靶向HIV-1pol的高效人工miRNA的构建与体外抗病毒能力评价

RNAi技术在抗HIV-1治疗研究中已显示出巨大潜力,获得可高效特异抑制HIV-1的RNAi元件是进行相关研究的重要基础。miRNA在抑制和表达方式上相比siRNA具有更多的优势。本研究即探讨构建可高效特异靶向HIV-1的人工miRNA元件。选择以保守性较好的HIV-1pol基因为靶区筛选高效保守的RNAi序列,设计了16个可靶向pol区高保守区段的RNAi靶点,构建表达载体与HIV-1感染性克隆进行共转染抑制实验,筛选显示pol1026序列兼具高保守性及高抑制效率特点。以天然miR-30a为基础骨架构建了靶向pol1026靶点的人工miRNA元件,通过与HIV-1感染性克隆质粒的共转染抑制实验验证获得了可有效抑制HIV-1表达的人工miRNA元件(miR-1026E)。通过与携带靶序列的报告质粒的共转染实验证明miR-1026E具有良好的靶点特异性。本研究进一步构建了携带miR-1026E表达元件的重组慢病毒,转导MT-4细胞并对转导后细胞进行克隆化筛选,获得稳定整合miR-1026E表达元件的MT-4-miR1026E细胞克隆,该细胞在体外攻毒实验中可高效抑制HIV-1的复制,具有显著的抑制HIV-1的能力。同时应用实时RT-PCR方法检测显示,miR-1026E在细胞中不会影响内源性代表miRNA(miR-181与miR-16)的表达水平和干扰素效应相关基因stat1的表达水平,具有良好的特异性。所获得的可特异高效抑制HIV-1复制的人工miRNA元件可为抗HIV-1研究提供重要参考。     

靶向HIV-1 vif的高效siRNA的筛选及慢病毒介导的体外抗病毒研究

RNAi技术在艾滋病治疗研究中已展现出巨大的潜力,兼具高效抑制特性和保守性的siRNA靶位是其获得成功应用的重要基础.本研究选择以HIV-1 vif基因为靶区筛选高效保守的RNAi序列,共选择设计了30个识别不同位点的siRNA序列,以pSUPER为载体构建了相应的shRNA表达质粒.通过与pNL4-3质粒在293FT细胞中进行共转染抑制实验,以及对初筛获得的高效序列进行保守性分析显示siRNA-vif37序列具有高效抑制效率和较好的保守性特征.通过与pGL3-vif报告质粒的共转染实验证明siRNA-vif37具有vif基因抑制特异性.带有shRNA-vif37表达元件的重组慢病毒转导后的MT-4细胞在HIV-1NL4-3体外攻毒实验中可显示出较有效的抑制病毒复制的能力,本研究进一步对转导后细胞进行克隆化筛选,获得稳定整合shRNA-vif37表达元件的MT-4-vif37细胞克隆,该细胞具有显著的抑制病毒复制的能力,在高攻毒剂量下仍可获得良好的抑制效果.本研究为进一步应用RNAi技术进行新型艾滋病治疗方法研究提供了重要基础.     

慢病毒介导双shRNA靶向于HIV的抑制作用研究

RNA干扰可以有效地抑制特定基因的表达,在HIV基因治疗中成为一种重要的方法。为了防止病毒逃逸株的出现,本研究分别构建了靶向于HIV-1调控蛋白基因vpr和tat的shRNA重组慢病毒载体以及含有这两种shRNA的双表达重组慢病毒载体,分别由U6和H1两种启动子启动,通过与靶向基因tat和vpr表达质粒在293T细胞中进行共转染,采用荧光定量PCR方法测定细胞内靶向基因的表达丰度,结果显示双表达shRNA的重组慢病毒载体对vpr和tat的表达抑制率分别可以达到89.20%和62.00%。与pNL4-3病毒包装质粒共转染,P24ELISA显示plvx-vpr-tat shRNA对病毒包装产量的抑制率可以达到99.05%,比单个shRNA的抑制率都要强,HIV-1NL4-3体外对MT4细胞攻毒实验表明双shRNA重组慢病毒载体具有很强的抑制病毒复制的能力。     

表达siRNA的重组腺相关病毒载体的构建和鉴定

腺相关病毒(AAV)载体介导的RNA干扰(RNAi)可在哺乳动物细胞中长期特异性抑制同源基因表达。本研究以AAV Helper-Free System中的转移质粒pAAV-MCS为基础,引入增强型绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)基因和H1启动子,将该质粒改造为可表达小干扰RNA(siRNA)和EGFP的质粒pAAV-EGFP-H1。该质粒与辅助质粒共转染包装细胞后,获得了具有感染性的重组AAV(rAAV)。以EGFP为靶基因的干扰实验证明:所得rAAV可以产生siRNA并能够特异性抑制EGFP靶基因表达;荧光显微镜观察、FACS分析和Real-time PCR方法均表明重组病毒rAAV-H1-sh EGFP引起EGFP的表达降低大于60%。     

siRNA抑制HIV-1基因表达的研究

RNA干扰(RNAinterfering,RNAi)现象是动植物体内的一种序列特异性的、转录后基因沉默的过程.在哺乳动物细胞中,19～25个核苷酸长短的双链siRNA(smallinterferingRNA)可有效地抑制基因表达.利用pBS/H1SP载体,它表达的双链RNA的转录产物可以用来抑制特异性HIV-1基因的表达.在siRNA实验中,为了比较由H1启动子转录的siRNA在细胞内的作用,使用以绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)为报告基因的载体——pEGFP-C1质粒,在荧光显微镜下,很容易地看到EGFP在细胞中表达.将HIV-1siRNA表达载体与表达相应EGFP-HIV融合基因的质粒,共转染人胚肾293细胞,结果表明,和对照质控载体相比,转染了pHIV-siRNA质粒的细胞中EGFP-HIV的表达得到显著抑制.通过该途径,筛选出能抑制HIV-1基因表达的有效siRNA.此外,还在同一载体上表达两种或三种siRNA,分别针对不同的HIV基因,获得了良好的抑制效果.     

MicroRNA-1在心肌肥大中对L-型钙通道β2亚基的负性调控作用

目的:研究微小RNA-1(microRNA-1,miR-1)在心肌细胞肥大中对L-型钙通道β2亚基(Cavβ2)的负性调控作用及机制。方法:应用异丙肾上腺素(ISO)诱导心肌细胞肥大;采用HJ2000通用图像分析系统测定心肌细胞表面积;应用数据库microCosm预测miR-1的靶基因;构建含Cavβ23’UTR报告基因质粒和miR-1瞬时共转染HEK293细胞,验证Cavβ2为miR-1靶基因;应用qRT-PCR或Western blot方法检测心房钠尿肽(ANP)、β-肌球蛋白重链(β-MHC)、miR-1和Cavβ2mRNA和蛋白表达水平;转染miR-1模拟物上调miR-1或应用Cavβ2RNAi干扰Cavβ2蛋白的表达,观察对心肌细胞肥大的影响。结果:①在ISO诱导的心肌细胞肥大中,miR-1表达显著下降;应用miR-1 mimic转染心肌细胞使miR-1表达上调,心肌细胞表面积、ANP和β-MHC mRNA表达均显著低于ISO组(P<0.05)。②网络数据库预测显示Cavβ2为miR-1的潜在靶点;将miR-1和含Cavβ23’UTR报告基因质粒共转染HEK293细胞,其萤光值显著降低(P<0.01)。转染miR-1 mimic使心肌细胞miR-1表达上调,可以明显抑制Cavβ2蛋白的表达。③在ISO诱导心肌细胞肥大中Cavβ2表达较对照组显著增加;应用RNAi技术下调Cavβ2表达可明显抑制心肌细胞表面积、ANP和β-MHC mRNA表达的增加。结论:预测并验证L-型钙通道β2亚基为miR-1的靶基因。miR-1可能通过抑制其靶基因Cavβ2蛋白的表达,降低细胞内钙离子浓度,抑制心肌细胞肥大。     

miRNA干扰口蹄疫病毒基因组早期复制的初步研究

根据miRNA的设计要求,以miR-31为模型通过软件设计出潜在的能够使3D基因沉默的特异性miRNA序列3D-1203,并以pcDNA3.1(+)质粒为载体构建能够表达成熟miRNA的重组质粒,将其转染到BHK-21细胞后感染口蹄疫病毒,研究3D-1203的miRNA的干扰作用。蚀斑实验结果显示特异性miRNA可以在早期抑制口蹄疫病毒的复制,与阳性对照相比,病毒复制效率降低53.0%。实时TaqMan荧光定量RT-PCR检测数据表明特异性miRNA干扰病毒基因组增殖的效率达66.7%。本研究证明,利用miR-31设计的特异性miRNA在病毒复制早期能够特异的干扰口蹄疫的复制。     

小鼠CYP2E1基因靶向miRNA表达载体的构建及鉴定

目的设计并构建靶向小鼠CYP2E1基因的miRNA干扰质粒,为探索CYP2E1基因功能奠定基础。方法应用invitrogen设计软件设计两条干扰小鼠CYP2E1基因的靶向miRNA序列,合成相应的回文DNA序列,退火后分别连接到pcDNATM6.2-GW/EmGFP-miR载体上,构建两套miRNA真核表达载体CYP2E1-miR1和CYP2E1-miR2,并使用该载体特有的串联方法将两载体上的miRNA前体寡核苷酸序列进行串联成为CYP2E1-miR1-miR2;将上述重组载体分别与构建的pcDNA3.1（＋）-CYP2E1表达质粒共转染入293T细胞,RT-PCR法鉴定其干扰效果。结果经酶切及测序鉴定,针对鼠CYP2E1基因的miRNA干扰质粒构建成功,并能够有效抑制共转染入293T细胞的pcDNA3.1（＋）-CYP2E1质粒的表达,且串联质粒CYP2E1-miR1-miR2优于单独的干扰质粒CYP2E1-miR1及CYP2E1-miR2。结论小鼠CYP2E1基因的靶向miRNA表达载体构建成功。     

microRNA在胰腺癌中的研究进展

胰腺癌是预后很差的恶性肿瘤,其分子机制的研究是治愈胰腺癌的希望.microRNA(miRNA)是一类小分子非编码RNA,通过降解或抑制靶基因mRNA的翻译调节靶基因的功能.近年来,研究发现miRNA在胰腺癌中异常表达,有上调,也有下调.虽然很多miRNA异常表达的机制尚不清楚,但启动子CpG甲基化与在胰腺癌中某些miRNA的下调有关.研究发现miRNA表达谱可用于胰腺癌和单个miRNA表达如miR-21、miR-34、miR-10a、miR-155、miR-196a及miR-200和let-7家族成员等可作为肿瘤标志物用于胰腺癌与正常胰腺、慢性胰腺炎、胰腺内分泌肿瘤等的诊断和鉴别诊断,预测胰腺癌的预后等.研究发现miRNA在胰腺癌中上调或下调参与胰腺癌的增殖、凋亡、侵袭、转移以及对化疗药物的耐药.研究发现miR-34、miR-200c等与胰腺癌干细胞的自我更新有关.这些miRNA研究将为胰腺癌的早期诊断、分子靶向治疗打下坚实的基础.     

miRNA调控成肌分化的研究进展

成肌分化过程包括成肌细胞的增殖,然后分化为肌细胞,最后融合形成肌管;microRNA(miRNA)是一类在转录后水平调控基因表达的微小非编码RNA,它通过靶向靶基因mRNA的3'UTR,抑制其翻译或诱导其降解。已有研究表明,miRNA在成肌分化中起重要调控作用。根据表达方式的不同,分为肌肉特异表达的miRNA,有miR-1,miR-133,miR-206,miR-208,miR-499和miR-486;和非肌肉特异表达的miRNA,其中miR-27,miR-29,miR-128,miR-199a和miR-431在成肌分化过程中具有重要的调控功能。另外,阐述了几个与miRNA相互作用从而调控成肌分化的lncRNA的功能。通过介绍两类miRNA的靶基因及调控机制,阐述了最新的研究进展。     

Role of vif in replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in CD4+ T lymphocytes.

The viral infectivity factor gene vif of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 has been shown to affect the infectivity but not the production of virus particles. In this study, the effect of vif in the context of the HXB2 virus on virus replication in several CD4+ T-cell lines was investigated. vif was found to be required for replication in the CD4+ T-cell lines CEM and H9 as well as in peripheral blood T lymphocytes. vif was not required for replication in the SupT1, C8166, and Jurkat T-cell lines. The infectivity of vif-defective viruses depended on the cell type in which the virus was produced. In CEM cells, vif was required for production of virus capable of initiating infection in all cell lines studied. vif-defective virus produced by SupT1, C8166, and Jurkat cells and the monkey cell line COS-1 could initiate infection in multiple cell lines, including CEM and H9. These results suggest that vif can compensate for cellular factors required for production of infectious virus particles that are present in some cell lines such as SupT1, C8166, and Jurkat but are absent in others such as CEM and H9 as well as peripheral blood T lymphocytes. The effect of vif was not altered by deletion of the carboxyl terminus of gp41, a proposed target for vif (B. Guy, M. Geist, K. Dott, D. Spehner, M.-P. Kieny, and J.-P. Lecocq, J. Virol. 65:1325-1331, 1991). These studies demonstrate that vif enhances viral infectivity during virus production and also suggest that vif is likely to be important for natural infections.     

Apparent lack of trans-dominant negative effects of various vif mutants on the replication of HIV-1

The vif gene of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is essential for virus growth in non-permissive cells such as H9. To elucidate the mechanism of action of the Vif protein, vif mutants, which show trans-dominant negative effects on the replication of HIV-1, would be useful tools. In this study, a new assay system to identify the mutants of this category was established. For this new system, various reporter clones carrying both mutant and authentic vif sequences were generated. By determining the growth ability of the viruses derived from the reporter constructs, the potential negative effect of the mutant vif sequence was readily and sensitively monitored. Ten vif mutant sequences tested were found not to exert the trans-dominant negative effect on the replication of HIV-1.     

Functional analysis of HIV-1 vif genes derived from Japanese long-term nonprogressors and progressors for AIDS

We analyzed the function of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vif gene from Japanese long-term nonprogressors (LTNPRs) and progressors (PRs) for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We constructed a basic HIV-1 infectious clone, which facilitated the incorporation and evaluation of vif from infected individuals. Proviral reporter clones carrying vif from six Japanese LTNPRs and seven PRs were then generated and their in vitro growth kinetics were analyzed. The vif clones, which could confer infectivity on reporter viruses, were considered active, and the ratio of the active clones to the number of clones examined per individual was determined. For the majority of LTNPRs, there was no correlation between presence or absence of functional vif with long-term nonprogression for AIDS. There was one exception in which all the clones examined had inactive vif, suggesting a probable association of inactive vif with the nonprogression. All PRs with high viral load had a high ratio of active vif clones. Our results suggest that the presence of functional vif would influence HIV-1 infectivity and disease progression in infected individuals.     

In vivo self-assembled small RNAs as a new generation of RNAi therapeutics

RNAi therapy has undergone two stages of development, direct injection of synthetic siRNAs and delivery with artificial vehicles or conjugated ligands; both have not solved the problem of efficient in vivo siRNA delivery. Here, we present a proof-of-principle strategy that reprogrammes host liver with genetic circuits to direct the synthesis and self-assembly of siRNAs into secretory exosomes and facilitate the in vivo delivery of siRNAs through circulating exosomes. By combination of different genetic circuit modules, in vivo assembled siRNAs are systematically distributed to multiple tissues or targeted to specific tissues (e.g., brain), inducing potent target gene silencing in these tissues. The therapeutic value of our strategy is demonstrated by programmed silencing of critical targets associated with various diseases, including EGFR/KRAS in lung cancer, EGFR/TNC in glioblastoma and PTP1B in obesity. Overall, our strategy represents a next generation RNAi therapeutics, which makes RNAi therapy feasible.Subject terms: RNAi, siRNAs     

Functional VEGFA knockdown with artificial 3′-tailed mirtrons defined by 5′ splice site and branch point

Mirtrons are introns that form pre-miRNA hairpins after splicing to produce RNA interference (RNAi) effectors distinct from Drosha-dependent intronic miRNAs, and will be especially useful for co-delivery of coding genes and RNAi. A specific family of mirtrons – 3′-tailed mirtrons – has hairpins precisely defined on the 5′ end by the 5′ splice site and 3′ end by the branch point. Here, we present design principles for artificial 3′-tailed mirtrons and demonstrate, for the first time, efficient gene knockdown with tailed mirtrons within eGFP coding region. These artificial tailed mirtrons, unlike canonical mirtrons, have very few sequence design restrictions. Tailed mirtrons targeted against VEGFA mRNA, the misregulation of which is causative of several disorders including cancer, achieved significant levels of gene knockdown. Tailed mirtron-mediated knockdown was further shown to be splicing-dependent, and at least as effective as equivalent artificial intronic miRNAs, with the added advantage of very defined cleavage sites for generation of mature miRNA guide strands. Further development and exploitation of this unique mirtron biogenesis pathway for therapeutic RNAi coupled into protein-expressing genes can potentially enable the development of precisely controlled combinatorial gene therapy.     

amiRNAi-实现高效稳定的特异基因沉默新方法

RNA干扰技术(RNA interference,RNAi)是实现基因沉默的有效工具。近年来,随着分子生物学与生物技术的快速发展,在RNAi基础上又发展出另一种特异性更高的基因沉默技术—amiRNAi (artificial microRNA interference)。amiRNAs是一类由内源miRNA前体生成的长21个核苷酸的人工小RNA分子,它能在不影响其他基因表达的情况下特异地介导单个或多个靶基因高效稳定沉默。与普通的RNAi相比,amiRNAi具有特异性高、稳定性强和沉默效应可预见等优点。因而amiRNAi可能成为基因功能分析的最有效工具之一,同时amiRNAi对于基因负调控研究和应用而言前景广阔。着重介绍了amiRNAi技术的原理、优势及其潜在的应用价值。     

vif-negative human immunodeficiency virus type 1 persistently replicates in primary macrophages, producing attenuated progeny virus.

The vif gene of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is required for efficient infection of primary T lymphocytes. In this study, we investigated in detail the role of vif in productive infection of primary monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM). Viruses carrying missense or deletion mutations in vif were constructed on the background of the monocytotropic recombinant NLHXADA-GP. Using MDM from multiple donors, we found that vif mutants produced in complementing or partially complementing cell lines were approximately 10% as infectious as wild-type virus when assayed for incomplete, complete, and circularized viral DNA molecules by quantitative PCR amplification or for viral core antigen p24 production by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We then determined the structure and infectivity of vif mutant HIV-1 by using MDM exclusively both for virus production and as targets for infection. Biosynthetic labeling and immunoprecipitation analysis of sucrose cushion-purified vif-negative HIV-1 made in MDM revealed that the virus had reduced p24 content compared with wild-type HIV-1. Cell-free MDM-derived vif mutant HIV-1 was infectious in macrophages as determined by the synthesis and maintenance of full-length viral DNA and by the produc- tion of particle-associated viral RNA, but its infectivity was approximately 2,500-fold lower than that of wild-type virus whose titer was determined in parallel by measurement of the viral DNA burden. MDM infected with MDM-derived vif-negative HIV-1 were able to transmit the virus to uninfected MDM by cocultivation, confirming the infectiousness of this virus. We conclude that mutations in vif significantly reduce but do not eliminate the capacity of HIV-1 to replicate and produce infectious progeny virus in primary human macrophages.     

Conservation of an intact human immunodeficiency virus type 1 vif gene in vitro and in vivo.

Replication of vif-negative human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is attenuated in certain cell lines and highly impaired in peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro. To determine whether intact vif is positively selected during natural HIV-1 infection and to determine vif sequence variability, we employed PCR amplification, cloning, and sequencing to investigate the vif region of replicating virus in short-term-passage HIV-1 primary isolates from five asymptomatic individuals and from five persons with AIDS. A total of 46 vif clones were obtained and analyzed. Recombinant proviruses were constructed from selected vif clones from one patient and found to be fully infectious. We found that 38 of the 46 clones sequenced carried open vif reading frames and that there was a low degree of heterogeneity of vif genes within isolates from the same individual and among isolates from different donors. The cysteines previously found to be essential for vif protein function were conserved in all clones. A phylogenetic tree constructed from all available vif nucleotide sequences resulted in a virus grouping similar to those of gag and env. Direct sequencing of vif amplified by PCR from uncultured lymphocytes of 15 individuals at various stages of progression toward AIDS demonstrated vif open reading frames in 13 of 15 samples tested. There was no obvious correlation between disease status and the presence of an intact vif within this sample group at the time of sample procurement. The conservation of the vif open reading frame in vitro and in vivo and its limited variability following virus transmission in vitro are consistent with a role for vif in natural HIV-1 infection.