International audienceApplying clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR associated protein 9 (Cas9)-mediated mutagenesis to primary mouse immune cells, we used high-fidelity single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) designed with an sgRNA design tool (CrispRGold) to target genes in primary B cells, T cells, and macrophages isolated from a Cas9 transgenic mouse line. Using this system, we achieved an average knockout efficiency of 80% in B cells. On this basis, we established a robust small-scale CRISPR-mediated screen in these cells and identified genes essential for B-cell activation and plasma cell differentiation. This screening system does not require deep sequencing and may serve as a precedent for the application of CRISPR/Cas9 to primary mouse cells

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infects human B cells and drives them into continuous proliferation. Two key viral factors in this process are the latent membrane proteins LMP1 and LMP2A, which mimic constitutively activated CD40 receptor and B-cell receptor signaling, respectively. EBVinfected B cells elicit a powerful T-cell response that clears the infected B cells and leads to life-long immunity. Insufficient immune surveillance of EBV-infected B cells causes life-threatening lymphoproliferative disorders, including mostly germinal center (GC)-derived B-cell lymphomas. We have modeled acute EBV infection of naive and GC B cells in mice through timed expression of LMP1 and LMP2A. Although lethal when induced in all B cells, induction of LMP1 and LMP2A in just a small fraction of naive B cells initiated a phase of rapid B-cell expansion followed by a proliferative T-cell response, clearing the LMP-expressing B cells. Interfering with T-cell activity prevented clearance of LMPexpressing B cells. This was also true for perforin deficiency, which in the human causes a life-threatening EBV-related immunoproliferative syndrome. LMP expression in GC B cells impeded the GC reaction but, upon loss of T-cell surveillance, led to fatal B-cell expansion. Thus, timed expression of LMP1 together with LMP2A in subsets of mouse B cells allows one to study major clinically relevant features of human EBV infection in vivo, opening the way to new therapeutic approaches.pstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is a γ-herpes virus that infects human B cells and growth-transforms them in vitro. Infection is usually asymptomatic, but can lead to infectious mononucleosis (IM) in teenagers and adults (1). EBV drives infected B cells into proliferation, but the symptoms of IM, mainly fever, lymphadenopathy, and splenomegaly, are believed to result from the subsequent activation and massive proliferation of EBV-reactive T cells (2). After the acute phase of infection, EBV persists in a small subset of memory B cells throughout life and is kept in check by memory T cells (2-4). Although an EBV infection is harmless to most people, immunocompromised individuals can develop severe complications. Genetic defects that lead to impaired T-cell function predispose to EBV-driven lymphoproliferative diseases, such as familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) (5, 6). FHL presents in infants and is characterized by persistent fever, hemophagocytosis, and cytokine storms. These symptoms are attributed to proliferation and cytokine production by macrophages and T cells (5-7). About onethird of FHL cases are caused by mutations in the PRF1 gene encoding perforin (8). EBV is also highly associated with HIV-related and posttransplantation lymphomas, which are usually derived from germinal center (GC) B cells. Most likely EBV is the causative agent for these lymphomas, transforming GC B cells when T-cell immunosurveillance is impeded owing to HIV infection or immunosuppressive therapy after organ transplantation (1, 9, 10).The activation and proliferation of EBV-infect...

Generation of mouse models by introducing transgenes using homologous recombination is critical for understanding fundamental biology and pathology of human diseases. Here we investigate whether artificial transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs)-powerful tools that induce DNA double-strand breaks at specific genomic locations-can be combined with a targeting vector to induce homologous recombination for the introduction of a transgene in embryonic stem cells and fertilized murine oocytes. We describe the generation of a conditional mouse model using TALENs, which introduce double-strand breaks at the genomic locus of the special AT-rich sequence-binding protein-1 in combination with a large 14.4 kb targeting template vector. We report successful germline transmission of this allele and demonstrate its recombination in primary cells in the presence of Cre-recombinase. These results suggest that TALEN-assisted induction of DNA double-strand breaks can facilitate homologous recombination of complex targeting constructs directly in oocytes.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a γ herpes virus endemic in humans and transforming human B lymphocytes. It causes a variety of human pathologies ranging from infectious mononucleosis upon acute infection to EBV-driven B-cell lymphomas. In humans, EBV-infected cells are under powerful immune surveillance by T and NK cells. If this immune surveillance is compromised as in immunosuppressed (AIDS- or posttransplantation) patients, the virus can spread from rare, EBV-containing cells and cause life-threatening pathologies. We have found that EBV immune surveillance and lymphomagenesis can be modeled in mice by targeted expression of key EBV proteins in the B-cell lineage. As EBV does not infect mouse B cells and mice have thus not coevolved with the virus, EBV exploits basic modes of the host immune response to optimize its coexistence with the host.