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Dong SXM, Vizeacoumar FS, Bhanumathy KK, Alli N, Gonzalez-Lopez C, Gajanayaka N, Caballero R, Ali H, Freywald A, Cassol E, Angel JB, Vizeacoumar FJ, Kumar A. Identification of novel genes involved in apoptosis of HIV-infected macrophages using unbiased genome-wide screening. BMC Infect Dis 2021; 21:655. [PMID: 34233649 PMCID: PMC8261936 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-06346-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Macrophages, besides resting latently infected CD4+ T cells, constitute the predominant stable, major non-T cell HIV reservoirs. Therefore, it is essential to eliminate both latently infected CD4+ T cells and tissue macrophages to completely eradicate HIV in patients. Until now, most of the research focus is directed towards eliminating latently infected CD4+ T cells. However, few approaches have been directed at killing of HIV-infected macrophages either in vitro or in vivo. HIV infection dysregulates the expression of many host genes essential for the survival of infected cells. We postulated that exploiting this alteration may yield novel targets for the selective killing of infected macrophages. Methods We applied a pooled shRNA-based genome-wide approach by employing a lentivirus-based library of shRNAs to screen novel gene targets whose inhibition should selectively induce apoptosis in HIV-infected macrophages. Primary human MDMs were infected with HIV-eGFP and HIV-HSA viruses. Infected MDMs were transfected with siRNAs specific for the promising genes followed by analysis of apoptosis by flow cytometry using labelled Annexin-V in HIV-infected, HIV-exposed but uninfected bystander MDMs and uninfected MDMs. The results were analyzed using student’s t-test from at least four independent experiments. Results We validated 28 top hits in two independent HIV infection models. This culminated in the identification of four target genes, Cox7a2, Znf484, Cstf2t, and Cdk2, whose loss-of-function induced apoptosis preferentially in HIV-infected macrophages. Silencing these single genes killed significantly higher number of HIV-HSA-infected MDMs compared to the HIV-HSA-exposed, uninfected bystander macrophages, indicating the specificity in the killing of HIV-infected macrophages. The mechanism governing Cox7a2-mediated apoptosis of HIV-infected macrophages revealed that targeting respiratory chain complex II and IV genes also selectively induced apoptosis of HIV-infected macrophages possibly through enhanced ROS production. Conclusions We have identified above-mentioned novel genes and specifically the respiratory chain complex II and IV genes whose silencing may cause selective elimination of HIV-infected macrophages and eventually the HIV-macrophage reservoirs. The results highlight the potential of the identified genes as targets for eliminating HIV-infected macrophages in physiological environment as part of an HIV cure strategy. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-021-06346-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon X M Dong
- Apoptosis Research Center, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Frederick S Vizeacoumar
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kalpana K Bhanumathy
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Nezeka Alli
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | | | - Niranjala Gajanayaka
- Apoptosis Research Center, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Ramon Caballero
- Apoptosis Research Center, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Hamza Ali
- Apoptosis Research Center, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Andrew Freywald
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Edana Cassol
- Department of Health Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Jonathan B Angel
- Department of Medicine, the Ottawa Health Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Franco J Vizeacoumar
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. .,Cancer Research, Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
| | - Ashok Kumar
- Apoptosis Research Center, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. .,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. .,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
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Kirzinger MWB, Vizeacoumar FS, Haave B, Gonzalez-Lopez C, Bonham K, Kusalik A, Vizeacoumar FJ. Humanized yeast genetic interaction mapping predicts synthetic lethal interactions of FBXW7 in breast cancer. BMC Med Genomics 2019; 12:112. [PMID: 31351478 PMCID: PMC6660958 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-019-0554-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/27/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Synthetic lethal interactions (SLIs) that occur between gene pairs are exploited for cancer therapeutics. Studies in the model eukaryote yeast have identified ~ 550,000 negative genetic interactions that have been extensively studied, leading to characterization of novel pathways and gene functions. This resource can be used to predict SLIs that can be relevant to cancer therapeutics. Methods We used patient data to identify genes that are down-regulated in breast cancer. InParanoid orthology mapping was performed to identify yeast orthologs of the down-regulated genes and predict their corresponding SLIs in humans. The predicted network graphs were drawn with Cytoscape. CancerRXgene database was used to predict drug response. Results Harnessing the vast available knowledge of yeast genetics, we generated a Humanized Yeast Genetic Interaction Network (HYGIN) for 1009 human genes with 10,419 interactions. Through the addition of patient-data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we generated a breast cancer specific subnetwork. Specifically, by comparing 1009 genes in HYGIN to genes that were down-regulated in breast cancer, we identified 15 breast cancer genes with 130 potential SLIs. Interestingly, 32 of the 130 predicted SLIs occurred with FBXW7, a well-known tumor suppressor that functions as a substrate-recognition protein within a SKP/CUL1/F-Box ubiquitin ligase complex for proteasome degradation. Efforts to validate these SLIs using chemical genetic data predicted that patients with loss of FBXW7 may respond to treatment with drugs like Selumitinib or Cabozantinib. Conclusions This study provides a patient-data driven interpretation of yeast SLI data. HYGIN represents a novel strategy to uncover therapeutically relevant cancer drug targets and the yeast SLI data offers a major opportunity to mine these interactions. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12920-019-0554-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan W B Kirzinger
- Department of Computer Science, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, 176 Thorvaldson Bldg, 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5C9, Canada
| | - Frederick S Vizeacoumar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E5, Canada
| | - Bjorn Haave
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E5, Canada
| | - Cristina Gonzalez-Lopez
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E5, Canada
| | - Keith Bonham
- Cancer Research, Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E5, Canada.,Division of Oncology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E5, Canada
| | - Anthony Kusalik
- Department of Computer Science, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, 176 Thorvaldson Bldg, 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5C9, Canada.
| | - Franco J Vizeacoumar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E5, Canada. .,Cancer Research, Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E5, Canada. .,Division of Oncology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E5, Canada. .,Cancer Cluster, Rm 4D01.5 Health Science Bldg, University of Saskatchewan, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E5, Canada.
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Domingo E, Gonzalez-Lopez C, Pariente N, Airaksinen A, Escarmís C. Population dynamics of RNA viruses: the essential contribution of mutant spectra. Arch Virol Suppl 2006:59-71. [PMID: 16355868 DOI: 10.1007/3-211-29981-5_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/08/2022]
Abstract
Cells and their viral and cellular parasites are genetically highly diverse, and their genomes contain signs of past and present variation and mobility. The great adaptive potential of viruses, conferred on them by high mutation rates and quasispecies dynamics, demands new strategies for viral disease prevention and control. This necessitates a more detailed knowledge of viral population structure and dynamics. Here we review studies with the important animal pathogen Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) that document modulating effects of the mutant spectra that compose viral populations. As a consequence of interactions within mutant spectra, enhanced mutagenesis may lead to viral extinction, and this is currently investigated as a new antiviral strategy, termed virus entry into error catastrophe.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Domingo
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
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