Precise CAG repeat contraction in a Huntington’s Disease mouse model is enabled by gene editing with SpCas9-NG

Abstract

The clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system is a research hotspot in gene therapy. However, the widely used Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (WT-SpCas9) requires an NGG protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) for target recognition, thereby restricting targetable disease mutations. To address this issue, we recently reported an engineered SpCas9 nuclease variant (SpCas9-NG) recognizing NGN PAMs. Here, as a feasibility study, we report SpCas9-NG-mediated repair of the abnormally expanded CAG repeat tract in Huntington’s disease (HD). By targeting the boundary of CAG repeats with SpCas9-NG, we precisely contracted the repeat tracts in HD-mouse-derived embryonic stem (ES) cells. Further, we confirmed the recovery of phenotypic abnormalities in differentiated neurons and animals produced from repaired ES cells. Our study shows that SpCas9-NG can be a powerful tool for repairing abnormally expanded CAG repeats as well as other disease mutations that are difficult to access with WT-SpCas9.

Abstract

Seiya Oura and Taichi Noda et al. overcome the challenge of gene editing in CAG repeats, such as those causing Huntington’s Disease, using their recently developed SpCas9-NG variant. They demonstrate that SpCas9-NG can precisely edit and contract the CAG repeat tracks in a Huntington’s Disease mouse model, opening new avenues for research in this disease.