A conditional knockout rat resource of mitochondrial protein-coding genes via a DdCBE-induced premature stop codon.

Tan, Lei; Qi, Xiaolong; Kong, Weining; Jin, Jiachuan; Lu, Dan; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Yue; Wang, Siting et al. · Sci Adv · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Hundreds of pathogenic variants of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been reported to cause mitochondrial diseases, which still lack effective treatments. It is a huge challenge to install these mutations one by one. We repurposed the DddA-derived cytosine base editor to incorporate a premature stop codon in the mtProtein-coding genes to ablate mitochondrial proteins encoded in the mtDNA (mtProteins) instead of installing pathogenic variants and generated a library of both cell and rat resources with mtProtein depletion. In vitro, we depleted 12 of 13 mtProtein-coding genes with high efficiency and specificity, resulting in decreased mtProtein levels and impaired oxidative phosphorylation. Moreover, we generated six conditional knockout rat strains to ablate mtProteins using <i>Cre/loxP</i> system. Mitochondrially encoded ATP synthase membrane subunit 8 and NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit 1 were specifically depleted in heart cells or neurons, resulting in heart failure or abnormal brain development. Our work provides cell and rat resources for studying the function of mtProtein-coding genes and therapeutic strategies.

Medical subject headings