Moles, C. M. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2024

Leveraging Synthetic Virology for the Rapid Engineering of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV)

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a prototype RNA virus that has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of viral molecular biology and has applications in vaccine development, cancer therapy, antiviral screening, and more. Current VSV genome plasmids for purchase or contract virus services provide limited options for modification, restricted to predefined cloning sites and insert locations. Improved methods and tools to engineer VSV will unlock further insights in long-standing virology questions and new opportunities for innovative therapies. Here, we report the design and construction of a full-length VSV genome. The 11,161 base pair synthetic VSV (synVSV) was assembled from four modularized DNA fragments. Following rescue and titration, phenotypic analysis showed no significant differences between natural and synthetic viruses. To demonstrate the utility of a synthetic virology platform, we then engineered VSV with a foreign glycoprotein, a common use case for studying viral entry and developing anti-virals. To show the freedom-of-design afforded by this platform, we then modified the genome of VSV by rearranging the gene order, switching the positions of VSV-P and VSV-M genes. This work represents a significant technical advance, providing a flexible, cost-efficient platform for the rapid construction of VSV genomes, facilitating the development of innovative therapies.

synthetic biology↗

bioRxiv2019

IL-10 Promotes Endothelial Progenitor Cell Driven Wound Neovascularization and Enhances Healing via STAT3.

Evidence from prior studies of cutaneous trauma, burns, and chronic diabetic wound repair demonstrates that endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) contribute to de novo angiogenesis, anti-inflammatory reactions, tissue regeneration, and remodeling. We have shown that IL-10, a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, promotes regenerative tissue repair in an adult model of dermal scar formation via the regulation of fibroblast-specific hyaluronan synthesis in a STAT3 dependent manner. While it is known that IL-10 drives EPC recruitment and neovascularization after myocardial infarction, its specific mode of action, particularly in dermal wound healing and neovascularization in both control and diabetic wounds remains to be defined. Here we show that IL-10 promotes EPC recruitment into the dermal wound microenvironment to facilitate neovascularization and wound healing of control and diabetic (db/db) wounds via vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal-cell derived factor 1 (SDF-1) signaling. Inducible skin-specific STAT3 knockout (KO) mice were studied to determine whether the impact of IL-10 on the neovascularization and wound healing is STAT3 dependent. We found that IL-10 treatment significantly promotes dermal wound healing with enhanced wound closure, robust granulation tissue formation and neovascularization. This was associated with elevated wound EPC counts as well as increased VEGF and high SDF-1 levels in control mice, an effect that was abrogated in STAT3 KO transgenic mice. These findings were supported in vitro, wherein IL-10-enhanced VEGF and SDF-1 synthesis in primary murine dermal fibroblasts. IL-10-conditioned fibroblast media was shown to promote sprouting and network formation in aortic ring assays. We conclude that overexpression of IL-10 in the wound-specific milieu recruits EPCs and promote neovascularization, which occurs in a STAT3-dependent manner via regulation of VEGF and SDF-1 levels. Collectively, our studies demonstrate that IL-10 increases EPC recruitment leading to enhanced neovascularization and healing of dermal wounds.

physiology↗