PgmNr M280: RNAi and CRISPR/Cas9 based In Vivo Models for Drug Discovery.

Authors:
P. Premsrirut 1 ; G. Martin 2 ; L. Dow 3 ; S. Kim 4 ; J. Zuber 5 ; S. Lowe 6 ; G. Hannon 7


Institutes
1) Mirimus, Inc., Woodbury, NY; 2) Charles River Laboratories, Wilmington, MA; 3) Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY; 4) New York University, New York, NY; 5) Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna, Austria; 6) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; 7) Cancer Research UK, Cambridge, Cambridge.


Abstract:

With the advent of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, the speed and precision in which genetically engineered mouse models can be created is unprecedented. We now have at our disposal a genetic toolbox that will enable the rapid generation of sophisticated mouse models of human disease. Recently, an inducible CRISPR-Cas9 (iCRISPR) system was described that enables doxycycline-regulated Cas9 induction of widespread gene mutagenesis in multiple tissues. Previously, we also demonstrated how inducible RNA interference (RNAi) can be exploited experimentally to effectively and reversibly silence nearly any gene target not only in vitro but also in live mice. Here, we take advantage of these powerful technologies and combine both tet-inducible CRISPR-Cas9 and inducible RNAi-mediated gene silencing to develop animal models in which both de novo disease pathogenesis can be induced by Cas9-mediated genome editing and therapeutic strategies assessed downstream via RNA interference-mediated gene silencing. By using this combination of CRISPR/Cas9 and RNAi technologies, we are able to not only model disease, but also mimic drug therapy in the same mice, giving us advanced capabilities to perform preclinical studies in vivo. Using our robust flexible system, we have created a cost-effective and scalable platform for the production of complex genetically engineered mouse models with RNAi silencing of nearly any gene - mice with enormous predictive power that will shape our development of better tolerated therapies.