Dense CRISPR Mapping of the WAVE Complex Identifies Pharmacological Modulators of AD-Linked Myeloid Migration

Abstract

Although genetic risk for Alzheimers disease (AD) strongly converges on microglial pathways, the druggable functional protein regions that control disease-relevant microglial behaviors remain largely unknown. Here, we applied dense CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis and CRISPRtile-based functional mapping to the WAVE regulatory complex (WRC), a central regulator of actin remodeling and cell migration. In a pooled CCL2-directed migration assay in human THP-1 myeloid cells, perturbation of NCKAP1L, CYFIP1, and BRK1 impaired migration and revealed divergent effects among WRC paralogs. Residue-level analysis mapped discrete migration-associated functional regions within CYFIP1 and NCKAP1L, including a CYFIP1 regulatory hotspot and a prioritized NCKAP1L region nominated for pharmacological targeting. Human single-nucleus datasets identified NCKAP1L as a microglia-enriched WRC component expressed across diverse microglial states. Machine-learning-guided compound prediction nominated Montelukast sodium and Piperacetazine, which we experimentally validated as negative and positive modulators of chemokine-directed migration, respectively. These findings establish WRC-dependent migration as a pharmacologically tunable myeloid process relevant to AD.