Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) increases local IGF-I bioavailability through cleavage of inhibitory IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-4 in a variety of systems, including the cardiovascular system. To test the hypothesis that expression of PAPP-A promotes the development of atherosclerotic lesions, we generated transgenic mice that express human PAPP-A in arterial smooth muscle. Four founder lines were characterized for transgenic human PAPP-A mRNA and protein expression, IGFBP-4 protease activity, and tissue specificity. In study I, apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE KO) mice, a well-characterized mouse model of atherosclerosis, and ApoE KO mice expressing the human PAPP-A transgene at relatively high levels (ApoE KO/Tg) were fed a high-fat diet. At harvest, aortas were dissected and opened longitudinally for en face staining of lipid-rich lesions. Lesion area was increased 3.5-fold in aortas from ApoE KO/Tg compared with ApoE KO mice (P < 0.001), but no significant difference was seen in lesion number. In study II, replacement of PAPP-A expression in arterial smooth muscle of double ApoE KO/PAPP-A KO mice resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in lesion area (P = 0.002), without an effect on lesion number. PAPP-A transgene expression was associated with a significant increase in an IGF-responsive gene (P < 0.001), suggesting increased local IGF-I action. We therefore conclude that expression of human PAPP-A localized to arterial smooth muscle accelerates lesion progression in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. These data provide further evidence for the importance of PAPP-A in the cardiovascular system and suggest PAPP-A as a potential therapeutic target in the control of atherosclerosis.

No abstract

A limited combinatorial strategy was used to synthesize a small library of soft lipid-based materials ranging from structurally unordered fibers to highly uniform nanotubes. The latter nanotubes are comprised of a bilayer structure with interdigitated alkyl chains associated through hydrophobic interactions. These tubes contain accessible 2,6-diaminopyridine linkers that can interact with thymidine and related nucleosides through multipoint hydrogen bonding, thereby quenching the intrinsic fluorescence of the aromatic linker. These results are the first example of a systematic strategy to design functional lipid nanotubes with precise structural and functional features.

The increasing demand for antibody-based therapeutics has emphasized the need for technologies to improve recombinant antibody titers from mammalian cell lines. Moreover, as antibody therapeutics address an increasing spectrum of indications, interest has increased in antibody engineering to improve affinity and biological activity. However, the cellular mechanisms that dictate expression and the relationships between antibody sequence and expression level remain poorly understood. Fundamental understanding of how mammalian cells handle high levels of transgene expression and of the relationship between sequence and expression are vital to the development of new antibodies and for increasing recombinant antibody titers. In this work, we analyzed a pair of mutants that vary by a single amino acid at Kabat position 49 (heavy chain framework), resulting in differential transient and stable titers with no apparent loss of antigen affinity. Through analysis of mRNA, gene copy number, intracellular antibody content, and secreted antibody, we found that while translational/post-translational mechanisms are limiting in transient systems, it appears that the amount of available transgenic mRNA becomes the limiting event upon stable integration of the recombinant genes. We also show that amino acid substitution at residue 49 results in production of a non-secreted HC variant and postulate that stable antibody expression is maintained at a level which prevents toxic accumulation of this HC-related protein. This study highlights the need for proper sequence engineering strategies when developing therapeutic antibodies and alludes to the early analysis of transient expression systems to identify the potential for aberrant stable expression behavior.

The pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A knockout (PAPP-A KO) mouse is a model of reduced local insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I activity with normal circulating IGF-I levels. In this study, PAPP-A KO mice had significantly increased mean (27%), median (27%), and maximum (35%) life span compared with wild-type (WT) littermates. End-of-life pathology indicated that the incidence of neoplastic disease was not significantly different in the two groups of mice; however, it occurred in older aged PAPP-A KO compared with WT mice. Furthermore, PAPP-A KO mice were less likely to show degenerative changes of age. Scheduled pathologies at 78, 104, and 130 weeks of age indicated that WT mice, in general, had more degenerative changes and tumors earlier than PAPP-A KO mice. This was particularly true for abnormalities in heart, testes, brain, kidney, spleen, and thymus. In summary, the major contributors to the extended life span of PAPP-A KO mice are delayed occurrence of fatal neoplasias and decreased incidence of age-related degenerative changes.