1
|
Tang J, Feng M, Wang D, Zhang L, Yang K. Recent advancement of sonogenetics: A promising noninvasive cellular manipulation by ultrasound. Genes Dis 2024; 11:101112. [PMID: 38947740 PMCID: PMC11214298 DOI: 10.1016/j.gendis.2023.101112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent advancements in biomedical research have underscored the importance of noninvasive cellular manipulation techniques. Sonogenetics, a method that uses genetic engineering to produce ultrasound-sensitive proteins in target cells, is gaining prominence along with optogenetics, electrogenetics, and magnetogenetics. Upon stimulation with ultrasound, these proteins trigger a cascade of cellular activities and functions. Unlike traditional ultrasound modalities, sonogenetics offers enhanced spatial selectivity, improving precision and safety in disease treatment. This technology broadens the scope of non-surgical interventions across a wide range of clinical research and therapeutic applications, including neuromodulation, oncologic treatments, stem cell therapy, and beyond. Although current literature predominantly emphasizes ultrasonic neuromodulation, this review offers a comprehensive exploration of sonogenetics. We discuss ultrasound properties, the specific ultrasound-sensitive proteins employed in sonogenetics, and the technique's potential in managing conditions such as neurological disorders, cancer, and ophthalmic diseases, and in stem cell therapies. Our objective is to stimulate fresh perspectives for further research in this promising field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jin Tang
- Pediatric Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing Engineering Research Center of Stem Cell Therapy, Chongqing 400014, China
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Mingxuan Feng
- Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
| | - Dong Wang
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Liang Zhang
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Ke Yang
- Pediatric Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing Engineering Research Center of Stem Cell Therapy, Chongqing 400014, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Hu Y, Wang X, Xu Y, Yang H, Tong Z, Tian R, Xu S, Yu L, Guo Y, Shi P, Huang S, Yang G, Shi S, Wei F. Molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution in wild animals and plants. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2023; 66:453-495. [PMID: 36648611 PMCID: PMC9843154 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-022-2233-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Wild animals and plants have developed a variety of adaptive traits driven by adaptive evolution, an important strategy for species survival and persistence. Uncovering the molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution is the key to understanding species diversification, phenotypic convergence, and inter-species interaction. As the genome sequences of more and more non-model organisms are becoming available, the focus of studies on molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution has shifted from the candidate gene method to genetic mapping based on genome-wide scanning. In this study, we reviewed the latest research advances in wild animals and plants, focusing on adaptive traits, convergent evolution, and coevolution. Firstly, we focused on the adaptive evolution of morphological, behavioral, and physiological traits. Secondly, we reviewed the phenotypic convergences of life history traits and responding to environmental pressures, and the underlying molecular convergence mechanisms. Thirdly, we summarized the advances of coevolution, including the four main types: mutualism, parasitism, predation and competition. Overall, these latest advances greatly increase our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms for diverse adaptive traits and species interaction, demonstrating that the development of evolutionary biology has been greatly accelerated by multi-omics technologies. Finally, we highlighted the emerging trends and future prospects around the above three aspects of adaptive evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yibo Hu
- CAS Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Xiaoping Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Yongchao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Hui Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Zeyu Tong
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Ran Tian
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Shaohua Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Li Yu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China.
| | - Yalong Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
| | - Peng Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China.
| | - Shuangquan Huang
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China.
| | - Guang Yang
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China.
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
| | - Suhua Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China.
| | - Fuwen Wei
- CAS Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Fan CH, Wei KC, Chiu NH, Liao EC, Wang HC, Wu RY, Ho YJ, Chan HL, Wang TSA, Huang YZ, Hsieh TH, Lin CH, Lin YC, Yeh CK. Sonogenetic-Based Neuromodulation for the Amelioration of Parkinson's Disease. NANO LETTERS 2021; 21:5967-5976. [PMID: 34264082 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c00886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Sonogenetics is a promising strategy allowing the noninvasive and selective activation of targeted neurons in deep brain regions; nevertheless, its therapeutic outcome for neurodegeneration diseases that need long-term treatment remains to be verified. We previously enhanced the ultrasound (US) sensitivity of targeted cells by genetic modification with an engineered auditory-sensing protein, mPrestin (N7T, N308S). In this study, we expressed mPrestin in the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease (PD) mice and used 0.5 MHz US for repeated and localized brain stimulation. The mPrestin expression in dopaminergic neurons persisted for at least 56 days after a single shot of adeno-associated virus, suggesting that the period of expression was long enough for US treatment in mice. Compared to untreated mice, US stimulation ameliorated the dopaminergic neurodegeneration 10-fold and mitigated the PD symptoms of the mice 4-fold, suggesting that this sonogenetic strategy has the clinical potential to treat neurodegenerative diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Kuo-Chen Wei
- New Taipei Municipal TuCheng Hospital, New Taipei City 236017, Taiwan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33305, Taiwan
| | | | | | | | - Ruo-Yu Wu
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106319, Taiwan
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Chin-Hsien Lin
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106319, Taiwan
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wu CY, Fan CH, Chiu NH, Ho YJ, Lin YC, Yeh CK. Targeted delivery of engineered auditory sensing protein for ultrasound neuromodulation in the brain. Am J Cancer Res 2020; 10:3546-3561. [PMID: 32206107 PMCID: PMC7069068 DOI: 10.7150/thno.39786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Sonogenetics is a promising approach for in vivo neuromodulation using ultrasound (US) to non-invasively stimulate cells in deep tissue. However, sonogenetics requires accurate transduction of US-responsive proteins into target cells. Here, we introduce a non-invasive and non-viral approach for intracerebral gene delivery. This approach utilizes temporary ultrasonic disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to transfect neurons at specific sites in the brain via DNA that encodes engineered US-responsive protein (murine Prestin (N7T, N308S))-loaded microbubbles (pPrestin-MBs). Prestin is a transmembrane protein that exists in the mammalian auditory system and functions as an electromechanical transducer. We further improved the US sensitivity of Prestin by introducing specific amino acid substitutions that frequently occur in sonar species into the mouse Prestin protein. We demonstrated this concept in mice using US with pPrestin-MBs to non-invasively modify and activate neurons within the brain for spatiotemporal neuromodulation. Method: MBs composed of cationic phospholipid and C3F8 loaded with mouse Prestin plasmid (pPrestin) via electrostatic interactions. The mean concentration and size of the pPrestin-MBs were (16.0 ± 0.2) × 109 MBs/mL and 1.1 ± 0.2 μm, respectively. SH-SY5Y neuron-like cells and C57BL mice were used in this study. We evaluated the gene transfection efficiency and BBB-opening region resulting from pPrestin-MBs with 1-MHz US (pressure = 0.1-0.5 MPa, cycle = 50-10000, pulse repetition frequency (PRF): 0.5-5 Hz, sonication time = 60 s) using green fluorescence protein (Venus) and Evans blue staining. Results: The maximum pPrestin expression with the highest cell viability occurred at a pressure of 0.5 MPa, cycle number of 5000, and PRF of 1 Hz. The cellular transfection rate with pPrestin-MBs and US was 20.2 ± 2.5%, which was 1.5-fold higher than that of commercial transfection agents (LT-1). In vivo data suggested that the most profound expression of pPrestin occurred at 2 days after performing pPrestin-MBs with US (0.5 MPa, 240 s sonication time). In addition, no server erythrocyte extravasations and apoptosis cells were observed at US-sonicated region. We further found that with 0.5-MHz US stimulation, cells with Prestin expression were 6-fold more likely to exhibit c-Fos staining than cells without Prestin expression. Conclusion: Successful activation of Prestin-expressing neurons suggests that this technology provides non-invasive and spatially precise selective modulation of one or multiple specific brain regions.
Collapse
|
5
|
Marcovitz A, Turakhia Y, Chen HI, Gloudemans M, Braun BA, Wang H, Bejerano G. A functional enrichment test for molecular convergent evolution finds a clear protein-coding signal in echolocating bats and whales. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:21094-21103. [PMID: 31570615 PMCID: PMC6800341 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1818532116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Distantly related species entering similar biological niches often adapt by evolving similar morphological and physiological characters. How much genomic molecular convergence (particularly of highly constrained coding sequence) contributes to convergent phenotypic evolution, such as echolocation in bats and whales, is a long-standing fundamental question. Like others, we find that convergent amino acid substitutions are not more abundant in echolocating mammals compared to their outgroups. However, we also ask a more informative question about the genomic distribution of convergent substitutions by devising a test to determine which, if any, of more than 4,000 tissue-affecting gene sets is most statistically enriched with convergent substitutions. We find that the gene set most overrepresented (q-value = 2.2e-3) with convergent substitutions in echolocators, affecting 18 genes, regulates development of the cochlear ganglion, a structure with empirically supported relevance to echolocation. Conversely, when comparing to nonecholocating outgroups, no significant gene set enrichment exists. For aquatic and high-altitude mammals, our analysis highlights 15 and 16 genes from the gene sets most affected by molecular convergence which regulate skin and lung physiology, respectively. Importantly, our test requires that the most convergence-enriched set cannot also be enriched for divergent substitutions, such as in the pattern produced by inactivated vision genes in subterranean mammals. Showing a clear role for adaptive protein-coding molecular convergence, we discover nearly 2,600 convergent positions, highlight 77 of them in 3 organs, and provide code to investigate other clades across the tree of life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amir Marcovitz
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Yatish Turakhia
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Heidi I Chen
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | | | - Benjamin A Braun
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Haoqing Wang
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Gill Bejerano
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
Convergent evolution provides key evidence for the action of natural selection. The process of convergence is often inferred because the same trait appears in multiple species that are not closely related. However, different parts of the genome can reveal different relationships among species, with some genes or regions uniting lineages that appear unrelated in the species tree. If changes in traits occur in these discordant regions, a false pattern of convergence can be produced (known as “hemiplasy”). Here, we provide a way to quantify the probability that hemiplasy occurs and contrast it with the probability of convergence. We find that hemiplasy is likely to explain many apparent cases of convergent evolution, even when the fraction of discordant regions is low. Convergent evolution—the appearance of the same character state in apparently unrelated organisms—is often inferred when a trait is incongruent with the species tree. However, trait incongruence can also arise from changes that occur on discordant gene trees, a process referred to as hemiplasy. Hemiplasy is rarely taken into account in studies of convergent evolution, despite the fact that phylogenomic studies have revealed rampant discordance. Here, we study the relative probabilities of homoplasy (including convergence and reversal) and hemiplasy for an incongruent trait. We derive expressions for the probabilities of the two events, showing that they depend on many of the same parameters. We find that hemiplasy is as likely—or more likely—than homoplasy for a wide range of conditions, even when levels of discordance are low. We also present a method to calculate the ratio of these two probabilities (the “hemiplasy risk factor”) along the branches of a phylogeny of arbitrary length. Such calculations can be applied to any tree to identify when and where incongruent traits may be due to hemiplasy.
Collapse
|
7
|
Liu Z, Qi FY, Xu DM, Zhou X, Shi P. Genomic and functional evidence reveals molecular insights into the origin of echolocation in whales. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaat8821. [PMID: 30306134 PMCID: PMC6170035 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat8821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Echolocation allows toothed whales to adapt to underwater habitats where vision is ineffective. Because echolocation requires the ability to detect exceptional high-frequency sounds, fossils related to the auditory system can help to pinpoint the origin of echolocation in whales. However, because of conflicting interpretations of archaeocete fossils, when and how whales evolved the high-frequency hearing correlated with echolocation remain unclear. We address these questions at the molecular level by systematically investigating the convergent evolution of 7206 orthologs across 16 mammals and find that convergent genes between the last common ancestor of all whales (LCAW) and echolocating bats are not significantly enriched in functional categories related to hearing, and that convergence in hearing-related proteins between them is not stronger than that between nonecholocating mammalian lineages and echolocating bats. However, these results contrast with those of parallel analyses between the LCA of toothed whales (LCATW) and echolocating bats. Furthermore, we reconstruct the ancestral genes for the hearing protein prestin for the LCAW and LCATW; we show that the LCAW prestin exhibits the same function as that of nonecholocating mammals, but the LCATW prestin shows functional convergence with that of extant echolocating mammals. Mutagenesis shows that functional convergence of prestin is driven by convergent changes in the prestins S392A and L497M in the LCATW and echolocating bats. Our results provide genomic and functional evidence supporting the origin of high-frequency hearing in the LCAW, not the LCATW, and reveal molecular insights into the origin and evolutionary trajectories of echolocation in whales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Fei-Yan Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
- Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Dong-Ming Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Xin Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Peng Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Lee JH, Lewis KM, Moural TW, Kirilenko B, Borgonovo B, Prange G, Koessl M, Huggenberger S, Kang C, Hiller M. Molecular parallelism in fast-twitch muscle proteins in echolocating mammals. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaat9660. [PMID: 30263960 PMCID: PMC6157964 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat9660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Detecting associations between genomic changes and phenotypic differences is fundamental to understanding how phenotypes evolved. By systematically screening for parallel amino acid substitutions, we detected known as well as novel cases (Strc, Tecta, and Cabp2) of parallelism between echolocating bats and toothed whales in proteins that could contribute to high-frequency hearing adaptations. Our screen also showed that echolocating mammals exhibit an unusually high number of parallel substitutions in fast-twitch muscle fiber proteins. Both echolocating bats and toothed whales produce an extremely rapid call rate when homing in on their prey, which was shown in bats to be powered by specialized superfast muscles. We show that these genes with parallel substitutions (Casq1, Atp2a1, Myh2, and Myl1) are expressed in the superfast sound-producing muscle of bats. Furthermore, we found that the calcium storage protein calsequestrin 1 of the little brown bat and the bottlenose dolphin functionally converged in its ability to form calcium-sequestering polymers at lower calcium concentrations, which may contribute to rapid calcium transients required for superfast muscle physiology. The proteins that our genomic screen detected could be involved in the convergent evolution of vocalization in echolocating mammals by potentially contributing to both rapid Ca2+ transients and increased shortening velocities in superfast muscles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Hoe Lee
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Kevin M. Lewis
- Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164–4630, USA
| | - Timothy W. Moural
- Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164–4630, USA
| | - Bogdan Kirilenko
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Barbara Borgonovo
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Gisa Prange
- Institute for Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Manfred Koessl
- Institute for Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Stefan Huggenberger
- Department II of Anatomy—Neuroanatomy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - ChulHee Kang
- Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164–4630, USA
| | - Michael Hiller
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| |
Collapse
|