Skip to main content
Dryad

Genomic profile of gene edited hematopoietic stem cells

Data files

Dec 06, 2024 version files 26.01 MB

Click names to download individual files

Abstract

Sickle cell disease (SCD) and β-thalassemia patients with elevated gamma globin (HBG1/G2) levels exhibit mild or no symptoms. To recapitulate this natural phenomenon, the most coveted gene therapy approach is to edit the regulatory sequences of HBG1/G2 to reactivate them, with a magnified effect by simultaneous targeting of multiple sequences. Here, we used Cas9 RNP-ssODN-mediated homology-directed gene editing to mimic two naturally occurring HBG promoter point mutations, namely, -175T>C, which is linked to high HbF levels, and -158C>T, the most common polymorphism in the Indian population that induces HbF under erythropoietic stress, in HSPCs. We observed high complete HDR conversions, with at least 30% of HSPCs exhibiting both -175T>C and -158C>T mutations, which increased to over 50% under optimized conditions. In NBSGW mice, up to 30% of long-term engrafted human HSPCs showed both -175T>C and -158C>T HDR conversions, with the efficiency peaking with up to 57% of HSPCs containing at least one of the beneficial mutations. Cas9 RNP-ssODN-based nucleotide conversion at the HBG promoter offers a promising gene therapy approach to ameliorate the disease phenotypes of both β-thalassemia and SCD. The developed approach can simplify and broaden applications that require multiple nucleotide modifications in HSPCs.