Scientific Reports (Feb 2024)

Generation of Fel d 1 chain 2 genome-edited cats by CRISPR-Cas9 system

  • Sang Ryeul Lee,
  • Kyung-Lim Lee,
  • Seok-Hwan Song,
  • Myeong-Don Joo,
  • Seo-Hyun Lee,
  • Ji-Su Kang,
  • Seon-Min Kang,
  • Muhammad Idrees,
  • Jae-Wook Kim,
  • Il-Keun Kong

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55464-0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Abstract Allergens from domestic cats (Felis catus) cause allergy-related health problems worldwide. Fel d 1 is a major allergen that causes severe allergic reactions in humans, including rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and life-threatening asthma. Therefore, patients with cat allergies anticipate hypoallergenic cats. We successfully generated Fel d 1 chain 2 (CH2) genome-edited cats using the CRISPR-Cas9 system in this study. T7 endonuclease 1 assay and Sanger sequencing were used to confirm the mutation in CH2 genome-edited cats. Fel d 1 level in CH2 genome-edited cats were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Remarkably, ELISA showed that the level of Fel d 1 in the CH2 homozygous genome-edited cat (Name: Alsik) was extremely low compared with that in wild type domestic cats and could be hypoallergenic cats. Additionally, we successfully cloned the CH2 homozygous genome-edited cat using cytoplasm injection clone technology. The cloned CH2 homozygous genome-edited cat was verified using microsatellite analysis. Creating hypoallergenic cats using the CRISPR-Cas9 system is a significant step forward because these cats can safely approach allergic patients.

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