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Genomic REWRITE of Immune Interfaces Reveals Heritable Epigenetic Memory in Human Stem Cells

Generoso, S. F.; Levovitz, S.; Jaramillo, S.; Kim, M.; Dara, S.; Phen, S. F.; Yi, B.; Yanagi, T.; DesMarais, T. L.; Agmon, N.; Hogan, M. S.; Mitchell, L. A.; Truong, D. M.

2025-09-16 synthetic biology
10.1101/2025.09.16.676382 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphism hinders off-the-shelf cell therapies. We developed REWRITE, a modular platform for iterative, scar-minimized genome writing of synthetic constructs >100 kb in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Using REWRITE, we deleted 105-209 kb of the HLA locus and installed synthetic 24 kb or 100 kb HLA haplotypes, and a 62 kb antigen-processing locus. This uncovered a persistent, heritable "epigenetic ghost" -- an active state lingering despite genetic removal -- whose resolution to a silenced default state is driven by native intergenic DNA. These loci restored inducible expression in key lineages, sparing cells from NK-mediated killing and establishing HLA-matched T-cell tolerance, enabling off-the-shelf cell therapies. REWRITE facilitates extensible programming of multigenic functions in allogeneic human cells -- from immune design to genome architecture discovery.

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