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Breeze CE, Haugen E, Gutierrez-Arcelus M, Yao X, Teschendorff A, Beck S, Dunham I, Stamatoyannopoulos J, Franceschini N, Machiela MJ, Berndt SI. FORGEdb: a tool for identifying candidate functional variants and uncovering target genes and mechanisms for complex diseases. Genome Biol 2024; 25:3. [PMID: 38167104 PMCID: PMC10763681 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-03126-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The majority of disease-associated variants identified through genome-wide association studies are located outside of protein-coding regions. Prioritizing candidate regulatory variants and gene targets to identify potential biological mechanisms for further functional experiments can be challenging. To address this challenge, we developed FORGEdb ( https://forgedb.cancer.gov/ ; https://forge2.altiusinstitute.org/files/forgedb.html ; and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10067458 ), a standalone and web-based tool that integrates multiple datasets, delivering information on associated regulatory elements, transcription factor binding sites, and target genes for over 37 million variants. FORGEdb scores provide researchers with a quantitative assessment of the relative importance of each variant for targeted functional experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles E Breeze
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
- Altius Institute for Biomedical Sciences, 2211 Elliott Avenue 98121, Seattle, USA.
- UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Eric Haugen
- Altius Institute for Biomedical Sciences, 2211 Elliott Avenue 98121, Seattle, USA
| | - María Gutierrez-Arcelus
- Division of Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Xiaozheng Yao
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Andrew Teschendorff
- CAS Key Lab of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue Yang Road, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Stephan Beck
- UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Ian Dunham
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | | | - Nora Franceschini
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Mitchell J Machiela
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Sonja I Berndt
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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Abstract
CRISPR /Cas9 is a powerful technology that has transformed gene editing of mammalian genomes, being faster and more cost-effective than standard gene targeting techniques. In this chapter, we provide a step-by-step protocol to obtain Knock-Out (KO ) or Knock-In (KI ) mouse models using CRISPR /Cas9 technology. Detailed instructions for the design of single guide RNAs (sgRNA ) for KO approaches and single-strand oligonucleotide (ssODN ) matrix for generation of KI animals are included. We also describe two independent CRISPR /Cas9 delivery methods to produce gene-edited animals starting from zygote-stage embryos, based either on cytoplasmic injection or electroporation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatima El Marjou
- Cell Migration and Invasion Group, Department of Cell Biology, UMR144, Institut Curie, Paris, France.
| | - Colin Jouhanneau
- Institut Curie Plateforme d'Expérimentation In Vivo, Université Paris-Sud 11, Orsay, France
| | - Denis Krndija
- Cell Migration and Invasion Group, Department of Cell Biology, UMR144, Institut Curie, Paris, France
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Jolany vangah S, Katalani C, Booneh HA, Hajizade A, Sijercic A, Ahmadian G. CRISPR-Based Diagnosis of Infectious and Noninfectious Diseases. Biol Proced Online 2020; 22:22. [PMID: 32939188 PMCID: PMC7489454 DOI: 10.1186/s12575-020-00135-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Interest in CRISPR technology, an instrumental component of prokaryotic adaptive immunity which enables prokaryotes to detect any foreign DNA and then destroy it, has gained popularity among members of the scientific community. This is due to CRISPR's remarkable gene editing and cleaving abilities. While the application of CRISPR in human genome editing and diagnosis needs to be researched more fully, and any potential side effects or ambiguities resolved, CRISPR has already shown its capacity in an astonishing variety of applications related to genome editing and genetic engineering. One of its most currently relevant applications is in diagnosis of infectious and non-infectious diseases. Since its initial discovery, 6 types and 22 subtypes of CRISPR systems have been discovered and explored. Diagnostic CRISPR systems are most often derived from types II, V, and VI. Different types of CRISPR-Cas systems which have been identified in different microorganisms can target DNA (e.g. Cas9 and Cas12 enzymes) or RNA (e.g. Cas13 enzyme). Viral, bacterial, and non-infectious diseases such as cancer can all be diagnosed using the cleavage activity of CRISPR enzymes from the aforementioned types. Diagnostic tests using Cas12 and Cas13 enzymes have already been developed for detection of the emerging SARS-CoV-2 virus. Additionally, CRISPR diagnostic tests can be performed using simple reagents and paper-based lateral flow assays, which can potentially reduce laboratory and patient costs significantly. In this review, the classification of CRISPR-Cas systems as well as the basis of the CRISPR/Cas mechanisms of action will be presented. The application of these systems in medical diagnostics with emphasis on the diagnosis of COVID-19 will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Somayeh Jolany vangah
- Department of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, P.O.BOX: 14155-6343 Iran
| | - Camellia Katalani
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Agricultural Science, Sari Agricultural Science and Natural Resource University, Sari, Iran
| | - Hannah A. Booneh
- Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, International Burch University, Francuske Revolucije bb, Ilidza, 71210 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Abbas Hajizade
- Applied Microbiology Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Adna Sijercic
- Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, International Burch University, Francuske Revolucije bb, Ilidza, 71210 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Gholamreza Ahmadian
- Department of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, P.O.BOX: 14155-6343 Iran
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Abstract
X-inactive specific transcript (Xist) is a long noncoding RNA that is essential for initiating and maintaining epigenetic silencing of one copy of the X chromosome in mammalian females. But the mechanism by which Xist localizes and spreads on the X chromosome and facilitates transcriptional silencing remains largely unknown. This limited understanding, at least in part, is due to the technical difficulties in the visualization and functional characterization of Xist. Development of a successful method for Xist tracking is a key to better understanding of the X chromosome silencing, as well as to gain insight into the regulatory role of other long noncoding RNAs. Here, we describe an alternative method for visualization of Xist lncRNA in cells using a CRISPR/Cas9-based approach. This strategy is relatively simple approach to track Xist at different stages of cell differentiation, providing mechanistic insights into the initiation, maintenance, and establishment of X inactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urszula Waśko
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Zeming Zheng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Sanchita Bhatnagar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
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