Global and Local Manipulation of DNA Repair Mechanisms to Alter Site-Specific Gene Editing Outcomes in Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Monogenic disorders of the blood system have the potential to be treated by autologous stem cell transplantation of genetically modified hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The sgRNA/Cas9 system allows for precise modification of the genome at single nucleotide resolution. However, the system is reliant on endogenous cellular DNA repair mechanisms to mend a Cas9-induced double stranded break (DSB), either by the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway or by the cell-cycle regulated homology-directed repair (HDR) pathway.