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. 2022 Feb 15;23(2):141-152.
doi: 10.1631/jzus.B2100196.

A high-efficiency and versatile CRISPR/Cas9-mediated HDR-based biallelic editing system

Affiliations

A high-efficiency and versatile CRISPR/Cas9-mediated HDR-based biallelic editing system

Xinyi Li et al. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. .

Abstract

Clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 nuclease (Cas9), the third-generation genome editing tool, has been favored because of its high efficiency and clear system composition. In this technology, the introduced double-strand breaks (DSBs) are mainly repaired by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) or homology-directed repair (HDR) pathways. The high-fidelity HDR pathway is used for genome modification, which can introduce artificially controllable insertions, deletions, or substitutions carried by the donor templates. Although high-level knock-out can be easily achieved by NHEJ, accurate HDR-mediated knock-in remains a technical challenge. In most circumstances, although both alleles are broken by endonucleases, only one can be repaired by HDR, and the other one is usually recombined by NHEJ. For gene function studies or disease model establishment, biallelic editing to generate homozygous cell lines and homozygotes is needed to ensure consistent phenotypes. Thus, there is an urgent need for an efficient biallelic editing system. Here, we developed three pairs of integrated selection systems, where each of the two selection cassettes contained one drug-screening gene and one fluorescent marker. Flanked by homologous arms containing the mutated sequences, the selection cassettes were integrated into the target site, mediated by CRISPR/Cas9-induced HDR. Positively targeted cell clones were massively enriched by fluorescent microscopy after screening for drug resistance. We tested this novel method on the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin 1 (PSEN1) loci and demonstrated up to 82.0% biallelic editing efficiency after optimization. Our results indicate that this strategy can provide a new efficient approach for biallelic editing and lay a foundation for establishment of an easier and more efficient disease model.

Keywords: Biallelic editing; CRISPR/Cas9; Homology-directed repair (HDR); Homozygote.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. TK-Puro-eGFP/TK-Zeo-mRFP (TPG/TZR)-dependent biallelic genome editing at the APP locus. (a) TPG/TZR selection cassettes. Two separate cassettes, each containing a drug-resistant and fluorescence marker, were used for allele integration, and were constructed using the same structure of promoters, self-cleaving peptides, and terminators. (b) Schematic diagram of exon 16 in the APP locus before (upper part) and after (lower part) insertion of the TPG/TZR cassettes and introduction of the point mutation according to homology-directed repair mediated by the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Red arrows indicate primers used for PCR analysis. (c) Representative fluorescent microscope photos of the positively selected HEK293T clones after 10-d puromycin and zeocin screening. At this point, clones were picked and seeded into 24-well plates for expansion and analysis. Scale bar=100 μm. (d) 5' and 3' recombinations and biallelic integrations were detected by PCR with primer pairs: P1/P2, P3/P4 (TPG), P3-2/P4 (TZR), and P1/P4, respectively. Point mutations on the P3/P4 (TPG) and P3-2/P4 (TZR) PCR fragments can be verified by XbaI restriction endonuclease reaction. C: control, a non-targeted HEK293T control sample; M: trans 2K plus DNA marker; Lanes 1 to 6: single colonies (red ones are positive colonies). (e) Sanger sequencing results of the PCR fragments amplified from the three homologous arms, confirming the desired point mutation at the APP locus. APP: amyloid precursor protein; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; CRISPR: clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats; Cas9: CRISPR-associated protein 9 nuclease; sgRNA: single-guide RNA; pCAG: cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate enhancer/β-actin (CAG) promoter; TK: thymidine kinase; pA: polyadenylic acid; pPGK: phosphoglycerate kinase promoter; Puro: puromycin resistance gene; Zeo: zeocin resistance gene; eGFP: enhanced green fluorescent protein; mRFP: monomeric red fluorescent protein; BGH: bovine growth hormone; SSA: single-strand annealing; muPAM: mutated PAM.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. TK-Puro-eGFP/TK-Zeo-mRFP (TPG/TZR)-dependent biallelic genome editing at the PSEN1 locus. (a) Schematic diagram of the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targeting and homology-directed repair dependent on biallelic editing at exon 3 of the PSEN1 locus. Arrows indicate primers used for PCR analysis. Red arrows indicate primers used for PCR analysis. (b) Primer pairs (P5/P2, P3/P6 (TPG), P3-2/P6 (TZR), and P5/P6) were used to detect 5' and 3' recombinations and 5' and 3' biallelic integrations, respectively. BamHI enzymatic digestion was applied to verify the introduction of the point mutation on P3/P6 (TPG) and P3-2/P6 (TZR) PCR fragments. C: control, a non-targeted HEK293T control sample; M: trans 2K plus DNA marker; Lanes 1 to 6: single colonies (red ones are positive colonies). (c) Sanger sequencing results of the PCR fragments amplified from the three homologous arms, confirming the desired point mutation at the PSEN1 locus. PSEN1: presenilin 1; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; CRISPR: clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats; Cas9: CRISPR-associated protein 9 nuclease; sgRNA: single-guide RNA; pCAG: cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate enhancer/β-actin (CAG) promoter; TK: thymidine kinase; pA: polyadenylic acid; pPGK: phosphoglycerate kinase promoter; Puro: puromycin resistance gene; Zeo: zeocin resistance gene; eGFP: enhanced green fluorescent protein; mRFP: monomeric red fluorescent protein; SSA: single-strand annealing; muPAM: mutated PAM.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Optimization of the selection cassettes and biallelic editing system. (a) Puro-eGFP-TK/Zeo-mRFP-TK (PGT/ZRT) selection cassettes. Shorter cassettes containing drug screening genes and fluorescent genes were constructed using the same PGK promoter and SV40T polyA. (b) PGT/ZRT-dependent biallelic genome editing at the APP locus. Targeting site and point mutation at the APP locus (top). Integration of the PGT/ZRT cassette and introduction of the point mutation according to homology-directed repair mediated by the CRISPR/Cas9 system (bottom). Red arrows indicate primers used for PCR analysis. (c) Representative fluorescent microscope photos of positively selected HEK293T clones after 10-d puromycin and zeocin screening. At this point, clones were picked and seeded into 24-well plates for expansion and analysis. Scale bar=100 μm. (d) Agarose gel images showing amplicons obtained by PCR amplification of the homologous arms using primer pairs P1/P7 (PGT), P1/P7-2 (ZRT), P8/P4, and P1/P4, respectively. The introduction of the point mutation on the P8/P4 amplicon was confirmed by XbaI restriction endonuclease digestion. C: control, a non-targeted HEK293T control sample; M: trans 2K plus DNA marker; Lanes 1 to 6: single colonies (red ones are positive colonies). (e) Puro-TK/Zeo-TK (PT/ZT) selection cassettes. These shorter selection cassettes were derived from the TPG plasmid; they retained the same promoter and polyA but only contained the drug selection gene; the fluorescence gene was removed. (f) PT/ZT-dependent biallelic genome editing at the APP locus. Targeting site and point mutation in exon 16 of the APP locus (upper part). Insertion of the PT/ZT cassette and introduction of the point mutation using the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homology-directed repair; red arrows indicate primers used for PCR analysis. (g) Representative bright-field microscopy photos of the positively enriched HEK293T clones after 10-d puromycin and zeocin screening. Scale bar=100 μm. (h) Agarose gel images showing amplicons obtained using primer pairs P1/P7 (PT), P1/P7-2 (ZT), P8/P4, and P1/P4 to amplify the flanking homologous arms and ensure the biallelic editing separately. Digestion with XbaI enzyme was applied to verify the introduction of the correct targeted point mutation. C: HEK293T control without targeting; M: trans 2K plus DNA marker; Lanes 1 to 6: single colonies (red ones are positive colonies). PCR: polymerase chain reaction; CRISPR: clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats; Cas9: CRISPR-associated protein 9 nuclease; sgRNA: single-guide RNA; pCAG: cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate enhancer/β-actin (CAG) promoter; TK: thymidine kinase; pA: polyadenylic acid; pPGK: phosphoglycerate kinase promoter; Puro: puromycin resistance gene; Zeo: zeocin resistance gene; eGFP: enhanced green fluorescent protein; mRFP: monomeric red fluorescent protein; BGH: bovine growth hormone; APP: amyloid precursor protein; SSA: single-strand annealing; muPAM: mutated PAM.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Optimization of the selection cassettes and biallelic editing system. (a) Puro-eGFP-TK/Zeo-mRFP-TK (PGT/ZRT) selection cassettes. Shorter cassettes containing drug screening genes and fluorescent genes were constructed using the same PGK promoter and SV40T polyA. (b) PGT/ZRT-dependent biallelic genome editing at the APP locus. Targeting site and point mutation at the APP locus (top). Integration of the PGT/ZRT cassette and introduction of the point mutation according to homology-directed repair mediated by the CRISPR/Cas9 system (bottom). Red arrows indicate primers used for PCR analysis. (c) Representative fluorescent microscope photos of positively selected HEK293T clones after 10-d puromycin and zeocin screening. At this point, clones were picked and seeded into 24-well plates for expansion and analysis. Scale bar=100 μm. (d) Agarose gel images showing amplicons obtained by PCR amplification of the homologous arms using primer pairs P1/P7 (PGT), P1/P7-2 (ZRT), P8/P4, and P1/P4, respectively. The introduction of the point mutation on the P8/P4 amplicon was confirmed by XbaI restriction endonuclease digestion. C: control, a non-targeted HEK293T control sample; M: trans 2K plus DNA marker; Lanes 1 to 6: single colonies (red ones are positive colonies). (e) Puro-TK/Zeo-TK (PT/ZT) selection cassettes. These shorter selection cassettes were derived from the TPG plasmid; they retained the same promoter and polyA but only contained the drug selection gene; the fluorescence gene was removed. (f) PT/ZT-dependent biallelic genome editing at the APP locus. Targeting site and point mutation in exon 16 of the APP locus (upper part). Insertion of the PT/ZT cassette and introduction of the point mutation using the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homology-directed repair; red arrows indicate primers used for PCR analysis. (g) Representative bright-field microscopy photos of the positively enriched HEK293T clones after 10-d puromycin and zeocin screening. Scale bar=100 μm. (h) Agarose gel images showing amplicons obtained using primer pairs P1/P7 (PT), P1/P7-2 (ZT), P8/P4, and P1/P4 to amplify the flanking homologous arms and ensure the biallelic editing separately. Digestion with XbaI enzyme was applied to verify the introduction of the correct targeted point mutation. C: HEK293T control without targeting; M: trans 2K plus DNA marker; Lanes 1 to 6: single colonies (red ones are positive colonies). PCR: polymerase chain reaction; CRISPR: clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats; Cas9: CRISPR-associated protein 9 nuclease; sgRNA: single-guide RNA; pCAG: cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate enhancer/β-actin (CAG) promoter; TK: thymidine kinase; pA: polyadenylic acid; pPGK: phosphoglycerate kinase promoter; Puro: puromycin resistance gene; Zeo: zeocin resistance gene; eGFP: enhanced green fluorescent protein; mRFP: monomeric red fluorescent protein; BGH: bovine growth hormone; APP: amyloid precursor protein; SSA: single-strand annealing; muPAM: mutated PAM.

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