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In this study, we demonstrate the safety and utility of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology for in vivo editing of proviral DNA in ART-treated, virally controlled simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infected rhesus macaques, an established model for HIV infection. EBT-001 is an AAV9-based vector delivering SaCas9 and dual guide RNAs designed to target multiple regions of the SIV genome: the viral LTRs, and the Gag gene. The results presented here demonstrate that a single IV inoculation of EBT-001 at each of 3 dose levels (1.4 × 1012, 1.4 × 1013 and 1.4 × 1014 genome copies/kg) resulted in broad and functional biodistribution of AAV9-EBT-001 to known tissue reservoirs of SIV. No off-target effects or abnormal pathology were observed, and animals returned to their normal body weight after receiving EBT-001. Importantly, the macaques that received the 2 highest doses of EBT-001 showed improved absolute lymphocyte counts as compared to antiretroviral-treated controls. Taken together, these results demonstrate safety, biodistribution, and in vivo proviral DNA editing following IV administration of EBT-001, supporting the further development of CRISPR-based gene editing as a potential therapeutic approach for HIV in humans.
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Post-translational glycosylation of the HIV-1 envelope protein involving precursor glycan trimming by mannosyl oligosaccharide glucosidase (MOGS) is critically important for morphogenesis of virions and viral entry. Strategic editing of the MOGS gene in T lymphocytes and myeloid origin cells harboring latent proviral DNA results in the production of non-infectious particles upon treatment of cells with latency reversal agents. Controlled activation of CRISPR-MOGS by rebound HIV-1 mitigates production of infectious particles that exhibit poor ability of the virus to penetrate uninfected cells. Moreover, exclusive activation of CRISPR in cells infected with HIV-1 alleviates concern for broad off-target impact of MOGS gene ablation in uninfected cells. Combination CRISPR treatment of peripheral blood lymphocytes prepared from blood of people with HIV-1 (PWH) tailored for editing the MOGS gene (CRISPR-MOGS) and proviral HIV-1 DNA (CRISPR-HIV) revealed a cooperative impact of CRISPR treatment in inhibiting the production of infectious HIV-1 particles. Our design for genetic inactivation of MOGS by CRISPR exhibits no detectable off-target effects on host cells or any deleterious impact on cell survival and proliferation. Our findings offer the development of a new combined gene editing-based cure strategy for the diminution of HIV-1 spread after cessation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and its elimination.
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Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) is a metabolic disorder most commonly caused by mutations in the methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MMUT) gene. Although adeno-associated viral (AAV) gene therapy has been effective at correcting the disease phenotype in MMA mouse models, clinical translation may be impaired by loss of episomal transgene expression and magnified by the need to treat patients early in life. To achieve permanent correction, we developed a dual AAV strategy to express a codon-optimized MMUT transgene from Alb and tested various CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing vectors in newly developed knockin mouse models of MMA. For one target site in intron 1 of Alb, we designed rescue cassettes expressing MMUT behind a 2A-peptide or an internal ribosomal entry site sequence. A second guide RNA targeted the initiator codon, and the donor cassette encompassed the proximal albumin promoter in the 5' homology arm. Although all editing approaches were therapeutic, targeting the start codon of albumin allowed the use of a donor cassette that also functioned as an episome and after homologous recombination, even without the expression of Cas9, as an integrant. Targeting the albumin locus using these strategies would be effective for other metabolic disorders where early treatment and permanent long-term correction are needed.
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Naturally occurring, large deletions in the ß-globin locus result in hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin, a condition that mitigates the clinical severity of sickle cell disease (SCD) and ß-thalassemia. We designed a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) (CRISPR/Cas9) strategy to disrupt a 13.6-kb genomic region encompassing the δ- and ß-globin genes and a putative γ-δ intergenic fetal hemoglobin (HbF) silencer. Disruption of just the putative HbF silencer results in a mild increase in γ-globin expression, whereas deletion or inversion of a 13.6-kb region causes a robust reactivation of HbF synthesis in adult erythroblasts that is associated with epigenetic modifications and changes in chromatin contacts within the ß-globin locus. In primary SCD patient-derived hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, targeting the 13.6-kb region results in a high proportion of γ-globin expression in erythroblasts, increased HbF synthesis, and amelioration of the sickling cell phenotype. Overall, this study provides clues for a potential CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing approach to the therapy of ß-hemoglobinopathies.
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Anemia de Células Falciformes , Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Hemoglobina Fetal , Edición Génica , Sitios Genéticos , Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/metabolismo , Globinas beta/genética , Anemia de Células Falciformes/genética , Anemia de Células Falciformes/metabolismo , Anemia de Células Falciformes/patología , Anemia de Células Falciformes/terapia , Línea Celular , Hemoglobina Fetal/biosíntesis , Hemoglobina Fetal/genética , Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/patología , Humanos , Globinas beta/metabolismoRESUMEN
The rapid advancement in targeted genome editing using engineered nucleases such as ZFNs, TALENs, and CRISPR/Cas9 systems has resulted in a suite of powerful methods that allows researchers to target any genomic locus of interest. A complementary set of design tools has been developed to aid researchers with nuclease design, target site selection, and experimental validation. Here, we review the various tools available for target selection in designing engineered nucleases, and for quantifying nuclease activity and specificity, including web-based search tools and experimental methods. We also elucidate challenges in target selection, especially in predicting off-target effects, and discuss future directions in precision genome editing and its applications.
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Sitios de Unión , Biología Computacional/métodos , Endonucleasas/metabolismo , Edición Génica , Marcación de Gen , Genoma , Genómica/métodos , Animales , Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Edición Génica/métodos , Marcación de Gen/métodos , Humanos , Unión Proteica , Navegador WebRESUMEN
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a recessive inherited disease associated with multiorgan damage that compromises epithelial and inflammatory cell function. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have significantly advanced the potential of developing a personalized cell-based therapy for diseases like CF by generating patient-specific stem cells that can be differentiated into cells that repair tissues damaged by disease pathology. The F508del mutation in airway epithelial cell-derived CF-iPSCs was corrected with small/short DNA fragments (SDFs) and sequence-specific TALENs. An allele-specific PCR, cyclic enrichment strategy gave ~100-fold enrichment of the corrected CF-iPSCs after six enrichment cycles that facilitated isolation of corrected clones. The seamless SDF-based gene modification strategy used to correct the CF-iPSCs resulted in pluripotent cells that, when differentiated into endoderm/airway-like epithelial cells showed wild-type (wt) airway epithelial cell cAMP-dependent Cl ion transport or showed the appropriate cell-type characteristics when differentiated along mesoderm/hematopoietic inflammatory cell lineage pathways.
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The clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated (Cas) system from Streptococcus pyogenes (Spy) has been successfully adapted for RNA-guided genome editing in a wide range of organisms. However, numerous reports have indicated that Spy CRISPR-Cas9 systems may have significant off-target cleavage of genomic DNA sequences differing from the intended on-target site. Here, we report the performance of the Neisseria meningitidis (Nme) CRISPR-Cas9 system that requires a longer protospacer-adjacent motif for site-specific cleavage, and present a comparison between the Spy and Nme CRISPR-Cas9 systems targeting the same protospacer sequence. The results with the native crRNA and tracrRNA as well as a chimeric single guide RNA for the Nme CRISPR-Cas9 system were also compared. Our results suggest that, compared with the Spy system, the Nme CRISPR-Cas9 system has similar or lower on-target cleavage activity but a reduced overall off-target effect on a genomic level when sites containing three or fewer mismatches are considered. Thus, the Nme CRISPR-Cas9 system may represent a safer alternative for precision genome engineering applications.
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Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Repeticiones Palindrómicas Cortas Agrupadas y Regularmente Espaciadas , Edición Génica , Genoma , Neisseria meningitidis/enzimología , Neisseria meningitidis/genética , Secuencia de Bases , Sitios de Unión , Marcación de Gen , Sitios Genéticos , Humanos , Motivos de Nucleótidos , Posición Específica de Matrices de Puntuación , Unión Proteica , ARN Guía de Kinetoplastida , Especificidad por SustratoRESUMEN
RNA-guided nucleases (RGNs) based on the type II CRISPR-Cas9 system of Streptococcus pyogenes (Sp) have been widely used for genome editing in experimental models. However, the nontrivial level of off-target activity reported in several human cells may hamper clinical translation. RGN specificity depends on both the guide RNA (gRNA) and the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) recognized by the Cas9 protein. We hypothesized that more stringent PAM requirements reduce the occurrence of off-target mutagenesis. To test this postulation, we generated RGNs based on two Streptococcus thermophilus (St) Cas9 proteins, which recognize longer PAMs, and performed a side-by-side comparison of the three RGN systems targeted to matching sites in two endogenous human loci, PRKDC and CARD11. Our results demonstrate that in samples with comparable on-target cleavage activities, significantly lower off-target mutagenesis was detected using St-based RGNs as compared to the standard Sp-RGNs. Moreover, similarly to SpCas9, the StCas9 proteins accepted truncated gRNAs, suggesting that the specificities of St-based RGNs can be further improved. In conclusion, our results show that Cas9 proteins with longer or more restrictive PAM requirements provide a safe alternative to SpCas9-based RGNs and hence a valuable option for future human gene therapy applications.
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Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Edición Génica , Genoma Humano , Streptococcus thermophilus/enzimología , Streptococcus thermophilus/genética , Secuencia de Bases , Sitios de Unión , Línea Celular , Endonucleasas/metabolismo , Activación Enzimática , Vectores Genéticos , Humanos , Unión Proteica , ARN Guía de Kinetoplastida , Especificidad por SustratoRESUMEN
Precise genome editing using engineered nucleases can significantly facilitate biological studies and disease treatment. In particular, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) with CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins are a potentially powerful tool for modifying a genome by targeted cleavage of DNA sequences complementary to designed guide strand RNAs. Although CRISPR/Cas systems can have on-target cleavage rates close to the transfection rates, they may also have relatively high off-target cleavage at similar genomic sites that contain one or more base pair mismatches, and insertions or deletions relative to the guide strand. We have developed a bioinformatics-based tool, COSMID (CRISPR Off-target Sites with Mismatches, Insertions, and Deletions) that searches genomes for potential off-target sites (http://crispr.bme.gatech.edu). Based on the user-supplied guide strand and input parameters, COSMID identifies potential off-target sites with the specified number of mismatched bases and insertions or deletions when compared with the guide strand. For each site, amplification primers optimal for the chosen application are also given as output. This ranked-list of potential off-target sites assists the choice and evaluation of intended target sites, thus helping the design of CRISPR/Cas systems with minimal off-target effects, as well as the identification and quantification of CRISPR/Cas induced off-target cleavage in cells.
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Individuals homozygous for the C-C chemokine receptor type 5 gene with 32-bp deletions (CCR5Δ32) are resistant to HIV-1 infection. In this study, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) homozygous for the naturally occurring CCR5Δ32 mutation through genome editing of wild-type iPSCs using a combination of transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) or RNA-guided clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 together with the piggyBac technology. Remarkably, TALENs or CRISPR-Cas9-mediated double-strand DNA breaks resulted in up to 100% targeting of the colonies on one allele of which biallelic targeting occurred at an average of 14% with TALENs and 33% with CRISPR. Excision of the piggyBac using transposase seamlessly reproduced exactly the naturally occurring CCR5Δ32 mutation without detectable exogenous sequences. We differentiated these modified iPSCs into monocytes/macrophages and demonstrated their resistance to HIV-1 challenge. We propose that this strategy may provide an approach toward a functional cure of HIV-1 infection.
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Diferenciación Celular/inmunología , Resistencia a la Enfermedad/genética , Ingeniería Genética/métodos , Infecciones por VIH/genética , Células Madre Pluripotentes Inducidas/inmunología , Receptores CCR5/genética , Eliminación de Secuencia/genética , Southern Blotting , Células Cultivadas , Repeticiones Palindrómicas Cortas Agrupadas y Regularmente Espaciadas/genética , Cartilla de ADN/genética , Desoxirribonucleasas/metabolismo , Resistencia a la Enfermedad/inmunología , Técnica del Anticuerpo Fluorescente , Vectores Genéticos/genética , Infecciones por VIH/inmunología , Humanos , Células Madre Pluripotentes Inducidas/citología , Macrófagos/citología , Monocitos/citología , Mutagénesis/genética , Transposasas/metabolismoRESUMEN
CRISPR/Cas9 systems are a versatile tool for genome editing due to the highly efficient targeting of DNA sequences complementary to their RNA guide strands. However, it has been shown that RNA-guided Cas9 nuclease cleaves genomic DNA sequences containing mismatches to the guide strand. A better understanding of the CRISPR/Cas9 specificity is needed to minimize off-target cleavage in large mammalian genomes. Here we show that genomic sites could be cleaved by CRISPR/Cas9 systems when DNA sequences contain insertions ('DNA bulge') or deletions ('RNA bulge') compared to the RNA guide strand, and Cas9 nickases used for paired nicking can also tolerate bulges in one of the guide strands. Variants of single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) for four endogenous loci were used as model systems, and their cleavage activities were quantified at different positions with 1- to 5-bp bulges. We further investigated 114 putative genomic off-target loci of 27 different sgRNAs and confirmed 15 off-target sites, each harboring a single-base bulge and one to three mismatches to the guide strand. Our results strongly indicate the need to perform comprehensive off-target analysis related to DNA and sgRNA bulges in addition to base mismatches, and suggest specific guidelines for reducing potential off-target cleavage.
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Proteínas Asociadas a CRISPR/metabolismo , Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Desoxirribonucleasas/metabolismo , Composición de Base , Disparidad de Par Base , Secuencia de Bases , Citosina/análisis , ADN/química , División del ADN , Guanina/análisis , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Eliminación de Secuencia , ARN Pequeño no TraducidoRESUMEN
Designer nucleases have been successfully employed to modify the genomes of various model organisms and human cell types. While the specificity of zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and RNA-guided endonucleases has been assessed to some extent, little data are available for transcription activator-like effector-based nucleases (TALENs). Here, we have engineered TALEN pairs targeting three human loci (CCR5, AAVS1 and IL2RG) and performed a detailed analysis of their activity, toxicity and specificity. The TALENs showed comparable activity to benchmark ZFNs, with allelic gene disruption frequencies of 15-30% in human cells. Notably, TALEN expression was overall marked by a low cytotoxicity and the absence of cell cycle aberrations. Bioinformatics-based analysis of designer nuclease specificity confirmed partly substantial off-target activity of ZFNs targeting CCR5 and AAVS1 at six known and five novel sites, respectively. In contrast, only marginal off-target cleavage activity was detected at four out of 49 predicted off-target sites for CCR5- and AAVS1-specific TALENs. The rational design of a CCR5-specific TALEN pair decreased off-target activity at the closely related CCR2 locus considerably, consistent with fewer genomic rearrangements between the two loci. In conclusion, our results link nuclease-associated toxicity to off-target cleavage activity and corroborate TALENs as a highly specific platform for future clinical translation.
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Desoxirribonucleasas/metabolismo , Genoma Humano , Células Cultivadas , División del ADN , Desoxirribonucleasas/química , Sitios Genéticos , Células HEK293 , Células HeLa , Humanos , Subunidad gamma Común de Receptores de Interleucina/genética , Ingeniería de Proteínas , Receptores CCR5/genéticaRESUMEN
Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) have rapidly developed into a powerful tool for genome editing. To avoid labor-intensive and time-consuming experimental screening for active TALENs, a scoring system can help select optimal target sites. Here we describe a procedure to design active TALENs using a scoring system named Scoring Algorithm for Predicted TALEN Activity (SAPTA) and a method to test the activity of individual and pairs of TALENs.
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División del ADN , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/metabolismo , Endonucleasas/metabolismo , Marcación de Gen , Reparación del ADN , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/química , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/genética , Desoxirribonucleasa I/genética , Desoxirribonucleasa I/metabolismo , Endonucleasas/química , Endonucleasas/genética , Mutación , Plásmidos/genética , TransfecciónRESUMEN
Engineered nucleases have been used to generate many model organisms and show great promise for therapeutic genome editing. Current methods to evaluate the activity of these nucleases can be laborious and often are hampered by readouts with small signals and a significant amount of background noise. We present a simple method that utilizes the established single-strand annealing (SSA) assay coupled with a luciferase assay to generate a high-throughput analysis of nuclease activity. Luciferase reporters provide a higher signal and lower background levels than fluorescent reporters. We engineered a commercially available luciferase plasmid (pGL4.51, Promega) to generate a set of nuclease target plasmids that produce a high signal and activity that correlates well with in vitro data. The SSA luciferase assay can discriminate between nucleases that give similar signals with other nuclease activity assays. The target plasmid and nucleases are transfected into cells and are generally cultured for 2 days. Luciferase activity is quantified in the same cell culture plate--streamlining the process from transfection to assay. We have used this robust process to investigate the activity of zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activated-like effector nucleases (TALENs).
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División del ADN , Endonucleasas/metabolismo , Expresión Génica , Genes Reporteros , Ensayos Analíticos de Alto Rendimiento , Luciferasas/genética , Dedos de Zinc/fisiología , Células HEK293 , HumanosRESUMEN
Using engineered nucleases, such as Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) or Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs), to make targeted genomic modifications has become a common technique to create new model organisms and custom cell lines, and has shown great promise for disease treatment. However, these nucleases have the potential for off-target cleavage that could confound interpretation of experimental results and be detrimental for therapeutic use. Here, we describe a method to test for nuclease cleavage at potential off-target sites predicted by bioinformatics models.
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Biología Computacional/métodos , División del ADN , Endonucleasas/metabolismo , Dedos de Zinc/fisiología , Animales , Especificidad por SustratoRESUMEN
Although engineered nucleases can efficiently cleave intracellular DNA at desired target sites, major concerns remain on potential 'off-target' cleavage that may occur throughout the genome. We developed an online tool: predicted report of genome-wide nuclease off-target sites (PROGNOS) that effectively identifies off-target sites. The initial bioinformatics algorithms in PROGNOS were validated by predicting 44 of 65 previously confirmed off-target sites, and by uncovering a new off-target site for the extensively studied zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) targeting C-C chemokine receptor type 5. Using PROGNOS, we rapidly interrogated 128 potential off-target sites for newly designed transcription activator-like effector nucleases containing either Asn-Asn (NN) or Asn-Lys (NK) repeat variable di-residues (RVDs) and 3- and 4-finger ZFNs, and validated 13 bona fide off-target sites for these nucleases by DNA sequencing. The PROGNOS algorithms were further refined by incorporating additional features of nuclease-DNA interactions and the newly confirmed off-target sites into the training set, which increased the percentage of bona fide off-target sites found within the top PROGNOS rankings. By identifying potential off-target sites in silico, PROGNOS allows the selection of more specific target sites and aids the identification of bona fide off-target sites, significantly facilitating the design of engineered nucleases for genome editing applications.
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Algoritmos , División del ADN , Desoxirribonucleasas/metabolismo , Programas Informáticos , Dedos de Zinc , Biología Computacional , Reparación del ADN por Unión de Extremidades , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Mutación INDEL , Internet , Receptores CCR5/genéticaRESUMEN
Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) have become a powerful tool for genome editing due to the simple code linking the amino acid sequences of their DNA-binding domains to TALEN nucleotide targets. While the initial TALEN-design guidelines are very useful, user-friendly tools defining optimal TALEN designs for robust genome editing need to be developed. Here we evaluated existing guidelines and developed new design guidelines for TALENs based on 205 TALENs tested, and established the scoring algorithm for predicting TALEN activity (SAPTA) as a new online design tool. For any input gene of interest, SAPTA gives a ranked list of potential TALEN target sites, facilitating the selection of optimal TALEN pairs based on predicted activity. SAPTA-based TALEN designs increased the average intracellular TALEN monomer activity by >3-fold, and resulted in an average endogenous gene-modification frequency of 39% for TALENs containing the repeat variable di-residue NK that favors specificity rather than activity. It is expected that SAPTA will become a useful and flexible tool for designing highly active TALENs for genome-editing applications. SAPTA can be accessed via the website at http://baolab.bme.gatech.edu/Research/BioinformaticTools/TAL_targeter.html.
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Proteínas de Unión al ADN/metabolismo , Desoxirribonucleasas/metabolismo , Programas Informáticos , Algoritmos , Secuencia de Bases , ADN/química , ADN/metabolismo , Células HEK293 , HumanosRESUMEN
Nanomedicine is an emerging field that integrates nanotechnology, biomolecular engineering, life sciences and medicine; it is expected to produce major breakthroughs in medical diagnostics and therapeutics. Nano-scale structures and devices are compatible in size with proteins and nucleic acids in living cells. Therefore, the design, characterization and application of nano-scale probes, carriers and machines may provide unprecedented opportunities for achieving a better control of biological processes, and drastic improvements in disease detection, therapy, and prevention. Recent advances in nanomedicine include the development of nanoparticle (NP)-based probes for molecular imaging, nano-carriers for drug/gene delivery, multifunctional NPs for theranostics, and molecular machines for biological and medical studies. This article provides an overview of the nanomedicine field, with an emphasis on NPs for imaging and therapy, as well as engineered nucleases for genome editing. The challenges in translating nanomedicine approaches to clinical applications are discussed.