Antagonizing inactivated tumor suppressor genes and activated oncogenes by a versatile transgenesis system:...

A broad range of malignant diseases, such as mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), is associated with complex genomic alterations, demanding multimodal functional testing of candidate genes. To assess such candidate disease genes, we have developed a bidirectional targeted transgenesis tool, which allows well-controlled modulation of individual gene activities within a cellular MCL system. The engineered versatile transgenesis system permits functional analysis of virtually any candidate gene: for tumor suppressor genes by complementation via integration of respective genomic DNA or for oncogenes by inactivation via integrated shRNA coding plasmids. Complementation by genomic DNA ensures wild-type (WT) regulated gene expression, whereas genomic integration of shRNA coding inserts by an advanced RNAi-strategy mediates specific knock-down of gene expression. Site-specific genomic integration of an unmodified BAC, which contains the CDKN2A/B genes absent in the MCL model system, restored CDKN2A/B expression resulting in the inhibition of cell proliferation. CCND1, strongly overexpressed in the model system, was down-regulated via shRNA expression, again inhibiting proliferation. Notably, the presented site-specific shRNA-strategy circumvents interference by IFN-response induced when using other RNAi gene knock-down methods. In conclusion, we here demonstrate that adequate restoration of a range of different gene activities yields in a desired antiproliferative effect in MCL-derived cells. By antagonizing inactivated tumor suppressor genes or activated oncogenes, the presented approach can be readily used for the functional analysis of a broad range of disease-related genetic defects.