Alena Hershfeld

We report orthotopic (life-supporting) survival of genetically engineered porcine cardiac xenografts (with six gene modifications) for almost 9 months in baboon recipients. This work builds on our previously reported heterotopic cardiac xenograft (three gene modifications) survival up to 945 days with an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody-based immunosuppression. In this current study, life-supporting xenografts containing multiple human complement regulatory, thromboregulatory, and anti-inflammatory proteins, in addition to growth hormone receptor knockout (KO) and carbohydrate antigen KOs, were transplanted in the baboons. Selective "multi-gene" xenografts demonstrate survival greater than 8 months without the requirement of adjunctive medications and without evidence of abnormal xenograft thickness or rejection. These data demonstrate that selective "multi-gene" modifications improve cardiac xenograft survival significantly and may be foundational for paving the way to bridge transplantation in humans.

Inhaled β-agonists are effective at reversing bronchoconstriction in asthma, but the mechanism by which they exert this effect is unclear and controversial. PKA is the historically accepted effector, although this assumption is made on the basis of associative and not direct evidence. Recent studies have asserted that exchange protein activated by cAMP (Epac), not PKA, mediates the relaxation of airway smooth muscle (ASM) observed with β-agonist treatment. This study aims to clarify the role of PKA in the prorelaxant effects of β-agonists on ASM. Inhibition of PKA activity via expression of the PKI and RevAB peptides results in increased β-agonist-mediated cAMP release, abolishes the inhibitory effect of isoproterenol on histamine-induced intracellular calcium flux, and significantly attenuates histamine-stimulated MLC-20 phosphorylation. Analyses of ASM cell and tissue contraction demonstrate that PKA inhibition eliminates most, if not all, β-agonist-mediated relaxation of contracted smooth muscle. Conversely, Epac knockdown had no effect on the regulation of contraction or procontractile signaling by isoproterenol. These findings suggest that PKA, not Epac, is the predominant and physiologically relevant effector through which β-agonists exert their relaxant effects.

Occluded ligand-binding pockets (LBP) such as those found in nuclear receptors (NR) and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) represent a significant opportunity and challenge for computer-aided drug design. To determine free energies maps of functional groups of these LBPs, a Grand-Canonical Monte Carlo/Molecular Dynamics (GCMC/MD) strategy is combined with the Site Identification by Ligand Competitive Saturation (SILCS) methodology. SILCS-GCMC/MD is shown to map functional group affinity patterns that recapitulate locations of functional groups across diverse classes of ligands in the LBPs of the androgen (AR) and peroxisome proliferator-activated-γ (PPARγ) NRs and the metabotropic glutamate (mGluR) and β2-adreneric (β2AR) GPCRs. Inclusion of protein flexibility identifies regions of the binding pockets not accessible in crystal conformations and allows for better quantitative estimates of relative ligand binding affinities in all the proteins tested. Differences in functional group requirements of the active and inactive states of the β2AR LBP were used in virtual screening to identify high efficacy agonists targeting β2AR in Airway Smooth Muscle (ASM) cells. Seven of the 15 selected ligands were found to effect ASM relaxation representing a 46% hit rate. Hence, the method will be of use for the rational design of ligands in the context of chemical biology and the development of therapeutic agents.