Novel genome-editing tools to model and correct primary immunodeficiencies

Abstract

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Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and other severe non-SCID primary immunodeficiencies (non-SCID PID) can be treated by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, but when HLA-matched donors are lacking, this can be a high-risk procedure. Correcting the patient’s own hematopoietic stem cells with gene therapy offers an attractive alternative. Gene therapies currently being used in clinical settings insert a functional copy of the entire gene by means of a viral vector. With this treatment, severe complications may result due to integration within oncogenes. A promising alternative is the use of endonucleases such as ZFNs, TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9 to introduce a double-stranded break in the DNA and thus induce homology-directed repair. With these genome-editing tools a correct copy can be inserted in a precisely targeted safe harbor. They can also be used to correct pathogenic mutations in situ and to develop cellular or animal models needed to study the pathogenic effects of specific genetic defects found in immunodeficient patients. This review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of these endonucleases in gene correction and modeling with an emphasis on CRISPR/Cas9, which offers the most promise due to its efficacy and versatility.

Keywords

• Nuclease
• SCID
• endonuclease
• Cas9
• PID
• CRISPR/Cas9