RNA-Targeting CRISPR/CasRx System Relieves Disease Symptoms in Huntington's Disease Models

Huntington's disease (HD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of CAG repeats in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Recent advances in gene editing technologies, such as CRISPR/CasRx, have opened new avenues for therapeutic interventions. In this study, we explored the efficacy of CRISPR/CasRx, which can specifically and accurately digest single-stranded RNA and down-regulate the expression of related genes, in targeting the HTT mRNA and its potential as a treatment strategy for HD. Our results showed that CRISPR/CasRx could significantly down-regulate HTT mRNA in different models, including human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cells, HD140Q-knockin (HD 140Q-KI) mice at various disease stages, and Huntingtin knockin (HD-KI) pigs, and lead to a subsequent decrease in the expression of mutant Huntingtin (mHTT) protein. Moreover, this intervention could significantly ameliorate the neurological symptoms in HD 140Q-KI mice and HD-KI pigs. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the RNA-targeting CRISPR/CasRx as a potential therapeutic strategy for HD. Furthermore, the success of this approach provides valuable insights and novel avenues for the treatment of other genetic disorders caused by gene mutations. Huntington's disease (HD) is a well-known transcription disorder related to neurodegenerative diseases. To further confirm the effects of our CasRx treatment, we performed RNA-seq on both treated pigs and mice, with three replicates for each group.