体细胞基因打靶-核移植技术研究进展

转基因效率与外源基因表达水平低的现状一直是制约动物生物反应器研究与产业化的主要技术瓶颈。体细胞克隆动物的成功和胚胎干细胞基因打靶技术的逐步完善使得体细胞基因打靶与核移植技术的结合使用成为可能,这就为生产遗传修饰家畜提供了一种新的手段,为动物生物反应器的成功研制提供了新的技术途径。从体细胞基因打靶的载体设计、转染系统的建立、中靶细胞的筛选和鉴定以及培养体细胞寿命等方面阐述了体细胞基因打靶—核移植技术体系的最新研究进展,并对其在异种器官移植、建立动物疾病模型、提高家畜生长性能以及生产药用蛋白等各个领域中的应用前景作了展望 。     

Specific genetic modifications of domestic animals by gene targeting and animal cloning

The technology of gene targeting through homologous recombination has been extremely useful for elucidating gene functions in mice. The application of this technology was thought impossible in the large livestock species until the successful creation of the first mammalian clone "Dolly" the sheep. The combination of the technologies for gene targeting of somatic cells with those of animal cloning made it possible to introduce specific genetic mutations into domestic animals. In this review, the principles of gene targeting in somatic cells and the challenges of nuclear transfer using gene-targeted cells are discussed. The relevance of gene targeting in domestic animals for applications in bio-medicine and agriculture are also examined.     

Establishment of a rapid and scalable gene expression system in livestock by site-specific integration

Somatic cell-mediated transgenesis is routinely used to transfer exogenous genes to livestock genomes. However, transgene insertion events are essentially random which may lead to transgene silencing or alter animal phenotype because of insertional mutagenesis. To overcome these problems, we established a gene manipulation system in goat somatic cells based on homologous recombination and flp recombinase-mediated site-specific integration. First, we performed gene targeting to introduce an frt-docking site into the α1 (I) procollagen (ColA1) locus in goat somatic cells. Second, the targeted cell clones were rejuvenated by embryo cloning, and the vigorous cells with targeted frt were reestablished. Third, a gene-replacement system was used to introduce an EGFP reporter gene into the targeted ColA1 locus via flp mediated recombination. As a result, the transgenic somatic cell exhibited faithful expression of EGFP gene under control of the CMV promoter. Similarly, other expression vectors can be introduced into the defined site to evaluate gene functions or express valuable proteins. The gene manipulation system described here will be applicable in other livestock somatic cells, and would allow for the rapid generation of livestock with transgene targeted to the defined site.     

Silencing myostatin gene by RNAi in sheep embryos

Myostatin (MSTN) gene is described as a negative regulator of the skeletal muscle growth. Controlling MSTN gene expression by genetic manipulation could accelerate the muscle growth and meat production of livestock animals. In the present study, several siRNAs targeting sheep MSTN gene were designed and their interfering efficiency was evaluated in vitro. The present study showed that one of the siRNAs, PSL1, could down-regulate the expression of MSTN significantly. PSL1 was ligated into lentivirus vector, GP-Supersilencing, to construct a siRNA expression lentivirus vector. Fibroblast cells were infected by lentivirus particles and positive cells were isolated by flow cytometry. Nucleus of the positive cell was transferred into enucleated oocytes of sheep. The present study showed that 99.4% of the sorted cells displayed green fluorescence. After enucleation of oocytes with microinjection, about 20% of reconstructed embryos can be developed into morulas, and strong green fluorescence could be observed using a fluorescence microscope. This method can be available to produce transgenic cell line for somatic cell nucleus transfer for transgenic animals.     

Transgenic animal production and animal biotechnology

Considerable progress has been made in methods for production of transgenic livestock; beginning with pronuclear microinjection over 20 years ago. New methods, including the use of viral vectors, sperm-mediated gene transfer and somatic cell cloning, have overcome many of the limitations of pronuclear microinjection. It is now possible to not only readily make simple insertional genetic modifications, but also to accomplish, more complex, homozygous gene targeting and artificial chromosome transfer in livestock.     

Gene targeting in livestock: a preview

Until recently genetically modified livestock could only be generated by pronuclear injection. The discovery that animals can be cloned by nuclear transfer from cultured somatic cells means that it will now be possible to achieve gene targeting in these species. We discuss current developments in NT, the prospects and technical challenges for introducing targeted changes into the germline by this route, and the types of application for which this new technology will be used. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

家畜转基因育种研究进展

转基因技术可以将外源基因导入家畜基因组,使其获得新的可遗传性状,为培育优良家畜品种提供了革命性途径。DNA显微注射法和体细胞克隆法是制备转基因家畜最常用的方法。应用转基因技术可以进行家畜抗病育种(抗病毒、抗菌和抗寄生虫),改良家畜的生产性状(胴体组成、奶品质、产毛、繁殖力和生长速度),培育环保型家畜新品种。文章从动物转基因技术入手,阐明其在家畜品种改良方面的研究现状和策略,并探讨家畜转基因育种面临的问题和应用前景。     

Evaluation of gene targeting by homologous recombination in ovine somatic cells

Mouse models for some human genetic diseases are limited in their applications since they do not accurately reproduce the phenotype of the human disease. It has been suggested that larger animals, for example sheep, might produce more useful models, as some aspects of sheep physiology and anatomy are more similar to those of humans. The development of methods to clone animals from somatic cells provides a potential novel route to generate such large animal models following gene targeting. Here, we assess targeting of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene in ovine somatic cells using homologous recombination (HR) of targeting constructs with extensive (>11 kb) homology. Electroporation of these constructs into ovine fetal and post-natal fibroblasts generated G418-resistant clones, but none analyzed had undergone HR, suggesting that at least for this locus, it is an extremely inefficient process. Karyotyping of targeted ovine fetal fibroblasts showed them to be less chromosomally stable than post-natal fibroblasts, and, moreover, extended culture periods caused them to senesce, adversely affecting their viability for use as nuclear transfer donor cells. These data stress the importance of donor cell choice in somatic cell cloning and suggest that culture time be kept to a minimum prior to nuclear transfer in order to maximize cell viability.     

Simple Monitoring of Gene Targeting Efficiency in Human Somatic Cell Lines Using the PIGA Gene

Gene targeting in most of human somatic cell lines has been labor-intensive because of low homologous recombination efficiency. The development of an experimental system that permits a facile evaluation of gene targeting efficiency in human somatic cell lines is the first step towards the improvement of this technology and its application to a broad range of cell lines. In this study, we utilized phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis class A (PIGA), a gene essential for the synthesis of glycosylphosphatidyl inositol (GPI) anchors, as a reporter of gene targeting events in human somatic cell lines. Targeted disruption of PIGA was quantitatively detected with FLAER, a reagent that specifically binds to GPI anchors. Using this PIGA-based reporter system, we successfully detected adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene targeting events both with and without promoter-trap enrichment of gene-targeted cell population. The PIGA-based reporter system was also capable of reproducing previous findings that an AAV-mediated gene targeting achieves a remarkably higher ratio of homologous versus random integration (H/R ratio) of targeting vectors than a plasmid-mediated gene targeting. The PIGA-based system also detected an approximately 2-fold increase in the H/R ratio achieved by a small negative selection cassette introduced at the end of the AAV-based targeting vector with a promoter-trap system. Thus, our PIGA-based system is useful for monitoring AAV-mediated gene targeting and will assist in improving gene targeting technology in human somatic cell lines.     

Efficient gene targeting mediated by adeno-associated virus and DNA double-strand breaks

Gene targeting is the in situ manipulation of the sequence of an endogenous gene by the introduction of homologous exogenous DNA. Presently, the rate of gene targeting is too low for it to be broadly used in mammalian somatic cell genetics or to cure genetic diseases. Recently, it has been demonstrated that infection with recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors can mediate gene targeting in somatic cells, but the mechanism is unclear. This paper explores the balance between random integration and gene targeting with rAAV. Both random integration and spontaneous gene targeting are dependent on the multiplicity of infection (MOI) of rAAV. It has previously been shown that the introduction of a DNA double-stranded break (DSB) in a target gene can stimulate gene targeting by several-thousand-fold in somatic cells. Creation of a DSB stimulates the frequency of rAAV-mediated gene targeting by over 100-fold, suggesting that the mechanism of rAAV-mediated gene targeting involves, at least in part, the repair of DSBs by homologous recombination. Absolute gene targeting frequencies reach 0.8% with a dual vector system in which one rAAV vector provides a gene targeting substrate and a second vector expresses the nuclease that creates a DSB in the target gene. The frequencies of gene targeting that we achieved with relatively low MOIs suggest that combining rAAV vectors with DSBs is a promising strategy to broaden the application of gene targeting.     

Production of Prnp −/− goats by gene targeting in adult fibroblasts

Homozygous mice devoid of functional Prnp are resistant to scrapie and prion propagation, but heterozygous mice for Prnp disruption still suffer from prion disease and prion deposition. We have previously generated heterozygous cloned goats with one allele of Prnp functional disruption. To obtain goats with both alleles of Prnp be disrupted which would be resistant to scrapie completely, a second-round gene targeting was applied to disrupt the wild type allele of Prnp in the heterozygous goats. By second-round gene targeting, we successfully disrupted the wild type allele of Prnp in primary Prnp (+/-) goat skin fibroblasts and obtained a Prnp (-/-) cell line without Prnp expression. This is the first report on successful targeting modification in primary adult somatic cells of animals. These cells were used as nuclear donors for somatic cell cloning to produce Prnp (-/-) goats. A total of 57 morulae or blastocytes developed from the reconstructed embryos were transferred to 31 recipients, which produced 7 pregnancies at day 35. At 73 days of gestation, we obtained one cloned fetus with Prnp (-/-) genotype. Our research not only indicated that multiple genetic modifications could be accomplished by multi-round gene targeting in primary somatic cells, but also provided strong evidence that gene targeting in adult cells other than fetal cells could be applied to introduce precise genetic modifications in animals without destroying the embryos.     

在体细胞中实现基因打靶

体细胞基因打靶比较常见的ES细胞打靶是一项新发展的技术。本就如何设计选择打靶载体以及打靶适用的细胞系进行了较为详细的介绍。设计打靶的其他一些相关问题譬如顺序打靶、是否需要纯合DNA、高效的同源重组亦有讨论,从而对体细胞基因打靶特别是ES细胞基因打靶有一比较全面的了解。     

转基因克隆牛胎盘中印迹基因PEG10的DNA甲基化水平

低效率的体细胞核移植技术显著制约着该技术在转基因动物生产上的广泛应用。目前认为供体细胞核不能被受体卵母细胞胞质完全的表观重编程是其效率低下的最主要原因,而DNA甲基化是基因表观修饰的主要方式之一。为了探求转基因克隆牛的死亡是否与其胎盘中印迹基因的甲基化的重编程程度相关,文章通过亚硫酸氢盐测序法(Bisulfite sequencing PCR,BSP)和亚硫酸氢盐联合限制性内切酶分析法(Combined bisulfite restriction analysis,COBRA),对印迹基因PEG10在围产期死亡且存在发育缺陷的转基因克隆牛的胎盘(死亡组)和存活的转基因克隆牛的胎盘(存活组)与正常对照牛胎盘(对照组)的DNA甲基化水平进行了详细的比较。结果发现,与对照组相比,PEG10基因在死亡组上表现出异常的超甲基化水平,而存活组与对照组相比无显著性差异。研究结果显示,胎盘中印迹基因的DNA甲基化表观重编程不彻底可能是导致转基因克隆牛发育异常进而死亡的主要原因之一。     

体细胞基因打靶制备动物乳腺生物反应器的策略与应用

在转基因动物研究中,由于基因表达调控元件的人工拼接和外源基因在动物基因组中随机整合所带来的“位置效应”,致使转基因动物外源基因的表达水平不高并且差异较大。为此,利用定位整合优势,对以基因同源重组为基础的基因打靶技术进行了大量研究。介绍了就利用体细胞基因打靶和核移植技术制备动物乳腺生物反应器的策略和应用情况做一综述,并对提高基因打靶效率的各种策略,打靶细胞的选择,转基因细胞核移植的低融合事件以及基因打靶制备乳腺生物反应器的优越性进行分析。     

The use of recombinase proteins to generate transgenic large animals

The endogenous properties of recombinase proteins allow them to associate with and bind DNA to catalyze homologous recombination. These endogenous properties of cellular recombination enzymes may be useful to the field of transgenesis. The production of transgenic animals, in particular livestock, is an inefficient process by both conventional pronuclear microinjection techniques and nuclear transfer. Furthermore, the use of pronuclear microinjection is currently limited to the random addition of genes and does not allow for the replacement of an endogenous gene with a more desired one. The functions of cellular recombination enzymes have been exploited to develop a technique that is compatible with pronuclear microinjection and may make the process of generating transgenic livestock more efficient while also enabling the targeting of homologous chromosomal genes. In our hands, transgenic animals generated by the pronuclear microinjection of various recombinase protein-coated DNA fragments led to a higher than expected birth rate as well as transgene integration frequency. Most founder animals generated were likely mosaic, indicating that integration occurred after cell division. The presence of multiple related genes makes detection of any recombination event difficult. Overall, this technique is a straightforward, rapid, and efficient procedure that can be applied to any segment of DNA and any microinjection apparatus, and is less labor intensive than nuclear transfer.     

Efficient PRNP gene targeting in bovine fibroblasts by adeno-associated virus vectors

Gene-targeted livestock can be created by combining ex vivo manipulation of cultured nuclear donor cells with cloning by nuclear transfer. However, this process can be limited by the low gene targeting frequencies obtained by transfection methods, and the limited ex vivo life span of the normal nuclear donor cells. We have developed an alternative gene targeting method based on the delivery of linear, single-stranded DNA molecules by adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, which can be used to introduce a variety of different mutations at single copy loci in normal human cells. Here we show that AAV vectors can efficiently target the PRNP gene encoding the prion protein PrP in bovine fetal fibroblasts, which can be used as nuclear donors to clone cattle. Cattle with both PRNP genes disrupted should be resistant to bovine spongiform encephalopathy.     

Efficient somatic gene targeting in the lymphoid human cell line DG75

Among the different approaches used to define the function of a protein of interest, alteration and/or deletion of its encoding gene is the most direct strategy. Homologous recombination between the chromosomal gene locus and an appropriately designed targeting vector results in an alteration or knockout of the gene of interest. Homologous recombination is easily performed in yeast or in murine embryonic stem cells, but is cumbersome in more differentiated and diploid somatic cell lines. Here we describe an efficient method for targeting both alleles of a complex human gene locus in DG75 cells, a cell line of lymphoid origin. The experimental approach included a conditional knockout strategy with three genotypic markers, which greatly facilitated the generation and phenotypic identification of targeted recombinant cells. The vector was designed such that it could be reused for two consecutive rounds of recombination to target both alleles. The human DG75 cell line appears similar to the chicken DT40 pre B-cell line, which supports efficient homologous recombination. Therefore, the DG75 cell line is a favorable addition to the limited number of cell lines amenable to gene targeting and should prove useful for studying gene function through targeted gene alteration or deletion in human somatic cells.     

Gene targeting in primary fetal fibroblasts from sheep and pig

Nuclear transfer offers a new cell-based route for introducing precise genetic modifications in a range of animal species. However, significant challenges, such as establishment of somatic gene targeting techniques, must be overcome before the technology can be applied routinely. In this report, we describe targeted deletion at the GGTA1 (alpha 1,3-galactosyl transferase) and PrP (prion protein) loci in primary fibroblasts from livestock. We place particular emphasis on the growth characteristics of the primary cell cultures, since these are key to determining success.     

体细胞核移植技术在不同物种中的应用及提高其成功率的可能措施

体细胞核移植技术具有极其广阔的应用前景,但极低的成功率限制了这项技术在实践生产中的应用。不同的学者在不同的物种上进行了一系列的尝试,试图提高体细胞核移植的成功率。本文就体细胞核移植技术在不同物种中的成功应用进行阐述,并就如何提高体细胞核移植成功率阐明一些观点。     

牛朊蛋白基因prnp敲除载体的构建及真核细胞转染

利用正负筛选策略(Positive-negative selection,PNS)对中靶细胞进行富集是提高体细胞基因打靶效率常用的策略之一。将动物的朊蛋白基因prnp敲除,使其不能表达朊蛋白(传染性海绵状脑病的致病蛋白),从而使其具有抵抗Prion病感染的能力。本研究采用正负筛选策略,构建了牛prnp基因的双等位基因敲除载体,经内切酶Sac Ⅱ线性化后,再通过电穿孔转染牛胎儿成纤维细胞,分别用600μg/mL G418、200nmol/mL Ganciclovir(GCV)进行正负药物筛选,最终获得了176个药物抗性细胞克隆,进一步采用PCR、测序、间接免疫荧光试验及Western blotting试验对细胞克隆进行鉴定,结果表明,其中的9个细胞克隆为中靶细胞,证明牛prnp基因被成功敲除。本研究为牛prnp的敲除提供了可行性依据,并为体细胞核移植生产敲除朊蛋白基因的转基因动物提供供体细胞。