Sonogenetic control of multiplexed genome regulation and base editing.
Pei LiuJosquin FoiretYinglin SituNisi ZhangAris J KareBo WuMarina N RaieKatherine W FerraraLei S QiPublished in: Nature communications (2023)
Manipulating gene expression in the host genome with high precision is crucial for controlling cellular function and behavior. Here, we present a precise, non-invasive, and tunable strategy for controlling the expression of multiple endogenous genes both in vitro and in vivo, utilizing ultrasound as the stimulus. By engineering a hyper-efficient dCas12a and effector under a heat shock promoter, we demonstrate a system that can be inducibly activated through thermal energy produced by ultrasound absorption. This system allows versatile thermal induction of gene activation or base editing across cell types, including primary T cells, and enables multiplexed gene activation using a single guide RNA array. In mouse models, localized temperature elevation guided by high-intensity focused ultrasound effectively triggers reporter gene expression in implanted cells. Our work underscores the potential of ultrasound as a clinically viable approach to enhance cell and gene-based therapies via precision genome and epigenome engineering.
Keyphrases
- genome wide
- dna methylation
- gene expression
- high intensity
- single cell
- crispr cas
- heat shock
- copy number
- magnetic resonance imaging
- genome wide identification
- cell therapy
- poor prognosis
- induced apoptosis
- mouse model
- high throughput
- heat stress
- contrast enhanced ultrasound
- resistance training
- oxidative stress
- genome wide analysis
- high resolution
- cell proliferation
- risk assessment
- cell cycle arrest
- heat shock protein
- signaling pathway
- dendritic cells
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- body composition