1
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Adhikary R, Roy A, Jolly MK, Das D. Effects of microRNA-mediated negative feedback on gene expression noise. Biophys J 2023; 122:4220-4240. [PMID: 37803829 PMCID: PMC10645566 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally in eukaryotes by binding with target mRNAs and preventing translation. miRNA-mediated feedback motifs are ubiquitous in various genetic networks that control cellular decision making. A key question is how such a feedback mechanism may affect gene expression noise. To answer this, we have developed a mathematical model to study the effects of a miRNA-dependent negative-feedback loop on mean expression and noise in target mRNAs. Combining analytics and simulations, we show the existence of an expression threshold demarcating repressed and expressed regimes in agreement with earlier studies. The steady-state mRNA distributions are bimodal near the threshold, where copy numbers of mRNAs and miRNAs exhibit enhanced anticorrelated fluctuations. Moreover, variation of negative-feedback strength shifts the threshold locations and modulates the noise profiles. Notably, the miRNA-mRNA binding affinity and feedback strength collectively shape the bimodality. We also compare our model with a direct auto-repression motif, where a gene produces its own repressor. Auto-repression fails to produce bimodal mRNA distributions as found in miRNA-based indirect repression, suggesting the crucial role of miRNAs in creating phenotypic diversity. Together, we demonstrate how miRNA-dependent negative feedback modifies the expression threshold and leads to a broader parameter regime of bimodality compared to the no-feedback case.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raunak Adhikary
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education And Research Kolkata Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India
| | - Arnab Roy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education And Research Kolkata Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India
| | - Mohit Kumar Jolly
- Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
| | - Dipjyoti Das
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education And Research Kolkata Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India.
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2
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Biondo M, Singh A, Caselle M, Osella M. Out-of-equilibrium gene expression fluctuations in the presence of extrinsic noise. Phys Biol 2023; 20:10.1088/1478-3975/acea4e. [PMID: 37489881 PMCID: PMC10680095 DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/acea4e] [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: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Cell-to-cell variability in protein concentrations is strongly affected by extrinsic noise, especially for highly expressed genes. Extrinsic noise can be due to fluctuations of several possible cellular factors connected to cell physiology and to the level of key enzymes in the expression process. However, how to identify the predominant sources of extrinsic noise in a biological system is still an open question. This work considers a general stochastic model of gene expression with extrinsic noise represented as fluctuations of the different model rates, and focuses on the out-of-equilibrium expression dynamics. Combining analytical calculations with stochastic simulations, we characterize how extrinsic noise shapes the protein variability during gene activation or inactivation, depending on the prevailing source of extrinsic variability, on its intensity and timescale. In particular, we show that qualitatively different noise profiles can be identified depending on which are the fluctuating parameters. This indicates an experimentally accessible way to pinpoint the dominant sources of extrinsic noise using time-coarse experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Biondo
- Department of Physics, University of Turin and INFN, via P. Giuria 1, I-10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Abhyudai Singh
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, United States of America
| | - Michele Caselle
- Department of Physics, University of Turin and INFN, via P. Giuria 1, I-10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Matteo Osella
- Department of Physics, University of Turin and INFN, via P. Giuria 1, I-10125 Turin, Italy
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3
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Liu Z, Wang M, Cheng A, Ou X, Mao S, Yang Q, Wu Y, Zhao XX, Huang J, Gao Q, Zhang S, Sun D, Tian B, Jia R, Chen S, Liu M, Zhu D. Gene regulation in animal miRNA biogenesis. Epigenomics 2022; 14:1197-1212. [PMID: 36382497 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2022-0214] [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] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
miRNAs are a class of noncoding RNAs of approximately 19-22 nucleotides that are widely found in animals, plants, bacteria and even viruses. Dysregulation of the expression profile of miRNAs is importantly linked to the development of diseases. Epigenetic modifications regulate gene expression and control cellular phenotypes. Although miRNAs are used as an epigenetic regulation tool, the biogenesis of miRNAs is also regulated by epigenetic events. Here the authors review the mechanisms and roles of epigenetic modification (DNA methylation, histone modifications), RNA modification and ncRNAs in the biogenesis of miRNAs, aiming to deepen the understanding of the miRNA biogenesis regulatory network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zezheng Liu
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingshu Wang
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Anchun Cheng
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Xumin Ou
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Sai Mao
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiao Yang
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Wu
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin-Xin Zhao
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Juan Huang
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Qun Gao
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Shaqiu Zhang
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Di Sun
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Bin Tian
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Renyong Jia
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Shun Chen
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Mafeng Liu
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
| | - Dekang Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
- Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu City, Sichuan, 611130, People's Republic of China
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4
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Roy SW. Optimality versus opportunity the recurrent evolution of similar sex determination mechanisms. J Hered 2022; 113:235-237. [PMID: 35325170 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esac001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Scott William Roy
- San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
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5
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microRNA-Mediated Encoding and Decoding of Time-Dependent Signals in Tumorigenesis. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12020213. [PMID: 35204714 PMCID: PMC8961662 DOI: 10.3390/biom12020213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
microRNAs, pivotal post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, in the past decades have caught the attention of researchers for their involvement in different biological processes, ranging from cell development to cancer. Although lots of effort has been devoted to elucidate the topological features and the equilibrium properties of microRNA-mediated motifs, little is known about how the information encoded in frequency, amplitude, duration, and other features of their regulatory signals can affect the resulting gene expression patterns. Here, we review the current knowledge about microRNA-mediated gene regulatory networks characterized by time-dependent input signals, such as pulses, transient inputs, and oscillations. First, we identify the general characteristic of the main motifs underlying temporal patterns. Then, we analyze their impact on two commonly studied oncogenic networks, showing how their dysfunction can lead to tumorigenesis.
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6
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Mottes F, Villa C, Osella M, Caselle M. The impact of whole genome duplications on the human gene regulatory networks. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009638. [PMID: 34871317 PMCID: PMC8675932 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
This work studies the effects of the two rounds of Whole Genome Duplication (WGD) at the origin of the vertebrate lineage on the architecture of the human gene regulatory networks. We integrate information on transcriptional regulation, miRNA regulation, and protein-protein interactions to comparatively analyse the role of WGD and Small Scale Duplications (SSD) in the structural properties of the resulting multilayer network. We show that complex network motifs, such as combinations of feed-forward loops and bifan arrays, deriving from WGD events are specifically enriched in the network. Pairs of WGD-derived proteins display a strong tendency to interact both with each other and with common partners and WGD-derived transcription factors play a prominent role in the retention of a strong regulatory redundancy. Combinatorial regulation and synergy between different regulatory layers are in general enhanced by duplication events, but the two types of duplications contribute in different ways. Overall, our findings suggest that the two WGD events played a substantial role in increasing the multi-layer complexity of the vertebrate regulatory network by enhancing its combinatorial organization, with potential consequences on its overall robustness and ability to perform high-level functions like signal integration and noise control. Lastly, we discuss in detail the RAR/RXR pathway as an illustrative example of the evolutionary impact of WGD duplications in human. Gene duplication is one of the main mechanisms driving genome evolution. The duplication of a genomic segment can be the result of a local event, involving only a small portion of the genome, or of a dramatic duplication of the whole genome, which is however only rarely retained. All vertebrates descend from two rounds of Whole-Genome Duplication (WGD) that occurred approximately 500 Mya. We show that these events influenced in unique ways the evolution of different human gene regulatory networks, with sizeable effects on their current structure. We find that WGDs statistically increased the presence of specific classes of simple genetic circuits, considered to be fundamental building blocks of more sophisticated circuitry and commonly associated to complex functions. Our findings support the hypothesis that these rare, large-scale events have played a substantial role in the emergence of complex traits in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chiara Villa
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Mathematical Institute, North Haugh, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Matteo Osella
- Department of Physics, University of Turin & INFN, Turin, Italy
| | - Michele Caselle
- Department of Physics, University of Turin & INFN, Turin, Italy
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7
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Nersisyan S, Galatenko A, Galatenko V, Shkurnikov M, Tonevitsky A. miRGTF-net: Integrative miRNA-gene-TF network analysis reveals key drivers of breast cancer recurrence. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0249424. [PMID: 33852600 PMCID: PMC8046230 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Analysis of regulatory networks is a powerful framework for identification and quantification of intracellular interactions. We introduce miRGTF-net, a novel tool for construction of miRNA-gene-TF networks. We consider multiple transcriptional and post-transcriptional interaction types, including regulation of gene and miRNA expression by transcription factors, gene silencing by miRNAs, and co-expression of host genes with their intronic miRNAs. The underlying algorithm uses information on experimentally validated interactions as well as integrative miRNA/mRNA expression profiles in a given set of samples. The latter ensures simultaneous tissue-specificity and biological validity of interactions. We applied miRGTF-net to paired miRNA/mRNA-sequencing data of breast cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Together with topological analysis of the constructed network we showed that considered players can form reliable prognostic gene signatures for ER-positive breast cancer. A number of signatures demonstrated remarkably high accuracy on transcriptomic data obtained by both microarrays and RNA sequencing from several independent patient cohorts. Furthermore, an essential part of prognostic genes were identified as direct targets of transcription factor E2F1. The putative interplay between estrogen receptor alpha and E2F1 was suggested as a potential recurrence factor in patients treated with tamoxifen. Source codes of miRGTF-net are available at GitHub (https://github.com/s-a-nersisyan/miRGTF-net).
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Affiliation(s)
- Stepan Nersisyan
- Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
- * E-mail:
| | - Alexei Galatenko
- Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Moscow Center for Fundamental and Applied Mathematics, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir Galatenko
- Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Maxim Shkurnikov
- P.A. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Center, Branch of National Medical Research Radiological Center, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
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8
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Bokes P, Hojcka M, Singh A. MicroRNA Based Feedforward Control of Intrinsic Gene Expression Noise. IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS 2021; 18:272-282. [PMID: 31484129 DOI: 10.1109/tcbb.2019.2938502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsic noise, which arises in gene expression at low copy numbers, can be controlled by diverse regulatory motifs, including feedforward loops. Here, we study an example of a feedforward control system based on the interaction between an mRNA molecule and an antagonistic microRNA molecule encoded by the same gene, aiming to quantify the variability (or noise) in molecular copy numbers. Using linear noise approximation, we show that the mRNA noise is sub-Poissonian in case of non-bursty transcription, and exhibits a nonmonotonic response both to the species natural lifetime ratio and to the strength of the antagonistic interaction. Additionally, we use the Chemical Reaction Network Theory to prove that the mRNA copy number distribution is Poissonian in the absence of spontaneous mRNA decay channel. In case of transcriptional bursts, we show that feedforward control can attenuate the super-Poissonian gene-expression noise that is due to bursting, and that the effect is more considerable at the protein than at the mRNA level. Our results indicate that the strong coupling between mRNA and microRNA in the sense of burst stoichiometry and also of timing of production events renders the microRNA based feedforward motif an effective mechanism for the control of gene expression noise.
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9
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Kang T, Quarton T, Nowak CM, Ehrhardt K, Singh A, Li Y, Bleris L. Robust Filtering and Noise Suppression in Intragenic miRNA-Mediated Host Regulation. iScience 2020; 23:101595. [PMID: 33083753 PMCID: PMC7554026 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally by binding to target messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Many human miRNAs are intragenic, located within introns of protein-coding sequence (host). Intriguingly, a percentage of intragenic miRNAs downregulate the host transcript forming an incoherent feedforward motif topology. Here, we study intragenic miRNA-mediated host gene regulation using a synthetic gene circuit stably integrated within a safe-harbor locus of human cells. When the intragenic miRNA is directed to inhibit the host transcript, we observe a reduction in reporter expression accompanied by output filtering and noise reduction. Specifically, the system operates as a filter with respect to promoter strength, with the threshold being robust to promoter strength and measurement time. Additionally, the intragenic miRNA regulation reduces expression noise compared to splicing-alone architecture. Our results provide a new insight into miRNA-mediated gene expression, with direct implications to gene therapy and synthetic biology applications. Intragenic miRNA-based host regulation was recreated using a synthetic miRNA The system was integrated in HEK293 cells via CRISPR-based safe-harbor integration The system generates a gene expression threshold robust to host promoter strength Host gene output has reduced noise compared to a splicing-alone architecture
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Affiliation(s)
- Taek Kang
- Bioengineering Department, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.,Center for Systems Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Tyler Quarton
- Bioengineering Department, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.,Center for Systems Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Chance M Nowak
- Center for Systems Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Kristina Ehrhardt
- Bioengineering Department, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.,Center for Systems Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Abhyudai Singh
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Yi Li
- Bioengineering Department, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.,Center for Systems Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Leonidas Bleris
- Bioengineering Department, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.,Center for Systems Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
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10
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Ferro E, Enrico Bena C, Grigolon S, Bosia C. microRNA-mediated noise processing in cells: A fight or a game? Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2020; 18:642-649. [PMID: 32257047 PMCID: PMC7103774 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2020.02.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Revised: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past decades, microRNAs (miRNA) have much attracted the attention of researchers at the interface between life and theoretical sciences for their involvement in post-transcriptional regulation and related diseases. Thanks to the always more sophisticated experimental techniques, the role of miRNAs as "noise processing units" has been further elucidated and two main ways of miRNA noise-control have emerged by combinations of theoretical and experimental studies. While on one side miRNAs were thought to buffer gene expression noise, it has recently been suggested that miRNAs could also increase the cell-to-cell variability of their targets. In this Mini Review, we focus on the role of miRNAs in molecular noise processing and on the advantages as well as current limitations of theoretical modelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsi Ferro
- Italian Institute for Genomic Medicine, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Grigolon
- The Francis Crick Institute, 1, Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Carla Bosia
- Italian Institute for Genomic Medicine, Italy
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
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11
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Nanotechnology, in silico and endocrine-based strategy for delivering paclitaxel and miRNA: Prospects for the therapeutic management of breast cancer. Semin Cancer Biol 2019; 69:109-128. [PMID: 31891780 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2019.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/25/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent and reoccurring cancers and the second most common reason of death in women. Despite advancements in therapeutic strategies for breast cancer, early tumor recurrence and metastasis in patients indicate resistance to chemotherapeutic medicines, such as paclitaxel due to the abnormal expression of ER and EGF2 in breast cancer cells. Therefore, the development of alternatives to paclitaxel is urgently needed to overcome challenges involving drug resistance. An increasing number of studies has revealed miRNAs as novel natural alternative substances that play a crucial role in regulating several physiological processes and have a close, adverse association with several diseases, including breast cancer. Due to the therapeutic potential of miRNA and paclitaxel in cancer research, the current review focuses on the differential roles of various miRNAs in breast cancer development and treatment. miRNA delivery to a specific target site, the development of paclitaxel and miRNA formulations, and nanotechnological strategies for the delivery of nanopaclitaxel in the management of breast cancer are discussed. These strategies involve improving the cellular uptake and bioavailability and reducing the toxicity of free paclitaxel to achieve accumulation tumor site. Furthermore, a molecular docking study was performed to ascertain the enhanced anticancer activity of the nanoformulation of ANG1005 and Abraxane. An in silico analysis revealed that ANG1005 and Abraxane nanoformulations have superior and significantly enhanced interactions with the proteins α-tubulin and Bcl-2. Therefore, ANG1005 and Abraxane may be more suitable in the therapeutic management of breast cancer than the existing free paclitaxel. miRNAs can revert abnormal gene expression to normalcy; since miRNAs serve as tumor suppressors. Therefore, restoration of particular miRNAs levels as a replacement therapy may be an effective endocrine potential strategy for treating ER positive/ negative breast cancers.
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12
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Ferro E, Enrico Bena C, Grigolon S, Bosia C. From Endogenous to Synthetic microRNA-Mediated Regulatory Circuits: An Overview. Cells 2019; 8:E1540. [PMID: 31795372 PMCID: PMC6952906 DOI: 10.3390/cells8121540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [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: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that are evolutionarily conserved and are pivotal post-transcriptional mediators of gene regulation. Together with transcription factors and epigenetic regulators, they form a highly interconnected network whose building blocks can be classified depending on the number of molecular species involved and the type of interactions amongst them. Depending on their topology, these molecular circuits may carry out specific functions that years of studies have related to the processing of gene expression noise. In this review, we first present the different over-represented network motifs involving microRNAs and their specific role in implementing relevant biological functions, reviewing both theoretical and experimental studies. We then illustrate the recent advances in synthetic biology, such as the construction of artificially synthesised circuits, which provide a controlled tool to test experimentally the possible microRNA regulatory tasks and constitute a starting point for clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsi Ferro
- IIGM—Italian Institute for Genomic Medicine, c/o IRCCS, 10060 Candiolo (Torino), Italy
- Candiolo Cancer Institute, FPO-IRCCS, 10060 Candiolo (Torino), Italy
| | - Chiara Enrico Bena
- IIGM—Italian Institute for Genomic Medicine, c/o IRCCS, 10060 Candiolo (Torino), Italy
- Candiolo Cancer Institute, FPO-IRCCS, 10060 Candiolo (Torino), Italy
| | - Silvia Grigolon
- The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Carla Bosia
- IIGM—Italian Institute for Genomic Medicine, c/o IRCCS, 10060 Candiolo (Torino), Italy
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
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13
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Xun Y, Tang Y, Hu L, Xiao H, Long S, Gong M, Wei C, Wei K, Xiang S. Purification and Identification of miRNA Target Sites in Genome Using DNA Affinity Precipitation. Front Genet 2019; 10:778. [PMID: 31572429 PMCID: PMC6751328 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Combination with genomic DNA is one of the important ways for microRNAs (miRNAs) to perform biological processes. However, because of lack of an experimental method, the identified genomic sites targeted by microRNA were only located in the promoter and enhancer regions. In this study, based on affinity purification of labeled biotin at the 3'-end of miRNAs, we established an efficiently experimental method to screen miRNA binding sequences in the whole genomic regions in vivo. Biotinylated miR-373 was used to test our approach in MCF-7 cells, and then Sanger and next-generation sequencing were used to screen miR-373 binding sequences. Our results demonstrated that the genomic fragments precipitated by miR-373 were located not only in promoter but also in intron, exon, and intergenic. Eleven potentially miR-373 targeting genes were selected for further study, and all of these genes were significantly regulated by miR-373. Furthermore, the targeting sequences located in E-cadherin, cold-shock domain-containing protein C2 (CSDC2), and PDE4D genes could interact with miR-373 in MCF-7 cells rather than HeLa cells, which is consistent with our data that these three genes can be regulated by miR-373 in MCF-7 cells while not in HeLa cells. On the whole, this is an efficient method to identify miRNA targeting sequences in the whole genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Xun
- Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Yinxin Tang
- Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Linmin Hu
- Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Hui Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Shengwen Long
- Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Mengting Gong
- Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Chenxi Wei
- Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Ke Wei
- Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.,Medical School, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
| | - Shuanglin Xiang
- Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Education Ministry of China, College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
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14
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Navarro FJ, Baulcombe DC. miRNA-Mediated Regulation of Synthetic Gene Circuits in the Green Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:358-370. [PMID: 30624905 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small RNA molecules of 20-24 nts, have many features that make them useful tools for gene expression regulation-small size, flexible design, target predictability, and action at a late stage of the gene expression pipeline. In addition, their role in fine-tuning gene expression can be harnessed to increase robustness of synthetic gene networks. In this work, we apply a synthetic biology approach to characterize miRNA-mediated gene expression regulation in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This characterization is then used to build tools based on miRNAs, such as synthetic miRNAs, miRNA-responsive 3'UTRs, miRNA decoys, and self-regulatory loops. These tools will facilitate the engineering of gene expression for new applications and improved traits in this alga.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco J. Navarro
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
| | - David C. Baulcombe
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
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15
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Kinetic Modelling of Competition and Depletion of Shared miRNAs by Competing Endogenous RNAs. Methods Mol Biol 2019; 1912:367-409. [PMID: 30635902 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-8982-9_15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Non-coding RNAs play a key role in the post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA translation and turnover in eukaryotes. miRNAs, in particular, interact with their target RNAs through protein-mediated, sequence-specific binding, giving rise to extended and highly heterogeneous miRNA-RNA interaction networks. Within such networks, competition to bind miRNAs can generate an effective positive coupling between their targets. Competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) can in turn regulate each other through miRNA-mediated crosstalk. Albeit potentially weak, ceRNA interactions can occur both dynamically, affecting, e.g., the regulatory clock, and at stationarity, in which case ceRNA networks as a whole can be implicated in the composition of the cell's proteome. Many features of ceRNA interactions, including the conditions under which they become significant, can be unraveled by mathematical and in silico models. We review the understanding of the ceRNA effect obtained within such frameworks, focusing on the methods employed to quantify it, its role in the processing of gene expression noise, and how network topology can determine its reach.
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16
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Braz CU, Taylor JF, Decker JE, Bresolin T, Espigolan R, Garcia DA, Gordo DGM, Magalhães AFB, de Albuquerque LG, de Oliveira HN. Polymorphism analysis in genes associated with meat tenderness in Nelore cattle. Meta Gene 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mgene.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
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17
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Hallgrimsson B, Green RM, Katz DC, Fish JL, Bernier FP, Roseman CC, Young NM, Cheverud JM, Marcucio RS. The developmental-genetics of canalization. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2018; 88:67-79. [PMID: 29782925 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2018.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2018] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Canalization, or robustness to genetic or environmental perturbations, is fundamental to complex organisms. While there is strong evidence for canalization as an evolved property that varies among genotypes, the developmental and genetic mechanisms that produce this phenomenon are very poorly understood. For evolutionary biology, understanding how canalization arises is important because, by modulating the phenotypic variation that arises in response to genetic differences, canalization is a determinant of evolvability. For genetics of disease in humans and for economically important traits in agriculture, this subject is important because canalization is a potentially significant cause of missing heritability that confounds genomic prediction of phenotypes. We review the major lines of thought on the developmental-genetic basis for canalization. These fall into two groups. One proposes specific evolved molecular mechanisms while the other deals with robustness or canalization as a more general feature of development. These explanations for canalization are not mutually exclusive and they overlap in several ways. General explanations for canalization are more likely to involve emergent features of development than specific molecular mechanisms. Disentangling these explanations is also complicated by differences in perspectives between genetics and developmental biology. Understanding canalization at a mechanistic level will require conceptual and methodological approaches that integrate quantitative genetics and developmental biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedikt Hallgrimsson
- Dept. of Cell Biology & Anatomy, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and McCaig Bone and Joint Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
| | - Rebecca M Green
- Dept. of Cell Biology & Anatomy, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and McCaig Bone and Joint Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - David C Katz
- Dept. of Cell Biology & Anatomy, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and McCaig Bone and Joint Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Jennifer L Fish
- Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, 01854, USA
| | - Francois P Bernier
- Dept of Medical Genetics, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Charles C Roseman
- Dept. of Animal Biology, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Nathan M Young
- Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94110, USA
| | - James M Cheverud
- Dept. of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60660, USA
| | - Ralph S Marcucio
- Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94110, USA.
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18
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Pourteimoor V, Paryan M, Mohammadi‐Yeganeh S. microRNA as a systemic intervention in the specific breast cancer subtypes with C‐MYC impacts; introducing subtype‐based appraisal tool. J Cell Physiol 2018; 233:5655-5669. [DOI: 10.1002/jcp.26399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mahdi Paryan
- Department of Research and Development, Production and Research ComplexPasteur Institute of IranTehranIran
| | - Samira Mohammadi‐Yeganeh
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research CenterShahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesTehranIran
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in MedicineShahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesTehranIran
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19
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Sha Z, Zhu X, Li N, Li Y, Li D. Proto-oncogenic miR-744 is upregulated by transcription factor c-Jun via a promoter activation mechanism. Oncotarget 2018; 7:64977-64986. [PMID: 27533465 PMCID: PMC5323131 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.11285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Upregulation of miR-744 is associated with poor prognosis in many types of cancer patients, but it is still unclear how miR-744 becomes elevated in these tumors. In this study, we found that ectopic c-Jun elevated miR-744 expression, whereas c-Jun attenuation reduced miR-744 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay confirmed the direct binding of c-Jun to the promoter of miR-744. The binding site of −343 to −349 bp within the most potential promoter like sequence of miR-744 was further validated by luciferase reporter gene assays. C-Jun-induced miR-744 upregulation could significantly promote migration and invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells, hence ectopic c-Jun was sufficient to rescue the migratory and invasive ability of these cells when miR-744 was knockdown. Additionally, a positive correlation between the expression levels of miR-744 and c-Jun was revealed in NSCLC samples with high (top 10%) level of miR-744 expression from the TCGA dataset. Taken together, our results demonstrated for the first time the regulatory mechanism of miR-744 transcription by c-Jun, providing a potential mechanism underlying the upregulation of miR-744 in cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhou Sha
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Xiaoxia Zhu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Na Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Yiyi Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Dianhe Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
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20
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Galatenko VV, Galatenko AV, Samatov TR, Turchinovich AA, Shkurnikov MY, Makarova JA, Tonevitsky AG. Comprehensive network of miRNA-induced intergenic interactions and a biological role of its core in cancer. Sci Rep 2018; 8:2418. [PMID: 29402894 PMCID: PMC5799291 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20215-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of short noncoding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression and play an important role in multiple cellular processes. A significant percentage of miRNAs are intragenic, which is often functionally related to their host genes playing either antagonistic or synergistic roles. In this study, we constructed and analyzed the entire network of intergenic interactions induced by intragenic miRNAs. We further focused on the core of this network, which was defined as a union of nontrivial strongly connected components, i.e., sets of nodes (genes) mutually connected via directed paths. Both the entire network and its core possessed statistically significant non-random properties. Specifically, genes forming the core had high expression levels and low expression variance. Furthermore, the network core did not split into separate components corresponding to individual signalling or metabolic pathways, but integrated genes involved in key cellular processes, including DNA replication, transcription, protein homeostasis and cell metabolism. We suggest that the network core, consisting of genes mutually regulated by their intragenic miRNAs, could coordinate adjacent pathways or homeostatic control circuits, serving as a horizontal inter-circuit link. Notably, expression patterns of these genes had an efficient prognostic potential for breast and colorectal cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir V Galatenko
- Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991, Moscow, Russia. .,SRC Bioclinicum, Ugreshskaya str. 2/85, 115088, Moscow, Russia. .,Tauber Bioinformatics Research Center, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Mount Carmel, 3498838, Haifa, Israel.
| | - Alexey V Galatenko
- Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - Timur R Samatov
- SRC Bioclinicum, Ugreshskaya str. 2/85, 115088, Moscow, Russia.,Evotec International GmbH, Marie-Curie Str. 7, 37079, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Maxim Yu Shkurnikov
- P. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute, National Center of Medical Radiological Research, Second Botkinsky lane 3, 125284, Moscow, Russia
| | - Julia A Makarova
- P. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute, National Center of Medical Radiological Research, Second Botkinsky lane 3, 125284, Moscow, Russia.,Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova str. 32, 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexander G Tonevitsky
- SRC Bioclinicum, Ugreshskaya str. 2/85, 115088, Moscow, Russia. .,P. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute, National Center of Medical Radiological Research, Second Botkinsky lane 3, 125284, Moscow, Russia.
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21
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Co AD, Lagomarsino MC, Caselle M, Osella M. Stochastic timing in gene expression for simple regulatory strategies. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:1069-1078. [PMID: 28180313 PMCID: PMC5388427 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw1235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2016] [Revised: 11/09/2016] [Accepted: 11/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Timing is essential for many cellular processes, from cellular responses to external stimuli to the cell cycle and circadian clocks. Many of these processes are based on gene expression. For example, an activated gene may be required to reach in a precise time a threshold level of expression that triggers a specific downstream process. However, gene expression is subject to stochastic fluctuations, naturally inducing an uncertainty in this threshold-crossing time with potential consequences on biological functions and phenotypes. Here, we consider such ‘timing fluctuations’ and we ask how they can be controlled. Our analytical estimates and simulations show that, for an induced gene, timing variability is minimal if the threshold level of expression is approximately half of the steady-state level. Timing fluctuations can be reduced by increasing the transcription rate, while they are insensitive to the translation rate. In presence of self-regulatory strategies, we show that self-repression reduces timing noise for threshold levels that have to be reached quickly, while self-activation is optimal at long times. These results lay a framework for understanding stochasticity of endogenous systems such as the cell cycle, as well as for the design of synthetic trigger circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alma Dal Co
- Department of Physics and INFN, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 1, Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Cosentino Lagomarsino
- Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, Place Jussieu 4, Paris, France.,UMR 7238 CNRS, Computational and Quantitative Biology, Paris, France.,IFOM, FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Via Adamello 16, Milan, Italy
| | - Michele Caselle
- Department of Physics and INFN, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 1, Turin, Italy
| | - Matteo Osella
- Department of Physics and INFN, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 1, Turin, Italy
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22
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Mechtler P, Johnson S, Slabodkin H, Cohanim AB, Brodsky L, Kandel ES. The evidence for a microRNA product of human DROSHA gene. RNA Biol 2017; 14:1508-1513. [PMID: 28665784 DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2017.1342934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs are short RNA molecules that regulate function and stability of a large subset of eukaryotic mRNAs. In the main pathway of microRNA biogenesis, a short "hairpin" is excised from a primary transcript by ribonuclease DROSHA, followed by additional nucleolytic processing by DICER and inclusion of the mature microRNA into the RNA-induced silencing complex. We report that a microRNA-like molecule is encoded by human DROSHA gene within a predicted stem-loop element of the respective transcript. This putative mature microRNA is complementary to DROSHA transcript variant 1 and can attenuate expression of the corresponding protein. The findings suggest a possibility for a negative feedback loop, wherein DROSHA processes its own transcript and produces an inhibitor of its own biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Mechtler
- a Department of Cell Stress Biology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute , Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo , NY , USA
| | - Sydney Johnson
- a Department of Cell Stress Biology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute , Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo , NY , USA
| | - Hannah Slabodkin
- a Department of Cell Stress Biology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute , Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo , NY , USA
| | - Amir B Cohanim
- b Tauber Bioinformatics Research Center , University of Haifa , Mount Carmel , Haifa , Israel
| | - Leonid Brodsky
- b Tauber Bioinformatics Research Center , University of Haifa , Mount Carmel , Haifa , Israel
| | - Eugene S Kandel
- a Department of Cell Stress Biology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute , Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo , NY , USA
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23
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Cora' D, Re A, Caselle M, Bussolino F. MicroRNA-mediated regulatory circuits: outlook and perspectives. Phys Biol 2017; 14:045001. [PMID: 28586314 DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/aa6f21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
MicroRNAs have been found to be necessary for regulating genes implicated in almost all signaling pathways, and consequently their dysfunction influences many diseases, including cancer. Understanding of the complexity of the microRNA-mediated regulatory network has grown in terms of size, connectivity and dynamics with the development of computational and, more recently, experimental high-throughput approaches for microRNA target identification. Newly developed studies on recurrent microRNA-mediated circuits in regulatory networks, also known as network motifs, have substantially contributed to addressing this complexity, and therefore to helping understand the ways by which microRNAs achieve their regulatory role. This review provides a summarizing view of the state-of-the-art, and perspectives of research efforts on microRNA-mediated regulatory motifs. In this review, we discuss the topological properties characterizing different types of circuits, and the regulatory features theoretically enabled by such properties, with a special emphasis on examples of circuits typifying their biological significance in experimentally validated contexts. Finally, we will consider possible future developments, in particular regarding microRNA-mediated circuits involving long non-coding RNAs and epigenetic regulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Cora'
- Department of Oncology, University of Torino, Str. Prov. 142 Km 3.95, I-10060 Candiolo, Italy. Candiolo Cancer Institute-FPO, IRCCS, Str. Prov. 142 Km 3.95, I-10060 Candiolo, Italy. Center for Molecular Systems Biology, University of Torino, Regione Gonzole 10, I-10043 Orbassano, Italy. Current address: Department of Translational Medicine, Piemonte Orientale University 'Amedeo Avogadro', Via Solaroli 17, I-28100 Novara, Italy
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24
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Martirosyan A, De Martino A, Pagnani A, Marinari E. ceRNA crosstalk stabilizes protein expression and affects the correlation pattern of interacting proteins. Sci Rep 2017; 7:43673. [PMID: 28266541 PMCID: PMC5339858 DOI: 10.1038/srep43673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene expression is a noisy process and several mechanisms, both transcriptional and post-transcriptional, can stabilize protein levels in cells. Much work has focused on the role of miRNAs, showing in particular that miRNA-mediated regulation can buffer expression noise for lowly expressed genes. Here, using in silico simulations and mathematical modeling, we demonstrate that miRNAs can exert a much broader influence on protein levels by orchestrating competition-induced crosstalk between mRNAs. Most notably, we find that miRNA-mediated cross-talk (i) can stabilize protein levels across the full range of gene expression rates, and (ii) modifies the correlation pattern of co-regulated interacting proteins, changing the sign of correlations from negative to positive. The latter feature may constitute a potentially robust signature of the existence of RNA crosstalk induced by endogenous competition for miRNAs in standard cellular conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea De Martino
- Soft &Living Matter Lab, Istituto di Nanotecnologia (NANOTEC-CNR), Rome, Italy.,Human Genetics Foundation, Turin, Italy.,Center for Life Nano Science@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Pagnani
- Human Genetics Foundation, Turin, Italy.,Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Enzo Marinari
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.,INFN, Sezione di Roma 1, Rome, Italy
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25
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RNAs competing for microRNAs mutually influence their fluctuations in a highly non-linear microRNA-dependent manner in single cells. Genome Biol 2017; 18:37. [PMID: 28219439 PMCID: PMC5319025 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-017-1162-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Distinct RNA species may compete for binding to microRNAs (miRNAs). This competition creates an indirect interaction between miRNA targets, which behave as miRNA sponges and eventually influence each other’s expression levels. Theoretical predictions suggest that not only the mean expression levels of targets but also the fluctuations around the means are coupled through miRNAs. This may result in striking effects on a broad range of cellular processes, such as cell differentiation and proliferation. Although several studies have reported the functional relevance of this mechanism of interaction, detailed experiments are lacking that study this phenomenon in controlled conditions by mimicking a physiological range. Results We used an experimental design based on two bidirectional plasmids and flow cytometry measurements of cotransfected mammalian cells. We validated a stochastic gene interaction model that describes how mRNAs can influence each other’s fluctuations in a miRNA-dependent manner in single cells. We show that miRNA–target correlations eventually lead to either bimodal cell population distributions with high and low target expression states, or correlated fluctuations across targets when the pool of unbound targets and miRNAs are in near-equimolar concentration. We found that there is an optimal range of conditions for the onset of cross-regulation, which is compatible with 10–1000 copies of targets per cell. Conclusions Our results are summarized in a phase diagram for miRNA-mediated cross-regulation that links experimentally measured quantities and effective model parameters. This phase diagram can be applied to in vivo studies of RNAs that are in competition for miRNA binding. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-017-1162-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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26
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Emmerling VV, Fischer S, Kleemann M, Handrick R, Kochanek S, Otte K. miR-483 is a self-regulating microRNA and can activate its own expression via USF1 in HeLa cells. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2016; 80:81-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2016.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2016] [Revised: 09/22/2016] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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27
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The dual regulatory role of miR-204 in cancer. Tumour Biol 2016; 37:11667-11677. [PMID: 27438705 PMCID: PMC5080331 DOI: 10.1007/s13277-016-5144-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of endogenous, small (about 22 nucleotides) non-coding RNAs which negatively regulate gene expressions. As one of them, miR-204 originates from the sixth intron of the transient receptor potential melastatin 3 (TRPM3) gene. Therefore, expression of miR-204 is under the control of the TRPM3 promoter and regulated by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. miR-204 has been found to play the important roles in development of eyes and adipogenesis. Its pathological functions have been observed in a few diseases including pulmonary arterial hypertension, diabetes, and various types of cancers. It is believed that miR-204 acts as a tumor-suppressor via promoting apoptosis, conferring the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy, and suppressing the self-renewal of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Expression of miR-204 is repressed by its targets XRN1 and TRKB in prostate cancer and endometrial carcinoma, respectively; therefore, they establish an oncogenic feedback loops that play an important role promoting development of cancer. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge regarding miR-204, including its expression, regulation and biological functions, especially focusing our discussion on its role in tumor development and tumor progression.
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28
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Lai X, Wolkenhauer O, Vera J. Understanding microRNA-mediated gene regulatory networks through mathematical modelling. Nucleic Acids Res 2016; 44:6019-35. [PMID: 27317695 PMCID: PMC5291278 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2015] [Accepted: 06/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) has added a new player to the regulation of gene expression. With the increasing number of molecular species involved in gene regulatory networks, it is hard to obtain an intuitive understanding of network dynamics. Mathematical modelling can help dissecting the role of miRNAs in gene regulatory networks, and we shall here review the most recent developments that utilise different mathematical modelling approaches to provide quantitative insights into the function of miRNAs in the regulation of gene expression. Key miRNA regulation features that have been elucidated via modelling include: (i) the role of miRNA-mediated feedback and feedforward loops in fine-tuning of gene expression; (ii) the miRNA–target interaction properties determining the effectiveness of miRNA-mediated gene repression; and (iii) the competition for shared miRNAs leading to the cross-regulation of genes. However, there is still lack of mechanistic understanding of many other properties of miRNA regulation like unconventional miRNA–target interactions, miRNA regulation at different sub-cellular locations and functional miRNA variant, which will need future modelling efforts to deal with. This review provides an overview of recent developments and challenges in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Lai
- Laboratory of Systems Tumour Immunology, Department of Dermatology, Erlangen University Hospital and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, 91054, Germany
| | - Olaf Wolkenhauer
- Department of Systems Biology & Bioinformatics, University of Rostock, Rostock, 18051, Germany Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, Wallenberg Research Centre at Stellenbosch University, 7600, South Africa
| | - Julio Vera
- Laboratory of Systems Tumour Immunology, Department of Dermatology, Erlangen University Hospital and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, 91054, Germany
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Grigolon S, Di Patti F, De Martino A, Marinari E. Noise processing by microRNA-mediated circuits: The Incoherent Feed-Forward Loop, revisited. Heliyon 2016; 2:e00095. [PMID: 27441269 PMCID: PMC4946084 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2016.e00095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Revised: 02/25/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The intrinsic stochasticity of gene expression is usually mitigated in higher eukaryotes by post-transcriptional regulation channels that stabilise the output layer, most notably protein levels. The discovery of small non-coding RNAs (miRNAs) in specific motifs of the genetic regulatory network has led to identifying noise buffering as the possible key function they exert in regulation. Recent in vitro and in silico studies have corroborated this hypothesis. It is however also known that miRNA-mediated noise reduction is hampered by transcriptional bursting in simple topologies. Here, using stochastic simulations validated by analytical calculations based on van Kampen's expansion, we revisit the noise-buffering capacity of the miRNA-mediated Incoherent Feed Forward Loop (IFFL), a small module that is widespread in the gene regulatory networks of higher eukaryotes, in order to account for the effects of intermittency in the transcriptional activity of the modulator gene. We show that bursting considerably alters the circuit's ability to control static protein noise. By comparing with other regulatory architectures, we find that direct transcriptional regulation significantly outperforms the IFFL in a broad range of kinetic parameters. This suggests that, under pulsatile inputs, static noise reduction may be less important than dynamical aspects of noise and information processing in characterising the performance of regulatory elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Grigolon
- The Francis Crick Institute, Lincoln's Inn Fields Laboratory, 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LY, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca Di Patti
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- INFN, Sezione di Firenze, Italy
| | - Andrea De Martino
- Soft & Living Matter Lab, Institute of Nanotechnology (CNR-NANOTEC), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
- Center for Life Nano Science@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
- Human Genetics Foundation, Torino, Italy
- Corresponding authors.
| | - Enzo Marinari
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
- INFN, Sezione di Roma, Italy
- Corresponding authors.
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30
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MicroRNA-based therapy and breast cancer: A comprehensive review of novel therapeutic strategies from diagnosis to treatment. Pharmacol Res 2015; 97:104-21. [DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2015.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2015] [Revised: 04/15/2015] [Accepted: 04/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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31
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Chen FC. Alternative RNA structure-coupled gene regulations in tumorigenesis. Int J Mol Sci 2014; 16:452-75. [PMID: 25551597 PMCID: PMC4307256 DOI: 10.3390/ijms16010452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2014] [Accepted: 12/16/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Alternative RNA structures (ARSs), or alternative transcript isoforms, are critical for regulating cellular phenotypes in humans. In addition to generating functionally diverse protein isoforms from a single gene, ARS can alter the sequence contents of 5'/3' untranslated regions (UTRs) and intronic regions, thus also affecting the regulatory effects of these regions. ARS may introduce premature stop codon(s) into a transcript, and render the transcript susceptible to nonsense-mediated decay, which in turn can influence the overall gene expression level. Meanwhile, ARS can regulate the presence/absence of upstream open reading frames and microRNA targeting sites in 5'UTRs and 3'UTRs, respectively, thus affecting translational efficiencies and protein expression levels. Furthermore, since ARS may alter exon-intron structures, it can influence the biogenesis of intronic microRNAs and indirectly affect the expression of the target genes of these microRNAs. The connections between ARS and multiple regulatory mechanisms underline the importance of ARS in determining cell fate. Accumulating evidence indicates that ARS-coupled regulations play important roles in tumorigenesis. Here I will review our current knowledge in this field, and discuss potential future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng-Chi Chen
- Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan.
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32
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Hall DP, Cost NG, Hegde S, Kellner E, Mikhaylova O, Stratton Y, Ehmer B, Abplanalp WA, Pandey R, Biesiada J, Harteneck C, Plas DR, Meller J, Czyzyk-Krzeska MF. TRPM3 and miR-204 establish a regulatory circuit that controls oncogenic autophagy in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Cell 2014; 26:738-53. [PMID: 25517751 PMCID: PMC4269832 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2014.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2013] [Revised: 08/06/2014] [Accepted: 09/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Autophagy promotes tumor growth by generating nutrients from the degradation of intracellular structures. Here we establish, using shRNAs, a dominant-negative mutant, and a pharmacologic inhibitor, mefenamic acid (MFA), that the Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 3 (TRPM3) channel promotes the growth of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and stimulates MAP1LC3A (LC3A) and MAP1LC3B (LC3B) autophagy. Increased expression of TRPM3 in RCC leads to Ca(2+) influx, activation of CAMKK2, AMPK, and ULK1, and phagophore formation. In addition, TRPM3 Ca(2+) and Zn(2+) fluxes inhibit miR-214, which directly targets LC3A and LC3B. The von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor (VHL) represses TRPM3 directly through miR-204 and indirectly through another miR-204 target, Caveolin 1 (CAV1).
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Hall
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA
| | - Nicholas G Cost
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA; Division of Pediatric Urology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Shailaja Hegde
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA
| | - Emily Kellner
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA
| | - Olga Mikhaylova
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA
| | - Yiwen Stratton
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA
| | - Birgit Ehmer
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA
| | - William A Abplanalp
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA
| | - Raghav Pandey
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA
| | - Jacek Biesiada
- Division of Biomedical Informatics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Christian Harteneck
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapy, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Eberhard Karls University Hospitals and Clinics, and Interfaculty Center of Pharmacogenomics and Drug Research, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - David R Plas
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA
| | - Jarek Meller
- Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, USA; Division of Biomedical Informatics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA; Department of Informatics, Nicolas Copernicus University, 87-100 Torun, Poland
| | - Maria F Czyzyk-Krzeska
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0521, USA; Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Research Service, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USA.
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33
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Mining cancer gene expression databases for latent information on intronic microRNAs. Mol Oncol 2014; 9:473-87. [PMID: 25459350 DOI: 10.1016/j.molonc.2014.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2014] [Revised: 09/23/2014] [Accepted: 10/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Around 50% of all human microRNAs reside within introns of coding genes and are usually co-transcribed. Gene expression datasets, therefore, should contain a wealth of miRNA-relevant latent information, exploitable for many basic and translational research aims. The present study was undertaken to investigate this possibility. We developed an in silico approach to identify intronic-miRNAs relevant to breast cancer, using public gene expression datasets. This led to the identification of a miRNA signature for aggressive breast cancer, and to the characterization of novel roles of selected miRNAs in cancer-related biological phenotypes. Unexpectedly, in a number of cases, expression regulation of the intronic-miRNA was more relevant than the expression of their host gene. These results provide a proof of principle for the validity of our intronic miRNA mining strategy, which we envision can be applied not only to cancer research, but also to other biological and biomedical fields.
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34
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Osella M, Riba A, Testori A, Corà D, Caselle M. Interplay of microRNA and epigenetic regulation in the human regulatory network. Front Genet 2014; 5:345. [PMID: 25339974 PMCID: PMC4186481 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2014] [Accepted: 09/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The expression of protein-coding genes is controlled by a complex network of regulatory interactions. It is becoming increasingly appreciated that post-transcriptional repression by microRNAs, a class of small non-coding RNAs, is a key layer of regulation in several biological processes. In this contribution, we discuss the interplay between microRNAs and epigenetic regulators. Among the mixed genetic circuits composed by these two different kinds of regulation, it seems that a central role is played by double-negative feedback loops in which a microRNA inhibits an epigenetic regulator and in turn is controlled at the epigenetic level by the same regulator. We discuss a few relevant properties of this class of network motifs and their potential role in cell differentiation. In particular, using mathematical modeling we show how this particular circuit can exhibit a switch-like behavior between two alternative steady states, while being robust to stochastic transitions between these two states, a feature presumably required for circuits involved in cell fate decision. Finally, we present a list of putative double-negative feedback loops from a literature survey combined with bioinformatic analysis, and discuss in detail a few examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Osella
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Università di Torino Torino, Italy
| | - Andrea Riba
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Università di Torino Torino, Italy
| | - Alessandro Testori
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Università di Torino Torino, Italy
| | - Davide Corà
- Dipartimento di Oncologia, Istituto per la Ricerca sul Cancro di Candiolo-Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Università di Torino Torino, Italy
| | - Michele Caselle
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Università di Torino Torino, Italy
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35
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Tang L, Zhang Z, Gu P, Chen M. Construction and analysis of microRNA‐transcription factor regulation network in arabidopsis. IET Syst Biol 2014; 8:76-86. [DOI: 10.1049/iet-syb.2013.0024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lie Tang
- Department of BioinformaticsCollege of Life SciencesHangzhouZhejiangPeople's Republic China
- Department of Applied BioscienceCollege of Agronomy and BiotechnologyHangzhou310058People's Republic of China
| | - Zhao Zhang
- Department of BioinformaticsCollege of Life SciencesHangzhouZhejiangPeople's Republic China
| | - Peizhen Gu
- Department of Control Science and EngineeringZhejiang UniversityHangzhou310058People's Republic of China
| | - Ming Chen
- Department of BioinformaticsCollege of Life SciencesHangzhouZhejiangPeople's Republic China
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36
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Strovas TJ, Rosenberg AB, Kuypers BE, Muscat RA, Seelig G. MicroRNA-based single-gene circuits buffer protein synthesis rates against perturbations. ACS Synth Biol 2014; 3:324-31. [PMID: 24847681 DOI: 10.1021/sb4001867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Achieving precise control of mammalian transgene expression has remained a long-standing, and increasingly urgent, challenge in biomedical science. Despite much work, single-cell methods have consistently revealed that mammalian gene expression levels remain susceptible to fluctuations (noise) and external perturbations. Here, we show that precise control of protein synthesis can be realized using a single-gene microRNA (miRNA)-based feed-forward loop (sgFFL). This minimal autoregulatory gene circuit consists of an intronic miRNA that targets its own transcript. In response to a step-like increase in transcription rate, the network generated a transient protein expression pulse before returning to a lower steady state level, thus exhibiting adaptation. Critically, the steady state protein levels were independent of the size of the stimulus, demonstrating that this simple network architecture effectively buffered protein production against changes in transcription. The single-gene network architecture was also effective in buffering against transcriptional noise, leading to reduced cell-to-cell variability in protein synthesis. Noise was up to 5-fold lower for a sgFFL than for an unregulated control gene with equal mean protein levels. The noise buffering capability varied predictably with the strength of the miRNA-target interaction. Together, these results suggest that the sgFFL single-gene motif provides a general and broadly applicable platform for robust gene expression in synthetic and natural gene circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J Strovas
- Department of Electrical Engineering and ‡Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-5852, United States
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37
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Riba A, Bosia C, El Baroudi M, Ollino L, Caselle M. A combination of transcriptional and microRNA regulation improves the stability of the relative concentrations of target genes. PLoS Comput Biol 2014; 10:e1003490. [PMID: 24586138 PMCID: PMC3937125 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2013] [Accepted: 12/18/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
It is well known that, under suitable conditions, microRNAs are able to fine tune the relative concentration of their targets to any desired value. We show that this function is particularly effective when one of the targets is a Transcription Factor (TF) which regulates the other targets. This combination defines a new class of feed-forward loops (FFLs) in which the microRNA plays the role of master regulator. Using both deterministic and stochastic equations, we show that these FFLs are indeed able not only to fine-tune the TF/target ratio to any desired value as a function of the miRNA concentration but also, thanks to the peculiar topology of the circuit, to ensure the stability of this ratio against stochastic fluctuations. These two effects are due to the interplay between the direct transcriptional regulation and the indirect TF/Target interaction due to competition of TF and target for miRNA binding (the so called "sponge effect"). We then perform a genome wide search of these FFLs in the human regulatory network and show that they are characterized by a very peculiar enrichment pattern. In particular, they are strongly enriched in all the situations in which the TF and its target have to be precisely kept at the same concentration notwithstanding the environmental noise. As an example we discuss the FFL involving E2F1 as Transcription Factor, RB1 as target and miR-17 family as master regulator. These FFLs ensure a tight control of the E2F/RB ratio which in turns ensures the stability of the transition from the G0/G1 to the S phase in quiescent cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Riba
- Department of Physics and INFN, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
- * E-mail: (AR); (CB)
| | - Carla Bosia
- Department of Physics and INFN, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
- * E-mail: (AR); (CB)
| | - Mariama El Baroudi
- National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Informatics and Telematics (IIT) and Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), Laboratory for Integrative System Medicine (LISM), Pisa, Italy
| | - Laura Ollino
- Department of Physics and INFN, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Michele Caselle
- Department of Physics and INFN, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
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38
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Romao JM, Jin W, He M, McAllister T, Guan LL. MicroRNAs in bovine adipogenesis: genomic context, expression and function. BMC Genomics 2014; 15:137. [PMID: 24548287 PMCID: PMC3930007 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2013] [Accepted: 02/11/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs found to regulate several biological processes including adipogenesis. Understanding adipose tissue regulation is critical for beef cattle as fat is an important determinant of beef quality and nutrient value. This study analyzed the association between genomic context characteristics of miRNAs with their expression and function in bovine adipose tissue. Twenty-four subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies were obtained from eight British-continental crossbred steers at 3 different time points. Total RNA was extracted and miRNAs were profiled using a miRNA microarray with expression further validated by qRT-PCR. Results A total of 224 miRNAs were detected of which 155 were expressed in all steers (n = 8), and defined as the core miRNAs of bovine subcutaneous adipose tissue. Core adipose miRNAs varied in terms of genomic location (59.5% intergenic, 38.7% intronic, 1.2% exonic, and 0.6% mirtron), organization (55.5% non-clustered and 44.5% clustered), and conservation (49% highly conserved, 14% conserved and 37% poorly conserved). Clustered miRNAs and highly conserved miRNAs were more highly expressed (p < 0.05) and had more predicted targets than non-clustered or less conserved miRNAs (p < 0.001). A total of 34 miRNAs were coordinately expressed, being part of six identified relevant networks. Two intronic miRNAs (miR-33a and miR-1281) were confirmed to have coordinated expression with their host genes, transcriptional factor SREBF2 and EP300 (a transcriptional co-activator of transcriptional factor C/EBPα), respectively which are involved in lipid metabolism, suggesting these miRNAs may also play a role in regulation of bovine lipid metabolism/adipogenesis. Furthermore, a total of 17 bovine specific miRNAs were predicted to be involved in the regulation of energy balance in adipose tissue. Conclusions These findings improve our understanding on the behavior of miRNAs in the regulation of bovine adipogenesis and fat metabolism as it reveals that miRNA expression patterns and functions are associated with miRNA genomic location, organization and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Le Luo Guan
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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39
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Fan Z, Chen X, Chen R. Transcriptome-wide analysis of TDP-43 binding small RNAs identifies miR-NID1 (miR-8485), a novel miRNA that represses NRXN1 expression. Genomics 2013; 103:76-82. [PMID: 23827811 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2013.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2013] [Revised: 06/13/2013] [Accepted: 06/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The Tar DNA-binding protein 43 (TARDBP, TDP-43) regulates RNA processing and miRNA biogenesis and is known to be involved in neurodegeneration. Messenger RNA (mRNA) targets of TDP-43 have recently been systematically identified, but small RNAs (sRNAs) bound by TDP-43 have not been studied in details. Here, we reexamine cross-linking, immunoprecipitation and sequencing (CLIP-seq) data, and identify pre-miRNAs, miRNAs and piRNAs bound by TDP-43 in human and mouse brains. Subsequent analysis of TDP-43 binding miRNAs suggests that target genes are enriched in functions involving synaptic activities. We further identify a novel miRNA (miR-NID1) processed from the intron 5 of human neurexin 1, NRXN1, and show that miR-NID1 represses NRXN1 expression by binding to TDP-43. Our results are in accordance with previously published data indicating TDP-43 through binding of specific miRNAs to play roles in neurodevelopmental activities and neurological disorders and further our understanding of TDP-43 function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Fan
- Laboratory of Noncoding RNA, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiaowei Chen
- Laboratory of Noncoding RNA, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Runsheng Chen
- Laboratory of Noncoding RNA, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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40
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Bosia C, Pagnani A, Zecchina R. Modelling Competing Endogenous RNA Networks. PLoS One 2013; 8:e66609. [PMID: 23840508 PMCID: PMC3694070 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2013] [Accepted: 05/07/2013] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNA molecules, about 22 nucleotide long, which post-transcriptionally regulate their target messenger RNAs (mRNAs). They accomplish key roles in gene regulatory networks, ranging from signaling pathways to tissue morphogenesis, and their aberrant behavior is often associated with the development of various diseases. Recently it has been experimentally shown that the way miRNAs interact with their targets can be described in terms of a titration mechanism. From a theoretical point of view titration mechanisms are characterized by threshold effect at near-equimolarity of the different chemical species, hypersensitivity of the system around the threshold, and cross-talk among targets. The latter characteristic has been lately identified as competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) effect to mark those indirect interactions among targets of a common pool of miRNAs they are in competition for. Here we propose a stochastic model to analyze the equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium properties of a network of [Formula: see text] miRNAs interacting with [Formula: see text] mRNA targets. In particular we are able to describe in detail the peculiar equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena that the system displays in proximity to the threshold: (i) maximal cross-talk and correlation between targets, (ii) robustness of ceRNA effect with respect to the model's parameters and in particular to the catalyticity of the miRNA-mRNA interaction, and (iii) anomalous response-time to external perturbations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Bosia
- Human Genetics Foundation (HuGeF), Torino, Italy
| | - Andrea Pagnani
- Human Genetics Foundation (HuGeF), Torino, Italy
- Physics Department and Center for Computational Sciences, Politecnico Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Riccardo Zecchina
- Human Genetics Foundation (HuGeF), Torino, Italy
- Physics Department and Center for Computational Sciences, Politecnico Torino, Torino, Italy
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41
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Polman JAE, de Kloet ER, Datson NA. Two populations of glucocorticoid receptor-binding sites in the male rat hippocampal genome. Endocrinology 2013; 154:1832-44. [PMID: 23525215 DOI: 10.1210/en.2012-2187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, genomic binding sites of glucocorticoid receptors (GR) were identified in vivo in the rat hippocampus applying chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by next-generation sequencing. We identified 2470 significant GR-binding sites (GBS) and were able to confirm GR binding to a random selection of these GBS covering a wide range of P values. Analysis of the genomic distribution of the significant GBS revealed a high prevalence of intragenic GBS. Gene ontology clusters involved in neuronal plasticity and other essential neuronal processes were overrepresented among the genes harboring a GBS or located in the vicinity of a GBS. Male adrenalectomized rats were challenged with increasing doses of the GR agonist corticosterone (CORT) ranging from 3 to 3000 μg/kg, resulting in clear differences in the GR-binding profile to individual GBS. Two groups of GBS could be distinguished: a low-CORT group that displayed GR binding across the full range of CORT concentrations, and a second high-CORT group that displayed significant GR binding only after administering the highest concentration of CORT. All validated GBS, in both the low-CORT and high-CORT groups, displayed mineralocorticoid receptor binding, which remained relatively constant from 30 μg/kg CORT upward. Motif analysis revealed that almost all GBS contained a glucocorticoid response element resembling the consensus motif in literature. In addition, motifs corresponding with new potential GR-interacting proteins were identified, such as zinc finger and BTB domain containing 3 (Zbtb3) and CUP (CG11181 gene product from transcript CG11181-RB), which may be involved in GR-dependent transactivation and transrepression, respectively. In conclusion, our results highlight the existence of 2 populations of GBS in the rat hippocampal genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Annelies E Polman
- Division of Medical Pharmacology, Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
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