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Biology subjects

Egorova, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Egorova, M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Cell-penetrating peptide and cationic liposomes mediated siRNA delivery to arrest growth of chronic myeloid leukemia cells in vitro

Gene silencing through RNA interference (RNAi) is a promising therapeutic approach for a wide range of disorders, including cancer. Non-viral gene therapy, using specific siRNAs against BCR-ABL, can be a supportive or alternative measure to traditional chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKIs) therapies, given the prevalence of clinical TKI resistance. The main challenge for such approaches remains the development of the effective delivery system for siRNA tailored to the specific disease model. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the efficiency of endosomolytic cell penetrating peptide (CPP) EB1 and PEG2000-decorated cationic liposomes composed of polycationic lipid 1,26-bis(cholest-5-en-3-yloxycarbonylamino)-7,11,16,20-tetraazahexacosane tetrahydrochloride (2X3) and helper lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) for anti-bcr-abl siRNA delivery into the K562 human CML cell line. We show that both EB1 and 2X3-DOPE-DSPE-PEG2000 (0.62% mol.) liposomes effectively deliver siRNA into K562 cells by endocytic mechanisms, and the use of liposomes leads to more effective inhibition of expression of the targeted gene (BCR-ABL) and cancer cell proliferation. Taken together, these findings suggest that PEG-decorated cationic liposomes mediated siRNA delivery allows an effective antisense suppression of certain oncogenes, and represents a promising new class of therapies for CML.

molecular biology↗

A self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 vaccine drives potent and broad immune responses at low doses that protects non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread globally, highlighting the urgent need for safe and effective vaccines that could be rapidly mobilized to immunize large populations. We report the preclinical development of a self-amplifying mRNA (SAM) vaccine encoding a prefusion stabilized severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein and demonstrate potent cellular and humoral immune responses at low doses in mice and rhesus macaques. The homologous prime-boost vaccination regimen of SAM at 3, 10 and 30 g induced potent neutralizing antibody titers in rhesus macaques following two SAM vaccinations at all dose levels, with the 10 g dose generating geometric mean titers (GMT) 48-fold greater than the GMT of a panel of SARS-CoV-2 convalescent human sera. Spike-specific T cell responses were observed at all dose levels. SAM vaccination provided protective efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 challenge as both a homologous prime-boost and as a single boost following ChAd prime, demonstrating reduction of viral replication in both the upper and lower airways. Protection was most effective with a SAM prime-boost vaccination regimen at 10 and 30 g and with a ChAd/SAM heterologous prime-boost regimen. The SAM vaccine is currently being evaluated in clinical trials as both a homologous prime-boost regimen at low doses and as a boost following heterologous prime.

immunology↗

Cold and distant: structural features of the nucleoprotein complex of a cold-adapted influenza A virus strain

Two influenza A nucleoprotein variants (wt: G102R; and mutant: G102R and E292G) were studied with regard to macro-molecular interactions in oligomeric form (24-mers). The E292G mutation has been previously shown to provide cold adaptation. Molecular dynamics simulations of these complexes and trajectory analysis showed that the most significant difference between the obtained models was distance differences between nucleoprotein complex strands. Influenza virus nucleoprotein complexes were isolated from strains bearing the corresponding NP amino acid substitutions. The isolated complexes were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF). Presence of the E292G substitution was shown by DSF to affect nucleoprotein complex melting temperature. In the filament interface peptide model, it was shown that the peptide corresponding in primary structure to the wild-type NP (SGYDFEREGYS, wild type peptide) is prone to temperature-dependent self-association, unlike the peptide carrying the substitution corresponding to E292G (SGYDFGREGYS, mutant peptide). It was also shown that the SGYDFEREGYS peptide (wt) is capable of interacting with a recombinant full-size monomeric nucleoprotein (with primary structure corresponding to wild type); this interactions equilibrium dissociation constant is five orders of magnitude lower than for the SGYDFGREGYS peptide. Using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), the supramolecular structures of isolated complexes of these proteins was studied at temperatures of 15, 32, and 37{degrees}C. SANS data show that the structures of the studied complexes (mutant or normal proteins with RNA) at elevated temperature differ from the rod-like particle model and react differently to temperature changes. The data suggest that the mechanism behind cold adaptation with E292G is associated with a weakening of the interaction between strands of the ribonucleoprotein complex and, as a result, the appearance of inter-chain interface flexibility necessary for complex function at low temperature.

biophysics↗