Subretinal delivery of polyethylene glycol-substituted lysine peptide (CK30PEG)-compacted DNA nanoparticles results in efficient gene expression in retinal cells. This work evaluates the ocular safety of compacted DNA nanoparticles. CK30PEG-compacted nanoparticles containing an EGFP expression plasmid were subretinally injected in adult mice (1 µl at 0.3, 1.0 and 3.0 µg/µl). Retinas were examined for signs of inflammation at 1, 2, 4 and 7 days post-injection. Neither infiltration of polymorphonuclear neutrophils or lymphocytes was detected in retinas. In addition, elevation of macrophage marker F4/80 or myeloid marker myeloperoxidase was not detected in the injected eyes. The chemokine KC mRNA increased 3–4 fold in eyes injected with either nanoparticles or saline at 1 day post-injection, but returned to control levels at 2 days post-injection. No elevation of KC protein was observed in these mice. The monocyte chemotactic protein-1, increased 3–4 fold at 1 day post-injection for both nanoparticle and saline injected eyes, but also returned to control levels at 2 days. No elevations of tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA or protein were detected. These investigations show no signs of local inflammatory responses associated with subretinal injection of compacted DNA nanoparticles, indicating that the retina may be a suitable target for clinical nanoparticle-based interventions.

The parental conflict hypothesis predicts that the mother inhibits embryo growth counteracting growth enhancement by the father. In plants the DNA methyltransferase MET1 is a central regulator of parentally imprinted genes that affect seed growth. However the relation between the role of MET1 in imprinting and its control of seed size has remained unclear. Here we combine cytological, genetic and statistical analyses to study the effect of MET1 on seed growth. We show that the loss of MET1 during male gametogenesis causes a reduction of seed size, presumably linked to silencing of the paternal allele of growth enhancers in the endosperm, which nurtures the embryo. However, we find no evidence for a similar role of MET1 during female gametogenesis. Rather, the reduction of MET1 dosage in the maternal somatic tissues causes seed size increase. MET1 inhibits seed growth by restricting cell division and elongation in the maternal integuments that surround the seed. Our data demonstrate new controls of seed growth linked to the mode of reproduction typical of flowering plants. We conclude that the regulation of embryo growth by MET1 results from a combination of predominant maternal controls, and that DNA methylation maintained by MET1 does not orchestrate a parental conflict.

Cone vision mediated by photoreceptor cyclic nucleotide‐gated (CNG) channel activation is essential for central and color vision and visual acuity. Mutations in genes encoding the cone CNG channel subunits, CNGA3 and CNGB3, have been linked to various forms of achromatopsia and progressive cone dystrophy in humans. This study investigates the biochemical components of native cone CNG channels, using the cone‐dominant retina in mice deficient in the transcription factor neural retina leucine zipper (Nrl). Abundant expression of CNGA3 and CNGB3 but no rod CNG channel expression was detected in Nrl−/− retina by western blotting and immunolabeling. Localization of cone CNG channel in both blue (S)‐ and red/green (M)‐cones was shown by double immunolabeling using antibodies against the channel subunits and against the S‐ and M‐opsins. Immunolabeling also showed co‐localization of CNGA3 and CNGB3 in the mouse retina. Co‐immunoprecipitation demonstrated the direct interaction between CNGA3 and CNGB3. Chemical cross‐linking readily generated products at sizes consistent with oligomers of the channel complexes ranging from dimeric to tetrameric complexes, in a concentration‐ and time‐dependent pattern. Thus this work provides the first biochemical evidence showing the inter‐subunit interaction between CNGA3 and CNGB3 and the presence of heterotetrameric complexes of the native cone CNG channel in retina. No association between CNGA3 and the cone Na+/Ca2+‐K+ exchanger (NCKX2) was shown by co‐immunoprecipitation and chemical cross‐linking. This may implicate a distinct modulatory mechanism for Ca2+ homeostasis in cones compared to rods.

Objective To determine if programmed cell death 4 (PDCD-4) is altered in autologous leiomyoma and myometrial tissues and microRNA-21's (miR-21) role in PDCD-4 expression, apoptosis and translation. Design Laboratory research. Setting Academic medical center. Patient(s) Myometrial and leiomyoma tissues from patients with symptomatic leiomyomata. Interventions(s) Tissue analysis and miR-21 knockdown in cultured immortalized myometrial (UtM) and leiomyoma (UtLM) cells. Main Outcome Measure(s) MiR-21 and PDCD-4 mRNA and protein expression. Result(s) Leiomyoma tissues robustly expressed the full-length 51kDA isoform of PDCD-4, while normal myometrial tissue had negligible expression Consistent with autologous tissues, UtLM cells expressed elevated miR-21 and a similar pattern of PDCD-4 compared to UtM cells. Knockdown of miR-21 increased PDCD-4 levels in UtM cells and UtLM cells, indicating that it can regulate PDCD-4 expression. Loss of miR-21 also increased cleavage of caspase-3 (apoptosis marker) and increased phosphorylation of elongation factor -2 (marker of reduced translation) in both cell lines. Conclusions Elevated leiomyoma miR-21 levels are predicted to decrease PDCD-4 levels, thus leiomyomas differ from other tumors where loss of PDCD-4 is associated with tumor progression. Our studies indicate regulation of PDCD-4 expression is not a primary miR-21 function in leiomyomas, but instead miR-21 is able to impact cellular apoptosis and translation, through unknown targets, in a manner consistent with its involvement in the pathophysiology of uterine fibroids.