CRISPRi-Mediated Treatment of Dominant Rhodopsin-Associated Retinitis Pigmentosa

Rhodopsin (RHO) mutations such as Pro23His are the leading cause of dominantly inherited retinitis pigmentosa in North America. As with other dominant retinal dystrophies, these mutations lead to production of a toxic protein product, and treatment will require knockdown of the mutant allele. The purpose of this study was to develop a CRISPR-Cas9-mediated transcriptional repression strategy using catalytically inactive Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 (dCas9) fused to the Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) transcriptional repressor domain. Using a reporter construct carrying green fluorescent protein (GFP) cloned downstream of the RHO promoter fragment (nucleotides -1403 to +73), we demonstrate a ∼74-84% reduction in RHO promoter activity in RHOpCRISPRi-treated versus plasmid-only controls. After subretinal transduction of human retinal explants and transgenic Pro23His mutant pigs, significant knockdown of rhodopsin protein was achieved. Suppression of mutant transgene in vivo was associated with a reduction in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis markers and preservation of photoreceptor cell layer thickness.