Name: characterization of functionally associated mirnas in glioblastoma and their engineering into artificial clusters for gene therapy
Uploaded: 2019-10-04T14:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Characterization of Functionally Associated miRNAs in Glioblastoma and their Engineering into Artificial Clusters for Gene Therapy at JoVE.com

The authors wish to thank the members of the Harvey Cushing Neuro Oncology Laboratory for support and constructive criticism. This work was supported by NINDS grants K12NS80223 and K08NS101091 to P. P.

1. Characterization of Functionally Associated miRNAs in Glioblastoma
<ol>
	<li>Analysis of broad differential miRNA expression in glioblastoma vs. brain
	<ol>
		<li>First, determine the most significantly deregulated miRNAs in the tumor. This can be achieved using at least three different methods:
		<ol>
			<li>Mine the Cancer Genome Atlas, found at https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/organization/ccg/research/structural-genomics/tcga, for sequencing data11.</li>
			<li>Perform mi...

<ol>
	<li>Wu, Y. E., Parikshak, N. N., Belgard, T. G., Geschwind, D. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genome-wide,+integrative+analysis+implicates+miRNA+dysregulation+in+autism+spectrum+disorder.">Genome-wide, integrative analysis implicates miRNA dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder.</a> Nature Neuroscience. 19, 1463-1476 (2016).</li><li>Esteller, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Non-coding+RNAs+in+human+disease.">Non-coding RNAs in human disease.</a> Nature Reviews Genetics. 12, 861-874 (2011).</li><li>Moradifard, S., Hoseinbeyki, M., Ganji, S. M., Minuchehr, Z. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Analysis+of+miRNA+and+Gene+Expression+Profiles+in+Alzheimer's+Disease:+A+Meta-Analysis+Approach.">Analysis of miRNA and Gene Expression Profiles in Alzheimer's Disease: A Meta-Analysis Approach.</a> Scientific Reports. 8, 4767 (2018).</li><li>Calin, G. A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Frequent+deletions+and+down-regulation+of+micro-+RNA+genes+miR15+and+miR16+at+13q14+in+chronic+lymphocytic+leukemia.">Frequent deletions and down-regulation of micro- RNA genes miR15 and miR16 at 13q14 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesof the United States of America. 99, 15524-15529 (2002).</li><li>Croce, C. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Causes+and+consequences+of+miRNA+dysregulation+in+cancer.">Causes and consequences of miRNA dysregulation in cancer.</a> Nature Reviews Genetics. 10, 704-714 (2009).</li><li>Ambros, V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=miRNAs:+tiny+regulators+with+great+potential.">miRNAs: tiny regulators with great potential.</a> Cell. 107, 823-826 (2001).</li><li>Treiber, T., Treiber, N., Meister, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Regulation+of+miRNA+biogenesis+and+its+crosstalk+with+other+cellular+pathways.">Regulation of miRNA biogenesis and its crosstalk with other cellular pathways.</a> Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. 20, 5-20 (2019).</li><li>He, L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+miRNA+polycistron+as+a+potential+human+oncogene.">A miRNA polycistron as a potential human oncogene.</a> Nature. 435, 828-833 (2005).</li><li>Santos, M. C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=miR-124,+&#8722;128,+and+&#8722;137+orchestrate+neural+differentiation+by+acting+on+overlapping+gene+sets+containing+a+highly+connected+transcription+factor+network.">miR-124, &#8722;128, and &#8722;137 orchestrate neural differentiation by acting on overlapping gene sets containing a highly connected transcription factor network.</a> Stem Cells. 34, 220-232 (2016).</li><li>Bhaskaran, V., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+functional+synergism+of+miRNA+clustering+provides+therapeutically+relevant+epigenetic+interference+in+glioblastoma.">The functional synergism of miRNA clustering provides therapeutically relevant epigenetic interference in glioblastoma.</a> Nature Communications. 10 (1), 442 (2019).</li><li>Kim, T. 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S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=DIANA-miRPath+v3.0:+deciphering+miRNA+function+with+experimental+support.">DIANA-miRPath v3.0: deciphering miRNA function with experimental support.</a> Nucleic Acids Research. 43 (W1), W460-W466 (2015).</li><li>Chen, J., Bardes, E. E., Aronow, B. J., Jegga, A. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ToppGene+Suite+for+gene+list+enrichment+analysis+and+candidate+gene+prioritization.">ToppGene Suite for gene list enrichment analysis and candidate gene prioritization.</a> Nucleic Acids Research. 305, W305-W311 (2009).</li><li>Aken, B. 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This protocol is based on the notion that rather than functioning in isolation, miRNAs are biologically relevant by working in groups, and these groups are transcriptionally determined by specific cellular contexts26. To justify this approach from a translational perspective, a follow-up protocol that allows recreation of this multi-miRNA pattern in cells/tissues is introduced. This is possible by taking advantage of the relatively simple biogenesis of miRNAs, whereby the recognition of the charac...

miRNAs offer an unmatched opportunity for the development of a broad gene therapy approach to many diseases1,2,3, including cancer4,5. This is based on several unique features of these biological molecules, including their small size6, simple biogenesis7, and natural tendency to function in association8. Many diseases are characterized by specific miRNA expression patterns, which often converge on the regulation of complex biological functions9. The purpose of this method is first to define a strategy to identify groups of miRNAs that are synergistically relevant for specific cellular functions. Consequently, it provides a strategy for the re-establishment of such miRNA combinations in downstream studies and applications.
This method allows for functional analysis of multiple miRNAs at once, leveraging on their simultaneous targeting of a large number of mRNAs, thus recapitulating the complex landscapes of diseases. This approach has been recently employed to define a group of three miRNAs that 1) are simultaneously downregulated in brain cancer and 2) show a strong co-expression pattern during neural differentiation as well as in response to genotoxic stress by radiation or a DNA alkylating agent. The combinatorial re-expression of this module of three miRNAs by the clustering method described below results in profound interference with the biology of cancer cells and can be easily used as a gene therapy strategy for preclinical studies10. This protocol may be of particular interest to those involved in miRNA research and its translational applications.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>0.4% low melting temperature agarose&#160;</td>
			<td>IBI Scientific</td>
			<td>IB70058</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.45 &#181;M sterile filter unit</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td>SLH033RS</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1.5-mL Microcentrifuge tube</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>22431081</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>6-Well plates&#160;</td>
			<td>Greiner Bio-One</td>
			<td>657160</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Athymic mice (FoxN1 nu/nu)</td>
			<td>Envigo</td>
			<td>069(nu)/070(nu/+)</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>B-27 Supplement&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>12587010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell culture flask</td>
			<td>Greiner Bio-One</td>
			<td>660175</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell Scraper, 16cm</td>
			<td>Sarstedt</td>
			<td>83.1832</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cesium 137 irradiator&#160;</td>
			<td>JL Sheperd and Associates</td>
			<td>Core Facility (Harvard Medical School)</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chloroform</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>439142-4L</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DMEM, high glucose, pyruvate&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>11995040</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dulbecco&#8217;s phosphate-buffered saline&#160;</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>14190144</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Eosin Y solution&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>E4009</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fetal Bovine Serum&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>F9665</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Formalin solution</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>HT501128</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>GlutaMAX Supplement&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>35050061</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEK-293</td>
			<td>American Type Culture Collecti</td>
			<td>ATCC CRL-1573</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hematoxylin solution</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>1051750500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Human primary glioma stem-like cells (GBM62)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Provided by Dr. E. A. Chiocca (Brigham and Women&#8217;s Hospital, Boston, MA)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Human primary glioma stem-like cells (MGG4)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Provided by Dr. Hiroaki Wakimoto (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lentiviral vector pCDH-CMV-MCS-EF1-copGFP</td>
			<td>System Biosciences</td>
			<td>CD511B-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lipofectamine 2000&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>11668019</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microcentrifuge refrigerated</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>model no. 5424 R, cat. no.5404000138</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mounting medium&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>4112APG</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nalgene High-Speed Polycarbonate Round Bottom Centrifuge Tubes&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific&#160;</td>
			<td>3117-0380PK</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NanoDrop</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>2000c</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Neural Progenitor cells (NPC)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Provided by Dr. Jakub Godlewski (Brigham and Women&#8217;s Hospital, Boston, MA)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Neurobasal Medium&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>21103049</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nikon eclipse Ti motorized fluorescent microscope system</td>
			<td>Nikon, Japan</td>
			<td>14314</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Opti-MEM</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>31985088</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PCR tubes&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>CLS6571-960EA</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Penicillin-Streptomycin&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>15140122</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Petri-Dishes 94/16&#160;</td>
			<td>Greiner Bio-One</td>
			<td>632180</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Poly-D-Lysine&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma- Aldrich</td>
			<td>P4707</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recombinant Human EGF&#160;</td>
			<td>PeproTech&#160;</td>
			<td>AF-100-15</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recombinant Human FGF-basic&#160;</td>
			<td>PeproTech&#160;</td>
			<td>AF-100-18B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Retinoic acid</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>12587-010&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RNA Miniprep Kit</td>
			<td>Direct-zol</td>
			<td>R2050</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>S1000 Thermal Cycler&#160;</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>1852196</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Small Animal Image-Guided Micro Irradiator&#160;</td>
			<td>Xstrahal Life Sciences, UK</td>
			<td>Core facility (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA)</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sorvall WX+ Ultracentrifuge&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific&#160;</td>
			<td>75000100</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>StemPro Accutase&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>A1110501</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>StepOne Real-Time PCR System</td>
			<td>Applied Biosystems&#160;</td>
			<td>4376357</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SterilGARD biosafety cabinet&#160;</td>
			<td>The Baker Company</td>
			<td>SG403A-HE</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sucrose</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S9378</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>T98-G</td>
			<td>American Type Culture Collecti</td>
			<td>ATCC CRL-1690</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TaqMan MicroRNA Reverse Transcription Kit&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>4366596</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TaqMan Universal PCR Master Mix</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>4324018</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Temozolomide</td>
			<td>Tocris Bioscience</td>
			<td>2706</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tissue-Tek optimum cutting temperature&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>NC9636948</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TRIzol Reagent&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>15596026</td>
			<td>Lysis reagent</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>U251-MG</td>
			<td>American Type Culture Collecti</td>
			<td>ATCC HTB-17</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>U87-MG&#160;</td>
			<td>American Type Culture Collecti</td>
			<td>ATCC HTB-14</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ViraPower Lentivector Expression system&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>K4970-00</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Water, HPLC grade</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>W54</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Xylene&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>534056</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

characterization of functionally associated mirnas in glioblastoma and their engineering into artificial clusters for gene therapy

The biological relevance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in health and disease significantly relies on specific combinations of many simultaneously deregulated miRNAs rather than the action of a single miRNA. The characterization of these specific miRNAs modules is a fundamental step in maximizing their use in therapy. This is extremely relevant because their combinatorial attributes can be practically exploited. Described here is a method to define a specific miRNA signature relevant to the control of oncogenic chromatin repressors in glioblastoma. The approach first defines a general group of miRNAs that are deregulated in tumors in comparison to normal tissue. The analysis is further refined by differential culture conditions, underscoring a subgroup of miRNAs that are co-expressed simultaneously during specific cellular states. Finally, the miRNAs that satisfy these filters are combined into an artificial polycistronic transgenes, which is based on a scaffold of naturally existing miRNA clusters genes, then used for overexpression of these miRNA modules into receiving cells.

This method allowed characterization of a module of three miRNAs that are consistently downregulated in brain tumors, which are co-expressed specifically during neuronal differentiation (Figure 1) and involved in the tumor survival response after therapy (Figure 2). This is accomplished by regulating a complex oncogenic chromatin repressive pathway. This co-expression pattern suggested a strong synergistic activity among these th...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Characterization of Functionally Associated miRNAs in Glioblastoma and their Engineering into Artificial Clusters for Gene Therapy at JoVE.com

Characterization of Functionally Associated miRNAs in Glioblastoma and their Engineering into Artificial Clusters for Gene Therapy

Described here is a protocol for characterizing modules of biologically synergistic miRNAs and their assembly into short transgenes, which allows simultaneous overexpression for gene therapy applications.

The biological relevance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in health and disease significantly relies on specific combinations of many simultaneously deregulated ...

Research

JoVE Journal

Genetics

In Vitro Transcription Assays and Their Application in Drug Discovery

In Vitro Transcription Assays and Their Application in Drug Discovery

In vitro transcription assays have been developed and widely used for many years to study the molecular mechanisms involved in transcription. This process ...

Perturbations of Circulating miRNAs in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Detected Using a Multiplexed High-throughput Gene Expression Platform

The gene expression platform assay allows for robust and highly reproducible quantification of the expression of up to 800 transcripts (mRNA or miRNAs) in ...

Engineering Artificial Factors to Specifically Manipulate Alternative Splicing in Human Cells

The processing of most eukaryotic RNAs is mediated by RNA Binding Proteins (RBPs) with modular configurations, including an RNA recognition module, which ...

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) Protocol for Low-abundance Embryonic Samples

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation ChIP Protocol for Low-abundance Embryonic Samples

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a widely-used technique for mapping the localization of post-translationally modified histones, histone variants, ...

Microinjection of CRISPR/Cas9 Protein into Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Embryos for Gene Editing

Microinjection of CRISPR/Cas9 Protein into Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Embryos for Gene Editing

The complete genome of the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, has been sequenced, leading to greater opportunities for studying channel catfish gene ...

Production and Purification of Baculovirus for Gene Therapy Application

Baculovirus has traditionally been used for the production of recombinant protein and vaccine. However, more recently, baculovirus is emerging as a ...

Highly Efficient Gene Disruption of Murine and Human Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells by CRISPR/Cas9

Advances in the hematopoietic stem cell (HSCs) field have been aided by methods to genetically engineer primary progenitor cells as well as animal models. ...

Biotin-based Pulldown Assay to Validate mRNA Targets of Cellular miRNAs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate cellular gene expression. MiRNAs bind to the 3&#39; ...

Isolation, Characterization and MicroRNA-based Genetic Modification of Human Dental Follicle Stem Cells

To date, several stem cell types at different developmental stages are in the focus for the treatment of degenerative diseases. Yet, certain aspects, such ...

Preparation and Gene Modification of Nonhuman Primate Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) transplantation has been a cornerstone therapy for leukemia and other cancers for nearly half a century, ...