CRISPR/Cas9 complex for introducing a functional polypeptide into cells of blood cell lineage

1. A method of making tumor-specific T-cell precursor cells comprising introducing into a population of T-cell precursor cells a complex comprising:

a. a guide RNA (gRNA) comprising a first nucleotide sequence that hybridizes to a target DNA in the genome of the T cell precursor cells and a second nucleotide sequence that interacts with a CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease;

b. a recombinant CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease operably linked to a superpositively charged protein, wherein the CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease comprises an RNA-binding portion that interacts with the second nucleotide sequence of the gRNA, wherein the CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease specifically binds and cleaves the target DNA to create a double stranded break, wherein the positively supercharged protein is a superpositively charged green fluorescent protein (GFP) that has an overall positive charge from about +5 to about +40, and wherein the superpositively charged protein is operably linked to the carboxy-terminus of the CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease; and

c. a donor nucleic acid sequence comprising a third nucleotide sequence that encodes a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and a fourth nucleotide sequence that hybridizes to a genomic sequence flanking the double stranded break in the target DNA,

wherein the complex is introduced into the T-cell precursor cells, by nucleoporation, under conditions that allow homology-directed repair (HDR) and integration of the third nucleotide sequence into the target DNA to form modified T-cell precursor cells that express the CAR, and wherein the ratio of homology-directed repair to nonhomologous end joining in the population of T-cell precursor cells is at least 0.5.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cells are selected from the group consisting of hematopoietic stem cells or pluripotent stem cells.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the pluripotent stem cells are induced pluripotent stem cells.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease operably linked to a superpositively charged protein further comprises a trans-activating transcriptional activator (TAT) peptide operably linked to the amino-terminus of the CRISPR-Cas-9 nuclease.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the molar ratio of gRNA to CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease operably linked to a superpositively charged protein to donor nucleic acid is from about 1:1:1 to about 1.5:1:1.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least 5% of the population of T-cell precursor cells are modified by HDR to form modified T-cell precursor cells that express the CAR.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising isolating the modified T-cell precursor cells.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising culturing the modified T-cell precursor cells.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising culturing the modified T-cell precursor cells under conditions that promote differentiation of the modified T-cell precursor cells into T cells that express the CAR.

10. A method of making tumor-specific T-cell precursor cells comprising introducing into a population of T-cell precursor cells a complex comprising:

a. a guide RNA (gRNA) comprising a first nucleotide sequence that hybridizes to a target DNA in the genome of the T cell precursor cells and a second nucleotide sequence that interacts with a CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease;

b. a recombinant CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease operably linked to a superpositively charged protein, wherein the CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease comprises an RNA-binding portion that interacts with the second nucleotide sequence of the gRNA, wherein the CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease specifically binds and cleaves the target DNA to create a double stranded break, wherein the positively supercharged protein is a superpositively charged green fluorescent protein (GFP) that has an overall positive charge from about +5 to about +40, and wherein the superpositively charged protein is operably linked to the carboxy-terminus of the CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease; and

c. a donor nucleic acid sequence comprising a third nucleotide sequence that encodes a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and a fourth nucleotide sequence that hybridizes to a genomic sequence flanking the double stranded break in the target DNA,

wherein the complex is introduced into the T-cell precursor cells, by nucleoporation, under conditions that allow homology-directed repair (HDR) and integration of the third nucleotide sequence into the target DNA to form modified T-cell precursor cells that express the CAR, and wherein at least 5% of the population of T-cell precursor cells are modified by HDR to form modified T-cell precursor cells that express the CAR.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the cells are selected from the group consisting of hematopoietic stem cells or pluripotent stem cells.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the pluripotent stem cells are induced pluripotent stem cells.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising isolating the modified T-cell precursor cells.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising culturing the modified T-cell precursor cells.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising culturing the modified T-cell precursor cells under conditions that promote differentiation of the modified T-cell precursor cells into T cells that express the CAR.