Stimulation of homology-directed gene targeting at an endogenous human locus by a nicking endonuclease |
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Authors: | Gijsbert P van Nierop Antoine A F de Vries Maarten Holkers Krijn R Vrijsen Manuel A F V Gon?alves |
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Institution: | Virus and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Einthovenweg 20, 2333 ZC Leiden, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | Homologous recombination (HR) is a highly accurate mechanism of DNA repair that can be exploited for homology-directed gene targeting. Since in most cell types HR occurs very infrequently (∼10−6 to 10−8), its practical application has been largely restricted to specific experimental systems that allow selection of the few cells that become genetically modified. HR-mediated gene targeting has nonetheless revolutionized genetics by greatly facilitating the analysis of mammalian gene function. Recent studies showed that generation of double-strand DNA breaks at specific loci by designed endonucleases greatly increases the rate of homology-directed gene repair. These findings opened new perspectives for HR-based genome editing in higher eukaryotes. Here, we demonstrate by using donor DNA templates together with the adeno-associated virus (AAV) Rep78 and Rep68 proteins that sequence- and strand-specific cleavage at a native, predefined, human locus can also greatly enhance homology-directed gene targeting. Our findings argue for the development of other strategies besides direct induction of double-strand chromosomal breaks to achieve efficient and heritable targeted genetic modification of cells and organisms. Finally, harnessing the cellular HR pathway through Rep-mediated nicking expands the range of strategies that make use of AAV elements to bring about stable genetic modification of human cells. |
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