The editing system CRISPR has revolutionized the world of technology. According to what is published in the newspaper The voice of Galicia“It is a new leap forward for genetic engineering that amplifies the possibilities of modify DNA to cure diseasesalthough there is still a lot of work ahead.”
It is a new editing technique that directs a small RNA molecule, which they call Bridging RNAwhich is capable of modifying DNA through programmable recombination.
CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a Revolutionary gene editing technology which has the potential to treat a wide variety of diseases, including correcting a defective gene that causes red blood cell deformation.
The publication of this new finding is found in two articles published in the journal Nature in which they talk about this new genetic editing mechanism, describing its potential precision with which, according to the newspaper The countryis capable of introducing long DNA sequences into specific locations in the genome.
Diseases for which it can be used
Thanks to the fact that the gene Defective CFTR It is editable and can be improved. pulmonary function since it is used to repair the DMD gene that is responsible for this degenerative muscle disease. In addition, mutations in the genes responsible for the production of coagulation factors can be corrected.
Likewise, CRISPR can design immune cells (such as T cells) to attack and destroy cancer cells more effectively or edit genes to make cancer cells more susceptible to existing treatments.
“A guide RNA is created that has a sequence complementary to the specific region of DNA that is to be edited.”
CRISPR can be used to remove viral DNA from infected liver cells. Until now, using this technology it was possible to inactivate the mutated gene that caused the disease and the use of CRISPR to modify genes that could reduce the risk or slow the progression of the disease has been explored.
Diseases related to the metabolic process can also benefit from the use of this technology since pancreatic cells can be edited to achieve restore insulin production and it is done through the correction of mutations in the PAH gene.
bridging RNA
This part of Bridging RNA is complementary to the target DNA sequence in the genome. Its function is to guide the Cas9 enzyme to the specific site of the DNA where editing is to be done. The guide sequence binds specifically to the target DNA sequence by forming base pairs and determining the DNA to be modified.
In this way, it can be used to add, delete or reverse DNA sequences of virtually any length. This part binds to the Cas9 protein and ensures that the Cas9-guide RNA complex is in the correct conformation to be able to recognize and cut DNA at the desired site.
A guide RNA is created that has a sequence complementary to the specific region of DNA to be edited, such as genes related to cholesterol and other risk factors through which heart disease could be prevented. Once bound, the Cas9 enzyme makes a cut in both strands of the DNA at the site specified by the guide RNA sequence.
The cell repairs the cut in the DNA and can be used to introduce new DNA sequences or to eliminate specific mutations, depending on the objective of the experiment. The guide RNA binds to the Cas9 enzyme, forming an active complex to search for and bind to the target DNA sequence in the cell.
