Peptide-mediated delivery of CRISPR enzymes for the efficient editing of primary human lymphocytes

CRISPR-mediated genome editing of primary human lymphocytes is typically carried out via electroporation, which can be cytotoxic, cumbersome and costly. Here we show that the yields of edited primary human lymphocytes can be increased substantially by delivering a CRISPR ribonucleoprotein mixed with an amphiphilic peptide identified through screening. We evaluated the performance of this simple delivery method by knocking out genes in T cells, B cells and natural killer cells via the delivery of Cas9 or Cas12a ribonucleoproteins or an adenine base editor. We also show that peptide-mediated ribonucleoprotein delivery paired with an adeno-associated-virus-mediated homology-directed repair template can introduce a chimaeric antigen receptor gene at the T-cell receptor alpha constant locus, and that the engineered cells display antitumour potency in mice. The method is minimally perturbative, does not require dedicated hardware, and is compatible with multiplexed editing via sequential delivery, which minimizes the risk of genotoxicity. The peptide-mediated intracellular delivery of ribonucleoproteins may facilitate the manufacturing of engineered T cells. The yields of edited primary human lymphocytes can be increased substantially, with respect to those obtained via electroporation, by delivering a CRISPR ribonucleoprotein alongside an amphiphilic peptide identified via screening.

Automated summary

The yields of edited primary human lymphocytes can be significantly increased by delivering a CRISPR ribonucleoprotein along with an identified amphiphilic peptide. This simple delivery method allows for gene knockouts in T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells, as well as introducing a chimeric antigen receptor gene at a specific locus. The engineered cells showed antitumor potency in mice.