This research was funded by grant number PID2019-105128RB-I00 to RSA, JMB, and AA, and PGC2018-095795-B-I00 to PFS and RML, both funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and grant numbers B31_20R (RSA, JMA, and AA) and E35_17R (PFS and RML) and funded by Gobierno de Arag&#243;n. The work of RSA was supported by a grant from the Asociaci&#243;n Espa&#241;ola Contra el C&#225;ncer (AECC) PRDAR21487SOLE. The authors would like to acknowledge the use of Servicio General de Apoyo a la Investigaci&#243;n-SAI, Universidad de Zaragoza.

NOTE: All culture media and buffer compositions are specified in Table 1. Prior to cybrid generation, both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA profiles from the donor and recipient cells must be typed to confirm the presence of genetic differences in both genomes between cell lines. In this study, a commercially available L929 cell line and its derived cell line, L929dt, which was spontaneously generated in our laboratory (see13 for more information) were used. These cell lines present ...

Transmitochondrial Cybrid Generation From Suspension-Growing Cancer Cells

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Since Otto Warburg reported that cancer cells shift their metabolism and potentiate &#34;aerobic glycolysis&#34;3,4 while reducing mitochondrial respiration, the interest in the role of mitochondria in cancer transformation and progression has grown exponentially. In recent years, mutations in the mtDNA and mitochondrial dysfunction have been postulated as hallmarks of many cancer types25. To date, numerous studies have analyzed the mtDNA ...

Reprogramming energy metabolism is a hallmark of cancer1 that was observed for the first time by Otto Warburg in the 1930s2. Under aerobic conditions, normal cells convert glucose into pyruvate, that then generates acetyl-coA, fuelling the mitochondrial machinery and promoting cellular respiration. Nevertheless, Warburg demonstrated that, even under normoxic conditions, most cancer cells convert pyruvate obtained from the glycolysis process into lactate, shifting their way to obtain energy. This metabolic adjustment is known as the &#34;Warburg effect&#34; and enables some cancer cells to supply their energetic demands for rapid growth and division, despite generating ATP less efficiently than the aerobic process3,4,5. In recent decades, numerous works have supported the implication of metabolism reprogramming in cancer progression. Hence, tumor energetics is considered an interesting target against cancer1. As a central hub in energetic metabolism and in the supply of essential precursors, mitochondria play a key role in these cell adaptations that, to date, we only partially understand.
In line with the above, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations have been proposed as one of the possible causes of this metabolic reprogramming, which could lead to an impaired electron transport chain (ETC) performance6 and would explain why some cancer cells enhance their glycolytic metabolism to survive. Indeed, it has been reported that mtDNA accumulates mutations within cancer cells, being present in at least 50% of tumors7. For example, a recent study carried out by Yuan et al. reported the presence of hypermutated and truncated mtDNA molecules in kidney, colorectal, and thyroid cancers8.&#160;Moreover, many works have demonstrated that certain mtDNA mutations are associated with a more aggressive tumor phenotype and with an increase in the metastatic potential of cancer cells9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16.
Despite the apparent relevance of the mitochondrial genome in cancer progression, the study of these mutations and their contribution to the disease have been challenging due to limitations in the experimental models and technologies currently available17. Thus, new techniques to understand the real impact of mitochondria DNA in cancer disease development and progression are needed. In this work, we introduce a protocol for transmitochondrial cybrid generation from suspension-growing cancer cells, based on the repopulation of rhodamine 6G-pretreated cells with isolated mitochondria, that overcomes the main challenges of traditional cybridization methods18,19. This methodology allows the use of any nuclei donor regardless of the availability of their corresponding &#961;0 cell line and the transfer of mitochondria from cells that, following the traditional techniques, would be difficult to enucleate (i.e., non-adherent cell lines).

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>3500XL Genetic Analyzer&#160;</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher Scientific</td>
			<td>4406016</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>6-well plate</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>08-772-1B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ammonium persulfate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A3678</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>AmpFlSTR Identifiler Plus PCR Amplification Kit</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher Scientific</td>
			<td>4427368</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anode Buffer Container 3500 Series</td>
			<td>Applied Biosystems</td>
			<td>4393927</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Boric acid</td>
			<td>PanReac</td>
			<td>131015</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bradford assay</td>
			<td>Biorad</td>
			<td>5000002</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cathode Buffer Container 3500 Series</td>
			<td>Applied Biosystems</td>
			<td>4408256</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell culture flasks</td>
			<td>TPP</td>
			<td>90076</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DMEM high glucose</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>11965092</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>EDTA</td>
			<td>PanReac</td>
			<td>131026</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethidium Bromide</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>E8751</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Geneticin</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>10131027</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Homogenizer Teflon pestle</td>
			<td>Deltalab</td>
			<td>196102</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>L929 cell line</td>
			<td>ATCC</td>
			<td>CCL-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MiniProtean Tetra4 Gel System</td>
			<td>BioRad</td>
			<td>1658004</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MOPS</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>M1254</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PCR primers</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>Custom products</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Polyacrylamide Solution 30%</td>
			<td>PanReac</td>
			<td>A3626</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Polyethylene glycol</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P7181</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>POP-7</td>
			<td>Applied Biosystems</td>
			<td>4393714</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pyruvate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P5280</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>QIAmp DNA Mini Kit</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td>51306</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Rhodamine-6G</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>R4127</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Serum Fetal Bovine</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>F7524</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SspI</td>
			<td>New England Biolabs</td>
			<td>R3132</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Streptomycin/penicillin</td>
			<td>PAN biotech</td>
			<td>P06-07100</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sucrose</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S3089</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TEMED</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>T9281</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tris</td>
			<td>PanReac</td>
			<td>P14030b</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Uridine</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>U3750</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

transmitochondrial cybrid generation using cancer cell lines

In recent years, the number of studies dedicated to ascertaining the connection between mitochondria and cancer has significantly risen. However, more efforts are still needed to fully understand the link involving alterations in mitochondria and tumorigenesis, as well as to identify tumor-associated mitochondrial phenotypes. For instance, to evaluate the contribution of mitochondria in tumorigenesis and metastasis processes, it is essential to understand the influence of mitochondria from tumor cells in different nuclear environments. For this purpose, one possible approach consists of transferring mitochondria into a different nuclear background to obtain the so-called cybrid cells. In the traditional cybridization techniques, a cell line lacking mtDNA (&#961;0, nuclear donor cell) is repopulated with mitochondria derived from either enucleated cells or platelets. However, the enucleation process requires good cell adhesion to the culture plate, a feature that is partially or completely lost in many cases in invasive cells. In addition, another difficulty found in the traditional methods is achieving complete removal of the endogenous mtDNA from the mitochondrial-recipient cell line to obtain pure nuclear and mitochondrial DNA backgrounds, avoiding the presence of two different mtDNA species in the generated cybrid. In this work, we present a mitochondrial exchange protocol applied to suspension-growing cancer cells based on the repopulation of rhodamine 6G-pretreated cells with isolated mitochondria. This methodology allows us to overcome the limitations of the traditional approaches, and thus can be used as a tool to expand the comprehension of the mitochondrial role in cancer progression and metastasis.

Author Spotlight: Transmitochondrial Cybrid Generation Using Cancer Cell Lines  

Transmitochondrial Cybrid Generation Using Cancer Cell Lines

This research aims to better understand the contribution of mitochondrion in cancer progression and metastasis. The transmitochondrial cybrid generation can help us to elucidate how and at what level mitochondrial genotypes are involved in the aggressiveness of a tumor cell. One of the technologies to obtain information on mitochondrial role in cancer is cybrid generation.We combine this tool with a variety of other methods that include donative electrophoresis, respiration analysis and other mitochondrial functional assays, flow cytometry, proteomics, et cetera. The plasticity of cancer cells together with the interaction networks between nuclear and mitochondrial genes, increases the complexity of our experiments and data interpretation. This is one of the reasons why is necessary to develop a new experimental approaches.One of the most exciting findings from our research has been the discovery of two mitochondrial DNA mutations associated with detachment of cells from the play dish resembling metastasis generation and making the cells completely dependent on aerobic glycolysis, and also making them more tumorigenic and metastatic in in vivo models. This mitochondria exchange protocol can be applied to suspension growing cancer cells. The chronology can overcome the limitations of traditional approaches where the nucleation process and the complete removal of mitochondrial DNA from mitochondrial recipient cell lines often become a real challenge.

After following the above-presented protocol, a homoplasmic cybrid cell line with a conserved nuclear background but with a new mitochondria genotype should be obtained, as represented in the schematics in Figure 1 and Figure 2. The purity of the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA present in the cybrids can be confirmed by RFLP, as shown in Figure 3, and by nuclear DNA genotyping analysis, as shown in Figure 4</stron...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Transmitochondrial Cybrid Generation Using Cancer Cell Lines at JoVE.com

This protocol describes a technique for cybrid generation from suspension-growing cancer cells as a tool to study the role of mitochondria in the tumorigenic process.

In recent years, the number of studies dedicated to ascertaining the connection between mitochondria and cancer has significantly risen. However, more ...

transmitochondrial-cybrid-generation-using-cancer-cell-lines

Research

JoVE Journal

Cancer Research

1.5K vues.  University of Zaragoza. Cette recherche vise à mieux comprendre la contribution de la mitochondrie dans la progression du cancer et les métastases. La génération transmitochondriale de cybride peut nous aider à élucider comment et à quel niveau les génotypes mitochondriaux sont impliqués dans l’agressivité d’une cellule tumorale. L’une des technologies permettant d’obtenir des informations sur le rôle mitochondrial dans le cancer est la génération de cybrides.Nous combinons cet outil avec...