Phage peptides mediate precision base editing with focused targeting window.

Jia, Kun; Cui, Yan-Ru; Huang, Shisheng; Yu, Peihong; Lian, Zhengxing; Ma, Peixiang; Liu, Jia · Nat Commun · 2022

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Base editors (BEs) are genome engineering tools that can generate nucleotide substitutions without introducing double-stranded breaks (DSBs). A variety of strategies have been developed to improve the targeting scope and window of BEs. In a previous study, we found that a bacteriophage-derived peptide, referred to as G8P<sub>PD</sub>, could improve the specificity of Cas9 nuclease. Herein, we investigate the applicability of G8P<sub>PD</sub> as molecular modulators of BEs. We show that G8P<sub>PD</sub> can improve cytidine base editor (CBEs) and adenine base editor (ABE) to more focused targeting windows. Notably, in a cell-based disease model, G8P<sub>PD</sub> increases the percentage of perfectly edited gene alleles by BEs from less than 4% to more than 38% of the whole population. In addition, G8P<sub>PD</sub> can improve the targeting scope of BE in mouse embryos. In summary, our study presents the peptidyl modulators that can improve BEs for precision base editing.

Medical subject headings