Project description:we developed an in vivo CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing system that targets tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) via bacterial protoplast-derived nanovesicles (NVs) decorated with a pH-responsive PEG conjugated polymer and galactosamine-conjugated ligand
Project description:By a robust unbiased ChIP-seq approach, we demonstrated that CRISPR/Cas9 had crRNA-specific off-target binding activities in human genome. However, most of those binding off-targets could not be efficiently cleaved both in vivo and in vitro which suggested the cleavage off-target activity of CRISPR/Cas9 in human genome is very limited. We provided a valuable tool to further investigate the molecular mechanism of CRISPR/Cas9 and to optimize its in vivo targeting sgRNA binding sites were identified with ChipSeq by using GFP antibody (there are 2 replicates for egfa-t1 sgRNA,emx1 sgRNA and control without sgRNA in Hek293T cells, one egfa-t1 sgRNA,emx1 sgRNA and control without sgRNA in HeLaS3 cells)
Project description:CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing has revolutionized experimental molecular biology and entered the clinical world for targeted gene therapy. Identifying DNA modifications occurring at CRISPR/Cas9 target sites is critical to determine efficiency and safety of editing tools. Here we show that insertions of LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposons can occur frequently at CRISPR/Cas9 editing sites. Together with PolyA-seq and an improved amplicon sequencing, we characterize more than 2,500 de novo L1 insertions at multiple CRISPR/Cas9 editing sites in HEK293T, HeLa and U2OS cells. These L1 retrotransposition events exploit CRISPR/Cas9-induced DSB formation and require L1 RT activity. Importantly, de novo L1 insertions are rare during genome editing by prime editors (PE), cytidine or adenine base editors (CBE or ABE), consistent with their reduced DSB formation. These data demonstrate that insertions of retrotransposons might be a potential outcome of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and provide further evidence on the safety of different CRISPR-based editing tools.
Project description:To identify essential gene responding to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, we performed in vivo Genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screening. We found that cohesin complex invovled in regulation of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.
Project description:We generated human induced pluripotent cells from intellectual disability patients carrying the c.2T>C mutation in KDM5C (Called “Mutant”). We generated a paired, isogenic human iPS cell line (called “Corrected”) using CRISPR/Cas9 and PiggyBac gene-editing technologies and conducted neuronal differentiation based on “Yichen Shi et al. Nat. Protoc. 7, 1836–1846 (2012)” to define differences in gene expression between the Mutant and Corrected during neurodevelopment.
Project description:By a robust unbiased ChIP-seq approach, we demonstrated that CRISPR/Cas9 had crRNA-specific off-target binding activities in human genome. However, most of those binding off-targets could not be efficiently cleaved both in vivo and in vitro which suggested the cleavage off-target activity of CRISPR/Cas9 in human genome is very limited. We provided a valuable tool to further investigate the molecular mechanism of CRISPR/Cas9 and to optimize its in vivo targeting
Project description:Primary human hepatocytes (PHH) are an essential tool for modeling drug metabolism and liver disease. However, variable plating efficiencies, short lifespan in culture and resistance to genetic manipulation have limited their use. Here we show that retrorsine improves human hepatocyte repopulation of chimeric mice to levels where poor donor PHH can be isolated for ex vivo cultures. Mouse-passaged (mp)PHH cultures overcome the marked donor-to-donor variability of cryopreserved PHH and remain functional for months, as demonstrated by metabolic assays and infection with hepatitis B virus and Plasmodium falciparum. mpPHH can be efficiently genetically modified in culture, mobilized and then re-cultured as spheroids or re-transplanted to create highly humanized mice carrying a genetically altered hepatocyte graft. Together, these advances provide flexible tools for studying human liver disease and evaluating hepatocyte-targeted gene therapy approaches
Project description:CRISPR-Cas9 has tremendous potential as a therapeutic tool for treating human diseases. However, prolonged expression of the nuclease and gRNA from viral vectors in an in vivo context may cause off-target activity and immunogenicity. While extracellular vesicles have been recently demonstrated to be a promising option to transiently deliver the CRISPR-system, sufficient packaging of both Cas9 protein and gRNA is critical to achieve efficient genome editing in hard-to-transfect cells and tissues, such as skeletal muscle. Here, we developed a novel ribonucleoprotein delivery system utilizing two distinct homing mechanisms. The first is by chemical induced dimerization to recruit Cas9 protein into extracellular nanovesicles. The second utilizes a viral RNA packaging signal and two self-cleaving riboswitches to tether and release sgRNA into nanovesicles. We term our fully engineered delivery system NanoMEDIC (nanomembrane-derived extracellular vesicles for the delivery of macromolecular cargo) and demonstrate efficient genome editing in various hard-to-transfect cell types, including human iPS cells and myoblasts. Furthermore, NanoMEDIC production is scalable for industrial production as a xeno-free suspension culture system. As a disease model, therapeutic exon skipping in the dystrophin gene locus was targeted and resulted in over 90% exon skipping efficiencies in skeletal muscle cells derived from Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient iPS cells. Finally, we generated novel luciferase-based reporter mice to demonstrate that NanoMEDIC could induce exon skipping and sustain skipping activity for over 160 days, even though NanoMEDIC itself was rapidly degraded within 3 days, indicating its utility for transient in vivo genome editing therapy of DMD and beyond.