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Zhen Y, He Q, Sun C, Ma Y, Li Q, Wen L. Generate an AZFa deleted human embryonic stem cell line. Stem Cell Res 2024; 77:103436. [PMID: 38733811 DOI: 10.1016/j.scr.2024.103436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Y chromosome deletion and karyotype abnormalities are commonly associated with congenital non-obstructive azoospermia, impairing spermatogenesis. Specifically, the deletion of the Y chromosome Azoospermia factor a (AZFa) has been identified in infertile males with severely impaired spermatogenesis. AZFa, encompassing megabase-scale of the Y chromosome region, poses challenges in modeling AZFa deletion-related male infertility using gene editing tools. Here, we successfully created an AZFa-deleted human embryonic stem cell line utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool. Our analysis indicates the AZFa-deleted stem cell line holds promise for differentiation into ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm, highlighting its potential for further comprehensive study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Zhen
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education & Key Laboratory of Brain Science Research Transformation in Tropical Environment of Hainan Province, School of Basic Medicine and Life Sciences, Hainan Medical University, China; Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for human reproductive medicine and Genetic Research, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health Diseases Research and Translation (Hainan Medical University), Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China; Department of Reproductive Medicine, Hainan Provincial Clinical Research Center for Thalassemia, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; National Center for International Research "China-Myanmar Joint Research Center for Prevention and Treatment of Regional Major Disease" by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; Haikou Key Laboratory for Preservation of Human Genetic Resource, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China
| | - Qina He
- Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for human reproductive medicine and Genetic Research, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health Diseases Research and Translation (Hainan Medical University), Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China; Department of Reproductive Medicine, Hainan Provincial Clinical Research Center for Thalassemia, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; National Center for International Research "China-Myanmar Joint Research Center for Prevention and Treatment of Regional Major Disease" by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; Haikou Key Laboratory for Preservation of Human Genetic Resource, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China
| | - Chao Sun
- Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for human reproductive medicine and Genetic Research, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health Diseases Research and Translation (Hainan Medical University), Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China; Department of Reproductive Medicine, Hainan Provincial Clinical Research Center for Thalassemia, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; National Center for International Research "China-Myanmar Joint Research Center for Prevention and Treatment of Regional Major Disease" by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; Haikou Key Laboratory for Preservation of Human Genetic Resource, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China
| | - Yanlin Ma
- Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for human reproductive medicine and Genetic Research, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health Diseases Research and Translation (Hainan Medical University), Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China; Department of Reproductive Medicine, Hainan Provincial Clinical Research Center for Thalassemia, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; National Center for International Research "China-Myanmar Joint Research Center for Prevention and Treatment of Regional Major Disease" by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; Haikou Key Laboratory for Preservation of Human Genetic Resource, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China
| | - Qi Li
- Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for human reproductive medicine and Genetic Research, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health Diseases Research and Translation (Hainan Medical University), Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China; Department of Reproductive Medicine, Hainan Provincial Clinical Research Center for Thalassemia, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; National Center for International Research "China-Myanmar Joint Research Center for Prevention and Treatment of Regional Major Disease" by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; Haikou Key Laboratory for Preservation of Human Genetic Resource, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China.
| | - Luan Wen
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education & Key Laboratory of Brain Science Research Transformation in Tropical Environment of Hainan Province, School of Basic Medicine and Life Sciences, Hainan Medical University, China; Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for human reproductive medicine and Genetic Research, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health Diseases Research and Translation (Hainan Medical University), Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China; Department of Reproductive Medicine, Hainan Provincial Clinical Research Center for Thalassemia, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; National Center for International Research "China-Myanmar Joint Research Center for Prevention and Treatment of Regional Major Disease" by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China; Haikou Key Laboratory for Preservation of Human Genetic Resource, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China.
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Yu M, Yang D, Chen C, Xia H. Effects of SETD2 on telomere length and malignant transformation property of Met-5A after one-month crocidolite exposure. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND HEALTH. PART C, TOXICOLOGY AND CARCINOGENESIS 2023; 41:121-134. [PMID: 37899647 DOI: 10.1080/26896583.2023.2271822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
Crocidolite is a carcinogen contributing to the pathogenesis of malignant mesothelioma. This study aimed to characterize the possible telomere-related events mediating the malignant transformation of mesothelial cells with and without SETD2 under crocidolite exposure. The crocidolite concentration resulting in 90% viable SETD2 knockout Met-5A (Met-5ASETD2-KO) and Met-5A were estimated to be 0.71 μg/cm2 and 1.8 μg/cm2, respectively, during 72 h of exposure, which was further employed in chronical crocidolite exposure during a 72 h exposure interval per time up to 1 month. Chronical crocidolite-exposed Met-5ASETD2-KO (chronical Cro-Met-5ASETD2-KO) had higher colony formation and increased telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) protein levels than chronical crocidolite-exposed Met-5A (chronical Cro-Met-5A) and Met-5ASETD2-KO. Chronical Cro-Met-5ASETD2-KO had longer telomere length (TL) than chronical Cro-Met-5A, although there were no changes in TL for either chronical Cro-Met-5A or chronical Cro-Met-5ASETD2-KO compared with their corresponding cells without crocidolite exposure. BIBR 1532, an inhibitor targeting TERT, partially reduced colony formation and TL for chronical Cro-Met-5ASETD2-KO, while BIBR 1532 reduced TL but had no effect on colony formation for chronical Cro-Met-5A. Therefore, SETD2 deficient mesothelial cells are susceptible to malignant transformation during chronical crocidolite exposure, and TERT-dependent TL modification likely partially drives SETD2 loss-mediated early onset of mesothelial malignant transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Yu
- Department of Occupational Health & Radiation Hygiene, Hangzhou Hospital for the Prevention and Treatment of Occupational Disease, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- School of Public Heath, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Dan Yang
- School of Public Heath, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Chiyun Chen
- Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Cixi People Hospital Medical Health Group (Cixi People Hospital), Cixi, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hailing Xia
- School of Public Heath, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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3
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Alinejad T, Modarressi S, Sadri Z, Hao Z, Chen CS. Diagnostic applications and therapeutic option of Cascade CRISPR/Cas in the modulation of miRNA in diverse cancers: promises and obstacles. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2023; 149:9557-9575. [PMID: 37222810 PMCID: PMC10423114 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-023-04747-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas technology is a molecular tool specific to sequences for engineering genomes. Among diverse clusters of Cas proteins, the class 2/type II CRISPR/Cas9 system, despite several challenges, such as off-target effects, editing efficiency, and efficient delivery, has shown great promise for driver gene mutation discovery, high-throughput gene screening, epigenetic modulation, nucleic acid detection, disease modeling, and more importantly for therapeutic purposes. CRISPR-based clinical and experimental methods have applications across a wide range of areas, especially for cancer research and, possibly, anticancer therapy. On the other hand, given the influential role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulations of cellular division, carcinogenicity, tumorigenesis, migration/invasion, and angiogenesis in diverse normal and pathogenic cellular processes, in different stages of cancer, miRNAs are either oncogenes or tumor suppressors, according to what type of cancer they are involved in. Hence, these noncoding RNA molecules are conceivable biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutic targets. Moreover, they are suggested to be adequate predictors for cancer prediction. Conclusive evidence proves that CRISPR/Cas system can be applied to target small non-coding RNAs. However, the majority of studies have highlighted the application of the CRISPR/Cas system for targeting protein-coding regions. In this review, we specifically discuss diverse applications of CRISPR-based tools for probing miRNA gene function and miRNA-based therapeutic involvement in different types of cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahereh Alinejad
- The Key Laboratory of Interventional Pulmonology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, South Baixiang, Ouhai District, Wenzhou, 325015 Zhejiang People’s Republic of China
| | - Shabnam Modarressi
- Department of Food Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg C. Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Zahra Sadri
- The Department of Biological Science, Molecular and Cell Biology, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, TX USA
| | - Zuo Hao
- The Key Laboratory of Interventional Pulmonology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, South Baixiang, Ouhai District, Wenzhou, 325015 Zhejiang People’s Republic of China
| | - Cheng Shui Chen
- The Key Laboratory of Interventional Pulmonology of Zhejiang Province, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, South Baixiang, Ouhai District, Wenzhou, 325015 Zhejiang People’s Republic of China
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4
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Saretzki G. Role of Telomeres and Telomerase in Cancer and Aging. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:9932. [PMID: 37373080 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24129932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Seventeen papers published in 2019 and early 2020 demonstrate the ongoing interest and research concerning telomeres and telomerase in aging and cancer [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Saretzki
- Biosciences Institute, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5PL, UK
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5
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The Potential Revolution of Cancer Treatment with CRISPR Technology. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15061813. [PMID: 36980699 PMCID: PMC10046289 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15061813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Immuno-oncology (IO) and targeted therapies, such as small molecule inhibitors, have changed the landscape of cancer treatment and prognosis; however, durable responses have been difficult to achieve due to tumor heterogeneity, development of drug resistance, and adverse effects that limit dosing and prolonged drug use. To improve upon the current medicinal armamentarium, there is an urgent need for new ways to understand, reverse, and treat carcinogenesis. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) 9 is a powerful and efficient tool for genome editing that has shown significant promise for developing new therapeutics. While CRISPR/Cas9 has been successfully used for pre-clinical cancer research, its use in the clinical setting is still in an early stage of development. The purpose of this review is to describe the CRISPR technology and to provide an overview of its current applications and future potential as cancer therapies.
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6
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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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Chira S, Nutu A, Isacescu E, Bica C, Pop L, Ciocan C, Berindan-Neagoe I. Genome Editing Approaches with CRISPR/Cas9 for Cancer Treatment: Critical Appraisal of Preclinical and Clinical Utility, Challenges, and Future Research. Cells 2022; 11:cells11182781. [PMID: 36139356 PMCID: PMC9496708 DOI: 10.3390/cells11182781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The increasing burden on human malignant diseases became a major concern for healthcare practitioners, that must deal with tumor relapse and the inability to efficiently treat metastasis, in addition to side effects. Throughout the decades, many therapeutic strategies have been employed to improve the clinical outcomes of cancer patients and great efforts have been made to develop more efficient and targeted medicines. The malignant cell is characterized by genetic and epigenetic modifications, therefore targeting those specific drivers of carcinogenesis is highly desirable. Among the genome editing technologies, CRISPR/Cas9 stood as a promising candidate for cancer treatment alternatives, due to its low complexity design. First described as a defense mechanism of bacteria against invading foreign DNA, later it was shown that CRISPR components can be engineered to target specific DNA sequences in a test tube, a discovery that was awarded later with the Nobel Prize in chemistry for its rapid expansion as a reliable genome editing tool in many fields of research, including medicine. The present paper aims of describing CRISPR/Cas9 potential targets for malignant disorders, and the approaches used for achieving this goal. Aside from preclinical studies, we also present the clinical trials that use CRISPR-based technology for therapeutic purposes of cancer. Finally, a summary of the presented studies adds a more focused view of the therapeutic value CRISPR/Cas9 holds and the associated shortcomings.
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8
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Identification of the CKM Gene as a Potential Muscle-Specific Safe Harbor Locus in Pig Genome. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13050921. [PMID: 35627307 PMCID: PMC9140944 DOI: 10.3390/genes13050921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetically modified pigs have shown considerable application potential in the fields of life science research and livestock breeding. Nevertheless, a barrier impedes the production of genetically modified pigs. There are too few safe harbor loci for the insertion of foreign genes into the pig genome. Only a few loci (pRosa26, pH11 and Pifs501) have been successfully identified to achieve the ectopic expression of foreign genes and produce gene-edited pigs. Here, we use CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous directed repair (HDR) to accurately knock the exogenous gene-of-interest fragments into an endogenous CKM gene in the porcine satellite cells. After porcine satellite cells are induced to differentiate, the CKM gene promoter simultaneously initiates the expression of the CKM gene and the exogenous gene. We infer preliminarily that the CKM gene can be identified as a potential muscle-specific safe harbor locus in pigs for the integration of exogenous gene-of-interest fragments.
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Chen L, Wang Y, Zhao F. Exploiting deep transfer learning for the prediction of functional non-coding variants using genomic sequence. Bioinformatics 2022; 38:3164-3172. [PMID: 35389435 PMCID: PMC9890318 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btac214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Though genome-wide association studies have identified tens of thousands of variants associated with complex traits and most of them fall within the non-coding regions, they may not be the causal ones. The development of high-throughput functional assays leads to the discovery of experimental validated non-coding functional variants. However, these validated variants are rare due to technical difficulty and financial cost. The small sample size of validated variants makes it less reliable to develop a supervised machine learning model for achieving a whole genome-wide prediction of non-coding causal variants. RESULTS We will exploit a deep transfer learning model, which is based on convolutional neural network, to improve the prediction for functional non-coding variants (NCVs). To address the challenge of small sample size, the transfer learning model leverages both large-scale generic functional NCVs to improve the learning of low-level features and context-specific functional NCVs to learn high-level features toward the context-specific prediction task. By evaluating the deep transfer learning model on three MPRA datasets and 16 GWAS datasets, we demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms deep learning models without pretraining or retraining. In addition, the deep transfer learning model outperforms 18 existing computational methods in both MPRA and GWAS datasets. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION https://github.com/lichen-lab/TLVar. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Chen
- To whom correspondence should be addressed.
| | | | - Fengdi Zhao
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA,Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
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Genome editing via non-viral delivery platforms: current progress in personalized cancer therapy. Mol Cancer 2022; 21:71. [PMID: 35277177 PMCID: PMC8915502 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-022-01550-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer is a severe disease that substantially jeopardizes global health. Although considerable efforts have been made to discover effective anti-cancer therapeutics, the cancer incidence and mortality are still growing. The personalized anti-cancer therapies present themselves as a promising solution for the dilemma because they could precisely destroy or fix the cancer targets based on the comprehensive genomic analyses. In addition, genome editing is an ideal way to implement personalized anti-cancer therapy because it allows the direct modification of pro-tumor genes as well as the generation of personalized anti-tumor immune cells. Furthermore, non-viral delivery system could effectively transport genome editing tools (GETs) into the cell nucleus with an appreciable safety profile. In this manuscript, the important attributes and recent progress of GETs will be discussed. Besides, the laboratory and clinical investigations that seek for the possibility of combining non-viral delivery systems with GETs for the treatment of cancer will be assessed in the scope of personalized therapy.
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CRISPR/Cas: A New Tool in the Research of Telomeres and Telomerase as Well as a Novel Form of Cancer Therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23063002. [PMID: 35328421 PMCID: PMC8953708 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23063002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to their close connection with senescence, aging, and disease, telomeres and telomerase provide a unique and vital research route for boosting longevity and health span. Despite significant advances during the last three decades, earlier studies into these two biological players were impeded by the difficulty of achieving real-time changes inside living cells. As a result of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated system’s (Cas) method, targeted genetic studies are now underway to change telomerase, the genes that govern it as well as telomeres. This review will discuss studies that have utilized CRISPR-related technologies to target and modify genes relevant to telomeres and telomerase as well as to develop targeted anti-cancer therapies. These studies greatly improve our knowledge and understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie cancer development and aging.
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Bousali M, Karamitros T. Hepatitis B Virus Integration into Transcriptionally Active Loci and HBV-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10020253. [PMID: 35208708 PMCID: PMC8879149 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10020253] [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: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) DNA integrations into the human genome are considered major causative factors to HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma development. In the present study, we investigated whether HBV preferentially integrates parts of its genome in specific genes and evaluated the contribution of the integrations in HCC development per gene. We applied dedicated in-house developed pipelines on all of the available HBV DNA integration data and performed a statistical analysis to identify genes that could be characterized as hotspots of integrations, along with the evaluation of their association with HBV-HCC. Our results suggest that 15 genes are recurrently affected by HBV integrations and they are significantly associated with HBV-HCC. Further studies that focus on HBV integrations disrupting these genes are mandatory in order to understand the role of HBV integrations in clonal advantage gain and oncogenesis promotion, as well as to determine whether inhibition of the HBV-disrupted genes can provide a therapy strategy for HBV-HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bousali
- Bioinformatics and Applied Genomics Unit, Department of Microbiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 11521 Athens, Greece;
| | - Timokratis Karamitros
- Bioinformatics and Applied Genomics Unit, Department of Microbiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 11521 Athens, Greece;
- Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 11521 Athens, Greece
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +30-210-6478871
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Wang Y, Chen Y, Li C, Xiao Z, Yuan H, Zhang Y, Pang D, Tang X, Li M, Ouyang H. TERT Promoter Revertant Mutation Inhibits Melanoma Growth through Intrinsic Apoptosis. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11010141. [PMID: 35053139 PMCID: PMC8773187 DOI: 10.3390/biology11010141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary TERT -146 C>T frequently occurs in many cancer cells. Research targeting the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter contributes to a better understanding of cancer development and treatment. Many conventional cancer treatments aim to develop new drugs targeting TERT. Here, for TERT -146 we converted T to C. The proliferation, migration and invasion of melanoma cells in vitro, and the growth of the tumor in vivo were inhibited. Moreover, the downregulated protein expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) indicated that the TERT promoter revertant mutation abrogated the inhibitory effect of mutant TERT on apoptosis. These data elucidated the relationship between the TERT promoter revertant mutations and apoptosis for the first time, and also implied that TERT -146 may be a causal mutation of melanoma. This study provides a new insight into the TERT promoter revertant mutations and apoptosis. The TERT promoter provides preliminary validation of the potential tumor treatment. Abstract Human telomerase is a specialized DNA polymerase whose catalytic core includes both TERT and human telomerase RNA (hTR). Telomerase in humans, which is silent in most somatic cells, is activated to maintain the telomere length (TEL) in various types of cancer cells, including melanoma. In the vast majority of tumor cells, the TERT promoter is mutated to promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis. Here, we exploited NG-ABEmax to revert TERT -146 T to -146 C in melanoma, and successfully obtained TERT promoter revertant mutant cells. These TERT revertant mutant cells exhibited significant growth inhibition both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, A375−146C/C cells exhibited telomere shortening and the downregulation of TERT at both the transcription and protein levels, and migration and invasion were inhibited. In addition, TERT promoter revertant mutation abrogated the inhibitory effect of mutant TERT on apoptosis via B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), ultimately leading to cell death. Collectively, the results of our work demonstrate that reverting mutations in the TERT promoter is a potential therapeutic option for melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanbing Wang
- Key Laboratory for Zoonoses Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; (Y.W.); (Y.C.); (Z.X.); (H.Y.); (Y.Z.); (D.P.); (X.T.)
| | - Yiwu Chen
- Key Laboratory for Zoonoses Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; (Y.W.); (Y.C.); (Z.X.); (H.Y.); (Y.Z.); (D.P.); (X.T.)
| | - Chang Li
- College of Plant Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China;
| | - Zhiwei Xiao
- Key Laboratory for Zoonoses Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; (Y.W.); (Y.C.); (Z.X.); (H.Y.); (Y.Z.); (D.P.); (X.T.)
| | - Hongming Yuan
- Key Laboratory for Zoonoses Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; (Y.W.); (Y.C.); (Z.X.); (H.Y.); (Y.Z.); (D.P.); (X.T.)
| | - Yuanzhu Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Zoonoses Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; (Y.W.); (Y.C.); (Z.X.); (H.Y.); (Y.Z.); (D.P.); (X.T.)
| | - Daxin Pang
- Key Laboratory for Zoonoses Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; (Y.W.); (Y.C.); (Z.X.); (H.Y.); (Y.Z.); (D.P.); (X.T.)
- Chongqing Research Institute, Jilin University, Chongqing 401123, China
- Chongqing Jitang Biotechnology Research Institute, Chongqing 401123, China
| | - Xiaochun Tang
- Key Laboratory for Zoonoses Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; (Y.W.); (Y.C.); (Z.X.); (H.Y.); (Y.Z.); (D.P.); (X.T.)
- Chongqing Research Institute, Jilin University, Chongqing 401123, China
- Chongqing Jitang Biotechnology Research Institute, Chongqing 401123, China
| | - Mengjing Li
- Key Laboratory for Zoonoses Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; (Y.W.); (Y.C.); (Z.X.); (H.Y.); (Y.Z.); (D.P.); (X.T.)
- Chongqing Research Institute, Jilin University, Chongqing 401123, China
- Chongqing Jitang Biotechnology Research Institute, Chongqing 401123, China
- Correspondence: (M.L.); (H.O.); Tel.: +86-0431-87836175 (H.O.)
| | - Hongsheng Ouyang
- Key Laboratory for Zoonoses Research, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; (Y.W.); (Y.C.); (Z.X.); (H.Y.); (Y.Z.); (D.P.); (X.T.)
- Chongqing Research Institute, Jilin University, Chongqing 401123, China
- Chongqing Jitang Biotechnology Research Institute, Chongqing 401123, China
- Correspondence: (M.L.); (H.O.); Tel.: +86-0431-87836175 (H.O.)
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14
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Zhang Z, Han Z, Guo Y, Liu X, Gao Y, Zhang Y. Establishment of an Efficient Immortalization Strategy Using HMEJ-Based b TERT Insertion for Bovine Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222212540. [PMID: 34830422 PMCID: PMC8622252 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222212540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Immortalized cell lines have been used in a wide range of applications in research on immune disorders and cellular metabolic regulation due to the stability and uniformity of their cellular characteristics. At present, the investigation into molecular functions and signaling pathways within bovine cells remains largely limited by the lack of immortalized model cells. Current methods for immortalizing bovine cells are mainly restricted to the ectopic expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) through transient transfection or virus-mediated delivery, which have defects in efficiency and reliability. In this study, we identified bovine TERT (bTERT) as a novel potent biofactor for immortalizing bovine cells with great advantages over hTERT, and established an efficient and easily manipulated strategy for the immortalization of bovine primary cells. Through the homology-mediated end-joining-based insertion of bTERT at the ROSA26 locus, we successfully generated immortalized bovine fetal fibroblast cell lines with stable characteristics. The observed limitation of this strategy in immortalizing bovine bone marrow-derived macrophages was attributed to the post-translational modification of bTERT, causing inhibited nuclear localization and depressed activity of bTERT in this terminally differentiated cell. In summary, we constructed an innovative method to achieve the high-quality immortalization of bovine primary cells, thereby expanding the prospects for the future application of immortalized bovine model cell lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihan Zhang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (Z.Z.); (Z.H.); (Y.G.); (X.L.)
- Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
| | - Zhuo Han
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (Z.Z.); (Z.H.); (Y.G.); (X.L.)
- Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
| | - Ying Guo
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (Z.Z.); (Z.H.); (Y.G.); (X.L.)
- Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
| | - Xin Liu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (Z.Z.); (Z.H.); (Y.G.); (X.L.)
- Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
| | - Yuanpeng Gao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (Z.Z.); (Z.H.); (Y.G.); (X.L.)
- Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
- Correspondence: (Y.G.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yong Zhang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (Z.Z.); (Z.H.); (Y.G.); (X.L.)
- Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
- Correspondence: (Y.G.); (Y.Z.)
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15
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de Santa-Inez DC, Fuziwara CS, Saito KC, Kimura ET. Targeting the Highly Expressed microRNA miR-146b with CRISPR/Cas9n Gene Editing System in Thyroid Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22157992. [PMID: 34360757 PMCID: PMC8348963 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22157992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy, and the characterization of the genetic alterations in coding-genes that drive thyroid cancer are well consolidated in MAPK signaling. In the context of non-coding RNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that, when deregulated, cooperate to promote tumorigenesis by targeting mRNAs, many of which are proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressors. In thyroid cancer, miR-146b-5p is the most overexpressed miRNA associated with tumor aggressiveness and progression, while the antisense blocking of miR-146b-5p results in anti-tumoral effect. Therefore, inactivating miR-146b has been considered as a promising strategy in thyroid cancer therapy. Here, we applied the CRISPR/Cas9n editing system to target the MIR146B gene in an aggressive anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) cell line. For that, we designed two single-guide RNAs cloned into plasmids to direct Cas9 nickase (Cas9n) to the genomic region of the pre-mir-146b structure to target miR-146b-5p and miR-146b-3p sequences. In this plasmidial strategy, we cotransfected pSp-Cas9n-miR-146b-GuideA-puromycin and pSp-Cas9n-miR-146b-GuideB-GFP plasmids in KTC2 cells and selected the puromycin resistant + GFP positive clones (KTC2-Cl). As a result, we observed that the ATC cell line KTC2-Cl1 showed a 60% decrease in the expression of miR-146b-5p compared to the control, also showing reduced cell viability, migration, colony formation, and blockage of tumor development in immunocompromised mice. The analysis of the MIR146B edited sequence shows a 5 nt deletion in the miR-146b-5p region and a 1 nt deletion in the miR-146b-3p region in KTC2-Cl1. Thus, we developed an effective CRISPR/Cas9n system to edit the MIR146B miRNA gene and reduce miR-146b-5p expression which constitutes a potential molecular tool for the investigation of miRNAs function in thyroid cancer.
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16
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El Ouar I, Djekoun A. Therapeutic and diagnostic relevance of Crispr technology. Biomed Pharmacother 2021; 138:111487. [PMID: 33774312 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.111487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR is a family of DNA repeats providing immunity against viral and plasmid invading DNA in bacteria and archaea. The system consist of an endonuclease Cas, guided by a RNA sequence, able to cleave the DNA double strand at a specific site. The discovery of Crispr function in 2007 has revolutionized genetic engineering by giving to the world the most powerful and precise tool for targeted genome editing. The aim of this review is to synthesize the current knowledge on Crispr/cas system and its application in biomedical field. In particular, we focus on the relevance of this new tool in progressing our comprehension for biological mechanisms and improving our ability to treat and prevent genetic diseases, to control microbial virulence and to generate animal models for basic and clinical research. We discuss also the ethical issues that may prevent the application of Crispr technology in living beings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibtissem El Ouar
- University Frères Mentouri Constantine, 1. Road Ain El Bey, Constantine 25000, Algeria.
| | - Abdelhamid Djekoun
- University Frères Mentouri Constantine, 1. Road Ain El Bey, Constantine 25000, Algeria
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17
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Bakhshinyan D, Savage N, Salim SK, Venugopal C, Singh SK. The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde: Parallels Between Neural Stem Cells and Glioblastoma-Initiating Cells. Front Oncol 2021; 10:603738. [PMID: 33489908 PMCID: PMC7820896 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.603738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
During embryonic development, radial glial precursor cells give rise to neural lineages, and a small proportion persist in the adult mammalian brain to contribute to long-term neuroplasticity. Neural stem cells (NSCs) reside in two neurogenic niches of the adult brain, the hippocampus and the subventricular zone (SVZ). NSCs in the SVZ are endowed with the defining stem cell properties of self-renewal and multipotent differentiation, which are maintained by intrinsic cellular programs, and extrinsic cellular and niche-specific interactions. In glioblastoma, the most aggressive primary malignant brain cancer, a subpopulation of cells termed glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) exhibit similar stem-like properties. While there is an extensive overlap between NSCs and GSCs in function, distinct genetic profiles, transcriptional programs, and external environmental cues influence their divergent behavior. This review highlights the similarities and differences between GSCs and SVZ NSCs in terms of their gene expression, regulatory molecular pathways, niche organization, metabolic programs, and current therapies designed to exploit these differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bakhshinyan
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Neil Savage
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Sabra Khalid Salim
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Chitra Venugopal
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Sheila K Singh
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.,Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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18
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Lin SC, Wu HL, Yeh LY, Yang CC, Kao SY, Chang KW. Activation of the miR-371/372/373 miRNA Cluster Enhances Oncogenicity and Drug Resistance in Oral Carcinoma Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21249442. [PMID: 33322437 PMCID: PMC7764723 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21249442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is among the leading causes of cancer-associated deaths worldwide. Family members in miR-371/372/373 miRNA cluster, which is localized at human chromosome 19q13.4, are co-expressed in both human stem cells and malignancies. The individual miRNA in this cluster are also involved in modulating the pathogenesis of malignancies as either oncogenes or suppressors. The 19q13 region is frequently gained in head and neck cancers. High expression of miR-372 and miR-373 are survival predictors for OSCC. However, the role of the miR-371/372/373 cluster in oral carcinogenesis remains to be fully investigated. We use the clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 system to establish OSCC cell subclones that had the miR-371/372/373 cluster deleted. In addition, further subclones were established that had the promoter of this cluster deleted. Concordant silencing in SAS cells of miR-371/372/373 decreased oncogenic potential, increased cisplatin sensitivity, activated p53, and upregulated the expression of Bad and DKK1. We also employed the CRISPR/dCas9 synergistic activation mediator system, which allowed robust transcriptional activation of the whole miR-371/372/373 cistron. Upregulation of endogenous miR-371/372/372 expression increased both oncogenicity and drug resistance. These were accompanied by a slight activation of AKT, β-catenin, and Src. This study identifies the oncogenic role of the miR-371/372/373 cluster in OSCC. Using CRISPR based strategy can be a powerful paradigm that will provide mechanistic insights into miRNA cluster functionality, which will also likely help the development of targeting options for malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Chun Lin
- Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; (S.-C.L.); (H.-L.W.); (L.-Y.Y.); (C.-C.Y.); (S.-Y.K.)
- Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
- Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
| | - Hsiao-Li Wu
- Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; (S.-C.L.); (H.-L.W.); (L.-Y.Y.); (C.-C.Y.); (S.-Y.K.)
| | - Li-Yin Yeh
- Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; (S.-C.L.); (H.-L.W.); (L.-Y.Y.); (C.-C.Y.); (S.-Y.K.)
| | - Cheng-Chieh Yang
- Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; (S.-C.L.); (H.-L.W.); (L.-Y.Y.); (C.-C.Y.); (S.-Y.K.)
- Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
- Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
| | - Shou-Yen Kao
- Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; (S.-C.L.); (H.-L.W.); (L.-Y.Y.); (C.-C.Y.); (S.-Y.K.)
- Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
- Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
| | - Kuo-Wei Chang
- Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; (S.-C.L.); (H.-L.W.); (L.-Y.Y.); (C.-C.Y.); (S.-Y.K.)
- Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
- Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Fax: +886-2-28264053
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