Sphere formation reverses the metastatic and cancer stem cell phenotype of the murine mammary tumour 4T1, independently of the putative cancer stem cell marker Sca-1.

Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) initiate and sustain breast cancers, and several putative markers have been proposed to prospectively isolate BCSC from the non-cancer stem cell population. The candidate BCSC marker Sca-1 is a GPI-linked membrane protein expressed on activated lymphocytes, hematopoietic stem cells and mammary stem cells. Sca-1+ cells were purified from the murine mammary tumour cell line 4T1.

Enhanced baculovirus-mediated transduction of human cancer cells by tumor-homing peptides.

Tumor cells and vasculature offer specific targets for the selective delivery of therapeutic genes. To achieve tumor-specific gene transfer, baculovirus tropism was manipulated by viral envelope modification using baculovirus display technology. LyP-1, F3, and CGKRK tumor-homing peptides, originally identified by in vivo screening of phage display libraries, were fused to the transmembrane anchor of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein and displayed on the baculoviral surface.

RGD motifs on the surface of baculovirus enhance transduction of human lung carcinoma cells.

Baculovirus vectors have been shown to enter a variety of mammalian cell lines and gene transfer with wild-type baculovirus (WT) has been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. Different protein motifs have been displayed on the viral surface to serve as ligands for cell-specific receptor molecules. We have generated recombinant baculovirus vectors displaying an RGD-motif, recognized by alphaV integrin, on the viral surface.

Baculovirus entry into human hepatoma cells.

Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), a prototype member of the Baculoviridae family, has gained increasing interest as a potential vector candidate for mammalian gene delivery applications. AcMNPV is known to enter both dividing and nondividing mammalian cell lines in vitro, but the mode and kinetics of entry as well as the intracellular transport of the virus in mammalian cells is poorly understood. The general objective of this study was to characterize the entry steps of AcMNPV- and green fluorescent protein-displaying recombinant baculoviruses in human hepatoma cells.

Functional display of an alpha2 integrin-specific motif (RKK) on the surface of baculovirus particles.

The use of baculovirus vectors shows promise as a tool for gene delivery into mammalian cells. These insect viruses have been shown to transduce a variety of mammalian cell lines, and gene transfer has also been demonstrated in vivo. In this study, we generated two recombinant baculovirus vectors displaying an integrin-specific motif, RKK, as a part of two different loops of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused with the major envelope protein gp64 of Autographa californica M nucleopolyhedrovirus.

Internalization of echovirus 1 in caveolae.

Echovirus 1 (EV1) is a human pathogen which belongs to the Picornaviridae family of RNA viruses. We have analyzed the early events of infection after EV1 binding to its receptor alpha 2 beta 1 integrin and elucidated the route by which EV1 gains access to the host cell. EV1 binding onto the cell surface and subsequent entry resulted in conformational changes of the viral capsid as demonstrated by sucrose gradient sedimentation analysis.