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Pinto BS, Saxena T, Oliveira R, Méndez-Gómez HR, Cleary JD, Denes LT, McConnell O, Arboleda J, Xia G, Swanson MS, Wang ET. Impeding Transcription of Expanded Microsatellite Repeats by Deactivated Cas9. Mol Cell 2017; 68:479-490.e5. [PMID: 29056323 PMCID: PMC6013302 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.09.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [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: 04/13/2017] [Revised: 09/05/2017] [Accepted: 09/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Transcription of expanded microsatellite repeats is associated with multiple human diseases, including myotonic dystrophy, Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, and C9orf72-ALS/FTD. Reducing production of RNA and proteins arising from these expanded loci holds therapeutic benefit. Here, we tested the hypothesis that deactivated Cas9 enzyme impedes transcription across expanded microsatellites. We observed a repeat length-, PAM-, and strand-dependent reduction of repeat-containing RNAs upon targeting dCas9 directly to repeat sequences; targeting the non-template strand was more effective. Aberrant splicing patterns were rescued in DM1 cells, and production of RAN peptides characteristic of DM1, DM2, and C9orf72-ALS/FTD cells was drastically decreased. Systemic delivery of dCas9/gRNA by adeno-associated virus led to reductions in pathological RNA foci, rescue of chloride channel 1 protein expression, and decreased myotonia. These observations suggest that transcription of microsatellite repeat-containing RNAs is more sensitive to perturbation than transcription of other RNAs, indicating potentially viable strategies for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belinda S Pinto
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Tanvi Saxena
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Ruan Oliveira
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Héctor R Méndez-Gómez
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - John D Cleary
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Lance T Denes
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Ona McConnell
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Juan Arboleda
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Guangbin Xia
- Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Maurice S Swanson
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Eric T Wang
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
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