Lipid nanoparticle-mediated codelivery of Cas9 mRNA and single-guide RNA achieves liver-specific in vivo genome editing of <i>Angptl3</i>
Min Qiu, Zachary Glass, Jinjin Chen, Mary E. Haas, Xin Jin, Xuewei Zhao, Xuehui Rui, Zhongfeng Ye, Yamin Li, Feng Zhang, Qiaobing Xu
Abstract
Significance Genome editing technologies enable the permanent repair of disease-causing genetic mutations. However, the application of this technology has been limited by the technical challenge of achieving safe, effective, and specific in vivo delivery of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing components. Here, we report the development of a newly identified lipid nanoparticle (LNP) for specific delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 mRNA to the liver. While LNPs have been FDA approved for delivery of siRNA to the liver, here we examine their application for genome editing. When compared head-to-head, our delivery platform significantly outperforms the FDA-approved LNP in the efficient delivery of Cas9 mRNA for knockdown of the Angptl3 gene and subsequent regulation of hypercholesterolemia, while matching the safety and specificity of the approved platform.