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He Y, Zhou X, Chang C, Chen G, Liu W, Li G, Fan X, Sun M, Miao C, Huang Q, Ma Y, Yuan F, Chang X. Protein language models-assisted optimization of a uracil-N-glycosylase variant enables programmable T-to-G and T-to-C base editing. Mol Cell 2024; 84:1257-1270.e6. [PMID: 38377993 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2024.01.021] [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: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Current base editors (BEs) use DNA deaminases, including cytidine deaminase in cytidine BE (CBE) or adenine deaminase in adenine BE (ABE), to facilitate transition nucleotide substitutions. Combining CBE or ABE with glycosylase enzymes can induce limited transversion mutations. Nonetheless, a critical demand remains for BEs capable of generating alternative mutation types, such as T>G corrections. In this study, we leveraged pre-trained protein language models to optimize a uracil-N-glycosylase (UNG) variant with altered specificity for thymines (eTDG). Notably, after two rounds of testing fewer than 50 top-ranking variants, more than 50% exhibited over 1.5-fold enhancement in enzymatic activities. When eTDG was fused with nCas9, it induced programmable T-to-S (G/C) substitutions and corrected db/db diabetic mutation in mice (up to 55%). Our findings not only establish orthogonal strategies for developing novel BEs but also demonstrate the capacities of protein language models for optimizing enzymes without extensive task-specific training data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan He
- Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China; School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Xibin Zhou
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China
| | - Chong Chang
- School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Ge Chen
- School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Weikuan Liu
- Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China; School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Geng Li
- School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Xiaoqi Fan
- School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Mingsun Sun
- School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Chensi Miao
- School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Qianyue Huang
- School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Yunqing Ma
- School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Fajie Yuan
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China.
| | - Xing Chang
- School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Research Center for Industries of the Future (RCIF), Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China; Westlake Center for Genome Editing, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China.
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