Cited by 1,224Epigenetics and DNA MethylationCRISPR and Genetic EngineeringGenomics and Chromatin Dynamics

Editing DNA Methylation in the Mammalian Genome

Open access
Liu, X. Shawn, Wu, Hao, Ji, Xiong, Stelzer, Yonatan, Wu, Xuebing, Czauderna, Szymon, Shu, Jian, Dadon, Daniel +2 more·2016·Cell

Abstract

Mammalian DNA methylation is a critical epigenetic mechanism orchestrating gene expression networks in many biological processes. However, investigation of the functions of specific methylation events remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate that fusion of Tet1 or Dnmt3a with a catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9) enables targeted DNA methylation editing. Targeting of the dCas9-Tet1 or -Dnmt3a fusion protein to methylated or unmethylated promoter sequences caused activation or silencing, respectively, of an endogenous reporter. Targeted demethylation of the BDNF promoter IV or the MyoD distal enhancer by dCas9-Tet1 induced BDNF expression in post-mitotic neurons or activated MyoD facilitating reprogramming of fibroblasts into myoblasts, respectively. Targeted de novo methylation of a CTCF loop anchor site by dCas9-Dnmt3a blocked CTCF binding and interfered with DNA looping, causing altered gene expression in the neighboring loop. Finally, we show that these tools can edit DNA methylation in mice, demonstrating their wide utility for functional studies of epigenetic regulation.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.cell.2016.08.056

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  • CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) employ catalytically deactivated forms of Cas9 (dCas9) fused to transcriptional repressors or activators.

    “CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) employ catalytically deactivated forms of Cas9 (dCas9) that are fused to transcriptional repressors or activators 29,101 .”

    From The promise and challenge of therapeutic genome editing (2020) · cites this paper as [101]

  • Epigenetic editing therapies are currently being evaluated in preclinical models of PTSD, addiction, and MDD.

    “They are currently being evaluated in preclinical models of PTSD, addiction, and MDD (125, 126).”

    From The clinical use of epigenetics in psychiatry: a narrative review of epigenetic mechanisms, key candidate genes, and precision psychiatry (2025) · cites this paper as [125]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) describes DNA-methylation editing in neurons and reporter mice, but does not describe therapeutic evaluations in disease models. Searches for PTSD, addiction, MDD, and preclinical therapies found no passage addressing the claimed evaluations. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • dCas9-TET and dCas9-DNMT3a fusions have been shown to induce effective remodeling of 5mC.

    “dCas9-TET and dCas9-DNMT3a fusions have been shown to induce effective remodeling of 5mC (Fig. 3) (56).”
  • Targeted de-methylation with a dCas9-TET fusion protein has been demonstrated.

    “Similarly, targeted de-methylation with a dCas9-TET fusion protein has been demonstrated (Amabile et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2016), and this strategy could be used to restore an insulated neighborhood whose anchor site is disrupted by aberrant DNA methylation (Figure 8B).”
  • Targeted methylation of a neighborhood anchor site with a dCas9-DNA-methyltransferase-3 fusion protein has been shown to disrupt the neighborhood.

    “Indeed, targeted methylation of a neighborhood anchor site with a dCas9-DNA-metyltransferase-3 fusion protein has been shown to disrupt the neighborhood (Figure 8A) (Liu et al., 2016).”

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Authors
Liu, X. S., Wu, H., Ji, X., Stelzer, Y., Wu, X., Czauderna, S., Shu, J., Dadon, D., Young, R. A., & Jaenisch, R.
Affiliations
  • Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research (US)
  • Jagiellonian University (PL)
Corresponding author
Jaenisch, Rudolf
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-09
Volume
167
Issue
1
Pages
233-247.e17
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2521981506
Cited by
1,224
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 98 · 2025: 104 · 2024: 98 · 2023: 107 · 2022: 104 · 2021: 137 · 2020: 124 · 2019: 155 · 2018: 161 · 2017: 123 · 2016: 11 · 2014: 1
FWCI
77.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Jagiellonian University Repository (Jagiellonian University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PMC
Funders
  • Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
  • Helen Hay Whitney Foundation
  • National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
  • Narodowym Centrum Nauki
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Human Genome Research Institute (R01HG002668)
  • National Cancer Institute (R37CA084198, P30CA014051)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01GM114864, T32GM007287)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS088538)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD045022, R37HD045022)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
Keywords
TET1, DNMT3A, dCas9, promoter activation, gene silencing, BDNF promoter, DNA looping, epigenetic regulation
MeSH terms
Gene Editing, CCCTC-Binding Factor, CRISPR-Associated Protein 9, DNA Methyltransferase 3A, Animals, Bacterial Proteins, Cell Line, DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases, DNA-Binding Proteins, Endonucleases, Enhancer Elements, Genetic, Neurons, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Protein Binding, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Recombinant Fusion Proteins, Repressor Proteins, Genome, MyoD Protein, CpG Islands, DNA Methylation, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Epigenesis, Genetic, Mice, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats

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