Browsing by Author "Zhang, Ruihua"

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    Developing New Modalities for Biosensing using Synthetic Biology
    Zhang, Ruihua (Virginia Tech, 2015-06-29)
    Biosensors are devices that use biological components to detect important analytes. Biosensing systems have various applications in areas such as medicine, environmental monitoring, and process control. Classical biosensors are often based on bacteria or purified enzymes that have limitations on efficiency or stability. I have developed several new biosensors to overcome these disadvantages. Two preliminary biosensors were first created based on the extremely strong and specific interaction between biotin and (strept)avidin. Both biosensors showed high sensitivity and reliability for measuring biotin with detection limits of 50-1000 pg/ml and 20-100 ng/ml, respectively. Following these, a new biosensor was developed by coupling a mobile, functionalized microsurface with cell-free expression approaches. This biosensor demonstrated a dynamic range of 1- 100 ng/ml. In addition, I also explored the possibility of combining these biosensing systems with engineered living cells. By leveraging the tools of synthetic biology, a genetic circuit was designed, constructed, and inserted into bacteria for enhanced biotin biosynthesis in vivo. Upon induction, a 17-fold increase in biotin production was measured in the engineered cells in comparison to wild type cells using the biosensors created herein. These new biosensors, particularly the mobile biosensing modality, form a building block for advanced biosensing and drug delivery systems due to enhancements in mobility and specificity. In the future, these biosensing and cellular production systems could impact a range of fields ranging from biomedicine to environmental monitoring.
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    Myeloid cell-derived inducible nitric oxide synthase suppresses M1 macrophage polarization
    Lu, Geming; Zhang, Ruihua; Geng, Shuo; Peng, Liang; Jayaraman, Padmini; Chen, Chun; Xu, Feifong; Yang, Jianjun; Li, Qin; Zheng, Hao; Shen, Kimberly; Wang, Juan; Liu, Xiyu; Wang, Weidong; Zheng, Zihan; Qi, Chen-Feng; Si, Chuanping; He, John Cijiang; Liu, Kebin; Lira, Sergio A.; Sikora, Andrew G.; Li, Liwu; Xiong, Huabao (Nature, 2015-03-27)
    Here we show that iNOS-deficient mice display enhanced classically activated M1 macrophage polarization without major effects on alternatively activated M2 macrophages. eNOS and nNOS mutant mice show comparable M1 macrophage polarization compared with wild-type control mice. Addition of N6-(1-iminoethyl)-L-lysine dihydrochloride, an iNOS inhibitor, significantly enhances M1 macrophage polarization while S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, a NO donor, suppresses M1 macrophage polarization. NO derived from iNOS mediates nitration of tyrosine residues in IRF5 protein, leading to the suppression of IRF5-targeted M1 macrophage signature gene activation. Computational analyses corroborate a circuit that fine-tunes the expression of IL-12 by iNOS in macrophages, potentially enabling versatile responses based on changing microenvironments. Finally, studies of an experimental model of endotoxin shock show that iNOS deficiency results in more severe inflammation with an enhanced M1 macrophage activation phenotype. These results suggest that NO derived from iNOS in activated macrophages suppresses M1 macrophage polarization.
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    Reprogramming macrophage orientation by microRNA 146b targeting transcription factor IRF5
    Peng, Liang; Zhang, Hui; Hao, Yuanyuan; Xu, Feihong; Yang, Jianjun; Zhang, Ruihua; Lu, Geming; Zheng, Zihan; Cui, Miao; Qi, Chen-Feng; Chen, Chun; Wang, Juan; Hu, Yuan; Wang, Di; Pierce, Susan; Li, Liwu; Xiong, Huabao (2016-12)
    The regulation of macrophage orientation pathological conditions is important but still incompletely understood. Here, we show that IL-10 and Rag1 double knockout mice spontaneously develop colitis with dominant M1 macrophage phenotype, suggesting that IL-10 regulates macrophage orientation in inflammation. We demonstrate that IL-10 stimulation induced miR-146b expression, and that the expression of miR-146b was impaired in IL-10 deficient macrophages. Our data show that miR-146b targets IRF5, resulting in the regulation of macrophage activation. Furthermore, miR-146b deficient mice developed intestinal inflammation with enhanced M1 macrophage polarization. Finally, miR-146b mimic treatment significantly suppresses M1 macrophage activation and ameliorates colitis development in vivo. Collectively, the results suggest that IL-10 dependent miR-146b plays an important role in the modulation of M1 macrophage orientation. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.