The CHO miRNA Transcriptome - MicroRNAs as Tools in Biopharmaceutical Production - page 49

Chapter 4
The CHO miRNA Transcriptome

Matthias Hackl, Nicole Borth and Johannes Grillari

Abstract After the initial identification of microRNAs (miRNAs) almost 20 years
ago (Lee et al, RNA 14(1): 35-42, 1993; Wightman et al, Cell 75(5): 855-862, 1993),
research on the functional relevance of this class of small non-coding RNAs has
increased exponentially, especially during the last 15 years. Today the importance of
miRNAs as an additional layer in the regulation of gene expression is well appreciated
and has established miRNAs as important research targets in virtually every area of
cell biology from organism development (Alvarez-Garcia and Miska, Development
132(21): 4653-4662, 2005) to disease (Hammond, Curr Opin Genet Dev 16(1): 4-9,
2006) and cell death (Vecchione and Croce, Endocr-Rel Cancer 17(1): F37-50,
2010).
While several hundred miRNAs have been reported for human, murine and other
mammalian species (Griffiths-Jones, Current Protocols in Bioinformatics 12.9.1-
10, 2010), little attention has been attributed to miRNAs in the Chinese hamster,
or the most widely used Chinese hamster derived cell line—Chinese hamster ovary
(CHO) cells until recently. This is surprising, given the fact that miRNAs are known
to orchestrate complex gene expression networks, thereby acting amidst important
cellular networks that for example drive cell growth and survival and are consequently
also of profound interest for the CHO research community, which is trying to adapt
the cellular phenotype to the needs of modern bioprocesses.
Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to (i) provide a general overview on miRNA
expression in mammalian cells; introduce the reader to potential applications of
miRNAs in bioprocessing, (ii) to summarize the current knowledge about the miRNA
transcriptome in CHO cells and (iii) to provide a perspective to the reader where
this knowledge needs to be expanded so that future applications of miRNAs as
bioprocessing tools will become feasible.

J. Grillari ( ) N. Borth

Department of Biotechnology, BOKU University Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
e-mail: [e-mail]
N. Borth
ACIB Austrian Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Muthgasse 11, 1190 Vienna, Austria

· M. Hackl ·