Browsing by Author "Saxena, Lavanya"

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    Comprehensive analysis and accurate quantification of unintended large gene modifications induced by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing
    (AAAS, 2022) Park, So Hyun; Cao, Mingming; Pan, Yidan; Davis, Timothy H.; Saxena, Lavanya; Deshmukh, Harshavardhan; Fu, Yilei; Treangen, Todd; Sheehan, Vivien A.; Bao, Gang
    Most genome editing analyses to date are based on quantifying small insertions and deletions. Here, we show that CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing can induce large gene modifications, such as deletions, insertions, and complex local rearrangements in different primary cells and cell lines. We analyzed large deletion events in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) using different methods, including clonal genotyping, droplet digital polymerase chain reaction, single-molecule real-time sequencing with unique molecular identifier, and long-amplicon sequencing assay. Our results show that large deletions of up to several thousand bases occur with high frequencies at the Cas9 on-target cut sites on the HBB (11.7 to 35.4%), HBG (14.3%), and BCL11A (13.2%) genes in HSPCs and the PD-1 (15.2%) gene in T cells. Our findings have important implications to advancing genome editing technologies for treating human diseases, because unintended large gene modifications may persist, thus altering the biological functions and reducing the available therapeutic alleles.
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    LPA disruption with AAV-CRISPR potently lowers plasma apo(a) in transgenic mouse model: A proof-of-concept study
    (Elsevier, 2022) Doerfler, Alexandria M.; Park, So Hyun; Assini, Julia M.; Youssef, Amer; Saxena, Lavanya; Yaseen, Adam B.; De Giorgi, Marco; Chuecos, Marcel; Hurley, Ayrea E.; Li, Ang; Marcovina, Santica M.; Bao, Gang; Boffa, Michael B.; Koschinsky, Marlys L.; Lagor, William R.; Bioengineering
    Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) represents a unique subclass of circulating lipoprotein particles and consists of an apolipoprotein(a) (apo(a)) molecule covalently bound to apolipoprotein B-100. The metabolism of Lp(a) particles is distinct from that of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and currently approved lipid-lowering drugs do not provide substantial reductions in Lp(a), a causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Somatic genome editing has the potential to be a one-time therapy for individuals with extremely high Lp(a). We generated an LPA transgenic mouse model expressing apo(a) of physiologically relevant size. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 was used to disrupt the LPA transgene in the liver. AAV-CRISPR nearly completely eliminated apo(a) from the circulation within a week. We performed genome-wide off-target assays to determine the specificity of CRISPR-Cas9 editing within the context of the human genome. Interestingly, we identified intrachromosomal rearrangements within the LPA cDNA in the transgenic mice as well as in the LPA gene in HEK293T cells, due to the repetitive sequences within LPA itself and neighboring pseudogenes. This proof-of-concept study establishes the feasibility of using CRISPR-Cas9 to disrupt LPA in vivo, and highlights the importance of examining the diverse consequences of CRISPR cutting within repetitive loci and in the genome globally.