Han Hee-Jeong, Yu Daseuli, Yu Jeonghye, Kim Jihye, Do Heo Won, Tark Dongseob, Kang Sang-Min
Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention, Korea Zoonosis Research Institute, Jeonbuk National University, Iksan 54531, Republic of Korea.
ViEL-T Corporate Research Institute, ViEL-T lnc., Jeonju Innovation Startup Hub (SJ Bldg) 204, Jeonju 54852, Republic of Korea.
J Gen Virol. 2025 Feb;106(2). doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.002071.
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated protein 13 (CRISPR-Cas13), an RNA editing technology, has shown potential in combating RNA viruses by degrading viral RNA within mammalian cells. In this study, we demonstrate the effective inhibition of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV) replication and spread using CRISPR-Cas13. We analysed the sequence similarity of the pseudoknot region between PEDV and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, both belonging to the family, as well as the similarity of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene region among three different strains of the PED virus. Based on this analysis, we synthesized three CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) targeting the pseudoknot region and the nonpseudoknot region, each for comparison. In cells treated with crRNA #3 targeting the pseudoknot region, gene expression decreased by 95%, membrane () gene expression by 89% and infectious PEDV titre within the cells reduced by over 95%. Additionally, PED viral nucleocapsid () and M protein expression levels decreased by 83 and 98%, respectively. The optimal concentration for high antiviral efficacy without cytotoxicity was determined. Treating cells with 1.5 µg of Cas13b mRNA and 0.5 µg of crRNA resulted in no cytotoxicity while achieving over 95% inhibition of PEDV replication. The Cas13b mRNA therapeutics approach was validated as significantly more effective through a comparative study with merafloxacin, a drug targeting the pseudoknot region of the viral genome. Our results indicate that the pseudoknot region plays a crucial role in the degradation of the PEDV genome through the CRISPR-Cas13 system. Therefore, targeting Cas13b to the pseudoknot offers a promising new approach for treating coronavirus infections.
成簇规律间隔短回文重复序列相关蛋白13(CRISPR-Cas13)是一种RNA编辑技术,已显示出通过降解哺乳动物细胞内的病毒RNA来对抗RNA病毒的潜力。在本研究中,我们证明了使用CRISPR-Cas13可有效抑制猪流行性腹泻病毒(PEDV)的复制和传播。我们分析了PEDV与严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2(均属于冠状病毒科)之间假结区域的序列相似性,以及三种不同PED病毒株之间RNA依赖性RNA聚合酶(RdRp)基因区域的相似性。基于此分析,我们合成了三种靶向假结区域和非假结区域的CRISPR RNA(crRNA),每种用于比较。在用靶向假结区域的crRNA #3处理的细胞中,S基因表达下降了95%,膜(M)基因表达下降了89%,细胞内感染性PEDV滴度降低了95%以上。此外,PED病毒核衣壳(N)和M蛋白表达水平分别下降了83%和98%。确定了无细胞毒性的高抗病毒效力的最佳浓度。用1.5μg Cas13b mRNA和0.5μg crRNA处理细胞不会产生细胞毒性,同时实现了对PEDV复制的95%以上抑制。通过与靶向病毒基因组假结区域的药物莫西沙星进行比较研究,验证了Cas13b mRNA治疗方法明显更有效。我们的结果表明,假结区域在通过CRISPR-Cas13系统降解PEDV基因组中起关键作用。因此,将Cas13b靶向假结为治疗冠状病毒感染提供了一种有前景的新方法。