According to a study published in the magazine Cell, researchers have determined how to isolate and edit messenger RNA that carries genetic instructions from the cell's nucleus to make new proteins for the first time using gene-editing tool Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, also known as CRISPR-Cas9. The US News and World Report said the researchers had previously used this tool to remove HIV from human immune cells and shut down HIV replication permanently. CRISPR-Cas9 can also potentially be used to edit genes that determine our physical features and maybe even our personality, leading to ethical questions about how to responsibly use the technology. The gene-editing technique could lead to treatments for diseases that are linked to defective RNA and have previously been 1untreatable. These include certain cancers, fragile X syndrome and autism. "This work is the first example, to our knowledge, of targeting RNA in living cells with CRISPR-Cas9," said senior author Gene Yeo, PhD, associate professor of cellular and molecular medicine. "Our current work focuses on tracking the movement of RNA inside the cell, but future develop-ments could enable researchers to measure other RNA features or advance therapeutic approaches to correct disease-causing RNA behaviours."
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