scholarly journals RNAi and chemogenetic reporter co-regulation in primate striatal interneurons

Gene Therapy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Lerchner ◽  
Abdullah A. Adil ◽  
Sekinat Mumuney ◽  
Wenliang Wang ◽  
Rossella Falcone ◽  
...  

AbstractUsing genetic tools to study the functional roles of molecularly specified neuronal populations in the primate brain is challenging, primarily because of specificity and verification of virus-mediated targeting. Here, we report a lentivirus-based system that helps improve specificity and verification by (a) targeting a selected molecular mechanism, (b) in vivo reporting of expression, and (c) allowing the option to independently silence all regional neural activity. Specifically, we modulate cholinergic signaling of striatal interneurons by shRNAmir and pair it with hM4Di_CFP, a chemogenetic receptor that can function as an in vivo and in situ reporter. Quantitative analyses by visual and deep-learning assisted methods show an inverse linear relation between hM4Di_CFP and ChAT protein expression for several shRNAmir constructs. This approach successfully applies shRNAmir to modulating gene expression in the primate brain and shows that hM4Di_CFP can act as a readout for this modulation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 363-387
Author(s):  
Bo Cheng ◽  
Qi Tang ◽  
Che Zhang ◽  
Xing Chen

As one of the major types of biomacromolecules in the cell, glycans play essential functional roles in various biological processes. Compared with proteins and nucleic acids, the analysis of glycans in situ has been more challenging. Herein we review recent advances in the development of methods and strategies for labeling, imaging, and profiling of glycans in cells and in vivo. Cellular glycans can be labeled by affinity-based probes, including lectin and antibody conjugates, direct chemical modification, metabolic glycan labeling, and chemoenzymatic labeling. These methods have been applied to label glycans with fluorophores, which enables the visualization and tracking of glycans in cells, tissues, and living organisms. Alternatively, labeling glycans with affinity tags has enabled the enrichment of glycoproteins for glycoproteomic profiling. Built on the glycan labeling methods, strategies enabling cell-selective and tissue-specific glycan labeling and protein-specific glycan imaging have been developed. With these methods and strategies, researchers are now better poised than ever to dissect the biological function of glycans in physiological or pathological contexts.


2003 ◽  
Vol 82 (8) ◽  
pp. 646-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Takahashi ◽  
M. Nishimura ◽  
K. Onodera ◽  
J.-W. Bae ◽  
H. Mitani ◽  
...  

Periodontal ligament tissue is remodeled on both the tension and compression sides of moving teeth during orthodontic tooth movement. The present study was designed to clarify the hypothesis that the expression of MMP-8 and MMP-13 mRNA is promoted during the remodeling of periodontal ligament tissue in orthodontic tooth movement. We used the in situ hybridization method and semi-quantitative reverse-transcription/polymerase chain-reaction analysis to elucidate the gene expression of MMP-8 and MMP-13 mRNA. Expression of MMP-8 and MMP-13 mRNA transiently increased on both the compression and tension sides during active tooth movement in vivo. The gene expression of MMP-8 and MMP-13 was induced by tension, while compression indirectly promoted the gene expression of MMP-8 and MMP-13 through soluble factors in vitro. Thus, we concluded that the expression of MMP-8 and MMP-13 is differentially regulated by tension and compression, and plays an important role in the remodeling of the periodontal ligament.


2000 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 5953-5959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Davis ◽  
John E. Edwards ◽  
Aaron P. Mitchell ◽  
Ashraf S. Ibrahim

ABSTRACT The ability of Candida albicans to respond to diverse environments is critical for its success as a pathogen. TheRIM101 pathway controls gene expression and the yeast-to-hyphal transition in C. albicans in response to changes in environmental pH in vitro. In this study, we found that theRIM101 pathway is necessary in vivo for pathogenesis. First, we show thatrim101−/rim101− andrim8−/rim8− mutants have a significant reduction in virulence using the mouse model of hematogenously disseminated systemic candidiasis. Second, these mutants show a marked reduction in kidney pathology. Third, therim101−/rim101− andrim8−/rim8− mutants show defects in the ability to damage endothelial cells in situ. Finally, we show that an activated allele of RIM101, RIM101-405, is a suppressor of the rim8− mutation in vivo as it rescues the virulence, histological, and endothelial damage defects of the rim8−/rim8− mutant. These results demonstrate that the RIM101 pathway is required for C. albicans virulence in vivo and that the function of Rim8p in pathogenesis is to activate Rim101p.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachin Sethi ◽  
Jing W. Wang

AbstractSeveral techniques have been developed to manipulate gene expression temporally in intact neural circuits. However, the applicability of current tools developed for in vivo studies in Drosophila is limited by their incompatibility with existing GAL4 lines and side effects on physiology and behavior. To circumvent these limitations, we adopted a strategy to reversibly regulate protein degradation with a small molecule by using a destabilizing domain (DD). We show that this system is effective across different tissues and developmental stages. We further show that this system can be used to control in vivo gene expression levels with low background, large dynamic range, and in a reversible manner without detectable side effects on the lifespan or behavior of the animal. Additionally, we engineered tools for chemically controlling gene expression (GAL80-DD) and recombination (FLP-DD). We demonstrate the applicability of this technology in manipulating neuronal activity and for high-efficiency sparse labeling of neuronal populations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atesh K Worthington ◽  
Taylor S Cool ◽  
Donna M Poscablo ◽  
Adeel Hussaini ◽  
Anna E Beaudin ◽  
...  

Traditional, adult-derived lymphocytes that circulate provide adaptive immunity to infection and pathogens. However, subsets of lymphoid cells are also found in non-lymphoid tissues and are called tissue-resident lymphoid cells (TLCs). TLCs encompass a wide array of cell types that span the spectrum of innate-to-adaptive immune function. Unlike traditional lymphocytes that are continuously generated from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), many TLCs are of fetal origin and poorly generated from adult HSCs. Here, we sought to understand the development of murine TLCs across multiple tissues and therefore probed the roles of Flk2 and IL7R⍺, two cytokine receptors with known roles in traditional lymphopoiesis. Using Flk2- and Il7r-Cre lineage tracing models, we found that peritoneal B1a cells, splenic marginal zone B (MZB) cells, lung ILC2s and regulatory T cells (Tregs) were highly labeled in both models. Despite this high labeling, highly quantitative, in vivo functional approaches showed that the loss of Flk2 minimally affected the generation of these cells in situ. In contrast, the loss of IL7R⍺, or combined deletion of Flk2 and IL7R⍺, dramatically reduced the cell numbers of B1a cells, MZBs, ILC2s, and Tregs both in situ and upon transplantation, indicating an intrinsic and more essential role for IL7Rα. Surprisingly, reciprocal transplants of WT HSCs showed that an IL7Rα-/- environment selectively impaired reconstitution of TLCs when compared to TLC numbers in situ. Taken together, our data revealed functional roles of Flk2 and IL7Rα in the establishment of tissue-resident lymphoid cells.


1994 ◽  
Vol 714 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. LOSKUTOFF ◽  
M. SAWDEY ◽  
M. KEETON ◽  
J. SCHNEIDERMAN ◽  
I. LANG ◽  
...  

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (4) ◽  
pp. H1599-H1608 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Eckhart ◽  
Z. Zhu ◽  
W. J. Arendshorst ◽  
J. E. Faber

Blood and tissue O2 levels are major determinants of short-term autoregulatory adjustments in vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) tension and may effect long-term alterations in SMC catecholamine responsiveness. We examined the hypothesis that prolonged hypoxia altered gene expression of alpha 1-adrenoceptors. After exposure of cultured aortic (in vitro) SMC to 3% O2 for 8 h, alpha 1B mRNA increased to 523% (P = 0.02) of control cells (21% O2) and to 205% (P = 0.04) in in situ organ-cultured aortic SMC. In vivo hypoxic hypoxia (10% inspired O2) similarly increased aortic SMC alpha 1B mRNA 180% (P = 0.02). In contrast, alpha 1D, alpha-actin and beta-actin mRNA levels were not changed in aortic SMC by low O2 in the in vitro, in situ, or in vivo models. Unlike aortic SMC, vena caval SMC alpha 1B mRNA expression did not change with low-O2 exposure in vitro or in vivo, nor did alpha 1D, alpha-actin or beta-actin mRNA. Aortic SMC alpha 1B transcription rate increased 360% (P = 0.02), whereas alpha 1D, alpha-actin, and beta-actin transcription was unchanged. Neither alpha 1B nor alpha 1D mRNA stability was altered by low-O2 exposure. Total alpha 1-adrenoceptor density ([3H]prazosin binding) increased 12% (P = 0.04) after 24 h of 3% O2. This was associated with a 200% increase (P < 0.01) in the chloroethylclonidine (CEC)-sensitive alpha 1-adrenoceptor population and no change in CEC-insensitive alpha 1-adrenoceptor density. Exposure of aortic SMC to 24 h of 3% O2 increased the maximum response of norepinephrine-evoked elevations in intracellular Ca2+ as measured using fura 2. Low O2 did not change responses to another G protein-coupled receptor, angiotensin II. These data suggest that reduced O2, during prolonged hypoxemia or tissue ischemia, may selectively increase expression of functionally coupled alpha 1B-adrenoceptors in arterial blood vessels.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam T. Vogel ◽  
Shelley J. Russek

AbstractAdvancements in genetically based technologies have begun to allow us to better understand the relationships between underlying neural activity and the patterns of measurable behavior that can be reproducibly studied in the laboratory. As this field develops, there are key limitations to the currently available technologies hindering their full potential to deliver meaningful datasets. The limitations which are most critical to advancement of these technologies in behavioral neuroscience are: the temporal resolution at which physiological events can be windowed, the divergent molecular pathways in signal transduction that introduce ambiguity into the output of activity sensors, and the impractical size of the genetic material that requires 3-4 separate AAV vectors to deliver a fully functional system into a cell. To address these limitations and help bring the potential of these types of technologies into better realization, we have engineered a nucleus localized light-sensitive Ca2+-dependent gene expression system based on AsLOV2 and the downstream responsive element antagonist modulator (DREAM). The design and engineering of each component was performed in such a way to: 1) preserve behaviorally relevant temporal dynamics, 2) preserve signal fidelity appropriate for studying experience-driven neural activity patterns and their relationship to specific animal responses, and 3) have full delivery of the genetic material via a single AAV vector. The system was tested in vitro and subsequently in vivo with neural activity induced by Channelrhodopsin and could be used in the future with behaviorally-driven neural activity. To our knowledge this is the first optogenetic tool for the practical use of linking activity-dependent gene activation in response to direct nuclear calcium transduction.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neymi Mignocchi ◽  
Sarah Krüssel ◽  
Kanghoon Jung ◽  
Dongmin Lee ◽  
Hyung-Bae Kwon

AbstractOxytocin (OXT) is a neuropeptide originating in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, with a role in influencing various social behaviors. However, pinpointing its actions only during the time animals are performing specific behaviors has been difficult to study. Here we developed an optogenetic gene expression system designed to selectively label neuronal populations activated by OXT in the presence of blue-light, named “OXTR-iTango2”. The OXTR-iTango2 was capable of inducing gene expression of a reporter gene in both human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells and neurons in a quantitative manner. In vivo expression of OXTR-iTango2 selectively labeled OXT-sensitive neurons in a blue-light dependent manner. Furthermore, we were able to detect a subset of dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) that receive OXT activation during social interaction. Thus, we provide a genetically-encoded, scalable optogenetic toolset to target neural circuits activated by OXT in behaving animals with a high temporal resolution.


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