Academic literature on the topic 'CrisprCas9'

En la actualidad la técnica de biología molecular CRISPRCas9, es la más estudiada a nivel global para la edición genómica. Por su facilidad, adaptabilidad, versatilidad, precisión y costo relativamente bajo es una tecnología que puede cambiar el panorama en la agricultura. El objetivo de este artículo es hacer una reseña y descripción acerca de la tecnología CRISPR-Cas9, mencionar algunas aplicaciones que se han realizado en la agricultura y citar algunas posibilidades que serían aplicables en Costa Rica.

The rapid change in the failure of antimicrobial therapy due to an increase in the number of infections caused by antimicrobial resistance and the commencement of comprehensive resistant strains robustly claim detection of appliances causing the improvement of drug resistance. In this article, we review the double tactics to decrease antimicrobial resistance infections in hospitals by the improvement of hospital infection prevention and control (IPC) and Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) programs and their gradually significant part in decreasing the feast of antibiotic resistance using an ethical framework that enables clinicians and to appraise policies for rational use of an antibiotic in six practical steps. Though the procedure of bacteriophages and antibodies has been partially applied, further encouraging plans, such as probiotics and antimicrobial peptides, are under improvement. Novel approaches such as genetically modified phages and CRISPRCas9 also converse, and plasmid curing and anti-plasmid methods might reduce ARG existence and alert bacteria about antibiotics.

The innovation of CRISPR-Cas9 has single-handedly revolutionized biotechnology by enabling efficient and specific cutting of DNA. CRISPR-Cas9 approaches are promising not only to targetthe human genome but also DNA of pathogenic viruses, which coincidentally is the canonical function in its bacterial origin. Since 2014, a myriad of studies has proven the efficacy of CRISPR-Cas9 treatment to cleave viral DNA intermediates in vitro. One of the most widely targeted is theproviral genome of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1). The disease burden of HIV-1 is massive—the infection is incurable and has remained a pandemic for over four decades. Integrated HIV-1 provirus inside the human genome causes viral persistence inside latent cellular reservoirs, eluding antiretroviral therapy (ART) and sterilizing cure. Specific targeting anddisruption of HIV-1 proviral genome is necessary to achieve viral clearance, which can be achieved with CRISPR-Cas9. Here, we review the features and up to date evidence of CRISPRCas9 to target the HIV-1 proviral genome and suppress viral replication. We will also discuss potential CRISPR/Cas9 delivery methods in vivo, combination with other gene editing modalities and other therapeutic approaches, to bring gene editing-based HIV-1 cure closer into clinical use.

Abstract Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant paediatric brain tumour. Four molecular sub-groups exist (WNT, Sonic hedgehog (SHH), Group 3 and Group 4), each associated with different patterns of metastasis and chemoresistance. We have shown that within these sub-groups further clinically relevant sub-types exist, characterised by differential expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. For example, good overall survival in two-thirds of SHH sub-group patients is associated with the expression of specific ECM proteins. Our aim here is to further characterise these ECM components in SHH medulloblastoma and to determine how they confer better overall survival in this sub-group. Using a combination of 3D OrbiSIMs and immunohistochemical staining we have identified, that when grown in 3D hyaluronic acid hydrogels or as spheroids, SHH medulloblastoma cell lines form an ECM shell-like structure composed of laminin, collagen and lumican. In addition, scRNAseq of SHH hydrogel nodules revealed sub-group specific clusters of cells with high levels of ECM interaction and adhesion. We therefore hypothesise that ECM interaction restricts SHH tumour invasion and metastasis through this shell-like structure. To understand how this ECM shell-like structure potentiates better survival in SHH medulloblastoma we have created a CRISPRcas9 laminin knockout SHH medulloblastoma cell line. 3D culture of the laminin knockout cell line demonstrated that laminin is essential for the formation of 3D cell structures as well as migration in SHH medulloblastoma. Furthermore, we have identified that apoptosis is increased in the laminin knockout SHH cell line, suggesting that apoptosis-targeted therapeutics may represent a beneficial treatment option for SHH patients whose tumours exhibit this ECM shell. In summary, tumour-secreted ECM plays a major role in SHH medulloblastoma progression. Expression of laminin, collagen or lumican can be used to classify SHH patients into low and high-risk groups with different therapeutic outcomes and treatment options.

Abstract BACKGROUND Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor. Treatment failure and recurrence are explained in part by tumoral heterogeneity. Our previous results showed that the integrin α5β1 is implicated in GBM aggressiveness and represents a relevant therapeutic target. Recently, we observed intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity of integrin α5β1 expression. Heterogeneity may be linked to different glioma stem cell populations. MATERIAL AND METHODS Ten glioma stem cell lines were grown as neurospheres in stem cell medium and their differentiation was induced by serum and/or ATRA. Two cell lines (NCH421k and NCH644) were selected and were modified by depletion (CrisprCas9) or transfection of the α5 integrin gene. Polyclonal lines and individual clones were analyzed phenotypically in vitro, before and after differentiation, and in vivo in orthotopic xenografts of 2x104 cells in nude mice. TCGA datasets were used to validate the heterogeneous expression of α5 integrin in GBM. RESULTS TCGA data validate that α5 integrin mRNA was only over-expressed in the mesenchymal subclass of GBM. Our results show that α5 integrin protein is not expressed in stem cell culture conditions. However, α5 integrin expression is induced after differentiation in only half of the cell lines supporting the notion of tumoral heterogeneity of glioma stem cells. Interestingly, single cell-derived clone evaluation showed that intra-tumoral stem cell heterogeneity also exists at the level of α5 protein expression. When glioma stem cells are programmed or transduced to express α5 integrin, differentiated cells became more aggressive. Notably, they acquired a fibronectin-dependent motility and a proliferative phenotype. Interestingly, integrin α5 remained expressed in secondary stem cells obtained after dedifferentiation. The in vivo assays suggested that glioma stem cells, programmed to express the integrin, were prone to form larger tumors. CONCLUSION Our data support the hypothesis that some glioma stem cells are programmed to express the α5 integrin subunit in their differentiated progeny to form a more aggressive tumor. They add new evidences that both cell populations may be considered for new therapeutic strategies against GBM.

CRISPR-Cas is the adaptive immune system of bacteria and archaea. Since 2012, when the first opportunity to use the CRISPR/Cas system for genome editing was realized, the number of studies in this area has been growing rapidly. Today, genomic editing to modify specific regions of the genomes of various organisms is considered one of the key methodologies of modern biology. This review is devoted to the history of discovery, classification, structure, operational mechanisms of CRISPRCas systems and strategies for editing the genomes of various bacterial species using this technology. Key words: genome editing, genome, CRISPR-Cas system, bacteria

Abstract Hereditary spherocytosis (HS), the most common inherited hemolytic anemia in Northern Europeans, is dominantly inherited in ~two third of cases. Clinically, patients with nondominant HS (ndHS) are more severely affected than those with typical, dominant HS. Biochemical and genetic studies implicate defects of α-spectrin in most ndHS patients and in patients with the related disorder hereditary pyropoikilocytosis (HPP). However, in most cases, neither the precise genetic basis nor the mechanism of disease are known. We studied individuals from 23 kindreds: 10 ndHS kindreds, 3 HPP kindreds, and 10 kindreds with transfusion-dependent (TD) anemia, using whole exome sequencing. A variety of novel mutant SPTA1 alleles were identified, including nonsense, splicing, and insertion/deletion mutations, frequently in trans to missense mutations. One patient had no SPTA1 mutations and 14 patients had only one SPTA1 mutation. Patients with 0 or 1 mutation all carried the common ndHS-linked α-spectrinBug Hill allele. We hypothesized that a production-defective SPTA1 allele is shared by these patients and is in linkage disequilibrium with the αBug Hill allele. Whole genome sequencing was performed on 2 ndHS patients heterozygous for the αBug Hill variant. Data were compared to samples in the 1000 Genomes database with the αBug Hill variant. A series of genetic analyses revealed a single common SPTA1 variant, the αLEPRA allele. This variant, described in a ndHS patient in trans to an SPTA1 nonsense mutation (JCI 98:2300, 1996), was associated with an elongated α-spectrin mRNA transcript. The αLEPRA allele was only present on 4 of 4610 alleles in 1000 Genomes. In all 4 cases, it was heterozygous and in cis to the αBugHill allele. Analysis of αBugHill haplotypes revealed 3 predominant patterns with the haplotype of the ndHS patients identical to the 4 heterozygous αLEPRA individuals. Genotyping the mutation-negative patient alleles revealed all carried the αLEPRA mutation. In the original report, RT-PCR of reticulocyte RNA demonstrated the αLEPRA allele was associated with an elongated α-spectrin mRNA transcript originating 70nt from the 3' end of intron 30. It was unclear if or how the αLEPRA mutation influenced α-spectrin mRNA splicing, as identical elongated α-spectrin mRNA transcripts are observed in erythroid cells from patients who do not carry the αLEPRA allele. Splicing analysis of intron 30 using SCROOGLE predicted: 1) a branch point at the expected location 31bp 5' of exon 31 (branch point 1, BP1); 2) an alternate upstream branch point centered on an "A" 2bp 3' of the αLEPRA mutation (BP2) 98bp 5' of exon 31; 3) identified a novel alternate 3' acceptor site downstream of BP2; and 4) the αLEPRA mutation significantly improves BP2. To determine if BP2 is a functional BP, we studied SPTA1 splicing using minigene assays in K562 cells. Wild type (WT) minigenes produced a small amount of elongated α-spectrin mRNA, while mutation of the obligate "A" of BP2 completely eliminated elongated transcript production. Mutation of the BP2 "A" using CRISPRCas9-based gene editing on a WT background in K562 cells eliminated the elongated α-spectrin mRNA transcripts. Minigene assays also revealed deletion of the alternate 3' acceptor splice site or improvement of BP1 to a U2 consensus site both eliminated the elongated transcript. Thus the αLEPRA mutation in intron 30, located upstream of an alternate 3' acceptor site, changes a weak alternate BP to a strong BP in the context of a poor primary BP. These changes lead to increased utilization of an alternate 3'acceptor site, creating an elongated transcript that leads to frameshift with a novel termination codon. This termination codon is in a position predicted to activate nonsense mediated decay (NMD). To address whether NMD of the elongated transcript is the mechanism of α-spectrin deficiency, we created K562 cells homozygous for the αLEPRA allele using gene editing and treated them with emetine or cycloheximide, NMD inhibitors. In both WT and homozygous αLEPRA cells, the total amount of elongated transcript increased relative to WT. These studies resolve an important unanswered question by demonstrating a novel mechanism of genetic disease is responsible for many cases of ndHS, HPP, and TD anemia. These data will facilitate disease diagnosis, as most current diagnostic gene panels do not include this intronic region, and they identify a new target for therapeutic gene manipulation. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

CRISPR-Cas is an adaptive immunity system of prokaryotes, composed of CRISPR arrays and the associated proteins. The successive addition of spacer sequences in the CRISPR array has made the system a valuable molecular marker, with multiple applications. Due to the high degree of polymorphism of the CRISPR loci, their comparison in bacteria from various sources may provide insights into the evolution and spread of the CRISPR-Cas systems. The aim of this study was to establish a correlation between the enterobacterial CRISPR loci, the sequence of direct repeats (DR), and the number of spacer units, along with the geographical origin and collection source. For this purpose, 3474 genomes containing CRISPR loci from the CRISPRCasdb of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae were analyzed, and the information regarding the isolates was recorded from the NCBI database. The most prevalent was the I-E CRISPR-Cas system in all three studied taxa. E. coli also presents the I-F type, but in a much lesser percentage. The systems found in K. pneumoniae can be classified into I-E and I-E*. The I-E and I-F systems have two CRISPR loci, while I-E* has only one locus upstream of the Cas cluster. PCR primers have been developed in this study for each CRISPR locus. Distinct clustering was not evident, but statistically significant relationships occurred between the different CRISPR loci and the number of spacer units. For each of the queried taxa, the number of spacers was significantly different (p < 0.01) by origin (Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America) but was not linked to the isolation source type (human, animal, plant, food, or laboratory strains).

Dentre os mecanismos relacionados à interação bactéria-planta, a biossíntese bacteriana de ácido indol acético (AIA) exerce um papel fundamental na promoção do crescimento vegetal, uma vez que é capaz de influenciar inúmeros processos fisiológicos nas plantas. Diferentes vias metabólicas são utilizadas pelas bactérias para a biossíntese do AIA, sendo a via do ácido indol-3-pirúvico (IPyA) a mais comumente descrita. Nesta via encontra-se o gene indol-3-piruvato descarboxilase (ipdC) com vital função na produção de AIA utilizando como precursor o aminoácido L-triptofano. Nesse contexto, estudos moleculares acerca das vias metabólicas e dos genes envolvidos nesse processo são preponderantes para o entendimento da inter-relação das vias regulatórias com a síntese do fitormônio. A rizobactéria Bacillus sp. (RZ2MS9) vem apresentando satisfatória atividade na promoção de crescimento vegetal. O sequenciamento do seu genoma apontou a presença de uma vasta gama de genes relacionados à promoção do crescimento, com destaque para genes codificadores de auxinas. Assim, o estudo teve por objetivo comprovar a função do gene ipdC na biossíntese do AIA pela via dpendente do L-triptofano através do nocaute sítio dirigido do gene ipdC na Rizobactéria Promotora do Crescimento em Plantas (RPCP) Bacillus sp. (RZ2MS9). Para tanto, foi realizado o nocaute sítio dirigido por meio da técnica de CRISPR-Cas9. O nocaute do gene ipdC foi eficiente, gerando mutantes disruptivos para o referido gene. A biossíntese do AIA pela linhagem &DELTA;ipdC apresentou reduções nas concentrações do fitormônio, de acordo com o tempo de crescimento, sendo 87,96% em 24 horas, 88,25% em 48 horas e 58,27% em 72 horas do crescimento em comparação à linhagem selvagem (WT). Além disso, a biossíntese do AIA na ausência do aminoácido L-triptofano também foi avaliada, não sendo constatada síntese do fitormônio em nenhum dos tempos crescimento, tanto na linhagem selvagem, quanto na linhagem &DELTA;ipdC. O presente estudo foi pioneiro no nocaute do gene ipdC em uma linhagem de Bacillus utilizando a técnica de CRISPR-Cas9. Os resultados obtidos contribuem para um melhor entendimento da influência do gene ipdC e da via IPyA na biossíntese do AIA pela linhagem RZ2MS9 e futuramente sera comprovado seu papel na promoção de crescimento vegetal.
Among the mechanisms related to the bacterium-plant interaction, the bacterial biosynthesis of indole acetic acid (AIA) plays a fundamental role in the promotion of plant growth, since it is capable of influencing innumerable physiological processes in plants. Different metabolic pathways are used by bacteria for the biosynthesis of IAA, with the indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPyA) pathway being the most commonly described. In this pathway, the indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase (ipdC) gene has a vital role in the production of IAA using the amino acid L-tryptophan as a precursor. In this context, molecular studies about the metabolic pathways and the genes involved in this process are preponderant for the understanding of the interrelationship of the regulatory pathways with the phytormonium synthesis. The rhizobacterium Bacillus sp. (RZ2MS9) has been showing satisfactory activity in promoting plant growth. The sequencing of its genome pointed to the presence of a wide range of genes related to growth promotion, especially genes encoding auxins. Thus, the objective of the present study was to verify the function of the ipdC gene in the IAA biosynthesis L-tryptophan dependent through the knockout of the ipdC in the plant growth-promoting rhizobateria (PGPR) Bacillus sp. (RZ2MS9). Therefore, the knockout was realized using the CRISPR-Cas9. The knockout of the ipdC gene was efficient, generating disruptive mutants for the said gene. IAA biosynthesis by the &DELTA;ipdC strain showed reductions in phytormonium concentrations, according to the growth time, being 87.96% in 24 hours, 88.25% in 48 hours and 58.27% in 72 hours of growth compared to the Wild Type (WT). In addition, the biosynthesis of IAA in the absence of the amino acid L-tryptophan was also evaluated, with no phytormonium synthesis being observed at any growth time, both in the wild type and &DELTA;ipdC strain. The present study pioneered the knockout of the ipdC gene in a Bacillus strain using the CRISPR-Cas9. The results obtained contribute to a better understanding of the influence of the ipdC gene and the IPyA pathway in the IAA biosynthesis through the RZ2MS9 strain, and its role in plant growth promoting will be demonstrated in the future.

L'infection par le virus de l'hépatite B est un problème de santé publique avec 250 millions de porteurs chroniques et cela malgré l'existence d'un vaccin préventif. Les traitements actuellement utilisés sont les analogues de nucléos(t)ide et/ou l'interféron a. Bien qu'ils permettent une diminution de la charge virale, ils ne permettent pas d'éradiquer la maladie du fait de la persistance de l'ADNccc, le minichromosome de l'hépatite B. Cet ADN sert de matrice à la transcription virale, et la présence d'une seule copie permet la réactivation de l'infection. En prenant en compte la longue demi-vie des hépatocytes et de la stabilité de l'ADNccc dans leur noyau, un modèle mathématique suggère que de nombreuses années de traitement seraient nécessaires pour éliminer complètement cet ADN du foie des patients infectés chroniquement. Les techniques utilisées en routine pour la quantification de l'ADNccc ne sont pas assez sensibles pour pouvoir détecter des faibles concentrations de cet ADN, notamment dans des biopsies de patients infectés chroniquement et traités à long terme. Il est nécessaire de développer de nouvelles stratégies permettant de cibler directement l'ADNccc afin d'éliminer le virus. Ainsi les travaux de cette thèse reposent sur le développement d'une nouvelle technologie : la Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) pour permettre la quantification de l'ADNccc dans les biopsies de patient. Cette technique permet un gain de 2 log au niveau de la sensibilité par rapport à la qPCR, technique utilisée actuellement en routine. Elle nous a ainsi permis de constater la présence de cet ADN chez des patients traités à long terme par des analogues de nucléos(t)ides et même en présence d'interféron. La présence d'ARNpg et les expériences de ChIP ont également confirmé que l'ADNccc était encore transcriptionnellement actif. Ces résultats confirment d'autant plus la nécessité d'élaborer de nouvelles thérapeutiques pour permettre l'inactivation voire l'élimination de l'ADNccc. L'une des stratégies envisagées est le système CRISPR/Cas 9. Ainsi le dernier axe de cette thèse a été de développer ce système dans des modèles d'infection du virus de l'hépatite B. Pour vérifier l'efficacité de ce système sur le VHB, nous avons testé 8 ARN guide différents incorporer via des ribonucléoprotéines dans des cellules HepG2-NTCP. Les résultats préliminaires ont ainsi démontré que ce système pouvait réduire le pool d'ADNccc dans ces cellules et ouvre des perspectives intéressantes pour le développement de nouveaux traitements
Hepatitis B virus {HBV) is a major health problem with 250 million chronic carriers, despite the existence of a preventive vaccine. Currently the treatments used are nucleos{t)ide analogues and / or interferon a. Although they efficiently reach a decrease of the viral load, they do not allow the eradication the disease due to the persistence of the cccDNA, the minichromosome of the hepatitis B. This DNA serves as a template for the viral transcription and only a single copy suffice for the infection rebound. However, the techniques used routinely for the quantification of the cccDNA are not sensitive enough to be able to detect low concentrations of this DNA, in particular in biopsies of patients chronically infected and long term treated. ln addition, it is necessary to develop new strategies to target the cccDNA in order to clear the infection. Thus, my thesis work is based on the development of a new technology: the Droplet Digital PCR {ddPCR) to allow the quantification of cccDNA in patient biopsies. This technique allows a gain of 2 log in sensitivity compared to the qPCR technique currently used in routine. lt allowed us to see the presence of this DNA in long-term treated patients even in the presence of interferon. The presence of pgRNA and ChlP experiments also confirmed that the cccDNA was still transcriptionally active.These results confirm the requirement to develop new therapeutics to allow the inactivation or even the elimination of the cccDNA. One of the strategies envisaged is the CRlSPR / Case 9 system. Thus, the following part of this thesis was to develop this system in hepatitis B virus infection models. To reduce off-target effect we tested 8 different guide RNAs incorporated via ribonucleoproteins into HepG2- NTCP cells. Preliminary results have shown that this system can reduce the pool of cccDNA in these cells and open up the possibilities to test this model on PHH and opens interesting perspectives for the development of new treatments

Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by parasites of the Plasmodium genus and in 2015 around 214,000,000 new cases of malaria infection occurred resulting in 438,000 deaths worldwide. Currently, there is no available vaccine against malaria and despite efforts, mainly channelled into subunit vaccines, immunogenicity is often low. In this work, whole live blood stage Plasmodium was used in oral and nasal inoculation of mice to test for infectivity and immunogenicity. Oral inoculation resulted in infection of some mice while none of those inoculated nasally became infected. Both oral and nasal inoculation, despite not providing protection, allowed for extended survival of inoculated individuals. Given that survival was increased by inoculating animals solely with live parasites, the results detailed in this work show that this approach holds great applicational potential, as coupling oral and nasal inoculation with live parasites and a powerful adjuvant may be the key to unlock full protection. In connection with inoculation of live parasites, this work also aimed at producing a Plasmodium falciparum mutant expressing Salmonella’s FimH+ glycoprotein as to allow its detection by M cells in the gut. This was to be achieved by a modified version of the CRISPR/Cas9 system which would bear a double guide RNA instead of a single. However, this was not possible as the resulting CRISPR plasmid contained an extremely high AT-content becoming toxic to E. coli. In addition to these two main goals, a few molecular techniques crucial for malaria research were improved and a detection method of avian malaria was developed.

Modelos humanizados de porco são muito importantes para pesquisa biomédica e desenvolvimento de novas drogas e tratamentos. Além de ser um melhor modelo para doenças humanas do que animais de menor porte devido sua maior semelhança fisiológica, anatômica, de metabolismo e tempo de vida, o modelo suíno ainda permite suprimento ilimitado de órgãos para transplante. Apesar dessas vantagens, a expressão gênica inconsistente de animais transgênicos tornam a criação e avaliação desses animais muito dispendiosas, imprevisível e não permite a comparação de resultados de animais diferentes de maneira apropriada. Nesse estudo descrevemos uma nova técnica utilizando o promoter endógeno para a geração de um protocolo de substituição de genes com padrão clonal (transplante clonal de genes) sem clonagem de células, preservando a expressão genética e sua regulação intactas. Esse protocolo é reprodutível e pode ser aplicado para mais de um alvo genético, permitindo geração rápida de linhas transgênicas de animais (14-20 dias) com potencial de se tornar o novo padrão para geração de animais transgênicos de grande porte Suínos
Humanized pig models are very important for biomedical research, and drugs and treatment development. Not only it is a better model for diseases than smaller animals because of its closer physiology, anatomy, metabolism and life span, it also may provide unlimited organs for transplantation. In spite of all this advantages, inconsistent gene expression in transgenic animals make its generation and evaluation expensive, unpredictable and do not allow proper outcome comparison between different animals. In this report we describe a reproducible technique utilizing the endogenous promoter for generation of a clonal pattern gene replacement protocol (clonal gene transplant) without cell cloning, maintaining the normal gene expression and its regulation. This protocol is reproducible and applicable to more than one gene target, allowing fast generation of transgenic animals cell lines (as low as 14-20 days) and could become the new standard for transgenic large animal generation

Genetic abnormalities are the main cause of variability within organisms and are the basis for genetic diseases and cancers. DNA damage caused by AID, APOBEC1 and APOBEC3B was assessed by g- H2AX immunofluorescence, where a strong activation of this marker of DNA damage was observed, thus, inciting DNA disruption and genomic damage. Furthermore, the ability of these cytidine deaminases to induce chromosomal alterations was analysed in 50 individual metaphase spreads by scoring for chromosome aberration. There was an increase in the number of aberrations. Notably, in case of AID, the number of aberration were three times higher than in the control cells, while in the case of APOBEC1 and APOBEC3B, there was a two-fold increase. This clearly indicates the role of AID, APOBEC1 and APOBEC3B causing DNA damage accounting to chromosomal instability. Micronuclei (MN) are an effective cellular indicator of CIN, and elevated frequencies of MN are observed in most solid tumors and pre-neoplastic lesions. In order to investigate the role of the AID/APOBECs as inducers of CIN we are using a quantitative assay for chromosome mis- segregation developed by exploiting the human artificial chromosome (HAC) present in human fibro- sarcoma HT1080 cells. In these cells the HAC kinetochore can be conditionally inactivated, thus leading to formation of micronuclei. Interestingly, we observed elevated levels of formation of micronuclei after transient expression of AID, APOBEC1, APOBEC3A and APOBEC3G in presence of CytochalasinB (CytoB) an actin polymerization inhibitor. Remarkably, even in absence of co- treatment with CytoB, elevated levels of MN were observed especially in the case of AID and APOBEC1. To further verify whether the induction of C to U changes and the downstream activation of the DNA repair pathways, we inhibited Uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) using a bacterial UDG inhibitor (UGI). Indeed, a diminution of the levels of MN formation in cells expressing AID and APOBEC1 in the presence of UGI was readily observed, indicating that MN formation is indeed triggered downstream to the activation of the DNA repair pathways. Considering that the AID/APOBECs have been associated to the onset of cancer through their ability to mutate DNA, ourfinding show another possible cancer-inducing effect of these deaminases: their ability to induce chromosomal instability. Recent advances in targeting genomic sequences has revolutionized the genome editing field. Using customized nucleases serves as an ideal platform for targeted deletions, insertion in a broad range of organisms and cell types, but it is less ideal for obtaining changes at specific nucleotides. The fusion of AIDAPOBEC’s to genome editing tool such as Cas9 and TALE has allowed the development of a base editor that aims at avoiding formation of double strand breaks and it offers a new perspective for gene editing. The limit of such base editor is that its targeting is restricted to C•G base pairs. I thus aimed at developing a A•T base editor based on the catalytic domain of ADAR2. Adenosine Deaminases Acting on RNA (ADARs), are editing enzymes that catalyze the C6 deamination of adenosine (A) to produce inosine (I) in double-stranded RNA. A-to- I editing can alter the stability of RNA structures and the coding of RNA as I is read as G instead of A by ribosomes during mRNA translation and by polymerases during RNA replication. Given the fact that human ADAR2 is able to act on DNA/RNA hybrids, I tried to use chimeras of n/dCas9 and the deaminase domain of ADAR2 to induce a single dA to dG mutation in fluorescent reporter, but our attempts failed. Thus, mutants of ADAR2 with a superior affinity to act on DNA were developed by screening mutagenized libraries through bacterial mutators assays. These mutants may be developed as an alternative base editor to target A:T pairs with potential usage in biotechnological applications such as gene therapy, antiviral treatment and cancer therapy