T cell-specific inactivation of mouse CD2 by CRISPR/Cas9

Sci Rep. 2016 Feb 23:6:21377. doi: 10.1038/srep21377.

Abstract

The CRISPR/Cas9 system can be used to mutate target sequences by introduction of double-strand breaks followed by imprecise repair. To test its use for conditional gene editing we generated mice transgenic for CD4 promoter-driven Cas9 combined with guide RNA targeting CD2. We found that within CD4(+) and CD8(+) lymphocytes from lymph nodes and spleen 1% and 0.6% were not expressing CD2, respectively. T cells lacking CD2 carryied mutations, which confirmed that Cas9 driven by cell-type specific promoters can edit genes in the mouse and may thus allow targeted studies of gene function in vivo.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • CD2 Antigens / genetics*
  • CD2 Antigens / immunology
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / cytology
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / cytology
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems*
  • Gene Editing / methods*
  • Gene Silencing*
  • Genetic Engineering
  • Genetic Vectors / chemistry
  • Genetic Vectors / metabolism
  • Immunophenotyping
  • Lymph Nodes / cytology
  • Lymph Nodes / immunology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Mutation
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems / genetics*
  • RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems / metabolism
  • Spleen / cytology
  • Spleen / immunology

Substances

  • CD2 Antigens
  • RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems