Rabbit Anti-RHOA monoclonal antibody, clone TS49-11

A fluorescence marker mOrange was inserted to the popular pLentiCrispr-V2 to create pLentiCrispr-V2-mOrange (V2mO) that contained both a puromycin selection and a fluorescent marker, making viral production and target transduction visible. Lentiviruses packaged with this plasmid and appropriate guide RNAs (gRNAs) successfully knocked out the genes RhoA, Gli1, and Gal3 in human gastric cancer cell lines. Cas9-gRNA editing efficiency could be estimated directly from Sanger electropherograms of short polymerase chain reaction products around the gRNA regions in Cas9-gRNA transduced cells. Single cloning of transduced target cell pools must be performed to establish stable knockout clones. Rescue of wildtype (RhoA and Gal3) and mutant (RhoA.Y42C) genes into knockout cells was successful only when cDNAs, where gRNAs bind, were modified by three nucleotides while the amino acid sequences remained unchanged. Stringent on-target CRISPR/Cas9 editing was observed in Gal3 gene, but not in RhoA gene since RhoA.Y42C already presented a nucleotide change in gRNA5 binding site. In summary, our improved strategy added these advantages: adding visual marker to the popular lentiviral system, monitoring lentiviral production and transduction efficiencies, cell-sorting Cas9+ cells in target cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, direct estimation of gene editing efficiency of target cell pools by short PCR electropherograms around gRNA binding sites, and successful rescue of wildtype and mutant genes in knockout cells, overcoming Cas9 editing by modifying cDNAs.

Granule cell dispersion (GCD) is a common pathological feature observed in the hippocampus of patients with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (MTLE). Pathomechanisms underlying GCD remain to be elucidated, but one hypothesis proposes aberrant reactivation of neurodevelopmental migratory pathways, possibly triggered by febrile seizures. This study aims to compare the proteomes of basal and dispersed granule cells in the hippocampus of eight MTLE patients with GCD to identify proteins that may mediate GCD in MTLE. Quantitative proteomics identified 1,882 proteins, of which 29% were found in basal granule cells only, 17% in dispersed only and 54% in both samples. Bioinformatics analyses revealed upregulated proteins in dispersed samples were involved in developmental cellular migratory processes, including cytoskeletal remodeling, axon guidance and signaling by Ras homologous (Rho) family of GTPases (P < 0.01). The expression of two Rho GTPases, RhoA and Rac1, was subsequently explored in immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization studies involving eighteen MTLE cases with or without GCD, and three normal post mortem cases. In cases with GCD, most dispersed granule cells in the outer-granular and molecular layers have an elongated soma and bipolar processes, with intense RhoA immunolabeling at opposite poles of the cell soma, while most granule cells in the basal granule cell layer were devoid of RhoA. A higher percentage of cells expressing RhoA was observed in cases with GCD than without GCD (P < 0.004). In GCD cases, the percentage of cells expressing RhoA was significantly higher in the inner molecular layer than the granule cell layer (P < 0.026), supporting proteomic findings. In situ hybridization studies using probes against RHOA and RAC1 mRNAs revealed fine peri- and nuclear puncta in granule cells of all cases. The density of cells expressing RHOA mRNAs was significantly higher in the inner molecular layer of cases with GCD than without GCD (P = 0.05). In summary, our study has found limited evidence for ongoing adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus of patients with MTLE, but evidence of differential dysmaturation between dispersed and basal granule cells has been demonstrated, and elevated expression of Rho GTPases in dispersed granule cells may contribute to the pathomechanisms underpinning GCD in MTLE.