Compositions and methods for reducing or preventing mosquito egg development are provided. Typically, the compositions include an effective amount of a compound that reduces, inhibits, or prevents, expression of a mosquito EOF1, Nasrat, Closca, Polehole Nudel, CATL3, DCE2, DCE4, or DCE5 gene, or a gene product thereof, for example EOF1 or Nudel mRNA or protein. The compound can be a functional nucleic acid such as antisense molecule, siRNA, miRNA, ribozymes, RNAi, or external guide sequences, a gene editing composition, or a protease inhibitor. The disclosed methods typically include contacting mosquito cells with an effective amount of one or more of the disclosed compositions, and can be used to reduce, inhibit, or prevent egg development in an effective number of mosquitoes to reduce transmission of one or more infections or diseases.

The invention involves a method for modulating leukocyte activity, comprising delivering to a leukocyte a vector containing nucleic acid molecule(s), whereby the leukocyte contains Cas9 and the vector expresses one or more RNAs to guide the Cas9 to introduce mutations in one or more target genetic loci in the leukocyte, thereby modulating expression of one or more genes expressed in the leukocyte. The invention also involves identifying genes associated with leukocyte responses and experimental modeling of aberrant leukocyte activation and diseases associated with leukocytes by introducing mutations into leukocytes. The invention comprehends testing putative treatments with such models, e.g., testing putative chemical compounds that may be pharmaceutically relevant for treatment or gene therapy that may be relevant for treatment, or combinations thereof. The invention allows for the study of genetic diseases and putative treatments to better understand and alleviate leukocyte associated diseases.

A method of preparing a library of small interfering RNA (siRNA) expression systems for producing siRNA for silencing of target genes by inducing degradation of target gene RNA expression products includes: (i) isolating RNA of one or more target genes from a cell population; (ii) generating RNA fragments from the isolated RNA; (iii) converting the RNA fragments into dsDNA fragments; and (iv) cloning the dsDNA fragments into vectors for forming cloned vectors, each vector including one or more promoters and at least one restriction enzyme site capable of accepting the insertion of at least one dsDNA fragment such that siRNA can be produced. Methods for producing siRNA from the siRNA expression system and methods of identifying a functional target gene for treatment by using the siRNA produced from the siRNA expression system and for identifying RNAi therapeutics are also provided.

The present invention provides methods of negatively modulating the Werner protein (WRN) to inhibit proliferative cells characterized by high microsatellite instability (MSI-H), for example to treat proliferative diseases (such as cancer) characterized by high MSI (MSI-H). Further provided are compositions used in such methods.

The present invention generally relates to imaging cells, for example, to determine phenotypes and/or genotypes in populations of cells, e.g., to build genotype-phenotype corresponse for high-throughput screening. In some cases, the cells may be manipulated, e.g., using CRISPR or other techniques. In certain embodiments, nucleic acids may be introduced to the cell, e.g., using a lentivirus. The nucleic acids may contain a guide portion comprising a DNA or RNA recognition sequence, a reporter portion, and an identification portion comprising one or more read sequences. The guide portion may be used to alter the phenotype of the cells, e.g., using a sequence, e.g., an sgRNA sequence, that can be targeted using CRISPR or other techniques, and in some cases, the phenotype of the cells may be determined using various imaging approaches. The identification portion may be determined using MERFISH or other suitable techniques. In addition, in some cases, association or colocalization between determination of the reporter and the read sequences may substantially improve decoding accuracy, e.g., due to lowered misidentification of background signals. Other aspects are generally directed to compositions or devices for use in such methods, kits for use in such methods, or the like.

The present disclosure relates generally to compositions and methods for the treatment of a RAS-mutant cancer. In particular, the present technology relates to administering a therapeutically effective amount of one or more TXNRD1 inhibitors to a subject diagnosed with, or at risk for a RAS-mutant cancer (e.g., RAS-mutant pancreatic cancer).

Provided are methods of modulating gene expression of a target RNA in a cell comprising (a) recruiting a modulation unit, wherein the modulation unit comprises an RNA binding protein (RBP), an exogenous RNA binding moiety, and a gene-editing agent; (b) delivering the modulation unit into the cell; and (c) detecting change in the target RNA translation, wherein the modulation unit modulates gene expression of the target RNA in the cell.

Described herein are synthetic oligonucleotides for editing a cell. The oligonucleotides described herein comprise the following covalently-linked components: (i) a nucleic acid encoding a guide RNA (gRNA) sequence targeting a target region in a cell; (ii) a region homologous to the target region comprising a change in sequence relative to the target region; and (iii) a site conferring immunity to nuclease-mediated editing.

The present disclosure relates generally to compositions and methods for treating or ameliorating acute myeloid leukemia in a subject in need thereof. In particular, the present disclosure provides a method comprising administering to a subject a therapeutically effective amount of at least one agent that suppresses Trim28 activity.

The present invention includes compositions and methods for enhancing T cell based immunotherapy. In certain aspects, the invention includes modified T cells and inhibitors of Dhx37 for use in enhancing T cell based immunotherapy and treating cancer.