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Genome Res. 13:2341-2347, 2003 ©2003 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; ISSN 1088-9051/03 $5.00 Methods RNAi Microarray Analysis in Cultured Mammalian Cells1 Cancer Drug Development Laboratory, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878, USA 2 Cancer Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA 3 Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA 4 Department of Computer Engineering and Industrial Automation, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13081-970, Brazil 5 Department of Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA 6 Center for Information Technology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA 7 Medical Biotechnology Group, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and University of Turku, FIN-20521 Turku, Finland
RNA interference (RNAi) mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) is a powerful new tool for analyzing gene knockdown phenotypes in living mammalian cells. To facilitate large-scale, high-throughput functional genomics studies using RNAi, we have developed a microarray-based technology for highly parallel analysis. Specifically, siRNAs in a transfection matrix were first arrayed on glass slides, overlaid with a monolayer of adherent cells, incubated to allow reverse transfection, and assessed for the effects of gene silencing by digital image analysis at a single cell level. Validation experiments with HeLa cells stably expressing GFP showed spatially confined, sequence-specific, time- and dose-dependent inhibition of green fluorescence for those cells growing directly on microspots containing siRNA targeting the GFP sequence. Microarray-based siRNA transfections analyzed with a custom-made quantitative image analysis system produced results that were identical to those from traditional well-based transfection, quantified by flow cytometry. Finally, to integrate experimental details, image analysis, data display, and data archiving, we developed a prototype information management system for high-throughput cell-based analyses. In summary, this RNAi microarray platform, together with ongoing efforts to develop large-scale human siRNA libraries, should facilitate genomic-scale cell-based analyses of gene function.
Genomic sequencing and gene expression profiling have generated and continue to generate extensive information on the structure, sequence variation, and expression levels of human genes. However, high-throughput methods for investigating the significance of human genes in specific cell functions are not available at present (Mousses et al. 2002 80 bp) has been applied in large-scale studies to generate parallel "somatic knockdowns" for the functional analysis of thousands of genes (Fraser et al. 2000 500 genes with no previous known function (Fraser et al. 2000
In mammalian cells, shorter synthetic 20-23-nt dsRNA molecules or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs; Tuschl et al. 1999
To test if it is possible to achieve measurable RNAi-induced gene knockdowns and phenotypes in mammalian cells on a microarray platform, we arrayed siRNAs corresponding to the enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) gene (egfp) on microscope slides, and plated HeLa cells permanently expressing a destabilized version of eGFP (HeLa/d2eGFP cells) on top of the slides. Figure 1 describes the RNAi microarray process (Fig. 1A), and shows the cellular uptake, "reverse transfection" (Ziauddin and Sabatini 2001
The assessment of the functional effects of RNAi in a microarray format requires quantitative image analysis with single-cell resolution for thousands of array elements. Conventional microarray laser scanners have insufficient resolution (maximum resolution of 5 µm) for the visualization of cellular and subcellular details. We therefore developed an automated, high-resolution, microscope-based digital image acquisition system for RNAi microarrays as well as custom algorithms for quantitative image analysis. Three images for three different fluorescent channels were acquired from one area within each microarray element/spot. The blue channel was used for DAPI counterstaining (cell enumeration and defining the nuclear compartment), the green for a phenotypic marker (such as for eGFP expression in this study), and the red channel for a second marker (such as another phenotypic marker or uptake of rhodamine-tagged siRNAs in this study). The population of cells in the fluorescent image was segmented to identify all the individual cell areas, and the images were analyzed to extract multiple parameters from each individual cell area (including the minimum, maximum, mean, median, and total fluorescence intensity; see Methods and Supplemental Material for additional details). Separate extraction and quantification of nuclear and cytoplasmic staining was also developed based on segmentation of the nuclear area. Summary statistics for these parameters were calculated for all the cells in each image from an array element. A pilot version of an information management system was created to integrate a wide range of information and data (Fig. 2). This Web-based database warehoused and helped to manage images from each spot and various levels of data including the experimental conditions and assays in each fluorescent channel, siRNA sequence contained in each microarray element, image archiving with file annotation (indicating, e.g., resolution, exposure time, and filter), image processing, segmentation and analysis, statistical analysis, and visualization of quantitative data (Fig. 2). Representative images, image processing, results from the statistical analysis of the data, and comparison from parallel experiments using flow cytometry data are shown in Figure 3 for two different siRNA microarray spots arrayed on the same microscope slide. The percentage of GFP-positive HeLa/d2eGFP cells declined from 79% (in the negative control spot) to 19% (egfp siRNA spot).
To demonstrate the sensitivity and specificity of RNAi microarray platform and quantitative image analysis, we conducted the following validation experiments. First, a significant time-dependent reduction in eGFP fluorescence was seen (p < 0.001) in spots containing the rh-egfp siRNA (Fig. 4A). Second, a modest effect of dose, consistent with previous observations by other methods (Caplen et al. 2001
The experiments described here have shown sequence-, time-, and dose-dependent inhibition of gene expression using a reverse transfection RNAi microarray. The RNAi microarray is flexible, robust, and has a higher capacity than presently available well-based platforms. Coupled with the cellular-level quantitative digital image analysis and the information management system developed here, this RNAi microarray technology has the potential to facilitate and accelerate the screening of the emerging genome-scale siRNA libraries for phenotypic effects of gene silencing in cultured mammalian cells. One of the key advantages of the RNAi microarray for genome-scale screening is that it permits miniaturization far beyond what is physically possible in present well-based systems. At present, most cell-culture-based assays of gene function make use of 6-, 12-, 24-, or 96-well plate formats. Although RNAi experiments can be conducted in a 384-well plate format, a "wellless" microarray platform will be significantly more effective. Even though the size and density of the spots are limited by the need to have at least several dozens if not hundreds of cells on each spot, it should be feasible to array and analyze as many as 5000 to 10,000 individual siRNAs spots per slide. In these pilot experiments, we used spots that were 100-700 µm in diameter. Another advantage of the array-based miniaturization is the reduction in reagent costs. In particular, chemically synthesized siRNAs are expensive and are produced in relatively small quantities. We estimate that at least 50 times less siRNA can be used in a microspot on an RNAi microarray compared with experiments in a typical 96-well plate. The RNAi microarray format will also reduce the cost of the phenotypic assays because only a single microscope slide needs to be subjected to analysis. The well-less nature of the platform also allows for improving the level of uniformity in the experimental culturing conditions and assay conditions, because all processes take place on the same surface. In this study, we used a fluorescent endpoint, but any assay that can be conducted on cells growing on a glass slide can be applied to the RNAi microarray. Additional means of assaying mRNA, protein, and other biomolecules include chemiluminescent, colorimetric, or radioactive detection. This should enable analysis of RNAi knockdowns using a wide range of molecular and phenotypic endpoints such as toxicity, differentiation, proliferation, and cell cycle effects in fixed or live cells. These types of assays would be used to directly evaluate gene function. For example, gene silencing resulting in cytotoxicity, as assayed by detecting and quantifying changes in cell number, cell morphology, as well as more specific markers of cell death, could lead to the identification of genes with a functional role in cell survival. To achieve measurable and quantitative phenotypes in a microarray format, it was necessary to overcome a number of technical problems. These included optimizing the conditions required for efficient transfection, while retaining cell attachment and restricting the lateral spread of the siRNA-lipid complex. A limitation intrinsic to the RNAi microarray platform is that only adherent cells can be used. As with any other platform using cationic lipid agents for transfection of siRNAs, this RNAi microarray system has the disadvantage that the specific agents and conditions for transfection may be very cell-type-specific, and thus optimization of the formulation may be required for each cell type. The lipid choice in this study was based on optimization experiments with the same cell line using traditional plate-based transfection. For optimization on glass slides, multiple parameters including dose of lipid and ratio of lipid to siRNA were also evaluated for their effect on transfection from printed spots. The protocol presented was the most consistent for maximal transfection efficiency off the glass slide in the HeLa cell line used in this study. Further development of more efficient transfection systems and polymers with suitable diffusion characteristics could potentially improve this technology. In addition, procedures such as freeze drying or desiccation could be used to increase the potential for long-term storage of RNAi microarray slides. To enable the analysis of the effects of gene silencing, we developed image analysis tools that resolved phenotypic changes at a single cell (and even subcellular) level. Furthermore, a prototype information management system was developed that enabled storage and analysis of potentially hundreds of gigabytes of images for each experiment. The system was designed with a Web-based interface, with capabilities for tracking experimental data, image uploading, algorithms for off-line image analysis, histogram data display, and statistical analyses, as well as tracking of data on a cell-by-cell, image-by-image, and microarray spot-by-spot basis. This kind of sophisticated infrastructure will be needed for future large-scale experimentation, whereas most laboratories can begin analyses with regular quantitative image analysis systems. Our information management prototype illustrates the challenges involved in the development of capabilities for processing, archiving, analyzing, and integrating image-based data of cell biological experiments in a genomic scale. Such online, Web-based database capabilities will be required for integrating molecular databases with phenotypic and morphological information of cell functions. In conclusion, we have developed and validated RNAi microarray technology for high-throughput cellular analysis of gene function and demonstrated its capabilities in measuring the effects of transient gene silencing mediated by siRNAs. The RNAi microarray platform is flexible and expandable for parallel RNAi-mediated functional characterization of genes on a genome scale when combined with automated digital image analysis systems and an integrated information management system as described here. We expect that large human siRNA libraries akin to those developed for C. elegans and Drosophila will soon be widely available, making genomic-scale analyses of gene functions possible in living mammalian cells using the RNAi microarray platform.
Nucleic Acids Single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) oligonucleotides were chemically synthesized and HPLC-purified by Xeragon Inc. Duplex RNA molecules were generated as previously described (Caplen et al. 2001
Cell Culture
RNAi Microarray
Imaging, Quantification, Database, and Statistical Analysis
We thank Stacie Anderson and Martha Kirby for assistance with the sorting of the HeLa/d2EGFP cells, Ken Pratt (Zeiss) for assistance in coding the image acquisition and autofocusing routines, Darryl Leja for assistance with graphics, and Max Muenke for useful discussion and encouragement. The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
8 These authors contributed equally to this work.
9 Present address: Institute of Signal Processing, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland.
10 Present address: Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
11 Corresponding author. [Supplemental Material is available online at www.genome.org.] Article and publication are at http://www.genome.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gr.1478703.
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http://genetics.med.harvard.edu/~perrimon/RNAiGenomeProject.html; RNAi Genome Project.
Received May 19, 2003;
accepted in revised format August 4, 2003.
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