Posted on 04/10/2021 2:48:58 PM PDT by BenLurkin
CRISPR-Cas9 editing involves cutting DNA strands, leading to permanent changes to the cell's genetic material.
...uses a DNA-cutting protein called Cas9 found in bacterial immune systems. The system can be targeted to specific genes in human cells using a single guide RNA, where the Cas9 proteins create tiny breaks in the DNA strand. Then the cell's existing repair machinery patches up the holes.
That's where the researchers saw an opportunity for a different kind of gene editor—one that didn't alter the DNA sequences themselves, but changed the way they were read in the cell.
Epigenetic gene silencing often works through methylation—the addition of chemical tags to to certain places in the DNA strand—which causes the DNA to become inaccessible to RNA polymerase, the enzyme which reads the genetic information in the DNA sequence into messenger RNA transcripts, which can ultimately be the blueprints for proteins.
To build an epigenetic editor that could mimic natural DNA methylation, the researchers created a tiny protein machine that, guided by small RNAs, can tack methyl groups onto specific spots on the strand. These methylated genes are then "silenced," or turned off, hence the name CRISPRoff.
Because the method does not alter the sequence of the DNA strand, the researchers can reverse the silencing effect using enzymes that remove methyl groups, a method they called CRISPRon.
As they tested CRISPRoff in different conditions, the researchers discovered a few interesting features of the new system. For one thing, they could target the method to the vast majority of genes in the human genome—and it worked not just for the genes themselves, but also for other regions of DNA that control gene expression but do not code for proteins.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Will it work on tumor DNA?
Yeah, lets fk with human genes the way ‘Doctor’ Gates wants (not his of course).
As EVIL as Soros and Xi.
I have one of those in my refrigerator.
Gender fluid people can applaud now
I think that’s part of the concept, but don’t really undderstand it all that well.
This could be a big breakthrough. Imagine being able to “turn off” the expression of genes causing autoimmune disorders.
Epigenetic controls are the reason that you can start with a single human germ cell and end up with a fully formed adult human body even though every cell contains the same DNA as the germ cell. These controls can act as brakes or accelerators to express or suppress specific protein production in dividing cells according to a very intricate process of differentiation.
Some lower animals like geckos can lose entire parts of their body and regenerate limbs or tails from stem cells using this epigenetic program. The potential here is to enable regeneration of body parts or organs in mammals that lose this ability once they are grown.
Mark Levin is a scientist at Tufts that is studying how the body creates and remembers a grid of epigenetically programmed nodes (almost like a wireframe) that determine how the cells turn on and off to make just the right proteins and structures for limbs and organs. He wants to create a “compiler” that will determine the specific epigenetic changes needed for regenerating diseased or removed body parts. The use of CRISPon/off could be the tools needed to affect this process once the programming is better understood.
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