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van Hees M, Slott S, Hansen AH, Kim HS, Ji HP, Astakhova K. New approaches to moderate CRISPR-Cas9 activity: Addressing issues of cellular uptake and endosomal escape. Mol Ther 2022; 30:32-46. [PMID: 34091053 PMCID: PMC8753288 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2021.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9 is rapidly entering molecular biology and biomedicine as a promising gene-editing tool. A unique feature of CRISPR-Cas9 is a single-guide RNA directing a Cas9 nuclease toward its genomic target. Herein, we highlight new approaches for improving cellular uptake and endosomal escape of CRISPR-Cas9. As opposed to other recently published works, this review is focused on non-viral carriers as a means to facilitate the cellular uptake of CRISPR-Cas9 through endocytosis. The majority of non-viral carriers, such as gold nanoparticles, polymer nanoparticles, lipid nanoparticles, and nanoscale zeolitic imidazole frameworks, is developed with a focus toward optimizing the endosomal escape of CRISPR-Cas9 by taking advantage of the acidic environment in the late endosomes. Among the most broadly used methods for in vitro and ex vivo ribonucleotide protein transfection are electroporation and microinjection. Thus, other delivery formats are warranted for in vivo delivery of CRISPR-Cas9. Herein, we specifically revise the use of peptide and nanoparticle-based systems as platforms for CRISPR-Cas9 delivery in vivo. Finally, we highlight future perspectives of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool and the prospects of using non-viral vectors to improve its bioavailability and therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maja van Hees
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Sofie Slott
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Heon Seok Kim
- School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94350, USA
| | - Hanlee P. Ji
- School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94350, USA
| | - Kira Astakhova
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark,Corresponding author: Kira Astakhova, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
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Jafarnejad A, Zandi M, Aminafshar M, Sanjabi MR, Emamjomeh Kashan N. Evaluating bovine sperm transfection using a high-performance polymer reagent and assessing the fertilizing capacity of transfected spermatozoa using an in vitro fertilization technique. Arch Anim Breed 2018. [DOI: 10.5194/aab-61-351-2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract. Sperm-mediated gene transfer (SMGT) has been considered as an innovative
device for transgenesis on a mass scale by taking advantage of live
spermatozoa to transfer exogenous DNA. However, the fertilizing ability of
transfected sperm cells and the poor reproducibility of this method are still
matters of controversy. Hence, the current study was conducted to evaluate
transfecting the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as the source of
exogenous DNA into bovine spermatozoa using a high-performance polymer
reagent as well as assessing the fertilizing capacity of transfected sperm
cells by in vitro fertilization (IVF). In the first experiment, three
different concentrations of rhodamine-labeled DNA and high-performance
polymer transfection reagent, X-tremeGENE HP, were used to transfect bovine
spermatozoa. In the second experiment, IVF and fluorescence microscopy
methods were utilized to assess the fertilizing capacity of sperm cells
carrying exogenous DNA when X-tremeGENE HP was used either alone or with
dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) treatment. Findings revealed that at 1 µL
X-tremeGENE HP and 1 µg of DNA concentration, approximately
one-third of total spermatozoa were transfected. However, following IVF and
fluorescence microscopy, no EGFP expression was detected in zygotes and
morula-stage embryos. Results of this study showed that, although X-tremeGENE
HP could transfer EGFP to bovine spermatozoa, transfected sperm cells were
unable to transfer foreign DNA to matured bovine oocytes. Under our
experimental conditions, we hypothesized that the absence of the EGFP
fluorescence signal in embryos could be due to the detrimental effects of
transfection treatments on sperm cells' fertility performance as well as
incompetency of IVF to produce transgenic embryos using transfected sperm
cells.
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Figueroa E, Bugga P, Asthana V, Chen AL, Stephen Yan J, Evans ER, Drezek RA. A mechanistic investigation exploring the differential transfection efficiencies between the easy-to-transfect SK-BR3 and difficult-to-transfect CT26 cell lines. J Nanobiotechnology 2017; 15:36. [PMID: 28464829 PMCID: PMC5414217 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-017-0271-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Gold–polyamidoamine (AuPAMAM) has previously been shown to successfully transfect cells with high efficiency. However, we have observed that certain cell types are more amenable to Au–PAMAM transfection than others. Here we utilized two representative cell lines—a “difficult to transfect” CT26 cell line and an “easy to transfect” SK-BR3 cell line—and attempted to determine the underlying mechanism for differential transfection in both cell types. Using a commonly established poly-cationic polymer similar to PAMAM (polyethyleneimine, or PEI), we additionally sought to quantify the relative transfection efficiencies of each vector in CT26 and SK-BR3 cells, in the hopes of elucidating any mechanistic differences that may exist between the two transfection vectors. Results A comparative time course analysis of green fluorescent protein reporter-gene expression and DNA uptake was conducted to quantitatively compare PEI- and AuPAMAM-mediated transfection in CT26 and SK-BR3, while flow cytometry and confocal microscopy were used to determine the contribution of cellular uptake, endosomal escape, and cytoplasmic transport to the overall gene delivery process. Results from the time course analysis and flow cytometry studies revealed that initial complex uptake and cytoplasmic trafficking to the nucleus are likely the two main factors limiting CT26 transfectability. Conclusions The cell type-dependent uptake and intracellular transport mechanisms impacting gene therapy remain largely unexplored and present a major hurdle in the application-specific design and efficiency of gene delivery vectors. This systematic investigation offers insights into the intracellular mechanistic processes that may account for cell-to-cell differences, as well as vector-to-vector differences, in gene transfectability. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12951-017-0271-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pallavi Bugga
- Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.
| | | | - Allen L Chen
- Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
| | - J Stephen Yan
- Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
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Choi M, Lee SH, Kim WB, Gujrati V, Kim D, Lee J, Kim JI, Kim H, Saw PE, Jon S. Intracellular Delivery of Bioactive Cargos to Hard-to-Transfect Cells Using Carbon Nanosyringe Arrays under an Applied Centrifugal g-Force. Adv Healthc Mater 2016; 5:101-7. [PMID: 25846396 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201400834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2014] [Revised: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
There is considerable interest in developing a common, universal platform for delivering biomacromolecules such as proteins and RNAs into diverse cells with high efficiency. Here, it is shown that carbon nanosyringe arrays (CNSAs) under an applied centrifugal g-force (cf-CNSAs) can deliver diverse bioactive cargos directly into the cytosol of hard-to-transfect cells with relatively high efficiency and reproducibility. The cf-CNSA platform, an optimized version of a previous CNSA-mediated intracellular delivery platform that adds a g-force feature, exhibits more rapid and superior delivery of cargos to various hard-to-transfect cells than is the case in the absence of g-force. Active species, including small interfering RNAs, plasmids, and proteins are successfully transported across plasma membrane barriers into various cells. By overcoming the limitations of currently available transfection methods, the cf-CNSA platform paves the way to universal delivery of a variety of cargos, facilitating the analysis of cellular responses in diverse cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minsuk Choi
- KAIST Institute for the BioCentury; Department of Biological Sciences; Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; 291 Daehak-ro Daejeon 305-701 South Korea
| | - Sang Ho Lee
- School of Materials Science and Engineering; Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology; Gwangju 500-712 South Korea
| | - Won Bae Kim
- School of Materials Science and Engineering; Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology; Gwangju 500-712 South Korea
| | - Vipul Gujrati
- KAIST Institute for the BioCentury; Department of Biological Sciences; Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; 291 Daehak-ro Daejeon 305-701 South Korea
| | - Daejin Kim
- KAIST Institute for the BioCentury; Department of Biological Sciences; Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; 291 Daehak-ro Daejeon 305-701 South Korea
| | - Jinju Lee
- School of Materials Science and Engineering; Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology; Gwangju 500-712 South Korea
| | - Jae-Il Kim
- School of Materials Science and Engineering; Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology; Gwangju 500-712 South Korea
| | - Hyungjun Kim
- KAIST Institute for the BioCentury; Department of Biological Sciences; Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; 291 Daehak-ro Daejeon 305-701 South Korea
| | - Phei Er Saw
- KAIST Institute for the BioCentury; Department of Biological Sciences; Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; 291 Daehak-ro Daejeon 305-701 South Korea
| | - Sangyong Jon
- KAIST Institute for the BioCentury; Department of Biological Sciences; Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; 291 Daehak-ro Daejeon 305-701 South Korea
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Breton M, Berret JF, Bourgaux C, Kral T, Hof M, Pichon C, Bessodes M, Scherman D, Mignet N. Protonation of lipids impacts the supramolecular and biological properties of their self-assembly. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2011; 27:12336-12345. [PMID: 21870814 DOI: 10.1021/la202439s] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
We assessed in this work how a chemical structure difference could influence a supramolecular organization and then its biological properties. In our case study, we considered two amphiphilic lipidic gene vectors. The chemical difference was situated on their hydrophilic part which was either a pure neutral thiourea head or a mixture of three thiourea function derivatives, thiourea, iminothiol, and charged iminothiol. This small difference was obtained thanks to the last chemical deprotection conditions of the polar head hydroxyl groups. Light, neutron, and X-ray scattering techniques have been used to investigate the spatial structure of the liposomes and lipoplexes formed by the lipids. The chemical structure difference impacts the supramolecular assemblies of the lipids and with DNA as shown by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), X-ray, and neutron scattering. Hence the structures formed were found to be highly different in terms of liposomes to DNA ratio and size and polydispersity of the aggregates. Finally, the transfection and internalization results proved that the differences in the structure of the lipid aggregates fully affect the biological properties of the lipopolythiourea compounds. The lipid containing three functions is a better gene transfection agent than the lipid which only contains one thiourea moiety. As a conclusion, we showed that the conditions of the last chemical step can influence the lipidic supramolecular structure which in turn strongly impacts their biological properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Breton
- UMR 8151 CNRS, Unité de Pharmacologie Chimique et Génétique, Université Paris Descartes, Chimie-ParisTech, 4 avenue de l'observatoire, 75006 Paris, U640 Inserm, France.
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Jérôme V, Heider A, Schallon A, Freitag R. Exhaustive in vivo labelling of plasmid DNA with BrdU for intracellular detection in non-viral transfection of mammalian cells. Biotechnol J 2010; 4:1479-87. [PMID: 19670251 DOI: 10.1002/biot.200900053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The study of the non-viral gene delivery process at the molecular level, e.g. during the transfection of mammalian cells, is currently limited by the difficulties of specifically detecting the transfected plasmid DNA within the cells. Here we describe the in vivo production of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-labelled plasmid DNA by a thymine-requiring Escherichia coli strain leading to 92 +/- 15% BrdU incorporation while minimizing plasmid structure alteration. The labelled plasmid is produced on the milligram scale in a two-stage cultivation process. The relevance of this approach for plasmid DNA visualisation in the field of gene delivery is demonstrated by localising the BrdU-labelled plasmid DNA via immunodetection/fluorescence microscopy in CHO-K1 cells after electroporation with naked, BrdU-labelled plasmid DNA and after polyfection with polyethylenimine/BrdU-labelled plasmid complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valérie Jérôme
- Chair for Process Biotechnology, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
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7
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Liu Y, Liggitt D, Fong S, Debs RJ. Systemic co-administration of depsipeptide selectively targets transfection enhancement to specific tissues and cell types. Gene Ther 2006; 13:1724-30. [PMID: 16886001 DOI: 10.1038/sj.gt.3302825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Depsipeptide, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, kills tumor cells much more effectively than normal cells, and can produce significant antitumor activity in human cancer patients. Depsipeptide also increases the expression of lipoplex-delivered genes in cultured tumor cells, as well as following direct intra-tumoral injection. We now show that co-intravenous (i.v.) injection of depsipeptide with polyethylenimine (PEI):DNA complexes significantly increases the expression of PEI-delivered genes in normal, as well as in tumor-bearing mice. At the tissue level, depsipeptide-mediated enhancement of gene expression was selectively targeted to the lung, liver and spleen. At the cellular level, depsipeptide significantly increased the expression of the i.v., PEI co-delivered wild-type human p53 gene in metastatic breast cancer cells, but not in adjacent normal cells. Thus, the ability of depsipeptide to enhance the expression of systemically delivered genes is selectively targeted at both the tissue and cellular levels, without requiring the use of ligand- or promoter-based approaches. Analyzing HDAC-based targeting of gene expression may identify host genes that control the expression of systemically delivered genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Liu
- California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute (CPMCRI), San Francisco, CA, USA
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Shipley JM, Waxman DJ. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor-independent activation of estrogen receptor-dependent transcription by 3-methylcholanthrene. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2005; 213:87-97. [PMID: 16257430 DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2005.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2005] [Revised: 09/21/2005] [Accepted: 09/21/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that stimulates transcription directed by xenobiotic response elements upstream of target genes. Recently, AhR ligands were reported to induce formation of an AhR-estrogen receptor (ER) complex, which can bind to estrogen response elements (EREs) and stimulate transcription of ER target genes. Presently, we investigate the effect of the AhR ligands 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC), 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (BZ126) on ERE-regulated luciferase reporter activity and endogenous ER target gene expression. In MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, 3MC induced transcription of ER reporter genes containing native promoter sequences of the ER-responsive genes complement 3 and pS2 and heterologous promoters regulated by isolated EREs. Dose-response studies revealed that the concentration of 3MC required to half-maximally activate transcription (EC(50)) was >100-fold higher for an ER reporter (27-57 muM) than for an AhR reporter (86-250 nM) in both MCF-7 cells and in human endometrial cancer Ishikawa cells. 3MC also stimulated expression of the endogenous ER target genes amphiregulin, cathepsin D and progesterone receptor, albeit to a much lower extent than was achieved following stimulation with 17beta-estradiol. In Ishikawa cells, 3MC, but not BZ126 or TCDD, stimulated ERalpha-dependent reporter activity but did not induce expression of endogenous ER target genes. Finally, studies carried out in the AhR-positive rat hepatoma cell line 5L and the AhR-deficient variant BP8 demonstrated that ER reporter activity could be induced by 3MC in a manner that was independent of AhR and thus distinct from the AhR-ER 'hijacking' mechanism described recently. 3MC may thus elicit estrogenic activity by multiple mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M Shipley
- Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Street, MA 02215, USA
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Süleymanoğlu E. Preparation and phase behaviour of surface-active pharmaceuticals: self-assembly of DNA and surfactants with membranes. Differential adiabatic scanning microcalorimetric study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005; 60:701-10. [PMID: 16023120 DOI: 10.1016/j.farmac.2005.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2005] [Accepted: 05/03/2005] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Some energetics issues relevant to preparation and surface characterization of zwitterionic phospholipid-DNA self-assemblies, as alternative models of the currently used problematic lipoplexes are presented. Nucleic acid compaction capacities of Mg(2+) and N-alkyl-N,N,N-trimetylammonium ions (C(n)TMA, n=12) were compared, with regard to surface interaction with unilamellar vesicles. Differential adiabatic scanning microcalorimetric measurements of synthetic phosphatidylcholine liposomes and calf thymus DNA and their ternary complexes with Mg(2+) and C(12)TMA, were employed for deduction of the thermodynamic model describing their structural transitions. Small monodisperce and highly stable complexes are established after precompaction of DNA with detergent, followed by addition of liposomes. In contrast, divalent metal cation-mediated aggregation of vesicles either leads to heterogeneous multilamellar DNA-lipid arrangements, or to DNA-induced bilayer destabilization and lipid fusion. Possible dependence of the cellular internalization and gene transfection efficiency on the structure and physicochemical properties of DNA-Mg(2+)-liposomes or DNA-cationic surfactant-liposome systems is emphasized by proposing the structure of their molecular self-organizations with further implications in gene transfer research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erhan Süleymanoğlu
- Biophysics Section, Department of Physical Chemistry of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, J.A. Comenius University, Odbojarov 10, 83-232 Bratislava, The Slovak Republic.
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