【大师讲坛】第268期:基因打靶的诞生&ESCRT通路在HIV出芽及细胞生物学中的作用
基因打靶(gene targeting)的诞生,标志着分子遗传学从描述性研究进入可定向改造基因功能的时代。上世纪八十年代,马里奥·卡佩奇教授通过在哺乳动物胚胎干细胞中实现同源重组,首次建立了在基因组特定位点进行精准修饰的技术。这一突破使科学家能够“敲除”或“敲入”特定基因,从而系统地研究其在发育、生理与疾病中的功能。该方法孕育了“敲除小鼠”模型,为人类遗传病、肿瘤和神经系统疾病研究奠定了基础,并推动了现代基因治疗与精准医学的发展。本报告将回顾基因打靶技术从概念到实现的科学历程,探讨其对生命科学与医学的深远影响。
Gene targeting marked the transition of molecular genetics from largely descriptive studies to an era of targeted engineering of gene function. In the 1980s, Professor Mario R. Capecchi achieved homologous recombination in mammalian embryonic stem cells, thereby establishing the first technology for precise modification at defined genomic loci. This breakthrough enabled scientists to knock out or knock in specific genes and to systematically interrogate their roles in development, physiology, and disease. The method gave rise to knockout mouse models, laid the foundation for research on human genetic disorders, cancer, and neurological diseases, and propelled the development of modern gene therapy and precision medicine. This lecture will retrace the scientific journey from concept to realization and explore the profound impact of gene targeting on the life sciences and medicine.
为了传播感染,人类免疫缺陷病毒(HIV)需形成具有包膜的球形颗粒,并通过质膜出芽释放。我们研究发现,HIV-1及其他逆转录病毒通过劫持宿主的内体分选转运(ESCRT)通路的活性实现出芽。我们与合作团队进一步研究了ESCRT通路在HIV出芽、细胞分裂及其他关键细胞功能中的作用,并解析了十余种不同ESCRT因子及复合体的三维结构。这些研究揭示了ESCRT组分如何组装、相互作用并识别病毒及泛素化蛋白,ESCRT-III亚基如何通过构象变化形成能够重塑细胞膜的纤丝状结构,以及ATP水解所释放的能量如何驱动膜重塑。
To spread infections, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) must form enveloped spherical particles that bud through the plasma membrane. We have demonstrated that HIV-1 and other retroviruses bud from cells by usurping the activity of the host Endosomal Sorting Pathway Required for Transport (ESCRT) pathway. We and our collaborators have also explored the functions of the ESCRT pathway in HIV budding, cell division and other cellular functions, and determined the three-dimensional structures of more than a dozen different ESCRT factors and complexes. This work has helped reveal how ESCRT components assemble, interact, and recognize viral and ubiquitylated proteins, how ESCRT-III subunits can change conformations and form filaments that remodel membranes, and how the energy of ATP hydrolysis is used to power membrane remodeling.
Mario R. Capecchi
美国国家科学院院士
2007年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖获得者