(2016) Chavez, Alejandro; Tuttle, Marcelle; Pruitt, Benjamin W; Ewen-Campen, Ben; Chari, Raj; Ter-Ovanesyan, Dmitry; Haque, Sabina J; Cecchi, Ryan J; Kowal, Emma J K; Buchthal, Joanna; Housden, Benjamin E; Perrimon, Norbert; Collins, James; Church, George
Several groups have generated programmable transcription factors based on the versatile Cas9 protein, yet their relative potency and effectiveness across various cell types and species remain unexplored. Here, we compare Cas9 activator systems and examine their ability to induce robust gene expression in several human, mouse, and fly cell lines. We also explore the potential for improved activation through the combination of the most potent activator systems and assess the role of cooperativity in maximizing gene expression.
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2015-11) Kiani, Samira; Chavez, Alejandro; Tuttle, Marcelle; Hall, Richard N; Chari, Raj; Ter-Ovanesyan, Dmitry; Qian, Jason; Pruitt, Benjamin W; Beal, Jacob; Vora, Suhani; Buchthal, Joanna; Kowal, Emma J K; Ebrahimkhani, Mohammad R; Collins, James; Weiss, Ron; Church, George
We demonstrate that by altering the length of Cas9-associated guide RNA(gRNA) we were able to control Cas9 nuclease activity and simultaneously perform genome editing and transcriptional regulation with a single Cas9 protein. We exploited these principles to engineer mammalian synthetic circuits with combined transcriptional regulation and kill functions governed by a single multifunctional Cas9 protein.
