1
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Haldrup J, Andersen S, Labial AR, Wolff JH, Frandsen F, Skov T, Rovsing A, Nielsen I, Jakobsen TS, Askou A, Thomsen M, Corydon T, Thomsen E, Mikkelsen J. Engineered lentivirus-derived nanoparticles (LVNPs) for delivery of CRISPR/Cas ribonucleoprotein complexes supporting base editing, prime editing and in vivo gene modification. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:10059-10074. [PMID: 37678882 PMCID: PMC10570023 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Implementation of therapeutic in vivo gene editing using CRISPR/Cas relies on potent delivery of gene editing tools. Administration of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes consisting of Cas protein and single guide RNA (sgRNA) offers short-lived editing activity and safety advantages over conventional viral and non-viral gene and RNA delivery approaches. By engineering lentivirus-derived nanoparticles (LVNPs) to facilitate RNP delivery, we demonstrate effective administration of SpCas9 as well as SpCas9-derived base and prime editors (BE/PE) leading to gene editing in recipient cells. Unique Gag/GagPol protein fusion strategies facilitate RNP packaging in LVNPs, and refinement of LVNP stoichiometry supports optimized LVNP yield and incorporation of therapeutic payload. We demonstrate near instantaneous target DNA cleavage and complete RNP turnover within 4 days. As a result, LVNPs provide high on-target DNA cleavage and lower levels of off-target cleavage activity compared to standard RNP nucleofection in cultured cells. LVNPs accommodate BE/sgRNA and PE/epegRNA RNPs leading to base editing with reduced bystander editing and prime editing without detectable indel formation. Notably, in the mouse eye, we provide the first proof-of-concept for LVNP-directed in vivo gene disruption. Our findings establish LVNPs as promising vehicles for delivery of RNPs facilitating donor-free base and prime editing without formation of double-stranded DNA breaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Haldrup
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Sofie Andersen
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Ian Nielsen
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Thomas Stax Jakobsen
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Department of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Anne Louise Askou
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Department of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | | | - Thomas J Corydon
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Department of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark
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2
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Haldrup J, Weiss S, Schmidt L, Sørensen KD. Investigation of enzalutamide, docetaxel, and cabazitaxel resistance in the castration resistant prostate cancer cell line C4 using genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screening. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9043. [PMID: 37270558 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35950-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Enzalutamide, docetaxel, and cabazitaxel treatment resistance is a major problem in metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), but the underlying genetic determinants are poorly understood. To identify genes that modulate treatment response to these drugs, we performed three genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screens in the mCRPC cell line C4. The screens identified seven candidates for enzalutamide (BCL2L13, CEP135, E2F4, IP6K2, KDM6A, SMS, and XPO4), four candidates for docetaxel (DRG1, LMO7, NCOA2, and ZNF268), and nine candidates for cabazitaxel (ARHGAP11B, DRG1, FKBP5, FRYL, PRKAB1, RP2, SMPD2, TCEA2, and ZNF585B). We generated single-gene C4 knockout clones/populations for all genes and could validate effect on treatment response for five genes (IP6K2, XPO4, DRG1, PRKAB1, and RP2). Altered enzalutamide response upon IP6K2 and XPO4 knockout was associated with deregulation of AR, mTORC1, and E2F signaling, and deregulated p53 signaling (IP6K2 only) in C4 mCRPC cells. Our study highlights the necessity of performing individual validation of candidate hits from genome-wide CRISPR screens. Further studies are needed to assess the generalizability and translational potential of these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Haldrup
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Simone Weiss
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Linnéa Schmidt
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Karina Dalsgaard Sørensen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
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3
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Gao Z, Ravendran S, Mikkelsen NS, Haldrup J, Cai H, Ding X, Paludan SR, Thomsen MK, Mikkelsen JG, Bak RO. A truncated reverse transcriptase enhances prime editing by split AAV vectors. Mol Ther 2022; 30:2942-2951. [PMID: 35808824 PMCID: PMC9481986 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2022.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prime editing is a new CRISPR-based, genome-editing technology that relies on the prime editor (PE), a fusion protein of Cas9-nickase and M-MLV reverse transcriptase (RT), and a prime editing guide RNA (pegRNA) that serves both to target PE to the desired genomic locus and to carry the edit to be introduced. Here, we make advancements to the RT moiety to improve prime editing efficiencies and truncations to mitigate issues with adeno-associated virus (AAV) viral vector size limitations, which currently do not support efficient delivery of the large prime editing components. These efforts include RT variant screening, codon optimization, and PE truncation by removal of the RNase H domain and further trimming. This led to a codon-optimized and size-minimized PE that has an expression advantage (1.4-fold) and size advantage (621 bp shorter). In addition, we optimize the split intein PE system and identify Rma-based Cas9 split sites (573-574 and 673-674) that combined with the truncated PE delivered by dual AAVs result in superior AAV titer and prime editing efficiency. We also show that this minimized PE gives rise to superior lentiviral vector titers (46-fold) over the regular PE in an all-in-one PE lentiviral vector. We finally deliver the minimized PE to mouse liver by dual AAV8 vectors and show up to 6% precise editing of the PCSK9 gene, thereby demonstrating the value of this truncated split PE system for in vivo applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongliang Gao
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Sujan Ravendran
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Jakob Haldrup
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Huiqiang Cai
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Xiangning Ding
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Søren R Paludan
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | | | - Rasmus O Bak
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
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4
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Ipsen MB, Sørensen EMG, Thomsen EA, Weiss S, Haldrup J, Dalby A, Palmfeldt J, Bross P, Rasmussen M, Fredsøe J, Klingenberg S, Jochumsen MR, Bouchelouche K, Ulhøi BP, Borre M, Mikkelsen JG, Sørensen KD. A genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen identifies novel PARP inhibitor resistance genes in prostate cancer. Oncogene 2022; 41:4271-4281. [PMID: 35933519 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-022-02427-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
DNA repair gene mutations are frequent in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), suggesting eligibility for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) treatment. However, therapy resistance is a major clinical challenge and genes contributing to PARPi resistance are poorly understood. Using a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen, this study aimed at identifying genes involved in PARPi resistance in CRPC. Based on the screen, we identified PARP1, and six novel candidates associated with olaparib resistance upon knockout. For validation, we generated multiple knockout populations/clones per gene in C4 and/or LNCaP CRPC cells, which confirmed that loss of PARP1, ARH3, YWHAE, or UBR5 caused olaparib resistance. PARP1 or ARH3 knockout caused cross-resistance to other PARPis (veliparib and niraparib). Furthermore, PARP1 or ARH3 knockout led to reduced autophagy, while pharmacological induction of autophagy partially reverted their PARPi resistant phenotype. Tumor RNA sequencing of 126 prostate cancer patients identified low ARH3 expression as an independent predictor of recurrence. Our results advance the understanding of PARPi response by identifying four novel genes that contribute to PARPi sensitivity in CRPC and suggest a new model of PARPi resistance through decreased autophagy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malene Blond Ipsen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Ea Marie Givskov Sørensen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Simone Weiss
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jakob Haldrup
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Johan Palmfeldt
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Research Unit for Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Peter Bross
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Research Unit for Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Martin Rasmussen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jacob Fredsøe
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Søren Klingenberg
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET-Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Mads R Jochumsen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET-Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Kirsten Bouchelouche
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET-Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Michael Borre
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Urology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Karina Dalsgaard Sørensen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark. .,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
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5
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Wolff JH, Haldrup J, Thomsen EA, Andersen S, Mikkelsen JG. piggyPrime: High-Efficacy Prime Editing in Human Cells Using piggyBac-Based DNA Transposition. Front Genome Ed 2021; 3:786893. [PMID: 34870275 PMCID: PMC8633390 DOI: 10.3389/fgeed.2021.786893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Prime editing is a novel genome editing technology that allows a wide range of tailored genomic alterations. Prime editing does not involve homologous recombination, but suffers from low efficacy. Here, we demonstrate piggyPrime, a transfected single-vector system based on piggyBac DNA transposition for genomic integration of all prime editing components in human cells allowing easy and effective transgenesis with prime editing efficacies up to 100% in cell lines.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jakob Haldrup
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Sofie Andersen
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Anderson MV, Haldrup J, Thomsen EA, Wolff JH, Mikkelsen JG. pegIT - a web-based design tool for prime editing. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:W505-W509. [PMID: 34060619 PMCID: PMC8265180 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Prime editing (PE) is a novel CRISPR-derived genome editing technique facilitating precision editing without double-stranded DNA breaks. PE, mediated by a Cas9-reverse transcriptase fusion protein, is based on dual-functioning prime editing guide RNAs (pegRNAs), serving both as guide molecules and as templates carrying the desired edits. Due to such diverse functions, manual pegRNA design is a subject to error and not suited for large-scale setups. Here, we present pegIT, a user-friendly web tool for rapid pegRNA design for numerous user-defined edits, including large-scale setups. pegIT is freely available at https://pegit.giehmlab.dk.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jakob Haldrup
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, 8000, Denmark
| | | | - Jonas Holst Wolff
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, 8000, Denmark
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7
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Haldrup J, Strand SH, Cieza-Borrella C, Jakobsson ME, Riedel M, Norgaard M, Hedensted S, Dagnaes-Hansen F, Ulhoi BP, Eeles R, Borre M, Olsen JV, Thomsen M, Kote-Jarai Z, Sorensen KD. FRMD6 has tumor suppressor functions in prostate cancer. Oncogene 2020; 40:763-776. [PMID: 33249427 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-020-01548-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Available tools for prostate cancer (PC) prognosis are suboptimal but may be improved by better knowledge about genes driving tumor aggressiveness. Here, we identified FRMD6 (FERM domain-containing protein 6) as an aberrantly hypermethylated and significantly downregulated gene in PC. Low FRMD6 expression was associated with postoperative biochemical recurrence in two large PC patient cohorts. In overexpression and CRISPR/Cas9 knockout experiments in PC cell lines, FRMD6 inhibited viability, proliferation, cell cycle progression, colony formation, 3D spheroid growth, and tumor xenograft growth in mice. Transcriptomic, proteomic, and phospho-proteomic profiling revealed enrichment of Hippo/YAP and c-MYC signaling upon FRMD6 knockout. Connectivity Map analysis and drug repurposing experiments identified pyroxamide as a new potential therapy for FRMD6 deficient PC cells. Finally, we established orthotropic Frmd6 and Pten, or Pten only (control) knockout in the ROSA26 mouse prostate. After 12 weeks, Frmd6/Pten double knockouts presented high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-PIN) and hyperproliferation, while Pten single-knockouts developed only regular PIN lesions and displayed lower proliferation. In conclusion, FRMD6 was identified as a novel tumor suppressor gene and prognostic biomarker candidate in PC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Haldrup
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Siri H Strand
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Clara Cieza-Borrella
- Oncogenetics, Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Magnus E Jakobsson
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Immunotechnology, Lund University, Medicon Village, 22100, Lund, Sweden
| | - Maria Riedel
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Maibritt Norgaard
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Stine Hedensted
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | | | - Rosalind Eeles
- Oncogenetics, Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK.,The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Michael Borre
- Dept. of Urology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jesper V Olsen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Martin Thomsen
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Zsofia Kote-Jarai
- Oncogenetics, Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Karina D Sorensen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark. .,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
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8
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Haldrup J, Schmidt L, Pedersen JS, Sørensen KD. Abstract 5899: Genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening identifies genetic vulnerabilities and potential therapeutic targets in castration resistant prostate cancer. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2018-5899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Treatment options for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) are limited and only a few agents (e.g. enzalutamide, docetaxel) are routinely used in the clinic. Unfortunately, CRPC tumors will invariable develop resistance to these agents and only a subset of patients will respond. Thus, novel predictive biomarkers are urgently needed to ensure that an expensive and potentially harmful agent is given only to patients who will benefit from it. Furthermore, to enable new treatment strategies, a better understanding of drug resistance mechanisms is required.
Methods: To identify novel drug resistance genes and mechanisms of therapy resistance, we performed genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens in LNCaP (hormone naïve) and in the isogenic C4 (castration resistant) PC cell line, respectively. Using 77,441 unique sgRNAs (Brunello library), a total of 19,114 protein-coding genes were tested for their potential functional role in enzalutamide or docetaxel resistance. Both IC50 and IC90 values were used for selection. MAGeCK was used to identify enriched and depleted sgRNAs (treatment vs. DMSO).
Results: Among the highest ranked hits for the C4 dropout screens, several potential genetic vulnerabilities and mechanisms of resistance were identified, as knockout of specific genes sensitized C4 cells to enzalutamide. None of these hits were observed in LNCaP, which suggest CRPC-specific resistance mechanisms. For the positive screens, increased enzalutamide resistance was observed after knockout of genes encoding e.g. phosphokinases and specific solute carriers (SLCs) for C4 and LNCaP, respectively. Lastly, our results suggest that knockout of specific zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), posttranslational modification enzymes or microtubule components may modulate docetaxel resistance in C4 cells.
Conclusion: Drug resistance is a major clinical problem. Here, we identified genetic vulnerabilities that may be translated into predictive biomarkers, combination therapies and/or novel drug development strategies for CRPC.
Citation Format: Jakob Haldrup, Linnéa Schmidt, Jakob S. Pedersen, Karina D. Sørensen. Genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening identifies genetic vulnerabilities and potential therapeutic targets in castration resistant prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5899.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Haldrup
- Department of Molecular Medicine (MOMA), Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Linnéa Schmidt
- Department of Molecular Medicine (MOMA), Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Jakob S. Pedersen
- Department of Molecular Medicine (MOMA), Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Karina D. Sørensen
- Department of Molecular Medicine (MOMA), Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark
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