1
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Buckley M, Terwagne C, Ganner A, Cubitt L, Brewer R, Kim DK, Kajba CM, Forrester N, Dace P, De Jonghe J, Shepherd STC, Sawyer C, McEwen M, Diederichs S, Neumann-Haefelin E, Turajlic S, Ivakine EA, Findlay GM. Saturation genome editing maps the functional spectrum of pathogenic VHL alleles. Nat Genet 2024:10.1038/s41588-024-01800-z. [PMID: 38969834 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01800-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024]
Abstract
To maximize the impact of precision medicine approaches, it is critical to identify genetic variants underlying disease and to accurately quantify their functional effects. A gene exemplifying the challenge of variant interpretation is the von Hippel-Lindautumor suppressor (VHL). VHL encodes an E3 ubiquitin ligase that regulates the cellular response to hypoxia. Germline pathogenic variants in VHL predispose patients to tumors including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and pheochromocytoma, and somatic VHL mutations are frequently observed in sporadic renal cancer. Here we optimize and apply saturation genome editing to assay nearly all possible single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) across VHL's coding sequence. To delineate mechanisms, we quantify mRNA dosage effects and compare functional effects in isogenic cell lines. Function scores for 2,268 VHL SNVs identify a core set of pathogenic alleles driving ccRCC with perfect accuracy, inform differential risk across tumor types and reveal new mechanisms by which variants impact function. These results have immediate utility for classifying VHL variants encountered clinically and illustrate how precise functional measurements can resolve pleiotropic and dosage-dependent genotype-phenotype relationships across complete genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Buckley
- The Genome Function Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Chloé Terwagne
- The Genome Function Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Athina Ganner
- Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Laura Cubitt
- The Genome Function Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Reid Brewer
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Dong-Kyu Kim
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Christina M Kajba
- The Genome Function Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Nicole Forrester
- The Genome Function Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Phoebe Dace
- The Genome Function Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Joachim De Jonghe
- The Genome Function Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Scott T C Shepherd
- The Cancer Dynamics Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Renal and Skin Units, The Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK
- Melanoma and Kidney Cancer Team, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Chelsea Sawyer
- Scientific Computing, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Mairead McEwen
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sven Diederichs
- Division of Cancer Research, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Freiburg, A Partnership Between DKFZ and University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Elke Neumann-Haefelin
- Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Samra Turajlic
- The Cancer Dynamics Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Renal and Skin Units, The Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK
- Melanoma and Kidney Cancer Team, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Evgueni A Ivakine
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gregory M Findlay
- The Genome Function Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
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2
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Park J, Yu G, Seo SY, Yang J, Kim H. SynDesign: web-based prime editing guide RNA design and evaluation tool for saturation genome editing. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:W121-W125. [PMID: 38682594 PMCID: PMC11223855 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Saturation genome editing (SGE) enables in-depth functional evaluation of disease-associated genes and variants by generating all possible single nucleotide variants (SNVs) within a given coding region. Although prime editing can be employed for inducing these SNVs, designing efficient prime editing guide RNAs (pegRNAs) can be challenging and time-consuming. Here, we present SynDesign, an easy-to-use webtool for the design, evaluation, and construction precision pegRNA libraries for SGE with synonymous mutation markers. SynDesign offers a simple yet powerful interface that automates the generation of all feasible pegRNA designs for a target gene or variant of interest. The pegRNAs are selected using the state-of-the-art models to predict prime editing efficiencies for various prime editors and cell types. Top-scoring pegRNA designs are further enhanced using synonymous mutation markers which improve pegRNA efficiency by diffusing the cellular mismatch repair mechanism and serve as sequence markers for improved identification of intended edits following deep sequencing. SynDesign is expected to facilitate future research using SGE to investigate genes or variants of interest associated with human diseases. SynDesign is freely available at https://deepcrispr.info/SynDesign without a login process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinman Park
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Goosang Yu
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang-Yeon Seo
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jinyeong Yang
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyongbum Henry Kim
- Department of Pharmacology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Severance Biomedical Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Center for Nanomedicine, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Yonsei-IBS Institute, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Institute for Immunology and Immunological Diseases, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Woo Choo Lee Institute for Precision Drug Development, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Won-Sang Lee Institute for Hearing Loss, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
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3
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Dorighi KM, Zhu A, Fortin JP, Hung-Hao Lo J, Sudhamsu J, Wendorff TJ, Durinck S, Callow M, Foster SA, Haley B. Accelerated drug-resistant variant discovery with an enhanced, scalable mutagenic base editor platform. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114313. [PMID: 38838224 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114313] [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: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Personalized cancer therapeutics bring directed treatment options to patients based on their tumor's genetic signature. Unfortunately, tumor genomes are remarkably adaptable, and acquired resistance through gene mutation frequently occurs. Identifying mutations that promote resistance within drug-treated patient populations can be cost, resource, and time intensive. Accordingly, base editing, enabled by Cas9-deaminase domain fusions, has emerged as a promising approach for rapid, large-scale gene variant screening in situ. Here, we adapt and optimize a conditional activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID)-dead Cas9 (dCas9) system, which demonstrates greater heterogeneity of edits with an expanded footprint compared to the most commonly utilized cytosine base editor, BE4. In combination with a custom single guide RNA (sgRNA) library, we identify individual and compound variants in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF) that confer resistance to established EGFR inhibitors. This system and analytical pipeline provide a simple, highly scalable platform for cis or trans drug-modifying variant discovery and for uncovering valuable insights into protein structure-function relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristel M Dorighi
- Department of Molecular Biology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
| | - Anqi Zhu
- Department of OMNI Bioinformatics, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Jean-Philippe Fortin
- Department of Data Science and Statistical Computing, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Jerry Hung-Hao Lo
- Department of Oncology Bioinformatics, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Jawahar Sudhamsu
- Department of Structural Biology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Timothy J Wendorff
- Department of Structural Biology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Steffen Durinck
- Department of Oncology Bioinformatics, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Marinella Callow
- Department of Discovery Oncology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Scott A Foster
- Department of Discovery Oncology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Benjamin Haley
- Department of Molecular Biology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
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4
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Ma K, Huang S, Ng KK, Lake NJ, Joseph S, Xu J, Lek A, Ge L, Woodman KG, Koczwara KE, Cohen J, Ho V, O'Connor CL, Brindley MA, Campbell KP, Lek M. Deep Mutational Scanning in Disease-related Genes with Saturation Mutagenesis-Reinforced Functional Assays (SMuRF). BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.12.548370. [PMID: 37873263 PMCID: PMC10592615 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.12.548370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Interpretation of disease-causing genetic variants remains a challenge in human genetics. Current costs and complexity of deep mutational scanning methods hamper crowd-sourcing approaches toward genome-wide resolution of variants in disease-related genes. Our framework, Saturation Mutagenesis-Reinforced Functional assays (SMuRF), addresses these issues by offering simple and cost-effective saturation mutagenesis, as well as streamlining functional assays to enhance the interpretation of unresolved variants. Applying SMuRF to neuromuscular disease genes FKRP and LARGE1, we generated functional scores for all possible coding single nucleotide variants, which aid in resolving clinically reported variants of uncertain significance. SMuRF also demonstrates utility in predicting disease severity, resolving critical structural regions, and providing training datasets for the development of computational predictors. Our approach opens new directions for enabling variant-to-function insights for disease genes in a manner that is broadly useful for crowd-sourcing implementation across standard research laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiyue Ma
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Shushu Huang
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Equal second authors
| | - Kenneth K Ng
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Equal second authors
| | - Nicole J Lake
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Soumya Joseph
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Specialized Research Center, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Jenny Xu
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Angela Lek
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Muscular Dystrophy Association, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lin Ge
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Neurology, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Keryn G Woodman
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Justin Cohen
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Vincent Ho
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Melinda A Brindley
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Department of Population Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
- Senior Authors
| | - Kevin P Campbell
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Specialized Research Center, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Senior Authors
| | - Monkol Lek
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Senior Authors
- Lead Contact
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5
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Biar CG, Pfeifer C, Carvill GL, Calhoun JD. Multimodal framework to resolve variants of uncertain significance in TSC2. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.07.597916. [PMID: 38895336 PMCID: PMC11185720 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.07.597916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Efforts to resolve the functional impact of variants of uncertain significance (VUS) have lagged behind the identification of new VUS; as such, there is a critical need for scalable VUS resolution technologies. Computational variant effect predictors (VEPs), once trained, can predict pathogenicity for all missense variants in a gene, set of genes, or the exome. Existing tools have employed information on known pathogenic and benign variants throughout the genome to predict pathogenicity of VUS. We hypothesize that taking a gene-specific approach will improve pathogenicity prediction over globally-trained VEPs. We tested this hypothesis using the gene TSC2, whose loss of function results in tuberous sclerosis, a multisystem mTORopathy affecting about 1 in 6,000 individuals born in the United States. TSC2 has been identified as a high-priority target for VUS resolution, with (1) well-characterized molecular and patient phenotypes associated with loss-of-function variants, and (2) more than 2,700 VUS already documented in ClinVar. We developed Tuberous sclerosis classifier to Resolve variants of Uncertain Significance in T SC2 (TRUST), a machine learning model to predict pathogenicity of TSC2 missense VUS. To test whether these predictions are accurate, we further introduce curated loci prime editing (cliPE) as an accessible strategy for performing scalable multiplexed assays of variant effect (MAVEs). Using cliPE, we tested the effects of more than 200 TSC2 variants, including 106 VUS. It is highly likely this functional data alone would be sufficient to reclassify 92 VUS with most being reclassified as likely benign. We found that TRUST's classifications were correlated with the functional data, providing additional validation for the in silico predictions. We provide our pathogenicity predictions and MAVE data to aid with VUS resolution. In the near future, we plan to host these data on a public website and deposit into relevant databases such as MAVEdb as a community resource. Ultimately, this study provides a framework to complete variant effect maps of TSC1 and TSC2 and adapt this approach to other mTORopathy genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina G Biar
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Cole Pfeifer
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Gemma L Carvill
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Jeffrey D Calhoun
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
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6
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Cooper S, Obolenski S, Waters AJ, Bassett AR, Coelho MA. Analyzing the functional effects of DNA variants with gene editing. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2024; 4:100776. [PMID: 38744287 PMCID: PMC11133854 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2024.100776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Continual advancements in genomics have led to an ever-widening disparity between the rate of discovery of genetic variants and our current understanding of their functions and potential roles in disease. Systematic methods for phenotyping DNA variants are required to effectively translate genomics data into improved outcomes for patients with genetic diseases. To make the biggest impact, these approaches must be scalable and accurate, faithfully reflect disease biology, and define complex disease mechanisms. We compare current methods to analyze the function of variants in their endogenous DNA context using genome editing strategies, such as saturation genome editing, base editing and prime editing. We discuss how these technologies can be linked to high-content readouts to gain deep mechanistic insights into variant effects. Finally, we highlight key challenges that need to be addressed to bridge the genotype to phenotype gap, and ultimately improve the diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Cooper
- Cellular and Gene Editing Research, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
| | - Sofia Obolenski
- Experimental Cancer Genetics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK; Department of Dermatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Andrew J Waters
- Experimental Cancer Genetics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
| | - Andrew R Bassett
- Cellular and Gene Editing Research, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK.
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7
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Deng L, Zhou YL, Cai Z, Zhu J, Li Z, Bao Z. Massively parallel CRISPR-assisted homologous recombination enables saturation editing of full-length endogenous genes in yeast. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj9382. [PMID: 38748797 PMCID: PMC11095455 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj9382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
Performing saturation editing of chromosomal genes will enable the study of genetic variants in situ and facilitate protein and cell engineering. However, current in vivo editing of endogenous genes either lacks flexibility or is limited to discrete codons and short gene fragments, preventing a comprehensive exploration of genotype-phenotype relationships. To enable facile saturation editing of full-length genes, we used a protospacer adjacent motif-relaxed Cas9 variant and homology-directed repair to achieve above 60% user-defined codon replacement efficiencies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome. Coupled with massively parallel DNA design and synthesis, we developed a saturation gene editing method termed CRISPR-Cas9- and homology-directed repair-assisted saturation editing (CHASE) and achieved highly saturated codon swapping of long genomic regions. By applying CHASE to massively edit a well-studied global transcription factor gene, we found known and unreported genetic variants affecting an industrially relevant microbial trait. The user-defined codon editing capability and wide targeting windows of CHASE substantially expand the scope of saturation gene editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Deng
- Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
- ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 311215, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yi-Lian Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
- ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 311215, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhenkun Cai
- Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
- ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 311215, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jie Zhu
- Bota Biosciences, Hangzhou 311222, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zenan Li
- Bota Biosciences, Hangzhou 311222, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zehua Bao
- Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
- ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 311215, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
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8
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Li X, Chen W, Martin BK, Calderon D, Lee C, Choi J, Chardon FM, McDiarmid TA, Daza RM, Kim H, Lalanne JB, Nathans JF, Lee DS, Shendure J. Chromatin context-dependent regulation and epigenetic manipulation of prime editing. Cell 2024; 187:2411-2427.e25. [PMID: 38608704 PMCID: PMC11088515 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.020] [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: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
We set out to exhaustively characterize the impact of the cis-chromatin environment on prime editing, a precise genome engineering tool. Using a highly sensitive method for mapping the genomic locations of randomly integrated reporters, we discover massive position effects, exemplified by editing efficiencies ranging from ∼0% to 94% for an identical target site and edit. Position effects on prime editing efficiency are well predicted by chromatin marks, e.g., positively by H3K79me2 and negatively by H3K9me3. Next, we developed a multiplex perturbational framework to assess the interaction of trans-acting factors with the cis-chromatin environment on editing outcomes. Applying this framework to DNA repair factors, we identify HLTF as a context-dependent repressor of prime editing. Finally, several lines of evidence suggest that active transcriptional elongation enhances prime editing. Consistent with this, we show we can robustly decrease or increase the efficiency of prime editing by preceding it with CRISPR-mediated silencing or activation, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyi Li
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Beth K Martin
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Diego Calderon
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Choli Lee
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Junhong Choi
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Florence M Chardon
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Troy A McDiarmid
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Riza M Daza
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Haedong Kim
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Jean-Benoît Lalanne
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Jenny F Nathans
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - David S Lee
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Jay Shendure
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
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9
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Sánchez Rivera FJ, Dow LE. How CRISPR Is Revolutionizing the Generation of New Models for Cancer Research. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2024; 14:a041384. [PMID: 37487630 PMCID: PMC11065179 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Cancers arise through acquisition of mutations in genes that regulate core biological processes like cell proliferation and cell death. Decades of cancer research have led to the identification of genes and mutations causally involved in disease development and evolution, yet defining their precise function across different cancer types and how they influence therapy responses has been challenging. Mouse models have helped define the in vivo function of cancer-associated alterations, and genome-editing approaches using CRISPR have dramatically accelerated the pace at which these models are developed and studied. Here, we highlight how CRISPR technologies have impacted the development and use of mouse models for cancer research and discuss the many ways in which these rapidly evolving platforms will continue to transform our understanding of this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco J Sánchez Rivera
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Lukas E Dow
- Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York 10065, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York 10065, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York 10065, USA
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10
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Hsu JY, Lam KC, Shih J, Pinello L, Joung JK. MOSAIC enables in situ saturation mutagenesis of genes and CRISPR prime editing guide RNA optimization in human cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.25.591078. [PMID: 38712243 PMCID: PMC11071466 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.25.591078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
CRISPR prime editing offers unprecedented versatility and precision for the installation of genetic edits in situ . Here we describe the development and characterization of the Multiplexing Of Site-specific Alterations for In situ Characterization ( MOSAIC ) method, which leverages a non-viral PCR-based prime editing method to enable rapid installation of thousands of defined edits in pooled fashion. We show that MOSAIC can be applied to perform in situ saturation mutagenesis screens of: (1) the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene, successfully identifying known and potentially new imatinib drug-resistance variants; and (2) the IRF1 untranslated region (UTR), re-confirming non-coding regulatory elements involved in transcriptional initiation. Furthermore, we deployed MOSAIC to enable high-throughput, pooled screening of hundreds of systematically designed prime editing guide RNA ( pegRNA ) constructs for a large series of different genomic loci. This rapid screening of >18,000 pegRNA designs identified optimized pegRNAs for 89 different genomic target modifications and revealed the lack of simple predictive rules for pegRNA design, reinforcing the need for experimental optimization now greatly simplified and enabled by MOSAIC. We envision that MOSAIC will accelerate and facilitate the application of CRISPR prime editing for a wide range of high-throughput screens in human and other cell systems.
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11
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Johnson GA, Gould SI, Sánchez-Rivera FJ. Deconstructing cancer with precision genome editing. Biochem Soc Trans 2024; 52:803-819. [PMID: 38629716 PMCID: PMC11088927 DOI: 10.1042/bst20230984] [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: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Recent advances in genome editing technologies are allowing investigators to engineer and study cancer-associated mutations in their endogenous genetic contexts with high precision and efficiency. Of these, base editing and prime editing are quickly becoming gold-standards in the field due to their versatility and scalability. Here, we review the merits and limitations of these precision genome editing technologies, their application to modern cancer research, and speculate how these could be integrated to address future directions in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace A. Johnson
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02142, MA, U.S.A
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02142, MA, U.S.A
| | - Samuel I. Gould
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02142, MA, U.S.A
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02142, MA, U.S.A
| | - Francisco J. Sánchez-Rivera
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02142, MA, U.S.A
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02142, MA, U.S.A
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12
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Zeng H, Daniel TC, Lingineni A, Chee K, Talloo K, Gao X. Recent advances in prime editing technologies and their promises for therapeutic applications. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 86:103071. [PMID: 38330875 PMCID: PMC10947817 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2024.103071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Prime editing (PE) is a groundbreaking genome editing technology offering unparalleled precision in targeted genome modifications and has great potential for therapeutic applications. This review delves into the core principles of PE and emphasizes its advancements, applications, and prospects. We begin with a brief introduction to PE principles, followed by a detailed examination of recent improvements in efficiency, precision, and the scale of feasible edits. These improvements have been made to the PE systems through guide RNA engineering, protein engineering, DNA repair pathway screening, chromosomal or epigenomic modification, and in silico design and optimization tools. Furthermore, we highlight in vivo studies showcasing the therapeutic potential of PE to model and treat genetic diseases. Moreover, we discuss PE's versatile applications in saturation genome editing and its applicability to nonhuman organisms. In conclusion, we address the challenges and opportunities linked with PE, emphasizing its profound impact on biological research and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongzhi Zeng
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Tyler C Daniel
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Ananya Lingineni
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Kelly Chee
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Komal Talloo
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Xue Gao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Center for Precision Engineering for Health, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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13
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Cirincione A, Simpson D, Ravisankar P, Solley SC, Yan J, Singh M, Adamson B. A benchmarked, high-efficiency prime editing platform for multiplexed dropout screening. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.25.585978. [PMID: 38585933 PMCID: PMC10996517 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.25.585978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Prime editing installs precise edits into the genome with minimal unwanted byproducts, but low and variable editing efficiencies have complicated application of the approach to high-throughput functional genomics. Leveraging several recent advances, we assembled a prime editing platform capable of high-efficiency substitution editing across a set of engineered prime editing guide RNAs (epegRNAs) and corresponding target sequences (80% median intended editing). Then, using a custom library of 240,000 epegRNAs targeting >17,000 codons with 175 different substitution types, we benchmarked our platform for functional interrogation of small substitution variants (1-3 nucleotides) targeted to essential genes. Resulting data identified negative growth phenotypes for nonsense mutations targeted to ~8,000 codons, and comparing those phenotypes to results from controls demonstrated high specificity. We also observed phenotypes for synonymous mutations that disrupted splice site motifs at 3' exon boundaries. Altogether, we establish and benchmark a high-throughput prime editing approach for functional characterization of genetic variants with simple readouts from multiplexed experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann Cirincione
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Danny Simpson
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Purnima Ravisankar
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- Present address: Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Sabrina C Solley
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Jun Yan
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Mona Singh
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Britt Adamson
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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14
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Gould SI, Wuest AN, Dong K, Johnson GA, Hsu A, Narendra VK, Atwa O, Levine SS, Liu DR, Sánchez Rivera FJ. High-throughput evaluation of genetic variants with prime editing sensor libraries. Nat Biotechnol 2024:10.1038/s41587-024-02172-9. [PMID: 38472508 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-024-02172-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Tumor genomes often harbor a complex spectrum of single nucleotide alterations and chromosomal rearrangements that can perturb protein function. Prime editing has been applied to install and evaluate genetic variants, but previous approaches have been limited by the variable efficiency of prime editing guide RNAs. Here we present a high-throughput prime editing sensor strategy that couples prime editing guide RNAs with synthetic versions of their cognate target sites to quantitatively assess the functional impact of endogenous genetic variants. We screen over 1,000 endogenous cancer-associated variants of TP53-the most frequently mutated gene in cancer-to identify alleles that impact p53 function in mechanistically diverse ways. We find that certain endogenous TP53 variants, particularly those in the p53 oligomerization domain, display opposite phenotypes in exogenous overexpression systems. Our results emphasize the physiological importance of gene dosage in shaping native protein stoichiometry and protein-protein interactions, and establish a framework for studying genetic variants in their endogenous sequence context at scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel I Gould
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alexandra N Wuest
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kexin Dong
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Grace A Johnson
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alvin Hsu
- Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Varun K Narendra
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ondine Atwa
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Stuart S Levine
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David R Liu
- Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Francisco J Sánchez Rivera
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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15
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Hu C, Huang H, Na J, Lumby C, Abozaid M, Holdren MA, Rao TJ, Karam R, Pesaran T, Weyandt JD, Csuy CM, Seelaus CA, Young CC, Fulk K, Heidari Z, Morais Lyra PC, Couch RE, Persons B, Polley EC, Gnanaolivu RD, Boddicker NJ, Monteiro ANA, Yadav S, Domchek SM, Richardson ME, Couch FJ. Functional analysis and clinical classification of 462 germline BRCA2 missense variants affecting the DNA binding domain. Am J Hum Genet 2024; 111:584-593. [PMID: 38417439 PMCID: PMC10940015 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.02.002] [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: 07/23/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Variants of uncertain significance (VUSs) in BRCA2 are a common result of hereditary cancer genetic testing. While more than 4,000 unique VUSs, comprised of missense or intronic variants, have been identified in BRCA2, the few missense variants now classified clinically as pathogenic or likely pathogenic are predominantly located in the region encoding the C-terminal DNA binding domain (DBD). We report on functional evaluation of the influence of 462 BRCA2 missense variants affecting the DBD on DNA repair activity of BRCA2 using a homology-directed DNA double-strand break repair assay. Of these, 137 were functionally abnormal, 313 were functionally normal, and 12 demonstrated intermediate function. Comparisons with other functional studies of BRCA2 missense variants yielded strong correlations. Sequence-based in silico prediction models had high sensitivity, but limited specificity, relative to the homology-directed repair assay. Combining the functional results with clinical and genetic data in an American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG)/Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP)-like variant classification framework from a clinical testing laboratory, after excluding known splicing variants and functionally intermediate variants, classified 431 of 442 (97.5%) missense variants (129 as pathogenic/likely pathogenic and 302 as benign/likely benign). Functionally abnormal variants classified as pathogenic by ACMG/AMP rules were associated with a slightly lower risk of breast cancer (odds ratio [OR] 5.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.43-7.83) than BRCA2 DBD protein truncating variants (OR 8.56, 95% CI 6.03-12.36). Overall, functional studies of BRCA2 variants using validated assays substantially improved the variant classification yield from ACMG/AMP models and are expected to improve clinical management of many individuals found to harbor germline BRCA2 missense VUS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunling Hu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Huaizhi Huang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Jie Na
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Carolyn Lumby
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Mohamed Abozaid
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Megan A Holdren
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Tara J Rao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Kelly Fulk
- Ambry Genetics, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656, USA
| | | | | | - Ronan E Couch
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Benjamin Persons
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Eric C Polley
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Rohan D Gnanaolivu
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Nicholas J Boddicker
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | | | - Siddhartha Yadav
- Department of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
| | - Susan M Domchek
- Division of Hematology Oncology, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | | | - Fergus J Couch
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA; Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA.
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16
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Ely ZA, Mathey-Andrews N, Naranjo S, Gould SI, Mercer KL, Newby GA, Cabana CM, Rideout WM, Jaramillo GC, Khirallah JM, Holland K, Randolph PB, Freed-Pastor WA, Davis JR, Kulstad Z, Westcott PMK, Lin L, Anzalone AV, Horton BL, Pattada NB, Shanahan SL, Ye Z, Spranger S, Xu Q, Sánchez-Rivera FJ, Liu DR, Jacks T. A prime editor mouse to model a broad spectrum of somatic mutations in vivo. Nat Biotechnol 2024; 42:424-436. [PMID: 37169967 PMCID: PMC11120832 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01783-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Genetically engineered mouse models only capture a small fraction of the genetic lesions that drive human cancer. Current CRISPR-Cas9 models can expand this fraction but are limited by their reliance on error-prone DNA repair. Here we develop a system for in vivo prime editing by encoding a Cre-inducible prime editor in the mouse germline. This model allows rapid, precise engineering of a wide range of mutations in cell lines and organoids derived from primary tissues, including a clinically relevant Kras mutation associated with drug resistance and Trp53 hotspot mutations commonly observed in pancreatic cancer. With this system, we demonstrate somatic prime editing in vivo using lipid nanoparticles, and we model lung and pancreatic cancer through viral delivery of prime editing guide RNAs or orthotopic transplantation of prime-edited organoids. We believe that this approach will accelerate functional studies of cancer-associated mutations and complex genetic combinations that are challenging to construct with traditional models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zackery A Ely
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nicolas Mathey-Andrews
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Santiago Naranjo
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Samuel I Gould
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kim L Mercer
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Gregory A Newby
- Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Christina M Cabana
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - William M Rideout
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Grissel Cervantes Jaramillo
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Katie Holland
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX, USA
| | - Peyton B Randolph
- Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - William A Freed-Pastor
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jessie R Davis
- Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Zachary Kulstad
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Peter M K Westcott
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Huntington, NY, USA
| | - Lin Lin
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Andrew V Anzalone
- Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Brendan L Horton
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nimisha B Pattada
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sean-Luc Shanahan
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Zhongfeng Ye
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
| | - Stefani Spranger
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Qiaobing Xu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
| | - Francisco J Sánchez-Rivera
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David R Liu
- Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Tyler Jacks
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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17
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Zheng Y, Li Y, Zhou K, Li T, VanDusen NJ, Hua Y. Precise genome-editing in human diseases: mechanisms, strategies and applications. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2024; 9:47. [PMID: 38409199 PMCID: PMC10897424 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-024-01750-2] [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: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Precise genome-editing platforms are versatile tools for generating specific, site-directed DNA insertions, deletions, and substitutions. The continuous enhancement of these tools has led to a revolution in the life sciences, which promises to deliver novel therapies for genetic disease. Precise genome-editing can be traced back to the 1950s with the discovery of DNA's double-helix and, after 70 years of development, has evolved from crude in vitro applications to a wide range of sophisticated capabilities, including in vivo applications. Nonetheless, precise genome-editing faces constraints such as modest efficiency, delivery challenges, and off-target effects. In this review, we explore precise genome-editing, with a focus on introduction of the landmark events in its history, various platforms, delivery systems, and applications. First, we discuss the landmark events in the history of precise genome-editing. Second, we describe the current state of precise genome-editing strategies and explain how these techniques offer unprecedented precision and versatility for modifying the human genome. Third, we introduce the current delivery systems used to deploy precise genome-editing components through DNA, RNA, and RNPs. Finally, we summarize the current applications of precise genome-editing in labeling endogenous genes, screening genetic variants, molecular recording, generating disease models, and gene therapy, including ex vivo therapy and in vivo therapy, and discuss potential future advances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjiang Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE, Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Yifei Li
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE, Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Kaiyu Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE, Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Tiange Li
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Nathan J VanDusen
- Department of Pediatrics, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
| | - Yimin Hua
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE, Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
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18
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Repo PE, Backlund MP, Kivelä TT, Turunen JA. Functional assay for assessment of pathogenicity of BAP1 variants. Hum Mol Genet 2024; 33:426-434. [PMID: 37956408 PMCID: PMC10877462 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddad193] [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: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pathogenic germline variants in BRCA1-Associated Protein 1 (BAP1) cause BAP1 tumor predisposition syndrome (BAP1-TPDS). Carriers run especially a risk of uveal (UM) and cutaneous melanoma, malignant mesothelioma, and clear cell renal carcinoma. Approximately half of increasingly reported BAP1 variants lack accurate classification. Correct interpretation of pathogenicity can improve prognosis of the patients through tumor screening with better understanding of BAP1-TPDS. METHODS We edited five rare BAP1 variants with differing functional characteristics identified from patients with UM in HAP1 cells using CRISPR-Cas9 and assayed their effect on cell adhesion/spreading (at 4 h) and proliferation (at 48 h), measured as cell index (CI), using xCELLigence real-time analysis system. RESULTS In BAP1 knockout HAP1 cultures, cell number was half of wild type (WT) cultures at 48 h (p = 0.00021), reaching confluence later, and CI was 78% reduced (p < 0.0001). BAP1-TPDS-associated null variants c.67+1G>T and c.1780_1781insT, and a likely pathogenic missense variant c.281A>G reduced adhesion (all p ≤ 0.015) and proliferation by 74%-83% (all p ≤ 0.032). Another likely pathogenic missense variant c.680G>A reduced both by at least 50% (all p ≤ 0.032), whereas cells edited with likely benign one c.1526C>T grew similarly to WT. CONCLUSIONS BAP1 is essential for optimal fitness of HAP1 cells. Pathogenic and likely pathogenic BAP1 variants reduced cell fitness, reflected in adhesion/spreading and proliferation properties. Further, moderate effects were quantifiable. Variant modelling in HAP1 with CRISPR-Cas9 enabled functional analysis of coding and non-coding region variants in an endogenous expression system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauliina E Repo
- Eye Genetics Group, Folkhälsan Research Center, Biomedicum Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, FI-00290, Helsinki, Finland
- Ocular Oncology Service, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Haartmaninkatu 4 C, PL220, FI-00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Michael P Backlund
- Eye Genetics Group, Folkhälsan Research Center, Biomedicum Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, FI-00290, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tero T Kivelä
- Ocular Oncology Service, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Haartmaninkatu 4 C, PL220, FI-00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Joni A Turunen
- Eye Genetics Group, Folkhälsan Research Center, Biomedicum Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, FI-00290, Helsinki, Finland
- Ophthalmic Genetics and Rare Eye Diseases Service, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Haartmaninkatu 4 C, PL220, FI-00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland
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19
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Li H, Bartke R, Zhao L, Verma Y, Horacek A, Rechav Ben-Natan A, Pangilinan GR, Krishnappa N, Nielsen R, Hockemeyer D. Functional annotation of variants of the BRCA2 gene via locally haploid human pluripotent stem cells. Nat Biomed Eng 2024; 8:165-176. [PMID: 37488236 PMCID: PMC10878975 DOI: 10.1038/s41551-023-01065-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Mutations in the BRCA2 gene are associated with sporadic and familial cancer, cause genomic instability and sensitize cancer cells to inhibition by the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Here we show that human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) with one copy of BRCA2 deleted can be used to annotate variants of this gene and to test their sensitivities to PARP inhibition. By using Cas9 to edit the functional BRCA2 allele in the locally haploid hPSCs and in fibroblasts differentiated from them, we characterized essential regions in the gene to identify permissive and loss-of-function mutations. We also used Cas9 to directly test the function of individual amino acids, including amino acids encoded by clinical BRCA2 variants of uncertain significance, and identified alleles that are sensitive to PARP inhibitors used as a standard of care in BRCA2-deficient cancers. Locally haploid human pluripotent stem cells can facilitate detailed structure-function analyses of genes and the rapid functional evaluation of clinically observed mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanqin Li
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Rebecca Bartke
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Lei Zhao
- Section for GeoGenetics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Yogendra Verma
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Anna Horacek
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Alma Rechav Ben-Natan
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Gabriella R Pangilinan
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Rasmus Nielsen
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Section for GeoGenetics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Dirk Hockemeyer
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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20
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Andreotti V, Vanni I, Pastorino L, Ghiorzo P, Bruno W. Germline POT1 Variants: A Critical Perspective on POT1 Tumor Predisposition Syndrome. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:104. [PMID: 38254993 PMCID: PMC10815363 DOI: 10.3390/genes15010104] [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: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The Protection of Telomere 1 (POT1) gene was identified as a melanoma predisposition candidate nearly 10 years ago. Thereafter, various cancers have been proposed as associated with germline POT1 variants in the context of the so-called POT1 Predisposition Tumor Syndrome (POT1-TPD). While the key role, and related risks, of the alterations in POT1 in melanoma are established, the correlation between germline POT1 variants and the susceptibility to other cancers partially lacks evidence, due also to the rarity of POT1-TPD. Issues range from the absence of functional or segregation studies to biased datasets or the need for a revised classification of variants. Furthermore, a proposal of a surveillance protocol related to the cancers associated with POT1 pathogenic variants requires reliable data to avoid an excessive, possibly unjustified, burden for POT1 variant carriers. We propose a critical perspective regarding data published over the last 10 years that correlate POT1 variants to various types of cancer, other than cutaneous melanoma, to offer food for thought for the specialists who manage cancer predisposition syndromes and to stimulate a debate on the grey areas that have been exposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Andreotti
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (V.A.); (I.V.); (L.P.); (P.G.)
| | - Irene Vanni
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (V.A.); (I.V.); (L.P.); (P.G.)
| | - Lorenza Pastorino
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (V.A.); (I.V.); (L.P.); (P.G.)
- Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (DiMI), University of Genoa, V.le Benedetto XV 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Paola Ghiorzo
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (V.A.); (I.V.); (L.P.); (P.G.)
- Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (DiMI), University of Genoa, V.le Benedetto XV 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - William Bruno
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (V.A.); (I.V.); (L.P.); (P.G.)
- Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (DiMI), University of Genoa, V.le Benedetto XV 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy
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21
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Cooper SE, Coelho MA, Strauss ME, Gontarczyk AM, Wu Q, Garnett MJ, Marioni JC, Bassett AR. scSNV-seq: high-throughput phenotyping of single nucleotide variants by coupled single-cell genotyping and transcriptomics. Genome Biol 2024; 25:20. [PMID: 38225637 PMCID: PMC10789043 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-024-03169-y] [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: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/17/2024] Open
Abstract
CRISPR screens with single-cell transcriptomic readouts are a valuable tool to understand the effect of genetic perturbations including single nucleotide variants (SNVs) associated with diseases. Interpretation of these data is currently limited as genotypes cannot be accurately inferred from guide RNA identity alone. scSNV-seq overcomes this limitation by coupling single-cell genotyping and transcriptomics of the same cells enabling accurate and high-throughput screening of SNVs. Analysis of variants across the JAK1 gene with scSNV-seq demonstrates the importance of determining the precise genetic perturbation and accurately classifies clinically observed missense variants into three functional categories: benign, loss of function, and separation of function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Cooper
- Cellular and Gene Editing Research, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Matthew A Coelho
- Translational Cancer Genomics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
- Open Targets, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Magdalena E Strauss
- EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0RE, UK
| | - Aleksander M Gontarczyk
- Cellular and Gene Editing Research, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Qianxin Wu
- Cellular and Gene Editing Research, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Mathew J Garnett
- Translational Cancer Genomics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - John C Marioni
- EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
- Cellular Genetics, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0RE, UK
- Present Address: Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Andrew R Bassett
- Cellular and Gene Editing Research, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK.
- Open Targets, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK.
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22
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Teng Y, Jiang T, Yan Y. The expanded CRISPR toolbox for constructing microbial cell factories. Trends Biotechnol 2024; 42:104-118. [PMID: 37500408 PMCID: PMC10808275 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Microbial cell factories (MCFs) convert low-cost carbon sources into valuable compounds. The CRISPR/Cas9 system has revolutionized MCF construction as a remarkable genome editing tool with unprecedented programmability. Recently, the CRISPR toolbox has been significantly expanded through the exploration of new CRISPR systems, the engineering of Cas effectors, and the incorporation of other effectors, enabling multi-level regulation and gene editing free of double-strand breaks. This expanded CRISPR toolbox powerfully promotes MCF construction by facilitating pathway construction, enzyme engineering, flux redistribution, and metabolic burden control. In this article, we summarize different CRISPR tool designs and their applications in MCF construction for gene editing, transcriptional regulation, and enzyme modulation. Finally, we also discuss future perspectives for the development and application of the CRISPR toolbox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxi Teng
- School of Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Tian Jiang
- School of Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Yajun Yan
- School of Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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23
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Yu X, Huo G, Yu J, Li H, Li J. Prime editing: Its systematic optimization and current applications in disease treatment and agricultural breeding. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 253:127025. [PMID: 37769783 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127025] [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: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome-editing technology has accelerated the development of the life sciences. Prime editing has raised genome editing to a new level because it allows for all 12 types of base substitutions, targeted insertions and deletions, large DNA fragment integration, and even combinations of these edits without generating DNA double-strand breaks. This versatile and game-changing technology has successfully been applied to human cells and plants, and it currently plays important roles in basic research, gene therapy, and crop breeding. Although prime editing has substantially expanded the range of possibilities for genome editing, its efficiency requires improvement. In this review, we briefly introduce prime editing and highlight recent optimizations that have improved the efficiency of prime editors. We also describe how the dual-pegRNA strategy has expanded current editing capabilities, and we summarize the potential of prime editing in treating mammalian diseases and improving crop breeding. Finally, we discuss the limitations of current prime editors and future prospects for optimizing these editors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxiao Yu
- State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China; Hebei Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Molecular Pathology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China
| | - Guanzhong Huo
- State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China; Hebei Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Molecular Pathology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China
| | - Jintai Yu
- State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China; College of Modern Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China
| | - Huiyuan Li
- State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China
| | - Jun Li
- State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China; Hebei Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Molecular Pathology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China.
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24
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Fair T, Pavlovic BJ, Schaefer NK, Pollen AA. Mapping cis- and trans-regulatory target genes of human-specific deletions. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.27.573461. [PMID: 38234800 PMCID: PMC10793408 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.27.573461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Deletion of functional sequence is predicted to represent a fundamental mechanism of molecular evolution1,2. Comparative genetic studies of primates2,3 have identified thousands of human-specific deletions (hDels), and the cis-regulatory potential of short (≤31 base pairs) hDels has been assessed using reporter assays4. However, how structural variant-sized (≥50 base pairs) hDels influence molecular and cellular processes in their native genomic contexts remains unexplored. Here, we design genome-scale libraries of single-guide RNAs targeting 7.2 megabases of sequence in 6,358 hDels and present a systematic CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) screening approach to identify hDels that modify cellular proliferation in chimpanzee pluripotent stem cells. By intersecting hDels with chromatin state features and performing single-cell CRISPRi (Perturb-seq) to identify their cis- and trans-regulatory target genes, we discovered 19 hDels controlling gene expression. We highlight two hDels, hDel_2247 and hDel_585, with tissue-specific activity in the liver and brain, respectively. Our findings reveal a molecular and cellular role for sequences lost in the human lineage and establish a framework for functionally interrogating human-specific genetic variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler Fair
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Bryan J Pavlovic
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nathan K Schaefer
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alex A Pollen
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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25
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Zhao Y, Zhong G, Hagen J, Pan H, Chung WK, Shen Y. A probabilistic graphical model for estimating selection coefficient of missense variants from human population sequence data. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.12.11.23299809. [PMID: 38168397 PMCID: PMC10760286 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.11.23299809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Accurately predicting the effect of missense variants is a central problem in interpretation of genomic variation. Commonly used computational methods does not capture the quantitative impact on fitness in populations. We developed MisFit to estimate missense fitness effect using biobank-scale human population genome data. MisFit jointly models the effect at molecular level ( d ) and population level (selection coefficient, s ), assuming that in the same gene, missense variants with similar d have similar s . MisFit is a probabilistic graphical model that integrates deep neural network components and population genetics models efficiently with inductive bias based on biological causality of variant effect. We trained it by maximizing probability of observed allele counts in 236,017 European individuals. We show that s is informative in predicting frequency across ancestries and consistent with the fraction of de novo mutations given s . Finally, MisFit outperforms previous methods in prioritizing missense variants in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yige Zhao
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032
- The Integrated Program in Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032
| | - Guojie Zhong
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032
- The Integrated Program in Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032
| | - Jake Hagen
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032
| | - Hongbing Pan
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032
| | - Wendy K. Chung
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Yufeng Shen
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032
- JP Sulzberger Columbia Genome Center, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032
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26
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Ren X, Yang H, Nierenberg JL, Sun Y, Chen J, Beaman C, Pham T, Nobuhara M, Takagi MA, Narayan V, Li Y, Ziv E, Shen Y. High-throughput PRIME-editing screens identify functional DNA variants in the human genome. Mol Cell 2023; 83:4633-4645.e9. [PMID: 38134886 PMCID: PMC10766087 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.11.021] [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: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Despite tremendous progress in detecting DNA variants associated with human disease, interpreting their functional impact in a high-throughput and single-base resolution manner remains challenging. Here, we develop a pooled prime-editing screen method, PRIME, that can be applied to characterize thousands of coding and non-coding variants in a single experiment with high reproducibility. To showcase its applications, we first identified essential nucleotides for a 716 bp MYC enhancer via PRIME-mediated single-base resolution analysis. Next, we applied PRIME to functionally characterize 1,304 genome-wide association study (GWAS)-identified non-coding variants associated with breast cancer and 3,699 variants from ClinVar. We discovered that 103 non-coding variants and 156 variants of uncertain significance are functional via affecting cell fitness. Collectively, we demonstrate that PRIME is capable of characterizing genetic variants at single-base resolution and scale, advancing accurate genome annotation for disease risk prediction, diagnosis, and therapeutic target identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingjie Ren
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Han Yang
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jovia L Nierenberg
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yifan Sun
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jiawen Chen
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Cooper Beaman
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Thu Pham
- Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Mai Nobuhara
- Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Maya Asami Takagi
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Vivek Narayan
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yun Li
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Elad Ziv
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, and Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yin Shen
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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27
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Smith C, Kitzman JO. Benchmarking splice variant prediction algorithms using massively parallel splicing assays. Genome Biol 2023; 24:294. [PMID: 38129864 PMCID: PMC10734170 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-03144-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Variants that disrupt mRNA splicing account for a sizable fraction of the pathogenic burden in many genetic disorders, but identifying splice-disruptive variants (SDVs) beyond the essential splice site dinucleotides remains difficult. Computational predictors are often discordant, compounding the challenge of variant interpretation. Because they are primarily validated using clinical variant sets heavily biased to known canonical splice site mutations, it remains unclear how well their performance generalizes. RESULTS We benchmark eight widely used splicing effect prediction algorithms, leveraging massively parallel splicing assays (MPSAs) as a source of experimentally determined ground-truth. MPSAs simultaneously assay many variants to nominate candidate SDVs. We compare experimentally measured splicing outcomes with bioinformatic predictions for 3,616 variants in five genes. Algorithms' concordance with MPSA measurements, and with each other, is lower for exonic than intronic variants, underscoring the difficulty of identifying missense or synonymous SDVs. Deep learning-based predictors trained on gene model annotations achieve the best overall performance at distinguishing disruptive and neutral variants, and controlling for overall call rate genome-wide, SpliceAI and Pangolin have superior sensitivity. Finally, our results highlight two practical considerations when scoring variants genome-wide: finding an optimal score cutoff, and the substantial variability introduced by differences in gene model annotation, and we suggest strategies for optimal splice effect prediction in the face of these issues. CONCLUSION SpliceAI and Pangolin show the best overall performance among predictors tested, however, improvements in splice effect prediction are still needed especially within exons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cathy Smith
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Jacob O Kitzman
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
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28
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Martyn GE, Montgomery MT, Jones H, Guo K, Doughty BR, Linder J, Chen Z, Cochran K, Lawrence KA, Munson G, Pampari A, Fulco CP, Kelley DR, Lander ES, Kundaje A, Engreitz JM. Rewriting regulatory DNA to dissect and reprogram gene expression. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.20.572268. [PMID: 38187584 PMCID: PMC10769263 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.20.572268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Regulatory DNA sequences within enhancers and promoters bind transcription factors to encode cell type-specific patterns of gene expression. However, the regulatory effects and programmability of such DNA sequences remain difficult to map or predict because we have lacked scalable methods to precisely edit regulatory DNA and quantify the effects in an endogenous genomic context. Here we present an approach to measure the quantitative effects of hundreds of designed DNA sequence variants on gene expression, by combining pooled CRISPR prime editing with RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization and cell sorting (Variant-FlowFISH). We apply this method to mutagenize and rewrite regulatory DNA sequences in an enhancer and the promoter of PPIF in two immune cell lines. Of 672 variant-cell type pairs, we identify 497 that affect PPIF expression. These variants appear to act through a variety of mechanisms including disruption or optimization of existing transcription factor binding sites, as well as creation of de novo sites. Disrupting a single endogenous transcription factor binding site often led to large changes in expression (up to -40% in the enhancer, and -50% in the promoter). The same variant often had different effects across cell types and states, demonstrating a highly tunable regulatory landscape. We use these data to benchmark performance of sequence-based predictive models of gene regulation, and find that certain types of variants are not accurately predicted by existing models. Finally, we computationally design 185 small sequence variants (≤10 bp) and optimize them for specific effects on expression in silico. 84% of these rationally designed edits showed the intended direction of effect, and some had dramatic effects on expression (-100% to +202%). Variant-FlowFISH thus provides a powerful tool to map the effects of variants and transcription factor binding sites on gene expression, test and improve computational models of gene regulation, and reprogram regulatory DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella E Martyn
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Basic Science and Engineering Initiative, Stanford Children's Health, Betty Irene Moore Children's Heart Center, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Michael T Montgomery
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Basic Science and Engineering Initiative, Stanford Children's Health, Betty Irene Moore Children's Heart Center, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Hank Jones
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Basic Science and Engineering Initiative, Stanford Children's Health, Betty Irene Moore Children's Heart Center, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Katherine Guo
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Basic Science and Engineering Initiative, Stanford Children's Health, Betty Irene Moore Children's Heart Center, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Benjamin R Doughty
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Ziwei Chen
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Kelly Cochran
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Kathryn A Lawrence
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Glen Munson
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Genomic Mechanisms of Disease, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Gene Regulation Observatory, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Anusri Pampari
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Charles P Fulco
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Present Address: Sanofi, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Eric S Lander
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Anshul Kundaje
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jesse M Engreitz
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Basic Science and Engineering Initiative, Stanford Children's Health, Betty Irene Moore Children's Heart Center, Stanford, CA, USA
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Genomic Mechanisms of Disease, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Gene Regulation Observatory, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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29
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Huang H, Hu C, Na J, Hart SN, Gnanaolivu RD, Abozaid M, Rao T, Tecleab YA, Pesaran T, Lyra PCM, Karam R, Yadav S, Domchek SM, de la Hoya M, Robson M, Mehine M, Bandlamudi C, Mandelker D, Monteiro ANA, Boddicker N, Chen W, Richardson ME, Couch FJ. Saturation genome editing-based functional evaluation and clinical classification of BRCA2 single nucleotide variants. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.14.571597. [PMID: 38168194 PMCID: PMC10760149 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.14.571597] [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
Germline BRCA2 loss-of function (LOF) variants identified by clinical genetic testing predispose to breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancer. However, variants of uncertain significance (VUS) (n>4000) limit the clinical use of testing results. Thus, there is an urgent need for functional characterization and clinical classification of all BRCA2 variants. Here we report on comprehensive saturation genome editing-based functional characterization of 97% of all possible single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the BRCA2 DNA Binding Domain hotspot for pathogenic missense variants that is encoded by exons 15 to 26. The assay was based on deep sequence analysis of surviving endogenously targeted haploid cells. A total of 7013 SNVs were characterized as functionally abnormal (n=955), intermediate/uncertain, or functionally normal (n=5224) based on 95% agreement with ClinVar known pathogenic and benign standards. Results were validated relative to batches of nonsense and synonymous variants and variants evaluated using a homology directed repair (HDR) functional assay. Breast cancer case-control association studies showed that pooled SNVs encoding functionally abnormal missense variants were associated with increased risk of breast cancer (odds ratio (OR) 3.89, 95%CI: 2.77-5.51). In addition, 86% of tumors associated with abnormal missense SNVs displayed loss of heterozygosity (LOH), whereas 26% of tumors with normal variants had LOH. The functional data were added to other sources of information in a ClinGen/ACMG/AMP-like model and 700 functionally abnormal SNVs, including 220 missense SNVs, were classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic, while 4862 functionally normal SNVs, including 3084 missense SNVs, were classified as benign or likely benign. These classified variants can now be used for risk assessment and clinical care of variant carriers and the remaining functional scores can be used directly for clinical classification and interpretation of many additional variants. Summary Germline BRCA2 loss-of function (LOF) variants identified by clinical genetic testing predispose to several types of cancer. However, variants of uncertain significance (VUS) limit the clinical use of testing results. Thus, there is an urgent need for functional characterization and clinical classification of all BRCA2 variants to facilitate current and future clinical management of individuals with these variants. Here we show the results from a saturation genome editing (SGE) and functional analysis of all possible single nucleotide variants (SNVs) from exons 15 to 26 that encode the BRCA2 DNA Binding Domain hotspot for pathogenic missense variants. The assay was based on deep sequence analysis of surviving endogenously targeted human haploid HAP1 cells. The assay was calibrated relative to ClinVar known pathogenic and benign missense standards and 95% prevalence thresholds for functionally abnormal and normal variants were identified. Thresholds were validated based on nonsense and synonymous variants. SNVs encoding functionally abnormal missense variants were associated with increased risks of breast and ovarian cancer. The functional assay results were integrated into a ClinGen/ACMG/AMP-like model for clinical classification of the majority of BRCA2 SNVs as pathogenic/likely pathogenic or benign/likely benign. The classified variants can be used for improved clinical management of variant carriers.
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Sahu S, Sullivan T, Southon E, Caylor D, Geh J, Sharan SK. Protocol for the saturation and multiplexing of genetic variants using CRISPR-Cas9. STAR Protoc 2023; 4:102702. [PMID: 37948185 PMCID: PMC10658368 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102702] [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: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Here, we present a multiplexed assay for variant effect protocol to assess the functional impact of all possible genetic variations within a particular genomic region. We describe steps for saturation genome editing by designing and cloning of single-guide RNA (sgRNA). We then detail steps for nucleofection of sgRNA, testing drug response on variants, and amplification of genomic DNA for next-generation sequencing. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Sahu et al.1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sounak Sahu
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Centre for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Teresa Sullivan
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Centre for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Eileen Southon
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Centre for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Dylan Caylor
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Centre for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Josephine Geh
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Centre for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Shyam K Sharan
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Centre for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
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Notin P, Kollasch AW, Ritter D, van Niekerk L, Paul S, Spinner H, Rollins N, Shaw A, Weitzman R, Frazer J, Dias M, Franceschi D, Orenbuch R, Gal Y, Marks DS. ProteinGym: Large-Scale Benchmarks for Protein Design and Fitness Prediction. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.07.570727. [PMID: 38106144 PMCID: PMC10723403 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.07.570727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Predicting the effects of mutations in proteins is critical to many applications, from understanding genetic disease to designing novel proteins that can address our most pressing challenges in climate, agriculture and healthcare. Despite a surge in machine learning-based protein models to tackle these questions, an assessment of their respective benefits is challenging due to the use of distinct, often contrived, experimental datasets, and the variable performance of models across different protein families. Addressing these challenges requires scale. To that end we introduce ProteinGym, a large-scale and holistic set of benchmarks specifically designed for protein fitness prediction and design. It encompasses both a broad collection of over 250 standardized deep mutational scanning assays, spanning millions of mutated sequences, as well as curated clinical datasets providing high-quality expert annotations about mutation effects. We devise a robust evaluation framework that combines metrics for both fitness prediction and design, factors in known limitations of the underlying experimental methods, and covers both zero-shot and supervised settings. We report the performance of a diverse set of over 70 high-performing models from various subfields (eg., alignment-based, inverse folding) into a unified benchmark suite. We open source the corresponding codebase, datasets, MSAs, structures, model predictions and develop a user-friendly website that facilitates data access and analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ada Shaw
- Applied Mathematics, Harvard University
| | | | | | - Mafalda Dias
- Centre for Genomic Regulation, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
| | | | | | - Yarin Gal
- Computer Science, University of Oxford
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32
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Schraivogel D, Steinmetz LM, Parts L. Pooled Genome-Scale CRISPR Screens in Single Cells. Annu Rev Genet 2023; 57:223-244. [PMID: 37562410 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-072920-013842] [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] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Assigning functions to genes and learning how to control their expression are part of the foundation of cell biology and therapeutic development. An efficient and unbiased method to accomplish this is genetic screening, which historically required laborious clone generation and phenotyping and is still limited by scale today. The rapid technological progress on modulating gene function with CRISPR-Cas and measuring it in individual cells has now relaxed the major experimental constraints and enabled pooled screening with complex readouts from single cells. Here, we review the principles and practical considerations for pooled single-cell CRISPR screening. We discuss perturbation strategies, experimental model systems, matching the perturbation to the individual cells, reading out cell phenotypes, and data analysis. Our focus is on single-cell RNA sequencing and cell sorting-based readouts, including image-enabled cell sorting. We expect this transformative approach to fuel biomedical research for the next several decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Schraivogel
- Genome Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany;
| | - Lars M Steinmetz
- Genome Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany;
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA;
- Stanford Genome Technology Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA
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33
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Biswas K, Mitrophanov AY, Sahu S, Sullivan T, Southon E, Nousome D, Reid S, Narula S, Smolen J, Sengupta T, Riedel-Topper M, Kapoor M, Babbar A, Stauffer S, Cleveland L, Tandon M, Malys T, Sharan SK. Sequencing-based functional assays for classification of BRCA2 variants in mouse ESCs. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2023; 3:100628. [PMID: 37922907 PMCID: PMC10694496 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Sequencing of genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, is recommended for individuals with a personal or family history of early onset and/or bilateral breast and/or ovarian cancer or a history of male breast cancer. Such sequencing efforts have resulted in the identification of more than 17,000 BRCA2 variants. The functional significance of most variants remains unknown; consequently, they are called variants of uncertain clinical significance (VUSs). We have previously developed mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC)-based assays for functional classification of BRCA2 variants. We now developed a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based approach for functional evaluation of BRCA2 variants using pools of mESCs expressing 10-25 BRCA2 variants from a given exon. We use this approach for functional evaluation of 223 variants listed in ClinVar. Our functional classification of BRCA2 variants is concordant with the classification reported in ClinVar or those reported by other orthogonal assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kajal Biswas
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Alexander Y Mitrophanov
- Statistical Consulting and Scientific Programming, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Sounak Sahu
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Teresa Sullivan
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Eileen Southon
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA; Leidos Biomed Research Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Darryl Nousome
- Biomedical Informatics and Data Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Susan Reid
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Sakshi Narula
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Julia Smolen
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Trisha Sengupta
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Maximilian Riedel-Topper
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Medha Kapoor
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Anav Babbar
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Stacey Stauffer
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Linda Cleveland
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Mayank Tandon
- Biomedical Informatics and Data Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Tyler Malys
- Statistical Consulting and Scientific Programming, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Shyam K Sharan
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
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Maes S, Deploey N, Peelman F, Eyckerman S. Deep mutational scanning of proteins in mammalian cells. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2023; 3:100641. [PMID: 37963462 PMCID: PMC10694495 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Protein mutagenesis is essential for unveiling the molecular mechanisms underlying protein function in health, disease, and evolution. In the past decade, deep mutational scanning methods have evolved to support the functional analysis of nearly all possible single-amino acid changes in a protein of interest. While historically these methods were developed in lower organisms such as E. coli and yeast, recent technological advancements have resulted in the increased use of mammalian cells, particularly for studying proteins involved in human disease. These advancements will aid significantly in the classification and interpretation of variants of unknown significance, which are being discovered at large scale due to the current surge in the use of whole-genome sequencing in clinical contexts. Here, we explore the experimental aspects of deep mutational scanning studies in mammalian cells and report the different methods used in each step of the workflow, ultimately providing a useful guide toward the design of such studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Maes
- VIB Center for Medical Biotechnology (CMB), Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Nick Deploey
- VIB Center for Medical Biotechnology (CMB), Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frank Peelman
- VIB Center for Medical Biotechnology (CMB), Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sven Eyckerman
- VIB Center for Medical Biotechnology (CMB), Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
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35
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Fischer NW, Ma YHV, Gariépy J. Emerging insights into ethnic-specific TP53 germline variants. J Natl Cancer Inst 2023; 115:1145-1156. [PMID: 37352403 PMCID: PMC10560603 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djad106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The recent expansion of human genomics repositories has facilitated the discovery of novel TP53 variants in populations of different ethnic origins. Interpreting TP53 variants is a major clinical challenge because they are functionally diverse, confer highly variable predisposition to cancer (including elusive low-penetrance alleles), and interact with genetic modifiers that alter tumor susceptibility. Here, we discuss how a cancer risk continuum may relate to germline TP53 mutations on the basis of our current review of genotype-phenotype studies and an integrative analysis combining functional and sequencing datasets. Our study reveals that each ancestry contains a distinct TP53 variant landscape defined by enriched ethnic-specific alleles. In particular, the discovery and characterization of suspected low-penetrance ethnic-specific variants with unique functional consequences, including P47S (African), G334R (Ashkenazi Jewish), and rs78378222 (Icelandic), may provide new insights in terms of managing cancer risk and the efficacy of therapy. Additionally, our analysis highlights infrequent variants linked to milder cancer phenotypes in various published reports that may be underdiagnosed and require further investigation, including D49H in East Asians and R181H in Europeans. Overall, the sequencing and projected functions of TP53 variants arising within ethnic populations and their interplay with modifiers, as well as the emergence of CRISPR screens and AI tools, are now rapidly improving our understanding of the cancer susceptibility spectrum, leading toward more accurate and personalized cancer risk assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas W Fischer
- Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Yu-Heng Vivian Ma
- Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jean Gariépy
- Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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36
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Gao F, Li P, Yin Y, Du X, Cao G, Wu S, Zhao Y. Molecular breeding of livestock for disease resistance. Virology 2023; 587:109862. [PMID: 37562287 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2023.109862] [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: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Animal infectious diseases pose a significant threat to the global agriculture and biomedicine industries, leading to significant economic losses and public health risks. The emergence and spread of viral infections such as African swine fever virus (ASFV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), and avian influenza virus (AIV) have highlighted the need for innovative approaches to develop resilient and disease-resistant animal populations. Gene editing technologies, such as CRISPR/Cas9, offer a promising avenue for generating animals with enhanced disease resistance. This review summarizes recent advances in molecular breeding strategies for generating disease-resistant animals, focusing on the development of disease-resistant livestock. We also highlight the potential applications of genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 library screening and base editors in producing precise gene modified livestock for disease resistance in the future. Overall, gene editing technologies have the potential to revolutionize animal breeding and improve animal health and welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, Sanya, 572025, China
| | - Pan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Ye Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Xuguang Du
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, Sanya, 572025, China
| | - Gengsheng Cao
- Henan Livestock Genome Editing and Biobreeding Engineering Research Center, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Sen Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, Sanya, 572025, China.
| | - Yaofeng Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
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37
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Zhao W, Li J, Wang X, Xu W, Gao B, Xiang J, Hou Y, Liu W, Wu J, Qi Q, Wei J, Yang X, Lu L, Yang L, Chen J, Yang B. Prime editor-mediated functional reshaping of ACE2 prevents the entry of multiple human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 variants. MedComm (Beijing) 2023; 4:e356. [PMID: 37701533 PMCID: PMC10492923 DOI: 10.1002/mco2.356] [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: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 hijacks the host angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to meditate its entry and is the primary target for vaccine development. Nevertheless, SARS-CoV-2 keeps evolving and the latest Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and XBB have gained exceptional immune evasion potential through mutations in their spike proteins, leading to sharply reduced efficacy of current spike-focused vaccines and therapeutics. Compared with the fast-evolving spike protein, targeting host ACE2 offers an alternative antiviral strategy that is more resistant to viral evolution and can even provide broad prevention against SARS-CoV and HCoV-NL63. Here, we use prime editor (PE) to precisely edit ACE2 at structurally selected sites. We demonstrated that residue changes at Q24/D30/K31 and/or K353 of ACE2 could completely ablate the binding of tested viruses while maintaining its physiological role in host angiotensin II conversion. PE-mediated ACE2 editing at these sites suppressed the entry of pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2 major variants of concern and even SARS-CoV or HCoV-NL63. Moreover, it significantly inhibited the replication of the Delta variant live virus. Our work investigated the unexplored application potential of prime editing in high-risk infectious disease control and demonstrated that such gene editing-based host factor reshaping strategy can provide broad-spectrum antiviral activity and a high barrier to viral escape or resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Zhao
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Biomacromolecules and Precision MedicineShanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Gene Editing CenterSchool of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial CenterShanghaiChina
| | - Jifang Li
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Biomacromolecules and Precision MedicineShanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Gene Editing CenterSchool of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial CenterShanghaiChina
| | - Xiao Wang
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Biomacromolecules and Precision MedicineShanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Gene Editing CenterSchool of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell ScienceShanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesShanghaiChina
| | - Wei Xu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS)School of Basic Medical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
- Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan UniversityShanghaiChina
- Biosafety Level 3 LaboratoryShanghai Medical CollegeShanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microbes and InfectionFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Bao‐Qing Gao
- Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and HealthUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesChinese Academy of SciencesShanghaiChina
| | - Jiangchao Xiang
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Biomacromolecules and Precision MedicineShanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Gene Editing CenterSchool of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial CenterShanghaiChina
| | - Yaofeng Hou
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Biomacromolecules and Precision MedicineShanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial CenterShanghaiChina
| | - Wei Liu
- School of Physical Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Jing Wu
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Biomacromolecules and Precision MedicineShanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Gene Editing CenterSchool of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Qilian Qi
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Biomacromolecules and Precision MedicineShanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Jia Wei
- Center for Molecular MedicineChildren's HospitalFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical EpigeneticsInternational Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and MetabolismMinistry of Science and TechnologyInstitutes of Biomedical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Xiaoyu Yang
- School of Physical Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Lu Lu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS)School of Basic Medical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Li Yang
- Center for Molecular MedicineChildren's HospitalFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical EpigeneticsInternational Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and MetabolismMinistry of Science and TechnologyInstitutes of Biomedical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Jia Chen
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Biomacromolecules and Precision MedicineShanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Gene Editing CenterSchool of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial CenterShanghaiChina
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell ScienceShanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesShanghaiChina
| | - Bei Yang
- Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Biomacromolecules and Precision MedicineShanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and TechnologyShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
- Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial CenterShanghaiChina
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Koeppel J, Weller J, Peets EM, Pallaseni A, Kuzmin I, Raudvere U, Peterson H, Liberante FG, Parts L. Prediction of prime editing insertion efficiencies using sequence features and DNA repair determinants. Nat Biotechnol 2023; 41:1446-1456. [PMID: 36797492 PMCID: PMC10567557 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01678-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Most short sequences can be precisely written into a selected genomic target using prime editing; however, it remains unclear what factors govern insertion. We design a library of 3,604 sequences of various lengths and measure the frequency of their insertion into four genomic sites in three human cell lines, using different prime editor systems in varying DNA repair contexts. We find that length, nucleotide composition and secondary structure of the insertion sequence all affect insertion rates. We also discover that the 3' flap nucleases TREX1 and TREX2 suppress the insertion of longer sequences. Combining the sequence and repair features into a machine learning model, we can predict relative frequency of insertions into a site with R = 0.70. Finally, we demonstrate how our accurate prediction and user-friendly software help choose codon variants of common fusion tags that insert at high efficiency, and provide a catalog of empirically determined insertion rates for over a hundred useful sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Ivan Kuzmin
- Department of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Uku Raudvere
- Department of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Hedi Peterson
- Department of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | | | - Leopold Parts
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK.
- Department of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
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39
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Cheng J, Novati G, Pan J, Bycroft C, Žemgulytė A, Applebaum T, Pritzel A, Wong LH, Zielinski M, Sargeant T, Schneider RG, Senior AW, Jumper J, Hassabis D, Kohli P, Avsec Ž. Accurate proteome-wide missense variant effect prediction with AlphaMissense. Science 2023; 381:eadg7492. [PMID: 37733863 DOI: 10.1126/science.adg7492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 198] [Impact Index Per Article: 198.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
The vast majority of missense variants observed in the human genome are of unknown clinical significance. We present AlphaMissense, an adaptation of AlphaFold fine-tuned on human and primate variant population frequency databases to predict missense variant pathogenicity. By combining structural context and evolutionary conservation, our model achieves state-of-the-art results across a wide range of genetic and experimental benchmarks, all without explicitly training on such data. The average pathogenicity score of genes is also predictive for their cell essentiality, capable of identifying short essential genes that existing statistical approaches are underpowered to detect. As a resource to the community, we provide a database of predictions for all possible human single amino acid substitutions and classify 89% of missense variants as either likely benign or likely pathogenic.
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40
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Frisch C, Kostes WW, Galyon B, Whitman B, Tekel SJ, Standage-Beier K, Srinivasan G, Wang X, Brafman DA. PINE-TREE enables highly efficient genetic modification of human cell lines. MOLECULAR THERAPY. NUCLEIC ACIDS 2023; 33:483-492. [PMID: 37588683 PMCID: PMC10425837 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2023.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Prime editing technologies enable precise genome editing without the caveats of CRISPR nuclease-based methods. Nonetheless, current approaches to identify and isolate prime-edited cell populations are inefficient. Here, we established a fluorescence-based system, prime-induced nucleotide engineering using a transient reporter for editing enrichment (PINE-TREE), for real-time enrichment of prime-edited cell populations. We demonstrated the broad utility of PINE-TREE for highly efficient introduction of substitutions, insertions, and deletions at various genomic loci. Finally, we employ PINE-TREE to rapidly and efficiently generate clonal isogenic human pluripotent stem cell lines, a cell type recalcitrant to genome editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlye Frisch
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - William W. Kostes
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Brooke Galyon
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Brycelyn Whitman
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Stefan J. Tekel
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Kylie Standage-Beier
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Gayathri Srinivasan
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Xiao Wang
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - David A. Brafman
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
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41
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Balmas E, Sozza F, Bottini S, Ratto ML, Savorè G, Becca S, Snijders KE, Bertero A. Manipulating and studying gene function in human pluripotent stem cell models. FEBS Lett 2023; 597:2250-2287. [PMID: 37519013 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14709] [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: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are uniquely suited to study human development and disease and promise to revolutionize regenerative medicine. These applications rely on robust methods to manipulate gene function in hPSC models. This comprehensive review aims to both empower scientists approaching the field and update experienced stem cell biologists. We begin by highlighting challenges with manipulating gene expression in hPSCs and their differentiated derivatives, and relevant solutions (transfection, transduction, transposition, and genomic safe harbor editing). We then outline how to perform robust constitutive or inducible loss-, gain-, and change-of-function experiments in hPSCs models, both using historical methods (RNA interference, transgenesis, and homologous recombination) and modern programmable nucleases (particularly CRISPR/Cas9 and its derivatives, i.e., CRISPR interference, activation, base editing, and prime editing). We further describe extension of these approaches for arrayed or pooled functional studies, including emerging single-cell genomic methods, and the related design and analytical bioinformatic tools. Finally, we suggest some directions for future advancements in all of these areas. Mastering the combination of these transformative technologies will empower unprecedented advances in human biology and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Balmas
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Center "Guido Tarone", University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Federica Sozza
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Center "Guido Tarone", University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Sveva Bottini
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Center "Guido Tarone", University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Maria Luisa Ratto
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Center "Guido Tarone", University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Giulia Savorè
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Center "Guido Tarone", University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Silvia Becca
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Center "Guido Tarone", University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Kirsten Esmee Snijders
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Center "Guido Tarone", University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Alessandro Bertero
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Center "Guido Tarone", University of Turin, Torino, Italy
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Sahu S, Sullivan TL, Mitrophanov AY, Galloux M, Nousome D, Southon E, Caylor D, Mishra AP, Evans CN, Clapp ME, Burkett S, Malys T, Chari R, Biswas K, Sharan SK. Saturation genome editing of 11 codons and exon 13 of BRCA2 coupled with chemotherapeutic drug response accurately determines pathogenicity of variants. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010940. [PMID: 37713444 PMCID: PMC10529611 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The unknown pathogenicity of a significant number of variants found in cancer-related genes is attributed to limited epidemiological data, resulting in their classification as variant of uncertain significance (VUS). To date, Breast Cancer gene-2 (BRCA2) has the highest number of VUSs, which has necessitated the development of several robust functional assays to determine their functional significance. Here we report the use of a humanized-mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) line expressing a single copy of the human BRCA2 for a CRISPR-Cas9-based high-throughput functional assay. As a proof-of-principle, we have saturated 11 codons encoded by BRCA2 exons 3, 18, 19 and all possible single-nucleotide variants in exon 13 and multiplexed these variants for their functional categorization. Specifically, we used a pool of 180-mer single-stranded donor DNA to generate all possible combination of variants. Using a high throughput sequencing-based approach, we show a significant drop in the frequency of non-functional variants, whereas functional variants are enriched in the pool of the cells. We further demonstrate the response of these variants to the DNA-damaging agents, cisplatin and olaparib, allowing us to use cellular survival and drug response as parameters for variant classification. Using this approach, we have categorized 599 BRCA2 variants including 93-single nucleotide variants (SNVs) across the 11 codons, of which 28 are reported in ClinVar. We also functionally categorized 252 SNVs from exon 13 into 188 functional and 60 non-functional variants, demonstrating that saturation genome editing (SGE) coupled with drug sensitivity assays can enhance functional annotation of BRCA2 VUS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sounak Sahu
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Teresa L. Sullivan
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Alexander Y. Mitrophanov
- Statistical Consulting and Scientific Programming, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | | | - Darryl Nousome
- CCR Bioinformatics Resource, Leidos Biomedical Sciences, Inc. Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Eileen Southon
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Dylan Caylor
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Arun Prakash Mishra
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Christine N. Evans
- Genome Modification Core, Laboratory Animal Sciences Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Michelle E. Clapp
- Genome Modification Core, Laboratory Animal Sciences Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Sandra Burkett
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Tyler Malys
- Statistical Consulting and Scientific Programming, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Raj Chari
- Genome Modification Core, Laboratory Animal Sciences Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Kajal Biswas
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Shyam K. Sharan
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
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43
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Song Z, Zhang G, Huang S, Liu Y, Li G, Zhou X, Sun J, Gao P, Chen Y, Huang X, Liu J, Wang X. PE-STOP: A versatile tool for installing nonsense substitutions amenable for precise reversion. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:104942. [PMID: 37343700 PMCID: PMC10365944 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104942] [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: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The rapid advances in genome editing technologies have revolutionized the study of gene functions in cell or animal models. The recent generation of double-stranded DNA cleavage-independent base editors has been suitably adapted for interrogation of protein-coding genes on the basis of introducing premature stop codons or disabling the start codons. However, such versions of stop/start codon-oriented genetic tools still present limitations on their versatility, base-level precision, and target specificity. Here, we exploit a newly developed prime editor (PE) that differs from base editors by its adoption of a reverse transcriptase activity, which enables incorporation of various types of precise edits templated by a specialized prime editing guide RNA. Based on such a versatile platform, we established a prime editing-empowered method (PE-STOP) for installation of nonsense substitutions, providing a complementary approach to the present gene-targeting tools. PE-STOP is bioinformatically predicted to feature substantially expanded coverage in the genome space. In practice, PE-STOP introduces stop codons with good efficiencies in human embryonic kidney 293T and N2a cells (with medians of 29% [ten sites] and 25% [four sites] editing efficiencies, respectively), while exhibiting minimal off-target effects and high on-target precision. Furthermore, given the fact that PE installs prime editing guide RNA-templated mutations, we introduce a unique strategy for precise genetic rescue of PE-STOP-dependent nonsense mutation via the same PE platform. Altogether, the present work demonstrates a versatile and specific tool for gene inactivation and for functional interrogation of nonsense mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziguo Song
- International Joint Agriculture Research Center for Animal Bio-Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Guiquan Zhang
- Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study, Model Animal Research Center at Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Shuhong Huang
- International Joint Agriculture Research Center for Animal Bio-Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yao Liu
- International Joint Agriculture Research Center for Animal Bio-Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Guanglei Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xianhui Zhou
- International Joint Agriculture Research Center for Animal Bio-Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Jiayuan Sun
- International Joint Agriculture Research Center for Animal Bio-Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Pengfei Gao
- International Joint Agriculture Research Center for Animal Bio-Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yulin Chen
- International Joint Agriculture Research Center for Animal Bio-Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China; Key Laboratory of Livestock Biology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xingxu Huang
- Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianghuai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study, Model Animal Research Center at Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
| | - Xiaolong Wang
- International Joint Agriculture Research Center for Animal Bio-Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China; Key Laboratory of Livestock Biology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
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44
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Armendariz DA, Sundarrajan A, Hon GC. Breaking enhancers to gain insights into developmental defects. eLife 2023; 12:e88187. [PMID: 37497775 PMCID: PMC10374278 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88187] [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: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite ground-breaking genetic studies that have identified thousands of risk variants for developmental diseases, how these variants lead to molecular and cellular phenotypes remains a gap in knowledge. Many of these variants are non-coding and occur at enhancers, which orchestrate key regulatory programs during development. The prevailing paradigm is that non-coding variants alter the activity of enhancers, impacting gene expression programs, and ultimately contributing to disease risk. A key obstacle to progress is the systematic functional characterization of non-coding variants at scale, especially since enhancer activity is highly specific to cell type and developmental stage. Here, we review the foundational studies of enhancers in developmental disease and current genomic approaches to functionally characterize developmental enhancers and their variants at scale. In the coming decade, we anticipate systematic enhancer perturbation studies to link non-coding variants to molecular mechanisms, changes in cell state, and disease phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Armendariz
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - Anjana Sundarrajan
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - Gary C Hon
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
- Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
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45
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Ren X, Yang H, Nierenberg JL, Sun Y, Chen J, Beaman C, Pham T, Nobuhara M, Takagi MA, Narayan V, Li Y, Ziv E, Shen Y. High throughput PRIME editing screens identify functional DNA variants in the human genome. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.12.548736. [PMID: 37502948 PMCID: PMC10370011 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.12.548736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Despite tremendous progress in detecting DNA variants associated with human disease, interpreting their functional impact in a high-throughput and base-pair resolution manner remains challenging. Here, we develop a novel pooled prime editing screen method, PRIME, which can be applied to characterize thousands of coding and non-coding variants in a single experiment with high reproducibility. To showcase its applications, we first identified essential nucleotides for a 716 bp MYC enhancer via PRIME-mediated saturation mutagenesis. Next, we applied PRIME to functionally characterize 1,304 non-coding variants associated with breast cancer and 3,699 variants from ClinVar. We discovered that 103 non-coding variants and 156 variants of uncertain significance are functional via affecting cell fitness. Collectively, we demonstrate PRIME capable of characterizing genetic variants at base-pair resolution and scale, advancing accurate genome annotation for disease risk prediction, diagnosis, and therapeutic target identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingjie Ren
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Han Yang
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jovia L. Nierenberg
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yifan Sun
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jiawen Chen
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Cooper Beaman
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Thu Pham
- Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Mai Nobuhara
- Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Maya Asami Takagi
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Vivek Narayan
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yun Li
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Elad Ziv
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, and Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yin Shen
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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46
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Lue NZ, Liau BB. Base editor screens for in situ mutational scanning at scale. Mol Cell 2023; 83:2167-2187. [PMID: 37390819 PMCID: PMC10330937 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental challenge in biology is understanding the molecular details of protein function. How mutations alter protein activity, regulation, and response to drugs is of critical importance to human health. Recent years have seen the emergence of pooled base editor screens for in situ mutational scanning: the interrogation of protein sequence-function relationships by directly perturbing endogenous proteins in live cells. These studies have revealed the effects of disease-associated mutations, discovered novel drug resistance mechanisms, and generated biochemical insights into protein function. Here, we discuss how this "base editor scanning" approach has been applied to diverse biological questions, compare it with alternative techniques, and describe the emerging challenges that must be addressed to maximize its utility. Given its broad applicability toward profiling mutations across the proteome, base editor scanning promises to revolutionize the investigation of proteins in their native contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Z Lue
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Brian B Liau
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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47
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Tang YJ, Shuldiner EG, Karmakar S, Winslow MM. High-Throughput Identification, Modeling, and Analysis of Cancer Driver Genes In Vivo. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2023; 13:a041382. [PMID: 37277208 PMCID: PMC10317066 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The vast number of genomic and molecular alterations in cancer pose a substantial challenge to uncovering the mechanisms of tumorigenesis and identifying therapeutic targets. High-throughput functional genomic methods in genetically engineered mouse models allow for rapid and systematic investigation of cancer driver genes. In this review, we discuss the basic concepts and tools for multiplexed investigation of functionally important cancer genes in vivo using autochthonous cancer models. Furthermore, we highlight emerging technical advances in the field, potential opportunities for future investigation, and outline a vision for integrating multiplexed genetic perturbations with detailed molecular analyses to advance our understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuning J Tang
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Emily G Shuldiner
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Saswati Karmakar
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Monte M Winslow
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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48
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Stevenson ZC, Moerdyk-Schauwecker MJ, Banse SA, Patel DS, Lu H, Phillips PC. High-throughput library transgenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans via Transgenic Arrays Resulting in Diversity of Integrated Sequences (TARDIS). eLife 2023; 12:RP84831. [PMID: 37401921 PMCID: PMC10328503 DOI: 10.7554/elife.84831] [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] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
High-throughput transgenesis using synthetic DNA libraries is a powerful method for systematically exploring genetic function. Diverse synthesized libraries have been used for protein engineering, identification of protein-protein interactions, characterization of promoter libraries, developmental and evolutionary lineage tracking, and various other exploratory assays. However, the need for library transgenesis has effectively restricted these approaches to single-cell models. Here, we present Transgenic Arrays Resulting in Diversity of Integrated Sequences (TARDIS), a simple yet powerful approach to large-scale transgenesis that overcomes typical limitations encountered in multicellular systems. TARDIS splits the transgenesis process into a two-step process: creation of individuals carrying experimentally introduced sequence libraries, followed by inducible extraction and integration of individual sequences/library components from the larger library cassette into engineered genomic sites. Thus, transformation of a single individual, followed by lineage expansion and functional transgenesis, gives rise to thousands of genetically unique transgenic individuals. We demonstrate the power of this system using engineered, split selectable TARDIS sites in Caenorhabditis elegans to generate (1) a large set of individually barcoded lineages and (2) transcriptional reporter lines from predefined promoter libraries. We find that this approach increases transformation yields up to approximately 1000-fold over current single-step methods. While we demonstrate the utility of TARDIS using C. elegans, in principle the process is adaptable to any system where experimentally generated genomic loci landing pads and diverse, heritable DNA elements can be generated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Stephen A Banse
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of OregonEugeneUnited States
| | - Dhaval S Patel
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaUnited States
- Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaUnited States
| | - Hang Lu
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaUnited States
- Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaUnited States
| | - Patrick C Phillips
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of OregonEugeneUnited States
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49
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Li K, Ouyang M, Zhan J, Tian R. CRISPR-based functional genomics screening in human-pluripotent-stem-cell-derived cell types. CELL GENOMICS 2023; 3:100300. [PMID: 37228745 PMCID: PMC10203043 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
While our knowledge of gene expression in different human cell types is rapidly expanding with advances in transcriptomic profiling technologies, the next challenge is to understand gene function in each cell type. CRISPR-Cas9-based functional genomics screening offers a powerful approach to determine gene function in a high-throughput manner. With the maturation of stem cell technology, a variety of human cell types can be derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Recently, the integration of CRISPR screening with hPSC differentiation technologies opens up unprecedented opportunities to systematically examine gene function in different human cell types and identify mechanisms and therapeutic targets for human diseases. This review highlights recent progress in the development and applications of CRISPR-Cas9-based functional genomics screening in hPSC-derived cell types, discusses current challenges and limitations, and outlines future directions for this emerging field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Li
- Department of Medical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
- Key University Laboratory of Metabolism and Health of Guangdong, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
| | - Miao Ouyang
- Department of Medical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
- Key University Laboratory of Metabolism and Health of Guangdong, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
| | - Jiangshan Zhan
- Department of Medical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
- Key University Laboratory of Metabolism and Health of Guangdong, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
| | - Ruilin Tian
- Department of Medical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
- Key University Laboratory of Metabolism and Health of Guangdong, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province 518055, China
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50
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Smith C, Kitzman JO. Benchmarking splice variant prediction algorithms using massively parallel splicing assays. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.04.539398. [PMID: 37205456 PMCID: PMC10187268 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.04.539398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Background Variants that disrupt mRNA splicing account for a sizable fraction of the pathogenic burden in many genetic disorders, but identifying splice-disruptive variants (SDVs) beyond the essential splice site dinucleotides remains difficult. Computational predictors are often discordant, compounding the challenge of variant interpretation. Because they are primarily validated using clinical variant sets heavily biased to known canonical splice site mutations, it remains unclear how well their performance generalizes. Results We benchmarked eight widely used splicing effect prediction algorithms, leveraging massively parallel splicing assays (MPSAs) as a source of experimentally determined ground-truth. MPSAs simultaneously assay many variants to nominate candidate SDVs. We compared experimentally measured splicing outcomes with bioinformatic predictions for 3,616 variants in five genes. Algorithms' concordance with MPSA measurements, and with each other, was lower for exonic than intronic variants, underscoring the difficulty of identifying missense or synonymous SDVs. Deep learning-based predictors trained on gene model annotations achieved the best overall performance at distinguishing disruptive and neutral variants. Controlling for overall call rate genome-wide, SpliceAI and Pangolin also showed superior overall sensitivity for identifying SDVs. Finally, our results highlight two practical considerations when scoring variants genome-wide: finding an optimal score cutoff, and the substantial variability introduced by differences in gene model annotation, and we suggest strategies for optimal splice effect prediction in the face of these issues. Conclusion SpliceAI and Pangolin showed the best overall performance among predictors tested, however, improvements in splice effect prediction are still needed especially within exons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cathy Smith
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jacob O. Kitzman
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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