Project description:Programmable base editing of RNA enables rewriting the genetic codes on specific sites. Current tools for specific RNA editing dependent on the assembly or recruitment of the guide RNA into an RNA/protein complex, which may cause delivery barrier and low editing efficiency. Here we report a new set of tools, RNA editing with individual RNA-binding enzyme (REWIRE), to perform precise base editing with a single engineered protein. The REWIRE system contains a human-originated programmable RNA-binding domain (PUF domain) to specifically recognize target sequence and different deaminase domains to achieve A-to-I or C-to-U editing. By utilizing this system, we have achieved editing efficiencies up to 80% in A-to-I editing and 65% in C-to-U editing, with a few non-specific editing sites in the targeted region and a low level off-target effect globally. We applied the REWIREs to correct disease-associated mutations and modify mitochondrial RNAs, and further optimized the REWIREs to improve the editing efficiency and minimize off-target effects. As a single-component base editing system originated from human proteins, REWIRE presents a precise and efficient RNA-editing platform with broad applicability in basic research and gene therapy.
Project description:Adenine and cytosine base editors (ABEs and CBEs) represent a new genome editing technology that allows the programmable installation of A-to-G or C-to-T alterations on DNA. We engineered Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9-based adenine and cytosine base editor (SpACE) that enables efficient simultaneous introduction of A-to-G and C-to-T substitutions in the same base editing window on DNA.
Project description:RNA base editing applies endogenous or engineered adenosine deaminases to introduce adenosine-to-inosine changes into a target RNA in a highly programmable manner. Recently, notable success was achieved for the repair of disease-causing guanosine-to-adenosine mutations by means of RNA base editing. Here, we propose that RNA base editing could be broadly applied to perturb protein function by removal of regulatory sites of post-translational modification (PTM), like phosphorylation and/or acetylation sites. We demonstrate the feasibility of PTM interference (PTMi) on more than 70 PTM sites in various signaling proteins and identify key determinants for high editing efficiency and potent down-stream effects. Specifically, we demonstrate both negative and positive regulation of the JAK/STAT pathway by PTMi. To identify potent regulatory sites for PTMi, we applied an improved version of the SNAP-ADAR tool, which achieved high editing efficiency over a broad codon scope with tight control of bystander editing. The transient nature of RNA base editing enables the fast, dose-dependent (thus partial) and reversible manipulation of PTM sites, which is a key advantage over DNA editing approaches, where genetic compensation or lethality can conceal a phenotype. In summary, PTM interference might become a valuable field of application of RNA base editing in basic biology and medicine.
Project description:Base Editing has been touted the most intelligent and precise application of the CRISPR platform so far, merging the simplicity of RNA-guided nucleases with deaminases that allow for the programmable generation of single base substitutions - without introduction of double-strand breaks. Even though the two-component system has been expected to cause off-target substitutions, studies involving cytosine base editors (CBEs) showed that in most cases, relatively few single base off-targets could be detected on DNA. We introduce the concept of multi-dimensional off-targeting, presenting an extensive amount of RNA cytidines being edited by DNA base editors. Epitranscriptomic off-target effects affected different cell lines and were independent of the guide RNAs used, suggesting Cas9-independent activity of the cytidine deaminase rAPOBEC1 on single-stranded RNA. With the help of protein engineering, we developed CBE variants with massively reduced inadvertent mutation of RNA that preserve and enhance DNA base editing capabilities.
Project description:Base Editing has been touted the most intelligent and precise application of the CRISPR platform so far, merging the simplicity of RNA-guided nucleases with deaminases that allow for the programmable generation of single base substitutions - without introduction of double-strand breaks. Even though the two-component system has been expected to cause off-target substitutions, studies involving cytosine base editors (CBEs) showed that in most cases, relatively few single base off-targets could be detected on DNA. We introduce the concept of multi-dimensional off-targeting, presenting an extensive amount of RNA cytidines being edited by DNA base editors. Epitranscriptomic off-target effects affected different cell lines and were independent of the guide RNAs used, suggesting Cas9-independent activity of the cytidine deaminase rAPOBEC1 on single-stranded RNA. With the help of protein engineering, we developed CBE variants with massively reduced inadvertent mutation of RNA that preserve and enhance DNA base editing capabilities.
Project description:Base Editing has been touted the most intelligent and precise application of the CRISPR platform so far, merging the simplicity of RNA-guided nucleases with deaminases that allow for the programmable generation of single base substitutions - without introduction of double-strand breaks. Even though the two-component system has been expected to cause off-target substitutions, studies involving cytosine base editors (CBEs) showed that in most cases, relatively few single base off-targets could be detected on DNA. We introduce the concept of multi-dimensional off-targeting, presenting an extensive amount of RNA cytidines being edited by DNA base editors. Epitranscriptomic off-target effects affected different cell lines and were independent of the guide RNAs used, suggesting Cas9-independent activity of the cytidine deaminase rAPOBEC1 on single-stranded RNA. With the help of protein engineering, we developed CBE variants with massively reduced inadvertent mutation of RNA that preserve and enhance DNA base editing capabilities.
Project description:Base Editing has been touted the most intelligent and precise application of the CRISPR platform so far, merging the simplicity of RNA-guided nucleases with deaminases that allow for the programmable generation of single base substitutions - without introduction of double-strand breaks. Even though the two-component system has been expected to cause off-target substitutions, studies involving cytosine base editors (CBEs) showed that in most cases, relatively few single base off-targets could be detected on DNA. We introduce the concept of multi-dimensional off-targeting, presenting an extensive amount of RNA cytidines being edited by DNA base editors. Epitranscriptomic off-target effects affected different cell lines and were independent of the guide RNAs used, suggesting Cas9-independent activity of the cytidine deaminase rAPOBEC1 on single-stranded RNA. With the help of protein engineering, we developed CBE variants with massively reduced inadvertent mutation of RNA that preserve and enhance DNA base editing capabilities.