Project description:CRISPR-Cas base editor technology enables targeted nucleotide alterations and is being rapidly deployed for research and potential therapeutic applications. The most widely used base editors induce DNA cytosine (C) deamination with rat APOBEC1 (rAPOBEC1) enzyme, which is targeted by a linked Cas protein-guide RNA (gRNA) complex. Previous studies of cytosine base editor (CBE) specificity have identified off-target DNA edits in human cells. Here we show that a CBE with rAPOBEC1 can cause extensive transcriptome-wide RNA cytosine deamination in human cells, inducing tens of thousands of C-to-uracil (U) edits with frequencies ranging from 0.07% to 100% in 38% - 58% of expressed genes. CBE-induced RNA edits occur in both protein-coding and non-protein-coding sequences and generate missense, nonsense, splice site, 5’ UTR, and 3’ UTR mutations. We engineered two CBE variants bearing rAPOBEC1 mutations that substantially decrease the numbers of RNA edits (reductions of >390-fold and >3,800-fold) in human cells. These variants also showed more precise on-target DNA editing and, with the majority of gRNAs tested, editing efficiencies comparable to those observed with wild-type CBE. Finally, we show that recently described adenine base editors (ABEs) can also induce transcriptome-wide RNA edits. These results have important implications for the research and therapeutic uses of base editors, illustrate the feasibility of engineering improved variants with reduced RNA editing activities, and suggest the need to more fully define and characterize the RNA off-target effects of deaminase enzymes in base editor platforms. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Project description:CRISPR-Cas base editor technology enables targeted nucleotide alterations and is being rapidly deployed for research and potential therapeutic applications. The most widely used base editors induce DNA cytosine (C) deamination with rat APOBEC1 (rAPOBEC1) enzyme, which is targeted by a linked Cas protein-guide RNA (gRNA) complex. Previous studies of cytosine base editor (CBE) specificity have identified off-target DNA edits in human cells. Here we show that a CBE with rAPOBEC1 can cause extensive transcriptome-wide RNA cytosine deamination in human cells, inducing tens of thousands of C-to-uracil (U) edits with frequencies ranging from 0.07% to 100% in 38% - 58% of expressed genes. CBE-induced RNA edits occur in both protein-coding and non-protein-coding sequences and generate missense, nonsense, splice site, 5’ UTR, and 3’ UTR mutations. We engineered two CBE variants bearing rAPOBEC1 mutations that substantially decrease the numbers of RNA edits (reductions of >390-fold and >3,800-fold) in human cells. These variants also showed more precise on-target DNA editing and, with the majority of gRNAs tested, editing efficiencies comparable to those observed with wild-type CBE. Finally, we show that recently described adenine base editors (ABEs) can also induce transcriptome-wide RNA edits. These results have important implications for the research and therapeutic uses of base editors, illustrate the feasibility of engineering improved variants with reduced RNA editing activities, and suggest the need to more fully define and characterize the RNA off-target effects of deaminase enzymes in base editor platforms.
Project description:The targeting range of CRISPR-Cas9 base editors (BEs) is limited by their G/C-rich PAM sequences. To overcome this limitation, we developed a CRISPR/Cpf1-based BE by fusing the rat cytosine deaminase APOBEC1 to a catalytically inactive version of Lachnospiraceae bacterium Cpf1. The base editor recognizes a T-rich PAM sequence and converts C to T in human cells with low levels of indels, non-C-to-T substitutions and off-target editing.
Project description:RNA base editors have become powerful tools for both therapeutic and research purposes. However, currently available RNA editors such as ADAR or APOBEC family proteins have limitations due to RNA structure and sequence dependence. Here, we designed a protein engineering platform for putative RNA editor screening and directed enzyme evolution. We engineered an RNA A-to-I base editor (rABE) that has high activity, low local sequence or structure bias, and low background. Utilizing rABE, we present REMORA (RNA Encoded Molecular Recording in Adenosines), a new strategy to measure RNA-binding events on single RNA molecules in cells. In REMORA, adenosine deamination serves as a molecular record of RNA-protein interactions that are identified by mutations by sequencing. By combining our improved A-to-I RNA deaminase with the C-to-U deaminase APOBEC1 and long-read RNA sequencing, our approach enables simultaneous recording of the locations two RNA binding proteins on single mRNA molecules. Orthogonal RNA molecular recording of two Pumilio family proteins, PUM1 and PUM2, reveals that PUM1 competes with PUM2 for some but not all Pumilio binding sites in cells, despite having the same in vitro binding preferences. Our work thus measures competition between RNA-binding proteins for RNA sites in cells, and our genetically encodable RNA deaminase enables single-molecule identification of RNA-protein interactions with cell type specificity.
Project description:RNA base editors have become powerful tools for both therapeutic and research purposes. However, currently available RNA editors such as ADAR or APOBEC family proteins have limitations due to RNA structure and sequence dependence. Here, we designed a protein engineering platform for putative RNA editor screening and directed enzyme evolution. We engineered an RNA A-to-I base editor (rABE) that has high activity, low local sequence or structure bias, and low background. Utilizing rABE, we present REMORA (RNA Encoded Molecular Recording in Adenosines), a new strategy to measure RNA-binding events on single RNA molecules in cells. In REMORA, adenosine deamination serves as a molecular record of RNA-protein interactions that are identified by mutations by sequencing. By combining our improved A-to-I RNA deaminase with the C-to-U deaminase APOBEC1 and long-read RNA sequencing, our approach enables simultaneous recording of the locations two RNA binding proteins on single mRNA molecules. Orthogonal RNA molecular recording of two Pumilio family proteins, PUM1 and PUM2, reveals that PUM1 competes with PUM2 for some but not all Pumilio binding sites in cells, despite having the same in vitro binding preferences. Our work thus measures competition between RNA-binding proteins for RNA sites in cells, and our genetically encodable RNA deaminase enables single-molecule identification of RNA-protein interactions with cell type specificity.
Project description:CRISPR-guided DNA base editors enable the efficient installation of targeted single-nucleotide changes. Cytosine or adenine base editors (CBEs or ABEs), which are fusions of cytidine or adenosine deaminases to CRISPR-Cas nickases, can efficiently induce DNA C-to-T or A-to-G alterations in DNA, respectively. We recently demonstrated that both the widely used CBE BE3 (harboring a rat APOBEC1 cytidine deaminase) and the optimized ABEmax editor can induce tens of thousands of guide RNA-independent, transcriptome-wide RNA base edits in human cells with high efficiencies. In addition, we showed the feasibility of creating SElective Curbing of Unwanted RNA Editing (SECURE)-BE3 variants that exhibit substantially reduced unwanted RNA editing activities while retaining robust and more precise on-target DNA editing. Here we describe structure-guided engineering of SECURE-ABE variants that not only possess reduced off-target RNA editing with comparable on-target DNA activities but are also the smallest Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) base editors described to date. In addition, we tested CBEs composed of cytidine deaminases other than APOBEC1 and found that human APOBEC3A (hA3A) cytidine deaminase CBE induces substantial transcriptome-wide RNA base edits with high efficiencies. By contrast, a previously described “enhanced” A3A (eA3A) cytidine deaminase CBE or a human activation-induced cytidine deaminase (hAID) CBE induce substantially reduced or near background levels of RNA edits. In sum, our work describes broadly useful SECURE-ABE and -CBE base editors and reinforces the importance of minimizing RNA editing activities of DNA base editors for research and therapeutic applications.
Project description:CRISPR-guided DNA base editors enable the efficient installation of targeted single-nucleotide changes. Cytosine or adenine base editors (CBEs or ABEs), which are fusions of cytidine or adenosine deaminases to CRISPR-Cas nickases, can efficiently induce DNA C-to-T or A-to-G alterations in DNA, respectively. We recently demonstrated that both the widely used CBE BE3 (harboring a rat APOBEC1 cytidine deaminase) and the optimized ABEmax editor can induce tens of thousands of guide RNA-independent, transcriptome-wide RNA base edits in human cells with high efficiencies. In addition, we showed the feasibility of creating SElective Curbing of Unwanted RNA Editing (SECURE)-BE3 variants that exhibit substantially reduced unwanted RNA editing activities while retaining robust and more precise on-target DNA editing. Here we describe structure-guided engineering of SECURE-ABE variants that not only possess reduced off-target RNA editing with comparable on-target DNA activities but are also the smallest Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) base editors described to date. In addition, we tested CBEs composed of cytidine deaminases other than APOBEC1 and found that human APOBEC3A (hA3A) cytidine deaminase CBE induces substantial transcriptome-wide RNA base edits with high efficiencies. By contrast, a previously described “enhanced” A3A (eA3A) cytidine deaminase CBE or a human activation-induced cytidine deaminase (hAID) CBE induce substantially reduced or near background levels of RNA edits. In sum, our work describes broadly useful SECURE-ABE and -CBE base editors and reinforces the importance of minimizing RNA editing activities of DNA base editors for research and therapeutic applications.
2019-07-11 | GSE129893 | GEO
Project description:A Dual-Deaminase CRISPR Base Editor Enables Concurrent Adenine and Cytosine Editing
Project description:Base editors are RNA-guided deaminases that enable site-specific nucleotide transitions. The targeting scope of these Cas-deaminase fusion proteins critically depends on the availability of a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) at the selected genomic locus, and is limited to a window within the CRISPR-Cas R-loop where single stranded (ss)DNA is accessible to the deaminase. Here, we reason that the Cas9-HNH nuclease domain sterically constrains ssDNA accessibility, and demonstrate that omission of this domain expands the editing window. By exchanging the HNH nuclease domain with an adenosine deaminase, we furthermore engineer adenine base editor variants (HNHx-ABE) with PAM-proximally shifted editing windows. HNHx-ABEs are substantially reduced in size, and expand the targeting scope of base editors. Our finding that the HNH domain is replaceable could moreover benefit future protein engineering efforts, where Cas9 operates together with other enzyme domains.