ABSTRACT
CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) is a burgeoning technology for programmable gene activation, but its potential for tissue regeneration has yet to be fully explored. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can differentiate into osteogenic or adipogenic pathways, which are governed by the Wnt (Wingless-related integration site) signaling cascade. To promote BMSC differentiation toward osteogenesis and improve calvarial bone healing by BMSCs, we harnessed a highly efficient hybrid baculovirus vector for gene delivery and exploited a synergistic activation mediator (SAM)-based CRISPRa system to activate Wnt10b (that triggers the canonical Wnt pathway) and forkhead c2 (Foxc2) (that elicits the noncanonical Wnt pathway) in BMSCs. We constructed a Bac-CRISPRa vector to deliver the SAM-based CRISPRa system into rat BMSCs. We showed that Bac-CRISPRa enabled CRISPRa delivery and potently activated endogenous Wnt10b and Foxc2 expression in BMSCs for >14 days. Activation of Wnt10b or Foxc2 alone was sufficient to promote osteogenesis and repress adipogenesis in vitro. Furthermore, the robust and prolonged coactivation of both Wnt10b and Foxc2 additively enhanced osteogenic differentiation while inhibiting adipogenic differentiation of BMSCs. The CRISPRa-engineered BMSCs with activated Wnt10b and Foxc2 remarkably improved the calvarial bone healing after implantation into the critical-sized calvarial defects in rats. These data implicate the potentials of CRISPRa technology for bone tissue regeneration.
Subject(s)
Bone Regeneration/genetics , Forkhead Transcription Factors/genetics , Mesenchymal Stem Cells/metabolism , Osteogenesis/genetics , Transcriptional Activation , Wnt Proteins/genetics , Adipogenesis , Animals , Calcification, Physiologic , Calcium/metabolism , Cell Differentiation/genetics , Cells, Cultured , Rats , Skull/diagnostic imaging , Skull/metabolism , Wnt Signaling Pathway , X-Ray MicrotomographyABSTRACT
From the aerial part of Boerhaavia erecta L., three new rotenoids (3, 8, 10) and two new coumaronochromonoids (6, 11) were isolated, together with ten known compounds. The structure of the new compounds was established by one dimensional (1D)- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy, as well as high resolution-electrospray ionization (HR-ESI)-MS analysis. The absolute configuration of compound 11 was determined by UV circular dichroism spectroscopy. Compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against HeLa (human epithelial carcinoma), NCI-H460 (human lung cancer) and MCF-7 (human breast cancer) cell lines at the concentration of 100 µg/mL. Rotenoids 3, 4 and 5 showed a strong cytotoxic activity against HeLa cell line and rotenoids 5 and 8 showed good activity against MCF-7 cell line.
