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Integrated microfluidic bioprocessor for single-cell gene expression analysis.

ABSTRACT: An integrated microdevice is developed for the analysis of gene expression in single cells. The system captures a single cell, transcribes and amplifies the mRNA, and quantitatively analyzes the products of interest. The key components of the microdevice include integrated nanoliter metering pumps, a 200-nL RT-PCR reactor with a single-cell capture pad, and an affinity capture matrix for the purification and concentration of products that is coupled to a microfabricated capillary electrophoresis separation channel for product analysis. Efficient microchip integration of these processes enables the sensitive and quantitative examination of gene expression variation at the single-cell level. This microdevice is used to measure siRNA knockdown of the GAPDH gene in individual Jurkat cells. Single-cell measurements suggests the presence of 2 distinct populations of cells with moderate (approximately 50%) or complete (approximately 0%) silencing. This stochastic variation in gene expression and silencing within single cells is masked by conventional bulk measurements.

SUBMITTER: Toriello NM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2629289 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Integrated microfluidic bioprocessor for single-cell gene expression analysis.

Toriello Nicholas M NM Douglas Erik S ES Thaitrong Numrin N Hsiao Sonny C SC Francis Matthew B MB Bertozzi Carolyn R CR Mathies Richard A RA

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20081215 51

An integrated microdevice is developed for the analysis of gene expression in single cells. The system captures a single cell, transcribes and amplifies the mRNA, and quantitatively analyzes the products of interest. The key components of the microdevice include integrated nanoliter metering pumps, a 200-nL RT-PCR reactor with a single-cell capture pad, and an affinity capture matrix for the purification and concentration of products that is coupled to a microfabricated capillary electrophoresis ...[more]

PMID: 19075237

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Project description:Recombinant protein production is mostly realized with large-scale cultivations and monitored at the level of the entire population. Detailed knowledge of cell-to-cell variations with respect to cellular growth and product formation is limited, even though phenotypic heterogeneity may distinctly hamper overall production yields, especially for toxic or difficult-to-express proteins. Unraveling phenotypic heterogeneity is thus a key aspect in understanding and optimizing recombinant protein production in biotechnology and synthetic biology. Here, microfluidic single-cell analysis serves as the method of choice to investigate and unmask population heterogeneities in a dynamic and spatiotemporal fashion. In this study, we report on comparative microfluidic single-cell analyses of commonly used E. coli expression systems to uncover system-inherent specifications in the synthetic M9CA growth medium. To this end, the PT7lac/LacI, the PBAD/AraC and the Pm/XylS system were systematically analyzed in order to gain detailed insights into variations of growth behavior and expression phenotypes and thus to uncover individual strengths and deficiencies at the single-cell level. Specifically, we evaluated the impact of different system-specific inducers, inducer concentrations as well as genetic modifications that affect inducer-uptake and regulation of target gene expression on responsiveness and phenotypic heterogeneity. Interestingly, the most frequently applied expression system based on E. coli strain BL21(DE3) clearly fell behind with respect to expression homogeneity and robustness of growth. Moreover, both the choice of inducer and the presence of inducer uptake systems proved crucial for phenotypic heterogeneity. Conclusively, microfluidic evaluation of different inducible E. coli expression systems and setups identified the modified lacY-deficient PT7lac/LacI as well as the Pm/XylS system with conventional m-toluic acid induction as key players for precise and robust triggering of bacterial gene expression in E. coli in a homogeneous fashion.

Dataset Information

Integrated microfluidic bioprocessor for single-cell gene expression analysis.

Publications

Integrated microfluidic bioprocessor for single-cell gene expression analysis.

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