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These genetic scissors have caused "significant" and "frequent" mutations in experiments on mice and human cells in a study whose results are published in the journal Nature Biotechnology .
This work has shown that unintended changes in DNA by this technique "have been largely underestimated until now," said Allan Bradley of the Wellcome Sanger Institute in England, where the study was conducted
"Considering the use of this technique in gene therapy should be accompanied by a great deal of care, monitoring any possible negative effects," he continued.
CRISPR- Cas9 is a major discovery unveiled in 2012, attributed to a Franco-American women's duo, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, and frequently cited for the Nobel Prize.
E It is based on an enzyme that acts as molecular scissors. The latter can remove unwanted parts of the genome very precisely to replace them with new pieces of DNA, much like when you correct a typo in a word processor.
This technique does not at the research stage and not used on humans
In previous work, researchers have succeeded in correcting a genetic defect in human embryos. This potentially opens the way to great progress in the treatment of genetic diseases, but also raises serious ethical questions.
Because theoretically, this technique could be used to produce genetically modified babies to choose for example the color of their hair or to increase their physical strength.
The work unveiled on Monday highlighted changes in the DNA of certain cells that could activate or deactivate important genes, with potentially heavy consequences.
"This study highlights that in the field of genome editing, it is essential to check that the changes that occur are those and only those that we wanted to provoke. This has always been obvious, "said a researcher who did not participate in the study, Robin Lovell-Badge, Francis Crick Institute of London.
However," these results do not justify panic or lose faith in these techniques, "he continued.
All researchers insist that it is necessary to continue research on CRISPR-Cas9 before any clinical application.
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