Browsing by discipline "Biotekniikka"

Lymphangiogenesis is the process that leads to the formation of lymphatic vessels from pre-existing vessels. Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C), the ma- jor lymphangiogenic growth factor, is produced as an inactive precursor and needs to be proteolytically processed into a mature form in order to activate its receptors VEGFR-3 and VEGFR-2. A deficiency of VEGF-C during embryonic lymphangiogenesis results in embryonic lethality due to the lack of lymphatic vasculature. Hennekam lymphangiectasia-lymphedema syndrome (OMIM 235510) is in a subset of patients associated with mutations in the collagen- and calcium-binding EGF domains 1 (CCBE1 ) gene. CCBE1 and VEGF-C act at the same stage during embryonic lymphangiogenesis and their deficiency results in similar lymphatic defects. The mechanism behind the lymphatic phenotype caused by CCBE1 mutations is un- known. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential link between VEGF-C and CCBE1 that could contribute to the lymphatic phenotype. In this study, 293T cells were used to observe the effect of CCBE1 on VEGF-C pro- cessing. The co-transfection of constructs coding for CCBE1 and VEGF-C showed processing of the inactive pro-VEGF-C into the active, mature form. However, this processing was efficient only in 293T cells. When CCBE1 from 293T supernatant was purified, A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type 1 motif 3 (ADAMTS3) co-purified with CCBE1. The levels of pro-VEGF-C and active VEGF-C were monitored by immunoblotting or immunoprecipitating metabolically labeled supernatant with specific antibodies or receptors followed by autoradiography. The activity of the processed VEGF-C was verified by proliferation of Ba/F3 cells stably expressing VEGFR-3/EpoR or VEGFR-2/EpoR chimeras. Furthermore, a VEGFR-3 phosphorylation assay was performed in PAE (Porcine Aortic Endotheial) cells to study details of the CCBE1-mediated regulation of VEGF-C. We found that CCBE1 increases the proteolytic processing of pro-VEGF-C, thereby resulting in increased activity of VEGF-C. CCBE1 itself has no effect on VEGF-C activity but regulates VEGF-C by modulating the activity of the ADAMTS3 protease. We also found that both pro- and mature- VEGF-C can bind to VEGFR-3 but only mature form is able to induce VEGFR-3-mediated signaling. In addition to cleaving VEGF-C, ADAMTS3 was found to directly or indirectly mediate CCBE1 cleavage. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the ADAMTS3-processed VEGF-C confirmed that ADAMTS3 is the protease responsible for the activation of VEGF-C by 293 cells. Hence, we have identified a mechanism that regulates VEGF-C activity. This mechanism suggests the possible use of CCBE1 as a therapeutic means to treat diseases that involve the lymphatic system.

Trichoderma reesei, an anamorph of Hypocrea jecorina, is a filamentous fungus widely used for producing industrial enzymes. T. reesei is used for both endogenous and heterogenous protein production. The optimization of the production conditions and the effects of extracellular agents to T. reesei s production and secretion capacity are crucial for economically sustainable biotechnical production. The available carbon sources, most commonly different types of sugars, have a significant effect on the production and secretion of enzymes by T. reesei. Genetic modification of the pathways through which the fungi recognizes extracellular signals could bring advancements to industrial enzyme production. Because of T. reesei s potential and use as a production strain, the species is an interesting platform for genetic modifications that would enhance the production capacities. With the current methods the genome editing of T. reesei is however slow, and introducing multiple mutations to a single strain can take years. The aim of this study is to optimize the fairly new CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system for use in T. reesei. In the CRISPR/Cas9 method, a catalytically active Cas9 enzyme is bound to a specific locus of the genome, guided by a guide RNA and the Watson-Crick base pairing principle. Once in the RNA-guided locus, Cas9 introduces a double stranded break in the DNA, which can be repaired by the cells endogenous non-homologous end joining pathways. This repair is error prone and produces mutations to site of the double stranded break. A donor DNA is often introduced together with the Cas9 and guide RNA. This donor DNA includes sequence homology to the site of interest and allows for the use of the cells homologous repair pathways. In this case, the mutation can be better controlled, and for example the risk of chromosomal mutations is reduced. Currently the CRISPR/Cas9 system is widely used in mammalian cell studies and up to 100% mutation frequencies have been reported in yeast cells. In this study the method is optimized for use in T. reesei. To our best knowledge, the research community has not found an organism in which CRISPR/Cas9 would not function. The question mainly lies on what type of set up and component introduction is suitable for each cell type and research purpose. In this thesis, three putative and one already published genes believed to be involved in hexose sugar sensing will be deleted from a T. reesei production strain with the help of CRISPR/Cas9. The effect of these deletions will be assessed through studying the secretion and activity of endogenous cellulases with enzymatic assays. One sugar transporter that may play a part in glucose sensing was identified in this study. The deletion of this transporter caused a decrease in cellulase production and/or secretion. The three other transporters or sensors did not have a significant effect on cellulase production in spent grain extract and lactose or glucose media. It s possible that these genes are involved in the uptake and use of other carbon sources. The continuous expression of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in T. reesei proved difficult. In the continuous expression method at least one of the CRISPR/Cas9 components, the Cas9 protein or the guide RNA, is produced in the cells in vivo. Neither was achieved in this study. Instead, a fully synthetic method in which the Cas9 is transformed into the cells as a protein along with an in vitro produced guide RNA was set up and produced up to 1000 × higher mutation frequencies when compared to the traditional transformation method used for T. reesei. This study also demonstrates a simultaneous deletion of two genes in T. reesei. To the best of our knowledge, multiple simultaneous gene modifications have never been achieved in T. reesei.

The next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms create a large amount of sequence in short amount of time, when compared to first generation sequencers. An overview of the NGS platforms is provided with more in-depth look into Illumina Genome Analyzer II as that is used to create the data for the thesis. There were two main aims in this thesis. First, to create a pipeline which can be used to analyse genomic sequencing. Second, to use the pipeline to compare whole human exome capture methods from two manufacturers, Roche Nimblegen and Agilent. The pipeline is describe in detail in material and methods. All the inputs for the pipeline are described and examples shown. In the pipeline the given sequences are first aligned against the reference genome. Then various separate analysis is performed to retrieve variants and coverage of the sequencing. Supplementary results include paired-end anomalies, larger insertion and deletion polymorphisms and assembly of non-aligned sequences. The two capture methods are also described and changes to the manufacturers' recommended protocols are listed. Finally, the section has the options and various inputs used in the pipeline runs of the exome data. The results of the pipeline is a basic level of analysis of the sequencing as well as various graphs showing the quality of the run. All the output files intended for user are described. By using the results of the pipeline, the user can do more in-depth analysis as required by the project. When comparing the two exome capture methods, the Nimblegen capture was shown to be more efficient in capturing the CCDS exome. While the Agilent capture kit provided better one fold coverage over the exome, higher fold coverage (over 10 fold), which is required for reliable variant calling in nextgeneration sequencing, was better reached using the Nimblegen capture kit. Also, significantly fewer false positive paired-end anomalies were observed in the library created by using the Nimblegen capture.

Ewing sarcoma is an aggressive and poorly differentiated malignancy of bone and soft tissue. It primarily affects children, adolescents, and young adults, with a slight male predominance. It is characterized by a translocation between chromosomes 11 and 22 resulting in the EWSR1-FLI1fusion transcription factor. The aim of this study is to identify putative Ewing sarcoma target genes through an integrative analysis of three microarray data sets. Array comparative genomic hybridization is used to measure changes in DNA copy number, and analyzed to detect common chromosomal aberrations. mRNA and miRNA microarrays are used to measure expression of protein-coding and miRNA genes, and these results integrated with the copy number data. Chromosomal aberrations typically contain also bystanders in addition to the driving tumor suppressor and oncogenes, and integration with expression helps to identify the true targets. Correlation between expression of miRNAs and their predicted target mRNAs is also evaluated to assess the results of post-transcriptional miRNA regulation on mRNA levels. The highest frequencies of copy number gains were identified in chromosome 8, 1q, and X. Losses were most frequent in 9p21.3, which also showed an enrichment of copy number breakpoints relative to the rest of the genome. Copy number losses in 9p21.3 were found have a statistically significant effect on the expression of MTAP, but not on CDKN2A, which is a known tumor-suppressor in the same locus. MTAP was also down-regulated in the Ewing sarcoma cell lines compared to mesenchymal stem cells. Genes exhibiting elevated expression in association with copy number gains and up-regulation compared to the reference samples included DCAF7, ENO2, MTCP1, andSTK40. Differentially expressed miRNAs were detected by comparing Ewing sarcoma cell lines against mesenchymal stem cells. 21 up-regulated and 32 down-regulated miRNAs were identified, includingmiR-145, which has been previously linked to Ewing sarcoma. The EWSR1-FLI1 fusion gene represses miR-145, which in turn targets FLI1 forming a mutually repressive feedback loop. In addition higher expression linked to copy number gains and compared to mesenchymal stem cells, STK40 was also found to be a target of four different miRNAs that were all down-regulated in Ewing sarcoma cell lines compared to the reference samples. SLCO5A1 was identified as the only up-regulated gene within a frequently gained region in chromosome 8. This region was gained in over 90 % of the cell lines, and also with a higher frequency than the neighboring regions. In addition, SLCO5A1 was found to be a target of three miRNAs that were down-regulated compared to the mesenchymal stem cells.