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Wei CT, Popp NA, Peleg O, Powell RL, Borenstein E, Maly DJ, Fowler DM. A chemically controlled Cas9 switch enables temporal modulation of diverse effectors. Nat Chem Biol 2023; 19:981-991. [PMID: 36879061 PMCID: PMC10480357 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01278-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9 has yielded a plethora of effectors, including targeted transcriptional activators, base editors and prime editors. Current approaches for inducibly modulating Cas9 activity lack temporal precision and require extensive screening and optimization. We describe a versatile, chemically controlled and rapidly activated single-component DNA-binding Cas9 switch, ciCas9, which we use to confer temporal control over seven Cas9 effectors, including two cytidine base editors, two adenine base editors, a dual base editor, a prime editor and a transcriptional activator. Using these temporally controlled effectors, we analyze base editing kinetics, showing that editing occurs within hours and that rapid early editing of nucleotides predicts eventual editing magnitude. We also reveal that editing at preferred nucleotides within target sites increases the frequency of bystander edits. Thus, the ciCas9 switch offers a simple, versatile approach to generating chemically controlled Cas9 effectors, informing future effector engineering and enabling precise temporal effector control for kinetic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cindy T Wei
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research Inc, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Nicholas A Popp
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Omri Peleg
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Rachel L Powell
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Elhanan Borenstein
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - Dustin J Maly
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Douglas M Fowler
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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2
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Shin S, Jang S, Lim D. Small Molecules for Enhancing the Precision and Safety of Genome Editing. Molecules 2022; 27:6266. [PMID: 36234804 PMCID: PMC9573751 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27196266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based genome-editing technologies have revolutionized biology, biotechnology, and medicine, and have spurred the development of new therapeutic modalities. However, there remain several barriers to the safe use of CRISPR technologies, such as unintended off-target DNA cleavages. Small molecules are important resources to solve these problems, given their facile delivery and fast action to enable temporal control of the CRISPR systems. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of small molecules that can precisely modulate CRISPR-associated (Cas) nucleases and guide RNAs (gRNAs). We also discuss the small-molecule control of emerging genome editors (e.g., base editors) and anti-CRISPR proteins. These molecules could be used for the precise investigation of biological systems and the development of safer therapeutic modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyoon Shin
- School of Biopharmaceutical and Medical Sciences, Sungshin University, Seoul 01133, Korea
- Department of Next-Generation Applied Science, Sungshin University, Seoul 01133, Korea
| | - Seeun Jang
- School of Biopharmaceutical and Medical Sciences, Sungshin University, Seoul 01133, Korea
- Department of Next-Generation Applied Science, Sungshin University, Seoul 01133, Korea
| | - Donghyun Lim
- School of Biopharmaceutical and Medical Sciences, Sungshin University, Seoul 01133, Korea
- Department of Next-Generation Applied Science, Sungshin University, Seoul 01133, Korea
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3
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Park J, Lim JM, Jung I, Heo SJ, Park J, Chang Y, Kim HK, Jung D, Yu JH, Min S, Yoon S, Cho SR, Park T, Kim HH. Recording of elapsed time and temporal information about biological events using Cas9. Cell 2021; 184:1047-1063.e23. [PMID: 33539780 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
DNA has not been utilized to record temporal information, although DNA has been used to record biological information and to compute mathematical problems. Here, we found that indel generation by Cas9 and guide RNA can occur at steady rates, in contrast to typical dynamic biological reactions, and the accumulated indel frequency can be a function of time. By measuring indel frequencies, we developed a method for recording and measuring absolute time periods over hours to weeks in mammalian cells. These time-recordings were conducted in several cell types, with different promoters and delivery vectors for Cas9, and in both cultured cells and cells of living mice. As applications, we recorded the duration of chemical exposure and the lengths of elapsed time since the onset of biological events (e.g., heat exposure and inflammation). We propose that our systems could serve as synthetic "DNA clocks."
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihye Park
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung Min Lim
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Inkyung Jung
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Department of Biostatistics and Computing, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Seok-Jae Heo
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Department of Biostatistics and Computing, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jinman Park
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoojin Chang
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Hui Kwon Kim
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Dongmin Jung
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji Hea Yu
- Department and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, South Korea
| | - Seonwoo Min
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 00826, Republic of Korea
| | - Sungroh Yoon
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 00826, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul 00826, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program in Artificial Intelligence, Seoul National University, Seoul 00826, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung-Rae Cho
- Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Department and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, South Korea
| | - Taeyoung Park
- Department of Applied Statistics, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Department of Statistics and Data Science, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyongbum Henry Kim
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Center for Nanomedicine, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, Republic of Korea; Graduate Program of Nano Biomedical Engineering (NanoBME), Advanced Science Institute, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Severance Biomedical Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
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4
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Modell AE, Siriwardena SU, Shoba VM, Li X, Choudhary A. Chemical and optical control of CRISPR-associated nucleases. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2020; 60:113-121. [PMID: 33253976 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2020.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2020] [Revised: 10/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas system of bacteria has furnished programmable nucleases (e.g., Cas9) that are transforming the field of genome editing with applications in basic and biomedical research, biotechnology, and agriculture. However, broader real-world applications of Cas9 require precision control of its activity over dose, time, and space as off-target effects, embryonic mosaicism, chromosomal translocations, and genotoxicity have been observed with elevated and/or prolonged nuclease activity. Here, we review chemical and optical methods for precision control of Cas9's activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley E Modell
- Chemical Biology and Therapeutics Science, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Sachini U Siriwardena
- Chemical Biology and Therapeutics Science, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Veronika M Shoba
- Chemical Biology and Therapeutics Science, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Xing Li
- Chemical Biology and Therapeutics Science, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Amit Choudhary
- Chemical Biology and Therapeutics Science, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Divisions of Renal Medicine and Engineering, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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5
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Rose JC, Popp NA, Richardson CD, Stephany JJ, Mathieu J, Wei CT, Corn JE, Maly DJ, Fowler DM. Suppression of unwanted CRISPR-Cas9 editing by co-administration of catalytically inactivating truncated guide RNAs. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2697. [PMID: 32483117 PMCID: PMC7264211 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16542-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9 nucleases are powerful genome engineering tools, but unwanted cleavage at off-target and previously edited sites remains a major concern. Numerous strategies to reduce unwanted cleavage have been devised, but all are imperfect. Here, we report that off-target sites can be shielded from the active Cas9•single guide RNA (sgRNA) complex through the co-administration of dead-RNAs (dRNAs), truncated guide RNAs that direct Cas9 binding but not cleavage. dRNAs can effectively suppress a wide-range of off-targets with minimal optimization while preserving on-target editing, and they can be multiplexed to suppress several off-targets simultaneously. dRNAs can be combined with high-specificity Cas9 variants, which often do not eliminate all unwanted editing. Moreover, dRNAs can prevent cleavage of homology-directed repair (HDR)-corrected sites, facilitating scarless editing by eliminating the need for blocking mutations. Thus, we enable precise genome editing by establishing a flexible approach for suppressing unwanted editing of both off-targets and HDR-corrected sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Rose
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
- Center for Personal Dynamic Regulomes, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Nicholas A Popp
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Christopher D Richardson
- Innovative Genomics Initiative, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Jason J Stephany
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Julie Mathieu
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Cindy T Wei
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Jacob E Corn
- Innovative Genomics Initiative, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Dustin J Maly
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
| | - Douglas M Fowler
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
- Genetic Networks Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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6
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Development of a DNA double-strand break-free base editing tool in Corynebacterium glutamicum for genome editing and metabolic engineering. Metab Eng Commun 2020; 11:e00135. [PMID: 32577397 PMCID: PMC7300154 DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2020.e00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
As a traditional amino acid producing bacterium, Corynebacterium glutamicum is a platform strain for production of various fine chemicals. Based on the CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas9 system, gene editing tools that enable base conversion in the genome of C. glutamicum have been developed. However, some problems such as genomic instability caused by DNA double-strand break (DSB) and off-target effects need to be solved. In this study, a DSB-free single nucleotide genome editing system was developed by construction of a bi-directional base conversion tool TadA-dCas9-AID. This system includes cytosine base editors (CBEs): activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and adenine deaminase (ABEs): tRNA adenosine deaminase (TadA), which can specifically target the gene through a 20-nt single guide RNA (sgRNA) and achieve the base conversion of C-T, C-G and A-G in the 28-bp editing window upstream of protospacer adjacent motif. Finally, as a proof-of-concept demonstration, the system was used to construct a mutant library of zwf gene in C. glutamicum S9114 genome to improve the production of a typical nutraceutical N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). The GlcNAc titer of the mutant strain K293R was increased by 31.9% to 9.1 g/L in shake flask. Here, the developed bases conversion tool TadA-dCas9-AID does not need DNA double-strand break and homologous template, and is effective for genome editing and metabolic engineering in C. glutamicum. A DNA double-strand break-free base editing tool was developed in Corynebacterium glutamicum S9114, which can produce diverse single base mutations. The base editing tool can be used for base mutations on genome and metabolic engineering of C. glutamicum S9114. High efficiency 20N target sequence linking strategy was developed. The base editing tool is used to increase the titer of GlcNAc.
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Sun N, Petiwala S, Wang R, Lu C, Hu M, Ghosh S, Hao Y, Miller CP, Chung N. Development of drug-inducible CRISPR-Cas9 systems for large-scale functional screening. BMC Genomics 2019; 20:225. [PMID: 30890156 PMCID: PMC6425629 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-019-5601-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Large-scale genetic screening using CRISPR-Cas9 technology has emerged as a powerful approach to uncover and validate gene functions. The ability to control the timing of genetic perturbation during CRISPR screens will facilitate precise dissection of dynamic and complex biological processes. Here, we report the optimization of a drug-inducible CRISPR-Cas9 system that allows high-throughput gene interrogation with a temporal control. RESULTS We designed multiple drug-inducible sgRNA expression vectors and measured their activities using an EGFP gene disruption assay in 11 human and mouse cell lines. The optimal design allows for a tight and inducible control of gene knockout in vitro, and in vivo during a seven-week-long experiment following hematopoietic reconstitution in mice. We next performed parallel genome-wide loss-of-function screens using the inducible and constitutive CRISPR-Cas9 systems. In proliferation-based dropout screens, these two approaches have similar performance in discriminating essential and nonessential genes. In a more challenging phenotypic assay that requires cytokine stimulation and cell staining, we observed similar sensitivity of the constitutive and drug-induced screening approaches in detecting known hits. Importantly, we demonstrate minimal leakiness of our inducible CRISPR screening platforms in the absence of chemical inducers in large-scale settings. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we have developed a drug-inducible CRISPR-Cas9 system that shows high cleavage efficiency upon induction but low background activity. Using this system, we have achieved inducible gene disruption in a wide range of cell types both in vitro and in vivo. For the first time, we present a systematic side-by-side comparison of constitutive and drug-inducible CRISPR-Cas9 platforms in large-scale functional screens. We demonstrate the tightness and efficiency of our drug-inducible CRISPR-Cas9 system in genome-wide pooled screening. Our design increases the versatility of CRISPR-based genetic screening and represents a significant upgrade on existing functional genomics toolbox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Sun
- AbbVie Inc., 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA.
| | - Sakina Petiwala
- AbbVie Inc., 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Rui Wang
- AbbVie Cambridge Research Center, 200 Sydney St, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Charles Lu
- AbbVie Inc., 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Mufeng Hu
- AbbVie Inc., 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Sujana Ghosh
- AbbVie Inc., 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Yan Hao
- AbbVie Inc., 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | | | - Namjin Chung
- AbbVie Inc., 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA.
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Cunningham-Bryant D, Dieter EM, Foight GW, Rose JC, Loutey DE, Maly DJ. A Chemically Disrupted Proximity System for Controlling Dynamic Cellular Processes. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:3352-3355. [PMID: 30735038 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b12382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Chemical methods that allow the spatial proximity of proteins to be temporally modulated are powerful tools for studying biology and engineering synthetic cellular behaviors. Here, we describe a new chemically controlled method for rapidly disrupting the interaction between two basally colocalized protein binding partners. Our chemically disrupted proximity (CDP) system is based on the interaction between the hepatitis C virus protease (HCVp) NS3a and a genetically encoded peptide inhibitor. Using clinically approved antiviral inhibitors as chemical disrupters of the NS3a/peptide interaction, we demonstrate that our CDP system can be used to confer temporal control over diverse intracellular processes. This NS3a-based CDP system represents a new modality for engineering chemical control over intracellular protein function that is complementary to currently available techniques.
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9
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Rose JC, Dieter EM, Cunningham-Bryant D, Maly DJ. "Examining RAS pathway rewiring with a chemically inducible activator of RAS". Small GTPases 2018; 11:413-420. [PMID: 29634387 DOI: 10.1080/21541248.2018.1446697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
RAS signaling pathways govern diverse cellular processes, are dynamic, and exhibit marked plasticity. Yet, these features also present a considerable obstacle to their study. Here, we report the use of a recently described RAS rheostat, Chemically Inducible Activator of RAS (CIAR), to study two poorly understood phenomena in RAS biology. First, we show that short-term activation of wild type endogenous RAS can desensitize cells to EGF stimulation. Second, we examine the phenomena of paradoxical activation of RAS/ERK signaling by RAF inhibitors. Specifically, we characterize the effects on RAS/ERK signaling kinetics of four RAF inhibitors, which stabilize distinct ATP-binding site conformations. These results demonstrate the utility of CIAR in conducting quantitative studies of complex features of RAS biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Rose
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington, U.S.A
| | - Emily M Dieter
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington, U.S.A
| | | | - Dustin J Maly
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington, U.S.A
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