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Selvaraj S, Feist WN, Viel S, Vaidyanathan S, Dudek AM, Gastou M, Rockwood SJ, Ekman FK, Oseghale AR, Xu L, Pavel-Dinu M, Luna SE, Cromer MK, Sayana R, Gomez-Ospina N, Porteus MH. High-efficiency transgene integration by homology-directed repair in human primary cells using DNA-PKcs inhibition. Nat Biotechnol 2024; 42:731-744. [PMID: 37537500 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01888-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
Therapeutic applications of nuclease-based genome editing would benefit from improved methods for transgene integration via homology-directed repair (HDR). To improve HDR efficiency, we screened six small-molecule inhibitors of DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), a key protein in the alternative repair pathway of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), which generates genomic insertions/deletions (INDELs). From this screen, we identified AZD7648 as the most potent compound. The use of AZD7648 significantly increased HDR (up to 50-fold) and concomitantly decreased INDELs across different genomic loci in various therapeutically relevant primary human cell types. In all cases, the ratio of HDR to INDELs markedly increased, and, in certain situations, INDEL-free high-frequency (>50%) targeted integration was achieved. This approach has the potential to improve the therapeutic efficacy of cell-based therapies and broaden the use of targeted integration as a research tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sridhar Selvaraj
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - William N Feist
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sebastien Viel
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Immunology Department, Lyon Sud University Hospital, Pierre-Bénite, France
- International Center of Research in Infectiology, Lyon University, INSERM U1111, CNRS UMR 5308, ENS, UCBL, Lyon, France
| | - Sriram Vaidyanathan
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Center for Gene Therapy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Amanda M Dudek
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Marc Gastou
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sarah J Rockwood
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Freja K Ekman
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Aluya R Oseghale
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Liwen Xu
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Mara Pavel-Dinu
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sofia E Luna
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - M Kyle Cromer
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ruhi Sayana
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Natalia Gomez-Ospina
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Matthew H Porteus
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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2
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Lee BC, Gin A, Wu C, Singh K, Grice M, Mortlock R, Abraham D, Fan X, Zhou Y, AlJanahi A, Choi U, DeRavin SS, Shin T, Hong S, Dunbar CE. Impact of CRISPR/HDR editing versus lentiviral transduction on long-term engraftment and clonal dynamics of HSPCs in rhesus macaques. Cell Stem Cell 2024; 31:455-466.e4. [PMID: 38508195 PMCID: PMC10997443 DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2024.02.010] [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: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
For precise genome editing via CRISPR/homology-directed repair (HDR), effective and safe editing of long-term engrafting hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) is required. The impact of HDR on true LT-HSC clonal dynamics in a relevant large animal model has not been studied. To track the output and clonality of HDR-edited cells and to provide a comparison to lentivirally transduced HSCs in vivo, we developed a competitive rhesus macaque (RM) autologous transplantation model, co-infusing HSCs transduced with a barcoded GFP-expressing lentiviral vector (LV) and HDR edited at the CD33 locus. CRISPR/HDR-edited cells showed a two-log decrease by 2 months following transplantation, with little improvement via p53 inhibition, in comparison to minimal loss of LV-transduced cells long term. HDR long-term clonality was oligoclonal in contrast to highly polyclonal LV-transduced HSCs. These results suggest marked clinically relevant differences in the impact of current genetic modification approaches on HSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byung-Chul Lee
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul, Korea; Research Institute of Women's Health, Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul, Korea.
| | - Ashley Gin
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Chuanfeng Wu
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Komudi Singh
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Max Grice
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ryland Mortlock
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Diana Abraham
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Xing Fan
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Yifan Zhou
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Puddicombe Way, Cambridge, UK; Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Aisha AlJanahi
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Uimook Choi
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Suk See DeRavin
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Taehoon Shin
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea
| | - Sogun Hong
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Cynthia E Dunbar
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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3
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Lane DD, Gottimukkala KSV, Cunningham RA, Jwa S, Cassidy ME, Castelli JMP, Adair JE. Cas9 RNP Physiochemical Analysis for Enhanced CRISPR-AuNP Assembly and Function. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.02.586657. [PMID: 38617334 PMCID: PMC11014514 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.02.586657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
CRISPR therapy for hematological disease has proven effective for transplant dependent beta thalassemia and sickle cell anemia, with additional disease targets in sight. The success of these therapies relies on high rates of CRISPR-induced double strand DNA breaks in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC). To achieve these levels, CRISPR complexes are typically delivered by electroporation ex vivo which is toxic to HSPCs. HSPCs are then cultured in stimulating conditions that promote error-prone DNA repair, requiring conditioning with chemotherapy to facilitate engraftment after reinfusion. In vivo delivery by nanocarriers of CRISPR gene editing tools has the potential to mitigate this complexity and toxicity and make this revolutionary therapy globally available. To achieve in vivo delivery, the inherent restriction factors against oligonucleotide delivery into HSPCs, that make ex vivo manipulation including electroporation and stimulation essential, must be overcome. To this end, our group developed a CRISPR carrying gold nanoparticle (CRISPR-AuNP) capable of delivering either Cas9 or Cas12a CRISPRs as ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNP) without compromising HSPC fitness. However, the most commonly used CRISPR, Cas9, demonstrated inconsistent activity in this delivery system, with lower activity relative to Cas12a. Investigation of Cas9 RNP biophysics relative to Cas12a revealed duplex RNA instability during the initial loading onto Au cores, resulting in undetectable Cas9 loading to the particle surface. Here we demonstrate preformation of RNP before loading, coupled with optimization of the loading chemistry and conditions, resulted in 39.6 ± 7.0 Cas9 RNP/AuNP without compromising RNP activity in both in vitro assays and primary human HSPC. The same alterations improved Cas12a RNP/AuNP loading 10-fold over previously reported levels. To achieve particle stability, the reported polyethyleneimine outer coating was altered to include PEGylation and the resulting 2nd generation CRISPR-AuNP demonstrates favorable nanoformulation characteristics for in vivo administration, with a hydrophilic, more neutral nanoparticle surface. Direct treatment of HSPC in vitro showed 72.5 ± 7.37% uptake of 2nd generation CRISPR-AuNP in primary human HSPC, but with endosomal accumulation and low rates of gene editing consistent with low levels of endosomal escape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel D Lane
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Karthikeya S V Gottimukkala
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Rachel A Cunningham
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Shirley Jwa
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Molly E Cassidy
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jack M P Castelli
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jennifer E Adair
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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4
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Perez-Bermejo JA, Efagene O, Matern WM, Holden JK, Kabir S, Chew GM, Andreoletti G, Catton E, Ennis CL, Garcia A, Gerstenberg TL, Hill KA, Jain A, Krassovsky K, Lalisan CD, Lord D, Quejarro BJ, Sales-Lee J, Shah M, Silva BJ, Skowronski J, Strukov YG, Thomas J, Veraz M, Vijay T, Wallace KA, Yuan Y, Grogan JL, Wienert B, Lahiri P, Treusch S, Dever DP, Soros VB, Partridge JR, Seim KL. Functional screening in human HSPCs identifies optimized protein-based enhancers of Homology Directed Repair. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2625. [PMID: 38521763 PMCID: PMC10960832 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46816-5] [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: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Homology Directed Repair (HDR) enables precise genome editing, but the implementation of HDR-based therapies is hindered by limited efficiency in comparison to methods that exploit alternative DNA repair routes, such as Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ). In this study, we develop a functional, pooled screening platform to identify protein-based reagents that improve HDR in human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). We leverage this screening platform to explore sequence diversity at the binding interface of the NHEJ inhibitor i53 and its target, 53BP1, identifying optimized variants that enable new intermolecular bonds and robustly increase HDR. We show that these variants specifically reduce insertion-deletion outcomes without increasing off-target editing, synergize with a DNAPK inhibitor molecule, and can be applied at manufacturing scale to increase the fraction of cells bearing repaired alleles. This screening platform can enable the discovery of future gene editing reagents that improve HDR outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Meet Shah
- Graphite Bio, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Yue Yuan
- Graphite Bio, South San Francisco, CA, USA
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5
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Singh S, Pugliano CM, Honaker Y, Laird A, DeGottardi MQ, Lopez E, Lachkar S, Stoffers C, Sommer K, Khan IF, Rawlings DJ. Efficient and sustained FOXP3 locus editing in hematopoietic stem cells as a therapeutic approach for IPEX syndrome. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2024; 32:101183. [PMID: 38282895 PMCID: PMC10818254 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2023.101183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
Immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked (IPEX) syndrome is a monogenic disorder caused by mutations in the FOXP3 gene, required for generation of regulatory T (Treg) cells. Loss of Treg cells leads to immune dysregulation characterized by multi-organ autoimmunity and early mortality. Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation can be curative, but success is limited by autoimmune complications, donor availability and/or graft-vs.-host disease. Correction of FOXP3 in autologous HSC utilizing a homology-directed repair (HDR)-based platform may provide a safer alternative therapy. Here, we demonstrate efficient editing of FOXP3 utilizing co-delivery of Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complexes and adeno-associated viral vectors to achieve HDR rates of >40% in vitro using mobilized CD34+ cells from multiple donors. Using this approach to deliver either a GFP or a FOXP3 cDNA donor cassette, we demonstrate sustained bone marrow engraftment of approximately 10% of HDR-edited cells in immune-deficient recipient mice at 16 weeks post-transplant. Further, we show targeted integration of FOXP3 cDNA in CD34+ cells from an IPEX patient and expression of the introduced FOXP3 transcript in gene-edited primary T cells from both healthy individuals and IPEX patients. Our combined findings suggest that refinement of this approach is likely to provide future clinical benefit in IPEX.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swati Singh
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - Cole M. Pugliano
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - Yuchi Honaker
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - Aidan Laird
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - M. Quinn DeGottardi
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - Ezra Lopez
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - Stefan Lachkar
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - Claire Stoffers
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - Karen Sommer
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - Iram F. Khan
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - David J. Rawlings
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies and the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
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6
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Knauer C, Haltern H, Schoger E, Kügler S, Roos L, Zelarayán LC, Hasenfuss G, Zimmermann WH, Wollnik B, Cyganek L. Preclinical evaluation of CRISPR-based therapies for Noonan syndrome caused by deep-intronic LZTR1 variants. MOLECULAR THERAPY. NUCLEIC ACIDS 2024; 35:102123. [PMID: 38333672 PMCID: PMC10851011 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2024.102123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Gene variants in LZTR1 are implicated to cause Noonan syndrome associated with a severe and early-onset hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Mechanistically, LZTR1 deficiency results in accumulation of RAS GTPases and, as a consequence, in RAS-MAPK signaling hyperactivity, thereby causing the Noonan syndrome-associated phenotype. Despite its epidemiological relevance, pharmacological as well as invasive therapies remain limited. Here, personalized CRISPR-Cas9 gene therapies might offer a novel alternative for a curative treatment in this patient cohort. In this study, by utilizing a patient-specific screening platform based on iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes from two Noonan syndrome patients, we evaluated different clinically translatable therapeutic approaches using small Cas9 orthologs targeting a deep-intronic LZTR1 variant to cure the disease-associated molecular pathology. Despite high editing efficiencies in cardiomyocyte cultures transduced with lentivirus or all-in-one adeno-associated viruses, we observed crucial differences in editing outcomes in proliferative iPSCs vs. non-proliferative cardiomyocytes. While editing in iPSCs rescued the phenotype, the same editing approaches did not robustly restore LZTR1 function in cardiomyocytes, indicating critical differences in the activity of DNA double-strand break repair mechanisms between proliferative and non-proliferative cell types and highlighting the importance of cell type-specific screens for testing CRISPR-Cas9 gene therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Knauer
- Stem Cell Unit, Clinic for Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Henrike Haltern
- Stem Cell Unit, Clinic for Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Eric Schoger
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Kügler
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lennart Roos
- Stem Cell Unit, Clinic for Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Laura C. Zelarayán
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Cardiology and Angiology, University of Giessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany
| | - Gerd Hasenfuss
- Stem Cell Unit, Clinic for Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- DZNE (German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases), 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Bernd Wollnik
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lukas Cyganek
- Stem Cell Unit, Clinic for Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
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7
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Kruglova N, Shepelev M. Increasing Gene Editing Efficiency via CRISPR/Cas9- or Cas12a-Mediated Knock-In in Primary Human T Cells. Biomedicines 2024; 12:119. [PMID: 38255224 PMCID: PMC10813735 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12010119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
T lymphocytes represent a promising target for genome editing. They are primarily modified to recognize and kill tumor cells or to withstand HIV infection. In most studies, T cell genome editing is performed using the CRISPR/Cas technology. Although this technology is easily programmable and widely accessible, its efficiency of T cell genome editing was initially low. Several crucial improvements were made in the components of the CRISPR/Cas technology and their delivery methods, as well as in the culturing conditions of T cells, before a reasonable editing level suitable for clinical applications was achieved. In this review, we summarize and describe the aforementioned parameters that affect human T cell editing efficiency using the CRISPR/Cas technology, with a special focus on gene knock-in.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Kruglova
- Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Institute of Gene Biology RAS, 119334 Moscow, Russia;
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8
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Lee BC, Gin A, Wu C, Singh K, Grice M, Mortlock R, Abraham D, Fan X, Zhou Y, AlJanahi A, Choi U, de Ravin SS, Shin T, Hong S, Dunbar CE. Impact of CRISPR/HDR-editing versus lentiviral transduction on long-term engraftment and clonal dynamics of HSPCs in rhesus macaques. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.13.571396. [PMID: 38168153 PMCID: PMC10760194 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.13.571396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
For precise genome editing via CRISPR/homology-directed repair (HDR), effective and safe editing of long-term engrafting hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) requires both sufficient HDR efficiency and protection of LT-HSC function and number. The impact of HDR on true LT-HSCs clonal dynamics in a relevant large animal model has not previously been studied. To track the HDR-edited cells, autologous rhesus macaque (RM) CD34 + cells were electroporated with the gRNA/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) and HDR cassette barcode library structure and reinfused into RMs following myeloablation. For competitive model animals, fractionated CD34 + cells were transduced with a barcoded GFP-expressing lentiviral vector (LV) and electroporated via HDR machinery, respectively. CD33 knockout (KO) neutrophils were prevalent early following engraftment and then rapidly decreased, resulting in less than 1% total editing efficiency. Interestingly, in competitive animals, a higher concentration of i53 mRNA result in a less steep reduction in CD33 KO cells, presented a modest decrease in HDR rate (0.1-0.2%) and total indels (1.5-6.5%). In contrast, the drop off of LV-transduced GFP + cells stabilized at 20% after 2 months. We next retrieved embedded barcodes and revealed that various clones contributed to early hematopoietic reconstitution, then after dominant clones appeared at steady state throughout the animals. In conclusion, CRISPR/HDR edited cells disappeared rapidly after the autologous transplantation in RM despite substantial gene editing outcome, whereas LV-transduced cells were relatively well maintained. Clonality of HDR-edited cells drastically shrank at early stage and then relied on several dominant clones, which can be mildly mitigated by the introduction of i53 mRNA.
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9
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Riesenberg S, Kanis P, Macak D, Wollny D, Düsterhöft D, Kowalewski J, Helmbrecht N, Maricic T, Pääbo S. Efficient high-precision homology-directed repair-dependent genome editing by HDRobust. Nat Methods 2023; 20:1388-1399. [PMID: 37474806 PMCID: PMC10482697 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-023-01949-1] [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: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Homology-directed repair (HDR), a method for repair of DNA double-stranded breaks can be leveraged for the precise introduction of mutations supplied by synthetic DNA donors, but remains limited by low efficiency and off-target effects. In this study, we report HDRobust, a high-precision method that, via the combined transient inhibition of nonhomologous end joining and microhomology-mediated end joining, resulted in the induction of point mutations by HDR in up to 93% (median 60%, s.e.m. 3) of chromosomes in populations of cells. We found that, using this method, insertions, deletions and rearrangements at the target site, as well as unintended changes at other genomic sites, were largely abolished. We validated this approach for 58 different target sites and showed that it allows efficient correction of pathogenic mutations in cells derived from patients suffering from anemia, sickle cell disease and thrombophilia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Riesenberg
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Philipp Kanis
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dominik Macak
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Damian Wollny
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dorothee Düsterhöft
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Johannes Kowalewski
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nelly Helmbrecht
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tomislav Maricic
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Svante Pääbo
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Human Evolutionary Genomics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Onna-son, Japan
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10
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Rogers GL, Huang C, Mathur A, Huang X, Chen HY, Stanten K, Morales H, Chang CH, Kezirian EJ, Cannon PM. Reprogramming human B cells with custom heavy chain antibodies. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.28.546944. [PMID: 37425794 PMCID: PMC10327003 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.28.546944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
We describe a genome editing strategy to reprogram the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) locus of human B cells to express custom molecules that respond to immunization. These heavy chain antibodies (HCAbs) comprise a custom antigen-recognition domain linked to an Fc domain derived from the IgH locus and can be differentially spliced to express either B cell receptor (BCR) or secreted antibody isoforms. The HCAb editing platform is highly flexible, supporting antigen-binding domains based on both antibody and non-antibody components, and also allowing alterations in the Fc domain. Using HIV Env protein as a model antigen, we show that B cells edited to express anti-Env HCAbs support the regulated expression of both BCRs and antibodies, and respond to Env antigen in a tonsil organoid model of immunization. In this way, human B cells can be reprogrammed to produce customized therapeutic molecules with the potential for in vivo amplification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey L. Rogers
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Chun Huang
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Atishay Mathur
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Xiaoli Huang
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hsu-Yu Chen
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Kalya Stanten
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Heidy Morales
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Chan-Hua Chang
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Eric J. Kezirian
- Department of Otolaryngology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Paula M. Cannon
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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11
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Shy BR, Vykunta VS, Ha A, Talbot A, Roth TL, Nguyen DN, Pfeifer WG, Chen YY, Blaeschke F, Shifrut E, Vedova S, Mamedov MR, Chung JYJ, Li H, Yu R, Wu D, Wolf J, Martin TG, Castro CE, Ye L, Esensten JH, Eyquem J, Marson A. High-yield genome engineering in primary cells using a hybrid ssDNA repair template and small-molecule cocktails. Nat Biotechnol 2023; 41:521-531. [PMID: 36008610 PMCID: PMC10065198 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-022-01418-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 60.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Enhancing CRISPR-mediated site-specific transgene insertion efficiency by homology-directed repair (HDR) using high concentrations of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) with Cas9 target sequences (CTSs) can be toxic to primary cells. Here, we develop single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) HDR templates (HDRTs) incorporating CTSs with reduced toxicity that boost knock-in efficiency and yield by an average of around two- to threefold relative to dsDNA CTSs. Using small-molecule combinations that enhance HDR, we could further increase knock-in efficiencies by an additional roughly two- to threefold on average. Our method works across a variety of target loci, knock-in constructs and primary human cell types, reaching HDR efficiencies of >80-90%. We demonstrate application of this approach for both pathogenic gene variant modeling and gene-replacement strategies for IL2RA and CTLA4 mutations associated with Mendelian disorders. Finally, we develop a good manufacturing practice (GMP)-compatible process for nonviral chimeric antigen receptor-T cell manufacturing, with knock-in efficiencies (46-62%) and yields (>1.5 × 109 modified cells) exceeding those of conventional approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian R Shy
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
| | - Vivasvan S Vykunta
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alvin Ha
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alexis Talbot
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- INSERM U976, Saint Louis Research Institute, Paris City University, Paris, France
| | - Theodore L Roth
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - David N Nguyen
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Wolfgang G Pfeifer
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Yan Yi Chen
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Franziska Blaeschke
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Eric Shifrut
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Shane Vedova
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Murad R Mamedov
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jing-Yi Jing Chung
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Hong Li
- Department of Research and Development, Reagent and Services Business Unit, Life Science Group, GenScript Biotech, Nanjing, China
| | - Ruby Yu
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - David Wu
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Wolf
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Thomas G Martin
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Carlos E Castro
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Biophysics Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Lumeng Ye
- Department of Research and Development, Reagent and Services Business Unit, Life Science Group, GenScript Biotech, Nanjing, China
| | - Jonathan H Esensten
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Justin Eyquem
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alexander Marson
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Diabetes Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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12
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Abstract
CRISPR-associated (Cas) enzymes have revolutionized biology by enabling RNA-guided genome editing. Homology-directed repair (HDR) in the presence of donor templates is currently the most versatile method to introduce precise edits following CRISPR-Cas-induced double-stranded DNA cuts, but HDR efficiency is generally low relative to end-joining pathways that lead to insertions and deletions (indels). We tested the hypothesis that HDR could be increased using a Cas9 construct fused to PRDM9, a chromatin remodeling factor that deposits histone methylations H3K36me3 and H3K4me3 to mediate homologous recombination in human cells. Our results show that the fusion protein contacts chromatin specifically at the Cas9 cut site in the genome to increase the observed HDR efficiency by threefold and HDR:indel ratio by fivefold compared with that induced by unmodified Cas9. HDR enhancement occurred in multiple cell lines with no increase in off-target genome editing. These findings underscore the importance of chromatin features for the balance between DNA repair mechanisms during CRISPR-Cas genome editing and provide a strategy to increase HDR efficiency.
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13
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Ivanenko AV, Evtushenko NA, Gurskaya NG. Genome Editing in Therapy of Genodermatoses. Mol Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026893322060085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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14
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Park SH, Cao M, Pan Y, Davis TH, Saxena L, Deshmukh H, Fu Y, Treangen T, Sheehan VA, Bao G. Comprehensive analysis and accurate quantification of unintended large gene modifications induced by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabo7676. [PMID: 36269834 PMCID: PMC9586483 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo7676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Most genome editing analyses to date are based on quantifying small insertions and deletions. Here, we show that CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing can induce large gene modifications, such as deletions, insertions, and complex local rearrangements in different primary cells and cell lines. We analyzed large deletion events in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) using different methods, including clonal genotyping, droplet digital polymerase chain reaction, single-molecule real-time sequencing with unique molecular identifier, and long-amplicon sequencing assay. Our results show that large deletions of up to several thousand bases occur with high frequencies at the Cas9 on-target cut sites on the HBB (11.7 to 35.4%), HBG (14.3%), and BCL11A (13.2%) genes in HSPCs and the PD-1 (15.2%) gene in T cells. Our findings have important implications to advancing genome editing technologies for treating human diseases, because unintended large gene modifications may persist, thus altering the biological functions and reducing the available therapeutic alleles.
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Affiliation(s)
- So Hyun Park
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Mingming Cao
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Yidan Pan
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Timothy H. Davis
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Lavanya Saxena
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | | | - Yilei Fu
- Department of Computer Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Todd Treangen
- Department of Computer Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | | | - Gang Bao
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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15
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Möller L, Aird EJ, Schröder MS, Kobel L, Kissling L, van de Venn L, Corn JE. Recursive Editing improves homology-directed repair through retargeting of undesired outcomes. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4550. [PMID: 35931681 PMCID: PMC9356142 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31944-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas induced homology-directed repair (HDR) enables the installation of a broad range of precise genomic modifications from an exogenous donor template. However, applications of HDR in human cells are often hampered by poor efficiency, stemming from a preference for error-prone end joining pathways that yield short insertions and deletions. Here, we describe Recursive Editing, an HDR improvement strategy that selectively retargets undesired indel outcomes to create additional opportunities to produce the desired HDR allele. We introduce a software tool, named REtarget, that enables the rational design of Recursive Editing experiments. Using REtarget-designed guide RNAs in single editing reactions, Recursive Editing can simultaneously boost HDR efficiencies and reduce undesired indels. We also harness REtarget to generate databases for particularly effective Recursive Editing sites across the genome, to endogenously tag proteins, and to target pathogenic mutations. Recursive Editing constitutes an easy-to-use approach without potentially deleterious cell manipulations and little added experimental burden.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Möller
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Eric J Aird
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Markus S Schröder
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lena Kobel
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lucas Kissling
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lilly van de Venn
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jacob E Corn
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
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16
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Bishop AL, López Del Amo V, Okamoto EM, Bodai Z, Komor AC, Gantz VM. Double-tap gene drive uses iterative genome targeting to help overcome resistance alleles. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2595. [PMID: 35534475 PMCID: PMC9085836 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29868-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Homing CRISPR gene drives could aid in curbing the spread of vector-borne diseases and controlling crop pest and invasive species populations due to an inheritance rate that surpasses Mendelian laws. However, this technology suffers from resistance alleles formed when the drive-induced DNA break is repaired by error-prone pathways, which creates mutations that disrupt the gRNA recognition sequence and prevent further gene-drive propagation. Here, we attempt to counteract this by encoding additional gRNAs that target the most commonly generated resistance alleles into the gene drive, allowing a second opportunity at gene-drive conversion. Our presented "double-tap" strategy improved drive efficiency by recycling resistance alleles. The double-tap drive also efficiently spreads in caged populations, outperforming the control drive. Overall, this double-tap strategy can be readily implemented in any CRISPR-based gene drive to improve performance, and similar approaches could benefit other systems suffering from low HDR frequencies, such as mammalian cells or mouse germline transformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alena L Bishop
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Víctor López Del Amo
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Emily M Okamoto
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Zsolt Bodai
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Alexis C Komor
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Valentino M Gantz
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
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17
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Validation Study to Determine the Accuracy of Widespread Promoterless EGFP Reporter at Assessing CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Homology Directed Repair. Curr Issues Mol Biol 2022; 44:1688-1700. [PMID: 35723374 PMCID: PMC9164083 DOI: 10.3390/cimb44040116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
An accurate visual reporter system to assess homology-directed repair (HDR) is a key prerequisite for evaluating the efficiency of Cas9-mediated precise gene editing. Herein, we tested the utility of the widespread promoterless EGFP reporter to assess the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous recombination by fluorescence expression. We firstly established a promoterless EGFP reporter donor targeting the porcine GAPDH locus to study CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous recombination in porcine cells. Curiously, EGFP was expressed at unexpectedly high levels from the promoterless donor in porcine cells, with or without Cas9/sgRNA. Even higher EGFP expression was detected in human cells and those of other species when the porcine donor was transfected alone. Therefore, EGFP could be expressed at certain level in various cells transfected with the promoterless EGFP reporter alone, making it a low-resolution reporter for measuring Cas9-mediated HDR events. In summary, the widespread promoterless EGFP reporter could not be an ideal measurement for HDR screening and there is an urgent need to develop a more reliable, high-resolution HDR screening system to better explore strategies of increasing the efficiency of Cas9-mediated HDR in mammalian cells.
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18
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CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing induced complex on-target outcomes in human cells. Exp Hematol 2022; 110:13-19. [PMID: 35304271 DOI: 10.1016/j.exphem.2022.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful tool to edit the genome and holds great promise for gene therapy applications. Initial concerns of gene engineering focus on off-target effects. However, in addition to short indel mutations (often < 50 bp), an increasing number of studies have revealed complex on-target results after double-strand break repair by CRISPR-Cas9, such as large deletions, gene rearrangement, and loss of heterozygosity. These unintended mutations are potential safety concerns in clinical gene editing. Here, in this review, we summarize the significant findings of CRISPR-Cas9-induced on-target deleterious outcomes and discuss putative ways to achieve safe gene therapy.
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19
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Rezalotfi A, Fritz L, Förster R, Bošnjak B. Challenges of CRISPR-Based Gene Editing in Primary T Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23031689. [PMID: 35163611 PMCID: PMC8835901 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive T-cell immunotherapy holds great promise for the successful treatment of leukemia, as well as other types of cancers. More recently, it was also shown to be an effective treatment option for chronic virus infections in immunosuppressed patients. Autologous or allogeneic T cells used for immunotherapy are usually genetically modified to express novel T-cell or chimeric antigen receptors. The production of such cells was significantly simplified with the CRISPR/Cas system, allowing for the deletion or insertion of novel genes at specific locations within the genome. In this review, we describe recent methodological breakthroughs that were important for the conduction of these genetic modifications, summarize crucial points to be considered when conducting such experiments, and highlight the potential pitfalls of these approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alaleh Rezalotfi
- Institute of Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (A.R.); (L.F.); (R.F.)
| | - Lea Fritz
- Institute of Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (A.R.); (L.F.); (R.F.)
| | - Reinhold Förster
- Institute of Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (A.R.); (L.F.); (R.F.)
- Cluster of Excellence RESIST (EXC 2155), Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Berislav Bošnjak
- Institute of Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (A.R.); (L.F.); (R.F.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-511-532-9731
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20
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Rogers GL, Huang C, Clark RDE, Seclén E, Chen HY, Cannon PM. Optimization of AAV6 transduction enhances site-specific genome editing of primary human lymphocytes. MOLECULAR THERAPY-METHODS & CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT 2021; 23:198-209. [PMID: 34703842 PMCID: PMC8517001 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2021.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Adeno-associated virus serotype 6 (AAV6) is a valuable reagent for genome editing of hematopoietic cells due to its ability to serve as a homology donor template. However, a comprehensive study of AAV6 transduction of hematopoietic cells in culture, with the goal of maximizing ex vivo genome editing, has not been reported. Here, we evaluated how the presence of serum, culture volume, transduction time, and electroporation parameters could influence AAV6 transduction. Based on these results, we identified an optimized protocol for genome editing of human lymphocytes based on a short, highly concentrated AAV6 transduction in the absence of serum, followed by electroporation with a targeted nuclease. In human CD4+ T cells and B cells, this protocol improved editing rates up to 7-fold and 21-fold, respectively, when compared to standard AAV6 transduction protocols described in the literature. As a result, editing frequencies could be maintained using 50- to 100-fold less AAV6, which also reduced cellular toxicity. Our results highlight the important contribution of cell culture conditions for ex vivo genome editing with AAV6 vectors and provide a blueprint for improving AAV6-mediated homology-directed editing of human T and B cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey L Rogers
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Chun Huang
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Robert D E Clark
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Eduardo Seclén
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Hsu-Yu Chen
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Paula M Cannon
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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21
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Lee BC, Lozano RJ, Dunbar CE. Understanding and overcoming adverse consequences of genome editing on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Mol Ther 2021; 29:3205-3218. [PMID: 34509667 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2021.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) gene therapies have recently moved beyond gene-addition approaches to encompass targeted genome modification or correction, based on the development of zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and CRISPR-Cas technologies. Advances in ex vivo HSPC manipulation techniques have greatly improved HSPC susceptibility to genetic modification. Targeted gene-editing techniques enable precise modifications at desired genomic sites. Numerous preclinical studies have already demonstrated the therapeutic potential of gene therapies based on targeted editing. However, several significant hurdles related to adverse consequences of gene editing on HSPC function and genomic integrity remain before broad clinical potential can be realized. This review summarizes the status of HSPC gene editing, focusing on efficiency, genomic integrity, and long-term engraftment ability related to available genetic editing platforms and HSPC delivery methods. The response of long-term engrafting HSPCs to nuclease-mediated DNA breaks, with activation of p53, is a significant challenge, as are activation of innate and adaptive immune responses to editing components. Lastly, we propose alternative strategies that can overcome current hurdles to HSPC editing at various stages from cell collection to transplantation to facilitate successful clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byung-Chul Lee
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Richard J Lozano
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Cynthia E Dunbar
- Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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22
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Self-inactivating, all-in-one AAV vectors for precision Cas9 genome editing via homology-directed repair in vivo. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6267. [PMID: 34725353 PMCID: PMC8560862 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26518-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are important delivery platforms for therapeutic genome editing but are severely constrained by cargo limits. Simultaneous delivery of multiple vectors can limit dose and efficacy and increase safety risks. Here, we describe single-vector, ~4.8-kb AAV platforms that express Nme2Cas9 and either two sgRNAs for segmental deletions, or a single sgRNA with a homology-directed repair (HDR) template. We also use anti-CRISPR proteins to enable production of vectors that self-inactivate via Nme2Cas9 cleavage. We further introduce a nanopore-based sequencing platform that is designed to profile rAAV genomes and serves as a quality control measure for vector homogeneity. We demonstrate that these platforms can effectively treat two disease models [type I hereditary tyrosinemia (HT-I) and mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS-I)] in mice by HDR-based correction of the disease allele. These results will enable the engineering of single-vector AAVs that can achieve diverse therapeutic genome editing outcomes. Long-term expression of Cas9 following precision genome editing in vivo may lead to undesirable consequences. Here we show that a single-vector, self-inactivating AAV system containing Cas9 nuclease, guide, and DNA donor can use homology-directed repair to correct disease mutations in vivo.
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23
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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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