Treatment of a severe vascular disease using a bespoke CRISPR–Cas9 base editor in mice

Sep 11, 2025Nature biomedical engineering

Using a custom gene editor to treat a serious blood vessel disease in mice

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Abstract

Delivery of a customized base editor significantly prolongs survival in a murine model of multisystemic smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome (MSMDS).

Pathogenic mutations in the ACTA2 gene lead to MSMDS, resulting in severe complications such as stroke and aortic dissection.
A bespoke CRISPR-Cas9 enzyme was developed to specifically correct the ACTA2 R179H mutation with high precision.
The murine model of MSMDS exhibited symptoms similar to those seen in human patients, including vasculopathy and early mortality.
Using an engineered adeno-associated virus for delivery, the customized base editor improved systemic health outcomes in MSMDS mice.
The approach demonstrates potential for enhanced mutation correction in genetic disorders through targeted editing.

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Pathogenic missense mutations in the alpha actin isotype 2 (ACTA2) gene cause multisystemic smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome (MSMDS), a genetic vasculopathy that is associated with stroke, aortic dissection and death in childhood. Here we perform mutation-specific protein engineering to develop a bespoke CRISPR-Cas9 enzyme with enhanced on-target activity against the most common MSMDS-causative mutation ACTA2 R179H. To directly correct the R179H mutation, we screened dozens of configurations of base editors to develop a highly precise corrective A-to-G edit with minimal deleterious bystander editing that is otherwise prevalent when using wild-type SpCas9 base editors. We create a murine model of MSMDS that shows phenotypes consistent with human patients, including vasculopathy and premature death, to explore the in vivo therapeutic potential of this strategy. Delivery of the customized base editor via an engineered smooth muscle-tropic adeno-associated virus (AAV-PR) vector substantially prolongs survival and rescues systemic phenotypes across the lifespan of MSMDS mice, including in the vasculature, aorta and brain. Our results highlight how bespoke mutant-specific CRISPR-Cas9 enzymes can improve mutation correction with base editors.