title: An inducible CRISPR-ON system for controllable gene activation in human pluripotent stem cells.
abstract: Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are an important system to study early human development, model human diseases, and develop cell replacement therapies. However, genetic manipulation of hPSCs is challenging and a method to simultaneously activate multiple genomic sites in a controllable manner is sorely needed. Here, we constructed a CRISPR-ON system to efficiently upregulate endogenous genes in hPSCs. A doxycycline (Dox) inducible dCas9-VP64-p65-Rta (dCas9-VPR) transcription activator and a reverse Tet transactivator (rtTA) expression cassette were knocked into the two alleles of the AAVS1 locus to generate an iVPR hESC line. We showed that the dCas9-VPR level could be precisely and reversibly controlled by the addition and withdrawal of Dox. Upon transfection of multiplexed gRNA plasmid targeting the NANOG promoter and Dox induction, we were able to control NANOG gene expression from its endogenous locus. Interestingly, an elevated NANOG level promoted naïve pluripotent gene expression, enhanced cell survival and clonogenicity, and enabled hESCs to integrate with the inner cell mass (ICM) of mouse blastocysts in vitro. Thus, iVPR cells provide a convenient platform for gene function studies as well as high-throughput screens in hPSCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Center for Stem Cell Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Jianying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Bioinformatics Division, Center for Synthetic and System Biology, TNLIST/Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Dacheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Center for Stem Cell Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Rujin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Center for Stem Cell Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ming
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Center for Stem Cell Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Center for Stem Cell Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Kehkooi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kee
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Bioinformatics Division, Center for Synthetic and System Biology, TNLIST/Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Center for Stem Cell Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. jie.na@tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Na
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D064112:Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D000066449:Human Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C486780:NANOG protein, human; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D004318:Doxycycline
keywords: CRISPR; NANOG; human pluripotent stem cells; pluripotency; transcription activation