School of Medicine, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria.
EMBO J. 2024 Jun;43(12):2506-2525. doi: 10.1038/s44318-024-00102-8. Epub 2024 Apr 30.
Many microRNAs (miRNAs) are expressed with high spatiotemporal specificity during organismal development, with some being limited to rare cell types, often embedded in complex tissues. Yet, most miRNA profiling efforts remain at the tissue and organ levels. To overcome challenges in accessing the microRNomes from tissue-embedded cells, we had previously developed mime-seq (miRNome by methylation-dependent sequencing), a technique in which cell-specific miRNA methylation in C. elegans and Drosophila enabled chemo-selective sequencing without the need for cell sorting or biochemical purification. Here, we present mime-seq 2.0 for profiling miRNAs from specific mouse cell types. We engineered a chimeric RNA methyltransferase that is tethered to Argonaute protein and efficiently methylates miRNAs at their 3'-terminal 2'-OH in mouse and human cell lines. We also generated a transgenic mouse for conditional expression of this methyltransferase, which can be used to direct methylation of miRNAs in a cell type of choice. We validated the use of this mouse model by profiling miRNAs from B cells and bone marrow plasma cells.
许多 microRNAs(miRNAs)在生物个体发育过程中具有高度时空特异性表达,其中一些 miRNA 仅局限于少数几种细胞类型,而且通常存在于复杂的组织中。然而,大多数 miRNA 谱分析研究仍停留在组织和器官水平。为了克服从组织嵌入细胞中获取 microRNomes 的挑战,我们之前开发了 mime-seq(基于甲基化依赖性测序的 miRNA 组学)技术,该技术可特异性地对秀丽隐杆线虫和果蝇中的细胞进行 miRNA 甲基化,从而在无需细胞分选或生化纯化的情况下进行化学选择性测序。在这里,我们提出了 mime-seq 2.0,用于对特定的小鼠细胞类型中的 miRNA 进行分析。我们设计了一种嵌合 RNA 甲基转移酶,该酶与 Argonaute 蛋白连接,并能有效地在小鼠和人类细胞系中甲基化 miRNA 的 3'末端 2'-OH。我们还生成了一个用于该甲基转移酶条件性表达的转基因小鼠,可用于指导选择的细胞类型中 miRNA 的甲基化。我们通过对 B 细胞和骨髓浆细胞中的 miRNA 进行分析,验证了该小鼠模型的应用。