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Warthi G, Faulkner JL, Doja J, Ghanam AR, Gao P, Yang AC, Slivano OJ, Barris CT, Kress TC, Zawieja SD, Griffin SH, Xie X, Ashworth A, Christie CK, Bryant WB, Kumar A, Davis MJ, Long X, Gan L, de Chantemèle EJB, Lyu Q, Miano JM. Generation and Comparative Analysis of an Itga8-CreER T2 Mouse with Preferential Activity in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells. Nat Cardiovasc Res 2022; 1:1084-1100. [PMID: 36424917 PMCID: PMC9681021 DOI: 10.1038/s44161-022-00162-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
All current smooth muscle cell (SMC) Cre mice similarly recombine floxed alleles in vascular and visceral SMCs. Here, we present an Itga8-CreER T2 knock-in mouse and compare its activity with a Myh11-CreER T2 mouse. Both Cre drivers demonstrate equivalent recombination in vascular SMCs. However, Myh11-CreER T2 mice, but not Itga8-CreER T2 mice, display high activity in visceral SMC-containing tissues such as intestine, show early tamoxifen-independent activity, and produce high levels of CreERT2 protein. Whereas Myh11-CreER T2 -mediated knockout of serum response factor (Srf) causes a lethal intestinal phenotype precluding analysis of the vasculature, loss of Srf with Itga8-CreER T2 (Srf Itga8 ) yields viable mice with no evidence of intestinal pathology. Male and female Srf Itga8 mice exhibit vascular contractile incompetence, and angiotensin II causes elevated blood pressure in wild type, but not Srf Itga8 , male mice. These findings establish the Itga8-CreER T2 mouse as an alternative to existing SMC Cre mice for unfettered phenotyping of vascular SMCs following selective gene loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ganesh Warthi
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Jessica L. Faulkner
- Department of Physiology, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Jaser Doja
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Amr R. Ghanam
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Pan Gao
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Allison C. Yang
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Orazio J. Slivano
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Candee T. Barris
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Taylor C. Kress
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Scott D. Zawieja
- Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO 65212
| | - Susan H. Griffin
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Xiaoling Xie
- Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Alan Ashworth
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158
| | - Christine K. Christie
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642
| | - William B. Bryant
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Ajay Kumar
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Michael J. Davis
- Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO 65212
| | - Xiaochun Long
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | - Lin Gan
- Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
| | | | - Qing Lyu
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
- Biomedical and Health Institute, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligence Technology, Chongqing, China 400714
- Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing, China 401147
| | - Joseph M. Miano
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia 30912
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Lyu Q, Dhagia V, Han Y, Guo B, Wines-Samuelson ME, Christie CK, Yin Q, Slivano OJ, Herring P, Long X, Gupte SA, Miano JM. CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Epitope Tagging Provides Accurate and Versatile Assessment of Myocardin-Brief Report. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2019; 38:2184-2190. [PMID: 29976770 DOI: 10.1161/atvbaha.118.311171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Objective- Unreliable antibodies often hinder the accurate detection of an endogenous protein, and this is particularly true for the cardiac and smooth muscle cofactor, MYOCD (myocardin). Accordingly, the mouse Myocd locus was targeted with 2 independent epitope tags for the unambiguous expression, localization, and activity of MYOCD protein. Approach and Results- 3cCRISPR (3-component clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat) was used to engineer a carboxyl-terminal 3×FLAG or 3×HA epitope tag in mouse embryos. Western blotting with antibodies to each tag revealed a MYOCD protein product of ≈150 kDa, a size considerably larger than that reported in virtually all publications. MYOCD protein was most abundant in some adult smooth muscle-containing tissues with surprisingly low-level expression in the heart. Both alleles of Myocd are active in aorta because a 2-fold increase in protein was seen in mice homozygous versus heterozygous for FLAG-tagged Myocd. ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation)-quantitative polymerase chain reaction studies provide proof-of-principle data demonstrating the utility of this mouse line in conducting genome-wide ChIP-seq studies to ascertain the full complement of MYOCD-dependent target genes in vivo. Although FLAG-tagged MYOCD protein was undetectable in sections of adult mouse tissues, low-passaged vascular smooth muscle cells exhibited expected nuclear localization. Conclusions- This report validates new mouse models for analyzing MYOCD protein expression, localization, and binding activity in vivo and highlights the need for rigorous authentication of antibodies in biomedical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Lyu
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Q.L., Y.H., B.G., M.E.W.-S., C.K.C., Q.Y., O.J.S., J.M.M.)
| | - Vidhi Dhagia
- Department of Pharmacology, New York Medical College, Valhalla (V.D., S.A.G.)
| | - Yu Han
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Q.L., Y.H., B.G., M.E.W.-S., C.K.C., Q.Y., O.J.S., J.M.M.)
| | - Bing Guo
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Q.L., Y.H., B.G., M.E.W.-S., C.K.C., Q.Y., O.J.S., J.M.M.)
| | - Mary E Wines-Samuelson
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Q.L., Y.H., B.G., M.E.W.-S., C.K.C., Q.Y., O.J.S., J.M.M.)
| | - Christine K Christie
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Q.L., Y.H., B.G., M.E.W.-S., C.K.C., Q.Y., O.J.S., J.M.M.)
| | - Qiangzong Yin
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Q.L., Y.H., B.G., M.E.W.-S., C.K.C., Q.Y., O.J.S., J.M.M.)
| | - Orazio J Slivano
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Q.L., Y.H., B.G., M.E.W.-S., C.K.C., Q.Y., O.J.S., J.M.M.)
| | - Paul Herring
- Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis (P.H.)
| | - Xiaochun Long
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Albany Medical College, NY (X.L.)
| | - Sachin A Gupte
- Department of Pharmacology, New York Medical College, Valhalla (V.D., S.A.G.)
| | - Joseph M Miano
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Q.L., Y.H., B.G., M.E.W.-S., C.K.C., Q.Y., O.J.S., J.M.M.)
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Guo B, Lyu Q, Slivano OJ, Dirkx R, Christie CK, Czyzyk J, Hezel AF, Gharavi AG, Small EM, Miano JM. Serum Response Factor Is Essential for Maintenance of Podocyte Structure and Function. J Am Soc Nephrol 2017; 29:416-422. [PMID: 29114040 DOI: 10.1681/asn.2017050473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Podocytes contain an intricate actin cytoskeleton that is essential for the specialized function of this cell type in renal filtration. Serum response factor (SRF) is a master transcription factor for the actin cytoskeleton, but the in vivo expression and function of SRF in podocytes are unknown. We found that SRF protein colocalizes with podocyte markers in human and mouse kidneys. Compared with littermate controls, mice in which the Srf gene was conditionally inactivated with NPHS2-Cre exhibited early postnatal proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and azotemia. Histologic changes in the mutant mice included glomerular capillary dilation and mild glomerulosclerosis, with reduced expression of multiple canonical podocyte markers. We also noted tubular dilation, cell proliferation, and protein casts as well as reactive changes in mesangial cells and interstitial inflammation. Ultrastructure analysis disclosed foot process effacement with loss of slit diaphragms. To ascertain the importance of SRF cofactors in podocyte function, we disabled the myocardin-related transcription factor A and B genes. Although loss of either SRF cofactor alone had no observable effect in the kidney, deficiency of both recapitulated the Srf-null phenotype. These results establish a vital role for SRF and two SRF cofactors in the maintenance of podocyte structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Guo
- Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York.,Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Qing Lyu
- Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Orazio J Slivano
- Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Ronald Dirkx
- Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Christine K Christie
- Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Jan Czyzyk
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and
| | - Aram F Hezel
- James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York; and
| | - Ali G Gharavi
- Department of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Eric M Small
- Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Joseph M Miano
- Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York;
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Han Y, Slivano OJ, Christie CK, Cheng AW, Miano JM. CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing of a single regulatory element nearly abolishes target gene expression in mice--brief report. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2015; 35:312-5. [PMID: 25538209 PMCID: PMC4304932 DOI: 10.1161/atvbaha.114.305017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To ascertain the importance of a single regulatory element in the control of Cnn1 expression using CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9) genome editing. APPROACH AND RESULTS The CRISPR/Cas9 system was used to produce 3 of 18 founder mice carrying point mutations in an intronic CArG box of the smooth muscle cell-restricted Cnn1 gene. Each founder was bred for germline transmission of the mutant CArG box and littermate interbreeding to generate homozygous mutant (Cnn1(ΔCArG/ΔCArG)) mice. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and confocal immunofluorescence microscopy showed dramatic reductions in Cnn1 mRNA and CNN1 protein expression in Cnn1(ΔCArG/ΔCArG) mice with no change in other smooth muscle cell-restricted genes and little evidence of off-target edits elsewhere in the genome. In vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed a sharp decrease in binding of serum response factor to the mutant CArG box. Loss of CNN1 expression was coincident with an increase in Ki-67 positive cells in the normal vessel wall. CONCLUSIONS CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing of a single CArG box nearly abolishes Cnn1 expression in vivo and evokes increases in smooth muscle cell DNA synthesis. This facile genome editing system paves the way for a new generation of studies designed to test the importance of individual regulatory elements in living animals, including regulatory variants in conserved sequence blocks linked to human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Han
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Y.H., O.J.S., C.K.C., J.M.M.); and Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, ME (A.W.C.)
| | - Orazio J Slivano
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Y.H., O.J.S., C.K.C., J.M.M.); and Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, ME (A.W.C.)
| | - Christine K Christie
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Y.H., O.J.S., C.K.C., J.M.M.); and Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, ME (A.W.C.)
| | - Albert W Cheng
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Y.H., O.J.S., C.K.C., J.M.M.); and Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, ME (A.W.C.)
| | - Joseph M Miano
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (Y.H., O.J.S., C.K.C., J.M.M.); and Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, ME (A.W.C.).
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Majumder S, Sowden MP, Gerber SA, Thomas T, Christie CK, Mohan A, Yin G, Lord EM, Berk BC, Pang J. G-protein-coupled receptor-2-interacting protein-1 is required for endothelial cell directional migration and tumor angiogenesis via cortactin-dependent lamellipodia formation. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2013; 34:419-26. [PMID: 24265417 DOI: 10.1161/atvbaha.113.302689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Recent evidence suggests G-protein-coupled receptor-2-interacting protein-1 (GIT1) overexpression in several human metastatic tumors, including breast, lung, and prostate. Tumor metastasis is associated with an increase in angiogenesis. We have showed previously that GIT1 is required for postnatal angiogenesis during lung development. However, the functional role of GIT1 in pathological angiogenesis during tumor growth is unknown. APPROACH AND RESULTS In the present study, we show inhibition of angiogenesis in matrigel implants as well as reduced tumor angiogenesis and melanoma tumor growth in GIT1-knockout mice. We demonstrate that this is a result of impaired directional migration of GIT1-depleted endothelial cells toward a vascular endothelial growth factor gradient. Cortactin-mediated lamellipodia formation in the leading edge is critical for directional migration. We observed a significant reduction in cortactin localization and lamellipodia formation in the leading edge of GIT1-depleted endothelial cells. We specifically identified that the Spa homology domain (aa 250-420) of GIT1 is required for GIT1-cortactin complex localization to the leading edge. The mechanisms involved extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2-mediated Cortactin-S405 phosphorylation and activation of Rac1/Cdc42. Finally, using gain of function studies, we show that a constitutively active mutant of cortactin restored directional migration of GIT1-depleted cells. CONCLUSION Our data demonstrated that a GIT1-cortactin association through GIT1-Spa homology domain is required for cortactin localization to the leading edge and is essential for endothelial cell directional migration and tumor angiogenesis.
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MESH Headings
- Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/genetics
- Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/metabolism
- Animals
- Cell Cycle Proteins/deficiency
- Cell Cycle Proteins/genetics
- Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism
- Cell Movement
- Cortactin/genetics
- Cortactin/metabolism
- GTPase-Activating Proteins/deficiency
- GTPase-Activating Proteins/genetics
- GTPase-Activating Proteins/metabolism
- HEK293 Cells
- Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells/metabolism
- Humans
- Melanoma, Experimental/blood supply
- Melanoma, Experimental/genetics
- Melanoma, Experimental/metabolism
- Melanoma, Experimental/pathology
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Mice, Knockout
- Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1/metabolism
- Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3/metabolism
- Neovascularization, Pathologic
- Neovascularization, Physiologic
- Phosphorylation
- Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
- Pseudopodia/metabolism
- RNA Interference
- Signal Transduction
- Soft Tissue Neoplasms/blood supply
- Soft Tissue Neoplasms/genetics
- Soft Tissue Neoplasms/metabolism
- Soft Tissue Neoplasms/pathology
- Time Factors
- Transfection
- Tumor Burden
- Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism
- cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein/metabolism
- rac1 GTP-Binding Protein/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Syamantak Majumder
- From the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute and Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY (S.M., M.P.S., T.T., C.K.C., A.M. G.Y., B.C.B., J.P.); and Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (S.A.G., E.M.L.)
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