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Sun H, He Z, Zhao F, Hu J, Wang J, Liu X, Zhao Z, Li M, Luo Y, Li S. Molecular Genetic Characteristics of the Hoxc13 Gene and Association Analysis of Wool Traits. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1594. [PMID: 38338874 PMCID: PMC10855228 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Homobox C13 (Hoxc13) is an important transcription factor in hair follicle cycle development, and its deletion had been found in a variety of animals leading to abnormal hair growth and disruption of the hair follicle system. In this study, we used immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), and Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) genotyping to investigate molecular genetic characteristics of the Hoxc13 gene in Gansu alpine fine-wool sheep. The results revealed that Hoxc13 was significantly expressed during both the anagen and catagen phases (p < 0.05). It was found to be highly expressed predominantly in the dermal papillae and the inner and outer root sheaths, showing a distinct spatiotemporal expression pattern. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the exon 1 of Hoxc13, both the individual locus genotypes and the combined haplotypes were found to be correlated with wool length (p < 0.05). It was determined the mutations led to changes in mRNA expression, in which higher expression of this gene was related with longer wool length. In summary, this unique spatiotemporal expression pattern of the Hoxc13 gene may regulate the wool length of Gansu alpine fine-wool sheep, which can be used as a molecular genetic marker for wool traits and thus improve the breed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Shaobin Li
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, International Wool Research Institute, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; (H.S.); (Z.H.); (F.Z.); (J.H.); (J.W.); (X.L.); (Z.Z.); (M.L.); (Y.L.)
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Perez CJ, Mecklenburg L, Fernandez A, Cantero M, de Souza TA, Lin K, Dent SYR, Montoliu L, Awgulewitsch A, Benavides F. Naked (N) mutant mice carry a nonsense mutation in the homeobox of Hoxc13. Exp Dermatol 2021; 31:330-340. [PMID: 34657330 DOI: 10.1111/exd.14469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Loss of function mutations in HOXC13 have been associated with Ectodermal Dysplasia-9, Hair/Nail Type (ECTD9) in consanguineous families, characterized by sparse to complete absence of hair and nail dystrophy. Here we characterize the spontaneous mouse mutation Naked (N) as a terminal truncation in the Hoxc13 (homeobox C13) gene. Similar to previous reports for homozygous Hoxc13 knock-out (KO) mice, homozygous N/N mice exhibit generalized alopecia with abnormal nails and a short lifespan. However, in contrast to Hoxc13 heterozygous KO mice, N/+ mice show generalized or partial alopecia, associated with loss of hair fibres, along with normal lifespan and fertility. Our data point to a lack of nonsense-mediated Hoxc13 transcript decay and the presence of the truncated mutant protein in N/N and N/+ hair follicles, thus suggesting a dominant-negative mutation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a semi-dominant and potentially dominant-negative mutation affecting Hoxc13/HOXC13. Furthermore, recreating the N mutant allele in mice using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing resulted in the same spectrum of deficiencies as those associated with the spontaneous Naked mutation, thus confirming that N is indeed a Hoxc13 mutant allele. Considering the low viability of the Hoxc13 KO mice, the Naked mutation provides an attractive new model for studying ECTD9 disease mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos J Perez
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, Texas, USA
| | | | - Almudena Fernandez
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.,CIBERER-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Cantero
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.,CIBERER-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Kevin Lin
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, Texas, USA
| | - Sharon Y R Dent
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, Texas, USA.,The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Lluis Montoliu
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.,CIBERER-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alexander Awgulewitsch
- Department of Medicine and Department of Regenerative Medicine & Cell Biology, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Fernando Benavides
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, Texas, USA.,The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
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Liu Z, Shan H, Chen S, Chen M, Song Y, Lai L, Li Z. Highly efficient base editing with expanded targeting scope using SpCas9-NG in rabbits. FASEB J 2019; 34:588-596. [PMID: 31914687 DOI: 10.1096/fj.201901587r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Base editors, composed of a cytidine deaminase or an evolved adenine deaminase fused to Cas9 nickase, enable efficient C-to-T or A-to-G conversion in various organisms. However, the NGG protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) requirement of Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) substantially limits the target sites suitable for base editing. Quite recently, a new engineered SpCas9-NG variant, which can recognize minimal NG PAMs more efficiently than the present xCas9 variant. Here, we investigated the efficiency and PAM compatibility of SpCas9-NG-assisted cytidine base editors (CBEs) and adenine base editors (ABEs) in rabbits. In this study, we showed that NG-BE4max and NG-ABEmax systems can achieve a targeted mutation efficiency of 75%-100% and 80%-100% with excellent PAM compatibility of NGN PAMs in rabbit embryos, respectively. In addition, both base editors were successfully applied to create new rabbit models with precise point mutations, demonstrating their high efficiency and expanded genome-targeting scope in rabbits. Meanwhile, NG-ABEmax can be used to precisely mimic human Hoxc13 p.Q271R missense mutation in Founder (F0) rabbits, which is arduous for conventional ABEs to achieve due to a NGA PAM requirement. Collectively, NG-BE4max and NG-ABEmax systems provide promising tools to perform efficient base editing with expanded targeting scope in rabbits and enhances its capacity to model human diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiquan Liu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Huanhuan Shan
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Siyu Chen
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Mao Chen
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Yuning Song
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Liangxue Lai
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guang Dong Laboratory (GRMH-GDL), Guangzhou, China.,Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhanjun Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
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Gene cloning and seamless site-directed mutagenesis using single-strand annealing (SSA). Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2018; 102:10119-10126. [PMID: 30209551 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-018-9348-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Revised: 08/16/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The full length of interested genes can be usually cloned by assembling exons or RACE products through overlap PCR. However, the procedure requires multiple PCR steps, which are prone to random mutagenesis. Here, we present a novel SSA-based method for gene cloning and seamless site-directed mutagenesis. We firstly cloned the full-length coding sequence of Cashmere goat (Capra hircus) Hoxc13 gene by assembling exons amplified from genomic DNA. Secondly, we created a Hoxc13 loss-function mutant seamlessly and further illustrated that direct repeat length of 25 bp is enough to trigger the SSA repair in routine E. coli strains including DH5α, Trans1t1, JM109, and Top10. Moreover, we cloned another full-length mutant of Foxn1 gene from Cashmere goat cDNA using further shortened direct repeats of 19 bp. In summary, our study provided an alternative method to overcome the difficulties during overlap PCR in some particular cases for gene cloning.
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Wang S, Luo Z, Zhang Y, Yuan D, Ge W, Wang X. The inconsistent regulation of HOXC13 on different keratins and the regulation mechanism on HOXC13 in cashmere goat (Capra hircus). BMC Genomics 2018; 19:630. [PMID: 30139327 PMCID: PMC6107959 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-018-5011-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background During hair growth, cortical cells emerging from the proliferative follicle bulb rapidly undergo a differentiation program and synthesize large amounts of hair keratin proteins. In this process, HOXC13 is one critical regulatory factor, proved by the hair defects in HOXC13 mutant mice and HOXC13 mutant patients. However, inconsistent conclusions were drawn from previous researches regarding the regulation of HOXC13 on different keratins. Whether HOXC13 has extensive and unified regulatory role on these numerous keratins is unclear. Results In this study, firstly, RNA-seq was performed to reveal the molecular mechanism of cashmere cycle including anagen and telogen. Subsequently, combining the sequencing with qRT-PCR and immunofluorescent staining results, we found that HOXC13 showed similar expression pattern with a large proportion of keratins except for KRT1 and KRT2, which were higher in anagen compared with telogen. Then, the regulatory role of HOXC13 on different keratins was investigated using dual-luciferase reporter system and keratin promoter-GFP system by overexpressing HOXC13 in HEK 293 T cells and dermal papilla cells. Our results demonstrated that HOXC13 up-regulated the promoter activity of KRT84 and KRT38, while down-regulated the promoter activity of KRT1 and KRT2, which suggested HOXC13 had an ambivalent effect on the promoters of different KRTs. Furtherly, the regulation on HOXC13 itself was investigated. At transcriptional level, the binding sites of HOXC13 and LEF1 were found in the promoter of HOXC13. Then, through transfecting corresponding overexpression vector and dual-luciferase reporter system into dermal papilla cells, the negative-feedback regulation of HOXC13 itself and positive regulation of LEF1 on HOXC13 promoter were revealed. In addition, melatonin could significantly increase the promoter activity of HOXC13 under the concentration of 10 μM and 25 μM by adding exogenous melatonin into dermal papilla cells. At post-transcriptional level, we investigated whether chi-miR-200a could target HOXC13 through dual-luciferase reporter system. At epigenetic level, we investigated the methylation level of HOXC13 promoter at different stages including anagen, telogen and 60d of embryonic period. As a result, miR-200a and methylation were not regulatory factors of HOXC13. Interestingly, we found two SNPs (c.812A > G and c.929A > C) in the homeodomain of HOXC13 that could deprive the regulatory function of HOXC13 on keratins without changing its protein expression. Conclusion HOXC13 had an inconsistent effect on the promoters of different keratins. Two SNPs (c.812A > G and c.929A > C) in the homeodomain of HOXC13 deprived its function on keratin regulation. Besides, the negative-feedback regulation by HOXC13 itself and positive regulation by LEF1 and melatonin on HOXC13 promoter were revealed. This study will enrich the function of HOXC13 on keratin regulation and contribute to understand the mechanism of hair follicle differentiation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-5011-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanhe Wang
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhixin Luo
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yuelang Zhang
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Dan Yuan
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wei Ge
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xin Wang
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China.
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