An Adaptable Platform for Directed Evolution in Human Cells
The discovery and optimization of biomolecules that reliably function in metazoan cells is imperative for both the study of basic biology and the treatment of disease. We describe the development, characterization, and proof-of-concept application of a platform for directed evolution of diverse biom...
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| Published in: | Journal of the American Chemical Society Vol. 140; no. 51; pp. 18093 - 18103 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
United States
American Chemical Society
26-12-2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | The discovery and optimization of biomolecules that reliably function in metazoan cells is imperative for both the study of basic biology and the treatment of disease. We describe the development, characterization, and proof-of-concept application of a platform for directed evolution of diverse biomolecules of interest (BOIs) directly in human cells. The platform relies on a custom-designed adenovirus variant lacking multiple genes, including the essential DNA polymerase and protease genes, features that allow us to evolve BOIs encoded by genes as large as 7 kb while attaining the mutation rates and enforcing the selection pressure required for successful directed evolution. High mutagenesis rates are continuously attained by trans-complementation of a newly engineered, highly error-prone form of the adenoviral polymerase. Selection pressure that couples desired BOI functions to adenoviral propagation is achieved by linking the functionality of the encoded BOI to the production of adenoviral protease activity by the human cell. The dynamic range for directed evolution can be enhanced to several orders of magnitude via application of a small-molecule adenoviral protease inhibitor to modulate selection pressure during directed evolution experiments. This platform makes it possible, in principle, to evolve any biomolecule activity that can be coupled to adenoviral protease expression or activation by simply serially passaging adenoviral populations carrying the BOI. As proof-of-concept, we use the platform to evolve, directly in the human cell environment, several transcription factor variants that maintain high levels of function while gaining resistance to a small-molecule inhibitor. We anticipate that this platform will substantially expand the repertoire of biomolecules that can be reliably and robustly engineered for both research and therapeutic applications in metazoan systems. |
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| Bibliography: | Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson, Leiden, The Netherlands The manuscript was written through contributions of all authors. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript. These authors contributed equally. Author Contributions Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA |
| ISSN: | 0002-7863 1520-5126 |
| DOI: | 10.1021/jacs.8b10937 |