Gene Modification Can Cause More Cell Damage Than Previously Believed

The discovery that was astonishing to the scientific community concerning genetic manipulation could present the first proven complications. Scientists in the UK have discovered that the technology of genetic publishing "CRISPR / Cas9" can cause more damage to cells than previously thought, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

The research developed by the Wellcome Sanger Institute warns of certain consequences of the use of this revolutionary technique "cut and paste" which allows the experts of Remove and replace sections of DNA in the cells of any organism, including the human.

Scientists also reveal that standard tests designed to detect changes in DNA are not able to predict these genetic damage so they recommend caution and offer specific tests to evaluate the validity of genetic therapies.

In addition to its widespread use in scientific research, CRISPR / Cas9 has produced positive results in the design of genomic editing therapies for treating cancer, HIV or cancer. However, they recall, previous studies "did not detect the existence of unforeseen mutations in the DNA in the precise area of ​​

For this reason, the experts Wellcome Sanger initiated extensive systematic studies in mice and humans and found that CRISPR / Cas9 often causes extensive mutations although these are located away from the place of the edition

Consequently, many genetic cells underwent significant rearrangements with "deletions" and "insertions" of DNA, which can cause activation or disabling certain key genes.

"This is the first systematic analysis of the unexpected effects caused by editing with CRISPR / Cas9 on therapeutically relevant cells, and we discovered that changes on the DNA have been

This work, they point out, raises questions regarding the use of CRISPR / Cas9 and should pave the way for the scientific community to find alternatives to this standard method of genetic publishing . "In my early experiences, I used CRISPR / Cas9 as a tool to study genetic activity, however, it became clear that something unexpected was happening," said Michael Kosicki, the expert in charge of this research.