Behavior and therapeutic efficacy of beta-glucuronidase-positive mononuclear phagocytes in a murine model of mucopolysaccharidosis type VII.

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is relatively effective for the treatment of lysosomal storage diseases. To better understand the contribution of specific hematopoietic lineages to the efficacy of BMT, we transplanted beta-glucuronidase-positive mononuclear phagocytes derived from either the peritoneum or from bone marrow in vitro into syngeneic recipients with mucopolysaccharidosis type VII (MPS VII). Cell surface marking studies indicate that the bone marrow-derived cells are less mature than the peritoneal macrophages.

Enzyme replacement therapy for murine mucopolysaccharidosis type VII leads to improvements in behavior and auditory function.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type VII (MPS VII; Sly syndrome) is one of a group of lysosomal storage diseases that share many clinical features, including mental retardation and hearing loss. Lysosomal storage in neurons of the brain and the associated behavioral abnormalities characteristic of a murine model of MPS VII have not been shown to be corrected by either bone marrow transplantation or gene therapy. However, intravenous injections of recombinant beta-glucuronidase initiated at birth reduce the pathological evidence of disease in MPS VII mice.

Gene therapy for murine mucopolysaccharidosis type VII.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type VII (MPS VII) is caused by a deficiency in the lysosomal enzyme beta-glucuronidase resulting in the accumulation of undegraded glycosaminoglycans in many tissues. A murine model of MPS VII shares many of the clinical, biochemical and histopathological features of human MPS VII and has provided an opportunity to study novel therapeutic approaches in a system with a uniform genetic background. Retroviral mediated gene therapy directed to the hematopoietic system or to artificial neo-organs resulted in low levels of enzyme in several tissues and reduced lysosomal storage in the liver and spleen.

FimH adhesin of type 1 pili is assembled into a fibrillar tip structure in the Enterobacteriaceae.

Type 1 pili are heteropolymeric mannosebinding fibers produced by all members of the Enterobacteriaceae family. The bulk of the fiber is composed of FimA. Two macromolecular complexes responsible for mediating an interaction with mannose-containing receptors were purified from fimA- Escherichia coli by mannose affinity chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography.

FimC is a periplasmic PapD-like chaperone that directs assembly of type 1 pili in bacteria.

Biogenesis of the type 1 pilus fiber in Escherichia coli requires the product of the fimC locus. We have demonstrated that FimC is a member of the periplasmic chaperone family. The deduced primary sequence of FimC shows a high degree of homology to PapD and fits well with the derived consensus sequence for periplasmic chaperones, predicting that it has an immunoglobulin-like topology.