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Song Z, Shah S, Lv B, Ji N, Liu X, Yan L, Khan M, Zhao Y, Wu P, Liu S, Zheng L, Su L, Wang X, Lv Z. Anti-aging and anti-oxidant activities of murine short interspersed nuclear element antisense RNA. Eur J Pharmacol 2021; 912:174577. [PMID: 34688636 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.174577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/09/2022]
Abstract
Short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) play a key role in regulating gene expression, and SINE RNAs are involved in age-related diseases. We investigated the anti-aging effects of a genetically engineered murine SINE B1 antisense RNA (B1as RNA) and explored its mechanism of action in naturally senescent BALB/c (≥14 months) and moderately senscent C57BL/6N (≥9 months) mice. After tail vein injection, B1as RNA was available in the blood of mice for approximately 30 min, persisted for approximately 2-4 h in most detected tissues and persisted approximately 48 h in lungs. We found that treatment with B1as RNA improved stamina and promoted hair re-growth in aged mice. Treatment with B1as RNA also partially rescued the increase in mitochondrial DNA copy number in liver and spleen tissues observed in aged and moderately senescent mice. Finally, treatment with B1as RNA increased the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in aged and moderately senescent mice, reduced these animals' malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species levels, and modulated the expression of several aging-associated genes, including Sirtuin 1, p21, p16Ink4a, p15Ink4b and p19Arf, and anti-oxidant genes (Sesn1 and Sesn 2). These data suggest that B1as RNA inhibits the aging process by enhancing antioxidant activity, promoting the scavenging of free radicals, and modulating the expression of aging-associated genes. This is the first report describing the anti-aging activity of SINE antisense RNA, which may serve as an effective nucleic acid drug for the treatment of age-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhixue Song
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Suleman Shah
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Baixue Lv
- Department of Ultrasound, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei Province, PR China; Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei Province, PR China.
| | - Ning Ji
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Xin Liu
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Lifang Yan
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Murad Khan
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Yufang Zhao
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Peiyuan Wu
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Shufeng Liu
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Long Zheng
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Libo Su
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Xiufang Wang
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
| | - Zhanjun Lv
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, PR China.
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Khan M, Yan L, Lv B, Ji N, Shah S, Liu X, Song Z, Zhao Y, Wang X, Lv Z. The preparation of endotoxin-free genetically engineered murine B1 antisense RNA. Anal Biochem 2020; 599:113737. [PMID: 32305428 DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2020.113737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/09/2022]
Abstract
One of the major limitations in the production of genetically engineered RNA from Escherichia coli (E. coli) is contamination by endotoxin. Here we report the first method that is capable of removing endotoxin from genetically engineered RNA. As a proof of concept, we transformed E. coli with a plasmid containing a tandem short interspersed nuclear elements from the mouse genome (SINE B1 elements). We then evaluated several extraction methods (SDS-NaCl centrifugation, SDS-NaCl filtration, TRIzol and SDS hot-phenol) and refinements thereof, and measured the resulting RNA yield, RNA purity, RNA integrity and endotoxin content. SDS-NaCl filtration with 2 mol/L NaCl, incorporating DEPC as an RNA protective agent, effectively removed endotoxin and resulted in a good RNA yield. Triton X-114 phase separation further reduced the endotoxin content of SDS-NaCl filtration-extracted RNA. RNA extracted by SDS-NaCl filtration with Triton X-114 phase separation did not cause adverse reactions in BALB/c mice and did not induce fever in rabbits when injected into these animals. The RNA met the requirements of nucleic acid reagents for in vivo experiments on animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murad Khan
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, China
| | - Lifang Yan
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, China
| | - Baixue Lv
- Department of Ultrasound, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei Province, China
| | - Ning Ji
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, China
| | - Suleman Shah
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, China
| | - Xin Liu
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, China
| | - Zhixue Song
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, China
| | - Yufang Zhao
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, China
| | - Xiufang Wang
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, China.
| | - Zhanjun Lv
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, 050017, Hebei Province, China.
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Ma Z, Kong X, Liu S, Yin S, Zhao Y, Liu C, Lv Z, Wang X. Combined sense-antisense Alu elements activate the EGFP reporter gene when stable transfection. Mol Genet Genomics 2017; 292:833-846. [PMID: 28357596 DOI: 10.1007/s00438-017-1312-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Alu elements in the human genome are present in more than one million copies, accounting for 10% of the genome. However, the biological functions of most Alu repeats are unknown. In this present study, we detected the effects of Alu elements on EGFP gene expression using a plasmid system to find the roles of Alu elements in human genome. We inserted 5'-4TMI-Alus-CMV promoter-4TMI-Alus (or antisense Alus)-3' sequences into the pEGFP-C1 vector to construct expression vectors. We altered the copy number of Alus, the orientation of the Alus, and the presence of an enhancer (4TMI) in the inserted 5'-4TMI-Alus-CMV promoter-4TMI-Alus (or antisense Alus)-3' sequences. These expression vectors were stably transfected into HeLa cells, and EGFP reporter gene expression was determined. Our results showed that combined sense-antisense Alu elements activated the EGFP reporter gene in the presence of enhancers and stable transfection. The combined sense-antisense Alu vectors carrying four copies of Alus downstream of inserted CMV induced much stronger EGFP gene expression than two copies. Alus downstream of inserted CMV were replaced to AluJBs (having 76% homology with Alu) to construct expression vectors. We found that combined sense-antisense Alu (or antisense AluJB) vectors induced strong EGFP gene expression after stable transfection and heat shock. To further explore combined sense-antisense Alus activating EGFP gene expression, we constructed Tet-on system vectors, mini-C1-Alu-sense-sense and mini-C1-Alu-sense-antisense (EGFP gene was driven by mini-CMV). We found that combined sense-antisense Alus activated EGFP gene in the presence of reverse tetracycline repressor (rTetR) and doxycycline (Dox). Clone experiments showed that Mini-C1-Alu-sense-antisense vector had more positive cells than that of Mini-C1-Alu-sense-sense vector. The results in this paper proved that Alu repetitive sequences inhibited gene expression and combined sense-antisense Alus activated EGFP reporter gene when Alu transcribes, which suggests that Alus play roles in maintaining gene expression (silencing genes or activating genes) in human genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihong Ma
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, 050017, China
| | - Xianglong Kong
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, 050017, China
| | - Shufeng Liu
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, 050017, China
| | - Shuxian Yin
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, 050017, China
| | - Yuehua Zhao
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, 050017, China
| | - Chao Liu
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, 050017, China
| | - Zhanjun Lv
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, 050017, China.
| | - Xiufang Wang
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, 050017, China.
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Wang X, Ma Z, Kong X, Lv Z. Effects of RNAs on chromatin accessibility and gene expression suggest RNA-mediated activation. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2016; 79:24-32. [PMID: 27497987 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2016.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2015] [Revised: 08/02/2016] [Accepted: 08/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
The study of the interaction between RNA and DNA sequences in activating genes has important significance for understanding the mechanisms of RNA-mediated activation. Here, we used in vitro chromatin reconstitution approach to observe whether RNAs increase DNase I digestion, plasmid transfection to observe whether RNAs promote gene expression, and bioinformatics analysis to predict the binding ability of RNAs to centromere DNA (constitutive heterochromatin). Synthetic RNAs (23nt) that were complementary to mouse albumin gene and total liver RNA increased DNase I digestion sensitivity of mouse albumin gene, suggesting that RNAs can increase chromatin accessibility. Transcribed sense-antisense tandem Alu elements activated an enhanced green fluorescent protein reporter gene after stable transfection. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the binding strength of RNA population to centromere DNAs is significantly lower than that of their flanking sequences, which suggests that the centromere is not easily affected by RNAs produced from other transcribed regions and may be the reason why centromeres consist of constitutive heterochromatin. The results in this paper illustrate that RNAs complementary to DNA sequences play roles in activating genes. Since RNA is mainly produced from the cell's own DNA, the work presented in this paper suggests that RNAs transcribed from DNA create feedback that activates DNA transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiufang Wang
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
| | - Zhihong Ma
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China; Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Tangshan, 21 North Jianshe Road, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China.
| | - Xianglong Kong
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China; Clinical Laboratory, Hebei Chest Hospital, 372 Shengli North Street, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
| | - Zhanjun Lv
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
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Ma Z, Jing X, Cheng J, Wang X, Lv Z. The effects of a short sequence enhancer (5′-GTGAAATAAATGCAAATAAAGT) and its derived sequences on green fluorescent protein expression. Genes Genomics 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s13258-014-0180-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Lv Z, Cheng J, Xie Y, Jing X, Zhang Y, Wang X. Finding of IFNγ gene enhancers and their core sequences. Genome 2013; 56:147-54. [PMID: 23659698 DOI: 10.1139/gen-2012-0178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
DNA segmentation methods were used to study which fragments of the human IFNγ gene possess enhancer activity. The human IFNγ gene was divided into 240-bp fragments, which were inserted between the GFP gene and the Alu tandem sequence to determine whether the inserted sequences eliminate the inhibition induced by the Alu tandem sequence. We found that five different 240-bp fragments (FUIFN3F3R, IFN4F4R, IFN6F6R, IFN21F21R, and IFN22F22R) and two 60-bp core sequences (IFN6-2F2R and IFN21-3-4F3-4R) derived from the IFNγ gene contain enhancers that can activate the GFP reporter gene. These enhancers may be targets of IFNγ gene expression regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhanjun Lv
- Department of Genetics, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Lab of Laboratory Animal, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province 050017, People's Republic of China
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