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Vallier M, Suwandi A, Ehrhardt K, Belheouane M, Berry D, Čepić A, Galeev A, Johnsen JM, Grassl GA, Baines JF. Pathometagenomics reveals susceptibility to intestinal infection by Morganella to be mediated by the blood group-related B4galnt2 gene in wild mice. Gut Microbes 2023; 15:2164448. [PMID: 36683151 PMCID: PMC9872957 DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2022.2164448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Infectious disease is widely considered to be a major driver of evolution. A preponderance of signatures of balancing selection at blood group-related genes is thought to be driven by inherent trade-offs in susceptibility to disease. B4galnt2 is subject to long-term balancing selection in house mice, where two divergent allele classes direct alternative tissue-specific expression of a glycosyltransferase in the intestine versus blood vessels. The blood vessel allele class leads to prolonged bleeding times similar to von Willebrand disease in humans, yet has been maintained for millions of years. Based on in vivo functional studies in inbred lab strains, it is hypothesized that the cost of prolonged bleeding times may be offset by an evolutionary trade-off involving susceptibility to a yet unknown pathogen(s). To identify candidate pathogens for which resistance could be mediated by B4galnt2 genotype, we here employed a novel "pathometagenomic" approach in a wild mouse population, which combines bacterial 16S rRNA gene-based community profiling with histopathology of gut tissue. Through subsequent isolation, genome sequencing and controlled experiments in lab mice, we show that the presence of the blood vessel allele is associated with resistance to a newly identified subspecies of Morganella morganii, a clinically important opportunistic pathogen. Given the increasing importance of zoonotic events, the approach outlined here may find useful application in the detection of emerging diseases in wild animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Vallier
- Section of Evolutionary Medicine, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Guest Group Evolutionary Medicine, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Abdulhadi Suwandi
- Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Epidemiology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Hannover, Germany
| | - Katrin Ehrhardt
- Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Epidemiology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Hannover, Germany
| | - Meriem Belheouane
- Section of Evolutionary Medicine, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Guest Group Evolutionary Medicine, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - David Berry
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Joint Microbiome Facility of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Aleksa Čepić
- Section of Evolutionary Medicine, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Guest Group Evolutionary Medicine, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Alibek Galeev
- Section of Evolutionary Medicine, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Guest Group Evolutionary Medicine, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Jill M. Johnsen
- Bloodworks Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Guntram A. Grassl
- Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Epidemiology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Hannover, Germany
| | - John F. Baines
- Section of Evolutionary Medicine, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Guest Group Evolutionary Medicine, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
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Jiang J, Sun Y, Xiao R, Wai K, Ahmad MJ, Khan FA, Zhou H, Li Z, Zhang Y, Zhou A, Zhang S. Porcine antiviral activity is increased by CRISPRa-SAM system. Biosci Rep 2019; 39:BSR20191496. [PMID: 31371630 DOI: 10.1042/BSR20191496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 07/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat activation-synergistic activation mediator system (CRISPRa-SAM) has been efficiently used to up-regulate the targeted genes in human and mouse. But it is not known whether the CRISPRa-SAM system can be used against porcine disease because its two important transcriptional activation domains (P65 and heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1)) are from mouse and human, respectively. Pig is one of the most important meat sources, porcine viral infectious diseases cause massive economic losses to the swine industry and threaten the public health. We aimed to investigate whether the CRISPRa-SAM system could increase porcine antiviral activity by mediating two pig-specific target genes (Mx2 and β1,4 N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (B4galnt2)). First, we constructed PK-15 and IPEC-J2 cell lines expressing nuclease-deficient Cas9 (dCas9)-vp64 and MS2-P65-HSF1 stably. Next, in these two cell models, we activated Mx2 and B4galnt2 expression through CRISPRa-SAM system. Antiviral activity to PRV or H9N2 was improved in PK-15 cells where Mx2 or B4galnt2 was activated. Altogether, our results demonstrated the potential of CRISPRa-SAM system as a powerful tool for activating pig genes and improving porcine antiviral activity.
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Sebastian A, Chang JC, Mendez ME, Murugesh DK, Hatsell S, Economides AN, Christiansen BA, Loots GG. Comparative Transcriptomics Identifies Novel Genes and Pathways Involved in Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis Development and Progression. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19092657. [PMID: 30205482 PMCID: PMC6163882 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19092657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Revised: 09/01/2018] [Accepted: 09/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries often result in post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). To better understand the molecular mechanisms behind PTOA development following ACL injury, we profiled ACL injury-induced transcriptional changes in knee joints of three mouse strains with varying susceptibility to OA: STR/ort (highly susceptible), C57BL/6J (moderately susceptible) and super-healer MRL/MpJ (not susceptible). Right knee joints of the mice were injured using a non-invasive tibial compression injury model and global gene expression was quantified before and at 1-day, 1-week, and 2-weeks post-injury using RNA-seq. Following injury, injured and uninjured joints of STR/ort and injured C57BL/6J joints displayed significant cartilage degeneration while MRL/MpJ had little cartilage damage. Gene expression analysis suggested that prolonged inflammation and elevated catabolic activity in STR/ort injured joints, compared to the other two strains may be responsible for the severe PTOA phenotype observed in this strain. MRL/MpJ had the lowest expression values for several inflammatory cytokines and catabolic enzymes activated in response to ACL injury. Furthermore, we identified several genes highly expressed in MRL/MpJ compared to the other two strains including B4galnt2 and Tpsab1 which may contribute to enhanced healing in the MRL/MpJ. Overall, this study has increased our knowledge of early molecular changes associated with PTOA development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimy Sebastian
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 95101, USA.
| | - Jiun C Chang
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 95101, USA.
- School of Natural Sciences, UC Merced, Merced, CA 95101, USA.
| | - Melanie E Mendez
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 95101, USA.
- School of Natural Sciences, UC Merced, Merced, CA 95101, USA.
| | - Deepa K Murugesh
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 95101, USA.
| | - Sarah Hatsell
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY 10020, USA.
| | | | - Blaine A Christiansen
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA 95101, USA.
| | - Gabriela G Loots
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 95101, USA.
- School of Natural Sciences, UC Merced, Merced, CA 95101, USA.
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Vallier M, Abou Chakra M, Hindersin L, Linnenbrink M, Traulsen A, Baines JF. Evaluating the maintenance of disease-associated variation at the blood group-related gene B4galnt2 in house mice. BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:187. [PMID: 28806915 PMCID: PMC5557512 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-1035-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background B4galnt2 is a blood group-related glycosyltransferase that displays cis-regulatory variation for its tissue-specific expression patterns in house mice. The wild type allele, found e.g. in the C57BL/6 J strain, directs intestinal expression of B4galnt2, which is the pattern observed among vertebrates, including humans. An alternative allele class found in the RIIIS/J strain and other mice instead drives expression in blood vessels, which leads to a phenotype similar to type 1 von Willebrand disease (VWD), a common human bleeding disorder. We previously showed that alternative B4galnt2 alleles are subject to long-term balancing selection in mice and that variation in B4galnt2 expression influences host-microbe interactions in the intestine. This suggests that the costs of prolonged bleeding in RIIIS/J allele-bearing mice might be outweighed by benefits associated with resistance against gastrointestinal pathogens. However, the conditions under which such trade-offs could lead to the long-term maintenance of disease-associated variation at B4galnt2 are unclear. Results To explore the persistence of B4galnt2 alleles in wild populations of house mice, we combined B4galnt2 haplotype frequency data together with a mathematical model based on an evolutionary game framework with a modified Wright-Fisher process. In particular, given the potential for a heterozygote advantage as a possible explanation for balancing selection, we focused on heterozygous mice, which express B4galnt2 in both blood vessels and the gastrointestinal tract. We show that B4galnt2 displays an interesting spatial allelic distribution in Western Europe, likely due to the recent action of natural selection. Moreover, we found that the genotype frequencies observed in nature can be produced by pathogen-driven selection when both heterozygotes and RIIIS/J homozygotes are protected against infection and the fitness cost of bleeding is roughly half that of infection. Conclusion By comparing the results of our models to the patterns of polymorphism at B4galnt2 in natural populations, we are able to recognize the long-term maintenance of the RIIIS/J allele through host-pathogen interactions as a viable hypothesis. Further, our models identify that a putative dominant-, yet unknown protective function of the RIIIS/J allele appears to be more likely than a protective loss of intestinal B4galnt2 expression in RIIIS/J homozygotes. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-1035-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Vallier
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Genomics, Plön, Germany.,Institute for Experimental Medicine, Section of Evolutionary Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Maria Abou Chakra
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Theory, Plön, Germany.,Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Laura Hindersin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Theory, Plön, Germany
| | - Miriam Linnenbrink
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Genomics, Plön, Germany
| | - Arne Traulsen
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Theory, Plön, Germany
| | - John F Baines
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Genomics, Plön, Germany. .,Institute for Experimental Medicine, Section of Evolutionary Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
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