Conditionally Stabilized dCas9 Activator for Controlling Gene Expression in Human Cell Reprogramming and Differentiation

•dCas9VP192 targeted to proximal promoters activates transcription in different loci•Transgenic OCT4 can be replaced by dCas9VP192•Destabilized dCas9VP192 enables temporal control of gene expression by TMP•TMP and DOX can be combined to control multiple genes in differentiation

SummaryCRISPR/Cas9 protein fused to transactivation domains can be used to control gene expression in human cells. In this study, we demonstrate that a dCas9 fusion with repeats of VP16 activator domains can efficiently activate human genes involved in pluripotency in various cell types. This activator in combination with guide RNAs targeted to the OCT4 promoter can be used to completely replace transgenic OCT4 in human cell reprogramming. Furthermore, we generated a chemically controllable dCas9 activator version by fusion with the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) destabilization domain. Finally, we show that the destabilized dCas9 activator can be used to control human pluripotent stem cell differentiation into endodermal lineages.

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