1
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Sandler SE, Weckman NE, Yorke S, Das A, Chen K, Gutierrez R, Keyser UF. Sensing the DNA-mismatch tolerance of catalytically inactive Cas9 via barcoded DNA nanostructures in solid-state nanopores. Nat Biomed Eng 2024; 8:325-334. [PMID: 37550424 DOI: 10.1038/s41551-023-01078-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
Single-molecule quantification of the strength and sequence specificity of interactions between proteins and nucleic acids would facilitate the probing of protein-DNA binding. Here we show that binding events between the catalytically inactive Cas9 ribonucleoprotein and any pre-defined short sequence of double-stranded DNA can be identified by sensing changes in ionic current as suitably designed barcoded linear DNA nanostructures with Cas9-binding double-stranded DNA overhangs translocate through solid-state nanopores. We designed barcoded DNA nanostructures to study the relationships between DNA sequence and the DNA-binding specificity, DNA-binding efficiency and DNA-mismatch tolerance of Cas9 at the single-nucleotide level. Nanopore-based sensing of DNA-barcoded nanostructures may help to improve the design of efficient and specific ribonucleoproteins for biomedical applications, and could be developed into sensitive protein-sensing assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Sandler
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nicole E Weckman
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education & Practice, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Sarah Yorke
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK
| | - Akashaditya Das
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Kaikai Chen
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Ulrich F Keyser
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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2
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Bischof J, Hierl M, Koller U. Emerging Gene Therapeutics for Epidermolysis Bullosa under Development. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2243. [PMID: 38396920 PMCID: PMC10889532 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25042243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The monogenetic disease epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is characterised by the formation of extended blisters and lesions on the patient's skin upon minimal mechanical stress. Causal for this severe condition are genetic mutations in genes, leading to the functional impairment, reduction, or absence of the encoded protein within the skin's basement membrane zone connecting the epidermis to the underlying dermis. The major burden of affected families justifies the development of long-lasting and curative therapies operating at the genomic level. The landscape of causal therapies for EB is steadily expanding due to recent breakthroughs in the gene therapy field, providing promising outcomes for patients suffering from this severe disease. Currently, two gene therapeutic approaches show promise for EB. The clinically more advanced gene replacement strategy was successfully applied in severe EB forms, leading to a ground-breaking in vivo gene therapy product named beremagene geperpavec (B-VEC) recently approved from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition, the continuous innovations in both designer nucleases and gene editing technologies enable the efficient and potentially safe repair of mutations in EB in a potentially permanent manner, inspiring researchers in the field to define and reach new milestones in the therapy of EB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Bischof
- EB House Austria, Research Program for Molecular Therapy of Genodermatoses, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital of the Paracelsus Medical University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (J.B.); (M.H.)
| | - Markus Hierl
- EB House Austria, Research Program for Molecular Therapy of Genodermatoses, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital of the Paracelsus Medical University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (J.B.); (M.H.)
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Ulrich Koller
- EB House Austria, Research Program for Molecular Therapy of Genodermatoses, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital of the Paracelsus Medical University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (J.B.); (M.H.)
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3
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Davletshin AI, Matveeva AA, Bachurin SS, Karpov DS, Garbuz DG. Increasing the Activity of the High-Fidelity SpyCas9 Form in Yeast by Directed Mutagenesis of the PAM-Interacting Domain. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 25:444. [PMID: 38203615 PMCID: PMC10779060 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
CRISPR/Cas systems are used for genome editing, both in basic science and in biotechnology. However, CRISPR/Cas editors have several limitations, including insufficient specificity leading to "off-targets" and the dependence of activity on chromatin state. A number of highly specific Cas9 variants have now been obtained, but most of them are characterized by reduced activity on eukaryotic chromatin. We identified a spatial cluster of amino acid residues in the PAM-recognizing domain of Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9, whose mutations restore the activity of one of the highly specific forms of SpyCas9 without reducing its activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In addition, one of these new mutations also increases the efficiency of SpyCas9-mediated editing of a site localized on the stable nucleosome. The improved Cas9 variants we obtained, which are capable of editing hard-to-reach regions of the yeast genome, may help in both basic research and yeast biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Artem I. Davletshin
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (A.I.D.); (A.A.M.); (D.S.K.)
| | - Anna A. Matveeva
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (A.I.D.); (A.A.M.); (D.S.K.)
| | - Stanislav S. Bachurin
- FSBEI HE Rostov State Medical University, Ministry of Health, 344022 Rostov-on-Don, Russia;
| | - Dmitry S. Karpov
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (A.I.D.); (A.A.M.); (D.S.K.)
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - David G. Garbuz
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (A.I.D.); (A.A.M.); (D.S.K.)
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
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4
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Downs BM, Hoang TM, Cope L. Increasing the Capture Rate of Circulating Tumor DNA in Unaltered Plasma Using Passive Microfluidic Mixer Flow Cells. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:3225-3234. [PMID: 36811956 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c02919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
A limiting factor in using blood-based liquid biopsies for cancer detection is the volume of extracted blood required to capture a measurable number of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). To overcome this limitation, we developed a technology named the dCas9 capture system to capture ctDNA from unaltered flowing plasma, removing the need to extract the plasma from the body. This technology has provided the first opportunity to investigate whether microfluidic flow cell design can affect the capture of ctDNA in unaltered plasma. With inspiration from microfluidic mixer flow cells designed to capture circulating tumor cells and exosomes, we constructed four microfluidic mixer flow cells. Next, we investigated the effects of these flow cell designs and the flow rate on the rate of captured spiked-in BRAF T1799A (BRAFMut) ctDNA in unaltered flowing plasma using surface-immobilized dCas9. Once the optimal mass transfer rate of ctDNA, identified by the optimal ctDNA capture rate, was determined, we investigated whether the design of the microfluidic device, flow rate, flow time, and the number of spiked-in mutant DNA copies affected the rate of capture by the dCas9 capture system. We found that size modifications to the flow channel had no effect on the flow rate required to achieve the optimal capture rate of ctDNA. However, decreasing the size of the capture chamber decreased the flow rate required to achieve the optimal capture rate. Finally, we showed that, at the optimal capture rate, different microfluidic designs using different flow rates could capture DNA copies at a similar rate over time. In this study, the optimal capture rate of ctDNA in unaltered plasma was identified by adjusting the flow rate in each of the passive microfluidic mixer flow cells. However, further validation and optimization of the dCas9 capture system are required before it is ready to be used clinically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley M Downs
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, United States
| | - Tra-My Hoang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Leslie Cope
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, United States
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5
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Arora R, Bodak M, Penouty L, Hackman C, Ciaudo C. Sequestration of
LINE
‐1 in cytosolic aggregates by
MOV10
restricts retrotransposition. EMBO Rep 2022; 23:e54458. [PMID: 35856394 PMCID: PMC9442310 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202154458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rajika Arora
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich IMHS, Chair of RNAi and Genome Integrity Zurich Switzerland
| | - Maxime Bodak
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich IMHS, Chair of RNAi and Genome Integrity Zurich Switzerland
| | - Laura Penouty
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich IMHS, Chair of RNAi and Genome Integrity Zurich Switzerland
| | - Cindy Hackman
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich IMHS, Chair of RNAi and Genome Integrity Zurich Switzerland
| | - Constance Ciaudo
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich IMHS, Chair of RNAi and Genome Integrity Zurich Switzerland
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6
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Downs BM, Sukumar S. Capturing ctDNA from Unaltered Stationary and Flowing Plasma with dCas9. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:24113-24121. [PMID: 35603357 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c03186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Many studies have established that blood-based liquid biopsies can be used to detect cancer in its early stages. However, the limiting factor for early cancer detection is the volume of blood required to capture the small amount of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). An apheresis machine is a device that can draw whole blood, separate the blood components, and infuse the blood components back into the individual. This device provides the opportunity to screen large volumes of plasma without extracting it from the body. However, current DNA capture technologies require the plasma to be altered before the ctDNA can be captured. Our goal was to develop the first technology that can capture ctDNA from flowing unaltered plasma. To simulate cancer patient plasma, we spiked BRAF T1799A (BRAFMut) DNA into plasma from healthy individuals. We used catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9), guide RNA, and allele-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to capture and measure the number of captured BRAFMut DNA copies. We found that dCas9 captured BRAFMut alleles with equal efficiency at room temperature (25 °C) and body temperature (37 °C). Next, we showed that, in stationary unaltered plasma, dCas9 was as efficient in capturing BRAFMut as a commercial cell-free DNA (cfDNA) capture kit. However, in contrast to the cfDNA capture kit, dCas9 enriched BRAFMut by 1.8-3.3-fold. We then characterized the dCas9 capture system in laminar and turbulent flowing plasma. We showed that the capture rate using turbulent flow was greater than that in laminar flow and stationary plasma. With turbulent flow, the number of captured BRAFMut copies doubles with time (slope = -1.035 Ct) and is highly linear (R2 = 0.874). While we showed that the dCas9 capture system can capture ctDNA from unaltered flowing plasma, further optimization and validation of this technology is required before its clinical utility can be determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley M Downs
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, United States
| | - Saraswati Sukumar
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, United States
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7
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Allen D, Weiss LE, Saguy A, Rosenberg M, Iancu O, Matalon O, Lee C, Beider K, Nagler A, Shechtman Y, Hendel A. High-throughput Imaging of CRISPR- and Recombinant Adeno-associated Virus-induced DNA Damage Response in Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells. CRISPR J 2022; 5:80-94. [PMID: 35049367 PMCID: PMC8892977 DOI: 10.1089/crispr.2021.0128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas technology has revolutionized gene editing, but concerns remain due to its propensity for off-target interactions. This, combined with genotoxicity related to both CRISPR-Cas9-induced double-strand breaks and transgene delivery, poses a significant liability for clinical genome-editing applications. Current best practice is to optimize genome-editing parameters in preclinical studies. However, quantitative tools that measure off-target interactions and genotoxicity are costly and time-consuming, limiting the practicality of screening large numbers of potential genome-editing reagents and conditions. Here, we show that flow-based imaging facilitates DNA damage characterization of hundreds of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells per minute after treatment with CRISPR-Cas9 and recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 6. With our web-based platform that leverages deep learning for image analysis, we find that greater DNA damage response is observed for guide RNAs with higher genome-editing activity, differentiating even single on-target guide RNAs with different levels of off-target interactions. This work simplifies the characterization and screening process of genome-editing parameters toward enabling safer and more effective gene-therapy applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Allen
- Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Lucien E Weiss
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel.,Department of Engineering Physics, Polytechnique Montreal, Canada
| | - Alon Saguy
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel
| | - Michael Rosenberg
- Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Ortal Iancu
- Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Omri Matalon
- Arazi School of Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Ciaran Lee
- APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Katia Beider
- Division of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Arnon Nagler
- Division of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel.,Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yoav Shechtman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ayal Hendel
- Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
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8
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Lange V, Kappel K. CRISPR Gene-Therapy: A Critical Review of Ethical Concerns and a Proposal for Public Decision-Making. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS 2022. [DOI: 10.7202/1089787ar] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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9
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O’Geen H, Tomkova M, Combs JA, Tilley EK, Segal D. OUP accepted manuscript. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:3239-3253. [PMID: 35234927 PMCID: PMC8989539 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Marketa Tomkova
- Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | | | - Emma K Tilley
- Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - David J Segal
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 530 754 9134; Fax: +1 530 754 9658;
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10
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Ageely EA, Chilamkurthy R, Jana S, Abdullahu L, O'Reilly D, Jensik PJ, Damha MJ, Gagnon KT. Gene editing with CRISPR-Cas12a guides possessing ribose-modified pseudoknot handles. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6591. [PMID: 34782635 PMCID: PMC8593028 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26989-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas12a is a leading technology for development of model organisms, therapeutics, and diagnostics. These applications could benefit from chemical modifications that stabilize or tune enzyme properties. Here we chemically modify ribonucleotides of the AsCas12a CRISPR RNA 5' handle, a pseudoknot structure that mediates binding to Cas12a. Gene editing in human cells required retention of several native RNA residues corresponding to predicted 2'-hydroxyl contacts. Replacing these RNA residues with a variety of ribose-modified nucleotides revealed 2'-hydroxyl sensitivity. Modified 5' pseudoknots with as little as six out of nineteen RNA residues, with phosphorothioate linkages at remaining RNA positions, yielded heavily modified pseudoknots with robust cell-based editing. High trans activity was usually preserved with cis activity. We show that the 5' pseudoknot can tolerate near complete modification when design is guided by structural and chemical compatibility. Rules for modification of the 5' pseudoknot should accelerate therapeutic development and be valuable for CRISPR-Cas12a diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eman A Ageely
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
| | - Ramadevi Chilamkurthy
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
| | - Sunit Jana
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Daniel O'Reilly
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Philip J Jensik
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
| | - Masad J Damha
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Keith T Gagnon
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA.
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11
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Allen D, Rosenberg M, Hendel A. Using Synthetically Engineered Guide RNAs to Enhance CRISPR Genome Editing Systems in Mammalian Cells. Front Genome Ed 2021; 2:617910. [PMID: 34713240 PMCID: PMC8525374 DOI: 10.3389/fgeed.2020.617910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9 is quickly revolutionizing the way we approach gene therapy. CRISPR-Cas9 is a complexed, two-component system using a short guide RNA (gRNA) sequence to direct the Cas9 endonuclease to the target site. Modifying the gRNA independent of the Cas9 protein confers ease and flexibility to improve the CRISPR-Cas9 system as a genome-editing tool. gRNAs have been engineered to improve the CRISPR system's overall stability, specificity, safety, and versatility. gRNAs have been modified to increase their stability to guard against nuclease degradation, thereby enhancing their efficiency. Additionally, guide specificity has been improved by limiting off-target editing. Synthetic gRNA has been shown to ameliorate inflammatory signaling caused by the CRISPR system, thereby limiting immunogenicity and toxicity in edited mammalian cells. Furthermore, through conjugation with exogenous donor DNA, engineered gRNAs have been shown to improve homology-directed repair (HDR) efficiency by ensuring donor proximity to the edited site. Lastly, synthetic gRNAs attached to fluorescent labels have been developed to enable highly specific nuclear staining and imaging, enabling mechanistic studies of chromosomal dynamics and genomic mapping. Continued work on chemical modification and optimization of synthetic gRNAs will undoubtedly lead to clinical and therapeutic benefits and, ultimately, routinely performed CRISPR-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Allen
- Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Michael Rosenberg
- Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Ayal Hendel
- Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
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12
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Hernández-Juárez J, Rodríguez-Uribe G, Borooah S. Toward the Treatment of Inherited Diseases of the Retina Using CRISPR-Based Gene Editing. Front Med (Lausanne) 2021; 8:698521. [PMID: 34660621 PMCID: PMC8517184 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.698521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Inherited retinal dystrophies [IRDs] are a common cause of severe vision loss resulting from pathogenic genetic variants. The eye is an attractive target organ for testing clinical translational approaches in inherited diseases. This has been demonstrated by the approval of the first gene supplementation therapy to treat an autosomal recessive IRD, RPE65-linked Leber congenital amaurosis (type 2), 4 years ago. However, not all diseases are amenable for treatment using gene supplementation therapy, highlighting the need for alternative strategies to overcome the limitations of this supplementation therapeutic modality. Gene editing has become of increasing interest with the discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 platform. CRISPR-Cas9 offers several advantages over previous gene editing technologies as it facilitates targeted gene editing in an efficient, specific, and modifiable manner. Progress with CRISPR-Cas9 research now means that gene editing is a feasible strategy for the treatment of IRDs. This review will focus on the background of CRISPR-Cas9 and will stress the differences between gene editing using CRISPR-Cas9 and traditional gene supplementation therapy. Additionally, we will review research that has led to the first CRISPR-Cas9 trial for the treatment of CEP290-linked Leber congenital amaurosis (type 10), as well as outline future directions for CRISPR-Cas9 technology in the treatment of IRDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Hernández-Juárez
- Jacobs Retina Center, Shiley Eye Institute, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Genaro Rodríguez-Uribe
- Medicine and Psychology School, Autonomous University of Baja California, Tijuana, Mexico.,Department of Ocular Genetics and Research, CODET Vision Institute, Tijuana, Mexico
| | - Shyamanga Borooah
- Jacobs Retina Center, Shiley Eye Institute, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
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13
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Siew WS, Tang YQ, Kong CK, Goh BH, Zacchigna S, Dua K, Chellappan DK, Duangjai A, Saokaew S, Phisalprapa P, Yap WH. Harnessing the Potential of CRISPR/Cas in Atherosclerosis: Disease Modeling and Therapeutic Applications. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:8422. [PMID: 34445123 PMCID: PMC8395110 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22168422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Atherosclerosis represents one of the major causes of death globally. The high mortality rates and limitations of current therapeutic modalities have urged researchers to explore potential alternative therapies. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system is commonly deployed for investigating the genetic aspects of Atherosclerosis. Besides, advances in CRISPR/Cas system has led to extensive options for researchers to study the pathogenesis of this disease. The recent discovery of Cas9 variants, such as dCas9, Cas9n, and xCas9 have been established for various applications, including single base editing, regulation of gene expression, live-cell imaging, epigenetic modification, and genome landscaping. Meanwhile, other Cas proteins, such as Cas12 and Cas13, are gaining popularity for their applications in nucleic acid detection and single-base DNA/RNA modifications. To date, many studies have utilized the CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate disease models of atherosclerosis and identify potential molecular targets that are associated with atherosclerosis. These studies provided proof-of-concept evidence which have established the feasibility of implementing the CRISPR/Cas system in correcting disease-causing alleles. The CRISPR/Cas system holds great potential to be developed as a targeted treatment for patients who are suffering from atherosclerosis. This review highlights the advances in CRISPR/Cas systems and their applications in establishing pathogenetic and therapeutic role of specific genes in atherosclerosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Sheng Siew
- School of Biosciences, Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia; (W.S.S.); (Y.Q.T.)
| | - Yin Quan Tang
- School of Biosciences, Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia; (W.S.S.); (Y.Q.T.)
- Centre for Drug Discovery and Molecular Pharmacology (CDDMP), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (FHMS), Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia
| | - Chee Kei Kong
- Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;
| | - Bey-Hing Goh
- Biofunctional Molecule Exploratory (BMEX) Research Group, School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia;
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Serena Zacchigna
- Centre for Translational Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences and Cardiovascular Department, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Giuliano Isontina, Strada di Fiume 447, 34149 Trieste, Italy;
- International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), 34149 Trieste, Italy
| | - Kamal Dua
- Discipline of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia;
- Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Dinesh Kumar Chellappan
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University (IMU), Bukit Jalil 57000, Malaysia;
| | - Acharaporn Duangjai
- Unit of Excellence in Research and Product Development of Coffee, Division of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000, Thailand; (A.D.); (S.S.)
- Center of Health Outcomes Research and Therapeutic Safety (Cohorts), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000, Thailand
- Unit of Excellence on Clinical Outcomes Research and IntegratioN (UNICORN), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000, Thailand
| | - Surasak Saokaew
- Unit of Excellence in Research and Product Development of Coffee, Division of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000, Thailand; (A.D.); (S.S.)
- Center of Health Outcomes Research and Therapeutic Safety (Cohorts), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000, Thailand
- Unit of Excellence on Clinical Outcomes Research and IntegratioN (UNICORN), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000, Thailand
- Unit of Excellence on Herbal Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000, Thailand
- Department of Pharmaceutical Care, Division of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000, Thailand
| | - Pochamana Phisalprapa
- Department of Medicine, Division of Ambulatory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand
| | - Wei Hsum Yap
- School of Biosciences, Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia; (W.S.S.); (Y.Q.T.)
- Centre for Drug Discovery and Molecular Pharmacology (CDDMP), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (FHMS), Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia
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14
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Wang C, Cheng JKW, Zhang Q, Hughes NW, Xia Q, Winslow MM, Cong L. Microbial single-strand annealing proteins enable CRISPR gene-editing tools with improved knock-in efficiencies and reduced off-target effects. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:e36. [PMID: 33619540 PMCID: PMC8034634 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa1264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Several existing technologies enable short genomic alterations including generating indels and short nucleotide variants, however, engineering more significant genomic changes is more challenging due to reduced efficiency and precision. Here, we developed RecT Editor via Designer-Cas9-Initiated Targeting (REDIT), which leverages phage single-stranded DNA-annealing proteins (SSAP) RecT for mammalian genome engineering. Relative to Cas9-mediated homology-directed repair (HDR), REDIT yielded up to a 5-fold increase of efficiency to insert kilobase-scale exogenous sequences at defined genomic regions. We validated our REDIT approach using different formats and lengths of knock-in templates. We further demonstrated that REDIT tools using Cas9 nickase have efficient gene-editing activities and reduced off-target errors, measured using a combination of targeted sequencing, genome-wide indel, and insertion mapping assays. Our experiments inhibiting repair enzyme activities suggested that REDIT has the potential to overcome limitations of endogenous DNA repair steps. Finally, our REDIT method is applicable across cell types including human stem cells, and is generalizable to different Cas9 enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengkun Wang
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jason K W Cheng
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Qianhe Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Nicholas W Hughes
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Qiong Xia
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Monte M Winslow
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Le Cong
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Wu Tsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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15
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Maina EK, Adan AA, Mureithi H, Muriuki J, Lwembe RM. A Review of Current Strategies Towards the Elimination of Latent HIV-1 and Subsequent HIV-1 Cure. Curr HIV Res 2021; 19:14-26. [PMID: 32819259 PMCID: PMC8573729 DOI: 10.2174/1570162x18999200819172009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Background During the past 35 years, highly effective ART has saved the lives of millions of people worldwide by suppressing viruses to undetectable levels. However, this does not translate to the absence of viruses in the body as HIV persists in latent reservoirs. Indeed, rebounded HIV has been recently observed in the Mississippi and California infants previously thought to have been cured. Hence, much remains to be learned about HIV latency, and the search for the best strategy to eliminate the reservoir is the direction current research is taking. A systems-level approach that fully recapitulates the dynamics and complexity of HIV-1 latency In vivo and is applicable in human therapy is prudent for HIV eradication to be more feasible. Objectives The main barriers preventing the cure of HIV with antiretroviral therapy have been identified, progress has been made in the understanding of the therapeutic targets to which potentially eradicating drugs could be directed, integrative strategies have been proposed, and clinical trials with various alternatives are underway. The aim of this review is to provide an update on the main advances in HIV eradication, with particular emphasis on the obstacles and the different strategies proposed. The core challenges of each strategy are highlighted and the most promising strategy and new research avenues in HIV eradication strategies are proposed. Methods A systematic literature search of all English-language articles published between 2015 and 2019, was conducted using MEDLINE (PubMed) and Google scholar. Where available, medical subject headings (MeSH) were used as search terms and included: HIV, HIV latency, HIV reservoir, latency reactivation, and HIV cure. Additional search terms consisted of suppression, persistence, establishment, generation, and formation. A total of 250 articles were found using the above search terms. Out of these, 89 relevant articles related to HIV-1 latency establishment and eradication strategies were collected and reviewed, with no limitation of study design. Additional studies (commonly referenced and/or older and more recent articles of significance) were selected from bibliographies and references listed in the primary resources. Results In general, when exploring the literature, there are four main strategies heavily researched that provide promising strategies to the elimination of latent HIV: Haematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation, Shock and Kill Strategy, Gene-specific transcriptional activation using RNA-guided CRISPR-Cas9 system, and Block and Lock strategy. Most of the studies of these strategies are applicable in vitro, leaving many questions about the extent to which, or if any, these strategies are applicable to complex picture In vivo. However, the success of these strategies at least shows, in part, that HIV-1 can be cured, though some strategies are too invasive and expensive to become a standard of care for all HIV-infected patients. Conclusion Recent advances hold promise for the ultimate cure of HIV infection. A systems-level approach that fully recapitulates the dynamics and complexity of HIV-1 latency In vivo and applicable in human therapy is prudent for HIV eradication to be more feasible. Future studies aimed at achieving a prolonged HIV remission state are more likely to be successful if they focus on a combination strategy, including the block and kill, and stem cell approaches. These strategies propose a functional cure with minimal toxicity for patients. It is believed that the cure of HIV infection will be attained in the short term if a strategy based on purging the reservoirs is complemented with an aggressive HAART strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward K Maina
- Centre for Microbiology Research-Kenya medical Research Institute, P.O Box 54840-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Asma A Adan
- Centre for Microbiology Research-Kenya medical Research Institute, P.O Box 54840-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Haddison Mureithi
- Centre for Microbiology Research-Kenya medical Research Institute, P.O Box 54840-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Joseph Muriuki
- Centre for Virology Research-Kenya medical Research Institute, P.O Box 54840-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Raphael M Lwembe
- Centre for Virology Research-Kenya medical Research Institute, P.O Box 54840-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
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16
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Störtz F, Minary P. crisprSQL: a novel database platform for CRISPR/Cas off-target cleavage assays. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:D855-D861. [PMID: 33084893 PMCID: PMC7778913 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
With ongoing development of the CRISPR/Cas programmable nuclease system, applications in the area of in vivo therapeutic gene editing are increasingly within reach. However, non-negligible off-target effects remain a major concern for clinical applications. Even though a multitude of off-target cleavage datasets have been published, a comprehensive, transparent overview tool has not yet been established. Here, we present crisprSQL (http://www.crisprsql.com), an interactive and bioinformatically enhanced collection of CRISPR/Cas9 off-target cleavage studies aimed at enriching the fields of cleavage profiling, gene editing safety analysis and transcriptomics. The current version of crisprSQL contains cleavage data from 144 guide RNAs on 25,632 guide-target pairs from human and rodent cell lines, with interaction-specific references to epigenetic markers and gene names. The first curated database of this standard, it promises to enhance safety quantification research, inform experiment design and fuel development of computational off-target prediction algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Störtz
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QD, UK
| | - Peter Minary
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QD, UK
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17
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Abstract
The CRISPR/Cas9 system has transformed how gene knockout and knock-in studies are performed in the lab, and it is poised to revolutionize medicine. However, one of the present limitations of this technology is its imperfect specificity. While CRISPR/Cas9 can be programmed to cut a specific DNA target sequence with relative precision, off-target sequence cleavage can occur in large genomes. Importantly, several techniques have recently been developed to measure CRISPR/Cas9 on- and off-target DNA cleavage in cells. Here, we present detailed protocols for evaluating the specificity of CRISPR/Cas9 and related systems in cells using both targeted-approaches, in which off-target sites are known a priori, and unbiased approaches which are able to identify off-target cleavage events throughout an entire genome. Together, these techniques can be used to assess the reliability of experimental models generated using CRISPR/Cas9 as well as the safety of therapeutics employing this technology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Juan Jovel
- The Applied Genomics Core, Office of Research, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Basil P Hubbard
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
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18
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Cromwell CR, Hubbard BP. In Vitro Assays for Comparing the Specificity of First- and Next-Generation CRISPR/Cas9 Systems. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2162:215-232. [PMID: 32926385 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0687-2_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
CRISPR/Cas9 has revolutionized the ability to edit cellular DNA and is poised to transform the treatment of genetic diseases. One of the major concerns regarding its therapeutic use is the potential for off-target DNA cleavage, which could have detrimental consequences in vivo. To circumvent this, a number of strategies have been employed to develop next-generation CRISPR/Cas9 systems with improved specificity. These include the development of new protein variants of Cas9, as well as chemically modified guide RNA molecules. Here, we provide detailed protocols for two in vitro methods that enable the specificity of first- and next-generation CRISPR/Cas9 systems to be compared, and we demonstrate their applicability to evaluating chemically modified guide RNAs. One of these assays allows the specificity of different guide RNA/Cas9 complexes to be compared on a set of known off-target DNA sequences, while the second provides a broad specificity profile based on cleavage of a massive library of potential off-target DNA sequences. Collectively, these assays may be used to evaluate the specificity of different CRISPR/Cas9 systems on any DNA target sequence in a time- and cost-effective manner.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Basil P Hubbard
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
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19
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Meng J, Qiu Y, Shi S. CRISPR/Cas9 Systems for the Development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cell Factories. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:594347. [PMID: 33330425 PMCID: PMC7710542 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.594347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic yeast cell factories provide a remarkable solution for the sustainable supply of a range of products, ranging from large-scale industrial chemicals to high-value pharmaceutical compounds. Synthetic biology is a field in which metabolic pathways are intensively studied and engineered. The clustered, regularly interspaced, short, palindromic repeat-associated (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) technology has emerged as the state-of-the-art gene editing technique for synthetic biology. Recently, the use of different CRISPR/Cas9 systems has been extended to the field of yeast engineering for single-nucleotide resolution editing, multiple-gene editing, transcriptional regulation, and genome-scale modifications. Such advancing systems have led to accelerated microbial engineering involving less labor and time and also enhanced the understanding of cellular genetics and physiology. This review provides a brief overview of the latest research progress and the use of CRISPR/Cas9 systems in genetic manipulation, with a focus on the applications of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell factory engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Meng
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Yue Qiu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Shuobo Shi
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
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20
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Barman NC, Khan NM, Islam M, Nain Z, Roy RK, Haque A, Barman SK. CRISPR-Cas9: A Promising Genome Editing Therapeutic Tool for Alzheimer's Disease-A Narrative Review. Neurol Ther 2020; 9:419-434. [PMID: 33089409 PMCID: PMC7606404 DOI: 10.1007/s40120-020-00218-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive deficiency and development of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, comprising hyperphosphorylated tau. The number of patients with AD is alarmingly increasing worldwide; currently, at least 50 million people are thought to be living with AD. The mutations or alterations in amyloid-β precursor protein (APP), presenilin-1 (PSEN1), or presenilin-2 (PSEN2) genes are known to be associated with the pathophysiology of AD. Effective medication for AD is still elusive and many gene-targeted clinical trials have failed to meet the expected efficiency standards. The genome editing tool clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 has been emerging as a powerful technology to correct anomalous genetic functions and is now widely applied to the study of AD. This simple yet powerful tool for editing genes showed the huge potential to correct the unwanted mutations in AD-associated genes such as APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2. So, it has opened a new door for the development of empirical AD models, diagnostic approaches, and therapeutic lines in studying the complexity of the nervous system ranging from different cell types (in vitro) to animals (in vivo). This review was undertaken to study the related mechanisms and likely applications of CRISPR-Cas9 as an effective therapeutic tool in treating AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nirmal Chandra Barman
- Department Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic University, Kushtia, 7003, Bangladesh.
| | - Niuz Morshed Khan
- Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, 9208, Bangladesh
| | - Maidul Islam
- Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail, 1902, Bangladesh
| | - Zulkar Nain
- Department Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic University, Kushtia, 7003, Bangladesh
| | - Rajib Kanti Roy
- Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, 7408, Bangladesh
| | - Anwarul Haque
- Department Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic University, Kushtia, 7003, Bangladesh
| | - Shital Kumar Barman
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
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21
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CRISPR FokI Dead Cas9 System: Principles and Applications in Genome Engineering. Cells 2020; 9:cells9112518. [PMID: 33233344 PMCID: PMC7700487 DOI: 10.3390/cells9112518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The identification of the robust clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) associated endonuclease (Cas9) system gene-editing tool has opened up a wide range of potential therapeutic applications that were restricted by more complex tools, including zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs). Nevertheless, the high frequency of CRISPR system off-target activity still limits its applications, and, thus, advanced strategies for highly specific CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing are continuously under development including CRISPR–FokI dead Cas9 (fdCas9). fdCas9 system is derived from linking a FokI endonuclease catalytic domain to an inactive Cas9 protein and requires a pair of guide sgRNAs that bind to the sense and antisense strands of the DNA in a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM)-out orientation, with a defined spacer sequence range around the target site. The dimerization of FokI domains generates DNA double-strand breaks, which activates the DNA repair machinery and results in genomic edit. So far, all the engineered fdCas9 variants have shown promising gene-editing activities in human cells when compared to other platforms. Herein, we review the advantages of all published variants of fdCas9 and their current applications in genome engineering.
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22
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Huang Y, Ding Y, Liu Y, Zhou S, Ding Q, Yan H, Ma B, Zhao X, Wang X, Chen Y. Optimisation of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 : single-guide RNA (sgRNA) delivery system in a goat model. Reprod Fertil Dev 2020; 31:1533-1537. [PMID: 31079595 DOI: 10.1071/rd18485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system is an efficient method for the production of gene-edited animals. We have successfully generated gene-modified goats and sheep via zygote injection of Cas9 mRNA and single-guide RNA (sgRNA) mixtures. However, the delivery system for microinjection largely refers to methods established for mice; optimised injection conditions are urgently required for the generation of large animals. Here, we designed a study to optimise the Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA delivery system for goats. By comparing four computational tools for sgRNA design and validating the targeting efficiency in goat fibroblasts, we suggest a protocol for the selection of desirable sgRNAs with higher targeting efficiency and negligible off-target mutations. We further evaluated the editing efficiency in goat zygotes injected with Cas9:sgRNA (sg8) and found that injection with 50ngμL-1 Cas9 mRNA and 25ngμL-1 sgRNA yielded an increased editing efficiency. Our results provide a reference protocol for the optimisation of the injection conditions for the efficient editing of large animal genomes via the zygote injection approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Huang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; and Biomanufacturing Engineering Laboratory, Advanced Manufacturing Division, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yige Ding
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Yao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Shiwei Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Qiang Ding
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Hailong Yan
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Baohua Ma
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Shaanxi Centre of Stem Cells Engineering & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Xiaoe Zhao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Shaanxi Centre of Stem Cells Engineering & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Xiaolong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Yulin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; and Corresponding author.
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23
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Zhang L, Rube HT, Vakulskas CA, Behlke MA, Bussemaker HJ, Pufall MA. Systematic in vitro profiling of off-target affinity, cleavage and efficiency for CRISPR enzymes. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:5037-5053. [PMID: 32315032 PMCID: PMC7229833 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR RNA-guided endonucleases (RGEs) cut or direct activities to specific genomic loci, yet each has off-target activities that are often unpredictable. We developed a pair of simple in vitro assays to systematically measure the DNA-binding specificity (Spec-seq), catalytic activity specificity (SEAM-seq) and cleavage efficiency of RGEs. By separately quantifying binding and cleavage specificity, Spec/SEAM-seq provides detailed mechanistic insight into off-target activity. Feature-based models generated from Spec/SEAM-seq data for SpCas9 were consistent with previous reports of its in vitro and in vivo specificity, validating the approach. Spec/SEAM-seq is also useful for profiling less-well characterized RGEs. Application to an engineered SpCas9, HiFi-SpCas9, indicated that its enhanced target discrimination can be attributed to cleavage rather than binding specificity. The ortholog ScCas9, on the other hand, derives specificity from binding to an extended PAM. The decreased off-target activity of AsCas12a (Cpf1) appears to be primarily driven by DNA-binding specificity. Finally, we performed the first characterization of CasX specificity, revealing an all-or-nothing mechanism where mismatches can be bound, but not cleaved. Together, these applications establish Spec/SEAM-seq as an accessible method to rapidly and reliably evaluate the specificity of RGEs, Cas::gRNA pairs, and gain insight into the mechanism and thermodynamics of target discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liyang Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Coralville, IA 52241, USA.,Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., 1710 Commercial Park, Coralville, IA 52241, USA
| | - H Tomas Rube
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Merced, New York, NY 10027, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.,Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | | | - Mark A Behlke
- Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., 1710 Commercial Park, Coralville, IA 52241, USA
| | - Harmen J Bussemaker
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.,Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Miles A Pufall
- Department of Biochemistry, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Coralville, IA 52241, USA
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24
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Engineered CRISPR/Cas9 enzymes improve discrimination by slowing DNA cleavage to allow release of off-target DNA. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3576. [PMID: 32681021 PMCID: PMC7367838 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17411-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR/Cas9 is a programmable genome editing tool widely used for biological applications and engineered Cas9s have increased discrimination against off-target cleavage compared with wild-type Streptococcus pyogenes (SpCas9) in vivo. To understand the basis for improved discrimination against off-target DNA containing important mismatches at the distal end of the guide RNA, we performed kinetic analyses on the high-fidelity (Cas9-HF1) and hyper-accurate (HypaCas9) engineered Cas9 variants. We show that DNA cleavage is impaired by more than 100- fold for the high-fidelity variants. The high-fidelity variants improve discrimination by slowing the observed rate of cleavage without increasing the rate of DNA rewinding and release. The kinetic partitioning favors release rather than cleavage of a bound off-target substrate only because the cleavage rate is so low. Further improvement in discrimination may require engineering increased rates of dissociation of off-target DNA. Engineered high-fidelity Cas9s have increased discrimination against off-targets. Kinetic analyses of Cas9-HF1 and HypaCas9 engineered Cas9 variants show that their DNA cleavage is impaired by more than 100- fold, which leads to release rather than cleavage of a bound off-target substrate.
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25
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Li Z, Wang X, Xu D, Zhang D, Wang D, Dai X, Wang Q, Li Z, Gu Y, Ouyang W, Zhao S, Huang B, Gong J, Zhao J, Chen A, Shen Y, Dong Y, Zhang W, Xu X, Xu C, Jiang Y. DNB-based on-chip motif finding: A high-throughput method to profile different types of protein-DNA interactions. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eabb3350. [PMID: 32789179 PMCID: PMC7399529 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb3350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Here, we report a sensitive DocMF system that uses next-generation sequencing chips to profile protein-DNA interactions. Using DocMF, we successfully identified a variety of endonuclease recognition sites and the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequences of different CRISPR systems. DocMF can simultaneously screen both 5' and 3' PAMs with high coverage. For SpCas9, we found noncanonical 5'-NAG-3' (~5%) and 5'-NGA-3' (~1.6%), in addition to its common PAMs, 5'-NGG-3' (~89.9%). More relaxed PAM sequences of two uncharacterized Cas endonucleases, VeCas9 and BvCas12a, were extensively characterized using DocMF. Moreover, we observed that dCas9, a DNA binding protein lacking endonuclease activity, preferably bound to the previously reported 5'-NGG-3' sequence. In summary, our studies demonstrate that DocMF is the first tool with the capacity to exhaustively assay both the binding and the cutting properties of different DNA binding proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xiaojue Wang
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | | | - Dengwei Zhang
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Dan Wang
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Xuechen Dai
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Qi Wang
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhou Li
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Ying Gu
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | | | - Shuchang Zhao
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266000, China
| | - Baoqian Huang
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Jian Gong
- Complete Genomics Inc., 2904 Orchard Pkwy, San Jose, CA 95134, USA
| | - Jing Zhao
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Ao Chen
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Yue Shen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Innovative Molecular Diagnostics, BGI-ShenzhenShenzhen 518083, China
- Guangdong Provincial Academician Workstation of BGI Synthetic Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China
| | | | | | - Xun Xu
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Chongjun Xu
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Complete Genomics Inc., 2904 Orchard Pkwy, San Jose, CA 95134, USA
- MGI, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Yuan Jiang
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
- Complete Genomics Inc., 2904 Orchard Pkwy, San Jose, CA 95134, USA
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Ding W, Zhang Y, Shi S. Development and Application of CRISPR/Cas in Microbial Biotechnology. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:711. [PMID: 32695770 PMCID: PMC7338305 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated (Cas) system has been rapidly developed as versatile genomic engineering tools with high efficiency, accuracy and flexibility, and has revolutionized traditional methods for applications in microbial biotechnology. Here, key points of building reliable CRISPR/Cas system for genome engineering are discussed, including the Cas protein, the guide RNA and the donor DNA. Following an overview of various CRISPR/Cas tools for genome engineering, including gene activation, gene interference, orthogonal CRISPR systems and precise single base editing, we highlighted the application of CRISPR/Cas toolbox for multiplexed engineering and high throughput screening. We then summarize recent applications of CRISPR/Cas systems in metabolic engineering toward production of chemicals and natural compounds, and end with perspectives of future advancements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wentao Ding
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education, College of Food Engineering and Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Shuobo Shi
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
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27
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Fajrial AK, He QQ, Wirusanti NI, Slansky JE, Ding X. A review of emerging physical transfection methods for CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing. Theranostics 2020; 10:5532-5549. [PMID: 32373229 PMCID: PMC7196308 DOI: 10.7150/thno.43465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene editing is a versatile technique in biomedicine that promotes fundamental research as well as clinical therapy. The development of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) as a genome editing machinery has accelerated the application of gene editing. However, the delivery of CRISPR components often suffers when using conventional transfection methods, such as viral transduction and chemical vectors, due to limited packaging size and inefficiency toward certain cell types. In this review, we discuss physical transfection methods for CRISPR gene editing which can overcome these limitations. We outline different types of physical transfection methods, highlight novel techniques to deliver CRISPR components, and emphasize the role of micro and nanotechnology to improve transfection performance. We present our perspectives on the limitations of current technology and provide insights on the future developments of physical transfection methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apresio K. Fajrial
- Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Qing Qing He
- Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Nurul I. Wirusanti
- University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherland
| | - Jill E. Slansky
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Xiaoyun Ding
- Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
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28
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Vermersch E, Jouve C, Hulot JS. CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing strategies in cardiovascular cells. Cardiovasc Res 2020; 116:894-907. [PMID: 31584620 DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvz250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 05/05/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are among the main causes of morbidity and mortality in Western countries and considered as a leading public health issue. Therefore, there is a strong need for new disease models to support the development of novel therapeutics approaches. The successive improvement of genome editing tools with zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and more recently with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated 9 (Cas9) has enabled the generation of genetically modified cells and organisms with much greater efficiency and precision than before. The simplicity of CRISPR/Cas9 technology made it especially suited for different studies, both in vitro and in vivo, and has been used in multiple studies evaluating gene functions, disease modelling, transcriptional regulation, and testing of novel therapeutic approaches. Notably, with the parallel development of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), the generation of knock-out and knock-in human cell lines significantly increased our understanding of mutation impacts and physiopathological mechanisms within the cardiovascular domain. Here, we review the recent development of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, the alternative tools, the available strategies to conduct genome editing in cardiovascular cells with a focus on its use for correcting mutations in vitro and in vivo both in germ and somatic cells. We will also highlight that, despite its potential, CRISPR/Cas9 technology comes with important technical and ethical limitations. The development of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing for cardiovascular diseases indeed requires to develop a specific strategy in order to optimize the design of the genome editing tools, the manipulation of DNA repair mechanisms, the packaging and delivery of the tools to the studied organism, and the assessment of their efficiency and safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Vermersch
- Paris Cardiovascular Research Center PARCC, Université de Paris, INSERM, 56 Rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Charlène Jouve
- Paris Cardiovascular Research Center PARCC, Université de Paris, INSERM, 56 Rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Jean-Sébastien Hulot
- Paris Cardiovascular Research Center PARCC, Université de Paris, INSERM, 56 Rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France
- Centre d'Investigations Cliniques CIC1418, AP-HP, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, 75015 Paris, France
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29
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Ministro JH, Oliveira SS, Oliveira JG, Cardoso M, Aires-da-Silva F, Corte-Real S, Goncalves J. Synthetic antibody discovery against native antigens by CRISPR/Cas9-library generation and endoplasmic reticulum screening. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:2501-2512. [PMID: 32020276 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10423-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Revised: 01/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Despite the significant advances of antibodies as therapeutic agents, there is still much room for improvement concerning the discovery of these macromolecules. Here, we present a new synthetic cell-based strategy that takes advantage of eukaryotic cell biology to produce highly diverse antibody libraries and, simultaneously, link them to a high-throughput selection mechanism, replicating B cell diversification mechanisms. The interference of site-specific recognition by CRISPR/Cas9 with error-prone DNA repair mechanisms was explored for the generation of diversity, in a cell population containing a gene for a light chain antibody fragment. We achieved up to 93% of cells containing a mutated antibody gene after diversification mechanisms, specifically inside one of the antigen-binding sites. This targeted variability strategy was then integrated into an intracellular selection mechanism. By fusing the antibody with a KDEL retention signal, the interaction of antibodies and native membrane antigens occurs inside the endoplasmic reticulum during the process of protein secretion, enabling the detection of high-quality leads for expression and affinity by flow cytometry. We successfully obtained antibody lead candidates against CD3 as proof of concept. In summary, we developed a novel antibody discovery platform against native antigens by endoplasmic synthetic library generation using CRISPR/Cas9, which will contribute to a faster discovery of new biotherapeutic molecules, reducing the time-to-market.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana H Ministro
- iMed.ULisboa - Research Institute for Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-019, Lisbon, Portugal.,Technophage SA, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, Edifício Egas Moniz, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Soraia S Oliveira
- iMed.ULisboa - Research Institute for Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-019, Lisbon, Portugal.,Technophage SA, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, Edifício Egas Moniz, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Joana G Oliveira
- iMed.ULisboa - Research Institute for Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-019, Lisbon, Portugal.,Technophage SA, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, Edifício Egas Moniz, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Miguel Cardoso
- iMed.ULisboa - Research Institute for Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-019, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Frederico Aires-da-Silva
- CIISA - Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sofia Corte-Real
- iMed.ULisboa - Research Institute for Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-019, Lisbon, Portugal.,Technophage SA, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, Edifício Egas Moniz, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Joao Goncalves
- iMed.ULisboa - Research Institute for Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-019, Lisbon, Portugal.
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30
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Herbert L, Meunier AC, Bes M, Vernet A, Portefaix M, Durandet F, Michel R, Chaine C, This P, Guiderdoni E, Périn C. Beyond Seek and Destroy: how to Generate Allelic Series Using Genome Editing Tools. RICE (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2020; 13:5. [PMID: 31993780 PMCID: PMC6987269 DOI: 10.1186/s12284-020-0366-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Genome editing tools have greatly facilitated the functional analysis of genes of interest by targeted mutagenesis. Many usable genome editing tools, including different site-specific nucleases and editor databases that allow single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to be introduced at a given site, are now available. These tools can be used to generate high allelic diversity at a given locus to facilitate gene function studies, including examining the role of a specific protein domain or a single amino acid. We compared the effects, efficiencies and mutation types generated by our LbCPF1, SpCAS9 and base editor (BECAS9) constructs for the OsCAO1 gene. SpCAS9 and LbCPF1 have similar efficiencies in generating mutations but differ in the types of mutations induced, with the majority of changes being single-nucleotide insertions and short deletions for SpCAS9 and LbCPF1, respectively. The proportions of heterozygotes also differed, representing a majority in our LbCPF1, while with SpCAS9, we obtained a large number of biallelic mutants. Finally, we demonstrated that it is possible to specifically introduce stop codons using the BECAS9 with an acceptable efficiency of approximately 20%. Based on these results, a rational choice among these three alternatives may be made depending on the type of mutation that one wishes to introduce, the three systems being complementary. SpCAS9 remains the best choice to generate KO mutations in primary transformants, while if the desired gene mutation interferes with regeneration or viability, the use of our LbCPF1 construction will be preferred, because it produces mainly heterozygotes. LbCPF1 has been described in other studies as being as effective as SpCAS9 in generating homozygous and biallelic mutations. It will remain to be clarified in the future, whether the different LbCFP1 constructions have different efficiencies and determine the origin of these differences. Finally, if one wishes to specifically introduce stop codons, BECAS9 is a viable and efficient alternative, although it has a lower efficiency than SpCAS9 and LbCPF1 for creating KO mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leo Herbert
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Anne-Cécile Meunier
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Martine Bes
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Aurore Vernet
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Murielle Portefaix
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Franz Durandet
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Remy Michel
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Christian Chaine
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Patrice This
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Emmanuel Guiderdoni
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France
| | - Christophe Périn
- CIRAD, UMR-AGAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France.
- Université de Montpellier, Cirad, Inra, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34000, Montpellier, France.
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31
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Valenti MT, Serena M, Carbonare LD, Zipeto D. CRISPR/Cas system: An emerging technology in stem cell research. World J Stem Cells 2019; 11:937-956. [PMID: 31768221 PMCID: PMC6851009 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v11.i11.937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The identification of new and even more precise technologies for modifying and manipulating the genome has been a challenge since the discovery of the DNA double helix. The ability to modify selectively specific genes provides a powerful tool for characterizing gene functions, performing gene therapy, correcting specific genetic mutations, eradicating diseases, engineering cells and organisms to achieve new and different functions and obtaining transgenic animals as models for studying specific diseases. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 technology has recently revolutionized genome engineering. The application of this new technology to stem cell research allows disease models to be developed to explore new therapeutic tools. The possibility of translating new systems of molecular knowledge to clinical research is particularly appealing for addressing degenerative diseases. In this review, we describe several applications of CRISPR/Cas9 to stem cells related to degenerative diseases. In addition, we address the challenges and future perspectives regarding the use of CRISPR/Cas9 as an important technology in the medical sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Teresa Valenti
- Department of Medicine, Section of Internal Medicine D, University of Verona, Verona 37134, Italy
| | - Michela Serena
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Luca Dalle Carbonare
- Department of Medicine, Section of Internal Medicine D, University of Verona, Verona 37134, Italy
| | - Donato Zipeto
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Verona 37134, Italy
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32
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Xiong Z, Xie Y, Yang Y, Xue Y, Wang D, Lin S, Chen D, Lu D, He L, Song B, Yang Y, Sun X. Efficient gene correction of an aberrant splice site in β-thalassaemia iPSCs by CRISPR/Cas9 and single-strand oligodeoxynucleotides. J Cell Mol Med 2019; 23:8046-8057. [PMID: 31631510 PMCID: PMC6850948 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.14669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2019] [Revised: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 08/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
β‐thalassaemia is a prevalent hereditary haematological disease caused by mutations in the human haemoglobin β (HBB) gene. Among them, the HBB IVS2‐654 (C > T) mutation, which is in the intron, creates an aberrant splicing site. Bone marrow transplantation for curing β‐thalassaemia is limited due to the lack of matched donors. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR‐associated protein 9 (Cas9), as a widely used tool for gene editing, is able to target specific sequence and create double‐strand break (DSB), which can be combined with the single‐stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (ssODN) to correct mutations. In this study, according to two different strategies, the HBB IVS2‐654 mutation was seamlessly corrected in iPSCs by CRISPR/Cas9 system and ssODN. To reduce the occurrence of secondary cleavage, a more efficient strategy was adopted. The corrected iPSCs kept pluripotency and genome stability. Moreover, they could differentiate normally. Through CRISPR/Cas9 system and ssODN, our study provides improved strategies for gene correction of β‐Thalassaemia, and the expression of the HBB gene can be restored, which can be used for gene therapy in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeyu Xiong
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yingjun Xie
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yi Yang
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yanting Xue
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Ding Wang
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Shouheng Lin
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Diyu Chen
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Dian Lu
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Lina He
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Bing Song
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yinghong Yang
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaofang Sun
- Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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33
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34
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Wang P, He D, Li B, Guo Y, Wang W, Luo X, Zhao X, Wang X. Eliminating mcr-1-harbouring plasmids in clinical isolates using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. J Antimicrob Chemother 2019; 74:2559-2565. [PMID: 31203365 DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkz246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2018] [Revised: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To eliminate mcr-1-harbouring plasmids and MDR plasmids in clinical Escherichia coli isolates. METHODS Plasmid pMBLcas9 expressing Cas9 was constructed and used to clone target single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) for plasmid curing. The recombinant plasmid pMBLcas9-sgRNA was transferred by conjugation into two clinical E. coli isolates. The curing efficiency of different sgRNAs targeting conserved genes was tested. The elimination of targeted plasmids and the generation of transposase-mediated recombination of p14EC033a variants were characterized by PCR and DNA sequencing. RESULTS In this study, four native plasmids in isolate 14EC033 and two native plasmids in isolate 14EC007 were successfully eliminated in a step-by-step manner using pMBLcas9. Moreover, two native plasmids in 14EC007 were simultaneously eliminated by tandemly cloning multiple sgRNAs in pMBLcas9, sensitizing 14EC007 to polymyxin and carbenicillin. In 14EC033 with two mcr-1-harbouring plasmids, IncI2 plasmid p14EC033a and IncX4 plasmid p14EC033b, a single mcr-1 sgRNA mediated the loss of p14EC033b and generated a mutant p14EC033a in which the mcr-1 gene was deleted. An insertion element, IS5, located upstream of mcr-1 in p14EC033a was responsible for transposase-mediated recombination, resulting in mcr-1 gene deletion instead of plasmid curing. CONCLUSIONS CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to efficiently sensitize clinical isolates to antibiotics in vitro. For isolates with multiple plasmids, the CRISPR/Cas9 approach can either remove each plasmid in a stepwise manner or simultaneously remove multiple plasmids in one step. Moreover, this approach can be used to delete multiple gene copies by using only one sgRNA. However, caution must be exercised to avoid unwanted recombination events during genetic manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengxia Wang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dongmei He
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China
| | - Baiyuan Li
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yunxue Guo
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Weiquan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiongjian Luo
- College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xuanyu Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoxue Wang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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35
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Soler-Bistué A, Zorreguieta A, Tolmasky ME. Bridged Nucleic Acids Reloaded. Molecules 2019; 24:E2297. [PMID: 31234313 PMCID: PMC6630285 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24122297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Oligonucleotides are key compounds widely used for research, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The rapid increase in oligonucleotide-based applications, together with the progress in nucleic acids research, has led to the design of nucleotide analogs that, when part of these oligomers, enhance their efficiency, bioavailability, or stability. One of the most useful nucleotide analogs is the first-generation bridged nucleic acids (BNA), also known as locked nucleic acids (LNA), which were used in combination with ribonucleotides, deoxyribonucleotides, or other analogs to construct oligomers with diverse applications. However, there is still room to improve their efficiency, bioavailability, stability, and, importantly, toxicity. A second-generation BNA, BNANC (2'-O,4'-aminoethylene bridged nucleic acid), has been recently made available. Oligomers containing these analogs not only showed less toxicity when compared to LNA-containing compounds but, in some cases, also exhibited higher specificity. Although there are still few applications where BNANC-containing compounds have been researched, the promising results warrant more effort in incorporating these analogs for other applications. Furthermore, newer BNA compounds will be introduced in the near future, offering great hope to oligonucleotide-based fields of research and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfonso Soler-Bistué
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas Dr. Rodolfo A. Ugalde, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín 1650, Argentina.
| | - Angeles Zorreguieta
- Fundación Instituto Leloir, IIBBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires C1405BWE, Argentina.
| | - Marcelo E Tolmasky
- Center for Applied Biotechnology Studies, Department of Biological Science, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92834-6850, USA.
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Barkau CL, O'Reilly D, Rohilla KJ, Damha MJ, Gagnon KT. Rationally Designed Anti-CRISPR Nucleic Acid Inhibitors of CRISPR-Cas9. Nucleic Acid Ther 2019; 29:136-147. [PMID: 30990769 PMCID: PMC6555185 DOI: 10.1089/nat.2018.0758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) RNAs and their associated effector (Cas) enzymes are being developed into promising therapeutics to treat disease. However, CRISPR-Cas enzymes might produce unwanted gene editing or dangerous side effects. Drug-like molecules that can inactivate CRISPR-Cas enzymes could help facilitate safer therapeutic development. Based on the requirement of guide RNA and target DNA interaction by Cas enzymes, we rationally designed small nucleic acid-based inhibitors (SNuBs) of Streptococcus pyogenes (Sp) Cas9. Inhibitors were initially designed as 2'-O-methyl-modified oligonucleotides that bound the CRISPR RNA guide sequence (anti-guide) or repeat sequence (anti-tracr), or DNA oligonucleotides that bound the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM)-interaction domain (anti-PAM) of SpCas9. Coupling anti-PAM and anti-tracr modules together was synergistic and resulted in high binding affinity and efficient inhibition of Cas9 DNA cleavage activity. Incorporating 2'F-RNA and locked nucleic acid nucleotides into the anti-tracr module resulted in greater inhibition as well as dose-dependent suppression of gene editing in human cells. CRISPR SNuBs provide a platform for rational design of CRISPR-Cas enzyme inhibitors that should translate to other CRISPR effector enzymes and enable better control over CRISPR-based applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher L. Barkau
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois
| | - Daniel O'Reilly
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Kushal J. Rohilla
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois
| | - Masad J. Damha
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Keith T. Gagnon
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois
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Kok EJ, Glandorf DC, Prins TW, Visser RG. Food and environmental safety assessment of new plant varieties after the European Court decision: Process-triggered or product-based? Trends Food Sci Technol 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2019.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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O’Geen H, Bates SL, Carter SS, Nisson KA, Halmai J, Fink KD, Rhie SK, Farnham PJ, Segal DJ. Ezh2-dCas9 and KRAB-dCas9 enable engineering of epigenetic memory in a context-dependent manner. Epigenetics Chromatin 2019; 12:26. [PMID: 31053162 PMCID: PMC6498470 DOI: 10.1186/s13072-019-0275-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rewriting of the epigenome has risen as a promising alternative to gene editing for precision medicine. In nature, epigenetic silencing can result in complete attenuation of target gene expression over multiple mitotic divisions. However, persistent repression has been difficult to achieve in a predictable manner using targeted systems. RESULTS Here, we report that persistent epigenetic memory required both a DNA methyltransferase (DNMT3A-dCas9) and a histone methyltransferase (Ezh2-dCas9 or KRAB-dCas9). We demonstrate that the histone methyltransferase requirement can be locus specific. Co-targeting Ezh2-dCas9, but not KRAB-dCas9, with DNMT3A-dCas9 and DNMT3L induced long-term HER2 repression over at least 50 days (approximately 57 cell divisions) and triggered an epigenetic switch to a heterochromatic environment. An increase in H3K27 trimethylation and DNA methylation was stably maintained and accompanied by a sustained loss of H3K27 acetylation. Interestingly, substitution of Ezh2-dCas9 with KRAB-dCas9 enabled long-term repression at some target genes (e.g., SNURF) but not at HER2, at which H3K9me3 and DNA methylation were transiently acquired and subsequently lost. Off-target DNA hypermethylation occurred at many individual CpG sites but rarely at multiple CpGs in a single promoter, consistent with no detectable effect on transcription at the off-target loci tested. Conversely, robust hypermethylation was observed at HER2. We further demonstrated that Ezh2-dCas9 required full-length DNMT3L for maximal activity and that co-targeting DNMT3L was sufficient for persistent repression by Ezh2-dCas9 or KRAB-dCas9. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that targeting different combinations of histone and DNA methyltransferases is required to achieve maximal repression at different loci. Fine-tuning of targeting tools is a necessity to engineer epigenetic memory at any given locus in any given cell type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henriette O’Geen
- Genome Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Sofie L. Bates
- Genome Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Sakereh S. Carter
- Genome Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Karly A. Nisson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA
| | - Julian Halmai
- Department of Neurology and Stem Cell Program, University of California, Sacramento, CA 95817 USA
| | - Kyle D. Fink
- Department of Neurology and Stem Cell Program, University of California, Sacramento, CA 95817 USA
| | - Suhn K. Rhie
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA
| | - Peggy J. Farnham
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA
| | - David J. Segal
- Genome Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
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Raab N, Mathias S, Alt K, Handrick R, Fischer S, Schmieder V, Jadhav V, Borth N, Otte K. CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Knockout of MicroRNA-744 Improves Antibody Titer of CHO Production Cell Lines. Biotechnol J 2019; 14:e1800477. [PMID: 30802343 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201800477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2018] [Revised: 01/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that serve as versatile molecular engineering tools to improve production cells by overexpression or knockdown of miRNAs showing beneficial or adverse effects on cell-culture performance. The genomic knockout (KO) of noncoding RNAs in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) production cells has not been reported. However, given the significant number of miRNAs showing negative effects on CHO-bioprocess performance and the development of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated proteins (CRISPR/Cas9), genome editing tools facilitate precise optimization of CHO cells via modulation of noncoding RNAs. In a previous high-content miRNA screen, miR-744 was identified as a potential target associated with reduced productivity. Hence, the genomic miR-744 precursor sequence is deleted by two single guide RNA (sgRNA)-Cas9-mediated DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) flanking the miR-744 locus. After fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), clonal miR-744 KO cell lines are recovered and three of them are confirmed as miR-744 KOs. Impacts of CRISPR/Cas9 editing are characterized at the genetic, transcript, and phenotypic levels. During batch cultivation, antibody titers of miR-744 KOs are significantly increased to 190-311 mg L-1 compared to a nontargeting (NT) sgRNA transfected clonal control with 156 mg L-1 , pointing towards the potential of miRNA KO for cell line engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadja Raab
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Biberach, Hubertus-Liebrecht-Str. 35, Biberach, 88400, Germany
| | - Sven Mathias
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Biberach, Hubertus-Liebrecht-Str. 35, Biberach, 88400, Germany
| | - Kerstin Alt
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Biberach, Hubertus-Liebrecht-Str. 35, Biberach, 88400, Germany
- Genetikum, Wegenerstraße 15, Neu-Ulm, 89231, Germany
| | - René Handrick
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Biberach, Hubertus-Liebrecht-Str. 35, Biberach, 88400, Germany
| | - Simon Fischer
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, Cell Line Development CMB, Birkendorfer Str. 65, Biberach, 88397, Germany
| | - Valerie Schmieder
- Austrian Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Muthgasse 11, Vienna, 1190, Austria
| | - Vaibhav Jadhav
- Austrian Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Muthgasse 11, Vienna, 1190, Austria
| | - Nicole Borth
- Austrian Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Muthgasse 11, Vienna, 1190, Austria
- BOKU Vienna, Institute of Biotechnology, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, Vienna, 1180, Austria
| | - Kerstin Otte
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Biberach, Hubertus-Liebrecht-Str. 35, Biberach, 88400, Germany
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Gassler T, Heistinger L, Mattanovich D, Gasser B, Prielhofer R. CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Homology-Directed Genome Editing in Pichia pastoris. Methods Mol Biol 2019; 1923:211-225. [PMID: 30737742 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9024-5_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
State-of-the-art strain engineering techniques for the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris (syn. Komagataella spp.) include overexpression of endogenous and heterologous genes and deletion of host genes. For efficient gene deletion, methods such as the split-marker technique have been established. However, synthetic biology trends move toward building up large and complex reaction networks, which often require endogenous gene knockouts and simultaneous overexpression of individual genes or whole pathways. Realization of such engineering tasks by conventional approaches employing subsequent steps of transformations and marker recycling is very time- and labor-consuming. Other applications require tagging of certain genes/proteins or promoter exchange approaches, which are hard to design and construct with conventional methods. Therefore, efficient systems are required that allow precise manipulations of the P. pastoris genome, including simultaneous overexpression of multiple genes. To meet this challenge, we have developed a CRISPR/Cas9-based kit for gene insertions, deletions, and replacements, which paves the way for precise genomic modifications in P. pastoris. In this chapter, the versatile method for performing these modifications without the integration of a selection marker is described. A ready-to-use plasmid kit for performing CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing in P. pastoris based on the GoldenPiCS modular cloning vectors is available at Addgene as CRISPi kit (#1000000136).
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Gassler
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
- Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib), Vienna, Austria
| | - Lina Heistinger
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Immunotherapeutics, Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
| | - Diethard Mattanovich
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) and Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib), Vienna, Austria
| | - Brigitte Gasser
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Growth-Decoupled Protein Production in Yeasts, Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) and Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib), Vienna, Austria
| | - Roland Prielhofer
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria.
- Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib), Vienna, Austria.
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Vogel KM, Ouagrham-Gormley SB. Anticipating Emerging Biotechnology Threats: A case study of CRISPR. Politics Life Sci 2018; 37:203-219. [PMID: 31120699 DOI: 10.1017/pls.2018.21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
This article discusses the contingencies and complexities of CRISPR. It outlines key problems regarding off-target effects and replication of experimental work that are important to consider in light of CRISPR's touted ease of use and diffusion. In light of literature on the sociotechnical dimensions of the life sciences and biotechnology and literature on former bioweapons programs, this article argues that we need more detailed empirical case studies of the social and technical factors shaping CRISPR and related gene-editing techniques in order to better understand how they may be different from other advances in biotechnology-or whether similar features remain. This information will be critical to better inform intelligence practitioners and policymakers about the security implications of new gene-editing techniques.
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Cho GY, Schaefer KA, Bassuk AG, Tsang SH, Mahajan VB. CRISPR GENOME SURGERY IN THE RETINA IN LIGHT OF OFF-TARGETING. Retina 2018; 38:1443-1455. [PMID: 29746416 PMCID: PMC6054556 DOI: 10.1097/iae.0000000000002197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Recent concerns regarding the clinical utilization of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) involve uncertainties about the potential detrimental effects that many arise due to unintended genetic changes, as in off-target mutagenesis, during CRISPR genome surgery. This review gives an overview of off-targeting detection methods and CRISPR's place in the clinical setting, specifically in the field of ophthalmology. RESULTS As CRISPR utilization in the laboratory setting has increased, knowledge regarding CRISPR mechanisms including its off-target effects has also increased. Although a perfect method for achieving 100% specificity is yet to be determined, the past few years have seen many developments in off-targeting detection and in increasing efficacy of CRISPR tools. CONCLUSION The CRISPR system has high potential to be an invaluable therapeutic tool as it has the ability to modify and repair pathogenic retinal lesions. Although it is not yet a perfect system, with further efforts to improve its specificity and efficacy along with careful screening of off-target mutations, CRISPR-mediated genome surgery potential can become maximized and applied to patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Galaxy Y. Cho
- Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia Stem Cell Initiative, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Jonas Children’s Vision Care, and Bernard & Shirlee Brown Glaucoma Laboratory, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kellie A. Schaefer
- Omics Lab, Department of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | | | - Stephen H. Tsang
- Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia Stem Cell Initiative, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Jonas Children’s Vision Care, and Bernard & Shirlee Brown Glaucoma Laboratory, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Cell Biology & Pathology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Vinit B. Mahajan
- Omics Lab, Department of Ophthalmology, Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Palo Alto Veterans Administration, Palo Alto, CA, USA
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Riboregulator elements as tools to engineer gene expression in cyanobacteria. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2018; 102:7717-7723. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-018-9221-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2018] [Revised: 07/02/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Al Abdallah Q, Souza ACO, Martin-Vicente A, Ge W, Fortwendel JR. Whole-genome sequencing reveals highly specific gene targeting by in vitro assembled Cas9-ribonucleoprotein complexes in Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal Biol Biotechnol 2018; 5:11. [PMID: 29992034 PMCID: PMC5987418 DOI: 10.1186/s40694-018-0057-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing is quickly becoming a powerful tool within the field of fungal genetics. Adaptation of CRISPR/Cas9 systems are allowing for rapid and highly efficient gene targeting within fungi. We recently reported the adaptation of a simple CRISPR/Cas9 system for gene deletion that is effective across multiple genetic backgrounds of Aspergillus fumigatus. This system employs in vitro assembly of Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) coupled with micro-homology repair templates for gene deletion. Although highly efficient at gene targeting in wild type genetic backgrounds of A. fumigatus, the potential for our system to produce unwanted off-target mutations has not been addressed. Results Next-generation Illumina sequencing was used to identify genome mutations among transformants isolated from standard (no Cas9) and Cas9-mediated integration of a hygromycin deletion cassette. Two different concentrations of Cas9 were utilized to examine the association of Cas9 concentration with total numbers and types of genomic mutations. For each of the three test groups (zero, low, and high Cas9), three transformants were sequenced and compared to the parent strain. Bioinformatics analyses revealed the average number of total mutations to be similar among all three test groups. A. fumigatus transformation using standard, non-Cas9-mediated methods resulted in an average of 373 ± 28 mutations. In comparison, transformation with in vitro assembled Cas9-RNPs using either high (1 µg/µl) or low (0.5 µg/µl) levels of Cas9 resulted in an average of 326 ± 19 and 395 ± 69 mutations, respectively. In all cases, the vast majority of mutations identified were intergenic. No correlation between the amount of Cas9 utilized for transformation and the overall number of mutations was found. Finally, the specific type of mutation introduced during the transformation process was not Cas9-dependent, as both single-nucleotide polymorphisms and insertion/deletion events were not significantly different between the experimental groups. Conclusions CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing in A. fumigatus using in vitro assembled RNPs coupled with microhomology templates is a reliable method of gene targeting. This system is highly efficient and is not associated with increased off-target mutations caused by introduction of the Cas9 nuclease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qusai Al Abdallah
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN USA
| | - Ana Camila Oliveira Souza
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN USA
| | - Adela Martin-Vicente
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN USA
| | - Wenbo Ge
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN USA
| | - Jarrod R Fortwendel
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN USA
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45
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Farboud B, Jarvis E, Roth TL, Shin J, Corn JE, Marson A, Meyer BJ, Patel NH, Hochstrasser ML. Enhanced Genome Editing with Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Diverse Cells and Organisms. J Vis Exp 2018:57350. [PMID: 29889198 PMCID: PMC6101420 DOI: 10.3791/57350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Site-specific eukaryotic genome editing with CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas (CRISPR-associated) systems has quickly become a commonplace amongst researchers pursuing a wide variety of biological questions. Users most often employ the Cas9 protein derived from Streptococcus pyogenes in a complex with an easily reprogrammed guide RNA (gRNA). These components are introduced into cells, and through a base pairing with a complementary region of the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome, the enzyme cleaves both strands to generate a double-strand break (DSB). Subsequent repair leads to either random insertion or deletion events (indels) or the incorporation of experimenter-provided DNA at the site of the break. The use of a purified single-guide RNA and Cas9 protein, preassembled to form an RNP and delivered directly to cells, is a potent approach for achieving highly efficient gene editing. RNP editing particularly enhances the rate of gene insertion, an outcome that is often challenging to achieve. Compared to the delivery via a plasmid, the shorter persistence of the Cas9 RNP within the cell leads to fewer off-target events. Despite its advantages, many casual users of CRISPR gene editing are less familiar with this technique. To lower the barrier to entry, we outline detailed protocols for implementing the RNP strategy in a range of contexts, highlighting its distinct benefits and diverse applications. We cover editing in two types of primary human cells, T cells and hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). We also show how Cas9 RNP editing enables the facile genetic manipulation of entire organisms, including the classic model roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans and the more recently introduced model crustacean, Parhyale hawaiensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behnom Farboud
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Erin Jarvis
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Theodore L Roth
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley; Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco; Diabetes Center, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Jiyung Shin
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Jacob E Corn
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Alexander Marson
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco; Diabetes Center, University of California, San Francisco; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Nipam H Patel
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
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Cromwell CR, Sung K, Park J, Krysler AR, Jovel J, Kim SK, Hubbard BP. Incorporation of bridged nucleic acids into CRISPR RNAs improves Cas9 endonuclease specificity. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1448. [PMID: 29654299 PMCID: PMC5899152 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03927-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Off-target DNA cleavage is a paramount concern when applying CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology to functional genetics and human therapeutic applications. Here, we show that incorporation of next-generation bridged nucleic acids (2',4'-BNANC[N-Me]) as well as locked nucleic acids (LNA) at specific locations in CRISPR-RNAs (crRNAs) broadly reduces off-target DNA cleavage by Cas9 in vitro and in cells by several orders of magnitude. Using single-molecule FRET experiments we show that BNANC incorporation slows Cas9 kinetics and improves specificity by inducing a highly dynamic crRNA-DNA duplex for off-target sequences, which shortens dwell time in the cleavage-competent, "zipped" conformation. In addition to describing a robust technique for improving the precision of CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing, this study illuminates an application of synthetic nucleic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Keewon Sung
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Jinho Park
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Amanda R Krysler
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2R7, Canada
| | - Juan Jovel
- The Applied Genomics Core, Office of Research, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Seong Keun Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Basil P Hubbard
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2R7, Canada.
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Singh D, Wang Y, Mallon J, Yang O, Fei J, Poddar A, Ceylan D, Bailey S, Ha T. Mechanisms of improved specificity of engineered Cas9s revealed by single-molecule FRET analysis. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2018; 25:347-354. [PMID: 29622787 PMCID: PMC6195204 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-018-0051-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Cas9 (from Streptococcus pyogenes) in complex with a guide RNA targets complementary DNA for cleavage. Here, we developed a single-molecule FRET analysis to study the mechanisms of specificity enhancement of two engineered Cas9s (eCas9 and Cas9-HF1). A DNA-unwinding assay showed that mismatches affect cleavage reactions through rebalancing the unwinding-rewinding equilibrium. Increasing PAM-distal mismatches facilitates rewinding, and the associated cleavage impairment shows that cleavage proceeds from the unwound state. Engineered Cas9s depopulate the unwound state more readily with mismatches. The intrinsic cleavage rate is much lower for engineered Cas9s, preventing cleavage from transiently unwound off-targets. Engineered Cas9s require approximately one additional base pair match for stable binding, freeing them from sites that would otherwise sequester them. Therefore, engineered Cas9s achieve their improved specificity by inhibiting stable DNA binding to partially matching sequences, making DNA unwinding more sensitive to mismatches and slowing down the intrinsic cleavage reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Digvijay Singh
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yanbo Wang
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - John Mallon
- Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Olivia Yang
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jingyi Fei
- Department of Physics and Center for the Physics of Living Cells, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Anustup Poddar
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Damon Ceylan
- Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Scott Bailey
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Taekjip Ha
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Physics and Center for the Physics of Living Cells, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
- Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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48
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Singh D, Ha T. Understanding the Molecular Mechanisms of the CRISPR Toolbox Using Single Molecule Approaches. ACS Chem Biol 2018; 13:516-526. [PMID: 29394047 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.7b00905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Adaptive immunity against foreign genetic elements conferred by the CRISPR systems in microbial species has been repurposed as a revolutionary technology for wide-ranging biological applications-chiefly genome engineering. Biochemical, structural, genetic, and genomics studies have revealed important insights into their function and mechanisms, but most ensemble studies cannot observe structural changes of these molecules during their function and are often blind to key reaction intermediates. Here, we review the use of single molecule approaches such as fluorescent particle tracking, FRET, magnetic tweezers, and atomic force microscopy imaging in improving our understanding of the CRISPR toolbox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Digvijay Singh
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Taekjip Ha
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
- Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
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49
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Zhang Q, Xing HL, Wang ZP, Zhang HY, Yang F, Wang XC, Chen QJ. Potential high-frequency off-target mutagenesis induced by CRISPR/Cas9 in Arabidopsis and its prevention. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 96:445-456. [PMID: 29476306 PMCID: PMC5978904 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-018-0709-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE We present novel observations of high-specificity SpCas9 variants, sgRNA expression strategies based on mutant sgRNA scaffold and tRNA processing system, and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated T-DNA integrations. Specificity of CRISPR/Cas9 tools has been a major concern along with the reports of their successful applications. We report unexpected observations of high frequency off-target mutagenesis induced by CRISPR/Cas9 in T1 Arabidopsis mutants although the sgRNA was predicted to have a high specificity score. We also present evidence that the off-target effects were further exacerbated in the T2 progeny. To prevent the off-target effects, we tested and optimized two strategies in Arabidopsis, including introduction of a mCherry cassette for a simple and reliable isolation of Cas9-free mutants and the use of highly specific mutant SpCas9 variants. Optimization of the mCherry vectors and subsequent validation found that fusion of tRNA with the mutant rather than the original sgRNA scaffold significantly improves editing efficiency. We then examined the editing efficiency of eight high-specificity SpCas9 variants in combination with the improved tRNA-sgRNA fusion strategy. Our results suggest that highly specific SpCas9 variants require a higher level of expression than their wild-type counterpart to maintain high editing efficiency. Additionally, we demonstrate that T-DNA can be inserted into the cleavage sites of CRISPR/Cas9 targets with high frequency. Altogether, our results suggest that in plants, continuous attention should be paid to off-target effects induced by CRISPR/Cas9 in current and subsequent generations, and that the tools optimized in this report will be useful in improving genome editing efficiency and specificity in plants and other organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Hui-Li Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Zhi-Ping Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Hai-Yan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Fang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Xue-Chen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Qi-Jun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
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50
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Morsy SG, Tonne JM, Zhu Y, Lu B, Budzik K, Krempski JW, Ali SA, El-Feky MA, Ikeda Y. Divergent susceptibilities to AAV-SaCas9-gRNA vector-mediated genome-editing in a single-cell-derived cell population. BMC Res Notes 2017; 10:720. [PMID: 29221488 PMCID: PMC5721606 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-017-3028-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based vectors are characterized by their robust and safe transgene delivery. The CRISPR/Cas9 and guide RNA (gRNA) system present a promising genome-editing platform, and a recent development of a shorter Cas9 enzyme from Staphylococcus aureus (SaCas9) allows generation of high titer single AAV vectors which carry both saCas9- and gRNA-expression cassettes. Here, we used two AAV-SaCas9 vectors with distinct GFP-targeted gRNA sequences and determined the impact of AAV-SaCas9-gRNA vector treatment in a single cell clone carrying a GFP-expression cassette. RESULTS Our results showed comparable GFP knockout efficiencies (40-50%) upon a single low-dose infection. Three consecutive transductions of 25-fold higher doses of vectors showed 80% GFP knockout efficiency. To analyze the "AAV-SaCas9-resistant cell population", we sorted the residual GFP-positive cells and assessed their permissiveness to super-infection with two AAV-Cas9-GFP vectors. We found the sorted cells were significantly more resistant to the GFP knockout mediated by the same AAV vector, but not by the other GFP-targeted AAV vector. Our data therefore demonstrate highly efficient genome-editing by the AAV-SaCas9-gRNA vector system. Differential susceptibilities of single cell-derived cells to the AAV-SaCas9-gRNA-mediated genome editing may represent a formidable barrier to achieve 100% genome editing efficiency by this vector system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salma G. Morsy
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905 USA
- Cancer Biology, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
| | - Jason M. Tonne
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905 USA
| | - Yaxi Zhu
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905 USA
| | - Brian Lu
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905 USA
| | - Karol Budzik
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905 USA
| | - James W. Krempski
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905 USA
| | - Sherine A. Ali
- Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
| | - Mohamed A. El-Feky
- Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
| | - Yasuhiro Ikeda
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905 USA
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, College of Medicine, Rochester, MN 55905 USA
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