Survival-based CRISPR genetic screens across a panel of permissive cell lines identify common and cell-specific SARS-CoV-2 host factors.

SARS-CoV-2 depends on host cell components for infection and replication. Identification of virus-host dependencies offers an effective way to elucidate mechanisms involved in viral infection and replication. If druggable, host factor dependencies may present an attractive strategy for anti-viral therapy. In this study, we performed genome wide CRISPR knockout screens in Vero E6 cells and four human cell lines including Calu-3, UM-UC-4, HEK-293 and HuH-7 to identify genetic regulators of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our findings identified only ACE2, the cognate SARS-CoV-2 entry receptor, as a common host dependency factor across all cell lines, while other host genes identified were largely cell line specific, including known factors TMPRSS2 and CTSL. Several of the discovered host-dependency factors converged on pathways involved in cell signalling, immune-related pathways, and chromatin modification. Notably, the chromatin modifier gene KMT2C in Calu-3 cells had the strongest impact in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection when perturbed.

Identifying cell receptors for the nanoparticle protein corona using genome screens.

Nanotechnology provides platforms to deliver medical agents to specific cells. However, the nanoparticle's surface becomes covered with serum proteins in the blood after administration despite engineering efforts to protect it with targeting or blocking molecules. Here, we developed a strategy to identify the main interactions between nanoparticle-adsorbed proteins and a cell by integrating mass spectrometry with pooled genome screens and Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes analysis. We found that the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor was responsible for approximately 75% of serum-coated gold nanoparticle uptake in U-87 MG cells. Apolipoprotein B and complement C8 proteins on the nanoparticle mediated uptake through the LDL receptor. In vivo, nanoparticle accumulation correlated with LDL receptor expression in the organs of mice. A detailed understanding of how adsorbed serum proteins bind to cell receptors will lay the groundwork for controlling the delivery of nanoparticles at the molecular level to diseased tissues for therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

Paralogous synthetic lethality underlies genetic dependencies of the cancer-mutated gene STAG2.

STAG2, a component of the mitotically essential cohesin complex, is highly mutated in several different tumour types, including glioblastoma and bladder cancer. Whereas cohesin has roles in many cancer-related pathways, such as chromosome instability, DNA repair and gene expression, the complex nature of cohesin function has made it difficult to determine how STAG2 loss might either promote tumorigenesis or be leveraged therapeutically across divergent cancer types. Here, we have performed whole-genome CRISPR-Cas9 screens for STAG2-dependent genetic interactions in three distinct cellular backgrounds. Surprisingly, STAG1, the paralog of STAG2, was the only negative genetic interaction that was shared across all three backgrounds. We also uncovered a paralogous synthetic lethal mechanism behind a genetic interaction between STAG2 and the iron regulatory gene IREB2 Finally, investigation of an unusually strong context-dependent genetic interaction in HAP1 cells revealed factors that could be important for alleviating cohesin loading stress. Together, our results reveal new facets of STAG2 and cohesin function across a variety of genetic contexts.

Functional genomic landscape of cancer-intrinsic evasion of killing by T cells.

The genetic circuits that allow cancer cells to evade destruction by the host immune system remain poorly understood1-3. Here, to identify a phenotypically robust core set of genes and pathways that enable cancer cells to evade killing mediated by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), we performed genome-wide CRISPR screens across a panel of genetically diverse mouse cancer cell lines that were cultured in the presence of CTLs. We identify a core set of 182 genes across these mouse cancer models, the individual perturbation of which increases either the sensitivity or the resistance of cancer cells to CTL-mediated toxicity. Systematic exploration of our dataset using genetic co-similarity reveals the hierarchical and coordinated manner in which genes and pathways act in cancer cells to orchestrate their evasion of CTLs, and shows that discrete functional modules that control the interferon response and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-induced cytotoxicity are dominant sub-phenotypes. Our data establish a central role for genes that were previously identified as negative regulators of the type-II interferon response (for example, Ptpn2, Socs1 and Adar1) in mediating CTL evasion, and show that the lipid-droplet-related gene Fitm2 is required for maintaining cell fitness after exposure to interferon-γ (IFNγ). In addition, we identify the autophagy pathway as a conserved mediator of the evasion of CTLs by cancer cells, and show that this pathway is required to resist cytotoxicity induced by the cytokines IFNγ and TNF. Through the mapping of cytokine- and CTL-based genetic interactions, together with in vivo CRISPR screens, we show how the pleiotropic effects of autophagy control cancer-cell-intrinsic evasion of killing by CTLs and we highlight the importance of these effects within the tumour microenvironment. Collectively, these data expand our knowledge of the genetic circuits that are involved in the evasion of the immune system by cancer cells, and highlight genetic interactions that contribute to phenotypes associated with escape from killing by CTLs.

Systematic mapping of genetic interactions for de novo fatty acid synthesis identifies C12orf49 as a regulator of lipid metabolism.

The de novo synthesis of fatty acids has emerged as a therapeutic target for various diseases, including cancer. Because cancer cells are intrinsically buffered to combat metabolic stress, it is important to understand how cells may adapt to the loss of de novo fatty acid biosynthesis. Here, we use pooled genome-wide CRISPR screens to systematically map genetic interactions (GIs) in human HAP1 cells carrying a loss-of-function mutation in fatty acid synthase (FASN), whose product catalyses the formation of long-chain fatty acids. FASN-mutant cells show a strong dependence on lipid uptake that is reflected in negative GIs with genes involved in the LDL receptor pathway, vesicle trafficking and protein glycosylation. Further support for these functional relationships is derived from additional GI screens in query cell lines deficient in other genes involved in lipid metabolism, including LDLR, SREBF1, SREBF2 and ACACA. Our GI profiles also identify a potential role for the previously uncharacterized gene C12orf49 (which we call LUR1) in regulation of exogenous lipid uptake through modulation of SREBF2 signalling in response to lipid starvation. Overall, our data highlight the genetic determinants underlying the cellular adaptation associated with loss of de novo fatty acid synthesis and demonstrate the power of systematic GI mapping for uncovering metabolic buffering mechanisms in human cells.

Essential Gene Profiles for Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Identify Uncharacterized Genes and Substrate Dependencies.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) provide an invaluable tool for modeling diseases and hold promise for regenerative medicine. For understanding pluripotency and lineage differentiation mechanisms, a critical first step involves systematically cataloging essential genes (EGs) that are indispensable for hPSC fitness, defined as cell reproduction in this study. To map essential genetic determinants of hPSC fitness, we performed genome-scale loss-of-function screens in an inducible Cas9 H1 hPSC line cultured on feeder cells and laminin to identify EGs. Among these, we found FOXH1 and VENTX, genes that encode transcription factors previously implicated in stem cell biology, as well as an uncharacterized gene, C22orf43/DRICH1. hPSC EGs are substantially different from other human model cell lines, and EGs in hPSCs are highly context dependent with respect to different growth substrates. Our CRISPR screens establish parameters for genome-wide screens in hPSCs, which will facilitate the characterization of unappreciated genetic regulators of hPSC biology.

Evaluation and Design of Genome-Wide CRISPR/SpCas9 Knockout Screens.

The adaptation of CRISPR/SpCas9 technology to mammalian cell lines is transforming the study of human functional genomics. Pooled libraries of CRISPR guide RNAs (gRNAs) targeting human protein-coding genes and encoded in viral vectors have been used to systematically create gene knockouts in a variety of human cancer and immortalized cell lines, in an effort to identify whether these knockouts cause cellular fitness defects. Previous work has shown that CRISPR screens are more sensitive and specific than pooled-library shRNA screens in similar assays, but currently there exists significant variability across CRISPR library designs and experimental protocols. In this study, we reanalyze 17 genome-scale knockout screens in human cell lines from three research groups, using three different genome-scale gRNA libraries. Using the Bayesian Analysis of Gene Essentiality algorithm to identify essential genes, we refine and expand our previously defined set of human core essential genes from 360 to 684 genes. We use this expanded set of reference core essential genes, CEG2, plus empirical data from six CRISPR knockout screens to guide the design of a sequence-optimized gRNA library, the Toronto KnockOut version 3.0 (TKOv3) library. We then demonstrate the high effectiveness of the library relative to reference sets of essential and nonessential genes, as well as other screens using similar approaches. The optimized TKOv3 library, combined with the CEG2 reference set, provide an efficient, highly optimized platform for performing and assessing gene knockout screens in human cell lines.