scholarly journals Application of aptamers improves CRISPR-based live imaging of plant telomeres

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solmaz Khosravi ◽  
Patrick Schindele ◽  
Evgeny Gladilin ◽  
Frank Dunemann ◽  
Twan Rutten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Live Imaging ◽  
Rna Aptamers ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Target Dna ◽  
Rnp Complex ◽  
Plant Telomeres

AbstractDevelopment of live imaging techniques for providing information how chromatin is organized in living cells is pivotal to decipher the regulation of biological processes. Here, we demonstrate the improvement of a live imaging technique based on CRISPR/Cas9. In this approach, the sgRNA scaffold is fused to RNA aptamers including MS2 and PP7. When the dead Cas9 (dCas9) is co-expressed with chimeric sgRNA, the aptamer-binding proteins fused to fluorescent protein (MCP-FP and PCP-FP) are recruited to the targeted sequence. Compared to previous work with dCas9:GFP, we show that the quality of telomere labelling was improved in transiently transformed Nicotiana benthamiana using aptamer-based CRISPR-imaging constructs. Labelling is influenced by the copy number of aptamers and less by the promoter types. The same constructs were not applicable for labelling of repeats in stably transformed plants and roots. The constant interaction of the RNP complex with its target DNA might interfere with cellular processes.HighlightAptamer-based CRISPR imaging: an opportunity for improving live-cell imaging in plants

scholarly journals Specific Modification of Aged Proteasomes Revealed by Tag-Exchangeable Knock-In Mice

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Tomita ◽  
Shoshiro Hirayama ◽  
Yasuyuki Sakurai ◽  
Yuki Ohte ◽  
Hidehito Yoshihara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Function ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Embryonic Fibroblasts ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
Biochemical Alterations ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Responsible Gene ◽  
Intracellular Protein Degradation ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT The proteasome is the proteolytic machinery at the center of regulated intracellular protein degradation and participates in various cellular processes. Maintaining the quality of the proteasome is therefore important for proper cell function. It is unclear, however, how proteasomes change over time and how aged proteasomes are disposed. Here, we show that the proteasome undergoes specific biochemical alterations as it ages. We generated Rpn11-Flag/enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) tag-exchangeable knock-in mice and established a method for selective purification of old proteasomes in terms of their molecular age at the time after synthesis. The half-life of proteasomes in mouse embryonic fibroblasts isolated from these knock-in mice was about 16 h. Using this tool, we found increased association of Txnl1, Usp14, and actin with the proteasome and specific phosphorylation of Rpn3 at Ser 6 in 3-day-old proteasomes. We also identified CSNK2A2 encoding the catalytic α′ subunit of casein kinase II (CK2α′) as a responsible gene that regulates the phosphorylation and turnover of old proteasomes. These findings will provide a basis for understanding the mechanism of molecular aging of the proteasome.

scholarly journals Seeing Is Believing: Visualizing Circular RNAs

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Pruthvi Raj Bejugam ◽  
Aniruddha Das ◽  
Amaresh Chandra Panda
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Rna Binding Proteins ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Rna Aptamers ◽  
Circular Rnas ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Imaging Probes ◽  
Rna Imaging

Advancement in the RNA sequencing techniques has discovered hundreds of thousands of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in humans. However, the physiological function of most of the identified circRNAs remains unexplored. Recent studies have established that spliceosomal machinery and RNA-binding proteins modulate circRNA biogenesis. Furthermore, circRNAs have been implicated in regulating crucial cellular processes by interacting with various proteins and microRNAs. However, there are several challenges in understanding the mechanism of circRNA biogenesis, transport, and their interaction with cellular factors to regulate cellular events because of their low abundance and sequence similarity with linear RNA. Addressing these challenges requires systematic studies that directly visualize the circRNAs in cells at single-molecule resolution along with the molecular regulators. In this review, we present the design, benefits, and weaknesses of RNA imaging techniques such as single-molecule RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization and BaseScope in fixed cells and fluorescent RNA aptamers in live-cell imaging of circRNAs. Furthermore, we propose the potential use of molecular beacons, multiply labeled tetravalent RNA imaging probes, and Cas-derived systems to visualize circRNAs.

scholarly journals Combining single-molecule super-resolved localization microscopy with fluorescence polarization imaging to study cellular processes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack W Shepherd ◽  
Alex L Payne-Dwyer ◽  
Mark C Leake
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Fluorescence Polarization ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Imaging Modality ◽  
Simultaneous Detection ◽  
Optical Resolution ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Localization Microscopy ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractSuper-resolution microscopy has enabled valuable insights into the subcellular, mechanistic details of many different biological processes across a wide range of cell types. Fluorescence polarization spectroscopy tools have also enabled important insights into cellular processes through identifying orientational changes of biological molecules typically at an ensemble level. Here, we combine these two biophysical methodologies in a single home-made instrument to enable the simultaneous detection of orthogonal fluorescence polarization signals from single fluorescent protein molecules used as common reporters on the localization on biomolecules in cellular processes, whose spatial location can be pinpointed to a super-resolved precision better than the diffraction-limited optical resolution. In this small innovation we have adapted a millisecond timescale “Slimfield” microscope used for single-molecule detection to enable spitting of the fluorescence polarization emissions into two separate imaging channels for s- and p- polarization signals that are imaged onto separate halves of the same high sensitivity back-illuminated CMOS camera detector. We applied this fluorescence polarization super-resolved imaging modality to a range of test fluorescent samples relevant to the study of biological processes, including purified monomeric green fluorescent protein (mGFP). Our findings are largely qualitative but demonstrate promise in showing how fluorescence polarization and Slimfield-mediated super-resolved localization microscopy can be combined on the same sample to enable new biological insights.

scholarly journals Intrinsically Disordered Proteins as Regulators of Transient Biological Processes and as Untapped Drug Targets

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 2118
Author(s):  
Yusuke Hosoya ◽  
Junko Ohkanda
Keyword(s):  
Drug Targets ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins ◽  
Dynamic Control ◽  
Disordered Proteins ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Phase Separations ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
New Drug ◽  
Liquid Phase Separations

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are critical players in the dynamic control of diverse cellular processes, and provide potential new drug targets because their dysregulation is closely related to many diseases. This review focuses on several medicinal studies that have identified low-molecular-weight inhibitors of IDPs. In addition, clinically relevant liquid–liquid phase separations—which critically involve both intermolecular interactions between IDPs and their posttranslational modification—are analyzed to understand the potential of IDPs as new drug targets.

scholarly journals Integrative, multi-omics, analysis of blood samples improves model predictions: applications to cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Ponzi ◽  
Magne Thoresen ◽  
Therese Haugdahl Nøst ◽  
Kajsa Møllersen
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Biological Process ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Integrative Analysis ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Omics Data ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Model Predictions

Abstract Background Cancer genomic studies often include data collected from several omics platforms. Each omics data source contributes to the understanding of the underlying biological process via source specific (“individual”) patterns of variability. At the same time, statistical associations and potential interactions among the different data sources can reveal signals from common biological processes that might not be identified by single source analyses. These common patterns of variability are referred to as “shared” or “joint”. In this work, we show how the use of joint and individual components can lead to better predictive models, and to a deeper understanding of the biological process at hand. We identify joint and individual contributions of DNA methylation, miRNA and mRNA expression collected from blood samples in a lung cancer case–control study nested within the Norwegian Women and Cancer (NOWAC) cohort study, and we use such components to build prediction models for case–control and metastatic status. To assess the quality of predictions, we compare models based on simultaneous, integrative analysis of multi-source omics data to a standard non-integrative analysis of each single omics dataset, and to penalized regression models. Additionally, we apply the proposed approach to a breast cancer dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Results Our results show how an integrative analysis that preserves both components of variation is more appropriate than standard multi-omics analyses that are not based on such a distinction. Both joint and individual components are shown to contribute to a better quality of model predictions, and facilitate the interpretation of the underlying biological processes in lung cancer development. Conclusions In the presence of multiple omics data sources, we recommend the use of data integration techniques that preserve the joint and individual components across the omics sources. We show how the inclusion of such components increases the quality of model predictions of clinical outcomes.

scholarly journals The Etiology and Pathophysiology Genesis of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Prostate Cancer: A New Perspective

Medicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Teow J. Phua
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Cancer Biology ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Prostatic Hyperplasia ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Prostatic Diseases

Background: The etiology of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer are unknown, with ageing being the greatness risk factor. Methods: This new perspective evaluates the available interdisciplinary evidence regarding prostate ageing in terms of the cell biology of regulation and homeostasis, which could explain the timeline of evolutionary cancer biology as degenerative, inflammatory and neoplasm progressions in these multifactorial and heterogeneous prostatic diseases. Results: This prostate ageing degeneration hypothesis encompasses the testosterone-vascular-inflamm-ageing triad, along with the cell biology regulation of amyloidosis and autophagy within an evolutionary tumorigenesis microenvironment. Conclusions: An understanding of these biological processes of prostate ageing can provide potential strategies for early prevention and could contribute to maintaining quality of life for the ageing individual along with substantial medical cost savings.

scholarly journals Studies on the Structure and Properties of Membrane Phospholipase A1 Inclusion Bodies Formed at Low Growth Temperatures Using GFP Fusion Strategy

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 3936
Author(s):  
Svetlana I. Bakholdina ◽  
Anna M. Stenkova ◽  
Evgenia P. Bystritskaya ◽  
Evgeniy V. Sidorin ◽  
Natalya Yu. Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inclusion Bodies ◽  
Yersinia Pseudotuberculosis ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Chimeric Protein ◽  
Maximum Level ◽  
Molecular Organization ◽  
Eukaryotic Cells ◽  
Fusion Partner ◽  
Phospholipase A1

The effect of cultivation temperatures (37, 26, and 18 °C) on the conformational quality of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis phospholipase A1 (PldA) in inclusion bodies (IBs) was studied using green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a folding reporter. GFP was fused to the C-terminus of PldA to form the PldA-GFP chimeric protein. It was found that the maximum level of fluorescence and expression of the chimeric protein is observed in cells grown at 18 °C, while at 37 °C no formation of fluorescently active forms of PldA-GFP occurs. The size, stability in denaturant solutions, and enzymatic and biological activity of PldA-GFP IBs expressed at 18 °C, as well as the secondary structure and arrangement of protein molecules inside the IBs, were studied. Solubilization of the chimeric protein from IBs in urea and SDS is accompanied by its denaturation. The obtained data show the structural heterogeneity of PldA-GFP IBs. It can be assumed that compactly packed, properly folded, proteolytic resistant, and structurally less organized, susceptible to proteolysis polypeptides can coexist in PldA-GFP IBs. The use of GFP as a fusion partner improves the conformational quality of PldA, but negatively affects its enzymatic activity. The PldA-GFP IBs are not toxic to eukaryotic cells and have the property to penetrate neuroblastoma cells. Data presented in the work show that the GFP-marker can be useful not only as target protein folding indicator, but also as a tool for studying the molecular organization of IBs, their morphology, and localization in E. coli, as well as for visualization of IBs interactions with eukaryotic cells.

scholarly journals The Functional Quality of Soluble Recombinant Polypeptides Produced in Escherichia coli Is Defined by a Wide Conformational Spectrum

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (23) ◽  
pp. 7431-7433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Martínez-Alonso ◽  
Nuria González-Montalbán ◽  
Elena García-Fruitós ◽  
Antonio Villaverde
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Recombinant Proteins ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Native Structure ◽  
Functional Quality ◽  
Soluble Aggregates ◽  
Recombinant Polypeptides ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT We have observed that a soluble recombinant green fluorescent protein produced in Escherichia coli occurs in a wide conformational spectrum. This results in differently fluorescent protein fractions in which morphologically diverse soluble aggregates abound. Therefore, the functional quality of soluble versions of aggregation-prone recombinant proteins is defined statistically rather than by the prevalence of a canonical native structure.

Illuminating subcellular structures and dynamics in plants: a fluorescent protein toolboxThis review is one of a selection of papers published in the Special Issue on Plant Cell Biology.

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preetinder K. Dhanoa ◽  
Alison M. Sinclair ◽  
Robert T. Mullen ◽  
Jaideep Mathur
Keyword(s):  
Plant Cell ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Live Imaging ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Exciting Possibility ◽  
Selection Of

The discovery and development of multicoloured fluorescent proteins has led to the exciting possibility of observing a remarkable array of subcellular structures and dynamics in living cells. This minireview highlights a number of the more common fluorescent protein probes in plants and is a testimonial to the fact that the plant cell has not lagged behind during the live-imaging revolution and is ready for even more in-depth exploration.

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