Viral Hepatitis
Copyright ©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 14, 2008; 14(18): 2810-2817
Published online May 14, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.2810
Pseudomonas exotoxin antisense RNA selectively kills hepatitis B virus infected cells
Peter Hafkemeyer, Ulrich Brinkmann, Elizabeth Brinkmann, Ira Pastan, Hubert E Blum, Thomas F Baumert
Peter Hafkemeyer, Hubert E Blum, Department of Medicine II, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetterstrasse 55, Freiburg D-79106, Germany
Ulrich Brinkmann, Elizabeth Brinkmann, Roche Diagnostics, Nonnenwald 2, Penzberg D-82377, Germany
Ira Pastan, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
Thomas F Baumert, Inserm unit 748, Université Louis Pasteur, 3 Rue Koeberle, Strasbourg F-67000, France
Author contributions: Hafkemeyer P designed research/performed experiments/wrote paper; Brinkmann E, Brinkmann U performed experiments; Pastan I, Blum HE designed research; Baumert TF cloned plasmids/performed assays.
Correspondence to: Peter Hafkemeyer, MD, Department of Medicine II, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetterstrasse 55, Freiburg D-79106, Germany. phafkemeyer@gmx.net
Telephone: +49-761-2703403
Fax: +49-761-2703610
Received: December 15, 2007
Revised: April 9, 2008
Published online: May 14, 2008
Abstract

AIM: To present an approach for selectively killing retrovirus-infected cells that combines the toxicity of Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE) and the presence of reverse transcriptase (RT) in infected cells.

METHODS: PE antisense toxin RNA has palindromic stem loops at its 5’ and 3’ ends enabling self-primed generation of cDNA in the presence of RT. The RT activity expressed in retrovirus-infected cells converts “antisense-toxin-RNA” into a lethal toxin gene exclusively in these cells.

RESULTS: Using cotransfection studies with PE-expressing RNAs and β-gal expressing reporter plasmids, we show that, in HepG2 and HepG2.2.15 hepatoma cells as well as in duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infected cells, HBV or DHBV-polymerase reverse transcribe a lethal cDNA copy of an antisense toxin RNA, which is composed of sequences complementary to a PE gene and eukaryotic transcription and translation signals.

CONCLUSION: This finding may have important implications as a novel therapeutic strategy aimed at the elimination of HBV infection.

Keywords: Gene therapy; Pseudomonas exotoxin; Retrovirus; Reverse transcription