Nat. Biomed. Eng. | Template-independent genome editing and restoration for correcting frameshift disorders | Wei Xiong Lab

Abstract

Frameshift mutations, responsible for >20% of Mendelian inherited diseases, pose substantial therapeutic challenges. Here we developed Template-Independent Genome Editing for Restoration (TIGER), a platform for the efficient and precise correction of frameshift mutations across various models. By identifying reproducible nucleotide-level factors that influence therapeutic efficacy across cells and tissues, we developed a scoring system for guide RNA (gRNA)–Cas9 outcomes. Approximately 75% of deletion and 50% of insertion mutations produced ≥30% in-frame products, sufficient for phenotypic restoration, with 38% and 65% achieving wild-type correction, respectively. To expand the applicability of TIGER across species and genome wide, we retrained the inDelphi algorithm to predict therapeutic gRNAs for single-nucleotide frameshifts. In a mouse model of deafness, delivery of SpCas9 and optimal gRNA via dual adeno-associated virus restored hearing thresholds to wild-type levels, with ~90% of in-frame edits being wild type. TIGER provides a robust and broadly applicable strategy for in vivo correction of inherited frameshift diseases.

DOI: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-026-01635-5