Stanford University researchers, during an investigational combo developed to extend the efficiency of a pair of promising molecular tools, attached biological nanobodies to the DNA editing tool also known as CRISPR.
This genetic tool has been equated to molecular scissors because of its ability to snip out and have genetic code replaced within DNA. The said study entitled "Nanobody-mediated control of gene expression and epigenetic memory" came out in the Nature Communications journal.
Essentially, CRISPR has the ability that could make it functional beyond genetic fixes. According to Stanford bioengineering assistant professor Lacramioara Bintu, CRISPR can accurately find specific genes.
What they did, the professor explained, what they did was attach the DNA editing tool to nanobodies so the latter could help it perform certain actions when it reached the right location on DNA.
Combo Technique
Bintu's lab used the said combo technique to turn CRISPR, as explained on Colten Phillips' YouTube video, from gene-editing scissors into a nanoscale regulation agent that can toggle certain genes on and off like the switch of a light, to begin or end the flow of some protein associated with health, inside a cell.
The expert explained, there are many things that cannot be fixed with scissors. This innovative technique her group has described in the Nature Communications journal could allow researchers to discover new treatment applications in the field of epigenetics: the study of the behavior of genes inside cells.
Moreover, as she explained, every cell in the human body has the same DNA, an entire complement of genes, although not every gene is turned on in every cell.
A similar report from Phys.org said some cells, according to Bintu, have specific genes on instructing the cell to generate specific proteins. Others have those genes switched off, although others switched on.
At times, she continued, as with genetic illnesses, things are going awry in this switching. The new tool of the Bintu lab has the potential of correcting such mistakes.
New Combo Tool, More Complicated Than Scissors
A Yahoo! report said, this new tool is more problematic compared to the scissors as ordinary CRISPR does not have the ability to switch genes on and off in a regulated way without damaging or breaking the DNA.
To make changes minus any harm to the DNA, there is a need for CRISPR of assistance from other large, multifaceted proteins called 'effectors.'
With this new combo tool, CRISPR, searches for the right gene, and the effector can then have the switch flipped. However, the paper's first author Mike Van, a PhD student said, these effector molecules are typically very big to deliver easily into a cell for therapeutic purpose.
Furthermore, complicating matters, various effectors are typically used in combination to effectively control specific cell behaviors, making the CRISPR-effectors combo even larger, thus more difficult to produce and deliver.
Nanobodies
To get through such a barricade, Bintu and her team turned to smaller proteins called nanobodies. These do not function as replacements for the effectors.
They act like small hooks instead, snaring the needed effectors that are already swimming about in the human cell.
According to the study authors, opt for the right nanobodies and it will recruit the appropriate effector for the switching task.
Correcting Epigenetic Defects
This new approach could be used in correcting epigenetic defects minus then the need to integrate CRISPR to large effectors. The cells, Bintu explained, already have these proteins. Therefore, she continued, they thought about the reason for attaching them and decided to use nanobodies to do such.
At this point, the strategy is at the proof-of-concept phase. Then, the next step is for the study investigators to sort through millions of potential nanobodies, and begin to figure out how to attach them to CRISPR to target certain epigenetic breakdowns.
Bintu elaborated, they just came up with an approach of testing hundreds of thousands of nanobodies at a time and hopes to develop this new technique further in future investigations.
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