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Qin W, Liang F, Lin SJ, Petree C, Huang K, Zhang Y, Li L, Varshney P, Mourrain P, Liu Y, Varshney GK. ABE-ultramax for high-efficiency biallelic adenine base editing in zebrafish. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5613. [PMID: 38965236 PMCID: PMC11224239 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49943-1] [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: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Advancements in CRISPR technology, particularly the development of base editors, revolutionize genetic variant research. When combined with model organisms like zebrafish, base editors significantly accelerate and refine in vivo analysis of genetic variations. However, base editors are restricted by protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequences and specific editing windows, hindering their applicability to a broad spectrum of genetic variants. Additionally, base editors can introduce unintended mutations and often exhibit reduced efficiency in living organisms compared to cultured cell lines. Here, we engineer a suite of adenine base editors (ABEs) called ABE-Ultramax (Umax), demonstrating high editing efficiency and low rates of insertions and deletions (indels) in zebrafish. The ABE-Umax suite of editors includes ABEs with shifted, narrowed, or broadened editing windows, reduced bystander mutation frequency, and highly flexible PAM sequence requirements. These advancements have the potential to address previous challenges in disease modeling and advance gene therapy applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Qin
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Fang Liang
- Institute of Modern Aquaculture Science and Engineering, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510631, China
| | - Sheng-Jia Lin
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Cassidy Petree
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Kevin Huang
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Yu Zhang
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Lin Li
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, 510631, Guangzhou, China
- Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, 510631, Guangzhou, China
| | - Pratishtha Varshney
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Philippe Mourrain
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Yanmei Liu
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, 510631, Guangzhou, China.
- Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, 510631, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Gaurav K Varshney
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
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Yuan YG, Liu SZ, Farhab M, Lv MY, Zhang T, Cao SX. Genome editing: An insight into disease resistance, production efficiency, and biomedical applications in livestock. Funct Integr Genomics 2024; 24:81. [PMID: 38709433 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-024-01364-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
One of the primary concerns for the survival of the human species is the growing demand for food brought on by an increasing global population. New developments in genome-editing technology present promising opportunities for the growth of wholesome and prolific farm animals. Genome editing in large animals is used for a variety of purposes, including biotechnology to improve food production, animal health, and pest management, as well as the development of animal models for fundamental research and biomedicine. Genome editing entails modifying genetic material by removing, adding, or manipulating particular DNA sequences from a particular locus in a way that does not happen naturally. The three primary genome editors are CRISPR/Cas 9, TALENs, and ZFNs. Each of these enzymes is capable of precisely severing nuclear DNA at a predetermined location. One of the most effective inventions is base editing, which enables single base conversions without the requirement for a DNA double-strand break (DSB). As reliable methods for precise genome editing in studies involving animals, cytosine and adenine base editing are now well-established. Effective zygote editing with both cytosine and adenine base editors (ABE) has resulted in the production of animal models. Both base editors produced comparable outcomes for the precise editing of point mutations in somatic cells, advancing the field of gene therapy. This review focused on the principles, methods, recent developments, outstanding applications, the advantages and disadvantages of ZFNs, TALENs, and CRISPR/Cas9 base editors, and prime editing in diverse lab and farm animals. Additionally, we address the methodologies that can be used for gene regulation, base editing, and epigenetic alterations, as well as the significance of genome editing in animal models to better reflect real disease. We also look at methods designed to increase the effectiveness and precision of gene editing tools. Genome editing in large animals is used for a variety of purposes, including biotechnology to improve food production, animal health, and pest management, as well as the development of animal models for fundamental research and biomedicine. This review is an overview of the existing knowledge of the principles, methods, recent developments, outstanding applications, the advantages and disadvantages of zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription-activator-like endonucleases (TALENs), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas 9), base editors and prime editing in diverse lab and farm animals, which will offer better and healthier products for the entire human race.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Guo Yuan
- College of Veterinary Medicine/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetic Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China.
- Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Song-Zi Liu
- College of Veterinary Medicine/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetic Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
- Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
| | - Muhammad Farhab
- College of Veterinary Medicine/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetic Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
- Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
| | - Mei-Yun Lv
- College of Veterinary Medicine/Key Laboratory of Animal Genetic Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
- Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ting Zhang
- School of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Jiangsu Vocational College of Agriculture and Forestry, Jurong, 212499, China
| | - Shao-Xiao Cao
- Institute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China
- Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Center for Precision animal Breeding, Nanjing, 210014, China
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Miskalis A, Shirguppe S, Winter J, Elias G, Swami D, Nambiar A, Stilger M, Woods WS, Gosstola N, Gapinske M, Zeballos A, Moore H, Maslov S, Gaj T, Perez-Pinera P. SPLICER: A Highly Efficient Base Editing Toolbox That Enables In Vivo Therapeutic Exon Skipping. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.01.587650. [PMID: 38883727 PMCID: PMC11178003 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.01.587650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Exon skipping technologies enable exclusion of targeted exons from mature mRNA transcripts, which has broad applications in molecular biology, medicine, and biotechnology. Existing exon skipping techniques include antisense oligonucleotides, targetable nucleases, and base editors, which, while effective for specific applications at some target exons, remain hindered by shortcomings, including transient effects for oligonucleotides, genotoxicity for nucleases and inconsistent exon skipping for base editors. To overcome these limitations, we created SPLICER, a toolbox of next-generation base editors consisting of near-PAMless Cas9 nickase variants fused to adenosine or cytosine deaminases for the simultaneous editing of splice acceptor (SA) and splice donor (SD) sequences. Synchronized SA and SD editing with SPLICER improves exon skipping, reduces aberrant outcomes, including cryptic splicing and intron retention, and enables skipping of exons refractory to single splice-site editing. To demonstrate the therapeutic potential of SPLICER, we targeted APP exon 17, which encodes the amino acid residues that are cleaved to form the Aβ plaques in Alzheimer's disease. SPLICER reduced the formation of Aβ42 peptides in vitro and enabled efficient exon skipping in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Overall, SPLICER is a widely applicable and efficient toolbox for exon skipping with broad therapeutic applications.
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Ryu J, Adashi EY, Hennebold JD. The history, use, and challenges of therapeutic somatic cell and germline gene editing. Fertil Steril 2023; 120:528-538. [PMID: 36878350 PMCID: PMC10477338 DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2023.02.040] [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: 10/02/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
The advent of directed gene-editing technologies now over 10 years ago ushered in a new era of precision medicine wherein specific disease-causing mutations can be corrected. In parallel with developing new gene-editing platforms, optimizing their efficiency and delivery has been remarkable. With their development, there has been interest in using gene-editing systems for correcting disease mutations in differentiated somatic cells ex vivo or in vivo or for germline gene editing in gametes or 1-cell embryos to potentially limit genetic diseases in the offspring and in future generations. This review details the development and history of the current gene-editing systems and the advantages and challenges in their use for somatic cell and germline gene editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junghyun Ryu
- Division of Reproductive and Developmental Sciences, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, Oregon
| | - Eli Y Adashi
- Department of Medical Science, The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Jon D Hennebold
- Division of Reproductive and Developmental Sciences, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, Oregon; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon.
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Yang SP, Zhu XX, Qu ZX, Chen CY, Wu YB, Wu Y, Luo ZD, Wang XY, He CY, Fang JW, Wang LQ, Hong GL, Zheng ST, Zeng JM, Yan AF, Feng J, Liu L, Zhang XL, Zhang LG, Miao K, Tang DS. Production of MSTN knockout porcine cells using adenine base-editing-mediated exon skipping. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim 2023:10.1007/s11626-023-00763-5. [PMID: 37099179 DOI: 10.1007/s11626-023-00763-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
Gene-knockout pigs have important applications in agriculture and medicine. Compared with CRISPR/Cas9 and cytosine base editing (CBE) technologies, adenine base editing (ABE) shows better safety and accuracy in gene modification. However, because of the characteristics of gene sequences, the ABE system cannot be widely used in gene knockout. Alternative splicing of mRNA is an important biological mechanism in eukaryotes for the formation of proteins with different functional activities. The splicing apparatus recognizes conserved sequences of the 5' end splice donor and 3' end splice acceptor motifs of introns in pre-mRNA that can trigger exon skipping, leading to the production of new functional proteins, or causing gene inactivation through frameshift mutations. This study aimed to construct a MSTN knockout pig by inducing exon skipping with the aid of the ABE system to expand the application of the ABE system for the preparation of knockout pigs. In this study, first, we constructed ABEmaxAW and ABE8eV106W plasmid vectors and found that their editing efficiencies at the targets were at least sixfold and even 260-fold higher than that of ABEmaxAW by contrasting the editing efficiencies at the gene targets of endogenous CD163, IGF2, and MSTN in pigs. Subsequently, we used the ABE8eV106W system to realize adenine base (the base of the antisense strand is thymine) editing of the conserved splice donor sequence (5'-GT) of intron 2 of the porcine MSTN gene. A porcine single-cell clone carrying a homozygous mutation (5'-GC) in the conserved sequence (5'-GT) of the intron 2 splice donor of the MSTN gene was successfully generated after drug selection. Unfortunately, the MSTN gene was not expressed and, therefore, could not be characterized at this level. No detectable genomic off-target edits were identified by Sanger sequencing. In this study, we verified that the ABE8eV106W vector had higher editing efficiency and could expand the editing scope of ABE. Additionally, we successfully achieved the precise modification of the alternative splice acceptor of intron 2 of the porcine MSTN gene, which may provide a new strategy for gene knockout in pigs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai-Peng Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Sciences and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Xiang-Xing Zhu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Sciences and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China.
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China.
| | - Zi-Xiao Qu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Sciences and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Cai-Yue Chen
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Yao-Bing Wu
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Yue Wu
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Zi-Dan Luo
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Xin-Yi Wang
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Chu-Yu He
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Jia-Wen Fang
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Ling-Qi Wang
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Guang-Long Hong
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Shu-Tao Zheng
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Jie-Mei Zeng
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Ai-Fen Yan
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Juan Feng
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Lian Liu
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Xiao-Li Zhang
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Li-Gang Zhang
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China
| | - Kai Miao
- Centre for Precision Medicine Research and Training, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China.
| | - Dong-Sheng Tang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Sciences and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China.
- Gene Editing Technology Center of Guangdong Province, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, 528225, China.
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Deng J, Yang L, Wang Z, Ouyang H, Yu H, Yuan H, Pang D. Advance of genetically modified pigs in xeno-transplantation. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:1033197. [PMID: 36299485 PMCID: PMC9590650 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.1033197] [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] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As the standard of living improves, chronic diseases and end-stage organ failure have been a regular occurrence in human beings. Organ transplantation has become one of the hopes in the fight against chronic diseases and end-stage organ failure. However, organs available for transplantation are far from sufficient to meet the demand, leading to a major organ shortage crisis. To solve this problem, researchers have turned to pigs as their target since pigs have many advantages as xenograft donors. Pigs are considered the ideal organ donor for human xenotransplantation, but direct transplantation of porcine organs to humans faces many obstacles, such as hyperacute rejection, acute humoral xenograft rejection, coagulation dysregulation, inflammatory response, coagulation dysregulation, and endogenous porcine retroviral infection. Many transgenic strategies have been developed to overcome these obstacles. This review provides an overview of current advances in genetically modified pigs for xenotransplantation. Future genetic engineering-based delivery of safe and effective organs and tissues for xenotransplantation remains our goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiacheng Deng
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Lin Yang
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Ziru Wang
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Hongsheng Ouyang
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Chongqing Research Institute, Jilin University, Chongqing, China
- Chongqing Jitang Biotechnology Research Institute, Chongqing, China
| | - Hao Yu
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Hongming Yuan
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Chongqing Research Institute, Jilin University, Chongqing, China
- Chongqing Jitang Biotechnology Research Institute, Chongqing, China
- *Correspondence: Hongming Yuan, ; Daxin Pang,
| | - Daxin Pang
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Chongqing Research Institute, Jilin University, Chongqing, China
- Chongqing Jitang Biotechnology Research Institute, Chongqing, China
- *Correspondence: Hongming Yuan, ; Daxin Pang,
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Application of Gene Editing Technology in Resistance Breeding of Livestock. LIFE (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:life12071070. [PMID: 35888158 PMCID: PMC9325061 DOI: 10.3390/life12071070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
As a new genetic engineering technology, gene editing can precisely modify the specific gene sequence of the organism’s genome. In the last 10 years, with the rapid development of gene editing technology, zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like endonucleases (TALENs), and CRISPR/Cas9 systems have been applied to modify endogenous genes in organisms accurately. Now, gene editing technology has been used in mice, zebrafish, pigs, cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits, monkeys, and other species. Breeding for disease-resistance in agricultural animals tends to be a difficult task for traditional breeding, but gene editing technology has made this easier. In this work, we overview the development and application of gene editing technology in the resistance breeding of livestock. Also, we further discuss the prospects and outlooks of gene editing technology in disease-resistance breeding.
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