Engineering single-cycle MeV vector for CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing

Abstract

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) mediated gene editing has vast applications in basic and clinical research and is a promising tool for several disorders. Our lab previously developed a non-integrating RNA virus, measles virus (MeV), as a single-cycle reprogramming vector by replacing the viral attachment protein with the reprogramming factors for induced pluripotent stem cell generation. Encouraged by the MeV reprogramming vector efficiency, in this study, we develop a single-cycle MeV vector to deliver the gRNA(s) and Cas9 nuclease to human cells for efficient gene editing. We show that the MeV vector achieved on-target gene editing of the reporter (mCherry) and endogenous genes (HBB and FANCD1) in human cells. Additionally, the MeV vector achieved precise knock-in via homology-directed repair (HDR) using a single-stranded oligonucleotide (ssODN) donor. In conclusion, the MeV vector is a new and flexible platform for gene knock-out and knock-in modifications in human cells, capable of incorporating new technologies as they are developed.