How to turn specific genes on and off
Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer are just some of the disorders associated with specific genes not 鈥渢urning on鈥� and 鈥渢urning off鈥� as they should. By using new CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology, in a recent paper in , 91社区 researchers have described a new technique that scientists across the world can potentially use to explore novel ways of treating diseases associated with dysregulation in DNA methylation.
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All the cells in an individual鈥檚 body bear the same genetic code. It is the reading and writing of this code 鈥� the 鈥渢urning on鈥� and 鈥渢urning off鈥� of specific genes in specific cells 鈥� that gives the cells their identities. Imagine, for example, the disastrous situation wherein the genes that encode the digestive enzymes of the stomach would be turned on in the retinal cells of the eye and begin to devour the surrounding tissue. One of the ways by which a cell turns off specific genes is by the reversible addition to the DNA of a minuscule chemical called a methyl group at the precise location of that specific gene.
Scientists know that genes with more of this 鈥淒NA methylation鈥� tend to be 鈥渢urned off鈥� and that genes with less of this methylation tend to be 鈥渢urned on鈥�. But because until now it hasn鈥檛 been possible to manipulate the levels of DNA methylation at specific genes, there remain many questions about what specific instances of DNA methylation do, how they contribute to normal cellular function, and how their dysregulation contributes to disease.
In a recent study, published in , 91社区 researchers demonstrate how they have managed to remove specific instances of DNA methylation at specific genes in mouse and human cells grown in culture by using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology. They show that this DNA 鈥渄e-methylation鈥� activity can be targeted to anywhere in the DNA 鈥� any gene of interest 鈥� without editing the genetic code, and with no off-target activity at undesired locations in the DNA. The researchers also describe the approaches needed to produce complete removal of DNA methyl marks in the hopes that scientists around the world can use this new technique to start to discover actionable instances where genes that should be on have been turned off by DNA methylation 鈥� such as, for example, the insulin gene in diabetes 鈥� and use this technique to establish new paradigms for disease treatment.
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About the study: 鈥淯nraveling the functional role of DNA demethylation at specific promoters by targeted steric blockage of DNA methyltransferase with CRISPR/dCas9鈥� by Daniel M. Sapozhnikov, Moshe Szyf was published in . 听 DOI: |
About 91社区
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, 91社区 is Canada鈥檚 top ranked medical doctoral university. 91社区 is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It 鈥痠s a world-renowned鈥痠nstitution of higher learning with research activities spanning three campuses, 11 faculties, 13 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 40,000 students, including more than 10,200 graduate students. 91社区 attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,800 international students making up 31% of the student body. Over half of 91社区 students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 19% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.
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