Construction and co-expression of bicistronic plasmid encoding human WEE1 and stem cell factor

To protect the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from apoptosis induced by chemotherapy and promote HSC proliferation, bi-functional gene delivery systems are increasingly investigated in gene therapy. In the present study, we constructed a bicistronic vector, pWISG, expressing the anti-apoptotic protein human WEE1 (WEE1Hu) and the fusion protein of the proliferation-stimulating stem cell factor (SCF) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) separately with internal ribosome entry site (IRES). We first examined the expression and location of WEE1Hu in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and showed that WEE1Hu was located in the nucleus, which was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. We determined the expression and receptor-binding ability of the SCF-EGFP fusion protein on CD34+ cells, which were proved by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry, respectively. Furthermore, inhibition of cisplatin-induced apoptosis was observed in CD34+ cells transfected with pWISG, which implies that protection for CD34+ cells was achieved via WEE1Hu and SCF-EGFP. Our study suggests that the introduction of two functional genes via bicistronic vector is more powerful and efficient than single gene therapy.