Discovery of cancer drug targets by CRISPR-Cas9 screening of protein domains

Shi, J., Wang, E., Milazzo, J. P., Wang, Z., Kinney, J. B., Vakoc, C. R. (June 2015) Discovery of cancer drug targets by CRISPR-Cas9 screening of protein domains. Nat Biotechnol, 33 (6). pp. 661-67. ISSN 1546-1696 (Electronic)1087-0156 (Linking)

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25961408
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3235

Abstract

CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology holds great promise for discovering therapeutic targets in cancer and other diseases. Current screening strategies target CRISPR-CaS9-induced mutations to the 5' exons of candidate genes, but this approach often produces in-frame variants that retain functionality, which can obscure even strong genetic dependencies. Here we overcome this limitation by targeting CRISPR-CaS9 mutagenesis to exons encoding functional protein domains. This generates a higher proportion of null mutations and substantially increases the potency of negative selection. We also show that the magnitude of negative selection can be used to infer the functional importance of individual protein domains of interest. A screen of 192 chromatin regulatory domains in murine acute myeloid leukemia cells identifies six known drug targets and 19 additional dependencies. A broader application of this approach may allow comprehensive identification of protein domains that sustain cancer cells and are suitable for drug targeting.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: diseases & disorders > cancer
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > protein structure, function, modification
Investigative techniques and equipment > CRISPR-Cas9
diseases & disorders > cancer > drugs and therapies
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL Cancer Center Program > Gene Regulation and Cell Proliferation
CSHL Cancer Center Shared Resources > Bioinformatics Service
CSHL Cancer Center Shared Resources > Flow Cytometry Service
CSHL Cancer Center Shared Resources > Functional Genomics and Genetics Service
CSHL labs > Kinney lab
CSHL labs > Vakoc lab
CSHL Cancer Center Shared Resources > DNA Sequencing Service
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: June 2015
Date Deposited: 19 May 2015 15:26
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2015 15:36
PMCID: PMC4529991
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/31515

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