Muscle satellite cell editing by LNP-CRISPR-Cas9 to resist muscle injury

Authors:
Taisuke Mochida , Naoko Fujimoto , Makoto Asahina , Shinya Asano , Shinsuke Araki , Naoto Inukai , Akitsu Hotta 
In:
Source: Stem Cell Reports
Publication Date: (2025)
Issue: 45: 1
Research Area:
Gene Expression
Cells used in publication:
C2C12
Species: mouse
Tissue Origin: skeletal muscle
Platform:
4D-Nucleofector® X-Unit
Experiment

EGFP genome editing reporter C2C12 cell line

Mouse myoblast cell line C2C12 cell line (ATCC, CRL-1772) was transfected with the piggyBac vector pPV-EF1a-EGxxFP (DMDex45_10)-iP-A containing a partial sequence of the human dystrophin gene exon 45 (deposited in Addgene, #204621), using the 4D-Nucleofector (Lonza). The vector induces single-strand annealing repair when genome editing is induced by the targeting gRNAs, and the split EGFP gene is repaired and emits EGFP fluorescence. After puromycin selection, EGFP-negative cells were sorted as one cell per well into 96-well plates and cultured in DMEM medium containing 10% FBS and puromycin, to establish subclones with minimum background EGFP signal. Thereafter, selected subclone was subjected to myogenic differentiation by using the DMEM medium supplemented with 2% horse serum for 9 days. LNP-CRISPR with or without ApoE3, prepared as described above, was added to the cells for 3 h on the day after seeding (undifferentiated) or day 9 of myotube formation (differentiated). The EGFP signals, as a readout of genome editing, were analyzed quantitatively using Opera Phenix (Cytiva) at 4 days after LNP-CRISPR treatment.
Abstract

Muscle satellite cells are essential for skeletal muscle regeneration and represent an attractive therapeutic target for gene delivery in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). However, efficient in vivo transduction of these cells has remained challenging. Here, we demonstrate that lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-mediated delivery of Streptococcus pyogenes CRISPR-Cas9 mRNA and guide RNA (LNP-CRISPR) induces exon skipping in Pax7-positive satellite cells more efficiently than adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors following intramuscular or intravenous administration in a DMD mouse model. Furthermore, unlike AAV-CRISPR, LNP-CRISPR-mediated genome editing showed greater resistance to repeated muscle injuries, indicating successful editing of regenerative satellite cells. These results highlight the potential of LNPs as a non-viral platform for durable genome editing in skeletal muscle and lay the foundation for developing safe and sustainable genome-editing therapies for DMD.