Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40897812›Full record

ArticleCommunications biology2025

AAV-dCas9 vector unsilences paternal Ube3a in neurons by impeding Ube3a-ATS transcription.

Justin M Wolter, Lucas M James, Samantha L Boeshore, Hanqian Mao, Eric S McCoy, Daniel F Ryan, Giulia Fragola, Bonnie Taylor-Blake, Jason L Stein, Mark J Zylka

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Genomic repeats for single-cell molecular recording.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Justin M Wolter *UNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Lucas M James *UNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0499-9299
Samantha L BoeshoreUNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Hanqian MaoUNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Eric S McCoyUNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Daniel F RyanUNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Giulia FragolaUNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9114-9836
Bonnie Taylor-BlakeUNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Jason L SteinUNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4829-0513
Mark J ZylkaUNC Neuroscience Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. zylka@med.unc.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0911-7902

Funding

Preclinical CoreP50HD103573 · NICHD · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI GABRIEL S DICHTER · 2020 to 2026
$9.7M
Postdoctoral Research in Neurodevelopmental DisordersT32HD040127 · NICHD · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI BENJAMIN D PHILPOT, Mark D Shen · 2001 to 2026
$8.5M
CRISPR/Cas9-based gene therapy for Angelman syndromeR01NS109304 · NINDS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI ZYLKA, MARK J. · 2019 to 2023
$2.8M
NICHD NIH HHS P50 HD103573NICHD NIH HHS T32 HD040127NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS109304Simons Foundation 631904U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) T32HD040127U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) 1R01NS109304
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a debilitating neurodevelopmental disorder caused by loss of maternally-inherited UBE3A. In neurons, paternally-inherited UBE3A is silenced in cis by a long non-coding RNA called Ube3a-ATS. Here, we found that Neisseria meningitidis Cas9 with two mutations (D15A and H587A) in the nuclease domains (dNmCas9) can unsilence the dormant paternal Ube3a allele in mouse and human neurons when targeted to Snord115 snoRNA genes located in introns of Ube3a-ATS. Importantly, dNmCas9 disrupted Ube3a-ATS with a non-template bias and in the absence of a chromatin modifying domain, supporting a transcriptional interference mechanism. When packaged into an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector, dNmCas9 exhibited dose-dependent Ube3a-ATS knock-down and paternal Ube3a unsilencing in vitro and in vivo. This vector also partially rescued the hind limb clasp phenotype when delivered to neonatal AS model mice. Collectively, our study underscores the potential of dCas9-based therapeutics without chromatin repression domains to mediate transcriptional downregulation.

Indexed as

Angelman SyndromeGene EditingNeuronsUbiquitin-Protein LigasesAnimalsCells, CulturedCRISPR-Associated Protein 9CRISPR-Cas SystemsDependovirusFemaleGene SilencingGenomic ImprintingHumansMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLCRISPR-Associated Protein 9RNA, Small NucleolarSNORD115 RNA, humanUBE3A protein, humanUbe3a protein, mouseUbiquitin-Protein Ligases

Identifiers

PMID40897812
PMCPMC12405439

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.