Summary

Functionele klonen behulp van een<em> Xenopus</em> Eicel Expression System

Published: January 30, 2016
doi:

Summary

We describe a Xenopus oocyte and animal cap system for the expression cloning of genes capable of inducing a response in competent ectoderm, and discuss techniques for the subsequent analysis of such genes. This system is useful in the functional identification of a wide range of gene products.

Abstract

Identification of genes responsible for embryonic induction poses a number of challenges; to name a few, secreted molecules of interest may be low in abundance, may not be secreted but tethered to the signaling cell(s), or may require the presence of binding partners or upstream regulatory molecules. Thus in a search for gene products capable of eliciting an early lens-inductive response in competent ectoderm, we utilized an expression cloning system that would allow identification of paracrine or juxtacrine factors as well as transcriptional or other regulatory proteins. Pools of mRNA were injected into Xenopus oocytes, and responding tissue placed directly on the oocytes and co-cultured. Following functional cloning of ldb1 from a neural plate stage cDNA library based on its ability to elicit the expression of the early lens placode marker foxe3 in lens-competent animal cap ectoderm, we characterized the mRNA expression pattern, and assayed developmental progression following overexpression or knockdown of ldb1. This system is suitable in a very wide variety of contexts where identification of an inducer or its upstream regulatory molecules is sought using a functional response in competent tissue.

Introduction

Forward genetic approaches to identify genes of interest through their function or loss-of-function1,2 are an integral part of understanding complex patterning events in development. Coupled with powerful reverse genetic techniques available to an ever-widening array of systems and researchers3-5, it is now possible to identify genes with a key functional role in a pathway and then elucidate that function at the cellular level and in interaction with other gene products. One approach to functionally identifying genes of interest that has yielded many key findings in the past is expression cloning6,7.

Our recent aim8 was to identify early lens-inductive factors, since it has been demonstrated that initial steps in the vertebrate lens-inductive process occur as early as gastrula stages. To that end, we used the transiently lens-competent9 animal cap ectoderm (stage 11-11.510) of Xenopus embryos as responding tissue for induction, and the stage VI Xenopus oocyte as a source of production for the inducing factors.

The following protocol builds on the expression cloning and sib selection protocols of Smith and Harland6,7, also successfully used by others11-13. In our oocyte expression system (first utilized for production of inducing factors by Lustig and Kirschner14), pools of injected transcripts capable of directly or indirectly causing the oocytes to produce factors that elicit a lens-inductive response in animal cap ectoderm are selected for and identified. Since the system is useful for expressing secreted inducing molecules directly (oocyte-injected INHBB mRNA causes mesoderm induction in mesoderm-competent animal cap ectoderm8), we originally expected the screening procedure to be useful chiefly for identification of paracrine factors. However, since we identified a nuclear factor in our screen (ldb18), it is clear that the system can be used to identify a wide variety of molecules such as transcriptional or translational regulatory factors, miRNAs, cofactors, or juxtacrine factors.

Protocol

Alle experimentele procedures werden goedgekeurd door de Universiteit van Virginia Institutional Animal Care en gebruik Comite. Opmerking: Figuur 1 toont een schematisch overzicht van de experimentele procedures. 1. Bereiding van eicellen Pre-prime X. laevis vrouwen met 150 U van drachtige merrie Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG) ongeveer een week van tevoren van eicel isolatie. Injecteer 1 ml 150 U / ml PMSG in dorsa…

Representative Results

In reactie op expressie van mRNA geïnjecteerd in oöcyten, reageert dierlijk cap weefsel werd onderzocht op expressie van otx2 door in situ hybridisatie (Figuur 2 en Tabel 1) otx2 wordt uitgedrukt in de vermoedelijke lens ectoderm (PLE) van neurale buis sluiting door lens placode verdikking 19. Aangezien otx2 zich ook in de voorste neurale ectoderm als niet-neurale head ectoderm buiten de PLE wordt geassocieerd met zowel ne…

Discussion

De hier beschreven methode voor de functionele klonering van genen kan induceren reaktie bevoegde ectoderm kan worden gebruikt om een ​​breed scala van genproducten te identificeren. Deze methode breidt uit op het verleden door het combineren van werk-tissue-inducerende assays met expressie kloontechnieken. We maken gebruik van de metabole routes van de Xenopus oöcyt als bron van productie inducerende factoren, direct of indirect volgende RNA injectie. Dit, in combinatie met het gebruik van vastgestelde we…

Disclosures

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a Professional Development Grant to C.Z.P. from the Shepherd University Foundation. The authors wish to thank Brett Zirkle and Malia Deshotel for helpful discussions on the protocols, and Dr. Carol Hurney for generous assistance.

Materials

12/101 Antibody Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank 12/101 Monoclonal antibody for detection of muscle tissue
20X SSC Buffer Sigma S6639 for ISH
Acetic anhydride Sigma A6404 for ISH
Anti-Dig-AP Roche 11093274910 for ISH
Aurum Plasmid Mini Kit Bio-Rad 732-6400 Plasmid DNA purification
Blocking Reagent Roche 11096176001 for ISH
BM Purple Roche 11442074001 for ISH
Boekel Hybridization Oven Fisher Scientific 13-245-121 for ISH
Bouin's Solution Sigma HT10132 for ISH
BSA Sigma A9647 for OCM
CHAPS Sigma C3023 for ISH
Collagenase A Roche 10103578001 Defolliculation of oocytes
Cysteine Sigma C121800 Dejelly embryos
DEPC-H2O Fisher Scientific BP5611 for ISH
Dig-RNA Labeling Mix Roche 11277073910 for ISH probes
Dumont #5 forceps World Precision Instruments 500233 for Vitelline envelope removal
Ethyl 3-aminobenzoate Sigma A5040 MS222 anesthetic
Ficoll PM 400 Sigma F4375 for Injection media
Formamide Sigma F9037 for ISH
Gentamicin sulfate Sigma G1914 for OCM
Glass capillaries World Precision Instruments 4878 3.5" long, I,D, 0.530mm
Glass sample vials Fisher Scientific 06-408B for ISH
Hair loop Hair affixed in pasteur pipette for tissue manipulation
Heparin sodium salt Sigma H4784 for ISH
Injector Nanoliter 2010 World Precision Instruments Nanoliter 2010 Microprocessor-controlled microinjector
Instant Ocean Carolina 972433 Aquarium Salt for frog recovery
IRBG XGC Xenopus verified full-length cam cDNA Source Bioscience 989_IRBG cDNA library 
LB Agar plates with 100 µg/mL Ampicillin Teknova L5004 150mm pre-poured LB-Amp plates for sib selection
LB Luria Broth Teknova L8650 LB for collecting colonies in sib selection from plates and dilution of cultures
Magnetic mRNA Isolation Kit New England BioLabs S1550S for isolation of poly(A)-enriched RNA
Maleic Acid Sigma M0375 for ISH
Manual Microfil Micromanipulator World Precision Instruments M3310R Manual micromanipulator
Nutating Mixer Fisher Scientific 22-363-152 Rocker for ISH
Permoplast Nasco SB33495M Clay for injection and dissection dishes
Phosphate Buffered Saline Sigma P5368 for ISH
PMSG Sigma G4877 to stimulate oocyte development
Polyvinylpyrrolidone Sigma PVP40 for ISH
Programmable Puller World Precision Instruments PUL-1000 Micropipette needle puller
Proteinase K Sigma P6556 for ISH
pTnT Vector Promega L5610 cDNA library construction
Riboprobe Combination System Promega P1450 in vitro transcription
Superscript Full Length cDNA Library Construction Kit Life Technologies 18248013 kit for cDNA library construction
Sutures, 3-0 silk Fisher Scientific 19-037-516 Suture thread and needle for post-oocyte removal
Torula RNA Sigma R3629 for ISH
Triethanolamine Sigma T1502 for ISH
Tween 20 Sigma P9416 for ISH
Universal RiboClone cDNA Synthesis System Promega C4360 alternative kit for cDNA library construction
Xenopus Full ORF Entry Clones – ORFeome Collaboration Source Bioscience 5055_XenORFeome ORFeome Clones
XL2-Blue Ultracompetent Cells Agilent Technologies 200150 cells for transformation of cDNA library

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Cite This Article
Plautz, C. Z., Williams, H. C., Grainger, R. M. Functional Cloning Using a Xenopus Oocyte Expression System. J. Vis. Exp. (107), e53518, doi:10.3791/53518 (2016).

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