1
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Napoletano S, Battista E, Netti PA, Causa F. MicroLOCK: Highly stable microgel biosensor using locked nucleic acids as bioreceptors for sensitive and selective detection of let-7a. Biosens Bioelectron 2024; 260:116406. [PMID: 38805889 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2024.116406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2024] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Chemically modified oligonucleotides can solve biosensing issues for the development of capture probes, antisense, CRISPR/Cas, and siRNA, by enhancing their duplex-forming ability, their stability against enzymatic degradation, and their specificity for targets with high sequence similarity as microRNA families. However, the use of modified oligonucleotides such as locked nucleic acids (LNA) for biosensors is still limited by hurdles in design and from performances on the material interface. Here we developed a fluorogenic biosensor for non-coding RNAs, represented by polymeric PEG microgels conjugated with molecular beacons (MB) modified with locked nucleic acids (MicroLOCK). By 3D modeling and computational analysis, we designed molecular beacons (MB) inserting spot-on LNAs for high specificity among targets with high sequence similarity (95%). MicroLOCK can reversibly detect microRNA targets in a tiny amount of biological sample (2 μL) at 25 °C with a higher sensitivity (LOD 1.3 fM) without any reverse transcription or amplification. MicroLOCK can hybridize the target with fast kinetic (about 30 min), high duplex stability without interferences from the polymer interface, showing high signal-to-noise ratio (up to S/N = 7.3). MicroLOCK also demonstrated excellent resistance to highly nuclease-rich environments, in real samples. These findings represent a great breakthrough for using the LNA in developing low-cost biosensing approaches and can be applied not only for nucleic acids and protein detection but also for real-time imaging and quantitative assessment of gene targeting both in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Napoletano
- Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biomaterials (CRIB), Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II", Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125, Naples, Italy; Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare@CRIB, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Largo Barsanti e Matteucci 53, 80125, Naples, Italy
| | - Edmondo Battista
- Department of Innovative Technologies in Medicine & Dentistry, University "G. d'Annunzio" Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 31, 66100, Chieti, Italy
| | - Paolo Antonio Netti
- Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biomaterials (CRIB), Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II", Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125, Naples, Italy; Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica del Materiali e della Produzione Industriale (DICMAPI), University "Federico II", Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125, Naples, Italy; Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare@CRIB, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Largo Barsanti e Matteucci 53, 80125, Naples, Italy
| | - Filippo Causa
- Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biomaterials (CRIB), Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II", Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125, Naples, Italy; Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica del Materiali e della Produzione Industriale (DICMAPI), University "Federico II", Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125, Naples, Italy; Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare@CRIB, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Largo Barsanti e Matteucci 53, 80125, Naples, Italy.
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2
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Coan M, Haefliger S, Ounzain S, Johnson R. Targeting and engineering long non-coding RNAs for cancer therapy. Nat Rev Genet 2024; 25:578-595. [PMID: 38424237 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-024-00693-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
RNA therapeutics (RNATx) aim to treat diseases, including cancer, by targeting or employing RNA molecules for therapeutic purposes. Amongst the most promising targets are long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which regulate oncogenic molecular networks in a cell type-restricted manner. lncRNAs are distinct from protein-coding genes in important ways that increase their therapeutic potential yet also present hurdles to conventional clinical development. Advances in genome editing, oligonucleotide chemistry, multi-omics and RNA engineering are paving the way for efficient and cost-effective lncRNA-focused drug discovery pipelines. In this Review, we present the emerging field of lncRNA therapeutics for oncology, with emphasis on the unique strengths and challenges of lncRNAs within the broader RNATx framework. We outline the necessary steps for lncRNA therapeutics to deliver effective, durable, tolerable and personalized treatments for cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Coan
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Conway Institute of Biomedical and Biomolecular Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Simon Haefliger
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Rory Johnson
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- Conway Institute of Biomedical and Biomolecular Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
- FutureNeuro, SFI Research Centre for Chronic and Rare Neurological Diseases, Dublin, Ireland.
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3
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Lyu QR, Zhang S, Zhang Z, Tang Z. Functional knockout of long non-coding RNAs with genome editing. Front Genet 2023; 14:1242129. [PMID: 37705609 PMCID: PMC10495571 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1242129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
An effective loss-of-function study is necessary to investigate the biological function of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). Various approaches are available, including RNA silencing, antisense oligos, and CRISPR-based genome editing. CRISPR-based genome editing is the most widely used for inactivating lncRNA function at the genomic level. Knocking out the lncRNA function can be achieved by removing the promoter and the first exon (PE1), introducing pre-termination poly(A) signals, or deleting the entire locus, unlike frameshift strategies used for messenger RNA (mRNA). However, the intricate genomic interplay between lncRNA and neighbor genes makes it challenging to interpret lncRNA function accurately. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each lncRNA knockout method and envisions the potential future directions to facilitate lncRNA functional study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Rex Lyu
- Medical Research Center, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing, China
- Chongqing Academy of Medical Sciences, Chongqing, China
| | - Shikuan Zhang
- Key Lab in Healthy Science and Technology of Shenzhen, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
| | - Zhe Zhang
- Department of Chinese Medical Gastrointestinal of China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Zhiyu Tang
- Medical Research Center, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing, China
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4
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Li Y, Zhai H, Tong L, Wang C, Xie Z, Zheng K. LncRNA Functional Screening in Organismal Development. Noncoding RNA 2023; 9:36. [PMID: 37489456 PMCID: PMC10366883 DOI: 10.3390/ncrna9040036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Controversy continues over the functional prevalence of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) despite their being widely investigated in all kinds of cells and organisms. In animals, lncRNAs have aroused general interest from exponentially increasing transcriptomic repertoires reporting their highly tissue-specific and developmentally dynamic expression, and more importantly, from growing experimental evidence supporting their functionality in facilitating organogenesis and individual fitness. In mammalian testes, while a great multitude of lncRNA species are identified, only a minority of them have been shown to be useful, and even fewer have been demonstrated as true requirements for male fertility using knockout models to date. This noticeable gap is attributed to the virtual existence of a large number of junk lncRNAs, the lack of an ideal germline culture system, difficulty in loss-of-function interrogation, and limited screening strategies. Facing these challenges, in this review, we discuss lncRNA functionality in organismal development and especially in mouse testis, with a focus on lncRNAs with functional screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Huicong Zhai
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Lingxiu Tong
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Cuicui Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Zhiming Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Ke Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
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5
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Ishikawa K, Saitoh S. Transcriptional Regulation Technology for Gene Perturbation in Fission Yeast. Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13040716. [PMID: 37189462 DOI: 10.3390/biom13040716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Isolation and introduction of genetic mutations is the primary approach to characterize gene functions in model yeasts. Although this approach has proven very powerful, it is not applicable to all genes in these organisms. For example, introducing defective mutations into essential genes causes lethality upon loss of function. To circumvent this difficulty, conditional and partial repression of target transcription is possible. While transcriptional regulation techniques, such as promoter replacement and 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) disruption, are available for yeast systems, CRISPR-Cas-based technologies have provided additional options. This review summarizes these gene perturbation technologies, including recent advances in methods based on CRISPR-Cas systems for Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We discuss how biological resources afforded by CRISPRi can promote fission yeast genetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken Ishikawa
- Department of Cell Biology, Institute of Life Science, Kurume University, Asahi-machi 67, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan
| | - Shigeaki Saitoh
- Department of Cell Biology, Institute of Life Science, Kurume University, Asahi-machi 67, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan
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6
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Cao W, Zhang N, He X, Xing Y, Yang N. Long non-coding RNAs in retinal neovascularization: current research and future directions. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2023; 261:615-626. [PMID: 36171459 DOI: 10.1007/s00417-022-05843-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Retinal neovascularization (RNV) is an intractable pathological hallmark of numerous ocular blinding diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and retinopathy of prematurity. However, current therapeutic methods have potential side effects and limited efficacy. Thus, further studies on the pathogenesis of RNV-related disorders and novel therapeutic targets are critically required. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have various functions and participate in almost all biological processes in living cells, such as translation, transcription, signal transduction, and cell cycle control. In addition, recent research has demonstrated critical modulatory roles of various lncRNAs in RNV. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about the expression and regulatory functions of lncRNAs related to the progression of pathological RNV. METHODS We searched databases such as PubMed and Web of Science to gather and review information from the published literature. CONCLUSIONS In general, lncRNA MEG3 attenuates RNV, thus protecting the retina from excessive and dysregulated angiogenesis under high glucose stress. In contrast, lncRNAs MALAT1, MIAT, ANRIL, HOTAIR, HOTTIP, and SNHG16, have been identified as causative molecules in the pathological progression of RNV. Comprehensive and in-depth studies of the roles of lncRNAs in RNV indicate that targeting lncRNAs may be an alternative therapeutic approach in the near future, enabling new options for attenuating RNV progression and treating RNV-related retinal diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenye Cao
- Department of Ophthalmology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang Road #238, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei, China
| | - Ningzhi Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang Road #238, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei, China
| | - Xuejun He
- Department of Ophthalmology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang Road #238, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei, China
| | - Yiqiao Xing
- Department of Ophthalmology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang Road #238, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei, China.
| | - Ning Yang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang Road #238, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei, China.
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7
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RNA-targeting strategies as a platform for ocular gene therapy. Prog Retin Eye Res 2023; 92:101110. [PMID: 35840489 DOI: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2022.101110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Genetic medicine is offering hope as new therapies are emerging for many previously untreatable diseases. The eye is at the forefront of these advances, as exemplified by the approval of Luxturna® by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) in 2017 for the treatment of one form of Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), an inherited blindness. Luxturna® was also the first in vivo human gene therapy to gain US FDA approval. Numerous gene therapy clinical trials are ongoing for other eye diseases, and novel delivery systems, discovery of new drug targets and emerging technologies are currently driving the field forward. Targeting RNA, in particular, is an attractive therapeutic strategy for genetic disease that may have safety advantages over alternative approaches by avoiding permanent changes in the genome. In this regard, antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) and RNA interference (RNAi) are the currently popular strategies for developing RNA-targeted therapeutics. Enthusiasm has been further fuelled by the emergence of clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR associated (Cas) systems that allow targeted manipulation of nucleic acids. RNA-targeting CRISPR-Cas systems now provide a novel way to develop RNA-targeted therapeutics and may provide superior efficiency and specificity to existing technologies. In addition, RNA base editing technologies using CRISPR-Cas and other modalities also enable precise alteration of single nucleotides. In this review, we showcase advances made by RNA-targeting systems for ocular disease, discuss applications of ASO and RNAi technologies, highlight emerging CRISPR-Cas systems and consider the implications of RNA-targeting therapeutics in the development of future drugs to treat eye disease.
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8
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Yip CW, Hon CC, Yasuzawa K, Sivaraman DM, Ramilowski JA, Shibayama Y, Agrawal S, Prabhu AV, Parr C, Severin J, Lan YJ, Dostie J, Petri A, Nishiyori-Sueki H, Tagami M, Itoh M, López-Redondo F, Kouno T, Chang JC, Luginbühl J, Kato M, Murata M, Yip WH, Shu X, Abugessaisa I, Hasegawa A, Suzuki H, Kauppinen S, Yagi K, Okazaki Y, Kasukawa T, de Hoon M, Carninci P, Shin JW. Antisense-oligonucleotide-mediated perturbation of long non-coding RNA reveals functional features in stem cells and across cell types. Cell Rep 2022; 41:111893. [PMID: 36577377 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Within the scope of the FANTOM6 consortium, we perform a large-scale knockdown of 200 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and systematically characterize their roles in self-renewal and pluripotency. We find 36 lncRNAs (18%) exhibiting cell growth inhibition. From the knockdown of 123 lncRNAs with transcriptome profiling, 36 lncRNAs (29.3%) show molecular phenotypes. Integrating the molecular phenotypes with chromatin-interaction assays further reveals cis- and trans-interacting partners as potential primary targets. Additionally, cell-type enrichment analysis identifies lncRNAs associated with pluripotency, while the knockdown of LINC02595, CATG00000090305.1, and RP11-148B6.2 modulates colony formation of iPSCs. We compare our results with previously published fibroblasts phenotyping data and find that 2.9% of the lncRNAs exhibit a consistent cell growth phenotype, whereas we observe 58.3% agreement in molecular phenotypes. This highlights that molecular phenotyping is more comprehensive in revealing affected pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi Wai Yip
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Chung-Chau Hon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Kayoko Yasuzawa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Divya M Sivaraman
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan; Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695 011, India
| | - Jordan A Ramilowski
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan; Advanced Medical Research Center, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0004, Japan
| | - Youtaro Shibayama
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Saumya Agrawal
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Anika V Prabhu
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Callum Parr
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jessica Severin
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Yan Jun Lan
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Josée Dostie
- Department of Biochemistry, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Andreas Petri
- Center for RNA Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Copenhagen 2450, Denmark
| | | | - Michihira Tagami
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Masayoshi Itoh
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | | | - Tsukasa Kouno
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jen-Chien Chang
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Joachim Luginbühl
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Masaki Kato
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Mitsuyoshi Murata
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Wing Hin Yip
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Xufeng Shu
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan; Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8562, Japan
| | - Imad Abugessaisa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Akira Hasegawa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Harukazu Suzuki
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Sakari Kauppinen
- Center for RNA Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Copenhagen 2450, Denmark
| | - Ken Yagi
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Yasushi Okazaki
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Takeya Kasukawa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Michiel de Hoon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Piero Carninci
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan; Human Technopole, via Rita Levi Montalcini 1, Milan, Italy
| | - Jay W Shin
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan; Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore 138672, Singapore.
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9
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Bot JF, van der Oost J, Geijsen N. The double life of CRISPR-Cas13. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2022; 78:102789. [PMID: 36115160 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Since the discovery of RNA-programmable nucleases from the prokaryotic adaptive immune system CRISPR-Cas, these proteins have seen rapid and widespread adoption for biotechnological and clinical research. A recently discovered system, CRISPR-Cas13, uses CRISPR RNA guides to target RNA. Interestingly, RNA targeting by Cas13 results in cleavage of both target RNA and bystander RNA. This feature has been used to develop innovative diagnostic tools for the detection of specific RNAs. Unlike in vitro detection of RNA using collateral RNA cleavage, however, initial studies of mammalian cells only revealed highly specific target RNA-knockdown activity. Although these findings have been confirmed subsequently, several recent publications do report Cas13-mediated toxicity and collateral RNA cleavage when using Cas13 in eukaryotes. Here, we review these conflicting observations and discuss its potential molecular basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorik F Bot
- Dept. of Anatomy & Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Einthovenweg 20, 2300 RC Leiden, the Netherlands; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW), Leiden node, the Netherlands
| | - John van der Oost
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Niels Geijsen
- Dept. of Anatomy & Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Einthovenweg 20, 2300 RC Leiden, the Netherlands; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW), Leiden node, the Netherlands.
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10
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Prokhorova DV, Vokhtantsev IP, Tolstova PO, Zhuravlev ES, Kulishova LM, Zharkov DO, Stepanov GA. Natural Nucleoside Modifications in Guide RNAs Can Modulate the Activity of the CRISPR-Cas9 System In Vitro. CRISPR J 2022; 5:799-812. [PMID: 36350691 DOI: 10.1089/crispr.2022.0069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
At the present time, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system has been widely adopted as an efficient genomic editing tool. However, there are some actual problems such as the off-target effects, cytotoxicity, and immunogenicity. The incorporation of modifications into guide RNAs permits enhancing both the efficiency and the specificity of the CRISPR-Cas9 system. In this study, we demonstrate that the inclusion of N6-methyladenosine, 5-methylcytidine, and pseudouridine in trans-activating RNA (tracrRNA) or in single guide RNA (sgRNA) enables efficient gene editing in vitro. We found that the complexes of modified guide RNAs with Cas9 protein promoted cleavage of the target short/long duplexes and plasmid substrates. In addition, the modified monomers in guide RNAs allow increasing the specificity of CRISPR-Cas9 system in vitro and promote diminishing both the immunostimulating and the cytotoxic effects of sgRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daria V Prokhorova
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia.,Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Ivan P Vokhtantsev
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia.,Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Polina O Tolstova
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia.,Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Evgenii S Zhuravlev
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Lilia M Kulishova
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Dmitry O Zharkov
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia.,Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Grigory A Stepanov
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
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11
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Mills C, Riching A, Keller A, Stombaugh J, Haupt A, Maksimova E, Dickerson SM, Anderson E, Hemphill K, Ebmeier C, Schiel JA, Levenga J, Perkett M, Smith AVB, Strezoska Z. A Novel CRISPR Interference Effector Enabling Functional Gene Characterization with Synthetic Guide RNAs. CRISPR J 2022; 5:769-786. [PMID: 36257604 PMCID: PMC9805873 DOI: 10.1089/crispr.2022.0056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
While CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) systems have been widely implemented in pooled lentiviral screening, there has been limited use with synthetic guide RNAs for the complex phenotypic readouts enabled by experiments in arrayed format. Here we describe a novel deactivated Cas9 fusion protein, dCas9-SALL1-SDS3, which produces greater target gene repression than first or second generation CRISPRi systems when used with chemically modified synthetic single guide RNAs (sgRNAs), while exhibiting high target specificity. We show that dCas9-SALL1-SDS3 interacts with key members of the histone deacetylase and Swi-independent three complexes, which are the endogenous functional effectors of SALL1 and SDS3. Synthetic sgRNAs can also be used with in vitro-transcribed dCas9-SALL1-SDS3 mRNA for short-term delivery into primary cells, including human induced pluripotent stem cells and primary T cells. Finally, we used dCas9-SALL1-SDS3 for functional gene characterization of DNA damage host factors, orthogonally to small interfering RNA, demonstrating the ability of the system to be used in arrayed-format screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarence Mills
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Andrew Riching
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Ashleigh Keller
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Jesse Stombaugh
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Amanda Haupt
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Elena Maksimova
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Sarah M. Dickerson
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Emily Anderson
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Kevin Hemphill
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Chris Ebmeier
- Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - John A. Schiel
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Josien Levenga
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Matthew Perkett
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Anja van Brabant Smith
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Zaklina Strezoska
- Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer Company, Lafayette, Colorado, USA and University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
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12
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Taylor AI, Wan CJK, Donde MJ, Peak-Chew SY, Holliger P. A modular XNAzyme cleaves long, structured RNAs under physiological conditions and enables allele-specific gene silencing. Nat Chem 2022; 14:1295-1305. [PMID: 36064973 PMCID: PMC7613789 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-01021-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Nucleic-acid catalysts (ribozymes, DNA- and XNAzymes) cleave target (m)RNAs with high specificity but have shown limited efficacy in clinical applications. Here we report on the in vitro evolution and engineering of a highly specific modular RNA endonuclease XNAzyme, FR6_1, composed of 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-β-D-arabino nucleic acid (FANA). FR6_1 overcomes the activity limitations of previous DNA- and XNAzymes and can be retargeted to cleave highly structured full-length (>5 kb) BRAF and KRAS mRNAs at physiological Mg2+ concentrations with allelic selectivity for tumour-associated (BRAF V600E and KRAS G12D) mutations. Phosphorothioate-FANA modification enhances FR6_1 biostability and enables rapid KRAS mRNA knockdown in cultured human adenocarcinoma cells with a G12D-allele-specific component provided by in vivo XNAzyme cleavage activity. These results provide a starting point for the development of improved gene-silencing agents based on FANA or other XNA chemistries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander I Taylor
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | | | - Maria J Donde
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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13
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Esposito R, Polidori T, Meise DF, Pulido-Quetglas C, Chouvardas P, Forster S, Schaerer P, Kobel A, Schlatter J, Kerkhof E, Roemmele M, Rice ES, Zhu L, Lanzós A, Guillen-Ramirez HA, Basile G, Carrozzo I, Vancura A, Ullrich S, Andrades A, Harvey D, Medina PP, Ma PC, Haefliger S, Wang X, Martinez I, Ochsenbein AF, Riether C, Johnson R. Multi-hallmark long noncoding RNA maps reveal non-small cell lung cancer vulnerabilities. CELL GENOMICS 2022; 2:100171. [PMID: 36778670 PMCID: PMC9903773 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2022.100171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are widely dysregulated in cancer, yet their functional roles in cancer hallmarks remain unclear. We employ pooled CRISPR deletion to perturb 831 lncRNAs detected in KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and measure their contribution to proliferation, chemoresistance, and migration across two cell backgrounds. Integrative analysis of these data outperforms conventional "dropout" screens in identifying cancer genes while prioritizing disease-relevant lncRNAs with pleiotropic and background-independent roles. Altogether, 80 high-confidence oncogenic lncRNAs are active in NSCLC, which tend to be amplified and overexpressed in tumors. A follow-up antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) screen shortlisted two candidates, Cancer Hallmarks in Lung LncRNA 1 (CHiLL1) and GCAWKR, whose knockdown consistently suppressed cancer hallmarks in two- and three-dimension tumor models. Molecular phenotyping reveals that CHiLL1 and GCAWKR control cellular-level phenotypes via distinct transcriptional networks. This work reveals a multi-dimensional functional lncRNA landscape underlying NSCLC that contains potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Esposito
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
- Institute of Genetics and Biophysics “Adriano Buzzati-Traverso” CNR, Naples 80131, Italy
| | - Taisia Polidori
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
- Graduate School of Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Dominik F. Meise
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Carlos Pulido-Quetglas
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
- Graduate School of Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Panagiotis Chouvardas
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Forster
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Paulina Schaerer
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Kobel
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Juliette Schlatter
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Erik Kerkhof
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Michaela Roemmele
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Emily S. Rice
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Lina Zhu
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Tung Biomedical Sciences Centre, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Key Laboratory of Biochip Technology, Biotech and Health Centre, Shenzhen Research Institute, City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Andrés Lanzós
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
- Graduate School of Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Hugo A. Guillen-Ramirez
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin D04 V1W8, Ireland
- Conway Institute for Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin D04 V1W8, Ireland
| | - Giulia Basile
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Irene Carrozzo
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Adrienne Vancura
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Ullrich
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Catalonia 08003, Spain
| | - Alvaro Andrades
- GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, Granada 18016, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, Granada 18014, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, University of Granada, Granada 18071, Spain
| | - Dylan Harvey
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin D04 V1W8, Ireland
| | - Pedro P. Medina
- GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, Granada 18016, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, Granada 18014, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, University of Granada, Granada 18071, Spain
| | | | - Simon Haefliger
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Ivan Martinez
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Adrian F. Ochsenbein
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Carsten Riether
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
| | - Rory Johnson
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010 Switzerland
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern 3008, Switzerland
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin D04 V1W8, Ireland
- Conway Institute for Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin D04 V1W8, Ireland
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14
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Goel K, Ploski JE. RISC-y Business: Limitations of Short Hairpin RNA-Mediated Gene Silencing in the Brain and a Discussion of CRISPR/Cas-Based Alternatives. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:914430. [PMID: 35959108 PMCID: PMC9362770 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.914430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Manipulating gene expression within and outside the nervous system is useful for interrogating gene function and developing therapeutic interventions for a variety of diseases. Several approaches exist which enable gene manipulation in preclinical models, and some of these have been approved to treat human diseases. For the last couple of decades, RNA interference (RNAi) has been a leading technique to knockdown (i.e., suppress) specific RNA expression. This has been partly due to the technology's simplicity, which has promoted its adoption throughout biomedical science. However, accumulating evidence indicates that this technology can possess significant shortcomings. This review highlights the overwhelming evidence that RNAi can be prone to off-target effects and is capable of inducing cytotoxicity in some cases. With this in mind, we consider alternative CRISPR/Cas-based approaches, which may be safer and more reliable for gene knockdown. We also discuss the pros and cons of each approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanishk Goel
- School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Jonathan E. Ploski
- Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
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15
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Guo Z, Liu X, Chen M. Defining pervasive transcription units using chromatin RNA-sequencing data. STAR Protoc 2022; 3:101442. [PMID: 35693207 PMCID: PMC9184797 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Pervasive transcripts (PTs) are difficult to detect by steady-state RNA-seq, because they are degraded immediately by the nuclear exosome complex. Here, we describe a protocol illustrating a bioinformatic pipeline for genome-wide PTs de novo annotation via chromatin-associated RNA-seq data upon DIS3 depletion. Compared to defining PTs by nascent RNA-seq such as TT-seq and PRO-seq, this protocol is more convenient and cost efficient. In addition, this protocol defines 3′-end of PTs more precisely, while reads from PRO-seq have a skew at the 5′-end. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Liu et al. (2022). Efficient chromatin RNA extraction with spike-in RNA for RNA-seq normalization Detection of accumulated PTs by chromatin RNA-seq upon Dis3 depletion Annotate genome-wide PTs de novo Bioinformatic pipeline for identification of sample-specific eRNAs and PROMPTs
Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziwei Guo
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xinhong Liu
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Mo Chen
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China
- Corresponding author
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16
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Liu X, Guo Z, Han J, Peng B, Zhang B, Li H, Hu X, David CJ, Chen M. The PAF1 complex promotes 3' processing of pervasive transcripts. Cell Rep 2022; 38:110519. [PMID: 35294889 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The PAF1 complex (PAF1C) functions in multiple transcriptional processes involving RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II). Enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) and promoter upstream transcripts (PROMPTs) are pervasive transcripts transcribed by RNA Pol II and degraded rapidly by the nuclear exosome complex after 3' endonucleolytic cleavage by the Integrator complex (Integrator). Here we show that PAF1C has a role in termination of eRNAs and PROMPTs that are cleaved 1-3 kb downstream of the transcription start site. Mechanistically, PAF1C facilitates recruitment of Integrator to sites of pervasive transcript cleavage, promoting timely cleavage and transcription termination. We also show that PAF1C recruits Integrator to coding genes, where PAF1C then dissociates from Integrator upon entry into processive elongation. Our results demonstrate a function of PAF1C in limiting the length and accumulation of pervasive transcripts that result from non-productive transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinhong Liu
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Ziwei Guo
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jing Han
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Bo Peng
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Bin Zhang
- Peking University-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100084, China; Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Haitao Li
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China; Peking University-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100084, China; MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xiaoyu Hu
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China; Peking University-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100084, China; Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Charles J David
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China; Peking University-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Mo Chen
- Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing 100084, China.
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17
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Johnsson P, Ziegenhain C, Hartmanis L, Hendriks GJ, Hagemann-Jensen M, Reinius B, Sandberg R. Transcriptional kinetics and molecular functions of long noncoding RNAs. Nat Genet 2022; 54:306-317. [PMID: 35241826 PMCID: PMC8920890 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-022-01014-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
An increasing number of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have experimentally confirmed functions, yet little is known about their transcriptional dynamics and it is challenging to determine their regulatory effects. Here, we used allele-sensitive single-cell RNA sequencing to demonstrate that, compared to messenger RNAs, lncRNAs have twice as long duration between two transcriptional bursts. Additionally, we observed increased cell-to-cell variability in lncRNA expression due to lower frequency bursting producing larger numbers of RNA molecules. Exploiting heterogeneity in asynchronously growing cells, we identified and experimentally validated lncRNAs with cell state-specific functions involved in cell cycle progression and apoptosis. Finally, we identified cis-functioning lncRNAs and showed that knockdown of these lncRNAs modulated the nearby protein-coding gene’s transcriptional burst frequency or size. In summary, we identified distinct transcriptional regulation of lncRNAs and demonstrated a role for lncRNAs in the regulation of mRNA transcriptional bursting. Allele-sensitive single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) transcriptional kinetics shows that their lower expression compared to mRNA is due to lower burst frequencies and highlights cell-state-specific functions for several lncRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Per Johnsson
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Christoph Ziegenhain
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Leonard Hartmanis
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gert-Jan Hendriks
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Björn Reinius
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rickard Sandberg
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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18
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Prokhorova D, Zhukova (Eschenko) N, Lemza A, Sergeeva M, Amirkhanov R, Stepanov G. Application of the CRISPR/Cas9 System to Study Regulation Pathways of the Cellular Immune Response to Influenza Virus. Viruses 2022; 14:v14020437. [PMID: 35216030 PMCID: PMC8879999 DOI: 10.3390/v14020437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Influenza A virus (IAV) causes a respiratory infection that affects millions of people of different age groups and can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Currently, host genes, receptors, and other cellular components critical for IAV replication are actively studied. One of the most convenient and accessible genome-editing tools to facilitate these studies is the CRISPR/Cas9 system. This tool allows for regulating the expression of both viral and host cell genes to enhance or impair viral entry and replication. This review considers the effect of the genome editing system on specific target genes in cells (human and chicken) in terms of subsequent changes in the influenza virus life cycle and the efficiency of virus particle production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daria Prokhorova
- Laboratory of Genome Editing, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.P.); (N.Z.); (A.L.); (M.S.); (R.A.)
- Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Natalya Zhukova (Eschenko)
- Laboratory of Genome Editing, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.P.); (N.Z.); (A.L.); (M.S.); (R.A.)
| | - Anna Lemza
- Laboratory of Genome Editing, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.P.); (N.Z.); (A.L.); (M.S.); (R.A.)
| | - Mariia Sergeeva
- Laboratory of Genome Editing, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.P.); (N.Z.); (A.L.); (M.S.); (R.A.)
- Laboratory of Vector Vaccines, Smorodintsev Research Institute of Influenza, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 197376 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Rinat Amirkhanov
- Laboratory of Genome Editing, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.P.); (N.Z.); (A.L.); (M.S.); (R.A.)
| | - Grigory Stepanov
- Laboratory of Genome Editing, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.P.); (N.Z.); (A.L.); (M.S.); (R.A.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +7-383-3635189
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19
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Haniff HS, Liu X, Tong Y, Meyer SM, Knerr L, Lemurell M, Abegg D, Aikawa H, Adibekian A, Disney MD. A structure-specific small molecule inhibits a miRNA-200 family member precursor and reverses a type 2 diabetes phenotype. Cell Chem Biol 2022; 29:300-311.e10. [PMID: 34320373 PMCID: PMC8867599 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
MicroRNA families are ubiquitous in the human transcriptome, yet targeting of individual members is challenging because of sequence homology. Many secondary structures of the precursors to these miRNAs (pri- and pre-miRNAs), however, are quite different. Here, we demonstrate both in vitro and in cellulis that design of structure-specific small molecules can inhibit a particular miRNA family member to modulate a disease pathway. The miR-200 family consists of five miRNAs, miR-200a, -200b, -200c, -141, and -429, and is associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D). We designed a small molecule that potently and selectively targets pre-miR-200c's structure and reverses a pro-apoptotic effect in a pancreatic β cell model. In contrast, an oligonucleotide targeting the RNA's sequence inhibited all family members. Global proteomics and RNA sequencing analyses further demonstrate selectivity for miR-200c. Collectively, these studies establish that miR-200c plays an important role in T2D, and small molecules targeting RNA structure can be an important complement to oligonucleotides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hafeez S. Haniff
- The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA,These authors contributed equally
| | - Xiaohui Liu
- The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA,These authors contributed equally
| | - Yuquan Tong
- The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Samantha M. Meyer
- The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Laurent Knerr
- Medicinal Chemistry, Research and Early Development Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Pepparedsleden, 1, Gothenburg, Mölndal 431 83, Sweden
| | - Malin Lemurell
- Medicinal Chemistry, Research and Early Development Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Pepparedsleden, 1, Gothenburg, Mölndal 431 83, Sweden
| | - Daniel Abegg
- The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Haruo Aikawa
- The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Alexander Adibekian
- The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Matthew D. Disney
- The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA,To whom correspondence is addressed;
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20
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DiNatale A, Kaur R, Qian C, Zhang J, Marchioli M, Ipe D, Castelli M, McNair CM, Kumar G, Meucci O, Fatatis A. Subsets of cancer cells expressing CX3CR1 are endowed with metastasis-initiating properties and resistance to chemotherapy. Oncogene 2022; 41:1337-1351. [PMID: 34999735 PMCID: PMC8941631 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-021-02174-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Metastasis-initiating cells (MICs) display stem cell-like features, cause metastatic recurrences and defy chemotherapy, which leads to patients' demise. Here we show that prostate and breast cancer patients harbor contingents of tumor cells with high expression of CX3CR1, OCT4a (POU5F1), and NANOG. Impairing CX3CR1 expression or signaling hampered the formation of tumor spheroids by cell lines from which we isolated small subsets co-expressing CX3CR1 and stemness-related markers, similarly to patients' tumors. These rare CX3CR1High cells show transcriptomic profiles enriched in pathways that regulate pluripotency and endowed with metastasis-initiating behavior in murine models. Cancer cells lacking these features (CX3CR1Low) were capable of re-acquiring CX3CR1-associated features over time, implying that MICs can continuously emerge from non-stem cancer cells. CX3CR1 expression also conferred resistance to docetaxel, and prolonged treatment with docetaxel selected CX3CR1High phenotypes with de-enriched transcriptomic profiles for apoptotic pathways. These findings nominate CX3CR1 as a novel marker of stem-like tumor cells and provide conceptual ground for future development of approaches targeting CX3CR1 signaling and (re)expression as therapeutic means to prevent or contain metastasis initiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony DiNatale
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
| | - Ramanpreet Kaur
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
- Champions Oncology, 1330 Piccard Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Chen Qian
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
- Samuel Oschin Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA
| | - Jieyi Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
| | - Michael Marchioli
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
| | - Darin Ipe
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
| | - Maria Castelli
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Chris M McNair
- Department of Cancer Biology, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA
- Cancer Informatics, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA
| | - Gaurav Kumar
- Department of Cancer Biology, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA
| | - Olimpia Meucci
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
- Program in Immune Cell Regulation & Targeting, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA
| | - Alessandro Fatatis
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA.
- Program in Translational and Cellular Oncology at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA.
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21
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Chen Z, Ling L, Shi X, Li W, Zhai H, Kang Z, Zheng B, Zhu J, Ye S, Wang H, Tong L, Ni J, Huang C, Li Y, Zheng K. Microinjection of antisense oligonucleotides into living mouse testis enables lncRNA function study. Cell Biosci 2021; 11:213. [PMID: 34920761 PMCID: PMC8684201 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-021-00717-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been the focus of ongoing research in a diversity of cellular processes. LncRNAs are abundant in mammalian testis, but their biological function remains poorly known. Results Here, we established an antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs)-based targeting approach that can efficiently knock down lncRNA in living mouse testis. We cloned the full-length transcript of lncRNA Tsx (testis-specific X-linked) and defined its testicular localization pattern. Microinjection of ASOs through seminiferous tubules in vivo significantly lowered the Tsx levels in both nucleus and cytoplasm. This effect lasted no less than 10 days, conducive to the generation and maintenance of phenotype. Importantly, ASOs performed better in depleting the nuclear Tsx and sustained longer effect than small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). In addition to the observation of an elevated number of apoptotic germ cells upon ASOs injection, which recapitulates the documented description of Tsx knockout, we also found a specific loss of meiotic spermatocytes despite overall no impact on meiosis and male fertility. Conclusions Our study detailed the characterization of Tsx and illustrates ASOs as an advantageous tool to functionally interrogate lncRNAs in spermatogenesis. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13578-021-00717-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaohui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Li Ling
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiaolian Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Wu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Huicong Zhai
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhenlong Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Bangjin Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiaqi Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Suni Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Hao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Lingxiu Tong
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China
| | - Juan Ni
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, 310015, Zhejiang, China
| | - Chaoyang Huang
- Department of Cardiology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310014, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China.
| | - Ke Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, 211166, Nanjing, China.
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22
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Hazan J, Bester AC. CRISPR-Based Approaches for the High-Throughput Characterization of Long Non-Coding RNAs. Noncoding RNA 2021; 7:79. [PMID: 34940760 PMCID: PMC8704461 DOI: 10.3390/ncrna7040079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last decade, tens of thousands of new long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified in the human genome. Nevertheless, except for a handful of genes, the genetic characteristics and functions of most of these lncRNAs remain elusive; this is partially due to their relatively low expression, high tissue specificity, and low conservation across species. A major limitation for determining the function of lncRNAs was the lack of methodologies suitable for studying these genes. The recent development of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has opened unprecedented opportunities to uncover the genetic and functional characteristics of the non-coding genome via targeted and high-throughput approaches. Specific CRISPR/Cas9-based approaches were developed to target lncRNA loci. Some of these approaches involve modifying the sequence, but others were developed to study lncRNAs by inducing transcriptional and epigenetic changes. The discovery of other programable Cas proteins broaden our possibilities to target RNA molecules with greater precision and accuracy. These approaches allow for the knock-down and characterization of lncRNAs. Here, we review how various CRISPR-based strategies have been used to characterize lncRNAs with important functions in different biological contexts and how these approaches can be further utilized to improve our understanding of the non-coding genome.
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23
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Krishnamoorthy A, Kadener S. Using Drosophila to uncover molecular and physiological functions of circRNAs. Methods 2021; 196:74-84. [PMID: 33901645 PMCID: PMC8542058 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2021.04.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of covalently closed RNA molecules generated by backsplicing. circRNAs are expressed in a tissue-specific manner, accumulate with age in neural tissues, and are highly stable. In many cases, circRNAs are generated at the expense of a linear transcript as back-splicing competes with linear splicing. Some circRNAs regulate gene expression in cis, and some circRNAs can be translated into protein. The advent of deep sequencing and new bioinformatic tools has allowed detection of thousands of circRNAs in eukaryotes. Studying the functions of circRNAs is done using a combination of molecular and genetic methods. The unique genetic tools that can be used in studies of Drosophila melanogaster are ideal for deciphering the functions of circRNAs in vivo. These tools include the GAL4-UAS system, which can be used to manipulate the levels of circRNAs with exquisite temporal and spatial control, and genetic interaction screening, which could be used to identify pathways regulated by circRNAs. Research performed in Drosophila has revealed circRNAs production mechanisms, details of their translation, and their physiological functions. Due to their short lifecycle and the existence of excellent neurodegeneration models, Drosophila can also be used to study the role of circRNAs in aging and age-related disorders. Here, we review molecular and genetic tools and methods for detecting, manipulating, and studying circRNAs in Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sebastian Kadener
- Biology Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, United States.
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24
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Senft AD, Macfarlan TS. Transposable elements shape the evolution of mammalian development. Nat Rev Genet 2021; 22:691-711. [PMID: 34354263 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-021-00385-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) promote genetic innovation but also threaten genome stability. Despite multiple layers of host defence, TEs actively shape mammalian-specific developmental processes, particularly during pre-implantation and extra-embryonic development and at the maternal-fetal interface. Here, we review how TEs influence mammalian genomes both directly by providing the raw material for genetic change and indirectly via co-evolving TE-binding Krüppel-associated box zinc finger proteins (KRAB-ZFPs). Throughout mammalian evolution, individual activities of ancient TEs were co-opted to enable invasive placentation that characterizes live-born mammals. By contrast, the widespread activity of evolutionarily young TEs may reflect an ongoing co-evolution that continues to impact mammalian development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna D Senft
- The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, The National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Todd S Macfarlan
- The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, The National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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25
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Novel regulators of PrPC biosynthesis revealed by genome-wide RNA interference. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1010013. [PMID: 34705895 PMCID: PMC8575309 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The cellular prion protein PrPC is necessary for prion replication, and its reduction greatly increases life expectancy in animal models of prion infection. Hence the factors controlling the levels of PrPC may represent therapeutic targets against human prion diseases. Here we performed an arrayed whole-transcriptome RNA interference screen to identify modulators of PrPC expression. We cultured human U251-MG glioblastoma cells in the presence of 64’752 unique siRNAs targeting 21’584 annotated human genes, and measured PrPC using a one-pot fluorescence-resonance energy transfer immunoassay in 51’128 individual microplate wells. This screen yielded 743 candidate regulators of PrPC. When downregulated, 563 of these candidates reduced and 180 enhanced PrPC expression. Recursive candidate attrition through multiple secondary screens yielded 54 novel regulators of PrPC, 9 of which were confirmed by CRISPR interference as robust regulators of PrPC biosynthesis and degradation. The phenotypes of 6 of the 9 candidates were inverted in response to transcriptional activation using CRISPRa. The RNA-binding post-transcriptional repressor Pumilio-1 was identified as a potent limiter of PrPC expression through the degradation of PRNP mRNA. Because of its hypothesis-free design, this comprehensive genetic-perturbation screen delivers an unbiased landscape of the genes regulating PrPC levels in cells, most of which were unanticipated, and some of which may be amenable to pharmacological targeting in the context of antiprion therapies. The cellular prion protein (PrPC) acts as both, the substrate for prion formation and mediator of prion toxicity during the progression of all prion diseases. Suppressing the levels of PrPC is a viable therapeutic strategy as PRNP null animals are resistant to prion disease and the knockout of PRNP is not associated with any severe phenotypes. Motivated by the scarcity of knowledge regarding the molecular regulators of PrPC biosynthesis and degradation, which might serve as valuable targets to control its expression, here, we present a cell-based genome wide RNAi screen in arrayed format. The screening effort led to the identification of 54 regulators, nine of which were confirmed by an independent CRISPR-based method. Among the final nine targets, we identified PUM1 as a regulator of PRNP mRNA by acting on the 3’UTR promoting its degradation. The newly identified factors involved in the life cycle of PrPC provided by our study may also represent themselves as therapeutic targets for the intervention of prion diseases.
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26
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Jiang J, Lu Y, Zhang F, Huang J, Ren XL, Zhang R. The Emerging Roles of Long Noncoding RNAs as Hallmarks of Lung Cancer. Front Oncol 2021; 11:761582. [PMID: 34692550 PMCID: PMC8529012 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.761582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Noncoding ribonucleic acids (ncRNAs) are closely associated with tumor initiation, growth, and progress in lung cancer. Long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), as one of the three subclasses of ncRNAs, play important roles in chromatin modification, transcription, and post-transcriptional processing. Various lncRNAs have recently been reported to be dysfunctional or dysregulated in cancers and have pro- or anti-tumor potential. Importantly, as a new class of cancer biomarkers, studies have demonstrated the plausibility of using certain subsets of lncRNAs as promising diagnostic, therapeutic, or prognostic strategies to manage cancers. This review focuses on lncRNAs associated with hallmarks of lung cancer, especially those discovered in the last five years. The expression levels of these lncRNAs in tumor samples are discussed, alongside their mechanisms of action, drug resistance, and potential as diagnostic and prognostic markers for lung cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Jiang
- Department of Health Service, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.,Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Immunology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yuan Lu
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.,Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Fang Zhang
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jie Huang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xin-Ling Ren
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.,Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Shenzhen General Hospital, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Rui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Immunology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
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27
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Winkler L, Dimitrova N. A mechanistic view of long noncoding RNAs in cancer. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-RNA 2021; 13:e1699. [PMID: 34668345 PMCID: PMC9016092 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as important modulators of a wide range of biological processes in normal and disease states. In particular, lncRNAs have garnered significant interest as novel players in the molecular pathology of cancer, spurring efforts to define the functions, and elucidate the mechanisms through which cancer‐associated lncRNAs operate. In this review, we discuss the prevalent mechanisms employed by lncRNAs, with a critical assessment of the methodologies used to determine each molecular function. We survey the abilities of cancer‐associated lncRNAs to enact diverse trans functions throughout the nucleus and in the cytoplasm and examine the local roles of cis‐acting lncRNAs in modulating the expression of neighboring genes. In linking lncRNA functions and mechanisms to their roles in cancer biology, we contend that a detailed molecular understanding of lncRNA functionality is key to elucidating their contributions to tumorigenesis and to unlocking their therapeutic potential. This article is categorized under:Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Winkler
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Nadya Dimitrova
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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28
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Ducoli L, Agrawal S, Hon CC, Ramilowski JA, Sibler E, Tagami M, Itoh M, Kondo N, Abugessaisa I, Hasegawa A, Kasukawa T, Suzuki H, Carninci P, Shin JW, de Hoon MJL, Detmar M. The choice of negative control antisense oligonucleotides dramatically impacts downstream analysis depending on the cellular background. BMC Genom Data 2021; 22:33. [PMID: 34521352 PMCID: PMC8439024 DOI: 10.1186/s12863-021-00992-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The lymphatic and the blood vasculature are closely related systems that collaborate to ensure the organism’s physiological function. Despite their common developmental origin, they present distinct functional fates in adulthood that rely on robust lineage-specific regulatory programs. The recent technological boost in sequencing approaches unveiled long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as prominent regulatory players of various gene expression levels in a cell-type-specific manner. Results To investigate the potential roles of lncRNAs in vascular biology, we performed antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) knockdowns of lncRNA candidates specifically expressed either in human lymphatic or blood vascular endothelial cells (LECs or BECs) followed by Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE-Seq). Here, we describe the quality control steps adopted in our analysis pipeline before determining the knockdown effects of three ASOs per lncRNA target on the LEC or BEC transcriptomes. In this regard, we especially observed that the choice of negative control ASOs can dramatically impact the conclusions drawn from the analysis depending on the cellular background. Conclusion In conclusion, the comparison of negative control ASO effects on the targeted cell type transcriptomes highlights the essential need to select a proper control set of multiple negative control ASO based on the investigated cell types. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12863-021-00992-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Ducoli
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 3, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland.,Molecular Life Sciences PhD Program, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Saumya Agrawal
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Chung-Chau Hon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jordan A Ramilowski
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Eliane Sibler
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 3, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland.,Molecular Life Sciences PhD Program, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michihira Tagami
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Masayoshi Itoh
- RIKEN Preventive Medicine and Diagnosis Innovation Program, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Naoto Kondo
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Imad Abugessaisa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Akira Hasegawa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Takeya Kasukawa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Harukazu Suzuki
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Piero Carninci
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,Human Technopole, Via Cristina Belgioioso 171, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Jay W Shin
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Michiel J L de Hoon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Michael Detmar
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 3, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
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29
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Liao C, Ayansola H, Ma Y, Ito K, Guo Y, Zhang B. Advances in Enhanced Menaquinone-7 Production From Bacillus subtilis. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:695526. [PMID: 34354987 PMCID: PMC8330505 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.695526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The production of nutraceutical compounds through biosynthetic approaches has received considerable attention in recent years. For example, Menaquinone-7 (MK-7), a sub-type of Vitamin K2, biosynthesized from Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), proved to be more efficiently produced than the conventional chemical synthesis techniques. This is possible due to the development of B. subtilis as a chassis cell during the biosynthesis stages. Hence, it is imperative to provide insights on the B. subtilis membrane permeability modifications, biofilm reactors, and fermentation optimization as advanced techniques relevant to MK-7 production. Although the traditional gene-editing method of homologous recombination improves the biosynthetic pathway, CRISPR-Cas9 could potentially resolve the drawbacks of traditional genome editing techniques. For these reasons, future studies should explore the applications of CRISPRi (CRISPR interference) and CRISPRa (CRISPR activation) system gene-editing tools in the MK-7 anabolism pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoyong Liao
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Hammed Ayansola
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Yanbo Ma
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Animal Welfare and Health Breeding, Department of Animal Physiology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Koichi Ito
- Department of Food and Physiological Models, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Yuming Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Bingkun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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30
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Palaz F, Kalkan AK, Can Ö, Demir AN, Tozluyurt A, Özcan A, Ozsoz M. CRISPR-Cas13 System as a Promising and Versatile Tool for Cancer Diagnosis, Therapy, and Research. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:1245-1267. [PMID: 34037380 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Over the past decades, significant progress has been made in targeted cancer therapy. In precision oncology, molecular profiling of cancer patients enables the use of targeted cancer therapeutics. However, current diagnostic methods for molecular analysis of cancer are costly and require sophisticated equipment. Moreover, targeted cancer therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule drugs may cause off-target effects and they are available for only a minority of cancer driver proteins. Therefore, there is still a need for versatile, efficient, and precise tools for cancer diagnostics and targeted cancer treatment. In recent years, the CRISPR-based genome and transcriptome engineering toolbox has expanded rapidly. Particularly, the RNA-targeting CRISPR-Cas13 system has unique biochemical properties, making Cas13 a promising tool for cancer diagnosis, therapy, and research. Cas13-based diagnostic methods allow early detection and monitoring of cancer markers from liquid biopsy samples without the need for complex instrumentation. In addition, Cas13 can be used for targeted cancer therapy through degrading and manipulating cancer-associated transcripts with high efficiency and specificity. Moreover, Cas13-mediated programmable RNA manipulation tools offer invaluable opportunities for cancer research, identification of drug-resistance mechanisms, and discovery of novel therapeutic targets. Here, we review and discuss the current use and potential applications of the CRISPR-Cas13 system in cancer diagnosis, therapy, and research. Thus, researchers will gain a deep understanding of CRISPR-Cas13 technologies, which have the potential to be used as next-generation cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahreddin Palaz
- Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06100, Turkey
| | | | - Özgür Can
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Koc University, Istanbul 34450, Turkey
| | - Ayça Nur Demir
- Faculty of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University, Afyonkarahisar 03100, Turkey
| | - Abdullah Tozluyurt
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06100, Turkey
| | - Ahsen Özcan
- Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, TUBITAK Marmara Research Center, Kocaeli 41470, Turkey
| | - Mehmet Ozsoz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Near East University, 10 Mersin, Nicosia, Turkey
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31
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Unfried JP, Sangro P, Prats-Mari L, Sangro B, Fortes P. The Landscape of lncRNAs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Translational Perspective. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:2651. [PMID: 34071216 PMCID: PMC8197910 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13112651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
LncRNAs are emerging as relevant regulators of multiple cellular processes involved in cell physiology as well as in the development and progression of human diseases, most notably, cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prominent cause of cancer-related death worldwide due to the high prevalence of causative factors, usual cirrhotic status of the tumor-harboring livers and the suboptimal benefit of locoregional and systemic therapies. Despite huge progress in the molecular characterization of HCC, no oncogenic loop addiction has been identified and most genetic alterations remain non-druggable, underscoring the importance of advancing research in novel approaches for HCC treatment. In this context, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) appear as potentially useful targets as they often exhibit high tumor- and tissue-specific expression and many studies have reported an outstanding dysregulation of lncRNAs in HCC. However, there is a limited perspective of the potential role that deregulated lncRNAs may play in HCC progression and aggressiveness or the mechanisms and therapeutic implications behind such effects. In this review, we offer a clarifying landscape of current efforts to evaluate lncRNA potential as therapeutic targets in HCC using evidence from preclinical models as well as from recent studies on novel oncogenic pathways that show lncRNA-dependency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Pablo Unfried
- Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Department of Gene Therapy and Regulation of Gene Expression, Universidad de Navarra (UNAV), 31008 Pamplona, Spain; (L.P.-M.); (P.F.)
| | - Paloma Sangro
- Liver Unit, Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN), 31008 Pamplona, Spain;
| | - Laura Prats-Mari
- Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Department of Gene Therapy and Regulation of Gene Expression, Universidad de Navarra (UNAV), 31008 Pamplona, Spain; (L.P.-M.); (P.F.)
| | - Bruno Sangro
- Liver Unit, Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN), 31008 Pamplona, Spain;
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), 31008 Pamplona, Spain
- Liver and Digestive Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERehd), 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Puri Fortes
- Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Department of Gene Therapy and Regulation of Gene Expression, Universidad de Navarra (UNAV), 31008 Pamplona, Spain; (L.P.-M.); (P.F.)
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), 31008 Pamplona, Spain
- Liver and Digestive Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERehd), 31008 Pamplona, Spain
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32
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Functional annotation of lncRNA in high-throughput screening. Essays Biochem 2021; 65:761-773. [PMID: 33835127 PMCID: PMC8564734 DOI: 10.1042/ebc20200061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Recent efforts on the characterization of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) revealed their functional roles in modulating diverse cellular processes. These include pluripotency maintenance, lineage commitment, carcinogenesis, and pathogenesis of various diseases. By interacting with DNA, RNA and protein, lncRNAs mediate multifaceted mechanisms to regulate transcription, RNA processing, RNA interference and translation. Of more than 173000 discovered lncRNAs, the majority remain functionally unknown. The cell type-specific expression and localization of the lncRNA also suggest potential distinct functions of lncRNAs across different cell types. This highlights the niche of identifying functional lncRNAs in different biological processes and diseases through high-throughput (HTP) screening. This review summarizes the current work performed and perspectives on HTP screening of functional lncRNAs where different technologies, platforms, cellular responses and the downstream analyses are discussed. We hope to provide a better picture in applying different technologies to facilitate functional annotation of lncRNA efficiently.
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33
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Zhao J, Ma W, Zhong Y, Deng H, Zhou B, Wu Y, Yang M, Li H. Transcriptional Inhibition of lncRNA gadd7 by CRISPR/dCas9-KRAB Protects Spermatocyte Viability. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:652392. [PMID: 33778010 PMCID: PMC7991575 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.652392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Our previous study found that lncRNA gadd7 was up-regulated in the semen of varicocele patients, and could promote the apoptosis of mouse spermatocytes and inhibit their proliferation. Therefore, we further explored whether down-regulation of Gadd seven expression could protect the viability of spermatocytes. Here we designed specific sgRNAs targeting the ORF region of gadd7, and constructed a CRISPR-dCas9-KRAB system that effectively inhibits gadd7 at the transcriptional level. The CRISPRi system can effectively prevent the apoptosis of spermatocytes and enhance their proliferation, which is expected to provide a potentially effective molecular intervention method for the treatment of male infertility caused by varicocele.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Zhao
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, China
| | - Wenmin Ma
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, China
| | - Yucheng Zhong
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, China
| | - Hao Deng
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, China
| | - Bingyu Zhou
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, China
| | - Yaqin Wu
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, China
| | - Meiqiong Yang
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, China
| | - Huan Li
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Foshan, China
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34
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Guiducci G, Stojic L. Long Noncoding RNAs at the Crossroads of Cell Cycle and Genome Integrity. Trends Genet 2021; 37:528-546. [PMID: 33685661 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2021.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The cell cycle is controlled by guardian proteins that coordinate the process of cell growth and cell division. Alterations in these processes lead to genome instability, which has a causal link to many human diseases. Beyond their well-characterized role of influencing protein-coding genes, an increasing body of evidence has revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) actively participate in regulation of the cell cycle and safeguarding of genome integrity. LncRNAs are versatile molecules that act via a wide array of mechanisms. In this review, we discuss how lncRNAs are implicated in control of the cell cycle and maintenance of genome stability and how changes in lncRNA-regulatory networks lead to proliferative diseases such as cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Guiducci
- Barts Cancer Institute, Centre for Cancer Cell and Molecular Biology, John Vane Science Centre, Charterhouse Square, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Lovorka Stojic
- Barts Cancer Institute, Centre for Cancer Cell and Molecular Biology, John Vane Science Centre, Charterhouse Square, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
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35
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Integrative analysis of liver-specific non-coding regulatory SNPs associated with the risk of coronary artery disease. Am J Hum Genet 2021; 108:411-430. [PMID: 33626337 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2021.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic factors underlying coronary artery disease (CAD) have been widely studied using genome-wide association studies (GWASs). However, the functional understanding of the CAD loci has been limited by the fact that a majority of GWAS variants are located within non-coding regions with no functional role. High cholesterol and dysregulation of the liver metabolism such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease confer an increased risk of CAD. Here, we studied the function of non-coding single-nucleotide polymorphisms in CAD GWAS loci located within liver-specific enhancer elements by identifying their potential target genes using liver cis-eQTL analysis and promoter Capture Hi-C in HepG2 cells. Altogether, 734 target genes were identified of which 121 exhibited correlations to liver-related traits. To identify potentially causal regulatory SNPs, the allele-specific enhancer activity was analyzed by (1) sequence-based computational predictions, (2) quantification of allele-specific transcription factor binding, and (3) STARR-seq massively parallel reporter assay. Altogether, our analysis identified 1,277 unique SNPs that display allele-specific regulatory activity. Among these, susceptibility enhancers near important cholesterol homeostasis genes (APOB, APOC1, APOE, and LIPA) were identified, suggesting that altered gene regulatory activity could represent another way by which genetic variation regulates serum lipoprotein levels. Using CRISPR-based perturbation, we demonstrate how the deletion/activation of a single enhancer leads to changes in the expression of many target genes located in a shared chromatin interaction domain. Our integrative genomics approach represents a comprehensive effort in identifying putative causal regulatory regions and target genes that could predispose to clinical manifestation of CAD by affecting liver function.
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36
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Rybakova Y, Gonzalez JT, Bogorad R, Chauhan VP, Dong YL, Whittaker CA, Zatsepin T, Koteliansky V, Anderson DG. Identification of a long non-coding RNA regulator of liver carcinoma cell survival. Cell Death Dis 2021; 12:178. [PMID: 33589614 PMCID: PMC7884843 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-03453-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Genomic studies have significantly improved our understanding of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) biology and have led to the discovery of multiple protein-coding genes driving hepatocarcinogenesis. In addition, these studies have identified thousands of new non-coding transcripts deregulated in HCC. We hypothesize that some of these transcripts may be involved in disease progression. Long non-coding RNAs are a large class of non-coding transcripts which participate in the regulation of virtually all cellular functions. However, a majority of lncRNAs remain dramatically understudied. Here, we applied a pooled shRNA-based screen to identify lncRNAs essential for HCC cell survival. We validated our screening results using RNAi, CRISPRi, and antisense oligonucleotides. We found a lncRNA, termed ASTILCS, that is critical for HCC cell growth and is overexpressed in tumors from HCC patients. We demonstrated that HCC cell death upon ASTILCS knockdown is associated with apoptosis induction and downregulation of a neighboring gene, protein tyrosine kinase 2 (PTK2), a crucial protein for HCC cell survival. Taken together, our study describes a new, non-coding RNA regulator of HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulia Rybakova
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, 121205, Russia
| | - John T Gonzalez
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Roman Bogorad
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Vikash P Chauhan
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Yize L Dong
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Charles A Whittaker
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Timofei Zatsepin
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, 121205, Russia
| | | | - Daniel G Anderson
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Harvard and MIT Division of Health Science and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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37
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Ghavami S, Pandi A. CRISPR interference and its applications. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2021; 180:123-140. [PMID: 33934834 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2021.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Sequence-specific control of gene expression is a powerful tool for identifying and studying gene functions and cellular processes. CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) is an RNA-based method for highly specific silencing of the transcription in prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells. The typical CRISPRi system is a type II CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats) machinery of Streptococcus pyogenes. CRISPRi requires two main components: A catalytically inactivated Cas9, namely dCas9 and a guide RNA (sgRNA). These two components associate and form a DNA recognition complex. The dCas9/sgRNA complex then specifically binds to the target DNA complementary with the sgRNA and sterically prevents the association of the promoter or transcription factors with their trans-acting sequences or blocks the transcription elongation. This chapter discusses CRISPRi structure, mechanism and its applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amir Pandi
- Department of Biochemistry and Synthetic Metabolism, Max-Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany.
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38
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Bosch-Guiteras N, Uroda T, Guillen-Ramirez HA, Riedo R, Gazdhar A, Esposito R, Pulido-Quetglas C, Zimmer Y, Medová M, Johnson R. Enhancing CRISPR deletion via pharmacological delay of DNA-PKcs. Genome Res 2021; 31:461-471. [PMID: 33574136 PMCID: PMC7919447 DOI: 10.1101/gr.265736.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9 deletion (CRISPR-del) is the leading approach for eliminating DNA from mammalian cells and underpins a variety of genome-editing applications. Target DNA, defined by a pair of double-strand breaks (DSBs), is removed during nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ). However, the low efficiency of CRISPR-del results in laborious experiments and false-negative results. By using an endogenous reporter system, we show that repression of the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs)—an early step in NHEJ—yields substantial increases in DNA deletion. This is observed across diverse cell lines, gene delivery methods, commercial inhibitors, and guide RNAs, including those that otherwise display negligible activity. We further show that DNA-PKcs inhibition can be used to boost the sensitivity of pooled functional screens and detect true-positive hits that would otherwise be overlooked. Thus, delaying the kinetics of NHEJ relative to DSB formation is a simple and effective means of enhancing CRISPR-deletion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Núria Bosch-Guiteras
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.,Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland.,Graduate School of Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Tina Uroda
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.,Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hugo A Guillen-Ramirez
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.,Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Rahel Riedo
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Radiation Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Amiq Gazdhar
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Pulmonary Medicine, University Hospital Bern, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Roberta Esposito
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.,Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Carlos Pulido-Quetglas
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.,Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland.,Graduate School of Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Yitzhak Zimmer
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Radiation Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Michaela Medová
- Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Radiation Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Rory Johnson
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.,Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland.,School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin D04 V1W8, Ireland.,Conway Institute for Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin D04 V1W8, Ireland
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39
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Ducoli L, Agrawal S, Sibler E, Kouno T, Tacconi C, Hon CC, Berger SD, Müllhaupt D, He Y, Kim J, D'Addio M, Dieterich LC, Carninci P, de Hoon MJL, Shin JW, Detmar M. LETR1 is a lymphatic endothelial-specific lncRNA governing cell proliferation and migration through KLF4 and SEMA3C. Nat Commun 2021; 12:925. [PMID: 33568674 PMCID: PMC7876020 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21217-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have revealed the importance of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as tissue-specific regulators of gene expression. There is ample evidence that distinct types of vasculature undergo tight transcriptional control to preserve their structure, identity, and functions. We determine a comprehensive map of lineage-specific lncRNAs in human dermal lymphatic and blood vascular endothelial cells (LECs and BECs), combining RNA-Seq and CAGE-Seq. Subsequent antisense oligonucleotide-knockdown transcriptomic profiling of two LEC- and two BEC-specific lncRNAs identifies LETR1 as a critical gatekeeper of the global LEC transcriptome. Deep RNA-DNA, RNA-protein interaction studies, and phenotype rescue analyses reveal that LETR1 is a nuclear trans-acting lncRNA modulating, via key epigenetic factors, the expression of essential target genes, including KLF4 and SEMA3C, governing the growth and migratory ability of LECs. Together, our study provides several lines of evidence supporting the intriguing concept that every cell type expresses precise lncRNA signatures to control lineage-specific regulatory programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Ducoli
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Molecular Life Sciences PhD Program, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Saumya Agrawal
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Eliane Sibler
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Molecular Life Sciences PhD Program, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tsukasa Kouno
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Carlotta Tacconi
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Chung-Chao Hon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Simone D Berger
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniela Müllhaupt
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Yuliang He
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Molecular and Translational Biomedicine PhD Program, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jihye Kim
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marco D'Addio
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lothar C Dieterich
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Piero Carninci
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Michiel J L de Hoon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Jay W Shin
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
| | - Michael Detmar
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
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40
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Kasimatis KR, Sánchez-Ramírez S, Stevenson ZC. Sexual Dimorphism through the Lens of Genome Manipulation, Forward Genetics, and Spatiotemporal Sequencing. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:evaa243. [PMID: 33587127 PMCID: PMC7883666 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa243] [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] [Accepted: 11/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual reproduction often leads to selection that favors the evolution of sex-limited traits or sex-specific variation for shared traits. These sexual dimorphisms manifest due to sex-specific genetic architectures and sex-biased gene expression across development, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying these patterns are largely unknown. The first step is to understand how sexual dimorphisms arise across the genotype-phenotype-fitness map. The emergence of "4D genome technologies" allows for efficient, high-throughput, and cost-effective manipulation and observations of this process. Studies of sexual dimorphism will benefit from combining these technological advances (e.g., precision genome editing, inducible transgenic systems, and single-cell RNA sequencing) with clever experiments inspired by classic designs (e.g., bulked segregant analysis, experimental evolution, and pedigree tracing). This perspective poses a synthetic view of how manipulative approaches coupled with cutting-edge observational methods and evolutionary theory are poised to uncover the molecular genetic basis of sexual dimorphism with unprecedented resolution. We outline hypothesis-driven experimental paradigms for identifying genetic mechanisms of sexual dimorphism among tissues, across development, and over evolutionary time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja R Kasimatis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Ontario, USA
| | | | - Zachary C Stevenson
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
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41
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DGK and DZHK position paper on genome editing: basic science applications and future perspective. Basic Res Cardiol 2021; 116:2. [PMID: 33449167 PMCID: PMC7810637 DOI: 10.1007/s00395-020-00839-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
For a long time, gene editing had been a scientific concept, which was limited to a few applications. With recent developments, following the discovery of TALEN zinc-finger endonucleases and in particular the CRISPR/Cas system, gene editing has become a technique applicable in most laboratories. The current gain- and loss-of function models in basic science are revolutionary as they allow unbiased screens of unprecedented depth and complexity and rapid development of transgenic animals. Modifications of CRISPR/Cas have been developed to precisely interrogate epigenetic regulation or to visualize DNA complexes. Moreover, gene editing as a clinical treatment option is rapidly developing with first trials on the way. This article reviews the most recent progress in the field, covering expert opinions gathered during joint conferences on genome editing of the German Cardiac Society (DGK) and the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). Particularly focusing on the translational aspect and the combination of cellular and animal applications, the authors aim to provide direction for the development of the field and the most frequent applications with their problems.
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42
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Kantor A, McClements ME, Peddle CF, Fry LE, Salman A, Cehajic-Kapetanovic J, Xue K, MacLaren RE. CRISPR genome engineering for retinal diseases. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2021; 182:29-79. [PMID: 34175046 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2021.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Novel gene therapy treatments for inherited retinal diseases have been at the forefront of translational medicine over the past couple of decades. Since the discovery of CRISPR mechanisms and their potential application for the treatment of inherited human conditions, it seemed inevitable that advances would soon be made using retinal models of disease. The development of CRISPR technology for gene therapy and its increasing potential to selectively target disease-causing nucleotide changes has been rapid. In this chapter, we discuss the currently available CRISPR toolkit and how it has been and can be applied in the future for the treatment of inherited retinal diseases. These blinding conditions have until now had limited opportunity for successful therapeutic intervention, but the discovery of CRISPR has created new hope of achieving such, as we discuss within this chapter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel Kantor
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences & NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
| | - Michelle E McClements
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences & NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline F Peddle
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences & NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Lewis E Fry
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences & NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Oxford Eye Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ahmed Salman
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences & NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jasmina Cehajic-Kapetanovic
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences & NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Oxford Eye Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Kanmin Xue
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences & NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Oxford Eye Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Robert E MacLaren
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences & NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Oxford Eye Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
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43
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Abstract
Recent advances in sequencing technologies have uncovered the existence of thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) with dysregulated expression in cancer. As a result, there is burgeoning interest in understanding their function and biological significance in both homeostasis and disease. RNA interference (RNAi) enables sequence-specific gene silencing and can, in principle, be employed to silence virtually any gene. However, when applied to lncRNAs, it is important to consider current limitations in their annotation and current principles regarding lncRNA regulation and function when assessing their phenotype in cancer cell lines. In this chapter we describe the analysis of lncRNA splicing variant expression, including subcellular localization, transfection of siRNAs in cancer cell lines, and validation of gene silencing by quantitative PCR and single molecule in situ hybridization. All protocols can be performed in a laboratory with essential equipment for cell culture, molecular biology, and imaging.
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44
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Wang Y, Xie Y, Dong ZC, Jiang XJ, Gong P, Lu J, Wan F. Levels of sgRNA as a Major Factor Affecting CRISPRi Knockdown Efficiency in K562 Cells. Mol Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026893321010143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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45
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Gong J, Wang HX, Lao YH, Hu H, Vatan N, Guo J, Ho TC, Huang D, Li M, Shao D, Leong KW. A Versatile Nonviral Delivery System for Multiplex Gene-Editing in the Liver. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2020; 32:e2003537. [PMID: 33053221 PMCID: PMC8274731 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202003537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Revised: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in CRISPR present attractive genome-editing toolsets for therapeutic strategies at the genetic level. Here, a liposome-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticle (lipoMSN) is reported as an effective CRISPR delivery system for multiplex gene-editing in the liver. The MSN provides efficient loading of Cas9 plasmid as well as Cas9 protein/guide RNA ribonucleoprotein complex (RNP), while liposome-coating offers improved serum stability and enhanced cell uptake. Hypothesizing that loss-of-function mutation in the lipid-metabolism-related genes pcsk9, apoc3, and angptl3 would improve cardiovascular health by lowering blood cholesterol and triglycerides, the lipoMSN is used to deliver a combination of RNPs targeting these genes. When targeting a single gene, the lipoMSN achieved a 54% gene-editing efficiency, besting the state-of-art Lipofectamine CRISPRMax. For multiplexing, lipoMSN maintained significant gene-editing at each gene target despite reduced dosage of target-specific RNP. By delivering combinations of targeting RNPs in the same nanoparticle, synergistic effects on lipid metabolism are observed in vitro and vivo. These effects, such as a 50% decrease in serum cholesterol after 4 weeks of post-treatment with lipoMSN carrying both pcsk9 and angptl3-targeted RNPs, could not be reached with a single gene-editing approach. Taken together, this lipoMSN represents a versatile platform for the development of efficient, combinatorial gene-editing therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Gong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Hong-Xia Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Yeh-Hsing Lao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Hanze Hu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Naazanene Vatan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Jonathan Guo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Tzu-Chieh Ho
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Dantong Huang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Mingqiang Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
- Laboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, China
| | - Dan Shao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
- Institute of Life Sciences, School of Biomedical Science and Engineering and National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, China
| | - Kam W Leong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
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46
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Zhou C, Duan S. The Role of Long Non-Coding RNA NNT-AS1 in Neoplastic Disease. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12113086. [PMID: 33113895 PMCID: PMC7690676 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12113086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase-antisense 1 (NNT-AS1), which is a newly-discovered long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), has been found to be dysregulated in a variety of neoplastic diseases. With the accumulation of studies on NNT-AS1 in recent years, the mechanism of NNT-AS1 and its significance for tumor occurrence and progression are constantly being updated and improved. Thus, this paper aims to summarize the abnormal expression of NNT-AS1 and its prognostic values in different neoplastic diseases. In addition, the detailed competing endogenous RNA networks and subsequent biology behaviors, as well as the role of NNT-AS1 in mediating cisplatin resistance are revealed in this paper. This review not only summarizes the past research of NNT-AS1, but also provides some ideas for future research in this field. Abstract Studies have shown that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), especially long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), play an important regulatory role in the occurrence and development of human cancer. Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase-antisense 1 (NNT-AS1) is a newly-discovered cytoplasmic lncRNA. Many studies have shown that it has abnormally-high expression levels in malignant tumors, but there are also a few studies that have reported low expression levels of NNT-AS1 in gastric cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. At present, the regulatory mechanism of NNT-AS1 as a miRNA sponge, which may be an important reason affecting tumor cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and apoptosis is being studied in-depth. In addition, NNT-AS1 has been found to be related to cisplatin resistance. In this review, we summarize the abnormal expression of NNT-AS1 in a variety of neoplastic diseases and its diagnostic and prognostic value, and we explain the mechanism by which NNT-AS1 regulates cancer progression by competing with miRNAs. In addition, we also reveal the correlation between NNT-AS1 and cisplatin resistance and the potential clinical applications of NNT-AS1.
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47
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Liu S, Harmston N, Glaser TL, Wong Y, Zhong Z, Madan B, Virshup DM, Petretto E. Wnt-regulated lncRNA discovery enhanced by in vivo identification and CRISPRi functional validation. Genome Med 2020; 12:89. [PMID: 33092630 PMCID: PMC7580003 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-020-00788-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Wnt signaling is an evolutionarily conserved developmental pathway that is frequently hyperactivated in cancer. While multiple protein-coding genes regulated by Wnt signaling are known, the functional lncRNAs regulated by Wnt signaling have not been systematically characterized. METHODS We comprehensively mapped Wnt-regulated lncRNAs from an orthotopic Wnt-addicted pancreatic cancer model and examined the response of lncRNAs to Wnt inhibition between in vivo and in vitro cancer models. We further annotated and characterized these Wnt-regulated lncRNAs using existing genomic classifications (using data from FANTOM5) in the context of Wnt signaling and inferred their role in cancer pathogenesis (using GWAS and expression data from the TCGA). To functionally validate Wnt-regulated lncRNAs, we performed CRISPRi screens to assess their role in cancer cell proliferation both in vivo and in vitro. RESULTS We identified 3633 lncRNAs, of which 1503 were regulated by Wnt signaling in an orthotopic Wnt-addicted pancreatic cancer model. These lncRNAs were much more sensitive to changes in Wnt signaling in xenografts than in cultured cells. Our analysis suggested that Wnt signaling inhibition could influence the co-expression relationship of Wnt-regulated lncRNAs and their eQTL-linked protein-coding genes. Wnt-regulated lncRNAs were also implicated in specific gene networks involved in distinct biological processes that contribute to the pathogenesis of cancers. Consistent with previous genome-wide lncRNA CRISPRi screens, around 1% (13/1503) of the Wnt-regulated lncRNAs were found to modify cancer cell growth in vitro. This included CCAT1 and LINC00263, previously reported to regulate cancer growth. Using an in vivo CRISPRi screen, we doubled the discovery rate, identifying twice as many Wnt-regulated lncRNAs (25/1503) that had a functional effect on cancer cell growth. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates the value of studying lncRNA functions in vivo, provides a valuable resource of lncRNAs regulated by Wnt signaling, and establishes a framework for systematic discovery of functional lncRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiyang Liu
- Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
- Program in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Trudy Lee Glaser
- Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yunka Wong
- Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Zheng Zhong
- Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Babita Madan
- Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - David M Virshup
- Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
- Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
| | - Enrico Petretto
- Program in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
- MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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48
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Nosala C, Hagen KD, Hilton N, Chase TM, Jones K, Loudermilk R, Nguyen K, Dawson SC. Disc-associated proteins mediate the unusual hyperstability of the ventral disc in Giardia lamblia. J Cell Sci 2020; 133:jcs.227355. [PMID: 32661087 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.227355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Giardia lamblia, a widespread parasitic protozoan, attaches to the host gastrointestinal epithelium by using the ventral disc, a complex microtubule (MT) organelle. The 'cup-like' disc is formed by a spiral MT array that scaffolds numerous disc-associated proteins (DAPs) and higher-order protein complexes. In interphase, the disc is hyperstable and has limited MT dynamics; however, it remains unclear how DAPs confer these properties. To investigate mechanisms of hyperstability, we confirmed the disc-specific localization of over 50 new DAPs identified by using both a disc proteome and an ongoing GFP localization screen. DAPs localize to specific disc regions and many lack similarity to known proteins. By screening 14 CRISPRi-mediated DAP knockdown (KD) strains for defects in hyperstability and MT dynamics, we identified two strains - DAP5188KD and DAP6751KD -with discs that dissociate following high-salt fractionation. Discs in the DAP5188KD strain were also sensitive to treatment with the MT-polymerization inhibitor nocodazole. Thus, we confirm here that at least two of the 87 known DAPs confer hyperstable properties to the disc MTs, and we anticipate that other DAPs contribute to disc MT stability, nucleation and assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Nosala
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kari D Hagen
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Nicholas Hilton
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Tiffany M Chase
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kelci Jones
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Rita Loudermilk
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kristofer Nguyen
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Scott C Dawson
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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49
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Design of a small molecule that stimulates vascular endothelial growth factor A enabled by screening RNA fold-small molecule interactions. Nat Chem 2020; 12:952-961. [PMID: 32839603 PMCID: PMC7571259 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-020-0514-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) stimulates angiogenesis in human endothelial cells, and increasing its expression is a potential treatment for heart failure. Here, we report the design of a small molecule (TGP-377) that specifically and potently enhances VEGFA expression by the targeting of a non-coding microRNA that regulates its expression. A selection-based screen, named two-dimensional combinatorial screening, revealed preferences in small-molecule chemotypes that bind RNA and preferences in the RNA motifs that bind small molecules. The screening program increased the dataset of known RNA motif–small molecule binding partners by 20-fold. Analysis of this dataset against the RNA-mediated pathways that regulate VEGFA defined that the microRNA-377 precursor, which represses Vegfa messenger RNA translation, is druggable in a selective manner. We designed TGP-377 to potently and specifically upregulate VEGFA in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. These studies illustrate the power of two-dimensional combinatorial screening to define molecular recognition events between ‘undruggable’ biomolecules and small molecules, and the ability of sequence-based design to deliver efficacious structure-specific compounds.
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50
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Ramilowski JA, Yip CW, Agrawal S, Chang JC, Ciani Y, Kulakovskiy IV, Mendez M, Ooi JLC, Ouyang JF, Parkinson N, Petri A, Roos L, Severin J, Yasuzawa K, Abugessaisa I, Akalin A, Antonov IV, Arner E, Bonetti A, Bono H, Borsari B, Brombacher F, Cameron CJF, Cannistraci CV, Cardenas R, Cardon M, Chang H, Dostie J, Ducoli L, Favorov A, Fort A, Garrido D, Gil N, Gimenez J, Guler R, Handoko L, Harshbarger J, Hasegawa A, Hasegawa Y, Hashimoto K, Hayatsu N, Heutink P, Hirose T, Imada EL, Itoh M, Kaczkowski B, Kanhere A, Kawabata E, Kawaji H, Kawashima T, Kelly ST, Kojima M, Kondo N, Koseki H, Kouno T, Kratz A, Kurowska-Stolarska M, Kwon ATJ, Leek J, Lennartsson A, Lizio M, López-Redondo F, Luginbühl J, Maeda S, Makeev VJ, Marchionni L, Medvedeva YA, Minoda A, Müller F, Muñoz-Aguirre M, Murata M, Nishiyori H, Nitta KR, Noguchi S, Noro Y, Nurtdinov R, Okazaki Y, Orlando V, Paquette D, Parr CJC, Rackham OJL, Rizzu P, Sánchez Martinez DF, Sandelin A, Sanjana P, Semple CAM, Shibayama Y, Sivaraman DM, Suzuki T, Szumowski SC, Tagami M, Taylor MS, Terao C, Thodberg M, Thongjuea S, Tripathi V, Ulitsky I, Verardo R, Vorontsov IE, Yamamoto C, Young RS, Baillie JK, Forrest ARR, Guigó R, Hoffman MM, Hon CC, Kasukawa T, Kauppinen S, Kere J, Lenhard B, Schneider C, Suzuki H, Yagi K, de Hoon MJL, Shin JW, Carninci P. Functional annotation of human long noncoding RNAs via molecular phenotyping. Genome Res 2020; 30:1060-1072. [PMID: 32718982 PMCID: PMC7397864 DOI: 10.1101/gr.254219.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) constitute the majority of transcripts in the mammalian genomes, and yet, their functions remain largely unknown. As part of the FANTOM6 project, we systematically knocked down the expression of 285 lncRNAs in human dermal fibroblasts and quantified cellular growth, morphological changes, and transcriptomic responses using Capped Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE). Antisense oligonucleotides targeting the same lncRNAs exhibited global concordance, and the molecular phenotype, measured by CAGE, recapitulated the observed cellular phenotypes while providing additional insights on the affected genes and pathways. Here, we disseminate the largest-to-date lncRNA knockdown data set with molecular phenotyping (over 1000 CAGE deep-sequencing libraries) for further exploration and highlight functional roles for ZNF213-AS1 and lnc-KHDC3L-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan A Ramilowski
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Chi Wai Yip
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Saumya Agrawal
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jen-Chien Chang
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Yari Ciani
- Laboratorio Nazionale Consorzio Interuniversitario Biotecnologie (CIB), Trieste 34127, Italy
| | - Ivan V Kulakovskiy
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia.,Institute of Protein Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino 142290, Russia
| | - Mickaël Mendez
- Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A1, Canada
| | | | - John F Ouyang
- Program in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
| | - Nick Parkinson
- Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Petri
- Center for RNA Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Copenhagen 9220, Denmark
| | - Leonie Roos
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom.,Computational Regulatory Genomics, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
| | - Jessica Severin
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Kayoko Yasuzawa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Imad Abugessaisa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Altuna Akalin
- Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrük Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin 13125, Germany
| | - Ivan V Antonov
- Institute of Bioengineering, Research Center of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117312, Russia
| | - Erik Arner
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Alessandro Bonetti
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Hidemasa Bono
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima City 739-0046, Japan
| | - Beatrice Borsari
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Catalonia 08003, Spain
| | - Frank Brombacher
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa.,Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Christopher JF Cameron
- School of Computer Science, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1Y6, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1Y6, Canada.,Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA
| | - Carlo Vittorio Cannistraci
- Biomedical Cybernetics Group, Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD), Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL), Department of Physics, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden 01062, Germany.,Center for Complex Network Intelligence (CCNI) at the Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence (THBI), Department of Bioengineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Ryan Cardenas
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Melissa Cardon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Howard Chang
- Center for Personal Dynamic Regulome, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Josée Dostie
- Department of Biochemistry, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Luca Ducoli
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
| | - Alexander Favorov
- Department of Computational Systems Biology, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia.,Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Alexandre Fort
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Diego Garrido
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Catalonia 08003, Spain
| | - Noa Gil
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Juliette Gimenez
- Epigenetics and Genome Reprogramming Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome 00179, Italy
| | - Reto Guler
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa.,Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Lusy Handoko
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jayson Harshbarger
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Akira Hasegawa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Yuki Hasegawa
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Kosuke Hashimoto
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Norihito Hayatsu
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Peter Heutink
- Genome Biology of Neurodegenerative Diseases, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Tetsuro Hirose
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita 565-0871, Japan
| | - Eddie L Imada
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Masayoshi Itoh
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Preventive Medicine and Diagnosis Innovation Program (PMI), Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Bogumil Kaczkowski
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Aditi Kanhere
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Emily Kawabata
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Hideya Kawaji
- RIKEN Preventive Medicine and Diagnosis Innovation Program (PMI), Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Tsugumi Kawashima
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - S Thomas Kelly
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Miki Kojima
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Naoto Kondo
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Haruhiko Koseki
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Tsukasa Kouno
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Anton Kratz
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Mariola Kurowska-Stolarska
- Institute of Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Tae Jun Kwon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jeffrey Leek
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Andreas Lennartsson
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge 14157, Sweden
| | - Marina Lizio
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Fernando López-Redondo
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Joachim Luginbühl
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Shiori Maeda
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Vsevolod J Makeev
- Department of Computational Systems Biology, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia.,Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny 141701, Russia
| | - Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Yulia A Medvedeva
- Institute of Bioengineering, Research Center of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117312, Russia.,Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny 141701, Russia
| | - Aki Minoda
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Ferenc Müller
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Manuel Muñoz-Aguirre
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Catalonia 08003, Spain
| | - Mitsuyoshi Murata
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Hiromi Nishiyori
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro R Nitta
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Shuhei Noguchi
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Yukihiko Noro
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Ramil Nurtdinov
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Catalonia 08003, Spain
| | - Yasushi Okazaki
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Valerio Orlando
- Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Denis Paquette
- Department of Biochemistry, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Callum J C Parr
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Owen J L Rackham
- Program in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
| | - Patrizia Rizzu
- Genome Biology of Neurodegenerative Diseases, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | | | - Albin Sandelin
- Department of Biology and BRIC, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Copenhagen N DK2200, Denmark
| | - Pillay Sanjana
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Colin A M Semple
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom
| | - Youtaro Shibayama
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Divya M Sivaraman
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Takahiro Suzuki
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | | | - Michihira Tagami
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Martin S Taylor
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom
| | - Chikashi Terao
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Malte Thodberg
- Department of Biology and BRIC, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Copenhagen N DK2200, Denmark
| | - Supat Thongjuea
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Vidisha Tripathi
- National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, Maharashtra 411007, India
| | - Igor Ulitsky
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Roberto Verardo
- Laboratorio Nazionale Consorzio Interuniversitario Biotecnologie (CIB), Trieste 34127, Italy
| | - Ilya E Vorontsov
- Department of Computational Systems Biology, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Chinatsu Yamamoto
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Robert S Young
- Centre for Global Health Research, Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, United Kingdom
| | - J Kenneth Baillie
- Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, United Kingdom
| | - Alistair R R Forrest
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre and Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Roderic Guigó
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Catalonia 08003, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Catalonia 08002, Spain
| | | | - Chung Chau Hon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Takeya Kasukawa
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Sakari Kauppinen
- Center for RNA Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Copenhagen 9220, Denmark
| | - Juha Kere
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge 14157, Sweden.,Stem Cells and Metabolism Research Program, University of Helsinki and Folkhälsan Research Center, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Boris Lenhard
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom.,Computational Regulatory Genomics, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom.,Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen N-5008, Norway
| | - Claudio Schneider
- Laboratorio Nazionale Consorzio Interuniversitario Biotecnologie (CIB), Trieste 34127, Italy.,Department of Medicine and Consorzio Interuniversitario Biotecnologie p.zle Kolbe 1 University of Udine, Udine 33100, Italy
| | - Harukazu Suzuki
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Ken Yagi
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Michiel J L de Hoon
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jay W Shin
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Piero Carninci
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
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