deGradFP: A System to Knockdown GFP-Tagged Proteins

Protein depletion by genetic means, in a very general sense including the use of RNA interference [1, 2] or CRISPR/Cas9-based methods, represents a central paradigm of modern biology to study protein functions in vivo. However, acting upstream the proteic level is a limiting factor if the turnover of the target protein is slow or the existing pool of the target protein is important (for instance, in insect embryos, as a consequence of a strong maternal contribution). In order to circumvent these problems, we developed deGradFP [3, 4]. deGradFP harnesses the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway to achieve direct depletion of GFP-tagged proteins. deGradFP is in essence a universal method because it relies on an evolutionarily conserved machinery for protein catabolism in eukaryotic cells; see refs. 5, 6 for review. deGradFP is particularly convenient in Drosophila melanogaster where it is implemented by a genetically encoded effector expressed under the control of the Gal4 system. deGradFP is a ready-to-use solution to perform knockdowns at the protein level if a fly line carrying a functional GFP-tagged version of the gene of interest is available. Many such lines have already been generated by the Drosophila community through different technologies allowing to make genomic rescue constructs or direct GFP knockins: protein-trap stock collections [7, 8] ( http://cooley.medicine.yale.edu/flytrap/ , http://www.flyprot.org/ ), P[acman] system [9], MiMIC lines [10, 11], and CRISPR/Cas9-driven homologous recombination.Two essential controls of a protein knockdown experiment are easily achieved using deGradFP. First, the removal of the target protein can be assessed by monitoring the disappearance of the GFP tag by fluorescence microscopy in parallel to the documentation of the phenotype of the protein knockdown (see Note 1 ). Second, the potential nonspecific effects of deGradFP can be assessed in control fly lacking a GFP-tagged target protein. So far, no nonspecific effects of the deGradFP effector have been reported [3].

Loss of FBXO9 Enhances Proteasome Activity and Promotes Aggressiveness in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

The hematopoietic system is maintained throughout life by stem cells that are capable of differentiating into all hematopoietic lineages. An intimate balance between self-renewal, differentiation, and quiescence is required to maintain hematopoiesis and disruption of this balance can result in malignant transformation. FBXO9, the substrate recognition component from the SCF E3 ubiquitin ligase family, is downregulated in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) compared to healthy bone marrow, and this downregulation is particularly evident in patients with inv(16) AML. To study FBXO9 in malignant hematopoiesis, we generated a conditional knockout mouse model using a novel CRISPR/Cas9 strategy. Deletion of Fbxo9 in the murine hematopoietic system showed no adverse effects on stem and progenitor cell function but in AML lead to markedly accelerated and aggressive leukemia development in mice with inv(16). Not only did Fbxo9 play a role in leukemia initiation but it also functioned to maintain AML activity and promote disease progression. Quantitative mass spectrometry from primary tumors reveals tumors lacking Fbxo9 highly express proteins associated with metastasis and invasion as well as components of the ubiquitin proteasome system. We confirmed that the loss of FBXO9 leads to increased proteasome activity and tumors cells were more sensitive to in vitro proteasome inhibition with bortezomib, suggesting that FBXO9 expression may predict patients’ response to bortezomib.

Protein knockouts in living eukaryotes using deGradFP and green fluorescent protein fusion targets

This unit describes deGradFP (degrade Green Fluorescent Protein), an easy-to-implement protein knockout method applicable in any eukaryotic genetic system. Depleting a protein in order to study its function in a living organism is usually achieved at the gene level (genetic mutations) or at the RNA level (RNA interference and morpholinos). However, any system that acts upstream of the proteic level depends on the turnover rate of the existing target protein, which can be extremely slow. In contrast, deGradFP is a fast method that directly depletes GFP fusion proteins. In particular, deGradFP is able to counteract maternal effects in embryos and causes early and fast onset loss-of-function phenotypes of maternally contributed proteins.