A Versatile Tool for the Quantification of CRISPR/Cas9-Induced Genome Editing Events in Human Hematopoietic Cell Lines and Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells

The efficient site-specific DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) created by CRISPR/Cas9 has revolutionized genome engineering and has great potential for editing hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). However, detailed understanding of the variables that influence choice of DNA–DSB repair (DDR) pathways by HSPC is required for therapeutic levels of editing in these clinically relevant cells. We developed a hematopoietic-reporter system that rapidly quantifies the three major DDR pathways utilized at the individual DSB created by CRISPR/Cas9—NHEJ, MMEJ, and HDR—and show its applicability in evaluating the different DDR outcomes utilized by human hematopoietic cell lines and primary human HSPC.     

利用CRISPR/Cas9技术对人多能干细胞进行高效基因组编辑

CRISPR/Cas9技术提供了一个全新的基因组编辑体系。本文利用CRISPR/Cas9平台,在人胚胎干细胞株中对选取的一段特定基因组区域进行了多种基因组编辑：通过在基因编码框中引入移码突变进行基因敲除;通过单链DNA提供外源模板经由同源重组定点敲入FLAG序列;通过同时靶向多个位点诱导基因组大片段删除。研究结果表明CRISPR/Cas9可以对多能干细胞进行高效基因编辑,获得的突变干细胞株有助于对基因和基因组区域的功能进行分析和干细胞疾病模型的建立。     

Therapeutic applications of CRISPR/Cas9 system in gene therapy

Gene therapy is based on the principle of the genetic manipulation of DNA or RNA for treating and preventing human diseases. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR associated nuclease9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system, derived from the acquired immune system in bacteria and archaea, has provided a new tool for accurate manipulation of genomic sequence to attain a therapeutic result. The advantage of CRISPR which made it an easy and flexible tool for diverse genome editing purposes is that a single protein (Cas9) complex with 2 short RNA sequences, function as a site-specific endonuclease. Recently, application of CRISPR/Cas9 system has become popular for therapeutic aims such as gene therapy. In this article, we review the fundamental mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas9 function and summarize preclinical CRISPR-mediated gene therapy reports on a wide variety of disorders.     

基于CRISPR/Cas9技术的基因敲入/敲除策略

成簇的规律间隔性短回文序列(CRISPR)基因编辑系统,因其设计简单操作方便和无种属限制,已成为一种广泛应用的基因组定点编辑工具,在复杂的基因组编辑,例如基因的人源化改造以及条件等位基因的构建中有所应用。在自然界中,CRISPR系统拥有多种类别。其中,CRISPR/Cas9系统是研究最深入、应用最成熟的一种。本文针对CRISPR/Cas9系统,分别从基因敲入/敲除片段的大小、同源臂长短、构型即递送方式等技术环节进行综述,阐述不同设计及操作条件下由CRISPR/Cas9系统介导的基因敲入/敲除的效率差异。     

Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 for therapeutic genome editing

The clustered, regularly‐interspaced, short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)‐associated nuclease 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) is emerging as a promising genome‐editing tool for treating diseases in a precise way, and has been applied to a wide range of research in the areas of biology, genetics, and medicine. Delivery of therapeutic genome‐editing agents provides a promising platform for the treatment of genetic disorders. Although viral vectors are widely used to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 elements with high efficiency, they suffer from several drawbacks, such as mutagenesis, immunogenicity, and off‐target effects. Recently, non‐viral vectors have emerged as another class of delivery carriers in terms of their safety, simplicity, and flexibility. In this review, we discuss the modes of CRISPR/Cas9 delivery, the barriers to the delivery process and the application of CRISPR/Cas9 system for the treatment of genetic disorders. We also highlight several representative types of non‐viral vectors, including polymers, liposomes, cell‐penetrating peptides, and other synthetic vectors, for the therapeutic delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 system. The applications of CRISPR/Cas9 in treating genetic disorders mediated by the non‐viral vectors are also discussed.     

CRISPR-Cas9基因编辑技术在病毒感染疾病治疗中的应用

CRISPR-Cas9基因编辑技术是基于细菌或古细菌CRISPR介导的获得性免疫系统衍生而来,由一段RNA通过碱基互补配对识别DNA,指导Cas9核酸酶切割识别的双链DNA,诱发同源重组或非同源末端链接,进而实现在目的DNA上进行编辑。病毒通过特异的受体侵染细胞,其基因组在细胞内发生复制、转录、翻译等过程完成其生活周期,某些DNA病毒或逆转录病毒基因组会整合到宿主基因组中。基因治疗是病毒感染疾病治疗的新趋势。因此,基因编辑技术在持续感染的病毒或潜伏感染病毒疾病治疗中具有重大的潜在意义。文章主要从CRISPR-Cas9作用机制以及在病毒感染疾病治疗中的应用等方面进行了综述。     

动物基因组编辑中提升CRISPR/Cas9介导的同源重组效率研究进展*

基因组编辑技术可以对DNA或RNA进行精准改造,极大地促进了生命科学的发展。CRISPR/Cas9系统在靶位点诱导DNA发生双链或单链损伤,细胞对损伤部位采用无供体模板的非同源末端连接(non-homologous end joining,NHEJ)或有供体模板的同源重组(homologous recombination,HR)修复。基于HR的基因组编辑策略通常被用于获得DNA的精准改造,而NHEJ在动物DNA损伤修复中起主导作用。为了提升HR效率,研究人员设计了多种方案,包括CRISPR/Cas9系统优化和DNA修复通路调控等。从DNA损伤修复途径、Cas9变体选择、sgRNA设计、供体模板设计、DNA修复途径相关蛋白功能调控、供体模板募集效率提升、细胞周期调控及编辑细胞生存效率提升等方面详细综述了相关研究成果,发现尚未开发出放之四海而皆准的HR提升策略,基于HR的基因组编辑需要针对具体案例制定个体化策略。旨在为动物基因组编辑中提升CRISPR/Cas9介导的HR效率研究提供理论参考,为动物基因功能分析、基因治疗和经济动物基因编辑育种提供帮助。     

CRISPR/Cas9基因组编辑技术在HIV-1感染治疗中的应用进展

基因治疗是将外源正常基因通过一定方式导入人体靶细胞以纠正或补偿因基因缺陷和异常引起的疾病,从而达到治疗目的。因此,基因治疗的技术方法在研究持续感染HIV-1或潜伏感染HIV-1原病毒患者的治疗中具有重大的现实意义。目前,现有的基因治疗方法存在识别靶向位点有限及脱靶几率大等主要问题。最新研究表明来源于细菌和古菌的规律间隔成簇短回文重复序列及其相关核酸酶9系统[Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated nuclease 9 (Cas9), CRISPR/Cas9]已被成功改造成基因组定点编辑工具。因此,如何利用CRISPR/Cas9系统实现对HIV-1病毒基因组进行高效靶向修饰,从而达到治疗HIV-1感染病患的目的已经成为当前研究的热点。本文参考最新国内外研究成果,重点介绍了 CRISPR/Cas9基因组编辑技术在HIV-1感染疾病治疗中的应用,主要包括CCR5基因编辑、清除HIV-1原病毒以及活化HIV-1原病毒,以期为HIV-1感染疾病的预防与治疗提供重要研究参考。     

CRISPR/Cas9 system: a powerful technology for in vivo and ex vivo gene therapy

CRISPR/Cas9 is a versatile genome-editing tool which is widely used for modifying the genome of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms for basic research and applications. An increasing number of reports have demonstrated that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing is a powerful technology for gene therapy. Here, we review the recent advances in CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene therapy in animal models via different strategies and discuss the challenges as well as future prospects.     

Non-viral and viral delivery systems for CRISPR-Cas9 technology in the biomedical field

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)-associated protein 9(CRISPR-Cas9) system provides a novel genome editing technology that can precisely target a genomic site to disrupt or repair a specific gene. Some CRISPR-Cas9 systems from different bacteria or artificial variants have been discovered or constructed by biologists, and Cas9 nucleases and single guide RNAs(sgRNA) are the major components of the CRISPR-Cas9 system. These Cas9 systems have been extensively applied for identifying therapeutic targets, identifying gene functions, generating animal models, and developing gene therapies.Moreover, CRISPR-Cas9 systems have been used to partially or completely alleviate disease symptoms by mutating or correcting related genes. However, the efficient transfer of CRISPR-Cas9 system into cells and target organs remains a challenge that affects the robust and precise genome editing activity. The current review focuses on delivery systems for Cas9 mRNA, Cas9 protein, or vectors encoding the Cas9 gene and corresponding sgRNA. Non-viral delivery of Cas9 appears to help Cas9 maintain its on-target effect and reduce off-target effects, and viral vectors for sgRNA and donor template can improve the efficacy of genome editing and homology-directed repair. Safe, efficient, and producible delivery systems will promote the application of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in human gene therapy.     

Development of aptamer-based inhibitors for CRISPR/Cas system

The occurrence of accidental mutations or deletions caused by genome editing with CRISPR/Cas9 system remains a critical unsolved problem of the technology. Blocking excess or prolonged Cas9 activity in cells is considered as one means of solving this problem. Here, we report the development of an inhibitory DNA aptamer against Cas9 by means of in vitro selection (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) and subsequent screening with an in vitro cleavage assay. The inhibitory aptamer could bind to Cas9 at low nanomolar affinity and partially form a duplex with CRISPR RNA, contributing to its inhibitory activity. We also demonstrated that improving the inhibitory aptamer with locked nucleic acids efficiently suppressed Cas9-directed genome editing in cells and reduced off-target genome editing. The findings presented here might enable the development of safer and controllable genome editing for biomedical research and gene therapy.     

一种新型的CRISPR/Cas9-hLacI双链DNA供体适配基因编辑系统

在CRISPR/Cas9系统介导的基因编辑中,借助于双链DNA （double-stranded DNA,dsDNA）供体模板的重组效应能够实现对目标基因组靶位点的精确编辑和基因敲入,然而高等真核生物细胞中同源重组的低效性限制了该基因编辑策略的发展和应用。为提高CRISPR/Cas9系统介导dsDNA供体模板的同源重组效率,本研究利用大肠杆菌（Escherichia coli）乳糖操纵子阻遏蛋白LacI与操纵序列LacO特异性结合的特点,通过重组DNA技术将密码子人源化优化的阻遏蛋白基因LacI分别与脓链球菌（Streptococcus pyogenes）源的SpCas9和路邓葡萄球菌（Staphylococcus lugdunensis）源的SlugCas9-HF融合表达,通过PCR将操纵序列LacO与dsDNA供体嵌合,构建了新型的CRISPR/Cas9-hLacI供体适配系统（donor adapting system,DAS）。首先在报告载体水平上对Cas9核酸酶活性、DAS介导的同源引导修复（homology-directed repair,HDR）效率进行了验证和优化,其次在基因组水平对其介导的基因精确编辑进行了检测,并最终利用CRISPR/SlugCas9-hLacI DAS在HEK293T细胞中实现了VEGFA位点的精确编辑,效率高达30.5%,显著高于野生型。综上所述,本研究开发了新型的CRISPR/Cas9-hLacI供体适配基因编辑系统,丰富了CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术种类,为以后的基因编辑及分子设计育种研究提供了新的工具。     

CRISPR/Cas9系统的分子机制及其在人类疾病基因治疗中的应用

CRISPR/Cas系统是广泛存在于细菌和古生菌中的适应性免疫系统,用来抵抗外来病毒或质粒的入侵。近几年,由Ⅱ型CRISPR/Cas适应性免疫系统改造而来的CRISPR/ Cas9基因组编辑技术蓬勃发展,被广泛地应用于生命科学研究的各个领域,并取得了革命性的变化。文章主要综述了CRISPR/Cas9基因组编辑技术的起源与发展及在生命科学各研究领域的应用,重点介绍了该系统在人类疾病基因治疗方面的最新应用及脱靶效应,以期为相关领域的科研人员提供参考。     

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated correction of human genetic disease

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated(Cas) protein 9 system(CRISPR/Cas9) provides a powerful tool for targeted genetic editing. Directed by programmable sequence-specific RNAs,this system introduces cleavage and double-stranded breaks at target sites precisely. Compared to previously developed targeted nucleases, the CRISPR/Cas9 system demonstrates several promising advantages, including simplicity, high specificity,and efficiency. Several broad genome-editing studies with the CRISPR/Cas9 system in different species in vivo and ex vivo have indicated its strong potential, raising hopes for therapeutic genome editing in clinical settings. Taking advantage of non-homologous end-joining(NHEJ) and homology directed repair(HDR)-mediated DNA repair, several studies have recently reported the use of CRISPR/Cas9 to successfully correct disease-causing alleles ranging from single base mutations to large insertions. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent preclinical studies involving the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated correction of human genetic diseases.     

Prime editing: advances and therapeutic applications

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated protein 9 (CRISPR–Cas)-mediated genome editing has revolutionized biomedical research and will likely change the therapeutic and diagnostic landscape. However, CRISPR–Cas9, which edits DNA by activating DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathways, is not always sufficient for gene therapy applications where precise mutation repair is required. Prime editing, the latest revolution in genome-editing technologies, can achieve any possible base substitution, insertion, or deletion without the requirement for DSBs. However, prime editing is still in its infancy, and further development is needed to improve editing efficiency and delivery strategies for therapeutic applications. We summarize latest developments in the optimization of prime editor (PE) variants with improved editing efficiency and precision. Moreover, we highlight some potential therapeutic applications.     

Efficient Gene Knockout in Goats Using CRISPR/Cas9 System

The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been adapted as an efficient genome editing tool in laboratory animals such as mice, rats, zebrafish and pigs. Here, we report that CRISPR/Cas9 mediated approach can efficiently induce monoallelic and biallelic gene knockout in goat primary fibroblasts. Four genes were disrupted simultaneously in goat fibroblasts by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing. The single-gene knockout fibroblasts were successfully used for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and resulted in live-born goats harboring biallelic mutations. The CRISPR/Cas9 system represents a highly effective and facile platform for targeted editing of large animal genomes, which can be broadly applied to both biomedical and agricultural applications.     

Homology Directed Knockin of Point Mutations in the Zebrafish tardbp and fus Genes in ALS Using the CRISPR/Cas9 System

The methodology for site-directed editing of single nucleotides in the vertebrate genome is of considerable interest for research in biology and medicine. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 type II (Cas9) system has emerged as a simple and inexpensive tool for editing genomic loci of interest in a variety of animal models. In zebrafish, error-prone non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) has been used as a simple method to disrupt gene function. We sought to develop a method to easily create site-specific SNPs in the zebrafish genome. Here, we report simple methodologies for using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homology directed repair using single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide donor templates (ssODN) for site-directed single nucleotide editing, for the first time in two disease-related genes, tardbp and fus.