Nanoparticle delivery of CRISPR into the brain rescues a mouse model of fragile X syndrome from exaggerated repetitive behaviours

Bumwhee Lee, Kunwoo Lee, Shree Panda, Rodrigo Gonzales-Rojas, Anthony Chong, Vladislav Bugay, Hyo Min Park, Robert Brenner, Niren Murthy, Hye Young Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

229 Scopus citations

Abstract

Technologies that can safely edit genes in the brains of adult animals may revolutionize the treatment of neurological diseases and the understanding of brain function. Here, we demonstrate that intracranial injection of CRISPR-Gold, a nonviral delivery vehicle for the CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein, can edit genes in the brains of adult mice in multiple mouse models. CRISPR-Gold can deliver both Cas9 and Cpf1 ribonucleoproteins, and can edit all of the major cell types in the brain, including neurons, astrocytes and microglia, with undetectable levels of toxicity at the doses used. We also show that CRISPR-Gold designed to target the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) gene can efficiently reduce local mGluR5 levels in the striatum after an intracranial injection. The effect can also rescue mice from the exaggerated repetitive behaviours caused by fragile X syndrome, a common single-gene form of autism spectrum disorders. CRISPR-Gold may significantly accelerate the development of brain-targeted therapeutics and enable the rapid development of focal brain-knockout animal models.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)497-507
Number of pages11
JournalNature Biomedical Engineering
Volume2
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering
  • Biotechnology
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Computer Science Applications

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Nanoparticle delivery of CRISPR into the brain rescues a mouse model of fragile X syndrome from exaggerated repetitive behaviours'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this