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Qiushi Liu,1,2 Joohee Jung,3,4 Masaharu Somiya,1,2,5 Masumi Iijima,1,2 Nobuo Yoshimoto,1,2 Tomoaki Niimi,1 Andrés D Maturana,1 Seol Hwa Shin,3,6 Seong-Yun Jeong,3,6 Eun Kyung Choi,3,7,8 Shun’ichi Kuroda1,21Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan; 2The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Japan; 3Institute for Innovative Cancer Research, ASAN Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4College of Pharmacy, Duksung Women’s University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 5Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan; 6ASAN Institute for Life Sciences, ASAN Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 7Department of Radiation Oncology, ASAN Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 8Center for Development and Commercialization of Anti-Cancer Therapeutics, ASAN Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of KoreaAbstract: Bionanocapsules (BNCs) are hollow nanoparticles consisting of hepatitis B virus (HBV) envelope L proteins and have been shown to deliver drugs and genes specifically to human hepatic tissues by utilizing HBV-derived infection machinery. The complex of BNCs with liposomes (LPs), the BNC–LP complexes (a LP surrounded by BNCs in a rugged spherical form), could also become active targeting nanocarriers by the BNC function. In this study, under acidic conditions and high temperature, BNCs were found to fully fuse with LPs (smooth-surfaced spherical form), deploying L proteins with a membrane topology similar to that of BNCs (ie, virosomes displaying L proteins). Doxorubicin (DOX) was efficiently encapsulated via the remote loading method at 14.2%±1.0% of total lipid weight (mean ± SD, n=3), with a capsule size of 118.2±4.7 nm and a ζ-potential of -51.1±1.0 mV (mean ± SD, n=5). When mammalian cells were exposed to the virosomes, the virosomes showed strong cytotoxicity in human hepatic cells (target cells of BNCs), but not in human colon cancer cells (nontarget cells of BNCs), whereas LPs containing DOX and DOXOVES (structurally stabilized PEGylated LPs containing DOX) did not show strong cytotoxicity in either cell type. Furthermore, the virosomes preferentially delivered DOX to the nuclei of human hepatic cells. Xenograft mice harboring either target or nontarget cell-derived tumors were injected twice intravenously with the virosomes containing DOX at a low dose (2.3 mg/kg as DOX, 5 days interval). The growth of target cell-derived tumors was retarded effectively and specifically. Next, the combination of high dose (10.0 mg/kg as DOX, once) with tumor-specific radiotherapy (3 Gy, once after 2 hours) exhibited the most effective antitumor growth activity in mice harboring target cell-derived tumors. These results demonstrated that the HBV-based virosomes containing DOX could be an effective antitumor nanomedicine specific to human hepatic tissues, especially in combination with radiotherapy.Keywords: drug delivery system, liposomes, bionanocapsule, doxorubicin, targeting, chemoradiotherapy

Hidenori Matsuo,1 Nobuo Yoshimoto,1 Masumi Iijima,1 Tomoaki Niimi,1 Joohee Jung,2,3 Seong-Yun Jeong,3 Eun Kyung Choi,3,4 Tomomitsu Sewaki,5 Takeshi Arakawa,6,7 Shun’ichi Kuroda11Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan; 2College of Pharmacy, Duksung Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea; 3Institute for Innovative Cancer Research, ASAN Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea; 4Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; 5GenoLac BL Corporation, Okinawa, Japan; 6COMB, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, 7Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, JapanAbstract: Dendritic cells (DCs) are key regulators of adaptive T-cell responses. By capturing exogenous antigens and presenting antigen-derived peptides via major histocompatibility complex molecules to naïve T cells, DCs induce antigen-specific immune responses in vivo. In order to induce effective host immune responses, active delivery of exogenous antigens to DCs is considered important for future vaccine development. We recently generated bionanocapsules (BNCs) consisting of hepatitis B virus surface antigens that mediate stringent in vivo cell targeting and efficient endosomal escape, and after the fusion with liposomes (LP) containing therapeutic materials, the BNC-LP complexes deliver them to human liver-derived tissues in vivo. BNCs were further modified to present the immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc-interacting domain (Z domain) derived from Staphylococcus aureus protein A in tandem. When mixed with IgGs, modified BNCs (ZZ-BNCs) displayed the IgG Fv regions outwardly for efficient binding to antigens in an oriented-immobilization manner. Due to the affinity of the displayed IgGs, the IgG-ZZ-BNC complexes accumulated in specific cells and tissues in vitro and in vivo. After mixing ZZ-BNCs with antibodies against DCs, we used immunocytochemistry to examine which antibodies delivered ZZ-BNCs to mouse splenic DCs following intravenous injection of the ZZ-BNCs. ZZ-BNCs displaying anti-CD11c monoclonal antibodies (α-CD11c-ZZ-BNCs) were found to accumulate with approximately 62% of splenic DCs, and reside within some of them. After the fusion with liposomes containing antigens, the α-CD11c-ZZ-BNCs could elicit the respective antibodies more efficiently than other nontargeting control vaccines, suggesting that this DC-specific nanocarrier is promising for future vaccines.Keywords: drug-delivery system, gene-delivery system, liposomes, protein A, vaccine, ZZ domain

Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TAL-ENs) are efficient tools for targeted genome editing and have been utilized in a number of insects. Here, we demonstrate the gene disruption (knockout) caused by TALENs targeting a transgene, 3xP3-driven enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP), that is integrated in the genome of two species, the sawfly Athalia rosae (Hymenoptera) and the ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera). Messenger RNAs of TALENs targeting the sequences adjacent to the chromophore region were microinjected into the eggs/embryos of each species. In At. rosae, when microinjection was performed at the posterior end of eggs, 15% of G0 individuals showed a somatic mosaic phenotype for eye EGFP fluorescence. Three-quarters of the somatic mosaics produced EGFP-negative G1 progeny. When eggs were injected at the anterior end, 63% of the G0 individuals showed somatic mosaicism, and 17% of them produced EGFP-negative G1 progeny. In H. axyridis, 25% of posterior-injected and 8% of anterior-injected G0 individuals produced EGFP-negative G1 progeny. In both species, the EGFP-negative progeny retained the EGFP gene, and various deletions were detected in the target sequences, indicating that gene disruption was successfully induced. Finally, for both species, 18-21% of G0 founders produced gene knockout progeny sufficient for establishing knockout strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]