Programmable and selective silencing of oncogenic fusion transcripts by CRISPR-Cas13b via breakpoint sequence recognition
Oncogenic gene fusions are key drivers of cancer, yet most remain undruggable by current therapies. Here, we establish CRISPR- Psp Cas13b as a personalizable platform for systematic silencing of various fusion transcripts. We reveal that recognition and cleavage of the breakpoint sequence by Psp Cas13b disrupt the fusion transcript, resulting in efficient protein depletion. Psp Cas13b cleavage produces aberrant, translation-incompetent target RNA species, a subset of which harbors internal deletions proximal to the cleavage site. We demonstrate that targeting the BCR::ABL1 breakpoint sequence efficiently degrades both wild-type and drug-resistant BCR::ABL1 mutants, which are the primary drivers of tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance and relapse in chronic myeloid leukemia. Molecular profiling revealed that Psp Cas13b impairs BCR::ABL1 tyrosine phosphokinase activity and triggers extensive transcriptomic and proteomic remodeling, leading to erythroid differentiation and apoptosis in drug-resistant cells. Beyond BCR::ABL1, personalized design of Psp Cas13b effectively silences other undruggable oncogenic fusions. Collectively, this study establishes a molecular framework for precise targeting of undruggable or drug-resistant oncogenic transcripts.
Authors
- Ilia Voskoboinik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6410-009X)
- Mohamed Fareh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9551-8213)
- Dane Vassiliadis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7814-4851)
- Deborah L. White (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4844-333X)
- Wenxin Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0330-5200)
- Catherine Carmichael (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6751-153X)
- Joseph A. Trapani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0983-1532)
- Lauren M. Brown (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4322-8203)
- Teresa Sadras (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9048-9580)
- Timothy P. Hughes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0910-3730)
- Quentin A. Gouil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5142-7886)
- Steven He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3113-9588)
- Paul G. Ekert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2976-8617)
- Carolyn Shembrey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3175-8925)
- Joshua M. L. Casan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4322-8561)
- Antoine de Weck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0887-6771)
- Honglin Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5349-8717)
- Lynda Truong
- Sharon Li
- Andrea Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5898-096X)
- Isabella Buchner
Institutions
- Royal Children's Hospital (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- La Trobe University (AU)
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (AU)
- Hudson Institute of Medical Research (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (AU)
- South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (AU)
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute (AU)
- Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (AU)
- Monash University (AU)
- The University of Adelaide (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2026-10-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ady0296
- Primary Topic
- CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Cass Foundation
- Australia and New Zealand Sarcoma Association
- Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Charitable Trust
- National Health and Medical Research Council
- Cancer Council Victoria