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Ten Years of CRISPRing Cancers In Vitro. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14235746. [PMID: 36497228 PMCID: PMC9738354 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14235746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell lines have always constituted a good investigation tool for cancer research, allowing scientists to understand the basic mechanisms underlying the complex network of phenomena peculiar to the transforming path from a healthy to cancerous cell. The introduction of CRISPR in everyday laboratory activity and its relative affordability greatly expanded the bench lab weaponry in the daily attempt to better understand tumor biology with the final aim to mitigate cancer's impact in our lives. In this review, we aim to report how this genome editing technique affected in the in vitro modeling of different aspects of tumor biology, its several declinations, and analyze the advantages and drawbacks of each of them.
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Jiang Y. Contribution of Microhomology to Genome Instability: Connection between DNA Repair and Replication Stress. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:12937. [PMID: 36361724 PMCID: PMC9657218 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232112937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) is a highly mutagenic pathway to repair double-strand breaks (DSBs). MMEJ was thought to be a backup pathway of homologous recombination (HR) and canonical nonhomologous end joining (C-NHEJ). However, it attracts more attention in cancer research due to its special function of microhomology in many different aspects of cancer. In particular, it is initiated with DNA end resection and upregulated in homologous recombination-deficient cancers. In this review, I summarize the following: (1) the recent findings and contributions of MMEJ to genome instability, including phenotypes relevant to MMEJ; (2) the interaction between MMEJ and other DNA repair pathways; (3) the proposed mechanistic model of MMEJ in DNA DSB repair and a new connection with microhomology-mediated break-induced replication (MMBIR); and (4) the potential clinical application by targeting MMEJ based on synthetic lethality for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuning Jiang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA
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Complete loss of miR-200 family induces EMT associated cellular senescence in gastric cancer. Oncogene 2021; 41:26-36. [PMID: 34667277 PMCID: PMC8724006 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-021-02067-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The EMT (epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition) subtype of gastric cancer (GC) is associated with poor treatment responses and unfavorable clinical outcomes. Despite the broad physiological roles of the micro-RNA (miR)-200 family, they largely serve to maintain the overall epithelial phenotype. However, during late-stage gastric tumorigenesis, members of the miR-200 family are markedly suppressed, resulting in the transition to the mesenchymal state and the acquisition of invasive properties. As such, the miR-200 family represents a robust molecular marker of EMT, and subsequently, disease severity and prognosis. Most reports have studied the effect of single miR-200 family member knockdown. Here, we employ a multiplex CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate a complete miR-200 family knockout (FKO) to investigate their collective and summative role in regulating key cellular processes during GC pathogenesis. Genetic deletion of all miR-200s in the human GC cell lines induced potent morphological alterations, G1/S cell cycle arrest, increased senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β−Gal) activity, and aberrant metabolism, collectively resembling the senescent phenotype. Coupling RNA-seq data with publicly available datasets, we revealed a clear separation of senescent and non-senescent states amongst FKO cells and control cells, respectively. Further analysis identified key senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) components in FKO cells and a positive feedback loop for maintenance of the senescent state controlled by activation of TGF-β and TNF-α pathways. Finally, we showed that miR-200 FKO associated senescence in cancer epithelial cells significantly recruited stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment. Our work has identified a new role of miR-200 family members which function as an integrated unit serving to link senescence with EMT, two major conserved biological processes.
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Zluhan-Martínez E, Pérez-Koldenkova V, Ponce-Castañeda MV, Sánchez MDLP, García-Ponce B, Miguel-Hernández S, Álvarez-Buylla ER, Garay-Arroyo A. Beyond What Your Retina Can See: Similarities of Retinoblastoma Function between Plants and Animals, from Developmental Processes to Epigenetic Regulation. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E4925. [PMID: 32664691 PMCID: PMC7404004 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21144925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The Retinoblastoma protein (pRb) is a key cell cycle regulator conserved in a wide variety of organisms. Experimental analysis of pRb's functions in animals and plants has revealed that this protein participates in cell proliferation and differentiation processes. In addition, pRb in animals and its orthologs in plants (RBR), are part of highly conserved protein complexes which suggest the possibility that analogies exist not only between functions carried out by pRb orthologs themselves, but also in the structure and roles of the protein networks where these proteins are involved. Here, we present examples of pRb/RBR participation in cell cycle control, cell differentiation, and in the regulation of epigenetic changes and chromatin remodeling machinery, highlighting the similarities that exist between the composition of such networks in plants and animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estephania Zluhan-Martínez
- Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de Plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, 3er Circuito Ext. Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, UNAM 04510, Mexico; (E.Z.-M.); (M.d.l.P.S.); (B.G.-P.)
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000, Coyoacán 04510, Mexico
| | - Vadim Pérez-Koldenkova
- Laboratorio Nacional de Microscopía Avanzada, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Cuauhtémoc, 330. Col. Doctores, Alc. Cuauhtémoc 06720, Mexico;
| | - Martha Verónica Ponce-Castañeda
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Infecciosas, Centro Médico Nacional SXXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico;
| | - María de la Paz Sánchez
- Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de Plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, 3er Circuito Ext. Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, UNAM 04510, Mexico; (E.Z.-M.); (M.d.l.P.S.); (B.G.-P.)
| | - Berenice García-Ponce
- Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de Plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, 3er Circuito Ext. Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, UNAM 04510, Mexico; (E.Z.-M.); (M.d.l.P.S.); (B.G.-P.)
| | - Sergio Miguel-Hernández
- Laboratorio de Citopatología Ambiental, Departamento de Morfología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Campus Zacatenco, Calle Wilfrido Massieu Esquina Cda, Manuel Stampa 07738, Mexico;
| | - Elena R. Álvarez-Buylla
- Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de Plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, 3er Circuito Ext. Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, UNAM 04510, Mexico; (E.Z.-M.); (M.d.l.P.S.); (B.G.-P.)
| | - Adriana Garay-Arroyo
- Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de Plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, 3er Circuito Ext. Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, UNAM 04510, Mexico; (E.Z.-M.); (M.d.l.P.S.); (B.G.-P.)
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