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Scooped by
dromius
May 15, 2014 9:07 AM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Simoni et al, 2014 Selfish genes are DNA elements that increase their rate of genetic transmission at the expense of other genes in the genome and can therefore quickly spread within a population. It has been suggested that selfish elements could be exploited to modify the genome of entire populations for medical and ecological applications. Here we report that transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) and zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) can be engineered into site-specific synthetic selfish elements (SSEs) and demonstrate their transmission of up to 70% in the Drosophila germline. We show here that SSEs can spread via DNA break-induced homologous recombination, a process known as ‘homing’ similar to that observed for homing endonuclease genes (HEGs), despite their fundamentally different modes of DNA binding and cleavage. We observed that TALEN and ZFN have a reduced capability of secondary homing compared to HEG as their repetitive structure had a negative effect on their genetic stability. The modular architecture of ZFNs and TALENs allows for the rapid design of novel SSEs against specific genomic sequences making them potentially suitable for the genetic engineering of wild-type populations of animals and plants, in applications such as gene replacement or population suppression of pest species.
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Scooped by
dromius
May 8, 2014 12:43 PM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Kubik et al, 2014 Gene expression is extensively regulated by specific patterns of genomic 5-methylcytosine (mC), but the ability to directly detect this modification at user-defined genomic loci is limited. One reason is the lack of molecules that discriminate between mC and cytosine (C) and at the same time provide inherent, programmable sequence-selectivity. Programmable transcription-activator-like effectors (TALEs) have been observed to exhibit mC-sensitivity in vivo, but to only a limited extent in vitro. We report an mC-detection assay based on TALE control of DNA replication that displays unexpectedly strong mC-discrimination ability in vitro. The status and level of mC modification at single positions in oligonucleotides can be determined unambiguously by this assay, independently of the overall target sequence. Moreover, discrimination is reliably observed for positions bound by N-terminal and central regions of TALEs. This indicates the wide scope and robustness of the approach for highly resolved mC detection and enabled the detection of a single mC in a large, eukaryotic genome.
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Scooped by
dromius
May 7, 2014 5:53 AM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Li et al. 2014 The ability to perturb individual genes in genome-wide experiments has been instrumental in unraveling cellular and disease properties. Here we introduce, describe the assembly, and demonstrate the use of comprehensive and versatile transcription activator-like effector (TALE) libraries. As a proof of principle, we built an 11-mer library that covers all possible combinations of the nucleotides that determine the TALE-DNA binding specificity. We demonstrate the versatility of the methodology by constructing a constraint library, customized to bind to a known p53 motif. To verify the functionality in assays, we applied the 11-mer library in yeast-one-hybrid screens to discover TALEs that activate human SCN9A and miR-34b respectively. Additionally, we performed a genome-wide screen using the complete 11-mer library to confirm known genes that confer cycloheximide resistance in yeast. Considering the highly modular nature of TALEs and the versatility and ease of constructing these libraries we envision broad implications for high-throughput genomic assays.
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Scooped by
dromius
May 4, 2014 6:31 AM
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de Lange et al, 2014 The tandem repeats of transcription activator like effectors (TALEs) mediate sequence-specific DNA binding using a simple code. Naturally, TALEs are injected by Xanthomonas bacteria into plant cells to manipulate the host transcriptome. In the laboratory TALE DNA binding domains are reprogrammed and used to target a fused functional domain to a genomic locus of choice. Research into the natural diversity of TALE-like proteins may provide resources for the further improvement of current TALE technology. Here we describe TALE-like proteins from the endosymbiotic bacterium Burkholderia rhizoxinica, termed Bat proteins. Bat repeat domains mediate sequence-specific DNA binding with the same code as TALEs, despite less than 40% sequence identity. We show that Bat proteins can be adapted for use as transcription factors and nucleases and that sequence preferences can be reprogrammed. Unlike TALEs, the core repeats of each Bat protein are highly polymorphic. This feature allowed us to explore alternative strategies for the design of custom Bat repeat arrays, providing novel insights into the functional relevance of non-RVD residues. The Bat proteins offer fertile grounds for research into the creation of improved programmable DNA-binding proteins and comparative insights into TALE-like evolution.
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Scooped by
dromius
May 1, 2014 6:13 PM
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Li et al, 2014 Injection of transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) mRNAs into mouse zygotes transferred into foster mothers efficiently generated founder mice with heritable mutations in targeted genes. Immunofluorescence visualization of phosphorylated histone 2A (γH2AX) combined with fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that TALEN pairs targeting the Agouti locus induced site-directed DNA breaks in zygotes within 6 h of injection, an activity that continued at reduced efficiency in two-cell embryos. TALEN-Agouti mRNAs injected into zygotes of brown FvB × C57BL/6 hybrid mice generated completely black pups, confirming that mutations were induced prior to, and/or early after, cell division. Founder mice, many of which were mosaic, transmitted altered Agouti alleles to F1 pups to yield an allelic series of mutant strains. Although mutations were targeted to “spacer” sequences flanked by TALEN binding sites, larger deletions that extended beyond the TALEN-binding sequences were also detected and were similarly inherited through the germ line. Zygotic coinjection of TALEN mRNAs directed to the Agouti, miR-205, and the Arf tumor suppressor loci yielded pups containing frequent and heritable mutations of two or three genes. Simultaneous gene editing in zygotes affords an efficient approach for producing mice with compound mutant phenotypes, bypassing constraints of conventional mouse knockout technology in embryonic stem cells.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 23, 2014 6:11 PM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Anthony et al, 2014 Recent work has shown that the combinatorial use of multiple TALE activators can selectively activate certain cellular genes in inaccessible chromatin regions. In this study, we aimed to interrogate the activation potential of TALEs upon transcriptionally silenced immune genes in the context of non-immune cells. We designed a unique strategy, in which a single TALE fused to the TATA-box binding protein (TBP-TALE) is coupled with multiple VP64-TALE activators. We found that our strategy is significantly more potent than multiple TALE activators alone in activating expression of IL-2 and GM-CSF in diverse cell origins in which both genes are otherwise completely silenced. Chromatin analysis revealed that the gene activation was due in part to displacement of a distinctly positioned nucleosome. These studies provide a novel epigenetic mechanism for artificial gene induction and have important implications for targeted cancer immunotherapy, DNA vaccine development, as well as rational design of TALE activators.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 19, 2014 9:02 AM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Wang et al, 2014 Bacterial blight (BB) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is the most devastating bacterial disease of rice (Oryza sativa L.), a staple food crop that feeds half of the world’s population. In management of this disease, the most economical and effective approach is cultivating resistant varieties. Due to rapid change of pathogenicity in the pathogen, it is necessary to identify and characterize more host resistance genes for breeding new resistant varieties. We have previously identified the BB resistance (R) gene Xa23 that confers the broadest resistance to Xoo strains isolated from different rice-growing regions and preliminarily mapped the gene within a 1.7 cm region on the long arm of rice chromosome 11. Here, we report fine genetic mapping and in silico analysis of putative candidate genes of Xa23. Based on F2 mapping populations derived from crosses between Xa23-containing rice line CBB23 and susceptible varieties JG30 or IR24, six new STS markers Lj36, Lj46, Lj138, Lj74, A83B4, and Lj13 were developed. Linkage analysis revealed that the new markers were co-segregated with or closely linked to the Xa23 locus. Consequently, the Xa23 gene was mapped within a 0.4 cm region between markers Lj138 and A83B4, in which the co-segregating marker Lj74 was identified. The corresponding physical distance between Lj138 and A83B4 on Nipponbare genome is 49.8 kb. Six Xa23 candidate genes have been annotated, including four candidate genes encoding hypothetical proteins and the other two encoding a putative ADP-ribosylation factor protein and a putative PPR protein. These results will facilitate marker-assisted selection of Xa23 in rice breeding and molecular cloning of this valuable R gene.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 17, 2014 9:36 AM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Kleinstiver et al, 2014 Precise genome editing in complex genomes is enabled by engineered nucleases that can be programmed to cleave in a site-specific manner. Here, we fused the small, sequence-tolerant monomeric nuclease domain from the homing endonuclease I-TevI to transcription-like activator effectors (TALEs) to create monomeric Tev-TALE nucleases (Tev-mTALENs). Using the PthXo1 TALE scaffold to optimize the Tev-mTALEN architecture, we found that choice of the N-terminal fusion point on the TALE greatly influenced activity in yeast-based assays, and that the length of the linker used affected the optimal spacing of the TALE binding site from the I-TevI cleavage site, specified by the motif 5’-CNNNG-3’. By assaying activity on all 64 possible sequence variants of this motif, we discovered that in the Tev-mTALEN context, I-TevI prefers A/T rich triplets over G/C rich ones at the cleavage site. Profiling of nucleotide requirements in the DNA spacer that separates the CNNNG motif from the TALE binding site revealed substantial but not complete tolerance to sequence variation. Tev-mTALENs showed robust mutagenic activity on an episomal target in HEK 293T cells consistent with specific cleavage followed by non-homologous end-joining repair. Our data substantiate the applicability of Tev-mTALENs as genome-editing tools but highlight DNA spacer and cleavage site nucleotide preferences that, while enhancing specificity, do confer moderate targeting constraints.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 3, 2014 7:55 AM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) The three-dimensional remodeling of chromatin within nucleus is being recognized as determinant for genome regulation. Recent technological advances in live imaging of chromosome loci begun to explore the biological roles of the movement of the chromatin within the nucleus. To facilitate better understanding of the functional relevance and mechanisms regulating genome architecture, we applied transcription activator-like effector (TALE) technology to visualize endogenous repetitive genomic sequences in mouse cells. The application, called TAL effector-mediated genome visualization (TGV), allows us to label specific repetitive sequences and trace nuclear remodeling in living cells. Using this system, parental origin of chromosomes was specifically traced by distinction of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This review will present our approaches to monitor nuclear dynamics of target sequences and highlights key properties and potential uses of TGV.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 3, 2014 3:39 AM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Kim & Kim 2014 Programmable nucleases — including zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and RNA-guided engineered nucleases (RGENs) derived from the bacterial clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)–Cas (CRISPR-associated) system — enable targeted genetic modifications in cultured cells, as well as in whole animals and plants. The value of these enzymes in research, medicine and biotechnology arises from their ability to induce site-specific DNA cleavage in the genome, the repair (through endogenous mechanisms) of which allows high-precision genome editing. However, these nucleases differ in several respects, including their composition, targetable sites, specificities and mutation signatures, among other characteristics. Knowledge of nuclease-specific features, as well as of their pros and cons, is essential for researchers to choose the most appropriate tool for a range of applications.
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Scooped by
dromius
March 28, 2014 4:17 PM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) a list of the most requested plasmid in each year of Addgene’s history. Over 800 plasmids in our collection have been distributed over 100 times. There is amazing diversity in the fields of research covered in these 800 plasmids. To get a sense of popular research technologies, let’s take a look at our top 25 requested plasmids of all time, listed in the order in which they became available through our service.
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Scooped by
dromius
March 28, 2014 1:22 PM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Jin et al 2014 Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is characterized by degeneration of the retinal photoreceptors and is the leading cause of inherited blindness worldwide. Although few genes are known to cause autosomal recessive RP (arRP), a large proportion of disease-causing genes remain to be revealed. Here we report the identification of SLC7A14, a potential cationic transporter, as a novel gene linked to arRP. Using exome sequencing and direct screening of 248 unrelated patients with arRP, we find that mutations in the SLC7A14 gene account for 2% of cases of arRP. We further demonstrate that SLC7A14 is specifically expressed in the photoreceptor layer of the mammalian retina and its expression increases during postnatal retinal development. In zebrafish, downregulation of slc7a14 expression leads to an abnormal eye phenotype and defective light-induced locomotor response. Furthermore, targeted knockout of Slc7a14 in mice results in retinal degeneration with abnormal ERG response. This suggests that SLC7A14 has an important role in retinal development and visual function.
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Scooped by
dromius
March 27, 2014 8:53 AM
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Li et al, 2014 Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), the newly developed and powerful genetic tools for precise genome editing, are fusion proteins of TAL effectors as DNA binding domains and the cleavage domain of FokI endonuclease. As a pair, the central repeat regions of TALENs determine the DNA binding specificity for the two sub-target sites; and the dimeric non-specific FokI cleavage domains cause a DNA double strand break (DSB) between the bound sequences. In vivo, cells repair the DSBs through either non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway or homologous recombination (HR) pathway. Various methods have been developed for easy and fast assembly of TALEN genes for their utilization in a variety of eukaryotic cells or organisms. Here we present a TALEN-based rice genome modification protocol including constructing modularly assembled TALENs, rice transformation, and mutant screening.
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Scooped by
dromius
May 15, 2014 4:56 AM
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Wu et al, 2014 Multiple myeloma (MM) is a clonal plasma cell malignancy that is initiated by a number of mutations and the process of disease progression is characterized by further acquisition of mutations. The identification and functional characterization of these myelomagenic mutations is necessary to better understand the underlying pathogenic mechanisms in this disease. Recent advancements in next-generation sequencing have made the identification of most of these mutations a reality. However, the functional characterization of these mutations has been hampered by the lack of proper and efficient tools to dissect these mutations. Here we explored the possible utility of transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) genome engineering technology to tailoring the genome of MM cells. To test this possibility, we targeted the HPRT1 gene and found that TALENs are a very robust and efficient genome-editing tool in MM cells. Using cotransfected green fluorescent protein as an enrichment marker, single-cell subclones with desirable TALEN modifications in the HPRT1 gene were obtained in as little as 3–4 weeks of time. We believe that TALENs will greatly facilitate the functional study of somatic mutations in MM as well as other cancers.
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Scooped by
dromius
May 8, 2014 3:55 AM
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Wijshake et al, 2014 Mouse transgenesis has been instrumental in determining the function of genes in the pathophysiology of human diseases and modification of genes by homologous recombination in mouse embryonic stem cells remains a widely used technology. However, this approach harbors a number of disadvantages, as it is time-consuming and quite laborious. Over the last decade a number of new genome editing technologies have been developed, including zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated (CRISPR/Cas). These systems are characterized by a designed DNA binding protein or RNA sequence fused or co-expressed with a non-specific endonuclease, respectively. The engineered DNA binding protein or RNA sequence guides the nuclease to a specific target sequence in the genome to induce a double strand break. The subsequent activation of the DNA repair machinery then enables the introduction of gene modifications at the target site, such as gene disruption, correction or insertion. Nuclease-mediated genome editing has numerous advantages over conventional gene targeting, including increased efficiency in gene editing, reduced generation time of mutant mice, and the ability to mutagenize multiple genes simultaneously. Although nuclease-driven modifications in the genome are a powerful tool to generate mutant mice, there are concerns about off-target cleavage, especially when using the CRISPR/Cas system. Here, we describe the basic principles of these new strategies in mouse genome manipulation, their inherent advantages, and their potential disadvantages compared to current technologies used to study gene function in mouse models. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled From Genome to Function.
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Scooped by
dromius
May 4, 2014 6:57 AM
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Schreiber & Bonas 2014 AvrBs3, the founding member of the Xanthomonas transcription-activator-like effectors (TALEs), is translocated into the plant cell where it localizes to the nucleus and acts as transcription factor. The DNA-binding domain of AvrBs3 consists of 17.5 nearly-identical 34 amino acid-repeats. Each repeat specifies binding to one base in the target DNA via amino acid residues 12 and 13 termed repeat variable diresidue (RVD). Natural target sequences of TALEs are generally preceded by a thymine (T0), which is coordinated by a tryptophan residue (W232) in a degenerated repeat upstream of the canonical repeats. To investigate the necessity of T0 and the conserved tryptophan for AvrBs3-mediated gene activation we tested TALE mutant derivatives on target sequences preceded by all possible four bases. In addition, we performed domain swaps with TalC from a rice pathogenic Xanthomonas because TalC lacks the tryptophan residue, and the TalC target sequence is preceded by cytosine. We show that T0 works best and that T0 specificity depends on the repeat number and overall RVD-composition. T0 and W232 appear to be particularly important if the RVD of the first repeat is HD (‘rep1 effect’). Our findings provide novel insights into the mechanism of T0 recognition by TALE proteins and are important for TALE-based biotechnological applications.
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Scooped by
dromius
May 3, 2014 6:45 AM
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(via T. Schreiber, thx) Rivera-Torres et al, 2014 With recent technological advances that enable DNA cleavage at specific sites in the human genome, it may now be possible to reverse inborn errors, thereby correcting a mutation, at levels that could have an impact in a clinical setting. We have been developing gene editing, using single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides (ssODNs), as a tool to direct site specific single base changes. Successful application of this technique has been demonstrated in many systems ranging from bacteria to human (ES and somatic) cells. While the frequency of gene editing can vary widely, it is often at a level that does not enable clinical application. As such, a number of stimulatory factors such as double-stranded breaks are known to elevate the frequency significantly. The majority of these results have been discovered using a validated HCT116 mammalian cell model system where credible genetic and biochemical readouts are available. Here, we couple TAL-Effector Nucleases (TALENs) that execute specific ds DNA breaks with ssODNs, designed specifically to repair a missense mutation, in an integrated single copy eGFP gene. We find that proximal cleavage, relative to the mutant base, is key for enabling high frequencies of editing. A directionality of correction is also observed with TALEN activity upstream from the target base being more effective in promoting gene editing than activity downstream. We also find that cells progressing through S phase are more amenable to combinatorial gene editing activity. Thus, we identify novel aspects of gene editing that will help in the design of more effective protocols for genome modification and gene therapy in natural genes.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 24, 2014 12:12 PM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Cai et al, 2014 Future therapeutic use of engineered site-directed nucleases, like zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), relies on safe and effective means of delivering nucleases to cells. Here we adapt lentiviral vectors as carriers of designer nuclease proteins, providing efficient targeted gene disruption in vector-treated cell lines and primary cells. By co-packaging pairs of ZFN proteins with donor RNA in 'all-in-one' lentiviral particles, we co-deliver ZFN proteins and the donor template for homology-directed repair leading to targeted DNA insertion and gene correction. Comparative studies of ZFN activity in a predetermined target locus and a known nearby off-target locus demonstrate reduced off-target activity after ZFN protein transduction relative to conventional delivery approaches. Additionally, TALEN proteins are added to the repertoire of custom-designed nucleases that can be delivered by protein transduction. Altogether, our findings generate a new platform for genome engineering based on efficient and potentially safer delivery of programmable nucleases.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 22, 2014 4:31 PM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Richard et al, 2014 Trinucleotide repeat expansions are responsible for more than two dozens severe neurological disorders in humans. A double-strand break between two short CAG/CTG trinucleotide repeats was formerly shown to induce a high frequency of repeat contractions in yeast. Here, using a dedicated TALEN, we show that induction of a double-strand break into a CAG/CTG trinucleotide repeat in heterozygous yeast diploid cells results in gene conversion of the repeat tract with near 100% efficacy, deleting the repeat tract. Induction of the same TALEN in homozygous yeast diploids leads to contractions of both repeats to a final length of 3–13 triplets, with 100% efficacy in cells that survived the double-strand breaks. Whole-genome sequencing of surviving yeast cells shows that the TALEN does not increase mutation rate. No other CAG/CTG repeat of the yeast genome showed any length alteration or mutation. No large genomic rearrangement such as aneuploidy, segmental duplication or translocation was detected. It is the first demonstration that induction of a TALEN in an eukaryotic cell leads to shortening of trinucleotide repeat tracts to lengths below pathological thresholds in humans, with 100% efficacy and very high specificity.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 19, 2014 8:51 AM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Wang & Hong 2014 Targeted gene disruption (GD) is powerful for generating genetic alterations in animal genomes. Engineered endonucleases such as zinc finger nucleases and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) allow for GD directly in animal embryos to achieve germline transmission. Here we report procedures and parameters of TALEN-mediated GD in the fish medaka by using a germ cell-specific gene dnd as a model. Embryos at the 1-cell stage were microinjected with synthetic TALEN mRNAs and examined for the survival rate and GD efficiency. Medaka embryos can tolerate a high dosage of TALEN-mRNA injection and exhibit a steadily increasing GD efficiency with increasing mRNA dosages before peaking at 100 ng/μl. This dosage produced ~ 24% efficiency for somatic GD. Some of the animals from manipulated embryos developed into fertile female and male. Most importantly, four fish (3 males and 1 female) examined by progeny-test were able to produce GD-bearing male and female gametes for germline transmission to F1 generation at ~ 10% efficiency. Therefore, TALEN is proficient for somatic and germline GD in medaka embryos, and disruption of one dnd copy does not compromise somatic development and gamete production.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 7, 2014 3:40 AM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Kim 2014 Programmable nucleases, which include zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) (1–4), transcription activator-like (TAL) effector nucleases (TALENs) (5, 6) and RNA-guided engineered nucleases (RGENs) (7–9) derived from the Type II CRISPR/Cas system, a prokaryotic immune response, are now widely used for gene knockout and knockin studies in cultured cells and model organisms. These nucleases cleave chromosomal DNA in a targeted manner, producing site-specific DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), whose repair via endogenous systems known as homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) leads to targeted mutagenesis. Nuclease-mediated gene disruption is preferentially achieved via error-prone NHEJ rather than HR because NHEJ is a dominant DSB repair pathway over HR in mammalian cells. DSB repair by erroneous NHEJ is accompanied by small insertions and deletions (indels) at nuclease target sites, which can cause frameshift mutations in a protein-coding sequence. Unlike siRNA or shRNA that is limited by incomplete gene suppression, programmable nucleases enable complete gene disruption. Furthermore, these nucleases are much more specific than is siRNA or shRNA. Still, engineered nucleases can induce off-target mutations at sites that are highly homologous to on-target sites. Repair of off-target DNA cleavages in cells can cause gross chromosomal rearrangements such as deletions, inversions, and translocations (10, 11). In this session, I will compare these nucleases and discuss their pros and cons, focusing on their availability and off-target effects.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 3, 2014 4:09 AM
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Hendel et al, 2014 A major obstacle to probing the efficiency and consequences of genome editing is that no existing method enables the frequency of different editing events to be simultaneously measured across a cell population at any endogenous genomic locus. We have developed a method for quantifying individual genome-editing outcomes at any site of interest with single-molecule real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing. We show that this approach can be applied at various loci using multiple engineered nuclease platforms, including transcription-activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), RNA-guided endonucleases (CRISPR/Cas9), and zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), and in different cell lines to identify conditions and strategies in which the desired engineering outcome has occurred. This approach offers a technique for studying double-strand break repair, facilitates the evaluation of gene-editing technologies, and permits sensitive quantification of editing outcomes in almost every experimental system used.
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Scooped by
dromius
April 2, 2014 2:43 AM
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(via T. Lahaye. thx) Wang et al, 2014 The development of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) facilitates in vitro studies of human disease mechanisms, speeds up the process of drug screening, and raises the feasibility of using cell replacement therapy in clinics. However, the study of genotype-phenotype relationships in ESCs or iPSCs is hampered by the low efficiency of site-specific gene editing. Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) spurred interest due to the ease of assembly, high efficiency and faithful gene targeting. In this study, we optimized the TALEN design to maximize its genomic cutting efficiency. We showed that using optimized TALENs in conjunction with single-strand oligodeoxynucleotide (ssODN) allowed efficient gene editing in human cells. Gene mutations and gene deletions for up to 7.8 kb can be accomplished at high efficiencies. We established human tumor cell lines and H9 ESC lines with homozygous deletion of the microRNA-21 (miR-21) gene and miR-9-2 gene. These cell lines provide a robust platform to dissect the roles these genes play during cell differentiation and tumorigenesis. We also observed that the endogenous homologous chromosome can serve as a donor template for gene editing. Overall, our studies demonstrate the versatility of using ssODN and TALEN to establish genetically modified cells for research and therapeutic application.
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Scooped by
dromius
March 28, 2014 1:24 PM
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(via T. Lahaye, thx) Berdien et al, 2014 Adoptive immunotherapy with T lymphocytes expressing transgenic T-cell receptors (TCRs) has shown significant clinical efficacy in various malignant diseases. However, concurrent expression of endogenous and transgenic TCRs in one and the same T cell may impair efficacy and cause safety problems owing to mispairings. The most elegant approach to address these issues is the complete shutoff of the endogenous receptor chains by genome editing. To this end, we designed TCR-α and TCR-β-specific pairs of transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs). TALENs were delivered into T cells using an optimized messenger RNA-electroporation protocol. Based thereon, we obtained precise and highly efficient knockout (KO) in Jurkat (TCR-α: 59.7±4.0%, TCR-β: 37.4±7.3%) as well as primary T cells (TCR-α: 58.0±15.0%, TCR-β: 41.0±17.6%). Moreover, a successive KO strategy for the endogenous TCR chains combined with subsequent transduction of the respective chains of an Influenza virus-specific model TCR led to complete reprogramming of T cells with strongly improved expression and functionality of transgenic TCRs. In conclusion, we have developed novel means for the efficient genome editing in primary T lymphocytes.
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Scooped by
dromius
March 27, 2014 8:55 AM
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Moraes et al 2014 Recently, several publications have surfaced describing methods to manipulate mitochondrial genomes in tissues and embryos. With them, a somewhat sensationalistic uproar about the generation of children with ‘three parents’ has dominated the discussion in the lay media. It is important that society understands the singularities of mitochondrial genetics to judge these procedures in a rational light, so that this ongoing discussion does not preclude the helping of patients and families harboring mutated mitochondrial genomes.
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