CRYSPER and CUREIPES: two new molecular tools enabling analysis of RNA splicing and C-to-U RNA editing-inducible protein expression at single cell resolution.

CRYSPER and CUREIPES reveal cell type-specific RNA splicing and C-to-U editing, uncovering noncanonical splice site usage and enabling inducible protein expression at single-cell resolution.

• Why it matters: Understanding RNA processing at the single-cell level is crucial for deciphering cellular heterogeneity and regulation, which bulk methods overlook, limiting insights into gene expression diversity and disease mechanisms.
• What they did: The study developed two molecular tools, CRYSPER for analyzing canonical and noncanonical splicing, and CUREIPES for human Apobec1-dependent C-to-U RNA editing-induced protein expression, both using ratiometric fluorescence for single-cell readout.
• The result: These tools demonstrate cell type-specific control of cryptic splice sites and enable targeted protein expression, advancing research into RNA regulation and potential therapeutic strategies for editing-related pathologies.