Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40204736›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Modified pegRNAs mitigate scaffold-derived prime editing by-products.

Panagiotis Antoniou, Louis Dacquay, Hanna Mårtensson, Katja Madeyski-Bengtson, Anna-Lena Loyd, Anna Shiriaeva, Euan Gordon, Salman Mustfa, George Thom, Pei-Pei Hsieh and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. A primer on prime: A prime editing update from advances to first-in-human trial.Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
  6. 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

15 authors.

Panagiotis Antoniou *Genome Engineering, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Louis Dacquay *Genome Engineering, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Hanna MårtenssonGenome Engineering, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-2927-4484
Katja Madeyski-BengtsonTranslational Genomics, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Anna-Lena LoydTranslational Genomics, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Anna ShiriaevaGenome Engineering, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4271-1658
Euan GordonProtein Science, Structure and Biophysics, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Salman MustfaRNA Therapy, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK.
George ThomRNA Therapy, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK.
Pei-Pei HsiehGenome Engineering, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Saša ŠvikovićGenome Engineering, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4149-8453
Mike FirthData Sciences and Quantitative Biology, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK.
Nina AkrapGenome Engineering, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Marcello MarescaGenome Engineering, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden. marcello.maresca@astrazeneca.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0796-661X
Martin PeterkaGenome Engineering, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden. martin.peterka@astrazeneca.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1877-662X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Prime editors (PEs) employ reverse transcriptase (RT) to install genomic edits using a template within the prime editing guide RNA (pegRNA). RT creates a 3' genomic flap containing the intended edit. However, reverse transcription can continue beyond the template, incorporating the pegRNA scaffold sequence into the 3' flap. These scaffold-derived by-products can be installed alongside the intended edit, reducing prime editing precision. Here, we develop a method that prevents RT from accessing the scaffold, thereby mitigating such by-products. We demonstrate that an internal abasic spacer or 2'-O-methylation within the pegRNAs terminates RT at the end of the template. This prevents scaffold-derived sequences from being incorporated into the target locus. We benchmark these pegRNAs in different cell types and demonstrate that they can be used with processive PEs such as PE6d or PE**. Our findings provide a simple approach to mitigate a common prime editing by-product and improve prime editing precision.

Indexed as

Gene EditingRNA-Directed DNA PolymeraseRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas SystemsCRISPR-Cas SystemsHEK293 CellsHumansRNA-Directed DNA PolymeraseRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems

Identifiers

PMID40204736
PMCPMC11982355

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.