Arvidsson Elin, Lobo Diana Duarte, Sabarese Ermelinda, Duarte Fabio, Nobre Rui Jorge, Quintino Luis, Lundberg Cecilia
CNS Gene Therapy, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2025 Jan 23;13:1336313. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1336313. eCollection 2025.
CRISPR-mediated gene activation (CRISPRa) encompasses a growing field of biotechnological approaches with exciting implications for gene therapy. However, there is a lack of experimental validation tools for selecting efficient sgRNAs for downstream applications. Here, we present a screening assay capable of identifying efficient single- and double sgRNAs through fluorescence quantification . In addition, we provide a tailored Golden Gate cloning workflow for streamlined incorporation of selected sgRNA candidates into lentiviral (LVs) or adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs). The overall workflow was validated using therapeutically relevant genes for neurodegenerative diseases, including , , and . The most efficient sgRNAs also demonstrated activation of endogenous gene expression at mRNA level. Correlation analysis of gene activation relative to sgRNA binding site distance to transcription start-site or nearby transcription factor binding sites failed to detect common characteristics influencing gene activation in the selected promoter regions. This data demonstrates the potential of the screening assay to identify functionally efficient sgRNA candidates across multiple genes along with streamlined cloning of viral vectors and may assist in accelerating future developments of CRISPRa-focused applications.
CRISPR介导的基因激活(CRISPRa)涵盖了一个不断发展的生物技术方法领域,对基因治疗具有令人兴奋的意义。然而,缺乏用于为下游应用选择高效sgRNA的实验验证工具。在此,我们展示了一种能够通过荧光定量鉴定高效单sgRNA和双sgRNA的筛选测定法。此外,我们提供了一种定制的金门克隆工作流程,用于将选定的sgRNA候选物简化整合到慢病毒(LVs)或腺相关病毒载体(AAVs)中。使用与神经退行性疾病治疗相关的基因,包括 、 和 ,对整个工作流程进行了验证。最有效的sgRNAs还在mRNA水平上证明了内源性基因表达的激活。相对于sgRNA结合位点到转录起始位点或附近转录因子结合位点的距离进行基因激活的相关性分析,未能检测到影响所选启动子区域中基因激活的共同特征。该数据证明了筛选测定法在跨多个基因鉴定功能高效的sgRNA候选物以及简化病毒载体克隆方面的潜力,并可能有助于加速未来以CRISPRa为重点的应用开发。