Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40156040›Full record

ArticleGenome biology2025

Pamoic acid and carbenoxolone specifically inhibit CRISPR/Cas9 in bacteria, mammalian cells, and mice in a DNA topology-specific manner.

Yuxuan Zhang, Wentao Zou, Yueyang Zhou, Jiaqi Chen, Youtian Hu, Fang Wu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Genome biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Protective antigen-mediated delivery of an anti-CRISPR protein for precision genome editing.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Yuxuan ZhangKey Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Wentao ZouKey Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Yueyang ZhouKey Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Jiaqi ChenKey Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Youtian HuKey Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Fang WuKey Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China. fang.wu@sjtu.edu.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 32271304Research Fund of Medicine and Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University YG2025QNB55
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRegulation of the target DNA cleavage activity of CRISPR/Cas has naturally evolved in a few bacteria or bacteriophages but is lacking in higher species. Thus, identification of bioactive agents and mechanisms that can suppress the activity of Cas9 is urgently needed to rebalance this new genetic pressure.

resultsHere, we identify four specific inhibitors of Cas9 by screening 4607 compounds that could inhibit the endonuclease activity of Cas9 via three distinct mechanisms: substrate-competitive and protospacer adjacent motif (PAM)-binding site-occupation; substrate-targeting; and sgRNA-targeting mechanisms. These inhibitors inhibit, in a dose-dependent manner, the activity of Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpyCas9), Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 (SauCas9), and SpyCas9 nickase-based BE4 base editors in in vitro purified enzyme assays, bacteria, mammalian cells, and mice. Importantly, pamoic acid and carbenoxolone show DNA-topology selectivity and preferentially inhibit the cleavage of linear DNA compared with a supercoiled plasmid.

conclusionsThese pharmacologically selective inhibitors and new mechanisms offer new tools for controlling the DNA-topology selective activity of Cas9.

Indexed as

CarbenoxoloneCRISPR-Associated Protein 9CRISPR-Cas SystemsDNAAnimalsGene EditingHumansMiceStaphylococcus aureusStreptococcus pyogenesCarbenoxoloneCRISPR-Associated Protein 9DNAAnti-CRISPRDNA topologyMice model of hydrodynamic injectionMode of actionSelective small-molecule inhibitors

Identifiers

PMID40156040
PMCPMC11951523

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.