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Vos PD, Gandadireja AP, Rossetti G, Siira SJ, Mantegna JL, Filipovska A, Rackham O. Mutational rescue of the activity of high-fidelity Cas9 enzymes. Cell Rep Methods 2024; 4:100756. [PMID: 38608689 PMCID: PMC11046035 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2024.100756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Programmable DNA endonucleases derived from bacterial genetic defense systems, exemplified by CRISPR-Cas9, have made it significantly easier to perform genomic modifications in living cells. However, unprogrammed, off-target modifications can have serious consequences, as they often disrupt the function or regulation of non-targeted genes and compromise the safety of therapeutic gene editing applications. High-fidelity mutants of Cas9 have been established to enable more accurate gene editing, but these are typically less efficient. Here, we merge the strengths of high-fidelity Cas9 and hyperactive Cas9 variants to provide an enzyme, which we dub HyperDriveCas9, that yields the desirable properties of both parents. HyperDriveCas9 functions efficiently in mammalian cells and introduces insertion and deletion mutations into targeted genomic regions while maintaining a favorable off-target profile. HyperDriveCas9 is a precise and efficient tool for gene editing applications in science and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal D Vos
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Andrianto P Gandadireja
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Giulia Rossetti
- Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Stefan J Siira
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Jessica L Mantegna
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Aleksandra Filipovska
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Oliver Rackham
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia.
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Vos PD, Filipovska A, Rackham O. Frankenstein Cas9: engineering improved gene editing systems. Biochem Soc Trans 2022; 50:1505-1516. [PMID: 36305591 DOI: 10.1042/bst20220873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 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: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
The discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 and its widespread use has revolutionised and propelled research in biological sciences. Although the ability to target Cas9's nuclease activity to specific sites via an easily designed guide RNA (gRNA) has made it an adaptable gene editing system, it has many characteristics that could be improved for use in biotechnology. Cas9 exhibits significant off-target activity and low on-target nuclease activity in certain contexts. Scientists have undertaken ambitious protein engineering campaigns to bypass these limitations, producing several promising variants of Cas9. Cas9 variants with improved and alternative activities provide exciting new tools to expand the scope and fidelity of future CRISPR applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal D Vos
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia
- Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia
- Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Aleksandra Filipovska
- Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Oliver Rackham
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia
- Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia
- Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
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Vos PD, Rossetti G, Mantegna JL, Siira SJ, Gandadireja AP, Bruce M, Raven SA, Khersonsky O, Fleishman SJ, Filipovska A, Rackham O. Computationally designed hyperactive Cas9 enzymes. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3023. [PMID: 35641498 PMCID: PMC9156780 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30598-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to alter the genomes of living cells is key to understanding how genes influence the functions of organisms and will be critical to modify living systems for useful purposes. However, this promise has long been limited by the technical challenges involved in genetic engineering. Recent advances in gene editing have bypassed some of these challenges but they are still far from ideal. Here we use FuncLib to computationally design Cas9 enzymes with substantially higher donor-independent editing activities. We use genetic circuits linked to cell survival in yeast to quantify Cas9 activity and discover synergistic interactions between engineered regions. These hyperactive Cas9 variants function efficiently in mammalian cells and introduce larger and more diverse pools of insertions and deletions into targeted genomic regions, providing tools to enhance and expand the possible applications of CRISPR-based gene editing. The ability to alter the genomes of living cells is key to understanding how genes influence the functions of organisms and will be critical to modify living systems for useful purposes. Here, the authors use computational design to discover Cas9 enzymes with increased activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal D Vos
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.,Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.,Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Giulia Rossetti
- Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Jessica L Mantegna
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.,Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.,Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Stefan J Siira
- Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Andrianto P Gandadireja
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.,Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.,Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Mitchell Bruce
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.,Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Samuel A Raven
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.,Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.,Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Olga Khersonsky
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sarel J Fleishman
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Aleksandra Filipovska
- Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.,Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Oliver Rackham
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia. .,Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia. .,Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia. .,ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia. .,Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
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