ABSTRACT We have isolated mutants of Citrobacter freundii that can grow on melibiose. Inducible α-galactosidase activity and melibiose transport activity were detected in the mutant cells but not in the wild-type cells. We detected a DNA region which hybridized with melB (the gene for the melibiose transporter) DNA of Escherichia coli in the chromosomal DNA of wild-type C. freundii . Protons, but not sodium ions, were found to be the coupling cations for melibiose (and methyl-β- d -thiogalactoside) transport in the mutant cells.