Investigating Target Gene Function in a CD40 Agonistic Antibody-induced Colitis Model using CRISPR/Cas9-based Technologies

Summary

Here, we describe the methodology to knock out a gene of interest in the immune system using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated endonuclease (Cas9)-based technologies and the evaluation of these mice in a cluster of differentiation 40 (CD40) agonistic antibody-induced colitis model.

Abstract

The immune system functions to defend humans against foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. However, disorders of the immune system may lead to autoimmunity, inflammatory disease, and cancer. The inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)-Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)-are chronic diseases marked by relapsing intestinal inflammation. Although IBD is most prevalent in Western countries (1 in 1,000), incident rates are increasing around the world. Through association studies, researchers have linked hundreds of genes to the pathology of IBD. However, the elaborate pathology behind IBD and the high number of potential genes pose significant challenges in finding the best therapeutic targets. Additionally, the tools needed to functionally characterize each genetic association introduce many rate-limiting factors such as the generation of genetically modified mice for each gene. To investigate the therapeutic potential of target genes, a model system has been developed using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated endonuclease (Cas9)-based technologies and a cluster of differentiation 40 (CD40) agonistic antibody. The present study shows that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing in the immune system can be used to investigate the impact of genes in vivo. Limited to the hematopoietic compartment, this approach reliably edits the resulting reconstituted immune system. CRISPR/Cas9-edited mice are generated faster and are far less expensive than traditional genetically modified mice. Furthermore, CRISPR/Cas9 editing of mice has significant scientific advantages compared to generating and breeding genetically modified mice such as the ability to evaluate targets that are embryonic lethal. Using CD40 as a model target in the CD40 agonistic antibody-induced colitis model, this study demonstrates the feasibility of this approach.

Introduction

Autoimmune diseases refer to conditions in which a patient's immune system attacks their own cells and organs, resulting in chronic inflammation and tissue damage. Nearly 100 different types of autoimmune conditions have been described to date, affecting 3-5% of the human population¹. Many of the autoimmune conditions, including systemic lupus erythematosus and IBD, lack effective treatments and present significant unmet medical needs. Currently affecting around 1.5 million people in the USA alone, IBD is a devastating disease marked by progressive, persistent, and relapsing intestinal inflammation with no available cure. Unraveling the und....

Protocol

All animal experiments performed following this protocol must be approved by the respective Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). All procedures described here were approved by the AbbVie IACUC.

1. Generation of required lentiviruses and procurement of donor and recipient animals

NOTE: The Table of Materials includes source and order number details for all animals, instruments, and reagents used in this protocol.

1. Construct.......

Discussion

The results shown here introduce a novel CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing platform capable of investigating gene function in this CD40 agonistic antibody-induced colitis model. Cell sorting enriched the pool of genetically modified LSK cells, resulting in over 90% reduction in CD40 expression within the reconstituted animals-in just 4 months. Furthermore, the reduced expression of CD40 within the immune system had a profound effect within the CD40 agonistic antibody-induced colitis model, significantly reducing disease e.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
6-well tissue culture plates	Corning/Costar	#3506
TransIT-LT1	Mirus Bio	MIR 2300/5/6
MACS Buffer (autoMACS Running Buffer)	Miltenyi Biotec	130-091-221
0.45 µm filter unit	Millipore	#SLHV013SL
0.6 mL microcentrifuge Tube	Axygen	MCT-060-C-S
1.5 mL Eppendorf Tube	Axygen	MCT-150-C-S
15mL Conical	VWR	21008-918
23 G Needle	VWR	#305145
24 Well Non-TC Plates	Falcon	#351147
24-Well TC Plates	Falcon	#353047
50 mL Conical tube	VWR	21008-951
5 mL Syringe	BD Biosciences	#309647
70 µm Filter	Miltenyi	#130-098-462
96-Well Flat Bottom Plates	Corning	#3599
96-Well U-Bottom Plates	Corning/Costar	#3365
Anesthesia Machine	VetEquip - COMPAC5	#901812
Anti-CD40 Agonist monoclonal antibody	BioXcell	BE-0016
Anti-p40 monoclonal antibody	BioXcell	BE-0051
B220 PE Antibody	BioLegend	#103208
Bovine serum albumin	Sigma Aldrich	A7906-100G
Cas9 Knock-in Mice	Jackson Labs	#026179	C57Bl/6 background
CD117+ Beads	Miltenyi	#130-091-224
CD11b PE Antibody	BioLegend	#101208
CD3 PE Antibody	BD Biosciences	#553240
Centrifuge	Beckman Coulter	Allegra 6KR Centrifuge
Countertop Centrifuge	Eppendorf	Centrifuge 5424
DPBS	ThermoFisher	#14190136
Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium	Mediatech	#10-013-CV
Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA)	Invitrogen	AM9260G
Endoscope	Karl Storz	N/A	Custom Coloview Tower
Flow cytometer	BD Biosciences	FACS Aria II
Fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt-L)	PeproTech	#250-31L
Gr-1 PE Antibody	BD Biosciences	#553128
Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS)	ThermoFisher	#14170120
Heat-Inactivated Fetal Bovine Serum	HyClone	#SH30071.03
IL-7	PeproTech	#217-17
Incubator	Binder	#9040-0116
Isoflurane	HenrySchein	#6679401710
LS Column	Miltenyi	#130-042-041
Ly5.1 Pepboy Mice	Jackson Labs	#002014	C57Bl/6 background
mouse stem cell factor (mSCF)	PeproTech	#250-03
Sodium chloride (NaCl)	Hospira	#00409488850
OPTI-MEM serum-free media	Invitrogen	#31985-070
Penicillin-streptomycin (PenStrep)	ThermoFisher	#15140-122
Plate Shaker	ThermoFisher	#88880023
pLentiPuro	Addgene	#52963
Polybrene (10 µg/µL)	Sigma Aldrich	#TR-1003-G
Red Blood Cell Lysis Buffer	eBioscience	#00-4333
Retronectin	Takarbio	#T100B
Sca-1 APC Antibody	BioLegend	#108112
StemSpan	StemCell Technologies	#09600
Ter119 PE Antibody	eBioscience	#12-5921
Thrombopoietin (TPO)	PeproTech	#315-14
X-ray Irradiator	Precision X-Ray	X-Rad 320