Generation of isogenic models of Angelman syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome in CRISPR/Cas9-engineered human embryonic stem cells

Abstract

Angelman Syndrome (AS) and Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), two distinct neurodevelopmental disorders, result from loss of expression from imprinted genes in the chromosome 15q11-13 locus most commonly caused by a megabase-scale deletion on either the maternal or paternal allele, respectively. Each occurs at an approximate incidence of 1/15,000 to 1/30,000 live births and has a range of debilitating phenotypes. Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been valuable tools to understand human-relevant gene regulation at this locus and have contributed to the development of therapeutic approaches for AS. Nonetheless, gaps remain in our understanding of how these deletions contribute to dysregulation and phenotypes of AS and PWS. Variability across cell lines due to donor differences, reprogramming methods, and genetic background make it challenging to fill these gaps in knowledge without substantially increasing the number of cell lines used in the analyses. Isogenic cell lines that differ only by the genetic mutation causing the disease can ease this burden without requiring such a large number of cell lines. Here, we describe the development of isogenic human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines modeling the most common genetic subtypes of AS and PWS. These lines allow for a facile interrogation of allele-specific gene regulation at the chromosome 15q11-q13 locus. Additionally, these lines are an important resource to identify and test targeted therapeutic approaches for patients with AS and PWS.