Neuro-oncologyFeb 25, 2025

Using targeted epigenetic editing to make glioblastoma more sensitive to chemotherapy

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Apr 1, 2026

Abstract

induced complete suppression of the gene and sensitized glioblastoma cells to temozolomide for over 8 months.

Stable suppression of the MGMT gene was achieved through CRISPRoff, enhancing sensitivity to temozolomide.
Orthotopic glioblastoma tumors treated with CRISPRoff showed increased sensitivity to temozolomide in vivo.
Patient-derived primary glioblastoma cultures exhibited chemosensitivity following CRISPRoff delivery targeting MGMT.
Genome-wide CRISPRi screens identified genetic vulnerabilities (BRIP1, FANCE) that could be targeted to sensitize glioblastoma to lomustine.

Simplified

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma (GBM) carries a poor prognosis, and new therapeutic strategies are necessary to improve outcomes for patients with this disease. Alkylating chemotherapies including temozolomide (TMZ) and lomustine (CCNU) are critical for treating GBM, but resistance mechanisms, including hypomethylation of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase () promoter, undermine treatment. is a programmable epigenetic memory editor that can induce stable and heritable gene silencing after transient delivery, and we hypothesize that CRISPRoff could potentiate the activity of TMZ and CCNU through long-term suppression of target genes.

METHODS: We transiently delivered CRISPRoff mRNA along with sgRNAs against target genes using both electroporation and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) into established GBM cell lines, patient-derived primary GBM cultures, and orthotopic GBM xenografts. Gene repression, specificity, and stability were measured by RT-qPCR, Western blot, bisulfite sequencing, and RNA sequencing. Sensitivity to chemotherapies was measured by cell viability dose-response, microscopy, and bioluminescence imaging. Genome-wide mapping of CCNU sensitizers was performed using CRISPRi screens.

RESULTS: CRISPRoff induced complete suppression of MGMT and sensitization to TMZ that was stable for over 8 months of continuous cell propagation. GBM orthotopic tumors treated with CRISPRoff against MGMT demonstrated sensitivity to TMZ in vivo, and CRISPRoff delivery resulted in chemosensitivity in patient-derived primary GBM. Genome-wide CRISPRi screens identified combinatorial genetic vulnerabilities (BRIP1, FANCE) that were targetable by multiplexed CRISPRoff to achieve sensitization to CCNU.

CONCLUSION: Transient delivery of a site-specific epigenetic memory can induce stable, complete, and multiplexed suppression of target genes for therapeutic application in GBM.

Key numbers

100×

Increase in TMZ Sensitivity

Sensitivity of GBM cells to TMZ after targeting of .

99.65%

Long-term Suppression

Sustained suppression of expression in GBM cells for over 8 months.

6.7×

Enhanced CCNU Sensitivity

Lower IC50 for CCNU in GBM cells with multiplexed targeting.

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Using targeted epigenetic editing to make glioblastoma more sensitive to chemotherapy

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