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CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Cxcr4 Disease Allele Inactivation for Gene Therapy in a Mouse Model of WHIM Syndrome.

WHIM syndrome is an autosomal dominant immunodeficiency disorder caused by gain-of-function mutations in chemokine receptor CXCR4 that promote severe panleukopenia due to bone marrow (BM) retention of mature leukocytes. We… Click to show full abstract

WHIM syndrome is an autosomal dominant immunodeficiency disorder caused by gain-of-function mutations in chemokine receptor CXCR4 that promote severe panleukopenia due to bone marrow (BM) retention of mature leukocytes. We previously reported that Cxcr4-haploinsufficient (Cxcr4+/o) hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have a strong selective advantage for durable hematopoietic reconstitution over wildtype (Cxcr4+/+) and WHIM (Cxcr4+/w) HSCs, and that a WHIM patient was spontaneously cured by chromothriptic deletion of the disease allele in an HSC, suggesting that WHIM allele inactivation through gene editing may be a safe genetic cure strategy for the disease. We have now developed a two-step preclinical protocol of autologous hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) transplantation towards this goal. First, one copy of Cxcr4 in HSPCs was inactivated in vitro by CRISPR/Cas9 editing with a single guide RNA (sgRNA) that does not discriminate between WHIM and wildtype Cxcr4 alleles. Then, through in vivo natural selection, WHIM allele-inactivated cells were enriched over wildtype allele-inactivated cells. The WHIM allele-inactivated HSCs retained long-term pluripotency and selective hematopoietic reconstitution advantages. To our knowledge this is the first example of gene therapy for an autosomal dominant gain-of-function disease using a disease allele inactivation strategy in place of the less efficient disease allele repair approach.

Keywords: disease allele; allele inactivation; disease; cxcr4; gene

Journal Title: Blood
Year Published: 2023

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