Tingting Sui

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated GJA8 knockout in rabbits recapitulates human congenital cataracts.

Cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss in the world, although surgical treatment can restore vision in cataract patients. Until now, there have been no adequate animal models for in vivo studies of artificial lens safety and drug interactions. Genetic studies have demonstrated that GJA8 is involved in maintaining lens opacity and proper lens development. In this study, a cataract model with GJA8 gene knockout was developed via co-injection of Cas9/sgRNA mRNA into rabbit zygotes. Our results showed that gene mutation efficiency in the GJA8 locus reached 98.7% in embryos and 100% in pups, demonstrating that the Cas9/sgRNA system is a highly efficient tool for gene editing in rabbits. In agreement with other studies, our genetic and histology results showed that impaired GJA8 function caused microphthalmia, small lens size and cataracts. In summary, our novel rabbit model of cataracts will be an important drug-screening tool for cataract prevention and treatment.

D-repeat in the XIST gene is required for X chromosome inactivation

ABSTRACT XIST is a long non-coding RNA, which expressed exclusively from the inactive X chromosome. Although it has been revealed that the A-repeat contributes to the X chromosome inactivation (X-inactivation), the role of the longest D-repeat has not yet been investigated. Here, a sgRNA directed CRISPR/Cas9 system which have multiple target sites within repeat D of XIST, were used to generate D-repeat deletion and studied its roles on X-inactivation. The results showed that the deletion of D-repeat caused a significantly decreased expression of XIST, and up regulated expression of X-linked genes, suggesting that the D-repeat may play an important role in the regulation of XIST expression and silencing of the X-linked genes, which could provide a new idea in the molecular mechanisms of X-inactivation.

CRISPR/Cas9–Mediated Mutation of αA-Crystallin Gene Induces Congenital Cataracts in Rabbits

Purpose The present study aimed to investigate the role of the αA-crystallin gene in inducing congenital cataracts in rabbits and to construct a novel animal model for characterization and pathologic analysis of congenital cataracts for future research. Methods We generated αA-crystallin gene knockout rabbits with congenital cataracts by coinjection of Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA into zygotes. Cataract phenotypes were investigated in a repeated study of 19 F0-generation and 11 F1-generation rabbits with αA-crystallin gene mutations. Heritability was analyzed by PCR, sequencing, slim lamp, hematoxylin eosin staining, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot. Results We found αA-crystallin gene mutations in all 19 F0-generation pups (100%) with indel mutations in the αA-crystallin gene ranging from 3 to 52 bp. Off-target assay revealed that none of the potential off-target sites exhibited mutations, demonstrating that off-target mutagenesis was not induced by cytoplasmic microinjection of in vitro-transcribed Cas9 mRNA. Slim lamp assay revealed that 15 of 19 live pups (78.9%) exhibited typical phenotypes, including congenital cataracts, microphthalmia, obscurity, and early atrophy of the lens, and failed differentiation of lens fibers. Histologic hematoxylin and eosin staining showed that αA-crystallin gene knockout rabbits exhibited smaller lenses. Production of the αA-crystallin protein was determined to be dramatically reduced in αA-crystallin gene knockout rabbits. We induced αA-crystallin gene mutations and phenotypes in F1-generation rabbits. Conclusions Our data suggest that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutation of the αA-crystallin gene in rabbits recapitulates phenotypes of congenital cataracts, microphthalmia, obscurity, and early atrophy of the lens, and failed differentiation of lens fibers. These findings suggest the possibility of a new animal model of congenital cataracts, which should be used to further investigate the association between mutations in αA-crystallin gene and congenital cataracts in humans.

A novel rabbit model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy generated by CRISPR/Cas9

ABSTRACT Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked muscle-wasting disorder caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene, with an incidence of 1 in 3500 in new male births. Mdx mice are widely used as an animal model for DMD. However, these mice do not faithfully recapitulate DMD patients in many aspects, rendering the preclinical findings in this model questionable. Although larger animal models of DMD, such as dogs and pigs, have been generated, usage of these animals is expensive and only limited to several facilities in the world. Here, we report the generation of a rabbit model of DMD by co-injection of Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA targeting exon 51 into rabbit zygotes. The DMD knockout (KO) rabbits exhibit the typical phenotypes of DMD, including severely impaired physical activity, elevated serum creatine kinase levels, and progressive muscle necrosis and fibrosis. Moreover, clear pathology was also observed in the diaphragm and heart at 5 months of age, similar to DMD patients. Echocardiography recording showed that the DMD KO rabbits had chamber dilation with decreased ejection fraction and fraction shortening. In conclusion, this novel rabbit DMD model generated with the CRISPR/Cas9 system mimics the histopathological and functional defects in DMD patients, and could be valuable for preclinical studies. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. Summary: The DMD KO rabbit engineered by CRISPR genome editing faithfully recapitulates the DMD pathologies, and could be a valuable tool for basic and translational studies to combat this disease.

Multiple homologous genes knockout (KO) by CRISPR/Cas9 system in rabbit

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is a highly efficient and convenient genome editing tool, which has been widely used for single or multiple gene mutation in a variety of organisms. Disruption of multiple homologous genes, which have similar DNA sequences and gene function, is required for the study of the desired phenotype. In this study, to test whether the CRISPR/Cas9 system works on the mutation of multiple homologous genes, a single guide RNA (sgRNA) targeting three fucosyltransferases encoding genes (FUT1, FUT2 and SEC1) was designed. As expected, triple gene mutation of FUT1, FUT2 and SEC1 could be achieved simultaneously via a sgRNA mediated CRISPR/Cas9 system. Besides, significantly reduced serum fucosyltransferases enzymes activity was also determined in those triple gene mutation rabbits. Thus, we provide the first evidence that multiple homologous genes knockout (KO) could be achieved efficiently by a sgRNA mediated CRISPR/Cas9 system in mammals, which could facilitate the genotype to phenotype studies of homologous genes in future.

Development of muscular dystrophy in a CRISPR-engineered mutant rabbit model with frame-disrupting ANO5 mutations

Limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2L (LGMD2L) and Miyoshi myopathy type 3 (MMD3) are autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy caused by mutations in the gene encoding anoctamin-5 (ANO5), which belongs to the anoctamin protein family. Two independent lines of mice with complete disruption of ANO5 transcripts did not exhibit overt muscular dystrophy phenotypes; instead, one of these mice was observed to present with some abnormality in sperm motility. In contrast, a third line of ANO5-knockout (KO) mice with residual expression of truncated ANO5 expression was reported to display defective membrane repair and very mild muscle pathology. Many of the ANO5-related patients carry point mutations or small insertions/deletions (indels) in the ANO5 gene. To more closely mimic the human ANO5 mutations, we engineered mutant ANO5 rabbits via co-injection of Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA into the zygotes. CRISPR-mediated small indels in the exon 12 and/or 13 in the mutant rabbits lead to the development of typical signs of muscular dystrophy with increased serum creatine kinase (CK), muscle necrosis, regeneration, fatty replacement and fibrosis. This novel ANO5 mutant rabbit model would be useful in studying the disease pathogenesis and therapeutic treatments for ANO5-deficient muscular dystrophy.

Tandem repeat knockout utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 system in human cells.

Tandem repeats have been shown to cause human genetic diseases and contribute significantly to genome variation and instability. Although multi-sgRNAs mediated CRISPR/Cas9 system have used to generate regional deletions previously, in this study we explored a method of generating regional deletions of tandem repeats by taking advantage of the off-target effects of CRISPR/Cas9 in 293FT cells. Our results revealed that generation of large-fragment deletions of tandem repeats located in the MAGEL2 and XIST gene was possible. In summary, we have demonstrated that large-fragment deletions of tandem repeats can be achieved using a sgRNA-directed CRISPR/Cas9 system, facilitating the functional study of tandem repeats in future studies.

Faithful expression of imprinted genes in donor cells of SCNT cloned pigs

To understand if the genomic imprinting status of the donor cells is altered during the process of SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer), cloned pigs were produced by SCNT using PEF (porcine embryonic fibroblast) and P‐PEF (parthenogenetic‐PEF) cells as donors. Then, the gene expression and methylation patterns of H19, IGF2, NNAT and MEST were compared between PEF vs. C‐PEF (cloned‐PEF), P‐PEF vs. CP‐PEF (cloned‐P‐PEF), respectively. Taken together, the results revealed that there was no significant difference in the expression of imprinted genes and conserved genomic imprints between the donor and cloned cells.

The disrupted balance between hair follicles and sebaceous glands in Hoxc13-ablated rabbits

Pure hair and nail ectodermal dysplasia 9 (ECTD‐9) is an autosomal recessive genetic disease caused by mutation of HOXC13 and is characterized by hypotrichosis and nail dystrophy in humans. Unlike patients with ECTD‐9, Hoxc13‐mutated mice and pigs do not faithfully recapitulate the phenotype of hypotrichosis, so there is a limited understanding of the molecular mechanism of Hoxc13‐mediated hypotrichosis in animal models and clinically. Here, the homozygous Hoxc13−/− rabbits showed complete loss of hair on the head and dorsum, whereas hypotrichosis in the limbs and tail were determined in the Hoxc13−/− rabbits. In addition, reduced hair follicles (HFs) while the enlarged and increased number of sebaceous glands (SGs) were also found in the Hoxc13−/− rabbits, showing that the disrupted balance between HFs and SGs may respond to hypotrichosis of ECTD‐9 in an animal model and clinically. Therefore, our findings demonstrate that Hoxc13−/− rabbits can be used as a model for human ECTD‐9, especially to understand the pathologic mechanism of hypotrichosis. Moreover, the disrupted balance between HFs and SGs, especially in the Hoxc13−/− rabbits, can be used as an ideal animal model for dermatology ailments, such as acne and hypotrichosis, in preclinical studies.—Deng, J., Chen, M., Liu, Z., Song, Y., Sui, T., Lai, L., Li, Z. The disrupted balance between hair follicles and sebaceous glands in Hoxc13‐ablated rabbits. FASEB J. 33, 1226–1234 (2019). www.fasebj.org

CRISPR-induced exon skipping is dependent on premature termination codon mutations

In previous studies, CRISPR/Cas9 was shown to induce unexpected exon skipping; however, the mechanism by which this phenomenon is triggered is controversial. By analyzing 22 gene-edited rabbit lines generated using CRISPR/Cas9, we provide evidence of exon skipping at high frequency in premature termination codon-mutated rabbits but not in the rabbits with a premature termination codon mutation in exon 1 rabbits with non-frameshift or missense mutations. Our results suggest that CRISPR-mediated exon skipping depends on premature termination codon mutation-induced nonsense-associated altered splicing.