Rational design of self-assembled RNA nanostructures for HIV-1 virus assembly blockade.

Many pathological processes are driven by RNA-protein interactions, making such interactions promising targets for molecular interventions. HIV-1 assembly is one such process, in which the viral genomic RNA interacts with the viral Gag protein and serves as a scaffold to drive Gag multimerization that ultimately leads to formation of a virus particle. Here, we develop self-assembled RNA nanostructures that can inhibit HIV-1 virus assembly, achieved through hybridization of multiple artificial small RNAs with a stem-loop structure (STL) that we identify as a prominent ligand of Gag that can inhibit virus particle production via STL-Gag interactions. The resulting STL-decorated nanostructures (double and triple stem-loop structures denoted as Dumbbell and Tribell, respectively) can elicit more pronounced viral blockade than their building blocks, with the inhibition arising as a result of nanostructures interfering with Gag multimerization. These findings could open up new avenues for RNA-based therapy.

Golgi-associated microtubules are fast cargo tracks and required for persistent cell migration.

Microtubules derived from the Golgi (Golgi MTs) have been implicated to play critical roles in persistent cell migration, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive, partially due to the lack of direct observation of Golgi MT-dependent vesicular trafficking. Here, using super-resolution stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), we discovered that post-Golgi cargos are more enriched on Golgi MTs and also surprisingly move much faster than on non-Golgi MTs. We found that, compared to non-Golgi MTs, Golgi MTs are morphologically more polarized toward the cell leading edge with significantly fewer inter-MT intersections. In addition, Golgi MTs are more stable and contain fewer lattice repair sites than non-Golgi MTs. Our STORM/live-cell imaging demonstrates that cargos frequently pause at the sites of both MT intersections and MT defects. Furthermore, by optogenetic maneuvering of cell direction, we demonstrate that Golgi MTs are essential for persistent cell migration but not for cells to change direction. Together, our study unveils the role of Golgi MTs in serving as a group of "fast tracks" for anterograde trafficking of post-Golgi cargos.

Long-term dual-color tracking of genomic loci by modified sgRNAs of the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Visualization of chromosomal dynamics is important for understanding many fundamental intra-nuclear processes. Efficient and reliable live-cell multicolor labeling of chromosomal loci can realize this goal. However, the current methods are constrained mainly by insufficient labeling throughput, efficiency, flexibility as well as photostability. Here we have developed a new approach to realize dual-color chromosomal loci imaging based on a modified single-guide RNA (sgRNA) of the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The modification of sgRNA was optimized by structure-guided engineering of the original sgRNA, consisting of RNA aptamer insertions that bind fluorescent protein-tagged effectors. By labeling and tracking telomeres, centromeres and genomic loci, we demonstrate that the new approach is easy to implement and enables robust dual-color imaging of genomic elements. Importantly, our data also indicate that the fast exchange rate of RNA aptamer binding effectors makes our sgRNA-based labeling method much more tolerant to photobleaching than the Cas9-based labeling method. This is crucial for continuous, long-term tracking of chromosomal dynamics. Lastly, as our method is complementary to other live-cell genomic labeling systems, it is therefore possible to combine them into a plentiful palette for the study of native chromatin organization and genome ultrastructure dynamics in living cells.

Visualize the Distribution and Dynamics of Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Nucleoids with Multiple Labeling Strategies.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes a variety of rRNAs, tRNAs, and respiratory chain complex proteins. The integrity of mtDNA supports the mitochondrial functions and plays an essential role in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Mutations in mtDNA cause metabolic diseases and aging. The mtDNA within the human cells are packaged into hundreds of nucleoids within the mitochondrial matrix. Knowledge of how the nucleoids are dynamically distributed and organized within mitochondria is key to understanding mtDNA structure and functions. Therefore, visualizing the distribution and dynamics of mtDNA within mitochondria is a powerful approach to gain insights into the regulation of mtDNA replication and transcription. In this chapter, we describe the methods of observing mtDNA and its replication with fluorescence microscopy in both fixed and live cells using different labeling strategies.

ER-mitochondria contacts promote mtDNA nucleoids active transportation via mitochondrial dynamic tubulation.

A human cell contains hundreds to thousands of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) packaged into nucleoids. Currently, the segregation and allocation of nucleoids are thought to be passively determined by mitochondrial fusion and division. Here we provide evidence, using live-cell super-resolution imaging, that nucleoids can be actively transported via KIF5B-driven mitochondrial dynamic tubulation (MDT) activities that predominantly occur at the ER-mitochondria contact sites (EMCS). We further demonstrate that a mitochondrial inner membrane protein complex MICOS links nucleoids to Miro1, a KIF5B receptor on mitochondria, at the EMCS. We show that such active transportation is a mechanism essential for the proper distribution of nucleoids in the peripheral zone of the cell. Together, our work identifies an active transportation mechanism of nucleoids, with EMCS serving as a key platform for the interplay of nucleoids, MICOS, Miro1, and KIF5B to coordinate nucleoids segregation and transportation.