Application of CRISPR genetic screens to investigate neurological diseases

• Main Authors: So, Raphaella W L (Author), Chung, Sai W (Author), Lau, Heather H C (Author), Watts, Jeremy J (Author), Gaudette, Erin (Author), Al-Azzawi, Zaid A M (Author), Bishay, Jossana (Author), Lin, Lilian T (Author), Joung, Julia (Author), Wang, Xinzhu (Author), Schmitt-Ulms, Gerold (Author)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Contributor), McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT (Contributor), Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BioMed Central, 2020-07-08T20:31:05Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 The adoption of CRISPR-Cas9 technology for functional genetic screens has been a transformative advance. Due to its modular nature, this technology can be customized to address a myriad of questions. To date, pooled, genome-scale studies have uncovered genes responsible for survival, proliferation, drug resistance, viral susceptibility, and many other functions. The technology has even been applied to the functional interrogation of the non-coding genome. However, applications of this technology to neurological diseases remain scarce. This shortfall motivated the assembly of a review that will hopefully help researchers moving in this direction find their footing. The emphasis here will be on design considerations and concepts underlying this methodology. We will highlight groundbreaking studies in the CRISPR-Cas9 functional genetics field and discuss strengths and limitations of this technology for neurological disease applications. Finally, we will provide practical guidance on navigating the many choices that need to be made when implementing a CRISPR-Cas9 functional genetic screen for the study of neurological diseases.