Genome sequencing studies have shown that human malignancies often bear mutations in four or more driver genes1, but it is difficult to recapitulate this degree of genetic complexity in mouse models using conventional breeding. Here we use the CRISPR-Cas9 system of genome editing2–4 to overcome this limitation. By delivering combinations of small guide RNAs (sgRNAs) and Cas9 with a lentiviral vector, we modified up to five genes in a single mouse hematopoietic stem cell (HSC), leading to clonal outgrowth and myeloid malignancy. We thereby generated models of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with cooperating mutations in genes encoding epigenetic modifiers, transcription factors, and mediators of cytokine signaling, recapitulating the combinations of mutations observed in the human disease. Our results suggest that lentivirus-delivered sgRNA:Cas9 genome editing should be useful to engineer a broad array of in vivo cancer models that better reflect the complexity of human disease.

Summary CD8α+ dendritic cells (DCs) prime cytotoxic T lymphocytes during viral infections and produce interleukin-12 in response to pathogens. Although the loss of CD8α+ DCs in Batf3−/− mice increases their susceptibility to several pathogens, we observed that Batf3−/− mice exhibited enhanced resistance to the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. In wild-type mice, Listeria organisms, initially located in the splenic marginal zone, migrated to the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath (PALS) where they grew exponentially and induced widespread lymphocyte apoptosis. In Batf3−/− mice, however, Listeria organisms remain trapped in the marginal zone, failed to traffic into the PALS, and were rapidly cleared by phagocytes. In addition, Batf3−/− mice, which lacked the normal population of hepatic CD103+ peripheral DCs, also showed protection from liver infection. These results suggest that Batf3-dependent CD8α+ and CD103+ DCs provide initial cellular entry points within the reticuloendothelial system by which Listeria establishes productive infection.

Structural and functional defects in 26/20S proteasomes occur in the substantia nigra pars compacta and may underlie protein accumulation, Lewy body formation and dopaminergic neuronal death in Parkinson's disease. We therefore determined the pathogenicity of proteasomal impairment following stereotaxic unilateral infusion of lactacystin, a selective proteasome inhibitor, into the substantia nigra pars compacta of rats. These animals became progressively bradykinetic, adopted a stooped posture and displayed contralateral head tilting. Administration of apomorphine to lactacystin-treated rats reversed behavioral abnormalities and induced contralateral rotations. Lactacystin caused dose-dependent degeneration of dopaminergic cell bodies and processes with the cytoplasmic accumulation and aggregation of alpha-synuclein to form inclusion bodies. These findings support the notion that failure of the ubiquitin-proteasome system to degrade and clear unwanted proteins is an important etiopathogenic factor in Parkinson's disease.

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