Biomedical subjects

Yuanyuan Shi

Publications and source records attributed to Yuanyuan Shi.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Discovery and Engineering of a Rat Endogenous Retrovirus Reverse Transcriptase for Efficient Prime Editing.

CRISPR-based prime editors (PEs) install precise edits into genomic DNA without generating double-strand breaks. Their editing efficiency is highly dependent on reverse transcriptases (RTs), but efficient RT candidates remain limited. Here, we identified 19 novel active RTs by screening 558 candidates. Among them, RERV-RT, derived from Rattus norvegicus, exhibited the highest activity. Through structure-guided engineering and deep mutational scanning, we developed an optimized variant, enRERV-RT, which outperforms conventional M-MLV-RT-based PE systems by 1.20-fold in mammalian and plant cells, and by 1.88-fold at hard-to-edit loci, while enabling precise multiplex editing of functionally relevant genes. Additionally, we developed a high-throughput platform, TRAP-seq-PE, to systematically evaluate prime editor performance. Across diverse mutation types, we found that PE systems based on enRERV-RT exhibited higher editing efficiencies than those based on M-MLV-RT. Collectively, our work establishes a versatile, high-efficiency PE system, thereby facilitating advances in clinical gene therapy and precise crop breeding.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Glucosamine-induced endoplasmic reticulum dysfunction is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis in a hyperglycemic mouse model.

Diabetes is a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke; however, the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which diabetes contributes to the development of vascular disease are not fully understood. Our previous studies demonstrated that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-inducing agents, including homocysteine, promote lipid accumulation and activate inflammatory pathways-the hallmark features of atherosclerosis. We hypothesize that the accumulation of intracellular glucosamine observed in diabetes may also promote atherogenesis via a mechanism that involves ER stress. In support of this theory, we demonstrate that glucosamine can induce ER stress in cell types relevant to the development of atherosclerosis, including human aortic smooth muscle cells, monocytes, and hepatocytes. Furthermore, we show that glucosamine-induced ER stress dysregulates lipid metabolism, leading to the accumulation of cholesterol in cultured cells. To examine the relevance of the ER stress pathway in vivo, we used a streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemic apolipoprotein E-deficient mouse model of atherosclerosis. Using molecular biological and histological techniques, we show that hyperglycemia is associated with tissue-specific ER stress, hepatic steatosis, and accelerated atherosclerosis. This novel mechanism may not only explain how diabetes and hyperglycemia promote atherosclerosis, but also provide a potential new target for therapeutic intervention.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Valproate protects cells from ER stress-induced lipid accumulation and apoptosis by inhibiting glycogen synthase kinase-3.

A wide range of agents and conditions are known to disrupt the ability of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to fold proteins properly, resulting in the onset of ER dysfunction/stress. We and others have shown that ER stress can induce intracellular lipid accumulation through the activation of the sterol responsive element binding proteins (SREBPs) and initiate programmed cell death by activation of caspases. It has been suggested that ER stress-induced lipid accumulation and cell death play a role in the pathogenesis of disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type-1 diabetes mellitus and hepatic steatosis. Here we show that exposure of HepG2 cells to the branch chain fatty acid, valproate, increases cellular resistance to ER stress-induced dysfunction. Two distinctly different potential mechanisms for this protective effect were investigated. We show that exposure to valproate increases the expression of chaperones that assist in the folding of proteins in the ER including GRP78/BiP, GRP94, PDI and calreticulin as well as the cytosolic chaperone, HSP70. However, exposure of HepG2 cells to valproate does not decrease the apparent ER stress response in cells challenged with tunicamycin, A23187 or glucosamine, suggesting that valproate-conferred protection occurs downstream of ER dysfunction. Finally, we demonstrate that valproate directly inhibits the glycogen synthase kinases (GSK)-3alpha/beta. The ability of lithium, another inhibitor of GSK3alpha/beta to protect cells from ER stress-induced lipid accumulation suggests that GSK3 plays a central role in signaling downstream effects of ER stress. Strategies to protect cells from agents/conditions that induce ER stress may have potential in the treatment of the growing number of diseases and disorders linked to ER dysfunction.

Apoptosis↗