Journal article

A high-density CRISPR activation platform for mapping cancer dependencies and resistance pathways ex vivo and in vivo

ST Diepstraten, Y Deng, MA Potts, A Heidersbach, C König, KM Dorighi, L Tai, AJ Kueh, L Whelan, C Chang, F Brown, GL Kelly, JP Fortin, B Haley, JE La Marca, MJ Herold

Science Advances | Published : 2026

Open access

Abstract

CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) enables precise up-regulation of gene expression for ex vivo and in vivo applications. However, a lack of scalable, high-coverage tools has limited comprehensive genetic screening in murine models. Here, we introduce Partita, a next-generation mouse whole-genome CRISPRa sgRNA platform, designed for unparalleled efficiency in gene activation studies. Partita uses a high-density targeting strategy, deploying 10 sgRNAs per transcriptional start site, structured into five gene class-specific sublibraries to maximize transcriptional induction. To demonstrate the capabilities of Partita, we performed a series of large-scale screens: an in vitro enrichment/depletion scre..

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