发夹RNA(shRNA)在哺乳动物RNAi研究中的应用

在哺乳动物的RNAi研究中,载体表达的shRNA分子比细胞同时表达的siRNA分子的正义链与反义链对靶基因的抑制效率要高。shRNA可由PolⅢ的启动子在体内表达产生,酶切cDNA和shRNA芯片是产生shRNA的最新方法。对shRNA的设计应注意靶基因序列、环序列以及载体酶切位点的选择。诱导表达shRNA的载体系统的表达效率有所差异,质粒载体转染效率尚不稳定,且持续时间短,通过病毒载体介导是目前进行基因敲除最有效的工具。     

Characterisation and comparison of the chicken H1 RNA polymerase III promoter for short hairpin RNA expression

The U6 and 7SK RNA polymerase III promoters are widely used in RNAi research for the expression of shRNAs. However, with their increasing use in vitro and in vivo, issues associated with cytotoxicity have become apparent with their use. Therefore, alternative promoters such as the weaker H1 promoter are becoming a popular choice. With interest in the chicken as a model organism, we aimed to identify and characterise the chicken H1 promoter for the expression of shRNAs for the purpose of RNAi. The chicken H1 promoter was isolated and sequence analysis identified conserved RNA polymerase III promoter elements. A shRNA expression cassette containing the chicken H1 promoter and shRNA targeting enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was developed. An RNAse protection assay confirmed activity of the promoter determined by the detection of expressed shRNAs. Comparison of the H1 promoter to the chicken RNA polymerase III 7SK and U6 promoters demonstrated that expressed shRNAs from the H1 promoter induced gene specific silencing, albeit to lower levels in comparison to both 7SK and U6 promoters. Here we have identified a new tool for RNAi research with specific applications to the chicken. The availability of a RNA polymerase III promoter that drives shRNA expression to reduced levels will greatly benefit in ovo/in vivo applications where there are concerns of cytotoxicity resulting from overexpression of an shRNA.     

An enhanced U6 promoter for synthesis of short hairpin RNA

Short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) transcribed by RNA polymerase III (Pol III) promoters can trigger sequence-selective gene silencing in culture and in vivo and, therefore, may be developed to treat diseases caused by dominant, gain-of-function type of gene mutations. These diseases develop in people bearing one mutant and one wild-type gene allele. While the mutant is toxic, the wild-type performs important functions. Thus, the ideal therapy must selectively silence the mutant but maintain the wild-type expression. To achieve this goal, we designed an shRNA that selectively silenced a mutant Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1^G93A) allele that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, the efficacy of this shRNA was relatively modest. Since the allele-specific shRNA has to target the mutation site, we could not scan other regions of SOD1 mRNA to find the best silencer. To overcome this problem, we sought to increase the dose of this shRNA by enhancing the Pol III promoter. Here we demonstrate that the enhancer from the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter can enhance the U6 promoter activity, the synthesis of shRNA and the efficacy of RNA interference (RNAi). Thus, this enhanced U6 promoter is useful where limited choices of shRNA sequences preclude the selection of a highly efficient RNAi target region.     

Silencing of antiapoptotic survivin gene by multiple approaches of RNA interference technology

Silencing of mammalian gene expression by RNA interference (RNAi) technology can be achieved using small interfering RNA (siRNA) or short hairpin RNA (shRNA). However, the relative effectiveness of these two approaches is not known. It is also not clear whether gene-specific shRNA transcribed from an RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-directed promoter in a fusion form can disrupt the targeted gene expression. Here, we report that using both luciferase and antiapoptotic survivin genes as targets, both siRNA and shRNA approaches significantly silenced the targeted gene expression in cancer cells. We further demonstrated that shRNAs transcribed from an RNA Pol II-mediated promoter in a green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion form at the 3'-untranslated region silenced luciferase and survivin expression as well, suggesting that the extra RNA sequence outside of the shRNA hairpin does not disrupt shRNA function. We also showed that silencing of survivin expression selectively induces apoptosis in transfected cells. Together, we have validated multiple approaches of RNAi technology using both survivin and luciferase genes as targets and demonstrated for the first time that GFP-shRNAs transcribed from an RNA Pol II-mediated promoter could mediate gene silencing, which may lead to new directions for the application of RNAi technology.     

Pol II–Expressed shRNA Knocks Down Sod2 Gene Expression and Causes Phenotypes of the Gene Knockout in Mice

RNA interference (RNAi) has been used increasingly for reverse genetics in invertebrates and mammalian cells, and has the potential to become an alternative to gene knockout technology in mammals. Thus far, only RNA polymerase III (Pol III)–expressed short hairpin RNA (shRNA) has been used to make shRNA-expressing transgenic mice. However, widespread knockdown and induction of phenotypes of gene knockout in postnatal mice have not been demonstrated. Previous studies have shown that Pol II synthesizes micro RNAs (miRNAs)—the endogenous shRNAs that carry out gene silencing function. To achieve efficient gene knockdown in mammals and to generate phenotypes of gene knockout, we designed a construct in which a Pol II (ubiquitin C) promoter drove the expression of an shRNA with a structure that mimics human miRNA miR-30a. Two transgenic lines showed widespread and sustained shRNA expression, and efficient knockdown of the target gene Sod2. These mice were viable but with phenotypes of SOD2 deficiency. Bigenic heterozygous mice generated by crossing these two lines showed nearly undetectable target gene expression and phenotypes consistent with the target gene knockout, including slow growth, fatty liver, dilated cardiomyopathy, and premature death. This approach opens the door of RNAi to a wide array of well-established Pol II transgenic strategies and offers a technically simpler, cheaper, and quicker alternative to gene knockout by homologous recombination for reverse genetics in mice and other mammalian species.     

Lentiviral vectors encoding tetracycline-dependent repressors and transactivators for reversible knockdown of gene expression: a comparative study

Background  

RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated by the expression of short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) has emerged as a powerful experimental tool for reverse genetic studies in mammalian cells. A number of recent reports have described approaches allowing regulated production of shRNAs based on modified RNA polymerase II (Pol II) or RNA polymerase III (Pol III) promoters, controlled by drug-responsive transactivators or repressors such as tetracycline (Tet)-dependent transactivators and repressors. However, the usefulness of these approaches is often times limited, caused by inefficient delivery and/or expression of shRNA-encoding sequences in target cells and/or poor design of shRNAs sequences. With a view toward optimizing Tet-regulated shRNA expression in mammalian cells, we compared the capacity of a variety of hybrid Pol III promoters to express short shRNAs in target cells following lentivirus-mediated delivery of shRNA-encoding cassettes.     

Pol II-expressed shRNA knocks down Sod2 gene expression and causes phenotypes of the gene knockout in mice

RNA interference (RNAi) has been used increasingly for reverse genetics in invertebrates and mammalian cells, and has the potential to become an alternative to gene knockout technology in mammals. Thus far, only RNA polymerase III (Pol III)-expressed short hairpin RNA (shRNA) has been used to make shRNA-expressing transgenic mice. However, widespread knockdown and induction of phenotypes of gene knockout in postnatal mice have not been demonstrated. Previous studies have shown that Pol II synthesizes micro RNAs (miRNAs)-the endogenous shRNAs that carry out gene silencing function. To achieve efficient gene knockdown in mammals and to generate phenotypes of gene knockout, we designed a construct in which a Pol II (ubiquitin C) promoter drove the expression of an shRNA with a structure that mimics human miRNA miR-30a. Two transgenic lines showed widespread and sustained shRNA expression, and efficient knockdown of the target gene Sod2. These mice were viable but with phenotypes of SOD2 deficiency. Bigenic heterozygous mice generated by crossing these two lines showed nearly undetectable target gene expression and phenotypes consistent with the target gene knockout, including slow growth, fatty liver, dilated cardiomyopathy, and premature death. This approach opens the door of RNAi to a wide array of well-established Pol II transgenic strategies and offers a technically simpler, cheaper, and quicker alternative to gene knockout by homologous recombination for reverse genetics in mice and other mammalian species.     

PolⅡ型启动子K14实现组织特异RNAi

RNAi(RNA interference,RNAi)是继基因打靶技术后的一种高效的研究基因功能的方法。细胞学实验和小鼠模型的研究结果表明,PolⅡ型启动子可以实现组织特异的RNA干扰,从而为鉴定基因在特定组织中的功能及作用机理提供了一个强有力的研究方法。为了能将这种方法用于转基因绵羊生产,探讨基因与绵羊毛囊发育的关系及其作用机制等,文章利用PolⅡ型CMV启动子和毛囊组织特异表达的人角蛋白14(K14)基因的启动子驱动eGFP-shRNA融合转录本的生成,从而实现敲低目的基因的表达。体外基因表达沉默效率分析(pEGFP-C1-shRNA和psiCHECK-BMP4双质粒共转染Hela细胞)结果表明,6个干扰序列均能有效地抑制BMP4基因的表达,抑制效率达到60%以上;体内表达沉默分析(只转染pEGFP-K14-shRNA质粒转染小鼠皮肤细胞系JB6-C41)的实验结果与体外分析结果相似,除3#序列外,其余干扰序列对BMP4基因的抑制效率都在60%以上,其中5#序列的效率达到80%以上。siRNA诱导的目标基因沉默中mRNA和蛋白水平的下降显著正相关。结果表明,设计构建的由PolⅡ型启动子K14驱动eGFP-shRNA融合转录本的形成,从而实现RNAi的研究方法是可行的,利用这种方法可以实现在特定细胞中敲低目的基因的表达水平。为在大家畜特别是绵羊中应用RNAi的方法分析目的基因在毛囊发育、对不同类型毛囊生长发育的诱导和调节等作用机理的研究提供一个参考方法。     

Schistosoma japonicum: inhibition of Mago nashi gene expression by shRNA-mediated RNA interference

RNA interference (RNAi) mediated by short interfering RNA (siRNA) is a powerful reverse genetics tool and holds enormous therapeutic potential for various diseases, including parasite infections. siRNAs bind their complementary mRNA and lead to degradation of their specific mRNA targets. RNAi has been widely used for functional analysis of specific genes in various cells and organisms. In this paper, we tested the potential of silencing the expression of the Mago nashi gene in Schistosoma japonicum by siRNAs derived from shRNA expressed by mammalian Pol III promoter H1. Schistosomula, transformed from cercariae by mechanical shearing of the tails, were electroporated with Mago nashi shRNA expression vector. Aliquots of parasites were harvested at days 1, 3, and 5 after electroporation, respectively. Levels of Mago nashi mRNA and protein were determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting analysis. The results showed that shRNA expressed from mammalian Pol III promoter H1 specifically reduced the levels of Mago nashi mRNA and proteins in S. japonicum. Changes in testicular lobes were apparent when parasites were introduced into mammalian hosts. Thus, vector-mediated gene silencing is applicable to S. japonicum, which provides a means for the functional analysis of genes in this organism.     

Multiple shRNA expressing vector enhances efficiency of gene silencing

RNA interference (RNAi) is the process of sequence-specific gene silencing. However, RNAi efficiency still needs to be improved for effective inhibition of target genes. We have developed an effective strategy to express multiple shRNAs (small hairpin RNA) simultaneously using multiple RNA Polymerase III (Pol III) promoters in a single vector. Our data demonstrate that multiple shRNAs expressed from Pol III promoters have a synergistic effect in repressing the target gene. Silencing of endogenous cyclophilin A (CypA) or key HIV viral genes by multiple shRNAs results in significant inhibition of the target gene.     

Knockdown of human p53 gene expression in 293-T cells by retroviral vector-mediated short hairpin RNA

RNA interference （RNAi） is an evolutionarily conserved process of gene silencing in multiple organisms, which has become a powerful tool for investigating gene function by reverse genetics. Recently, many groups have reported to use synthesized oligonucleotides or siRNA encoding plasmids to induce RNAi in mammalian cells by transfection, but this is still limited in its application, especially when it is necessary to generate long-term gene silencing in vivo. To circumvent this problem, retrovirus- or lentivirus-delivered RNAi has been developed. Here, we described two retroviral systems for delivering short hairpin RNA （shRNA） transcribed from the H1 promoter. The results showed that retroviral vector-mediated RNAi can substantially downregulate the expression of human p53 in 293-T cells. Furthermore, the retroviral vectormediated RNAi in our transduction system can stably inactivate the p53 gene for a long time. Compared to shRNAs transcribed from the U6 promoter, HI-driven shRNA also dramatically reduced the expression of p53. The p53 downregulation efficiencies of H1- and U6-driven shRNAs were almost identical. The results indicate that retroviral vector-delivered RNAi would be a useful tool in functional genomics and gene therapy.     

猪Nanog基因四环素诱导干扰载体的构建和鉴定

Nanog基因是在早期胚胎和干细胞等多能性细胞中特异表达的重要基因,但有关猪Nanog基因功能的相关研究甚少。四环素诱导干扰载体是一种可通过四环素等药物条件性诱导干扰目的基因的载体,尤其适用于在发育过程中起着关键作用的基因沉默。常规的四环素干扰系统为二元载体,与一元载体相比获得针对特定基因干扰的稳定细胞系所需周期更长。首先通过构建pGenesil 1.0-shRNA重组干扰载体,瞬时转染稳定过表达猪Nanog基因的猪胎儿成纤维细胞后通过Realtime-PCR筛选出干扰效率可达80%以上的干扰片段。之后将筛选得到的干扰片段插入到改造的一元四环素诱导干扰载体TREsilencer,对稳定表达猪Nanog基因的猪胎儿成纤维细胞进行了瞬时转染。实验分别通过光密度检测以及Realtime-PCR检测了不同浓度doxycycline的诱导效率和干扰效率。结果表明,所构建的四环素诱导干扰载体TREsilencer-shRNA5随着四环素浓度的增加,诱导Nanog基因的干扰效率增加,在处理浓度为1μg/ml时干扰效率可达70%以上,为后续得到可诱导的稳定干扰猪Nanog基因的细胞系和进一步研究猪Nanog基因功能奠定了基础。     

Drosophila U6 promoter-driven short hairpin RNAs effectively induce RNA interference in Schneider 2 cells

The effect of RNA interference (RNAi) is generally more potent in Drosophila Schneider 2 (S2) cells than in mammalian cells. In mammalian cells, PolIII promoter-based DNA vectors can be used to express small interfering RNA (siRNA) or short hairpin RNA (shRNA); however, this has not been demonstrated in cultured Drosophila cells. Here we show that shRNAs transcribed from the Drosophila U6 promoter can efficiently trigger gene silencing in S2 cells. By targeting firefly luciferase mRNA, we assessed the efficacy of the shRNAs and examined the structural requirements for highly effective shRNAs. The silencing effect was dependent on the length of the stem region and the sequence of the loop region. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the expression of the endogenous cyclin E protein can be repressed by the U6 promoter-driven shRNAs. Drosophila U6 promoter-based shRNA expression systems may permit stable gene silencing in S2 cells.     

A quick and efficient approach for gene silencing by using triple putative microRNA-based short hairpin RNAs

The RNA interference (RNAi) technique has been widely used in gene function studies. It is typical to screen for effective siRNAs by knocking down targeted genes since a single gene can be suppressed by several siRNAs to varying degrees. The miRNA-based short hairpin RNA (shRNA) is a natural inducer of RNAi and has been used in siRNA expression strategies. We investigated the potential application of multiple putative microRNA-based shRNAs for gene silencing and studied the inhibition efficiency of exogenous GFP and firefly luciferase (luc) by triple human mir155-based shRNA expression vectors. A total of three candidate siRNA sequences targeted against GFP or luc were selected based on an online prediction program. Single and triple miRNA-155-based shRNAs targeted against GFP or luc were transfected into HEK293 cells mediated by the pcDNA₃ vector with an RNA polymerase II-type CMV (cytomegalovirus) promoter. Comparisons with negative control shRNAs revealed that GFP levels were markedly reduced by the triple miRNA-155-based GFP shRNA by fluorescent microscopy. Consistent results from the dual luciferase assay and real-time quantitative RT-PCR revealed that the triple miRNA-155-based GFP shRNA significantly suppressed GFP expression (P < 0.01), without significant differences from the most effective single miRNA-155-based GFP shRNA (P > 0.05). Results from the dual luciferase assay and real-time quantitative RT-PCR revealed that the triple miRNA-155-based luc shRNA significantly suppressed luc expression as the most effective single miRNA-155-based luc shRNA (P < 0.05). These studies demonstrated the gene silencing efficiency mediated by the triple putative miRNA-155-based shRNAs. This suggested that multiple miRNA-based shRNAs are quick and valuable strategies for gene silencing.     

Multipurpose modular lentiviral vectors for RNA interference and transgene expression

We have created a multipurpose modular lentiviral vector system for expressing both transgenes and miRNA 30-based short hairpins (shRNAmirs) for RNAi. The core of the resulting vector system, pLVmir, allows a simple two step cloning procedure for expressing shRNAmirs under the control of a Pol II promoter in both a constitutive and conditional manner. The adapted cloning method includes a PCR-free method for transferring shRNAmir based RNAi clones from a publicly available library (Open Biosystems). The addition of a Pol II promoter-driven shRNAmir cassette and broadening the choice of Pol III promoters and silencing triggers offers great flexibility to this system. The combination of several preexisting and additional modules created here caters to common needs of researchers. Our modular vector system was validated regarding functionality of promoters, inducibility and reversibility. We successfully applied the system to knockdown Xirp2 mRNA expression in H2kb-tsA58 muscle cells and determined that this had no spurious effect on the expression of a closely related protein. Finally, our set of lentiviral vectors may be used to achieve synergistic effects, for simultaneous knockdown of two genes, as a rescue plasmid and for studying mutant proteins in a physiological context.