Adenine base editing in an adult mouse model of tyrosinaemia

In contrast to traditional CRISPR-Cas9 homology-directed repair, base editing can correct point mutations without supplying a DNA-repair template. Here we show in a mouse model of tyrosinaemia that hydrodynamic tail-vein injection of plasmid DNA encoding the adenine base editor (ABE) and a single-guide RNA (sgRNA) can correct an A\u3eG splice-site mutation. ABE treatment partially restored splicing, generated fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH)-positive hepatocytes in the liver, and rescued weight loss in mice. We also generated FAH(+) hepatocytes in the liver via lipid-nanoparticle-mediated delivery of a chemically modified sgRNA and an mRNA of a codon-optimized base editor that displayed higher base-editing efficiency than the standard ABEs. Our findings suggest that adenine base editing can be used for the correction of genetic diseases in adult animals

Chemical modifications of adenine base editor mRNA and guide RNA expand its application scope

© 2020, The Author(s). CRISPR-Cas9-associated base editing is a promising tool to correct pathogenic single nucleotide mutations in research or therapeutic settings. Efficient base editing requires cellular exposure to levels of base editors that can be difficult to attain in hard-to-transfect cells or in vivo. Here we engineer a chemically modified mRNA-encoded adenine base editor that mediates robust editing at various cellular genomic sites together with moderately modified guide RNA, and show its therapeutic potential in correcting pathogenic single nucleotide mutations in cell and animal models of diseases. The optimized chemical modifications of adenine base editor mRNA and guide RNA expand the applicability of CRISPR-associated gene editing tools in vitro and in vivo