scholarly journals DNA writing at a single genomic site enables lineage tracing and analog recording in mammalian cells

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa B. Loveless ◽  
Joseph H. Grotts ◽  
Mason W. Schechter ◽  
Elmira Forouzmand ◽  
Courtney K. Carlson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Lineage Tracing ◽  
Mammalian Development ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Full Picture ◽  
New Type ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Non Destructive ◽  
Conceptual Advance

SummaryThe study of intricate cellular and developmental processes in the context of complex multicellular organisms is difficult because it can require the non-destructive observation of thousands, millions, or even billions of cells deep within an animal. To address this difficulty, several groups have recently reported CRISPR-based DNA recorders that convert transient cellular experiences and processes into changes in the genome, which can then be read by sequencing in high-throughput. However, existing DNA recorders act primarily by erasing DNA: they use the random accumulation of CRISPR-induced deletions to record information. This is problematic because in the limit of progressive deletion, no record remains. Here, we present a new type of DNA recorder that acts primarily by writing new DNA. Our system, called CHYRON (Cell HistorY Recording by Ordered iNsertion), inserts random nucleotides at a single locus in temporal order in vivo and can be applied as an evolving lineage tracer as well as a recorder of user-selected cellular stimuli. As a lineage tracer, CHYRON allowed us to perfectly reconstruct the population lineage relationships among 16 groups of human cells descended from four starting groups that were subject to a series of splitting steps. In this experiment, CHYRON progressively wrote and retained base insertions in 20% percent of cells where the average amount written was 8.4 bp (~14.5 bits), reflecting high information content and density. As a stimulus recorder, we showed that when the CHYRON machinery was placed under the control of a stress-responsive promoter, the frequency and length of writing reflected the dose and duration of the stress. We believe CHYRON represents a conceptual advance in DNA recording technologies where writing rather than erasing becomes the primary mode of information accumulation. With further engineering of CHYRON’s components to increase writing efficiency, CHYRON should lead to single-cell-resolution recording of lineage and other information through long periods of time in complex animals or tumors, advancing the pursuit of a full picture of mammalian development.

scholarly journals Unconventional Translation Initiation Factor EIF2A is required for Drosophila spermatogenesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D Lowe ◽  
Denise Montell
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Male Sterile ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Transposon Insertion ◽  
Stress Related Genes ◽  
Male Specific ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

The eukaryotic initiation factor EIF2A is an unconventional translation factor required for initiation of protein synthesis from non-AUG codons from a variety of transcripts, including oncogenes and stress related genes in mammalian cells. Its function in multicellular organisms has not been reported. Here, we identify and characterize mutant alleles of the CG7414 gene, which encodes the Drosophila EIF2A ortholog. We identified that CG7414 undergoes sex-specific splicing that regulates its male-specific expression. We characterized a Mi{Mic} transposon insertion that disrupts the coding regions of all predicted isoforms and is a genetic null allele, and a PBac transposon insertion into an intron, which is a hypomorph. The Mi{Mic} allele is homozygous lethal, while the viable progeny from the hypomorphic PiggyBac allele are male sterile and female fertile. In dEIF2A mutant flies, sperm failed to individualize due to defects in F-actin cones and failure to form and maintain cystic bulges, ultimately leading to sterility. These results demonstrate that EIF2A is essential in a multicellular organism, both for normal development and spermatogenesis, and provide an entree into the elucidation of the role of EIF2A and unconventional translation in vivo.

scholarly journals H1 Linker Histones Are Essential for Mouse Development and Affect Nucleosome Spacing In Vivo

2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (13) ◽  
pp. 4559-4572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhong Fan ◽  
Tatiana Nikitina ◽  
Elizabeth M. Morin-Kensicki ◽  
Jie Zhao ◽  
Terry R. Magnuson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Eukaryotic Cells ◽  
Functional Specialization ◽  
Mammalian Development ◽  
Mouse Development ◽  
Linker Histones ◽  
Normal Ratio ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

ABSTRACT Most eukaryotic cells contain nearly equimolar amounts of nucleosomes and H1 linker histones. Despite their abundance and the potential functional specialization of H1 subtypes in multicellular organisms, gene inactivation studies have failed to reveal essential functions for linker histones in vivo. Moreover, in vitro studies suggest that H1 subtypes may not be absolutely required for assembly of chromosomes or nuclei. By sequentially inactivating the genes for three mouse H1 subtypes (H1c, H1d, and H1e), we showed that linker histones are essential for mammalian development. Embryos lacking the three H1 subtypes die by mid-gestation with a broad range of defects. Triple-H1-null embryos have about 50% of the normal ratio of H1 to nucleosomes. Mice null for five of these six H1 alleles are viable but are underrepresented in litters and are much smaller than their littermates. Marked reductions in H1 content were found in certain tissues of these mice and in another compound H1 mutant. These results demonstrate that the total amount of H1 is crucial for proper embryonic development. Extensive reduction of H1 in certain tissues did not lead to changes in nuclear size, but it did result in global shortening of the spacing between nucleosomes.

scholarly journals Molecular recording of mammalian embryogenesis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Chan ◽  
Zachary D. Smith ◽  
Stefanie Grosswendt ◽  
Helene Kretzmer ◽  
Thomas Norman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Mouse Cell ◽  
Mammalian Development ◽  
Fate Map ◽  
Developmental Relationships ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Asymmetric Partitioning ◽  
Endodermal Cells ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Understanding the emergence of complex multicellular organisms from single totipotent cells, or ontogenesis, represents a foundational question in biology. The study of mammalian development is particularly challenging due to the difficulty of monitoring embryos in utero, the variability of progenitor field sizes, and the indeterminate relationship between the generation of uncommitted progenitors and their progression to subsequent stages. Here, we present a flexible, high information, multi-channel molecular recorder with a single cell (sc) readout and apply it as an evolving lineage tracer to define a mouse cell fate map from fertilization through gastrulation. By combining lineage information with scRNA-seq profiles, we recapitulate canonical developmental relationships between different tissue types and reveal an unexpected transcriptional convergence of endodermal cells from extra-embryonic and embryonic origins, illustrating how lineage information complements scRNA-seq to define cell types. Finally, we apply our cell fate map to estimate the number of embryonic progenitor cells and the degree of asymmetric partitioning within the pluripotent epiblast during specification. Our approach enables massively parallel, high-resolution recording of lineage and other information in mammalian systems to facilitate a quantitative framework for describing developmental processes.

Vacuoles Induced in Mammalian Cells by Helicobacter Cytotoxin are Acidic Organelles

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-169
Author(s):  
M. H. Chestnut ◽  
C. E. Catrenich
Keyword(s):  
Acridine Orange ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Confocal Laser ◽  
Ulcer Disease ◽  
Gastroduodenal Disease ◽  
H Pylori

Helicobacter pylori is a non-invasive, Gram-negative spiral bacterium first identified in 1983, and subsequently implicated in the pathogenesis of gastroduodenal disease including gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Cytotoxic activity, manifested by intracytoplasmic vacuolation of mammalian cells in vitro, was identified in 55% of H. pylori strains examined. The vacuoles increase in number and size during extended incubation, resulting in vacuolar and cellular degeneration after 24 h to 48 h. Vacuolation of gastric epithelial cells is also observed in vivo during infection by H. pylori. A high molecular weight, heat labile protein is believed to be responsible for vacuolation and to significantly contribute to the development of gastroduodenal disease in humans. The mechanism by which the cytotoxin exerts its effect is unknown, as is the intracellular origin of the vacuolar membrane and contents. Acridine orange is a membrane-permeant weak base that initially accumulates in low-pH compartments. We have used acridine orange accumulation in conjunction with confocal laser scanning microscopy of toxin-treated cells to begin probing the nature and origin of these vacuoles.

Cytological changes induced by platinum-thymine in sarcoma-180 cells: Electron microscopy study

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-291
Author(s):  
Gustav Ofosu
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Antitumor Agent ◽  
Microscopy Study ◽  
Electron Microscopy Study ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Sarcoma 180 ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Cytological Changes

Platinum-thymine has been found to be a potent antitumor agent, which is quite soluble in water, and lack nephrotoxicity as the dose-limiting factor. The drug has been shown to interact with DNA and inhibits DNA, RNA and protein synthesis in mammalian cells in vitro. This investigation was undertaken to elucidate the cytotoxic effects of piatinum-thymine on sarcoma-180 cells in vitro ultrastructurally, Sarcoma-180 tumor bearing mice were treated with intraperitoneal injection of platinum-thymine 40mg/kg. A concentration of 60μg/ml dose of platinum-thymine was used in in vitro experiments. Treatments were at varying time intervals of 3, 7 and 21 days for in vivo experiments, and 30, 60 and 120 min., 6, 12, and 24th in vitro. Controls were not treated with platinum-thymine.Electron microscopic analyses of the treated cells in vivo and in vitro showed drastic cytotoxic effect.

Apoptosis and development

2003 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 11-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin V McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Apoptotic Pathway ◽  
Genetic Pathways ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Apoptosis is an evolutionarily conserved process used by multicellular organisms to developmentally regulate cell number or to eliminate cells that are potentially detrimental to the organism. The large diversity of regulators of apoptosis in mammalian cells and their numerous interactions complicate the analysis of their individual functions, particularly in development. The remarkable conservation of apoptotic mechanisms across species has allowed the genetic pathways of apoptosis determined in lower species, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, to act as models for understanding the biology of apoptosis in mammalian cells. Though many components of the apoptotic pathway are conserved between species, the use of additional model organisms has revealed several important differences and supports the use of model organisms in deciphering complex biological processes such as apoptosis.

DEGRADATION OF MESSENGER RNA IN MAMMALIAN CELLS

1972 ◽  
Vol 71 (2_Suppla) ◽  
pp. S369-S380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis T. Kenney ◽  
Kai-Lin Lee ◽  
Charles D. Stiles
Keyword(s):  
Messenger Rna ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Messenger Rnas ◽  
Tyrosine Transaminase

ABSTRACT Analyses of the response of hydrocortisone-induced tyrosine transaminase in cultured H-35 cells to inhibitors of translation (cycloheximide, puromycin) suggest: (1) that bound ribosomes stabilize messenger RNA in vivo; (2) that messenger is degraded at a rate determined by the rate of translation. Since specific messenger RNAs of mammalian cells are degraded at quite different rates, there may be extensive heterogeneity either in the rate at which ribosomes traverse different messengers or in the number of ribosomes which translate specific messenger RNAs.

Programmable in vitro Co-Encapsidation of Guest Proteins Inside Protein Nanocages

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noor H. Dashti ◽  
Rufika S. Abidin ◽  
Frank Sainsbury
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Resonance Energy Transfer ◽  
Resonance Energy ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Cell Engineering ◽  
Particle Analysis ◽  
Protein Cages

Bioinspired self-sorting and self-assembling systems using engineered versions of natural protein cages have been developed for biocatalysis and therapeutic delivery. The packaging and intracellular delivery of guest proteins is of particular interest for both <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> cell engineering. However, there is a lack of platforms in bionanotechnology that combine programmable guest protein encapsidation with efficient intracellular uptake. We report a minimal peptide anchor for <i>in vivo</i> self-sorting of cargo-linked capsomeres of the Murine polyomavirus (MPyV) major coat protein that enables controlled encapsidation of guest proteins by <i>in vitro</i> self-assembly. Using Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) we demonstrate the flexibility in this system to support co-encapsidation of multiple proteins. Complementing these ensemble measurements with single particle analysis by super-resolution microscopy shows that the stochastic nature of co-encapsidation is an overriding principle. This has implications for the design and deployment of both native and engineered self-sorting encapsulation systems and for the assembly of infectious virions. Taking advantage of the encoded affinity for sialic acids ubiquitously displayed on the surface of mammalian cells, we demonstrate the ability of self-assembled MPyV virus-like particles to mediate efficient delivery of guest proteins to the cytosol of primary human cells. This platform for programmable co-encapsidation and efficient cytosolic delivery of complementary biomolecules therefore has enormous potential in cell engineering.

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