Endosomal processing of virions is essential for transduction. Direct injection of wild-type AAV2 into the cytoplasm of HeLa cells resulted in a 100-fold lower infection rate than direct exposure of cells to virus. Similarly, direct injection of AAV2 into the nucleus reduced transduction rates by 10-fold. In a study of rAAV2 gene targeting, direct injection of vectors into the cytoplasm or nucleus failed to result in gene targeting events. Therefore, events during endosomal trafficking must play an important role in viral transduction capacity.
The N-terminus of capsid protein VP1 contains a phospholipase A2 (PLA) domain and three clusters of basic residues (BC) characteristic of nuclear localization signals, the latter two of which (BC2, BC3) are shared with capsid protein VP2. Mutations in one or more of the BC or PLA domains reduced or abolished AAV2 transduction of HeLa cells (depending on the substitution) but did not affect cell attachment or internalization. Using a BC3 mutation that abolished transduction of HeLa cells, fluorescent in situ hybridization detected vector genomes in the perinuclear region at 24 hours post-infection, whereas wild-type AAV2 capsids successfully delivered vector genomes to the nucleus. Transduction ability was rescued in this BC3 mutant when replaced with the canine parvovirus nuclear localization sequence, indicating that BC3 is specifically important for delivery of vector genomes to the nucleus. Interestingly, the presence of BC3 on both VP1 and VP2 appears to be redundant, as capsids assembled with mutant VP1-BC3 and wild-type VP2-BC3 were able to transduce HeLa cells.
RNA N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) modification is increasingly being recognized as an important aspect of gene regulation. Here, researchers report that N-acetyltransferase 10 protein (NAT10) contributes to the induction and development of neuropathic pain in an ac4C-dependent manner. Peripheral nerve injury increases NAT10 expression and overall ac4C levels in injured dorsal root ganglia (DRGs). This upregulation is triggered by activation of upstream transcription factor 1 (USF1), a transcription factor that binds to the Nat10 promoter. Knockdown or genetic deletion of NAT10 in DRGs abolishes the increase in ac4C sites in Syt9 mRNA and enhanced SYT9 protein, resulting in a significant antinociceptive effect in nerve-injured male mice. In contrast, mimicking NAT10 upregulation in the absence of injury elicits elevations in Syt9 ac4C and SYT9 protein and induces the onset of neuropathic pain-like behaviors. These findings suggest that USF1-regulated NAT10 modulates neuropathic pain by targeting Syt9 ac4C in peripheral nociceptive sensory neurons.
Dot blot analysis using ac4C antibody showed that knockdown of NAT10 by siRNA on day 3 after microinjection (Figure 1a) or knockdown of NAT10 by shRNA on day 4 after microinjection (Figure 1b) in CCI mice inhibited CCI-induced increase in ac4C in L3/4 DRG. Preinjection of AAV2-Syn-Cre on day 21 before surgery abolished the increase in ac4C levels in the L3/4 DRG of CCI Nat10fl/fl mice (Figure 1c). Furthermore, in SUnSET analysis in which nascent proteins were labeled with puromycin via intraperitoneal injection 1 hour before DRG harvest, nerve injury resulted in an increase in nascent proteins in L3/4 DRGs. This increase was significantly reduced by microinjection of Nat10-siRNA in CCI mice but not in randomized controls (Figure 1e,f). Overexpression of NAT10 by microinjection of Lenti-Nat10 but not Lenti-Gfp caused an increase in global ac4C (Figure 1d) and resulted in elevated nascent protein in the L3/4 DRG at day 4 post-injection (Figure 1g,h). Taken together, these data suggest that CCI leads to increased efficiency of de novo protein synthesis as a result of enhanced levels of ac4C, which in turn are because of increased expression of NAT10.
Figure 1. NAT10 promotes enhanced protein synthesis efficiency in the DRG after nerve injury. (Zhang M, et al., 2023)
Customer Reviews
Invaluable tool
AAV2-Syn-Cre has outperformed our expectations in terms of targeting specificity. Its synapsin promoter ensures that Cre recombinase is expressed only in the neurons, minimizing off-target effects.
Write a Review