Generation of VDR Knock-Out Mice via Zygote Injection of CRISPR/Cas9 System

CRISPR/Cas9 system has become a new versatile technology for genome engineering in various species. To achieve targeted modifications at the same site in both human and mice genomes by a CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease, we designed two target sites in conserved regions of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene, which cover more than 17 kb of chromosome region depending on the species. We first validated the efficacy of single sgRNA mediated gene specific modifications were 36% and 31% in HEK293T cells. Concurrently, targeted of the intervening genomic segments deletions were generated in chromosomes when two sgRNAs worked simultaneously. The large genomic DNA segments up to 23.4 Kb could be precisely deleted in human chromosomes. Subsequently, Cas9 mRNA and sgRNAs targeting VDRT1 and VDRT2 were co-microinjected into one-cell-stage embryos of C57BL/6 mice. Verified by T7E1 assay and DNA sequencing analysis, 12 mice showed VDR targeted disruption and 8 of which were biallelic knock-out, which demonstrated obvious phenotype of hair thinning. Furthermore, expression changes of Vitamin D metabolism genes in VDR-/- mice were detected. These results indicated that CRISPR/Cas9 mediated knockout of VDR diminished its gene function in vivo. The off-target effects of CRISPR/Cas9 in VDR-/- founder mice were analyzed. Our results showed that CRISPR/Cas9 system could be employed to target the same sites in different species, when sgRNAs are designed within conserved regions, and therefore will be critically important and applicable for human disease model.