Name: reliably engineering and controlling stable optogenetic gene circuits in mammalian cells
Uploaded: 2021-07-06T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Reliably Engineering and Controlling Stable Optogenetic Gene Circuits in Mammalian Cells at JoVE.com

We would like to thank Bal&#225;zsi lab for comments and suggestions, Dr. Karl P. Gerhardt and Dr. Jeffrey J. Tabor for helping us construct the first LPA, and Dr. Wilfried Weber for sharing the LOV2-degron plasmids. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [R35 GM122561 and T32 GM008444]; The Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology; and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. Funding for open access charge: NIH [R35 GM122561].
Author contributions: M.T.G. and G.B. conceived the project. M.T.G., D.C., and L.G., performed the experiments. M.T.G., D.C., L.G., and G.B. analyzed the data and prepared the manuscript. G.B. and M.T.G. supervised the project.

1. Gene circuit design
<ol>
	<li>Select genetic components to combine into a single gene circuit/plasmid (e.g., mammalian DNA integration sequence motifs32, light-responsive elements33, or functional genes34).</li>
	<li>Using any genetic engineering and/or molecular cloning software, store the DNA sequences for later use and reference, annotate each sequence, and examine all the necessary features (e.g., START codons, regulatory, or translated sequ...

Readers of this article can gain insight into the steps vital for characterizing optogenetic gene circuits (as well as other gene expression systems), including 1) gene circuit design, construction, and validation; 2) cell engineering for introducing gene circuits into stable cell lines (e.g., Flp-FRT recombination); 3) induction of the engineered cells with a light-based platform such as the LPA; 4) initial characterization of light induction assays via fluorescence microscopy; and 5) final gene expression characterizat...

Similar to other engineering disciplines, synthetic biology aims to standardize protocols, allowing tools with highly reproducible functions to be utilized for exploring questions relevant to biological systems1,2. One domain in synthetic biology where many control systems have been built is the area of gene expression regulation3,4. Gene expression control can target both protein levels and variability (noise or coefficient of variation, CV = &#963;/&#181;, measured as the standard deviation over the mean), which are crucial cellular characteristics due to their roles in physiological and pathological cellular states5,6,7,8. Many synthetic systems that can control protein levels and noise4,9,10,11,12 have been engineered, creating opportunities to standardize protocols across tools.
One novel set of tools that can control gene networks that has recently emerged is optogenetics, enabling the use of light to control gene expression13,14,15,16,17. Similar to their chemical predecessors, optogenetic gene circuits can be introduced into any cell type, ranging from bacteria to mammals, allowing expression of any downstream gene of interest18,19. However, due to the rapid generation of novel optogenetic tools, many systems have emerged that vary in genetic circuit architecture, mechanism of expression (e.g., plasmid-based vs. viral integration), and light supplying control equipment11,16,20,21,22,23,24,25. Therefore, this leaves room for standardization of optogenetic features such as gene circuit construction and optimization, method of system utilization (e.g., integration vs. transient expression), experimental tools used for induction, and analysis of results.
To make progress on standardizing optogenetic protocols in mammalian cells, this protocol describes an experimental pipeline to engineer optogenetic systems in mammalian cells using a negative feedback (NF) gene circuit integrated into HEK293 cells (human embryonic kidney cell line) as an example. NF is an ideal system to demonstrate standardization since it is highly abundant26,27,28 in nature, allowing protein levels to be tuned and noise minimization to occur. In brief, NF allows for precise gene expression control by a repressor reducing its own expression sufficiently fast, thereby limiting any change away from a steady state. The steady state can be altered by an inducer that inactivates or eliminates the repressor to allow for more protein production until a new steady state is reached for each inducer concentration. Recently, an engineered NF optogenetic system was created that can produce a wide-dynamic response of gene expression, maintain low noise, and respond to light stimuli allowing the potential for spatial gene expression control11. These tools, known as light-inducible tuners (LITers), were inspired by earlier systems that allowed gene expression control in living cells4,10,29,30 and were stably integrated into human cell lines to ensure long-term gene expression control.
Here, using the LITer as an example, a protocol is outlined for creating light-responsive gene circuits, inducing gene expression with a Light Plate Apparatus (LPA, an optogenetic induction hardware)31, and analyze responses of the engineered, optogenetically-controllable cell lines to custom light stimuli. This protocol allows users to utilize the LITer tools for any functional gene they wish to explore. It can also be adapted for other optogenetic systems with diverse circuit architectures (e.g., positive feedback, negative regulation, etc.) via integrating the methods and optogenetic equipment outlined below. Similar to other synthetic biology protocols, the video recordings and optogenetic protocols outlined here can be applied in single-cell studies in diverse areas, including but not limited to cancer biology, embryonic development, and tissue differentiation.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>0.2 mL PCR tubes</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>951010006</td>
			<td>reagent for carrying out PCR</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.25% Trypsin EDTA 1X</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>MT25053CI</td>
			<td>reagent for splitting &#38; harvesting mammalian cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.5-10 &#956;L Adjustable Volume Pipette</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>3123000020</td>
			<td>tool used for pipetting reactions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>100-1000 &#956;L Adjustable Volume Pipette</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>3123000039</td>
			<td>tool used for pipetting reactions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>20-200 &#956;L Adjustable Volume Pipette</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>3123000055</td>
			<td>tool used for pipetting reactions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2-20 &#956;L Adjustable Volume Pipette</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>3123000039</td>
			<td>tool used for pipetting reactions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5 mL Polystyene Round-Bottom Tube w/ Cell Strainer Cap</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>352235</td>
			<td>reagent for flow cytometry</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5702R Centrifuge, with 4 x 100 Rotor, 15 and 50 mL Adapters, 120 V</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>22628113</td>
			<td>equipment for mammalian culture work</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Agarose</td>
			<td>Denville Scientific</td>
			<td>GR140-500</td>
			<td>reagent for gel electrophoresis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Aluminum Foils for 96-well Plates</td>
			<td>VWR&#174;</td>
			<td>60941-126</td>
			<td>tool used for covering plates in light-induction experiments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ampicillin</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>A9518-5G</td>
			<td>reagent for selecting bacteria with correct plasmid</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Analog vortex mixer</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>02215365PR</td>
			<td>tool for carrying PCR, transformation, or gel extraction reactions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bacto Dehydrated Agar</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>DF0140010</td>
			<td>reagent for growing bacteria</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BD LSRAria</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>656700</td>
			<td>tool for sorting engineered cell lines into monoclonal populations</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BD LSRFortessa</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>649225</td>
			<td>tool for characterizing engineered cell lines</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BSA, Bovine Serum Albumine</td>
			<td>Government Scientific Source</td>
			<td>SIGA4919-1G</td>
			<td>reagent for IF incubation buffer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell Culture Plate 12-well, Clear, flat-bottom w/lid, polystyrene, non-pyrogenic, standard-TC</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>353043</td>
			<td>plate used for growing monoclonal cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centrifuge</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>22628113</td>
			<td>instrument for mammalian cell culture</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chemical fume hood</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>instrument for carrying out IF reactions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clear Cell Culture Plate 24 well flat-bottom w/ lid</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>353047</td>
			<td>plate used for growing monoclonal cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CytoOne T25 filter cap TC flask</td>
			<td>USA Scientific</td>
			<td>CC7682-4825</td>
			<td>container for growing mammalian cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)</td>
			<td>Fischer Scientific</td>
			<td>BP231-100</td>
			<td>reagent used for freezing down engineered mammalian cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethidium Bromide</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>15-585-011</td>
			<td>reagent for gel electrophoresis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Falcon 96 Well Clear Flat Bottom TC-Treated Culture Microplate, with Lid</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>353072</td>
			<td>container for growing sorted monoclonal cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FCS Express</td>
			<td>De Novo Software:</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>software for characterizing flow cytometry data</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fetal Bovine Serum, Regular, USDA 500 mL</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>35-010-CV</td>
			<td>reagent for growing mammalian cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fisherbrand Petri Dishes with Clear Lid - Raised ridge; 100 x 15 mm</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>FB0875712</td>
			<td>equipment for growing bacteria</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Gibco&#160;DMEM, High Glucose</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>11-965-092</td>
			<td>reagent for growing mammalian cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hs00932330_m1 KRAS isoform a Taqman Gene Expression Assay</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>4331182</td>
			<td>qPCR Probe</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hygromycin B (50 mg/mL), 20 mL</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>10687-010</td>
			<td>reagent for selecting cells with proper gene circuit integration</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>iScript Reverse Transcription Supermix</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad Laboratories</td>
			<td>1708890</td>
			<td>reagent for converting RNA to cDNA</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Laboratory Freezer -20 &#176;C</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>76210-392</td>
			<td>equipment for storing experimental reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Laboratory Freezer -80 &#176;C</td>
			<td>Panasonic</td>
			<td>MDF-U74VC</td>
			<td>equipment for storing experimental reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Laboratory Refrigerator +4 &#176;C</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>76359-220</td>
			<td>equipment for storing experimental reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LB Broth (Lennox) , 1 kg</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>L3022-250G</td>
			<td>reagent for growing bacteria</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LIPOFECTAMINE 3000</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>L3000008</td>
			<td>reagemt for transfecting gene circuits into mammalian cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MATLAB 2019</td>
			<td>MathWorks</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>software for analyzing experimental data</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Methanol</td>
			<td>Acros Organics</td>
			<td>413775000</td>
			<td>reagent for immunofluorescence reaction</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microcentrifuge Tubes, Polypropylene 1.7 mL</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>20170-333</td>
			<td>plasticware container</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mr04097229_mr EGFP/YFP Taqman Gene Expression Assay</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>4331182</td>
			<td>qPCR Probe</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MultiTherm Shaker</td>
			<td>Benchmark Scientific</td>
			<td>H5000-HC</td>
			<td>equipment for bacterial transformation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NanoDrop Lite Spectrophotometer</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>ND-NDL-US-CAN</td>
			<td>equipment for DNA/RNA concentration measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NEB Q5 High-Fidelity DNA polymerase 2x Master Mix</td>
			<td>NEB</td>
			<td>M0492S</td>
			<td>reagent for PCR of gene circuit fragments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NEB10-beta Competent E. coli (High Efficiency)</td>
			<td>New England Biolabs (NEB)</td>
			<td>C3019H</td>
			<td>bacterial cells for amplifying gene circuit of interest</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NEBuilder HiFi DNA Assembly Master Mix</td>
			<td>New England Biolabs (NEB)</td>
			<td>E2621L</td>
			<td>reagent for combining gene circuit fragements</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nikon Eclipse Ti-E inverted microscope with a DS-Qi2 camera</td>
			<td>Nikon Instruments Inc.</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>instrument for quantifying gene expression</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NIS-Elements</td>
			<td>Nikon Instruments Inc.</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>software for characterizing fluorescence microscopy data</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>oligonucleotides</td>
			<td>IDT</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>reagent used for PCR of gene circuit components</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Panasonic MCO-170 AICUVHL-PA cellIQ Series CO2 Incubator with UV and H2O2 Control</td>
			<td>Panasonic</td>
			<td>MCO-170AICUVHL-PA</td>
			<td>instrument for growing mammalian cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Paraformaldehyde, 16% Electron Microscopy Grade</td>
			<td>Electron Microscopy Sciences</td>
			<td>15710-S</td>
			<td>reagent</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS, Dulbecco&#39;s Phosphate-Buffered Saline (D-PBS) (1x)</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>14190144</td>
			<td>reagent for mammalian cell culture,reagent for IF incubation buffer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Penicillin-Streptomycin (10,000 U/mL), 100x</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>15140-122</td>
			<td>reagent for growing mammalian cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>primary ERK antibody</td>
			<td>Cell Signaling Technology</td>
			<td>4370S</td>
			<td>primary ERK antibody for immunifluorescence</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>primary KRAS antibody</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>WH0003845M1</td>
			<td>primary KRAS antibody for immunifluorescence</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>QIAprep Spin Miniprep Kit (250)</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td>27106</td>
			<td>reagent kit for purifying gene circuit plasmids</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit (50)</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td>28704</td>
			<td>reagent kit for purifying gene circuit fragments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>QuantStudio 3 Real-Time PCR System</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>A28137</td>
			<td>equipment for qRT-PCR</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Relative Quantification App</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>software for quantifying RNA/cDNA amplificaiton</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RNeasy Plus Mini Kit</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td>74134</td>
			<td>kit for extracting RNA of engineered mammalian cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Secondary ERK antibody</td>
			<td>Cell Signaling Technology</td>
			<td>8889S</td>
			<td>secondary ERK antibody for immunifluorescence</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>secondary KRAS antibody</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>A11005</td>
			<td>secondary KRAS antibody for immunifluorescence</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Serological Pipets 5.0 mL</td>
			<td>Olympus Plastics</td>
			<td>12-102</td>
			<td>reagents used for setting up a variety of chemical reactions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SmartView Pro Imager System</td>
			<td>Major Science</td>
			<td>UVCI-1200</td>
			<td>tool for imaging correct PCR bands</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SnapGene Viewer (free) or SnapGene</td>
			<td>SnapGene</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>software DNA sequence design and analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stage top incubator</td>
			<td>Tokai Hit</td>
			<td>INU-TIZ</td>
			<td>tool for carrying PCR, transformation, or gel extraction reactions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TaqMan Fast Advanced Master Mix</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>4444557</td>
			<td>reagent for PCR of gene circuit fragments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TaqMan Human GAPD (GAPDH) Endogenous Control (VIC/MGB probe), primer limited, 2500 rxn</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>4326317E</td>
			<td>qPCR Probe</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Thermocycler</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>1851148</td>
			<td>tool for carrying PCR, transformation, or gel extraction reactions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>VisiPlate-24 Black, Black 24-well Microplate with Clear Bottom, Sterile and Tissue Culture Treated</td>
			<td>PerkinElmer</td>
			<td>1450-605</td>
			<td>plate used for light-induction experiments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>VWR Disposable Pasteur Pipets, Glass, Borosilicate Glass Pipet, Short Tip, Capacity=2 mL, Overall Length=14.6 cm</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>14673-010</td>
			<td>reagent for mammalian cell culture</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>VWR Mini Horizontal Electrophoresis Systems, Mini10 Gel System</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>89032-290</td>
			<td>equipment for DNA gel electrophoresis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Flp-In 293</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>R75007</td>
			<td>Engineered cell line with FRT site</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

reliably engineering and controlling stable optogenetic gene circuits in mammalian cells

Reliable gene expression control in mammalian cells requires tools with high fold change, low noise, and determined input-to-output transfer functions, regardless of the method used. Toward this goal, optogenetic gene expression systems have gained much attention over the past decade for spatiotemporal control of protein levels in mammalian cells. However, most existing circuits controlling light-induced gene expression vary in architecture, are expressed from plasmids, and utilize variable optogenetic equipment, creating a need to explore characterization and standardization of optogenetic components in stable cell lines. Here, the study provides an experimental pipeline of reliable gene circuit construction, integration, and characterization for controlling light-inducible gene expression in mammalian cells, using a negative feedback optogenetic circuit as a case example. The protocols also illustrate how standardizing optogenetic equipment and light regimes can reliably reveal gene circuit features such as gene expression noise and protein expression magnitude. Lastly, this paper may be of use for laboratories unfamiliar with optogenetics who wish to adopt such technology. The pipeline described here should apply for other optogenetic circuits in mammalian cells, allowing for more reliable, detailed characterization and control of gene expression at the transcriptional, proteomic, and ultimately phenotypic level in mammalian cells.

Gene circuit assembly and stable cell line generation within this article were based on commercial, modified HEK-293 cells containing a transcriptionally active, single stable FRT site (Figure 1). The gene circuits were constructed into vectors that had FRT sites within the plasmid, allowing for the Flp-FRT integration into the HEK-293 cell genome. This approach is not limited to Flp-In cells, as FRT sites can be added to any cell line of interest anywhere in the genome using DNA editing tec...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Reliably Engineering and Controlling Stable Optogenetic Gene Circuits in Mammalian Cells at JoVE.com

Reliably Engineering and Controlling Stable Optogenetic Gene Circuits in Mammalian Cells

Reliably controlling light-responsive mammalian cells requires the standardization of optogenetic methods. Toward this goal, this study outlines a pipeline of gene circuit construction, cell engineering, optogenetic equipment operation, and verification assays to standardize the study of light-induced gene expression using a negative-feedback optogenetic gene circuit as a case study.

Reliable gene expression control in mammalian cells requires tools with high fold change, low noise, and determined input-to-output transfer functions, ...

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