Restored glyoxylate metabolism in induced-hepatocytes after CRISPR/Cas-mediated AGXT gene correction and direct cell reprogramming of Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1 fibroblasts

Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1 (PH1) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder characterized by oxalate overproduction in the liver, resulting in renal damage. It is caused by mutations in the AGXT gene. Combined liver and kidney transplantation is currently the only permanent curative treatment. We combined locus-specific gene correction and hepatic direct cell reprogramming to generate autologous healthy induced hepatocytes (iHeps) from PH1 patient-derived fibroblasts. First, site-specific AGXT corrected cells were obtained by homology directed repair (HDR) assisted by CRISPR/Cas9, following two different strategies: accurate point mutation (c.853T>C) correction or knock-in of an enhanced version of AGXT cDNA. Then, iHeps were generated, by overexpression of hepatic transcription factors. Generated AGXT-corrected iHeps showed hepatic gene expression profile and exhibited in vitro reversion of oxalate accumulation compared to non-edited PH1-derived iHeps. This strategy set up a potential alternative cellular source for liver cell replacement therapy and a personalized PH1 in vitro disease model. Overall design: Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of RNA-seq data for healthy donor, PH1 patient-derived and AGXT-corrected immortalized human fibroblasts and the generated induced-hepatocytes.