1
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Bolduc V, Sizov K, Brull A, Esposito E, Chen GS, Uapinyoying P, Sarathy A, Johnson KR, Bönnemann CG. Allele-specific CRISPR-Cas9 editing inactivates a single nucleotide variant associated with collagen VI muscular dystrophy. MOLECULAR THERAPY. NUCLEIC ACIDS 2024; 35:102269. [PMID: 39171142 PMCID: PMC11338111 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2024.102269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
The application of allele-specific gene editing tools can expand the therapeutic options for dominant genetic conditions, either via gene correction or via allelic gene inactivation in situations where haploinsufficiency is tolerated. Here, we used allele-targeted CRISPR-Cas9 guide RNAs (gRNAs) to introduce inactivating frameshifting indels at an SNV in the COL6A1 gene (c.868G>A; G290R), a variant that acts as dominant negative and that is associated with a severe form of congenital muscular dystrophy. We expressed SpCas9 along with allele-targeted gRNAs, without providing a repair template, in primary fibroblasts derived from four patients and one control subject. Amplicon deep sequencing for two gRNAs tested showed that single-nucleotide deletions accounted for the majority of indels introduced. While activity of the two gRNAs was greater at the G290R allele, both gRNAs were also active at the wild-type allele. To enhance allele selectivity, we introduced deliberate additional mismatches to one gRNA. One of these optimized gRNAs showed minimal activity at the WT allele, while generating productive edits and improving collagen VI matrix in cultured patient fibroblasts. This study strengthens the potential of gene editing to treat dominant-negative disorders, but also underscores the challenges in achieving allele selectivity with gRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Véronique Bolduc
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Katherine Sizov
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Astrid Brull
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Eric Esposito
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Grace S. Chen
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Prech Uapinyoying
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Children’s National Research and Innovation Campus, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC 20012, USA
| | - Apurva Sarathy
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Kory R. Johnson
- Bioinformatics Core, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Carsten G. Bönnemann
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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2
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Sachdev A, Gill K, Sckaff M, Birk AM, Aladesuyi Arogundade O, Brown KA, Chouhan RS, Issagholian-Lewin PO, Patel E, Watry HL, Bernardi MT, Keough KC, Tsai YC, Smith AST, Conklin BR, Clelland CD. Reversal of C9orf72 mutation-induced transcriptional dysregulation and pathology in cultured human neurons by allele-specific excision. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2307814121. [PMID: 38621131 PMCID: PMC11047104 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2307814121] [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: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Efforts to genetically reverse C9orf72 pathology have been hampered by our incomplete understanding of the regulation of this complex locus. We generated five different genomic excisions at the C9orf72 locus in a patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line and a non-diseased wild-type (WT) line (11 total isogenic lines), and examined gene expression and pathological hallmarks of C9 frontotemporal dementia/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in motor neurons differentiated from these lines. Comparing the excisions in these isogenic series removed the confounding effects of different genomic backgrounds and allowed us to probe the effects of specific genomic changes. A coding single nucleotide polymorphism in the patient cell line allowed us to distinguish transcripts from the normal vs. mutant allele. Using digital droplet PCR (ddPCR), we determined that transcription from the mutant allele is upregulated at least 10-fold, and that sense transcription is independently regulated from each allele. Surprisingly, excision of the WT allele increased pathologic dipeptide repeat poly-GP expression from the mutant allele. Importantly, a single allele was sufficient to supply a normal amount of protein, suggesting that the C9orf72 gene is haplo-sufficient in induced motor neurons. Excision of the mutant repeat expansion reverted all pathology (RNA abnormalities, dipeptide repeat production, and TDP-43 pathology) and improved electrophysiological function, whereas silencing sense expression did not eliminate all dipeptide repeat proteins, presumably because of the antisense expression. These data increase our understanding of C9orf72 gene regulation and inform gene therapy approaches, including antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and CRISPR gene editing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kamaljot Gill
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA94158
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
| | - Maria Sckaff
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA94158
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
| | | | - Olubankole Aladesuyi Arogundade
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
- Memory & Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
| | - Katherine A. Brown
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
- Memory & Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
| | - Runvir S. Chouhan
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
- Memory & Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
| | - Patrick Oliver Issagholian-Lewin
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
- Memory & Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
| | - Esha Patel
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
- Memory & Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
| | | | | | | | | | - Alec Simon Tulloch Smith
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA98195
- The Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA98195
| | - Bruce R. Conklin
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA94158
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94143
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94143
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
| | - Claire Dudley Clelland
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
- Memory & Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA94158
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3
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Bolduc V, Sizov K, Brull A, Esposito E, Chen GS, Uapinyoying P, Sarathy A, Johnson K, Bönnemann CG. Allele-specific CRISPR/Cas9 editing inactivates a single nucleotide variant associated with collagen VI muscular dystrophy. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.22.586265. [PMID: 38585815 PMCID: PMC10996683 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.22.586265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
The application of allele-specific gene editing tools can expand the therapeutic options for dominant genetic conditions, either via gene correction or via allelic gene inactivation in situations where haploinsufficiency is tolerated. Here, we used allele-targeted CRISPR/Cas9 guide RNAs (gRNAs) to introduce inactivating frameshifting indels at a single nucleotide variant in the COL6A1 gene (c.868G>A; G290R), a variant that acts as dominant negative and that is associated with a severe form of congenital muscular dystrophy. We expressed spCas9 along with allele-targeted gRNAs, without providing a repair template, in primary fibroblasts derived from four patients and one control subject. Amplicon deep-sequencing for two gRNAs tested showed that single nucleotide deletions accounted for the majority of indels introduced. While activity of the two gRNAs was greater at the G290R allele, both gRNAs were also active at the wild-type allele. To enhance allele-selectivity, we introduced deliberate additional mismatches to one gRNA. One of these optimized gRNAs showed minimal activity at the WT allele, while generating productive edits and improving collagen VI matrix in cultured patient fibroblasts. This study strengthens the potential of gene editing to treat dominant-negative disorders, but also underscores the challenges in achieving allele selectivity with gRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Véronique Bolduc
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Katherine Sizov
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Astrid Brull
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Eric Esposito
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Grace S Chen
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Prech Uapinyoying
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Children's National Research and Innovation Campus, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, 20012, USA
| | - Apurva Sarathy
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kory Johnson
- Bioinformatics Core, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Carsten G Bönnemann
- Neurogenetics and Neuromuscular Disorders of Childhood Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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4
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Yagci ZB, Kelkar GR, Johnson TJ, Sen D, Keung AJ. Designing Epigenome Editors: Considerations of Biochemical and Locus Specificities. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2842:23-55. [PMID: 39012589 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4051-7_2] [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: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
The advent of locus-specific protein recruitment technologies has enabled a new class of studies in chromatin biology. Epigenome editors (EEs) enable biochemical modifications of chromatin at almost any specific endogenous locus. Their locus-specificity unlocks unique information including the functional roles of distinct modifications at specific genomic loci. Given the growing interest in using these tools for biological and translational studies, there are many specific design considerations depending on the scientific question or clinical need. Here, we present and discuss important design considerations and challenges regarding the biochemical and locus specificities of epigenome editors. These include how to: account for the complex biochemical diversity of chromatin; control for potential interdependency of epigenome editors and their resultant modifications; avoid sequestration effects; quantify the locus specificity of epigenome editors; and improve locus-specificity by considering concentration, affinity, avidity, and sequestration effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Begum Yagci
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Gautami R Kelkar
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Tyler J Johnson
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Dilara Sen
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Albert J Keung
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
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5
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Mollashahi B, Latifi-Navid H, Owliaee I, Shamdani S, Uzan G, Jamehdor S, Naserian S. Research and Therapeutic Approaches in Stem Cell Genome Editing by CRISPR Toolkit. Molecules 2023; 28:1982. [PMID: 36838970 PMCID: PMC9961668 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28041982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The most widely used genome editing toolkit is CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats). It provides the possibility of replacing and modifying DNA and RNA nucleotides. Furthermore, with advancements in biological technology, inhibition and activation of the transcription of specific gene(s) has become possible. Bioinformatics tools that target the evolution of CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) turn this protein into a vehicle that is specific for a DNA or RNA region with single guide RNA (sgRNA). This toolkit could be used by researchers to investigate the function of stem cell gene(s). Here, in this review article, we cover recent developments and applications of this technique in stem cells for research and clinical purposes and discuss different CRISPR/Cas technologies for knock-out, knock-in, activation, or inhibition of gene expression. Additionally, a comparison of several deliveries and off-target detecting strategies is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behrouz Mollashahi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Hamid Latifi-Navid
- Department of Molecular Medicine, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran 14965/161, Iran
| | - Iman Owliaee
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan 6517838636, Iran
| | - Sara Shamdani
- INSERM UMR-S-MD 1197, Hôpital Paul Brousse, Paris-Saclay University, 94807 Villejuif, France
- CellMedEx, 94100 Saint Maur Des Fossés, France
| | - Georges Uzan
- INSERM UMR-S-MD 1197, Hôpital Paul Brousse, Paris-Saclay University, 94807 Villejuif, France
| | - Saleh Jamehdor
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan 6517838636, Iran
| | - Sina Naserian
- INSERM UMR-S-MD 1197, Hôpital Paul Brousse, Paris-Saclay University, 94807 Villejuif, France
- CellMedEx, 94100 Saint Maur Des Fossés, France
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6
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Ansari AH, Kumar M, Sarkar S, Maiti S, Chakraborty D. CriSNPr, a single interface for the curated and de novo design of gRNAs for CRISPR diagnostics using diverse Cas systems. eLife 2023; 12:e77976. [PMID: 36752591 PMCID: PMC9940907 DOI: 10.7554/elife.77976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-based diagnostics (CRISPRDx) have improved clinical decision-making, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, by detecting nucleic acids and identifying variants. This has been accelerated by the discovery of new and engineered CRISPR effectors, which have expanded the portfolio of diagnostic applications to include a broad range of pathogenic and non-pathogenic conditions. However, each diagnostic CRISPR pipeline necessitates customized detection schemes based on the fundamental principles of the Cas protein used, its guide RNA (gRNA) design parameters, and the assay readout. This is especially relevant for variant detection, a low-cost alternative to sequencing-based approaches for which no in silico pipeline for the ready-to-use design of CRISPRDx currently exists. In this manuscript, we fill this lacuna using a unified web server, CriSNPr (CRISPR-based SNP recognition), which provides the user with the opportunity to de novo design gRNAs based on six CRISPRDx proteins of choice (Fn/enFnCas9, LwCas13a, LbCas12a, AaCas12b, and Cas14a) and query for ready-to-use oligonucleotide sequences for validation on relevant samples. Furthermore, we provide a database of curated pre-designed gRNAs as well as target/off-target for all human and SARS-CoV-2 variants reported thus far. CriSNPr has been validated on multiple Cas proteins, demonstrating its broad and immediate applicability across multiple detection platforms. CriSNPr can be found at http://crisnpr.igib.res.in/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asgar H Ansari
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative BiologyNew DelhiIndia
- Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR)GhaziabadIndia
| | - Manoj Kumar
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative BiologyNew DelhiIndia
- Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR)GhaziabadIndia
| | - Sajal Sarkar
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative BiologyNew DelhiIndia
- Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR)GhaziabadIndia
| | - Souvik Maiti
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative BiologyNew DelhiIndia
- Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR)GhaziabadIndia
| | - Debojyoti Chakraborty
- CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative BiologyNew DelhiIndia
- Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR)GhaziabadIndia
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7
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Alipanahi R, Safari L, Khanteymoori A. CRISPR genome editing using computational approaches: A survey. FRONTIERS IN BIOINFORMATICS 2023; 2:1001131. [PMID: 36710911 PMCID: PMC9875887 DOI: 10.3389/fbinf.2022.1001131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based gene editing has been widely used in various cell types and organisms. To make genome editing with Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats far more precise and practical, we must concentrate on the design of optimal gRNA and the selection of appropriate Cas enzymes. Numerous computational tools have been created in recent years to help researchers design the best gRNA for Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats researches. There are two approaches for designing an appropriate gRNA sequence (which targets our desired sites with high precision): experimental and predicting-based approaches. It is essential to reduce off-target sites when designing an optimal gRNA. Here we review both traditional and machine learning-based approaches for designing an appropriate gRNA sequence and predicting off-target sites. In this review, we summarize the key characteristics of all available tools (as far as possible) and compare them together. Machine learning-based tools and web servers are believed to become the most effective and reliable methods for predicting on-target and off-target activities of Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats in the future. However, these predictions are not so precise now and the performance of these algorithms -especially deep learning one's-depends on the amount of data used during training phase. So, as more features are discovered and incorporated into these models, predictions become more in line with experimental observations. We must concentrate on the creation of ideal gRNA and the choice of suitable Cas enzymes in order to make genome editing with Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats far more accurate and feasible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Leila Safari
- Department of Computer Engineering, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran,*Correspondence: Leila Safari,
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8
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Saha K. Accounting for diversity in the design of CRISPR-based therapeutic genome editing. Nat Genet 2023; 55:6-7. [PMID: 36593304 PMCID: PMC10134893 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-022-01272-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] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
CRISPR cell/gene therapy has been designed largely based on a single reference human genome. A new study reveals how human genetic diversity could lead to off-target effects and presents a novel tool to identify these risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishanu Saha
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
- McPherson Eye Research Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
- Department of Medical History & Bioethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
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9
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Faisal M, Hassan M, Kumar A, Zubair M, Jamal M, Menghwar H, Saad M, Kloczkowski A. Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells (HSPCs) and Hematopoietic Microenvironment: Molecular and Bioinformatic Studies of the Zebrafish Models. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:7285. [PMID: 35806290 PMCID: PMC9266955 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23137285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside in a specialized microenvironment in a peculiar anatomic location which regulates the maintenance of stem cells and controls its functions. Recent scientific progress in experimental technologies have enabled the specific detection of epigenetic factors responsible for the maintenance and quiescence of the hematopoietic niche, which has improved our knowledge of regulatory mechanisms. The aberrant role of RNA-binding proteins and their impact on the disruption of stem cell biology have been reported by a number of recent studies. Despite recent modernization in hematopoietic microenvironment research avenues, our comprehension of the signaling mechanisms and interactive pathways responsible for integration of the hematopoietic niche is still limited. In the past few decades, zebrafish usage with regards to exploratory studies of the hematopoietic niche has expanded our knowledge for deeper understanding of novel cellular interactions. This review provides an update on the functional roles of different genetic and epigenetic factors and molecular signaling events at different sections of the hematopoietic microenvironment. The explorations of different molecular approaches and interventions of latest web-based tools being used are also outlined. This will help us to get more mechanistic insights and develop therapeutic options for the malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Faisal
- Division of Hematology, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA;
| | - Mubashir Hassan
- The Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA;
| | - Aman Kumar
- Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA;
| | - Muhammad Zubair
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China;
| | - Muhammad Jamal
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China;
| | - Harish Menghwar
- Axe Molecular Endocrinology and Nephrology, CHU de Quebec-Research Center (CHUL), Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 4G2, Canada;
| | - Muhammad Saad
- Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43205, USA;
| | - Andrzej Kloczkowski
- The Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA;
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
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10
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Fu R, He W, Dou J, Villarreal OD, Bedford E, Wang H, Hou C, Zhang L, Wang Y, Ma D, Chen Y, Gao X, Depken M, Xu H. Systematic decomposition of sequence determinants governing CRISPR/Cas9 specificity. Nat Commun 2022; 13:474. [PMID: 35078987 PMCID: PMC8789861 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28028-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The specificity of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing is largely determined by the sequences of guide RNA (gRNA) and the targeted DNA, yet the sequence-dependent rules underlying off-target effects are not fully understood. To systematically explore the sequence determinants governing CRISPR/Cas9 specificity, here we describe a dual-target system to measure the relative cleavage rate between off- and on-target sequences (off-on ratios) of 1902 gRNAs on 13,314 synthetic target sequences, and reveal a set of sequence rules involving 2 factors in off-targeting: 1) a guide-intrinsic mismatch tolerance (GMT) independent of the mismatch context; 2) an "epistasis-like" combinatorial effect of multiple mismatches, which are associated with the free-energy landscape in R-loop formation and are explainable by a multi-state kinetic model. These sequence rules lead to the development of MOFF, a model-based predictor of Cas9-mediated off-target effects. Moreover, the "epistasis-like" combinatorial effect suggests a strategy of allele-specific genome editing using mismatched guides. With the aid of MOFF prediction, this strategy significantly improves the selectivity and expands the application domain of Cas9-based allele-specific editing, as tested in a high-throughput allele-editing screen on 18 cancer hotspot mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongjie Fu
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Wei He
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Jinzhuang Dou
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Oscar D Villarreal
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Ella Bedford
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Helen Wang
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Connie Hou
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Liang Zhang
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Yalong Wang
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA
| | - Dacheng Ma
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
| | - Yiwen Chen
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Xue Gao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
| | - Martin Depken
- Kavli Institute of NanoScience and Department of BionanoScience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, 2629HZ, the Netherlands
| | - Han Xu
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, 78957, USA.
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
- The Center for Cancer Epigenetics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
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11
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Schmidt MJ, Gupta A, Bednarski C, Gehrig-Giannini S, Richter F, Pitzler C, Gamalinda M, Galonska C, Takeuchi R, Wang K, Reiss C, Dehne K, Lukason MJ, Noma A, Park-Windhol C, Allocca M, Kantardzhieva A, Sane S, Kosakowska K, Cafferty B, Tebbe J, Spencer SJ, Munzer S, Cheng CJ, Scaria A, Scharenberg AM, Cohnen A, Coco WM. Improved CRISPR genome editing using small highly active and specific engineered RNA-guided nucleases. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4219. [PMID: 34244505 PMCID: PMC8271026 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24454-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Streptococcus pyogenes (Spy) Cas9 has potential as a component of gene therapeutics for incurable diseases. One of its limitations is its large size, which impedes its formulation and delivery in therapeutic applications. Smaller Cas9s are an alternative, but lack robust activity or specificity and frequently recognize longer PAMs. Here, we investigated four uncharacterized, smaller Cas9s and found three employing a "GG" dinucleotide PAM similar to SpyCas9. Protein engineering generated synthetic RNA-guided nucleases (sRGNs) with editing efficiencies and specificities exceeding even SpyCas9 in vitro and in human cell lines on disease-relevant targets. sRGN mRNA lipid nanoparticles displayed manufacturing advantages and high in vivo editing efficiency in the mouse liver. Finally, sRGNs, but not SpyCas9, could be packaged into all-in-one AAV particles with a gRNA and effected robust in vivo editing of non-human primate (NHP) retina photoreceptors. Human gene therapy efforts are expected to benefit from these improved alternatives to existing CRISPR nucleases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Kui Wang
- Casebia Therapeutics LLC, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Akiko Noma
- Casebia Therapeutics LLC, Cambridge, MA, USA
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12
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Bhat MA, Bhat MA, Kumar V, Wani IA, Bashir H, Shah AA, Rahman S, Jan AT. The era of editing plant genomes using CRISPR/Cas: A critical appraisal. J Biotechnol 2020; 324:34-60. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2020.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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13
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Zhao G, Li J, Tang Y. AsCRISPR: A Web Server for Allele-Specific Single Guide RNA Design in Precision Medicine. CRISPR J 2020; 3:512-522. [PMID: 33346704 DOI: 10.1089/crispr.2020.0071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Allele-specific genomic targeting by CRISPR is a versatile strategy that has been increasingly exploited not only in treating inherited dominant diseases and mutation-driven cancers, but also in other important fields such as genome imprinting, haploinsufficiency, and genome loci imaging. Despite its tremendous utilities, few bioinformatic tools have been implemented for the allele-specific purpose of CRISPR. We thus developed AsCRISPR (Allele-specific CRISPR), a comprehensive web tool to aid the design of short-guide RNA (sgRNA) sequences that can discriminate between alleles. AsCRISPR allows users to analyze both their own identified variants and heterozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms and, importantly, output the candidate sgRNAs and their quality control information. To facilitate targeting dominant diseases, AsCRISPR analyzed dominant single nucleotide variants (SNVs) retrieved from ClinVar and OMIM databases, and generated a dominant database of candidate-discriminating sgRNAs that may specifically target the alternative allele for each dominant SNV site. Moreover, a validated database was established, which manually curated the discriminating sgRNAs that were experimentally validated in the mounting literature for multiple allele-specific purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guihu Zhao
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Department of Geriatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, P.R. China
| | - Jinchen Li
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Department of Geriatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, P.R. China
| | - Yu Tang
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Department of Geriatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, P.R. China
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14
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Minguet EG. Ares-GT: Design of guide RNAs targeting multiple genes for CRISPR-Cas experiments. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0241001. [PMID: 33085710 PMCID: PMC7577430 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Guide RNA design for CRISPR genome editing of gene families is a challenging task as usually good candidate sgRNAs are tagged with low scores precisely because they match several locations in the genome, thus time-consuming manual evaluation of targets is required. To address this issues, I have developed ARES-GT, a Python local command line tool compatible with any operative system. ARES-GT allows the selection of candidate sgRNAs that match multiple input query sequences, in addition of candidate sgRNAs that specifically match each query sequence. It also contemplates the use of unmapped contigs apart from complete genomes thus allowing the use of any genome provided by user and being able to handle intraspecies allelic variability and individual polymorphisms. ARES-GT is available at GitHub (https://github.com/eugomin/ARES-GT.git).
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15
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Prat F, Toutain J, Boutin J, Amintas S, Cullot G, Lalanne M, Lamrissi-Garcia I, Moranvillier I, Richard E, Blouin JM, Dabernat S, Moreau-Gaudry F, Bedel A. Mutation-Specific Guide RNA for Compound Heterozygous Porphyria On-target Scarless Correction by CRISPR/Cas9 in Stem Cells. Stem Cell Reports 2020; 15:677-693. [PMID: 32795423 PMCID: PMC7486222 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
CRISPR/Cas9 is a promising technology for gene correction. However, the edition is often biallelic, and uncontrolled small insertions and deletions (indels) concomitant to precise correction are created. Mutation-specific guide RNAs were recently tested to correct dominant inherited diseases, sparing the wild-type allele. We tested an original approach to correct compound heterozygous recessive mutations. We compared editing efficiency and genotoxicity by biallelic guide RNA versus mutant allele-specific guide RNA in iPSCs derived from a congenital erythropoietic porphyria patient carrying compound heterozygous mutations resulting in UROS gene invalidation. We obtained UROS function rescue and metabolic correction with both guides with the potential of use for porphyria clinical intervention. However, unlike the biallelic one, the mutant allele-specific guide was free of on-target collateral damage. We recommend this design to avoid genotoxicity and to obtain on-target scarless gene correction for recessive disease with frequent cases of compound heterozygous mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florence Prat
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France
| | - Jérôme Toutain
- Medical Genetic Laboratory, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France
| | - Julian Boutin
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France
| | - Samuel Amintas
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France; Laboratory of Tumor Biology, CHU Bordeaux, Pessac 33604, France
| | - Grégoire Cullot
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France
| | - Magalie Lalanne
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France
| | - Isabelle Lamrissi-Garcia
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France
| | | | - Emmanuel Richard
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France; Biochemistry Laboratory, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; Laboratory of Excellence, GR-Ex, Imagine Institute, Paris 75015, France
| | - Jean-Marc Blouin
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France; Biochemistry Laboratory, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; Laboratory of Excellence, GR-Ex, Imagine Institute, Paris 75015, France
| | - Sandrine Dabernat
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France; Biochemistry Laboratory, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; Laboratory of Excellence, GR-Ex, Imagine Institute, Paris 75015, France
| | - François Moreau-Gaudry
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France; Biochemistry Laboratory, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; Laboratory of Excellence, GR-Ex, Imagine Institute, Paris 75015, France
| | - Aurélie Bedel
- Univ Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; INSERM U1035, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancers, Bordeaux 33000, France; Biochemistry Laboratory, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France; Laboratory of Excellence, GR-Ex, Imagine Institute, Paris 75015, France.
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16
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Rabinowitz R, Almog S, Darnell R, Offen D. CrisPam: SNP-Derived PAM Analysis Tool for Allele-Specific Targeting of Genetic Variants Using CRISPR-Cas Systems. Front Genet 2020; 11:851. [PMID: 33014011 PMCID: PMC7461778 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is a promising novel technology that holds the potential of treating genetic diseases. Safety and specificity of the treatment are to be further studied and developed prior to implementation of the technology into the clinic. The guide-RNA (gRNA) allows precise position-specific DNA targeting, although it may tolerate small changes such as point mutations. The permissive nature of the CRISPR-Cas system makes allele-specific targeting a challenging goal. Hence, an allele-specific targeting approach is in need for future treatments of heterozygous patients suffering from diseases caused by dominant negative mutations. The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-derived protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) approach allows highly allele-specific DNA cleavage due to the existence of a novel PAM sequence only at the target allele. Here, we present CrisPam, a computational tool that detects PAMs within the variant allele for allele-specific targeting by CRISPR-Cas systems. The algorithm scans the sequences and attempts to identify the generation of multiple PAMs for a given reference sequence and its variations. A successful result is such that at least a single PAM is generated by the variation nucleotide. Since the PAM is present within the variant allele only, the Cas enzyme will bind the variant allele exclusively. Analyzing a dataset of human pathogenic point mutations revealed that 90% of the analyzed mutations generated at least a single PAM. Thus, the SNP-derived PAM approach is ideal for targeting most of the point mutations in an allele-specific manner. CrisPam simplifies the gRNAs design process to specifically target the allele of interest and scans a wide range of 26 unique PAMs derived from 23 Cas enzymes. CrisPam is freely available at https://www.danioffenlab.com/crispam.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy Rabinowitz
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Shiri Almog
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Roy Darnell
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Daniel Offen
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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17
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Sledzinski P, Nowaczyk M, Olejniczak M. Computational Tools and Resources Supporting CRISPR-Cas Experiments. Cells 2020; 9:E1288. [PMID: 32455882 PMCID: PMC7290941 DOI: 10.3390/cells9051288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The CRISPR-Cas system has become a cutting-edge technology that revolutionized genome engineering. The use of Cas9 nuclease is currently the method of choice in most tasks requiring a specific DNA modification. The rapid development in the field of CRISPR-Cas is reflected by the constantly expanding ecosystem of computational tools aimed at facilitating experimental design and result analysis. The first group of CRISPR-Cas-related tools that we review is dedicated to aid in guide RNA design by prediction of their efficiency and specificity. The second, relatively new group of tools exploits the observed biases in repair outcomes to predict the results of CRISPR-Cas edits. The third class of tools is developed to assist in the evaluation of the editing outcomes by analysis of the sequencing data. These utilities are accompanied by relevant repositories and databases. Here we present a comprehensive and updated overview of the currently available CRISPR-Cas-related tools, from the perspective of a user who needs a convenient and reliable means to facilitate genome editing experiments at every step, from the guide RNA design to analysis of editing outcomes. Moreover, we discuss the current limitations and challenges that the field must overcome for further improvement in the CRISPR-Cas endeavor.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Marta Olejniczak
- Department of Genome Engineering, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznan, Poland; (P.S.); (M.N.)
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18
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Yu J, Xiang X, Huang J, Liang X, Pan X, Dong Z, Petersen TS, Qu K, Yang L, Zhao X, Li S, Zheng T, Xu Z, Liu C, Han P, Xu F, Yang H, Liu X, Zhang X, Bolund L, Luo Y, Lin L. Haplotyping by CRISPR-mediated DNA circularization (CRISPR-hapC) broadens allele-specific gene editing. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:e25. [PMID: 31943080 PMCID: PMC7049710 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz1233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Allele-specific protospacer adjacent motif (asPAM)-positioning SNPs and CRISPRs are valuable resources for gene therapy of dominant disorders. However, one technical hurdle is to identify the haplotype comprising the disease-causing allele and the distal asPAM SNPs. Here, we describe a novel CRISPR-based method (CRISPR-hapC) for haplotyping. Based on the generation (with a pair of CRISPRs) of extrachromosomal circular DNA in cells, the CRISPR-hapC can map haplotypes from a few hundred bases to over 200 Mb. To streamline and demonstrate the applicability of the CRISPR-hapC and asPAM CRISPR for allele-specific gene editing, we reanalyzed the 1000 human pan-genome and generated a high frequency asPAM SNP and CRISPR database (www.crispratlas.com/knockout) for four CRISPR systems (SaCas9, SpCas9, xCas9 and Cas12a). Using the huntingtin (HTT) CAG expansion and transthyretin (TTR) exon 2 mutation as examples, we showed that the asPAM CRISPRs can specifically discriminate active and dead PAMs for all 23 loci tested. Combination of the CRISPR-hapC and asPAM CRISPRs further demonstrated the capability for achieving highly accurate and haplotype-specific deletion of the HTT CAG expansion allele and TTR exon 2 mutation in human cells. Taken together, our study provides a new approach and an important resource for genome research and allele-specific (haplotype-specific) gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Yu
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Xi Xiang
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Jinrong Huang
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark
| | - Xue Liang
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Xiaoguang Pan
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Zhanying Dong
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | | | - Kunli Qu
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Ling Yang
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Xiaoying Zhao
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Siyuan Li
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Tianyu Zheng
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Zhe Xu
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Chengxun Liu
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Peng Han
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Fengping Xu
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | | | - Xin Liu
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | | | - Lars Bolund
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Yonglun Luo
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
| | - Lin Lin
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
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19
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Wu J, Tang B, Tang Y. Allele-specific genome targeting in the development of precision medicine. Theranostics 2020; 10:3118-3137. [PMID: 32194858 PMCID: PMC7053192 DOI: 10.7150/thno.43298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The CRISPR-based genome editing holds immense potential to fix disease-causing mutations, however, must also handle substantial natural genetic variations between individuals. Previous studies have shown that mismatches between the single guide RNA (sgRNA) and genomic DNA may negatively impact sgRNA efficiencies and lead to imprecise specificity prediction. Hence, the genetic variations bring about a great challenge for designing platinum sgRNAs in large human populations. However, they also provide a promising entry for designing allele-specific sgRNAs for the treatment of each individual. The CRISPR system is rather specific, with the potential ability to discriminate between similar alleles, even based on a single nucleotide difference. Genetic variants contribute to the discrimination capabilities, once they generate a novel protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) site or locate in the seed region near an available PAM. Therefore, it can be leveraged to establish allele-specific targeting in numerous dominant human disorders, by selectively ablating the deleterious alleles. So far, allele-specific CRISPR has been increasingly implemented not only in treating dominantly inherited diseases, but also in research areas such as genome imprinting, haploinsufficiency, spatiotemporal loci imaging and immunocompatible manipulations. In this review, we will describe the working principles of allele-specific genome manipulations by virtue of expanding engineering tools of CRISPR. And then we will review new advances in the versatile applications of allele-specific CRISPR targeting in treating human genetic diseases, as well as in a series of other interesting research areas. Lastly, we will discuss their potential therapeutic utilities and considerations in the era of precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junjiao Wu
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Department of Geriatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
| | - Beisha Tang
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Department of Geriatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
- Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
- Key Laboratory of Hunan Province in Neurodegenerative Disorders, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
| | - Yu Tang
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Department of Geriatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
- Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
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20
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Chen CL, Rodiger J, Chung V, Viswanatha R, Mohr SE, Hu Y, Perrimon N. SNP-CRISPR: A Web Tool for SNP-Specific Genome Editing. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2020; 10:489-494. [PMID: 31822517 PMCID: PMC7003079 DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful genome editing technology in which a single guide RNA (sgRNA) confers target site specificity to achieve Cas9-mediated genome editing. Numerous sgRNA design tools have been developed based on reference genomes for humans and model organisms. However, existing resources are not optimal as genetic mutations or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the targeting region affect the efficiency of CRISPR-based approaches by interfering with guide-target complementarity. To facilitate identification of sgRNAs (1) in non-reference genomes, (2) across varying genetic backgrounds, or (3) for specific targeting of SNP-containing alleles, for example, disease relevant mutations, we developed a web tool, SNP-CRISPR (https://www.flyrnai.org/tools/snp_crispr/). SNP-CRISPR can be used to design sgRNAs based on public variant data sets or user-identified variants. In addition, the tool computes efficiency and specificity scores for sgRNA designs targeting both the variant and the reference. Moreover, SNP-CRISPR provides the option to upload multiple SNPs and target single or multiple nearby base changes simultaneously with a single sgRNA design. Given these capabilities, SNP-CRISPR has a wide range of potential research applications in model systems and for design of sgRNAs for disease-associated variant correction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonathan Rodiger
- Department of Genetics
- Drosophila RNAi Screening Center, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, and
| | - Verena Chung
- Department of Genetics
- Drosophila RNAi Screening Center, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, and
| | | | - Stephanie E Mohr
- Department of Genetics
- Drosophila RNAi Screening Center, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, and
| | - Yanhui Hu
- Department of Genetics
- Drosophila RNAi Screening Center, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, and
| | - Norbert Perrimon
- Department of Genetics,
- Drosophila RNAi Screening Center, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, and
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115
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