Combining mRNA-Mediated Phenotype Rescue and CRISPR-Created Isogenic Genome

There has been a good volume of publications on using patient-specific iPSCs for disease modeling. Among them, a recent study by Wang et al. published in Nature Medicine is unique because it not only created cardiomyocytes from both Barth Cardiomyopathy patient and wildtype samples for functional analysis, but also combined some of the most exciting new technologies to strengthen the correlation between gene change and disease.

First, functional rescue by mRNA transgene. After mRNA that encodes wild-type cardiolipin aclation enzyme encoding gene tafazzin (TAZ) was transfected into Barth iPSC-CM cells, their defects in mitochondrial functions were corrected. Second, loss of function by genome editing. When CRISPR was used to make genome changes in wildtype cells that mimicked the disease-specific mutation, we recreated the patient’s iPSC-CM phenotype in otherwise wildtype cells. Third, next generation sequencing to confirm genomic changes. And forth, the cardiomyocyte contractibility was assayed on bioengineered chips.

This paper should set an example of how patient iPSCs should be used to create disease models to the fullest extent of usefulness and reliability. We are true believers of the idea that technology development empowers the advancement of science.

“Modeling the mitochondrial cardiomyopathy of Barth syndrome with induced pluripotent stem cell and heart-on-chip technologies.” Wang, G., McCain, M.L., Yang, L., He, A., Pasqualini, F.S., Agarwal, A., Yuan, H., Jiang, D., Zhang, D., Zangi, L., Geva, J., Roberts, A.E., Ma, Q., Ding, J., Chen, J., Wang, D.Z., Li, K., Wang, J., Wanders, R.J., Kulik, W., Vaz, F.M., Laflamme, M.A., Murry, C.E., Chien, K.R., Kelley, R.I., Church, G.M., Parker, K.K., Pu, W.T. (2014) Nature Medicine, Jun;20(6):616-23. doi: 10.1038/nm.3545. Epub 2014 May 11.