Project description:Experimental approaches to define the relationship between gene expression and nuclear matrix attachment regions (MARs) have given contrasting and method-specific results. We have developed a next generation sequencing strategy to identify MARs across the human genome (MAR-Seq). The method is based on crosslinking chromatin to its nuclear matrix attachment sites to minimize changes during biochemical processing. We used this method to compare nuclear matrix organization in MCF-10A mammary epithelial-like cells and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and evaluated the results in the context of global gene expression (array analysis) and positional enrichment of gene-regulatory histone modifications (ChIP-Seq). In the normal-like cells, nuclear matrix–attached DNA was enriched in expressed genes, while in the breast cancer cells, it was enriched in non-expressed genes. In both cell lines, the chromatin modifications that mark transcriptional activation or repression were appropriately associated with gene expression. Using this new MAR-Seq approach, we provide the first genome-wide characterization of nuclear matrix attachment in mammalian cells and reveal that the nuclear matrix–associated genome is highly cell-context dependent.
Project description:Methods: mRNA profiles of untransfected HeLa cells (wild-type; wt) were compared with mRNA profiles of HeLa cells stably maintaining an S/MAR-based episome. Results: We here report for the first time that episomally maintained S/MAR-based vectors do not alter gene expression profile of the host cell's genome. No global changes in gene expression in episome maintaining cells, compared to non-transfected cells could be observed. To identify differentially expressed genes, false discovery rate (FDR; q-value) cut off was set to 0.01. Significantly differentially expressed genes with q<0.01 and an absolute fold-change of 2 were not detected. For verification, we chose five genes with high fold-change and low q-values (q<0.05) and compared expression levels between untransfected HeLa and HeLa stably maintaining an S/MAR-based within three replicates in qPCR. Conclusions: S/MAR-based replicons used in this study do not code for viral proteins but tend to co-localise with promoter sequences and transcription start sites. Recent observations that cooperatively transcribed promoters can influence each other raise concerns that S/MAR-based replicons have the potential to alter endogenous gene expression. Therefore, we compared the transcriptome of untransfected HeLa cells with HeLa cells stably maintaining an S/MAR-based episome. Setting the FDR to <0.01, we found no significantly differentially expressed genes. This finding is of utmost importance for potential gene therapeutic application of S/MAR-based replicons.
Project description:Non-integrating minimally sized Nano-S/MAR DNA vectors can be used to genetically modify dividing cells in place of integrating vectors such as lentivirus and sleeping beauty. They represent a unique genetic tool, which avoids vector-mediated genetic damage cells and the activation of innate immune responses. Previous work has shown that DNA vectors comprising the mammalian scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR) element can provide persistent mitotic stability over hundreds of cell divisions, resisting epigenetic silencing and thereby allowing sustained transgene expression. The composition of the original S/MAR vectors does present some inherent limitations which reduce their stability and can provoke cellular toxicity. Here, we present a new system, the Nano-S/MAR, which drives higher transgene expression and has improved efficiency of establishment, due to their minimal impact on cellular processes and perturbation of the endogenous transcriptome. We show that these features enable the hitherto challenging genetic modification of patient-derived cells by using Nano-S/MARs to stably restore the tumour suppressor gene SMAD4 to a patient-derived SMAD4 knockout pancreatic cancer line. Nano-S/MAR modification does not alter the molecular or phenotypic integrity of the patient-derived cells in cell culture and xenograft mouse models. In conclusion, we show that this class of DNA vector can be used to persistently modify a wide range of cells, providing sustained high levels of transgene expression while avoiding the risks of insertional mutagenesis and other vector-mediated toxicity.
Project description:Non-integrating minimally sized Nano-S/MAR DNA vectors can be used to genetically modify dividing cells in place of integrating vectors such as lentivirus and sleeping beauty. They represent a unique genetic tool, which avoids vector-mediated genetic damage cells and the activation of innate immune responses. Previous work has shown that DNA vectors comprising the mammalian scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR) element can provide persistent mitotic stability over hundreds of cell divisions, resisting epigenetic silencing and thereby allowing sustained transgene expression. The composition of the original S/MAR vectors does present some inherent limitations which reduce their stability and can provoke cellular toxicity. Here, we present a new system, the Nano-S/MAR, which drives higher transgene expression and has improved efficiency of establishment, due to their minimal impact on cellular processes and perturbation of the endogenous transcriptome. We show that these features enable the hitherto challenging genetic modification of patient-derived cells by using Nano-S/MARs to stably restore the tumour suppressor gene SMAD4 to a patient-derived SMAD4 knockout pancreatic cancer line. Nano-S/MAR modification does not alter the molecular or phenotypic integrity of the patient-derived cells in cell culture and xenograft mouse models. In conclusion, we show that this class of DNA vector can be used to persistently modify a wide range of cells, providing sustained high levels of transgene expression while avoiding the risks of insertional mutagenesis and other vector-mediated toxicity.
Project description:The purpose of this microarray experiment was to validate the Del-Mar 14K Chicken Integrated Systems Microarray for different chicken tissues and to determine the utility of this chicken cDNA microarray for other closely related and more distant avian species. The Del-Mar 14 K array was constructed from cDNAs amplified from EST clones sequenced from five normalized chicken cDNA libraries derived from neuroendocrine (5,929), abdominal fat (4,800), liver (2,635), skeletal muscle (2,398), reproductive tract (2,008), 387 long (70mer) oligonucleotides and 72 quality control spots. The array contains 17,770 cDNA clones, where protein matches were found by BlastX analysis for 68% of chicken contigs and 46% of singleton sequences represented on the array. A reference RNA design was used for the hybridization of total RNA from four chicken tissues (liver, abdominal fat, breast muscle and hypothalamus) and the cross-species hybridization (CSH) of total RNA from tissue from birds representing four orders of the Class Aves [Galliformes (chicken, Coturnix quail and domestic turkey), Anseriformes (Peking duck), Falconiformes (American kestrel) and Passeriformes (American tree sparrow)]. A reference RNA pool was made from an equal amount of high-quality total RNA extracted from chicken liver, abdominal fat, breast muscle and hypothalamus. Each of the 43 microarrays was co-hybridized with Cy3-labeled cDNA targets from one of the avian tissue samples and Cy5-labled cDNA targets from the reference chicken RNA pool. Loess-normalized data were used to determine the number of cDNAs expressed in chicken tissues and the number of genes (cDNAs) detectable by cross-hybridization with various avian tissue samples. The Cy5-labeled reference samples were used to determine the coefficient of variation across the 43 microarrays. This study shows a remarkably high level of cross hybridization of Cy3-labeled cDNA targets from a wide range of avian species to the Del-Mar 14K microarray, where 38 to 62% of the cDNA probes on the chicken array (genes) were detectable. Keywords: Transcriptional profiling, Del-Mar 14K Chicken Integrated Systems Microarray validation, multi-tissues, cross-species hybridization, class Aves
Project description:Analysis of the episomal backbone's influence on gene expression. The first hypothesis tested in the present study is that the episomal EBNA vectors, which rely on the EBNA-1 oncoprotein for episomal maintenance, have a greater influence on the cells' expression profiles than S/MAR vectors. The second hypothesis tested was that when bacterial sequences are removed from the episomal vector backbone, the gene disturbance is minimal.
Project description:Methods: Autonomously replicating vectors represent a simple and versatile model system for genetic modifications, but their localisation in the nucleus is largely unknown. Using circular chromosome conformation capture we mapped genomic contact sites of S/MAR-based replicons in HeLa cells. The influence of cis-active sequences on genomic localisation was assessed using replicons containing either an insulator sequence or an intron Results: While the original and the insulator-containing replicons displayed distinct contact sites, the intron-containing replicon showed a rather broad genomic contact pattern. Our results indicate a preference for certain chromatin structures and a rather non-dynamic behaviour during mitosis. Independent of inserted cis-active elements established vector molecules reside preferentially within actively transcribed regions, especially within promoter sequences and transcription start sites. Conclusions: S/MAR-based episomal replicons have a limited number of preferential contact sites and seem to be fairly non-dynamic during mitosis. We show that cis-acting elements do have an impact on the chormosomal localisation of episomal replicons, even though the epigenetic signatue of these contact sites are similar. Independently of the inserted cis-acting element, these contact sites are preferentially located within actively transcribed regions, especially promoter sites. Knowledge of preferred contact sites of exogenous DNA, e.g. viral or non-viral episomes, contribute to our understanding of episome behaviour in the nucleus and can be used for vector improvement and guiding of DNA sequences to specific subnuclear sites.