Prime editing, a versatile form of gene editing that can correct most known disease-causing genetic mutations, now has a new vehicle to deliver its machinery into cells in living animals.
A team of researchers has engineered virus-like particles to deliver prime editors to cells in mice at a high enough efficiency to rescue a genetic disorder. In the new work published in Nature Biotechnology, the team adapted engineered virus-like particles (eVLPs) that they had previously designed to carry base editors — another type of precision gene editor that makes single-letter changes in DNA.
Now the researchers describe how they re-engineered both eVLPs and parts of the prime editing protein and RNA machinery to boost editing efficiency up to 170 times in human cells compared to the previous eVLPs that deliver base editors. The team used their new system to correct disease-causing mutations in the eyes of two mouse models of genetic blindness, partially restoring their vision. They also delivered prime editors to the mouse brain, and did not detect any off-target editing.