A METHOD OF REGULATING GENE EXPRESSION
The present invention relates, in general, to gene expression and, in particular, to a method of inhibiting the expression of a target gene and to constructs suitable for use in such a method.
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This application is a divisional of U.S. application No. Ser. 13/737,662 (published as US 2013-0191935 A1), filed Jan. 9, 2013 (allowed), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/356,514, filed Jan. 23, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,409,796 issued Apr. 2, 2013), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/429,249, filed May 5, 2003, (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,137,910 issued Mar. 20, 2012), which claims priority from Provisional Application No. 60/377,224, filed May 3, 2002, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates, in general, to gene expression and, in particular, to a method of inhibiting the expression of a target gene, to constructs suitable for use in such a method and to plants and non-human animals comprising such constructs. The invention also relates to compositions and kits comprising constructs that can be used to inhibit gene expression.
BACKGROUNDAnimal cells have recently been shown to express a novel class of single-stranded, ˜22 nucleotide (nt) non-coding RNAs, termed micro RNAs (miRNAs) (Lagos-Quintana et al, Science 294:853-858 (2001); Lau et al, Science 294:858-862 (2001); Lee and Ambros, Science 294:862-864 (2001)). miRNAs appear to be derived from ˜70 nt precursors that form a predicted RNA stem-loop structure. It remains unclear whether these miRNA precursor molecules are transcribed from autonomous promoters or are instead contained within longer RNAs (Ambros, Cell 107:823-826 (2001); Lau et al, Science 294:858-862 (2001)).
While over 100 distinct miRNAs are expressed in organisms as diverse as nematodes (Lau et al, Science 294:858-862 (2001), Lee et al, Science 294:862-864 (2001)), fruit flies (Lagos-Quintana et al, Science 294 858-858 (2002), and humans (Mourelatos et al, Genes Dev. 16:720-728 (2002)), as well as in plants (Tang et al, Genes Dev. 17:49-63 (2003), Reinhart et al, Genes Dev. 16:1616-1626 (2002)), their function remains largely uncertain. However, the biological activity of two miRNAs, C. elegans let-7 and lin-4, is well established (Lee et al, Cell 75:843-854 (1993); Reinhart et al, Nature 403:901-906 (2000)). Both lin-4 and let-7 are expressed during specific larval stages and both miRNAs interact with partially complementary RNA targets, located in the 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR) of specific mRNAs, to selectively block their translation, This inhibition is important for appropriate developmental regulation in C. elegans (Wightman et al, Cell 75:855-862 (1993); Slack et al, Mol. Cell 5:659-669 (2000)).
Several miRNAs, including let-7, are evolutionarily conserved from C. elegans to man, as are several let-7 targets (Ambros, Cell 107:823-826 (2001)). This conservation implies that let-7, as well as other miRNAs, may also repress the expression of specific mRNA species in mammalian cells. This hypothesis is also suggested by the similarity between miRNAs and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), ˜21 nt double-stranded RNAs that can induce the degradation of mRNA molecules containing perfectly matched complementary targets, a process termed RNA interference (RNAi) (reviewed by Sharp, Genes Dev. 15:485-490 (2001), see also Hutv<gner et al, Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 12:225-232 (2002) and Zamore et al, Science 296:1265-1269 (2002), further see U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,559). However, while miRNAs are encoded within the host genome, siRNAs are generally excised from larger dsRNA precursors produced during viral infection or introduced artificially.
Because the introduction of artificial siRNAs into animal cells can induce the degradation of homologous mRNA molecules, RNAi has emerged as a useful experimental tool (Elbashir et al, Nature 411:494-498 (2001); Fire et al, Nature 391:806-811 (1998); Hammond et al, Nature 404:293-295 (2000)). However, in mammalian cells, induction of RNAi required the transfection of RNA oligonucleotides, which can be inefficient and gives rise to only a transient inhibition in target gene expression.
The present invention provides RNA molecules (miRNAs) functionally equivalent to siRNAs that can be transcribed endogenously in s animal and plant cells. The invention makes possible the production of miRNAs specifically designed to inhibit the expression of mRNA containing a complementary target sequence. The miRNA molecules of the invention can be used experimentally or therapeutically to inhibit gene function.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to artificial miRNAs and to a method of using same to specifically inhibit the expression of selected genes in human and non-human animal cells and in plant cells. In accordance with the invention, an miRNA-encoding DNA sequence is introduced into the cells and inhibition of the target gene is induced by endogenously transcribed miRNAs. Where advantageous, transcription of the miRNA can be placed under the control of an inducible promoter or a tissue specific promoter. As the present method can result in continuous miRNA production, stable inhibition of target mRNA expression can be effected.
Objects and advantages of the present invention will be clear from the description that follows.
The present invention relates to a method of specifically inhibiting the expression of selected target genes in human and non-human animal cells and in plant cells using endogenously produced miRNA. In accordance with this method, constructs are used that encode one or multiple miRNAs. The constructs are designed such that nuclear processing, transport and excision of mature miRNA are effected efficiently. The resulting miRNA induces degradation of an mRNA produced in the cell that contains a complementary target sequence or otherwise inhibits translation of the mRNA. The invention further relates to constructs suitable for use in such a method and to compositions and kits comprising such constructs.
In accordance with the present method, a DNA construct is introduced into cells (host cells) in which a target gene sequence is expressed. The construct comprises a promoter functional in the host cells operably linked to a sequence encoding a precursor of the miRNA. Introduction of the construct into the host cells is effected under conditions such that the miRNA precursor transcript is produced and mature miRNA is then excised from the precursor by an endogenous ribonuclease. The resulting mature miRNA induces degradation of the mRNA transcript of the target gene sequence produced in the cell or otherwise inhibits translation of the mRNA. (It will be appreciated that degradation of other types of RNA, including viral RNA, can be similarly induced.)
miRNAs suitable for use in the present invention are, advantageously, about 19-24 nucleotides long, preferably, about 21 or 22 nucleotides in length. The miRNAs can be designed so as to hybridize to any RNA transcript with a high degree of specificity. Advantageously, the miRNA is designed so as to be perfectly complementary to the target sequence within the RNA (e.g., mRNA) as even a single nucleotide reduction in complementarity to the target can, depending on its location, attenuate the level of inhibition. The data presented in Example 2 indicate that miRNA can cleave mRNA bearing a fully complementary target site while miRNA can inhibit expression of mRNA bearing partially complementary sequence without necessarily inducing cleavage. The miRNA can be designed so as to target a 3′ or 5′ untranslated region of the mRNA or coding region of the mRNA.
As indicated above, the miRNA is excised from a precursor that includes a predicted RNA stem-loop structure (Lagos-Quintana et al, Science 294:853 (2001), Lau et al, Science 294:858 (2001), Lee and Ambrose, Science 294:362 (2001)). This structure stem-loop can be designed such that it is recognized by a ribonuclease (e.g., an RNAse III-type enzyme, such as DICER, or an enzyme having the recognition properties thereof), with the resulting excision of the mature miRNA. Such precursor stem-loop structures can be about 40 to 100 nucleotides long, preferably, about 50 to 75 nucleotides. The stem region can be about 19-45 nucleotides in length (or more), preferably, about 20-30 nucleotides. The stem can comprise a perfectly complementary duplex (but for any 3′ tail), however, “bulges” can be present on either arm of the stem and may be preferred. Advantageously, any such “bulges” are few in number (e.g., 1, 2 or 3) and are about 3 nucleotides or less in size. The terminal loop portion can comprise about 4 or more nucleotides (preferably, not more than 25); the loop is preferably 6-15 nucleotides in size. The precursor stem loop structure can be produced as part of a larger, carrier transcript from which the miRNA is excised, or it can be produced as a precise transcript.
The data presented in Zeng et al, RNA 9:112-123 (2003), make clear certain sequence requirements for efficient miRNA processing and functioning (for example, maintenance of base-pairing at the base of the predicted stem, outside the stem portion encoding mature miRNA, being significant), those requirements being incorporated herein by reference. The data presented also demonstrate the desirability of substituting stem sequences of naturally occurring miRNAs (e.g., miR-30) to generate miRNAs suitable for use in inhibiting expression of any target gene. The data indicate that while the presence of a miR-30 loop may be desirable, variations of that structure can also be tolerated (e.g., loops can be used that are greater than 72%, preferably greater than 79%, more preferably greater than 86%, and most preferably, s greater than 93% identical to, for instance, the miR-30 sequence (determined conventionally using known computer programs such as the BESTFIT program (Wisconsin Sequence Analysis Package, Version 8 for Unix, Genetics Computer Group, University Research Park, 575 Science Drive, Madison, Wis. 53711)).
The encoding sequence of the invention (e.g., the miRNA precursor encoding sequence or longer carrier encoding sequence) can be present in the construct in operable linkage with a promoter. Appropriate promoters can be selected based on the host cell and effect sought. Suitable promoters include constitutive and inducible promoters, such as inducible RNA polymerase II (polII)-based promoters. The promoters can be tissue specific, such promoters being well known in the art. Examples of suitable promoters include the tetracycline inducible or repressible promoter, RNA polymerase I or III-based promoters, the pol II dependent viral promoters such as the CMV-IE promoter, and the polIII U6 and H1 promoters. The bacteriophage T7 promoter can also be used (in which case, it will be appreciated, the T7 polymerase must also be present).
The constructs of the invention can be introduced into host cells using any of a variety of approaches. Infection with a viral vector comprising the construct can be effected. Examples of suitable viral vectors include replication defective retroviral vectors, adenoviral vectors, adeno-associated vectors and lentiviral vectors. Transfection with a plasmid comprising the construct is an alternative mode of introduction. The plasmid can be present as naked DNA or can be present in association with, for example, a liposome. The nature of the delivery vehicle can vary with the host cell.
In vivo delivery of the construct (e.g., present in a viral vector) can be carried out using any one of a variety of techniques, depending on the target tissue. Delivery can be, as appropriate, by direct injection, inhalation, intravenous injection or other physical method (including via microprojectiles to target visible and accessible regions of tissue (e.g., with naked DNA)). Administration can be by syringe needle, trocar, canula, catheter, etc., as appropriate.
The miRNAs of the invention can be used to regulate (e.g., inhibit) expression of target genes in cells and tissues in culture and in cells present in plants and in humans and non-human animals. The target sequences can be naturally occurring sequences, transgenes or can be pathogen sequences present, for example, as a result of infection. As one example, miRNAs of the invention can be used to “turn off” papilloma viruses in humans (e.g., in the uterus by using an appropriately designed adeno-associated viral vector).
Cultured cells suitable as hosts in accordance with the invention include both primary cells and cell lines. The cells can be human cells, including human stem cells. A construct of the invention encoding an miRNA can be introduced into cultured cells to inactivate a specific gene of unknown function. Silencing the gene using the method of the invention can be used as an approach to assess its function. Alternatively, a construct encoding an miRNA can be introduced into cells to be implanted into a human or non-human animal for therapeutic purposes. For example, hepatic stem cells can be obtained from a patient infected with hepatitis C and placed in culture. A construct of the invention encoding an miRNA that targets a gene of hepatitis C essential to, for example, replication or packaging can be introduced into the explanted cells under conditions so that the gene is silenced. The cells can then be reimplanted into the patient under conditions such that regeneration is effected.
miRNAs of the invention can also be introduced into a non-human animal to produce a model experimental animal, or into a human or non-human animal for therapeutic purposes. In the case of experimental animals, the miRNAs can be used for large scale analysis of gene function. As the target for the miRNA is about 22 nucleotides, the miRNAs can be used to knockout expression of individual isoforms resulting, for example, from alternative splicing. In the case of therapy, miRNAs can be designed, for example, to block viral replication. Human and non-human animals can be engineered, for example, to permanently express multiple miRNAs targeted to conserved sequences in viruses (e.g., packaging sequences or regulatory elements), thus rendering the humans/animals permanently immune to virus challenge, including HIV challenge. Similar approaches can be used in plants to render plants immune to viruses.
Appropriately designed miRNAs can also be used in humans and non-human animals to turn off oncogene expression in tumor cells, or inhibit expression of genes associated with other medical conditions, e.g., mutant forms of Huntingtin or of the prion protein as well as dominant negative protein mutants seen in some human genetic diseases. miRNAs of the invention can be used, for example, to inhibit expression of pro-inflammatory genes or apoptosis genes where therapeutically desirable. For instance, expression of BCL-2 can render tumor cells resistant to chemotherapy. Using the present approach, miRNAs can be used to inhibit expression of BCL-2 and enhance the ability of chemotherapeutic agents to cause tumor cells to undergo senescence. Similarly, T cells isolated from a tumor bearing patient can be modified ex vivo using the present approach to such that expression of the TGF3 receptor is inhibited. Upon reintroduction into the patient, the killing ability of the T cells is enhanced. Likewise, T cells can be modified ex vivo to inhibit expression of the Fas receptor, thereby increasing the tumor killing capacity of the cells upon reintroduction. MiRNAs of the invention can be used to treat any disease where turning down one or a set of specific gene products is beneficial.
The miRNAs of the invention can also be used to carry out various high throughput screens to select for loss of function phenotype. For example, a library of random miRNA precursor-encoding constructs can be introduced into cells (e.g., using a viral vector) to determine function of a genomic sequence, Typically, the protocol used is such that virus is introduced per cell. Using any of a variety of approaches, those cells in which the function of the targeted gene is lost can be selected (e.g., if a gene involved in cell death resulting from viral infection is sought, only those cells that contain the targeting miRNA will remain viable after exposure to the virus; alternatively, markers (e.g., indicator proteins) can be used to select for cells containing the targeting miRNA). The miRNA can then be cloned out of the selected cells, the sequence determined and used for identifying the targeted gene.
The present invention includes compositions and kits comprising the above-described miRNAs and/or nucleic acid sequences encoding same (and constructs comprising such nucleic acids), Such compositions can further include, for example, a carrier (e.g., a sterile carrier) and such kits can further comprise, for example, ancillary reagents (e.g., buffers) such as those necessary to carry out the instant methods, and container means'.
Certain aspects of the invention are described in greater detail in the non-limiting Examples that follow (see also Zeng et al, Mol. Cell 9:1327-1333 (2002), Coburn et al, J. Virol. 76:9225-9231 (2002) and Zeng et al, RNA 9:112-123 (2003), as well as U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,559, e.g., for specific applications).
EXAMPLE 1 Experimental Procedures Plasmid Construction and Oligonucleotide DescriptionThe expression plasmids pBC12/CMV, pBC12/CMV/β-gal and pcRev, and the indicator constructs pDM128/RRE and pgTat, have been previously described (Malim et al, Nature 338:254-257 (1989); Bogerd et al, Crml. J. Virol. 72:8627-8635 (1998); Hope et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:7787-7791 (1990); Cullen, Cell 46:973-982 (1986)). A GPP expression plasmid, phrGFP-6, was obtained from Strategene. To make pCMV-miR-30, the two
were annealed, extended using Taq DNA polymerase, cut with XhoI, and cloned into the XhoI site present in the pBC12/CMV. To make pCMV-miR-30, 5′-ATCCCTTTCAGTCGGATGTTTGCAGCT-3′ (SEQ ID NO:3) and 5′-CTAGAGCTGCAAACATCCGACTGAAAGG-3′ (SEQ ID NO:4) were is annealed and cloned into pBC12/CMV. To make pDM128/RRE/4XT, four copies of the miR-30 target site (
293T cells were grown as previously described (Bogerd et al, Crml. J. Virol. 72:8627-8635 (1998)) and were transfected using FuGene 6 Reagent (Roche). CAT assays were performed at 48 hrs. after transfection, as described (Bogerd et al, Crml. J. Virol. 72:8627-8635 (1998)). For Western blotting, lysates were fractionated on a 4-20% SDS-acrylamide gradient gel (Bio-Rad), transferred, and then probed with a rabbit polyclonal antiserum directed against Tat, Rev (Malim et al, Nature 338:254-257 (1989)), CA 150 (Stiné et al, Mol. Cell. Biol. 17:6029-6039 (1997)) or PTB. Reactive bands were visualized using ECL (Amersham). A polyclonal antiserum specific for human PTB I was prepared by immunization of rabbits with a purified recombinant fusion protein consisting of glutathione-S-transferase fused to full length PTB1. Immunofluorescence analyses were performed as described (Wiegand et al, Mol. Cell. Biol. 22:245-256 (2002)) using a monoclonal antibody against SV40 Tag (Pab 108, Santa Cruz) and rhodamine-conjugated goat anti-mouse antiserum (ICN) as well as the DNA strain DAPI.
RNA AnalysisTotal RNA was isolated using Trizol Reagent (Invitrogen). Cell fractionation and RPA were performed as previously described (Kang and Cullen, Genes Dev. 13:1126-1139 (1999)). For miRNA Northern analysis, approximately 20 μg of total RNA was separated on a denaturing 15% polyacrylamide gel, transferred to a HyBond-N membrane (Amersham), UV crosslinked, and probed with 5′ 32P-phosphorylated oligos in ExpressHyb solution (Clontech). For Northern analysis of mRNA, 20 μg of total RNA was fractionated on a 1% denaturing agarose gel, transferred to membrane, fixed, and probed with a random primed PTB cDNA probe.
ResultsExpression of an Introduced miR-30 miRNA Sequence in Human Cells
MiR-30 is one of several novel miRNAs recently isolated from the human cell line HeLa (Lagos-Quintana et al, Science 294:853-858 (2001)). A cDNA sequence encoding the entire predicted 71 nt miR-30 precursor (
Mature miR-30 is encoded by the 3′ arm of its precursor (
MiR-30 Inhibits the Expression of an mRNA Containing Complementary Target Sites
The C. elegans miRNAs lin-4 and let-7 inhibit the translation of mRNAs containing multiple complementary sequences in their 3′ UTRs without significantly affecting the steady-state level of the miRNA (Lee et al, Cell 75:843-854 (1993); Wightman et al, Cell 75:855-862 (1993)). It was therefore questioned whether human miR-30 could also act via a similar mechanism. A miR-30 target sequence was designed, and four copies of this sequence were inserted into the 3′ UTR of the indicator construct pDM128/RRE to give the pDM128/RRE/4XT plasmid (
The parental pDM128/RRE indicator construct used in these experiments contains 5′ and 3′ splice sites flanking an intron, derived from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), that contains both the cat gene and the Rev Response Element (RRE) (Hope et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:7787-7791 (1990)). As previously shown (Hope et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:7787-7791 (1990); Bogerd et al, Crml. J. Virol. 72:8627-8635 (1998); Kang and Cullen, Genes Dev. 13:1126-1139 (1999)); nuclear export and of this unspliced cat mRNA is dependent on co-expression of the HIV-1 Rev protein, while nuclear export of the spliced mRNA encoded by pDM128/RRE, which does not encode CAT, occurs constitutively (
To determine whether the observed reduction in CAT activity was due to a reduction in cat mRNA expression, an RNase protection assay (RPA) was performed using nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA fractions derived from the transfected 293T cells. As shown in
Designed miRNAs can be Produced In Vivo from Artificial miRNA Precursors
To determine whether the features found in the miR-30 precursor could be used to design and synthesize novel miRNAs in human cells, the stem sequence in the miR-30 precursor was substituted with a sequence based on the Drosophila nxt gene (Gene CG10174, nucleotides 121-143 from the is translation initiation codon) (
The new miRNA precursor, termed miR-30-nxt, was again expressed as part of a longer mRNA transcript, as described above for wild-type miR-30. Initially, the pCMV-miR-30-nxt plasmid was transfected into human 293T cells, total RNA isolated, and the production of both the mature miR-30-nxt miRNA (the 3′ arm, in accordance with miR-30) and anti-mir-30-nxt (the predicted 5′ arm) analyzed by Northern analysis. In
Using primer extension analysis, it was possible to determine that the 5′ cleavage sites used in the synthesis of these novel miRNAs were close to those observed in the mir-30 precursor. Thus, novel miRNAs can be produced in human cells using the existing, natural miR-30 miRNA precursor as a template.
Inhibition of mRNA Expression by Designed miRNAs
To determine if endogenously transcribed miRNAs could be used as siRNAs to initiate RNAi against specific mRNA targets in mammalian cells, an indicator construct, termed pgTat-nxt, was constructed that contained an inserted 402 nucleotide sequence, derived from the Drosophila nxt gene, that should provide a single, fully complementary target site for the novel, miR-30-nxt miRNA. The previously described, pgTat indicator construct (Malim et al, Nature 338:254-257 (1989)) contains the two exons encoding the HLV-1 Tat protein flanking an intron, derived from the HIV-1 env gene, that also contains the HIV-1 RRE. In the absence of Rev, pgTat produces exclusively the 86 amino acid (aa), two exon form of Tat encoded by the spliced tat mRNA (
RNAi induces the degradation of target mRNAs (Hammond et al, Nature 404:293-295 (2000); Zamore et al, Cell 101:25-33 (2000)). An RPA was therefore performed to compare the levels of spliced and unspliced Tat mRNAs in the absence or presence of Rev and miR-30-nxt. MiR-30-nxt induced a specific decrease (˜7 fold) in the cytoplasmic unspliced tat mRNA level seen in the presence of Rev (compare lanes 7 and 9 in
Inhibition of Endogenous Gene Expression Using Artificial miRNAs
To test whether a novel miRNAs could inhibit the expression of endogenous genes in human cells, the polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB) (Wagner and Garcia-Blanco, Mol. Cell. Biol. 21:3281-3288 (2001)) was chosen as a target. The pCMV-miR-30-PTB expression plasmid (containing PTB nucleoticles 1179-1201), was constructed in the same way as described for pCMV-miR-30-nxt and transfected into 293T cells. Both the miR-30-PTB and the anti-miR-30-PTB miRNA were readily detected by primer extension (
Although introduction of pCMV-miR-30-PTB resulted in a reproducible 70-80% drop in the level of PTB protein and mRNA expression in transfected 293T cells (
It was subsequently demonstrated that a second human miRNA, termed miR-21, could also be effectively expressed when the precursor therefor formed part of a longer mRNA (Zeng et al. RNA 9:112-123 (2003)). For both miR-30 and miR-21, mature miRNA production was highly dependent on the integrity of the precursor RNA stem, although the underlying sequence had little effect.
EXAMPLE 2 Experimental ProceduresPlasmids and siRNAs.
Plasmids pCMV-miR-30, pCMV-miR-21 and pBC12/CMV/β-gal have been described (Zeng et al, RNA 9:112-123 (2003)). Indicator plasmids pCMV-luc-Target (Target being miR30(B), miR-30(AB), miR-30(P), miR-30(AP), miR-21(B), miR-21(P), dNxt(B), dNxt(P) or random,
Transfections were performed in triplicate in 24-well plates. FuGene 6 (Roche) was used to transfect plasmids into 293T cells. Each well received 10 ng of pCMV-luc-Target-CAT, 8 ng of pBC12/CMV/β-gal and 400 ng of pCMV-miR-30 and/or pCMV-miR-21. For transfections involving both plasmids and siRNAs, Cellfectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) was used. Each well received 15 ng of pCMVluc-Target, 8 ng of pBC12/CMV/β-gal, 0.2 ng of pRL-CMV (Promega) and 40 pmol of the dNxt and/or dTap siRNA. 36-44 hours later, one well of cells was lysed and assayed for firefly luciferase and either CAT or Renilla luciferase (Zeng et at, RNA 9:112-123 (2003)). RNAs were isolated from the remaining two wells using Trizol Reagent (Invitrogen) or RNAeasy kits (Qiagen). Northern blotting was performed for at least two independent transfections, as previously described (Zeng et al, RNA 9:112-123 (2003)). The membranes were first hybridized with a luc probe, stripped, and then probed for β-galactosidase (β-gal) mRNA.
ResultsPreviously, it was demonstrated that an indicator gene can be translationally repressed in human cells upon overexpression of the human miR-30 miRNA, if the cognate mRNA bears four tandem copies of a bulged RNA target sequence in the 3′UTR (Zeng et al, Mol. Cell 9:1327-1333 (2002)). The similar indicator constructs used here are based on the firefly luciferase indicator gene and contain eight RNA target sites tandemly arrayed in the 3 ′UTR (
Overexpressed Human miRNAs can Induce mRNA Cleavage.
Although most miRNAs are expressed as single-stranded RNAs derived from one arm of the pre-miRNA stem-loop structure, a small number of pre-miRNAs give rise to detectable levels of a miRNA derived from both arms (Lau et al, Science 294:858-862 (2001), Mourelatos et al Genes Dev. 16:720-728 (2002)). One such miRNA is human miR-30, and its antisense form anti-miR-30, both of which have been detected in human cells (Lagos-Quintana et al, Science 294:853-858 (2001), Mourelatos et al Genes Dev. 16:720-728 (2002)). Previously, it was reported that human 293T cells do not express detectable miR-30, but do express low levels of anti-miR-30 (
To assess the biological activity of these miRNAs, 293T cells were transfected with indicator constructs analogous to pCMV-luc-Target-CAT (
As shown in
The control indicator construct, bearing eight tandem copies of a random target sequence, consistently gave rise to an ˜1.8 fold lower level of luciferase activity than was seen with the indicator construct bearing the miR-30 (B) target site in the absence of overexpressed miR-30 miRNA. While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is hypothesized that this lower activity may reflect a weak, non-specific cis effect of the random sequence used. Despite the possibility that insertion of sequences into the 3′ UTR of an mRNA could exert a non-specific effect on mRNA function, it is nevertheless of interest, given that 293T cells express a low level of endogenous anti-miR-30, but not miR-30, miRNA (
To gain insight into the mechanism of inhibition of luciferase expression documented in
Cleavage of an mRNA by an Endogenous Human miRNA.
Unlike miR-30, but like the majority of miRNAs, processing of the miR-21 pre-miRNA gives rise to only one stable mature miRNA (Lagos-Quintana, Science 294:853-858 (2001), Zeng et al, RNA 9:112-123 (2003)). Although miR-21 is expressed at readily detectable levels in 293T cells, this miRNA (but not its putative antisense partner) can be overexpressed by transfection of 293T cells with the pCMV-miR-21 expression plasmid (
Indicator constructs analogous to pCMV-luc-Target-CAT, but containing eight copies of a perfect or bulged target specific for miR-21 (
Analysis of mRNA expression by northern blot analysis revealed readily detectable levels of the ˜1.8 kb luc mRNA cleavage product in cultures transfected with the indicator construct bearing the miR-21(P) target but not the miR-21(B) target (
Inhibition of mRNA Translation by a Synthetic siRNA.
Having established that both overexpressed and endogenous miRNAs can cleave target mRNAs, the next question was whether synthetic siRNAs can inhibit mRNA function without inducing mRNA cleavage. To address this issue, two synthetic siRNAs specific for mRNAs encoding the Drosophila Nxt and Tap proteins were utilized. While these reagents can inhibit dNxt and dTap protein and mRNA expression in transfected Drosophila S2 cells (Wiegand et al, Mol. Cell. Biol. 22:245-256 (2002)), these target nucleotide sequences are not conserved in the human Nxt and Tap genes.
Indicator constructs based on pCMV-luc-Target, bearing perfect or bulged target sequences homologous to the dNxt siRNA (
In summary, using entirely in vivo assays in human cells, it has been demonstrated that endogenous human miR-21 miRNA, or overexpressed forms of the human miR-30 and anti-miR-30 miRNAs, can induce the cleavage of mRNAs bearing fully complementary target sites, a phenotype previously viewed as characteristic of siRNAs (
Interpretation of the foregoing data was greatly facilitated by the finding that the ˜2.3 kb luc mRNA encoded by the indicator constructs used gives rise to a stable ˜1.8 kb 5′ breakdown product after siRNA- or miRNA-mediated cleavage at the introduced target sites. This RNA intermediate was invariably detected when a miRNA or siRNA encountered a fully complementary artificial target but was never seen when the target was designed with a central mismatch (
Although the data presented above demonstrate that miRNAs and siRNAs can inhibit mRNA expression by apparently identical mechanisms, it could be argued that siRNAs might still be more effective at RNA degradation than at translation inhibition, while miRNAs might display the converse activity. However, both for miRNAs and siRNAs, significantly more effective inhibition of luc enzyme activity was observed if the luc mRNA bore a fully complementary target and was therefore subject to RNA cleavage (
All documents cited above are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.
Claims
1.-30. (canceled)
31. A cell comprising a target gene and a DNA construct comprising a constitutive or inducible promoter functional in said cell operably linked to a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding, as part of a longer encoded sequence, an miRNA precursor, said miRNA precursor comprising a stem loop structure and comprising in said stem of said stem loop structure a sequence complementary to a portion of an RNA transcript of said target gene, wherein said stem of said stem loop structure is about 19-45 base pairs long and the loop of said stem loop structure is about 4-25 nucleotides long.
32. The cell of claim 31, wherein following induction of said promoter in said cell:
- (i) said nucleotide sequence is transcribed,
- (ii) the resulting transcript of said nucleotide sequence is processed so that said miRNA precursor is excised from said transcript of said nucleotide sequence,
- (iii) said miRNA precursor is processed so that a mature miRNA about 21 or 22 nucleotides in length is excised from said miRNA precursor, and
- (iv) inhibition of expression of said gene is effected.
33. The cell of claim 31, wherein said promoter is a polymerase II-based promoter.
34. The cell of claim 31, wherein the cell is a plant cell.
35. A plant comprising the plant cell of claim 34.
36. The cell of claim 31, wherein the cell is a non-human animal cell.
37. A non-human animal comprising the cell of claim 36.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 22, 2017
Publication Date: Apr 19, 2018
Applicant: DUKE UNIVERSITY (Durham, NC)
Inventors: Bryan R. CULLEN (Durham, NC), Yan ZENG (Durham, NC)
Application Number: 15/852,318