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Ho SY, Chang BH, Chung CH, Lin YL, Chuang CH, Hsieh PJ, Huang WC, Tsai NM, Huang SC, Liu YK, Lo YC, Liao KW. Development of a computational promoter with highly efficient expression in tumors. BMC Cancer 2018; 18:480. [PMID: 29703163 PMCID: PMC5924487 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-018-4421-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 04/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Gene therapy is a potent method to increase the therapeutic efficacy against cancer. However, a gene that is specifically expressed in the tumor area has not been identified. In addition, nonspecific expression of therapeutic genes in normal tissues may cause side effects that can harm the patients’ health. Certain promoters have been reported to drive therapeutic gene expression specifically in cancer cells; however, low expression levels of the target gene are a problem for providing good therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, a specific and highly expressive promoter is needed for cancer gene therapy. Methods Bioinformatics approaches were utilized to analyze transcription factors (TFs) from high-throughput data. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and cell transfection were applied for the measurement of mRNA, protein expression and activity. C57BL/6JNarl mice were injected with pD5-hrGFP to evaluate the expression of TFs. Results We analyzed bioinformatics data and identified three TFs, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB), and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), that are highly active in tumor cells. Here, we constructed a novel mini-promoter, D5, that is composed of the binding sites of the three TFs. The results show that the D5 promoter specifically drives therapeutic gene expression in tumor tissues and that the strength of the D5 promoter is directly proportional to tumor size. Conclusions Our results show that bioinformatics may be a good tool for the selection of appropriate TFs and for the design of specific mini-promoters to improve cancer gene therapy. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-018-4421-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Yi Ho
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Bo-Hau Chang
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Chen-Han Chung
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30050, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Yu-Ling Lin
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China.,Center for Bioinformatics Research, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Cheng-Hsun Chuang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30050, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Pei-Jung Hsieh
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Wei-Chih Huang
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Nu-Man Tsai
- School of Medical and Laboratory Biotechnology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China.,Clinical Laboratory, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Chieh Huang
- Department of Surgery, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.,Division of Colon and Rectal surgery, Department of surgery, Taipei Veteran General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Yen-Ku Liu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30050, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Yu-Chih Lo
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioindustry Sciences, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Kuang-Wen Liao
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China. .,Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30050, Taiwan, Republic of China. .,College of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China. .,Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
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