Researchers from Columbia University have developed a new technique for the powerful gene editing tool CRISPR to restore retinal function in mice afflicted by a degenerative retinal disease, retinitis pigmentosa. This is the first time researchers have successfully applied CRISPR technology to a type of inherited disease known as a dominant disorder. This same tool might work in hundreds of diseases, including Huntington's disease, Marfan syndrome, and corneal dystrophies. Their study was published online today in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Stephen H. Tsang, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues sought to create a more agile CRISPR tool so it can treat more patients, regardless of their individual genetic profile. Dr. Tsang calls the technique genome surgery because it cuts out the bad gene and replaces it with a normal, functioning gene. Dr. Tsang said he expects human trials to begin in three years.
“Genome surgery is coming,” Dr. Tsang said. “Ophthalmology will be the first to see genome surgery before the rest of medicine.”
Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of rare inherited genetic disorders caused by one of more than 70 genes. It involves the breakdown and loss of cells in the retina, the light sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. It typically strikes in childhood and progresses slowly, affecting peripheral vision and the ability to see at night. Most will lose much of their sight by early adulthood and become legally blind by age 40. There is no cure. It is estimated to affect roughly 1 in 4,000 people worldwide.
Since it was introduced in 2012, the gene editing technology known as CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) has revolutionized the speed and scope with which scientists can modify the DNA of living cells. Scientists have used it on a wide range of applications, from engineering plants (seedless tomatoes) to producing animals (extra lean piglets). But as incredible as genome surgery is, CRISPR has some flaws to overcome before it can live up to its hype of curing disease in humans by simply cutting out bad genes and sewing in good ones.
