Specific modulation of CRISPR transcriptional activators through RNA-sensing guide RNAs in mammalian cells and zebrafish embryos.

ABSTRACT: Cellular transcripts encode important information regarding cell identity and disease status. The activation of CRISPR in response to RNA biomarkers holds the potential for controlling CRISPR activity with spatiotemporal precision. This would enable the restriction of CRISPR activity to specific cell types expressing RNA biomarkers of interest while preventing unwanted activity in other cells. Here, we present a simple and specific platform for modulating CRISPR activity in response to RNA detection through engineering Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs). sgRNAs are engineered to fold into complex secondary structures that, in the ground state, inhibit their activity. Engineered sgRNAs become activated upon recognising complementary RNAs, thus enabling Cas9 to per

SUBMITTER: Pelea O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12306969 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature