CRISPR injected into the blood treats a genetic disease for first time

CRISPR injected into the blood treats a genetic disease for first time

3 years ago
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http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/crispr-injected-blood-treats-genetic-disease-first-time

A new CRISPR-based treatment for a rare, deadly liver disease depends on an injection containing both a messenger RNA encoding a DNA-cutting enzyme (white) and another RNA (blue) that guides it to a specific gene sequence (green).

The gene editor CRISPR excels at fixing disease mutations in lab-grown cells. But using CRISPR to treat most people with genetic disorders requires clearing an enormous hurdle: getting the molecular scissors into the body and having it slice DNA in the tissues where it’s needed. Now, in a medical first, researchers have injected a CRISPR drug into the blood of people born with a disease that causes fatal nerve and heart disease and shown that in three of them it nearly shut off production of toxic protein by their livers.

CRISPR injected into the blood treats a genetic disease for first time

Jun 26, 2021, 4:28pm UTC
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/crispr-injected-blood-treats-genetic-disease-first-time > A new CRISPR-based treatment for a rare, deadly liver disease depends on an injection containing both a messenger RNA encoding a DNA-cutting enzyme (white) and another RNA (blue) that guides it to a specific gene sequence (green). > The gene editor CRISPR excels at fixing disease mutations in lab-grown cells. But using CRISPR to treat most people with genetic disorders requires clearing an enormous hurdle: getting the molecular scissors into the body and having it slice DNA in the tissues where it’s needed. Now, in a medical first, researchers have injected a CRISPR drug into the blood of people born with a disease that causes fatal nerve and heart disease and shown that in three of them it nearly shut off production of toxic protein by their livers.