PLX038682

GSE108498: Rescue of Fragile X syndrome neurons by DNA methylation editing of the FMR1 gene [RNA-seq]

• Organsim human
• Type RNASEQ
• Target gene
• Project ARCHS4

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common genetic form of intellectual disability in male, is caused by silencing of the FMR1 gene by hypermethylation of the CGG expansion mutation in the 5UTR region of FMR1 in FXS patients. Here, we applied recently developed DNA methylation editing tools to reverse this hypermethylation event. Targeted demethylation of the CGG expansion by dCas9-Tet1/sgRNA switched the heterochromatin status of the upstream FMR1 promoter to an active chromatin state restoring a persistent expression of FMR1 in FXS iPSCs. Neurons derived from methylation edited FXS iPSCs rescued the electrophysiological abnormalities and restored a wild-type phenotype upon the mutant neurons. FMR1 expression in edited neurons was maintained in vivo after engrafting into the mouse brain. Finally, demethylation of the CGG repeats in post-mitotic FXS neurons also reactivated FMR1. Our data establish demethylation of the CGG expansion is sufficient for FMR1 reactivation, suggesting potential therapeutic strategies for FXS. SOURCE: Shawn Liu (shawnliu@wi.mit.edu) - Rudolf Jaenisch Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research