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Unwanted DNA deletions by CRISPR gene editing technology

Posted in Biological Engineering, Biological Networks, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, Cancer Genomics, Cancer Prevention: Research & Programs, Cell Biology, Clinical Genomics, DNA repair, Gene Regulation, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Gene Therapy & Gene Editing Development, Genetics & Innovations in Treatment, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Genome Biology, Genomic Endocrinology, Genomic Testing: Methodology for Diagnosis, Genomics Pharmacy, Molecular Genetics & Pharmaceutical, mRNA Therapeutics, Personalized and Precision Medicine & Genomic Research, Uncategorized, tagged CRISPR, DNA deletion, gene editing, gene therapy, rearrangements on July 22, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

Researchers have embraced CRISPR gene-editing as a method for altering genomes, but some have reported that unwanted DNA changes may slip by undetected. The tool can cause large DNA deletions and rearrangements near its target site on the genome. Such alterations can confuse the interpretation of experimental results and could complicate efforts to design therapies based on CRISPR. The finding is in line with previous results from not only CRISPR but also other gene-editing systems.

CRISPR -Cas9 gene editing relies on the Cas9 enzyme to cut DNA at a particular target site. The cell then attempts to reseal this break using its DNA repair mechanisms. These mechanisms do not always work perfectly, and sometimes segments of DNA will be deleted or rearranged, or unrelated bits of DNA will become incorporated into the chromosome.

Researchers often use CRISPR to generate small deletions in the hope of knocking out a gene’s function. But when examining CRISPR edits, researchers found large deletions (often several thousand nucleotides) and complicated rearrangements of DNA sequences in which previously distant DNA sequences were stitched together. Many researchers use a method for amplifying short snippets of DNA to test whether their edits have been made properly. But this approach might miss larger deletions and rearrangements.

These deletions and rearrangements occur only with gene-editing techniques that rely on DNA cutting and not with some other types of CRISPR modifications that avoid cutting DNA. Such as a modified CRISPR system to switch one nucleotide for another without cutting DNA and other systems use inactivated Cas9 fused to other enzymes to turn genes on or off, or to target RNA. Overall, these unwanted edits are a problem that deserves more attention, but this should not stop anyone from using CRISPR. Only when people use it, they need to do a more thorough analysis about the outcome.

References:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05736-3?utm_source=briefing-dy

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28561021

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30010673

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24651067

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25398350

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24838573

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25200087

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25757625