Ferrari: Lecture XI Flashcards

Genome Editing: Applications of a Powerful Tool

1
Q

What are the editing tools of the CRIPSR/Cas9 system?

A

Cas9 protein and gRNA in the presence of sgRNA

Cas9 protein needs to be in the cells or tissues we want to edit

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What 3 ways can use the CRISPR/Cas9 delivery system?

A

viral or plasmid vectors

mRNA delivery

protein delivery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Describe the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 through viral or plasmid vectors:

A

the sgRNA and the Cas9 proteins are delivered by the same or 2 different vectors

protein and RNA can combine in target cells if they are encoded by 2 different vectors

vectors can derive from Adeno-associated (AAV) or lentiviruses (most powerful tools used for cell editing)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Describe the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 through mRNA delivery:

A

the Cas9 mRNA and the sgRNA are chemically synthesized in vitro and the preferred way to deliver mRNA s are through nanoparticles, which can be targeted to specific cells

the mRNA encodes for Cas9

sgRNA are modified

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Describe the delivery of CRISPR/Ca9 through protein delivery:

A

used to deliver Cas9 and sgRNA

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is an example of monogenic diseases that can be treated with gene editing?

A

diseases that are rare, and in some cases severe

cystic fibrosis (CF)

Huntington’s Disease

Cardiomyopathies

SMA

β-thalassemia

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Describe cycstic fibrosis (CF)

A

severe autosomal recessive disease with no causable treatment except for lung transplant

causative agent is CFTR and the tissue that can be targeted uing gene editing is in the lungs

frequency: 1/2500 individuals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is an important thing for the treatment of genetic diseases using gene therapy?

A

known what are the causative agents

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are some considerations to take when using the CRISPR/Cas9 system?

A

specificity of CRISPR/Cas-9 is dictated by the PAM sequence

a lot of work was done in cancer cell lines

we can have an unintended mutation

human pluripotent stem cell is another cell lineage that can be used for studies

low-rate of off-target effects were detected in studies of mice-zygotes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Why are tripronuclear zygotes used?

A

there are limitations as to what can be done with human embryos, so a similar embryos tissue is used

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is 3PN?

A

a kind of in vitro fertilization product

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Describe 3PNs:

A

1 oocyte nucleus and 2 sperm nuclei
they are discarded if they occur in nature
can be used for research and they are destroyed after the manipulations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Can gene addition and gene editing be done on germ-line cells?

A

NO because if the organism is fertile, the modifications on the germ line can be transmitted to offspring

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What cells can gene therapy and gene editing be done on?

A

somatic cell lines ONLY

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

A Chinese group studied CRISPR work in human cells. Since human embryos cannot be used, what did they use?

A

tripronuclear zygotes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

The chinese group used tripronuclear zygotes to investigate _____

A

specific editing and the off-target activity of the CRISPR/Cas system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What was the target gene investigated by the Chinese group?

A

HBB (human beta-globin gene)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is TOPO cloning?

A

a molecular biology technique in which DNA fragments are cloned to specific vectors without the requirement for DNA ligases

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What can in silico analysis help us predict?

A

off-target cleavage in the analysed samples or in the whole genome

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What does HBB gene encode?

A

beta-globin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is the target site of CRISPR/Cas9?

A

HBB

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Why would there be a rate of 100% INDELs in HBB?

A

HBB is the target site of CRISPR/Cas9

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What were the conclusions of the Chinese experiment?

A

system can cleave the endogenous gene efficiently

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

The repair gene of HDR can be either ___ or ___.

A

endogenous homologous gene

exogenous DNA sequence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Is there a possibility to have spontaneous HDR even if we don’t provide the DNA template?

A

yes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What characterizes hypertrophic cardiopyopathy?

A

hypertrophy of the right ventricle
myofibrillar disarray
myocardial stiffness leading to heart failure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What kind of mutation is present in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?

A

dominant mutation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What is the biological material used to analyze hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?

A

oocytes and sperm

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

When is the CRISPR/Cas9 system delivered in the zygotes?

A

Sp phase or M phase using a cytoplasmic sperm injection

30
Q

What does HIV need to enter T cells?

A

coreceptors

CD4+: surface marker expressed on T cells

CCR5 coreceptor

31
Q

What mutation causes the impairment of the HIV viruses entering the T cells?

A

mutation (delta32 deletion in exon) in the CCR5 gene

32
Q

If a patient has a homozygous delta32 mutation, what can they confer?

A

resistance to HIV infection

33
Q

Why is the Berlin patient important and who is the Berlin patient?

A

Berlin patient is important because it helped us discover the implication of delta32 in HIV patients

the patient is someone who was treated for HIV and leukemia

the treatment for leukemia was bone marrow transplantation but the donor had a delta32 mutation

when the patient received the bone marrow, he become resistant to HIV infection and cured from the tumor and AIDS

34
Q

Who is the London patient?

A

a patient who confirmed the same results found in the Berlin patient

35
Q

Is HIV a genetic disease?

A

no but we can think to treat it with a genetic approach

36
Q

Why did China want to create CRISPR babies?

A

they wanted to use the CRISPR/Cas9 system to induce mutations in the CCR5 and then create babies resistant to HIV

37
Q

What is the moratorium of CRISPR a result of?

A

the scientific community being very upset with the CRISPR babies

the moratorium set the guideline about what can and cannot be done with CRISPR, and it is effective in all laboratories

38
Q

Name 2 points learned from the 3 CRISPR babies known to have been created:

A

CRISPR/Cas9 system is a very potent tool, easy to use, and efficient: however, rules should always be established and everyone should follow to avoid unpleasant outcomes

the key is to find balance in genome editing for future therapies

39
Q

What is the SCGE consortium?

A

created by NIH; it aims to accelerate the development of safer and more effective methods to edit the genome of somatic cells from patients, even in tissues that are difficult to reach

40
Q

What is the goal of NIH in support of the SCGE Consortium?

A

to cure diseases

41
Q

Name and describe the 3 types of genome editors:

A

genome editors: such as CRISPR/Cas9 & they can be used to edit nuclear DNA and mtDNA

RNA editors: newer technology

Epigenome editors: molecular target of editors because the level of expression is important (can also edit mitochondrial DNA)

42
Q

How can the target tissue or organs be edited?

A

both in-vivo or ex-vivo (if tissue is extracted from patient)

43
Q

Which type of genome editing is easier: in-vivo or ex-vivo?

A

in-vivo and it is less expensive and more sustainable for countries with many patients and few institutions

44
Q

What needs to be done to ensure the delivery of genome editing?

A

delivery tools closer to the resemblance of humans (such as non-human primates and organoids) must be developed

45
Q

Name some new editors that have been introduced that are alternatives for TALEN, ZFN, & CRISPR/Cas9:

A

gene disruption

gene correction

epigenetic modification
off-target

mitochondrial editing

46
Q

What is a base editor?

A

change a single base and create a single somatic mutation but not create INDEL

47
Q

What is important to remember about base editors?

A

they are efficient, but it is important to always check the off-target because this could lead to something going wrong if we change a base that is not the targeted one

48
Q

What are nanoparticles and why should we create specific nanoparticles?

A

nanoparticles are particles that can enter any cell and they have been engineered with something that drives them to the right cell/tissue

49
Q

What are 4 ways nanoparticles can be delivered?

A

systemically
intravenously: to reach tissues quickly
locally: muscles
ocular: ocular injection

50
Q

What are some canidate diseases for gene therapy (by gene addition and gene editing)?

A

Hemoglobinopathies
β-thalessemia
SCD

51
Q

Define gene addition

A

addition of a gene to a genome

52
Q

What is exciting about gene editing recently?

A

human results are very recent, but they are promising

53
Q

What are the 2 diseases in which there are now results from gene addition and gene editing?

A

β-thalessemia and SCD (sickle cell disease)

54
Q

Where is the defect in β-thalessemia and SCD?

A

hemoglobin synthesis

55
Q

What is hemoglobin composed of?

A

2𝛼 and 2β chains

56
Q

Where are the genes for the the 2 chains of hemoglobin located?

A

in 2 different chromosomes (chromosome 16 (𝛼) and chromosome 11 (β))

57
Q

What 3 genes compose the 𝛼 cluster?

A

ζ (zeta): present in embryonic hemoglobin

𝛼₂: present in natal and postnatal hemoglobin

𝛼₁: present in natal and postnatal hemoglobin

58
Q

What genes compose the β cluster?

A

ε: encode for the embryonic chain of embryonic hemoglobin

GᵧAᵧ: these 2 code for the gamma chains of the fetal hemoglobin

δ and β: adult gene

59
Q

What is neat about the hemoglobin?

A

there are different forms of hemoglobin

60
Q

What do the different forms of hemoglobin depend on?

A

oxygenation of tissues since it is different in the uterus and at birth

61
Q

What percent of adult hemoglobin (HbA) is made from 𝛼 and β chains?

A

more than 90%

62
Q

What percent of adult hemoglobin (HbA) is made from δ chains?

A

a fraction, and it is called HbA₂

63
Q

What is the function of hypersensitive site 40 (HS-40) and the single gene promotor?

A

regulates the 𝛼 cluster

64
Q

Define gene:

A

coding region + promoter

65
Q

Describe the image:

A

embryonic form is during the 1st trimester

𝜸 globulin chain: the embryonic chains no longer are expressed and the 𝜸 genes are expressed at their maximum during their fetal life

at birth (δ & β): 𝜸 genes are repressed and completely shut off

66
Q

What are the cross points called?

A

switch points

67
Q

Where do all the cellular processes of the hemoglobin take place?

A

erythropoietic progenitor

68
Q

Where does the first switch of hemoglobin chains occur?

A

yolk sac

69
Q

Where does the second switch of hemoglobin chains occur?

A

fetal liver

70
Q

Where does the third switch of hemoglobin chains occur?

A

bone marrow and the cells colonize it