ABSTRACT
As a series of our previous studies reported, recombinant yeast can be the oral vaccines to deliver designed protein and DNA, as well as functional shRNA, into dendritic cells (DCs) in mice for specific immune regulation. Here, we report the further optimization of oral yeast-based vaccine from two aspects (yeast characteristics and recombinant DNA constitution) to improve the effect of immune regulation. After screening four genes in negative regulation of glucan synthesis in yeast (MNN9, GUP1, PBS2 and EXG1), this research combined HDR-based genome editing technology with Cre-loxP technology to acquire 15 gene-knockout strains without drug resistance-gene to exclude biosafety risks; afterward, oral feeding experiments were performed on the mice using 15 oral recombinant yeast-based vaccines constructed by the gene-knockout strains harboring pCMV-MSTN plasmid to screen the target strain with more effective inducing mstn-specific antibody which in turn increasing weight gain effect. And subsequently based on the selected gene-knockout strain, the recombinant DNA in the oral recombinant yeast-based vaccine is optimized via a combination of protein fusion expression (OVA-MSTN) and interfering RNA technology (shRNA-IL21), comparison in terms of both weight gain effect and antibody titer revealed that the selected gene-knockout strain (GUP1ΔEXG1Δ) combined with specific recombinant DNA (pCMV-OVA-MSTN-shIL2) had a better effect of the vaccine. This study provides a useful reference to the subsequent construction of a more efficient oral recombinant yeast-based vaccine in the food and pharmaceutical industry.
Subject(s)
DNA, Recombinant , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Mice , Animals , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolism , DNA, Recombinant/metabolism , Vaccines, Synthetic , RNA, Small Interfering , Weight GainABSTRACT
We established an efficient and simplified single-cell proteomics (ES-SCP) workflow to realize proteomics profiling at the single-oocyte level. With the ES-SCP workflow, we constructed a deep coverage proteome library during oocyte maturation, which contained more than 6000 protein groups, and identified and quantified more than 4000 protein groups from a pool of only 15 oocytes at germinal vesicle (GV), GV breakdown (GVBD), and metaphase II (MII) stages. More than 1500 protein groups can be identified from single oocytes. We found that marker proteins including maternal factors and mRNA regulators, such as ZAR1, TLE6, and BTG4, showed significant variations in abundance during oocyte maturation, and it was discovered that maternal mRNA degradation was indispensable during oocyte maturation. Proteomics analysis from single oocytes revealed that changes in antioxidant factors, maternal factors, mRNA stabilization, and energy metabolism were the factors that affect the oocyte quality during ovary aging. Our data laid the foundation for future innovations in assisted reproduction.
Subject(s)
Oocytes , Proteomics , Female , Animals , Mice , Oogenesis/genetics , Proteome/genetics , Proteome/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolismABSTRACT
Ovarian follicle is the basic functional unit of female reproduction, and is composed of oocyte and surrounding granulosa cells. In mammals, folliculogenesis strictly rely on gonadotropin regulations to determine the ovulation and the quality of eggs. However, the dynamic changes of protein-expressing profiles in follicles at different developmental stages remain largely unknown. By performing mass-spectrometry-based quantitative proteomic analysis of mouse follicles, we provide a proteomic database (~3000 proteins) that covers three key stages of gonadotropin-dependent folliculogenesis. By combining bioinformatics analysis with in situ expression validation, we showed that our proteomic data well reflected physiological changes during folliculogenesis, which provided potential to predict unknown regulators of folliculogenesis. Additionally, by using the oocyte structural protein zona pellucida protein 2 as the internal control, we showed the possibility of our database to predict the expression dynamics of oocyte-expressing proteins during folliculogenesis. Taken together, we provide a high-coverage proteomic database to study protein-expression dynamics during gonadotropin-dependent folliculogenesis in mammals.
Subject(s)
Ovarian Follicle , Proteomics , Mice , Animals , Female , Ovarian Follicle/metabolism , Oocytes/metabolism , Granulosa Cells/metabolism , MammalsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Ovarian follicles, which are the basic units of female reproduction, are composed of oocytes and surrounding somatic (pre) granulosa cells (GCs). A recent study revealed that signaling in somatic preGCs controlled the activation (initial recruitment) of follicles in the adult ovaries, but it is also known that there are two waves of follicle with age-related heterogeneity in their developmental dynamics in mammals. Although this heterogeneity was proposed to be crucial for female reproduction, our understanding of how it arises and its significance is still elusive. RESULTS: In the current study, by deleting the key secreted factor KIT ligand from preGCs and analyzing the follicle cell developmental dynamics, we revealed distinct patterns of activation and growth associated with the two waves of follicles in mouse ovary. Our results confirmed that activation of adult wave follicles is initiated by somatic preGCs and dependent on the KIT ligand. By contrast, activation of first wave follicles, which are awakened from germ cells before follicle formation, can occur in the absence of preGC-secreted KIT ligand in postnatal ovaries and appears to be oocyte-initiated. We also found that the asynchronous activity of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinases (PI3K) signaling and meiotic process in embryonic germ cells lead to the follicle heterogeneity in postnatal ovaries. In addition, we supplied evidence that the time sequence of embryonic germ cell development and its related first wave follicle growth are correlated to the time of puberty onset in females. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our study provides evidence that asynchronous development of embryonic oocytes leads to the heterogeneity of postnatal ovarian follicle activation and development, and affects the timing of onset of puberty in females.
Subject(s)
Embryonic Germ Cells , Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases , Animals , Female , Mammals , Mice , Oocytes/physiology , Oogenesis , Ovarian Follicle , Sexual Maturation , Stem Cell FactorABSTRACT
Dormant primordial follicles (PFs) are the most abundant reproductive resource in mammalian ovaries. With advances in the mechanism of study of the regulation of PF activation, PFs have been used to improve fertility in clinical practice. As a central controlling element of follicle activation signaling, the pre-granulosa cell-secreted stem cell factor (SCF; also known as KIT ligand, KITL), which initiates the growth of dormant oocytes, is an ideal natural activator that stimulates follicle activation. However, no systematic study has been conducted to identify the activating effect of SCF in vivo and in vitro. In this study, by combining an in vitro whole ovary culture system and several mouse models, we provide a series of experimental evidence that SCF is an efficient activator for improving PF activation in mouse ovaries. Our in vitro study showed that SCF increased phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling and PF activation ratio in neonatal ovaries. In vivo ovarian non-invasive topical administrations of SCF to the ovaries efficiently improved follicle activation and development, oocyte retrieval ratio and fertility in inducible premature ovarian insufficiency mouse models and aged mice. Our study suggests that SCF is an efficient growth factor that can be applied to improve PF activation.
Subject(s)
Ovarian Follicle , Primary Ovarian Insufficiency , Stem Cell Factor , Animals , Female , Mice , Mammals , Oocytes/metabolism , Ovarian Follicle/metabolism , Ovary/metabolism , Ovary/pathology , Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics , Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism , Stem Cell Factor/pharmacology , Stem Cell Factor/metabolism , Primary Ovarian Insufficiency/metabolismABSTRACT
The fast-rising CRISPR-derived gene editing technologies has been widely used in the fields of life science and biomedicine, as well as plant and animal breeding. However, the efficiency of homology-directed repair (HDR), an important strategy for gene knock-in and base editing, remains to be improved. In this study, we came up with the term Donor Adapting System (DAS) to summarize those CRISPR/Cas9 systems modified with adaptor for driving aptamer-fused donor DNA. A set of CRISPR/Cas9-Gal4BD DAS was designed in our study. In this system, Gal4 DNA binding domain (Gal4BD) is used as adaptor to fuse with Cas9 protein, and Gal4 binding sequence (Gal4BS) is used as aptamer to bind to the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) donor, in order to improve the HDR efficiency. Preliminary results from the HEK293T-HDR.GFP reporter cell line show that the HDR editing efficiency could be improved up to 2-4 times when donor homologous arms under certain length (100-60 bp). Further optimization results showed that the choice of fusion port and fusion linker would affect the expression and activity of Cas9, while the Cas9-Gal4BD fusion with a GGS5 linker was the prior choice. In addition, the HDR efficiency was likely dependent on the aptamer-dsDNA donor design, and single Gal4BD binding sequence (BS) addition to the 5'-end of intent dsDNA template was suggested. Finally, we achieved enhanced HDR editing on the endogenous AAVS1 and EMX1 sites by using the CRISPR/Gal4BD-Cas9 DAS, which we believe can be applied to facilitate animal molecular design breeding in the future.
Subject(s)
CRISPR-Cas Systems , Recombinational DNA Repair , Animals , Humans , DNA , HEK293 CellsABSTRACT
Background: This study aimed to compare the treatment outcomes and safety between stent placement with or without Iodine-125 (125I) seeds strand for patients with unresectable malignant obstructive jaundice (MOJ).Methods: A total of 84 patients with unresectable MOJ treated in our hospital were retrospectively included and divided into the stent group (n = 54) undergoing biliary stent placement and the stent + seeds group (n = 30) receiving stent placement with 125I seeds strand. The therapeutic outcome, postoperative complications, duration of patient survival and stent patency were compared between groups. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to compare the duration of patient survival and stent patency between groups. Cox-regression analysis was performed to investigate predictive factors for disease-free survival and overall survival.Results: The stent + seeds group had significantly longer duration of patency (231.57 ± 256.54 vs. 110.37 ± 120.52) and overall survival (310.57 ± 330.54 vs. 173.15 ± 219.40) than the stent group (both p < .05). In addition, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis confirmed that the stent + seeds group had longer duration of patency (log-rank test, p = .001) and higher overall survival rate (log-rank test, p = .020) than the stent group. Furthermore, Cox-regression analysis demonstrated that treatment methods was an independent factor associated with disease-free survival (HR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.19-0.70; p = .003) and overall survival (HR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.01; p < .001).Conclusion: The stent placement with 125I seeds strand can significantly improve the primary patency rate and overall survival time in MOJ patients.
Subject(s)
Cholestasis/therapy , Digestive System Neoplasms/complications , Iodine Radioisotopes/therapeutic use , Jaundice, Obstructive/therapy , Stents , Adult , Aged , Cholestasis/etiology , Cholestasis/mortality , Digestive System Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Digestive System Neoplasms/mortality , Female , Humans , Jaundice, Obstructive/etiology , Jaundice, Obstructive/mortality , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Survival Analysis , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Lung disease caused by Mycobacterium abscessus is increasing, and current clarithromycin-based treatment regimens are only moderately effective. Here, we determined the effect of clarithromycin-vancomycin combination against M. abscessus complex isolates in vitro Synergy was found with a fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) score of ≤0.5 and a 4- to 10-fold decrease in MIC.
Subject(s)
Antibiotics, Antitubercular/pharmacology , Clarithromycin/pharmacology , Lung Diseases/drug therapy , Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/drug therapy , Mycobacterium abscessus/drug effects , Vancomycin/pharmacology , Drug Synergism , Drug Therapy, Combination , Humans , Lung Diseases/microbiology , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/microbiology , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Lung infections caused by Mycobacterium abscessus are emerging as a global threat to individuals with cystic fibrosis and to other patient groups. Recent evidence for human-to-human transmission worsens the situation. M. abscessus is an intrinsically multidrug-resistant pathogen showing resistance to even standard antituberculosis drugs, such as rifampin. Here, our objective was to identify existing drugs that may be employed for the treatment of M. abscessus lung disease. A collection of more than 2,700 approved drugs was screened at a single-point concentration against an M. abscessus clinical isolate. Hits were confirmed with fresh solids in dose-response experiments. For the most attractive hit, growth inhibition and bactericidal activities against reference strains of the three M. abscessus subspecies and a collection of clinical isolates were determined. Surprisingly, the rifampin derivative rifabutin had MICs of 3 ± 2 µM (3 µg/ml) against the screening strain, the reference strains M. abscessus subsp. abscessus ATCC 19977, M. abscessus subsp. bolletii CCUG 50184-T, and M. abscessus subsp. massiliense CCUG 48898-T, as well as against a collection of clinical isolates. Furthermore, rifabutin was active against clarithromycin-resistant strains. In conclusion, rifabutin, in contrast to rifampin, is active against the Mycobacterium abscessus complex bacteria in vitro and may be considered for treatment of M. abscessus lung disease.
Subject(s)
Antibiotics, Antitubercular/pharmacology , Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/drug therapy , Mycobacterium abscessus/drug effects , Respiratory Tract Infections/drug therapy , Rifabutin/pharmacology , Clarithromycin/pharmacology , Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial , Humans , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/microbiology , Mycobacterium abscessus/isolation & purification , Respiratory Tract Infections/microbiologyABSTRACT
Purpose To assess the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous computed tomography (CT)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for lymph node (LN) oligometastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods This retrospective study was approved by the institutional ethics committee, and all patients provided written informed consent. From January 2004 to December 2013, 119 consecutive patients with HCC and LN oligometastases (115 men [mean age, 51.3 years; age range, 16-83 years] and four women [mean age, 38.2 years; age range, 23-47 years]) were included in this study. A matched cohort composed of 46 patients from each group was selected after adjustment with propensity score matching. The median follow-up time was 14.0 months in the RFA group and 13.8 months in the non-RFA group. The overall survival (OS), local control rate, and complications were evaluated. Survival curves were constructed with the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by using the log-rank test. Results Eighty-seven patients had LN metastases located in the regional site, and 32 patients had LN metastases in the distant site. No significant differences were observed in the baseline characteristics between groups after propensity score matching adjustment. The RFA group showed higher 6-month and 1-year OS rates compared with the non-RFA group (87.0% and 58.3% vs 62.4% and 17.9%, respectively; P = .001). The 3-month local control rate after RFA was 84.4%, including complete response in 71.1% of patients and partial response in 13.3%. The complications of RFA were short-term abdominal pain and self-limited local hematoma, which occurred in 10 patients (21.7%) and five patients (10.9%), respectively. Conclusion Percutaneous CT-guided RFA may be a safe and effective treatment for the LN oligometastases generated by HCC. © RSNA, 2016.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/secondary , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/surgery , Catheter Ablation/methods , Liver Neoplasms/pathology , Lymph Node Excision , Lymphatic Metastasis , Radiography, Interventional , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Propensity Score , Survival Rate , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Mycobacteria, along with exospore forming Streptomyces, belong to the phylum actinobacteria. Mycobacteria are generally believed to be non-differentiating. Recently however, we showed that the mycobacterial model organism M. smegmatis is capable of forming different types of morphologically distinct resting cells. When subjected to starvation conditions, cells of M. smegmatis exit from the canonical cell division cycle, segregate and compact their chromosomes, and become septated and multi-nucleoided. Under zero nutrient conditions the differentiation process terminates at this stage with the formation of Large Resting Cells (LARCs). In the presence of traces of carbon sources this multi-nucleoided cell stage completes cell division and separates into Small Resting Cells (SMRCs). Here, we carried out RNA-seq profiling of SMRC and LARC development to characterize the transcriptional program underlying these starvation-induced differentiation processes. RESULTS: Changes among the top modulated genes demonstrated that SMRCs and LARCs undergo similar transcriptional changes. The formation of multi-nucleoided cells (i.e. LARCs and the LARC-like intermediates observed during SMRC formation) was accompanied by upregulation of septum formation functions FtsZ, FtsW, and PbpB, as well as the DNA translocase FtsK. The observed compaction of chromosomes was accompanied by an increase of the transcript level of the DNA binding protein Hlp, an orthologue of the Streptomyces spore-specific chromosome condensation protein HupS. Both SMRC and LARC development were accompanied by similar temporal expression patterns of candidate regulators, including the transcription factors WhiB2, WhiB3, and WhiB4, which are orthologues of the Streptomyces sporulation regulators WhiB, WhiD and WblA, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Transcriptional analyses of the development of mycobacterial resting cell types suggest that these bacteria harbor a novel differentiation program and identify a series of potential regulators. This provides the basis for the genetic dissection of this actinobacterial differentiation process.
Subject(s)
Cell Cycle/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial , Mycobacterium smegmatis/genetics , Transcriptome , Cluster Analysis , Gene Expression Profiling , Genes, Bacterial , High-Throughput Nucleotide SequencingABSTRACT
We determined the microbicidal activities of antibacterials against nonreplicating Mycobacterium smegmatis grown in a starvation-based Loebel model for persistence. Whereas most drugs lost their activity, fluoroquinolones retained lethal potency. Dose-response characterizations showed a paradoxical more-drug-kills-less Eagle effect. Pretreatment of cultures with chloramphenicol blocked the lethal action of the gyrase inhibitors. These results suggest that fluoroquinolones at low concentrations trigger a protein synthesis-dependent cell death pathway and shut off this suicide pathway at elevated concentrations.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/microbiology , Mycobacterium smegmatis/drug effects , Chloramphenicol/pharmacology , Culture Media , DNA Gyrase , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Fluoroquinolones/pharmacology , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Mycobacterium smegmatis/growth & development , Protein Synthesis Inhibitors/pharmacology , Topoisomerase Inhibitors/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Ovarian granulosa cell tumors (GCTs) originate from granulosa cells (GCs) and represent the most common sex cord-stromal tumor in humans. However, the developmental regulations and molecular mechanisms underlying their etiology are largely unknown. In the current study, we combined a multi-fluorescent reporter mouse model with a conditional knockout mouse model, in which the tumor suppressor genes Pten and p27 were deleted in GCs, to perform cell lineage tracing of mutant GCs. We found that only 30% of ovaries with substantial mutant GCs developed into GCTs that derived from a single mutant GC. In-depth molecular analysis of the process of tumorigenesis demonstrated that up-regulation of immune evasion genes Cd24a and Cd47 led, in part, to the transition of mutant GCs to GCTs. Therefore, treatment with the Cd47 inhibitor RRX-001 was tested and found to efficiently suppress the growth of GCTs in vivo. Together, our study has revealed an immune evasion mechanism via CD24/CD47 upregulation to GCT formation, shedding light on the future potential clinical therapies for GCTs.
Subject(s)
Granulosa Cell Tumor , Ovarian Neoplasms , Mice , Female , Animals , Humans , CD47 Antigen/genetics , Granulosa Cell Tumor/genetics , Granulosa Cell Tumor/drug therapy , Granulosa Cell Tumor/pathology , Granulosa Cells , Carcinogenesis/genetics , Carcinogenesis/pathology , Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/pathology , Mice, Knockout , Ovarian Neoplasms/genetics , Ovarian Neoplasms/pathologyABSTRACT
Ovarian mesenchymal cells (oMCs) constitute a distinct microenvironment that supports folliculogenesis under physiological conditions. Supplementation of exogenous non-ovarian mesenchymal-related cells has been reported to be an efficient approach to improve ovarian functions. However, the development and cellular and molecular characteristics of endogenous oMCs remain largely unexplored. In this study, we surveyed the single-cell transcriptomic landscape to dissect the cellular and molecular changes associated with the aging of oMCs in mice. Our results showed that the oMCs were composed of five ovarian differentiated MC (odMC) populations and one ovarian mesenchymal progenitor (oMP) cell population. These cells could differentiate into various odMCs via an oMP-derived route to construct the ovarian stroma structures. Comparative analysis revealed that ovarian aging was associated with decreased quantity of oMP cells and reduced quality of odMCs. Based on the findings of bioinformatics analysis, we designed different strategies involving supplementation with young oMCs to examine their effects on female fertility and health. Our functional investigations revealed that oMCs supplementation prior to ovarian senescence was the optimal method to improve female fertility and extend the reproductive lifespan of aged females in the long-term.
Subject(s)
Ovary , Reproduction , Female , Animals , Mice , Ovary/physiology , Reproduction/physiology , Aging/genetics , Gene Expression Profiling , TranscriptomeABSTRACT
Robust angiogenesis is continuously active in ovaries to remodel the ovary-body connections in mammals, but understanding of this unique process remains elusive. Here, we performed high-resolution, three-dimensional ovarian vascular imaging and traced the pattern of ovarian angiogenesis and vascular development in the long term. We found that angiogenesis was mainly active on ovarian follicles and corpus luteum and that robust angiogenesis constructs independent but temporary vascular networks for each follicle. Based on the pattern of ovarian angiogenesis, we designed an angiogenesis-blocking strategy by axitinib administration to young females, and we found that the temporary suppression of angiogenesis paused ovarian development and kept the ovarian reserve in the long term, leading to postponed ovarian senescence and an extension of the female reproductive life span. Together, by uncovering the detailed model of physiological ovarian angiogenesis, our experiments suggest a potential approach to delay female reproductive aging through the manipulation of angiogenesis.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Interventional hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy of infusional fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (HAIC-FO) displayed an encouraging safety profile and antitumor activity in a previous phase II trial and a propensity-score-matching study involving patients with locally advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: In this open-label, phase III trial, patients with advanced HCC, previously untreated with systemic therapy, were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive HAIC-FO or sorafenib. The primary end point was overall survival (OS) in the intention-to-treat population. An exploratory model for predicting the efficacy of HAIC-FO on the basis of genomic sequencing was developed. RESULTS: Between May 2017 and May 2020, 262 patients were randomly assigned. The median tumor size was 11.2 cm (interquartile range, 8.5-13.7 cm). Macrovascular invasion was present in 65.6%, and the percentage of patients with > 50% tumor volume involvement of the liver and/or Vp-4 portal vein tumor thrombosis was 49.2%. At data cutoff (October 31, 2020), median OS was 13.9 months for HAIC-FO and 8.2 for sorafenib (hazard ratio [HR] 0.408; 95% CI, 0.301 to 0.552; P < .001). Tumor downstaging occurred in 16 (12.3% of 130) patients receiving HAIC-FO, including 15 receiving curative surgery or ablation, and finally achieving a median OS of 20.8 months, with a 1-year OS rate of 93.8%. In high-risk subpopulations, OS was significantly longer with HAIC-FO than with sorafenib (10.8 months v 5.7 months; HR 0.343; 95% CI, 0.219 to 0.538; P < .001). A newly developed 15-mutant-gene prediction model identified 83% of patients with response to HAIC-FO. HAIC-FO responders had longer OS than HAIC-FO nonresponders (19.3 months v 10.6 months; HR 0.323; 95% CI, 0.186 to 0.560; P = .002). CONCLUSION: HAIC-FO achieved better survival outcomes than sorafenib in advanced HCC, even in association with a high intrahepatic disease burden.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/administration & dosage , Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/drug therapy , Fluorouracil/administration & dosage , Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy , Oxaliplatin/administration & dosage , Sorafenib/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/genetics , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/mortality , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology , China , Female , Fluorouracil/adverse effects , Hepatic Artery , Humans , Infusions, Intra-Arterial , Liver Neoplasms/genetics , Liver Neoplasms/mortality , Liver Neoplasms/pathology , Male , Middle Aged , Mutation , Oxaliplatin/adverse effects , Progression-Free Survival , Sorafenib/adverse effects , Time FactorsABSTRACT
CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homology-directed repair (HDR) can be leveraged to precisely engineer mammalian genomes. However, the inherently low efficiency of HDR often hampers to identify the desired modified cells. Here, we developed a novel universal surrogate reporter system that efficiently enriches for genetically modified cells arising from CRISPR/Cas9-induced HDR events (namely, the "HDR-USR" system). This episomally based reporter can be self-cleaved and self-repaired via HDR to create a functional puromycin selection cassette without compromising genome integrity. Co-transfection of the HDR-USR system into host cells and transient puromycin selection efficiently achieves enrichment of HDR-modified cells. We tested the system for precision point mutation at 16 loci in different human cell lines and one locus in two rodent cell lines. This system exhibited dramatic improvements in HDR efficiency at a single locus (up to 20.7-fold) and two loci at once (42% editing efficiency compared to zero in the control), as well as greatly improved knockin efficiency (8.9-fold) and biallelic deletion (35.9-fold) at test loci. Further increases were achieved by co-expression of yeast Rad52 and linear single-/double-stranded DNA donors. Taken together, our HDR-USR system provides a simple, robust and efficient surrogate reporter for the enrichment of CRISPR/Cas9-induced HDR-based precision genome editing across various targeting loci in different cell lines.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To optimize the extraction and purification procedure for polysaccharides from Astragalus membranaceus. METHODS: The orthogonal test was used to determine the optimal extraction technology in terms of the extraction rate of crude polysaccharides and the concentration of polysaccharides. The efficiency of deproteinization and decoloration with different methods were evaluated with the ration of protein and colorant removing as the indices. Their influence on the content of Astragalus polysaccharides was calculated as well. RESULTS: The optimum extraction procedure was as follows: 8 times of water extracting three times at 100 degrees C, 90 minutes per time. Deproteinization using pepsase combined with Sevage solvent and depigmenting with DEAE fibrin achieved a high purification rate. CONCLUSION: The optimized extraction and purification procedure is simple, quick and efficient. The result establishes the foundation for the further study of the polysaccharides from Astragalus membranaceus.
Subject(s)
Astragalus propinquus/chemistry , Plant Proteins/isolation & purification , Plants, Medicinal/chemistry , Polysaccharides/isolation & purification , Technology, Pharmaceutical/methods , Analysis of Variance , Charcoal/chemistry , Coloring Agents/chemistry , Pepsin A/chemistry , Plant Roots/chemistry , Polysaccharides/analysis , Solvents , Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet , Temperature , Trichloroacetic Acid/chemistryABSTRACT
Base on the practical of MSTN-specific yeast-based protein vaccine in mice as described previously, this research was designed for developing a better DNA vaccine (a cascade of shIL21-MSTN yeast-based DNA vaccine) than solely MSTN yeast-based DNA vaccine to block the endogenous MSTN in the murine model. We first constructed the target vectors, including CMV-driven MSTN expression vector and a combined shIL21-MSTN vector which containing MSTN expression cassette and shIL21 (short hairpin RNA-IL21) expression cassette. After necessary validation, recombinant yeast vaccines harboring different vectors were well prepared. Subsequently, after 2-month administration, the MSTN-specific immune response was detected with western blots. The commercial ELISA assays indicated that the production of IL21 and IL6 were decreased compared with control groups. More importantly, the MSTN-specific antibody titer was much higher in the shIL21-MSTN group than MSTN group, which was consistent with the western blots result. The most important finding was significant body mass increased after oral administration of these yeast-based DNA vaccines, in which the shIL21-MSTN vaccine is slightly higher than the sole MSTN vaccine in mice. In this study, we confirmed the role of different MSTN-specific yeast-based DNA vaccines on increasing body mass in mice, to provide a good inspiration for livestock breeding through the new type of immunoregulatory method. On the other hand, we also detected the possible modulating role of shIL21 on the dendritic cell-mediated immune function which needs more practical application and deeper exploration.
Subject(s)
Body Weight/immunology , Interleukins/genetics , Intestinal Mucosa , Myostatin , RNA, Small Interfering/genetics , Vaccines, DNA/immunology , Administration, Oral , Animals , Dendritic Cells/immunology , Dendritic Cells/metabolism , Female , Genetic Vectors , Interleukins/immunology , Intestinal Mucosa/immunology , Mice , Mice, Inbred Strains , Myostatin/genetics , Myostatin/metabolism , RNA, Small Interfering/immunology , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics , Vaccines, DNA/administration & dosage , Vaccines, DNA/geneticsABSTRACT
The SNP within intron 3 of the porcine IGF2 gene (G3072A) plays an important role for muscle growth and fat deposition in pigs. In this study, the StCas9 derived from Streptococcus thermophilus together with the Drosha-mediated sgRNA-shRNA structure were combined to boost the G to A base editing on the IGF2 SNP site, which we called "SNP editing." The codon-humanized StCas9 as we previously reported was firstly compared with the prevalently used SpCas9 derived from Streptococcus pyogenes using our idiomatic surrogate report assay, and the StCas9 demonstrated a comparable targeting activity. On the other hand, by combining shRNA with sgRNA, simultaneous gene silencing and genome targeting can be achieved. Thus, the novel IGF2.sgRNA-LIG4.shRNA-IGF2.sgRNA structure was constructed to enhance the sgRNA/Cas9-mediated HDR-based IGF2 SNP editing by silencing the LIG4 gene, which is a key molecule of the HDR's competitive NHEJ pathway. The sgRNA-shRNA/StCas9 all-in-one expression vector and the IGF2.sgRNA/StCas9 as control were separately used to transfect porcine PK15 cells together with an ssODNs donor for the IGF2 SNP editing. The editing events were detected by the RFLP assay, Sanger sequencing as well as Deep-sequencing, and the Deep-sequencing results finally demonstrated a significant higher HDR-based editing efficiency (16.38%) for our sgRNA-shRNA/StCas9 strategy. In short, we achieved effective IGF2 SNP editing by using the combined sgRNA-shRNA/StCas9 strategy, which will facilitate the further production of base-edited animals and perhaps extend for the gene therapy for the base correction of some genetic diseases.