Search results for "CRISPR"
showing 10 items of 68 documents
Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome: A Therapeutic Approach via Adenoviral Delivery of CRISPR/cas Genome Editing System
2015
Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is a rare human genetic disease caused by mutations in the LMNA gene. LMNA codes for structural components of the nuclear lamina. Alterations of nuclear lamina lead to a very variable class of diseases known as laminopathies. In detail, HGPS manifests a severe premature ageing phenotype due to the accumulation of a dominant negative form of lamin-A called progerin. With current treatments, the life expectancy of HGPS patients does not exceed their second decade. Death is usually due to cardiovascular complications. Recently, a new technology for mammals in vivo gene editing has been developed: the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic …
In vitro genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9 to edit SERPINA1 PiZ mutation
2019
Introduction: The emergence some years ago of the CRISPR/Cas9 system allowed gene therapy to be specific, versatile, cheap and approachable to almost every laboratory. Due to these features, many different genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis or β-thalassemia have been addressed in cellular models using the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic editing tool. Alpha-1 antytripsin deficiency (AATD) is a rare genetic condition that can provoke respiratory and hepatic symptoms. The Z allele of SERPINA1 gene is a well-characterised point mutation that can trigger the whole pathology. Henceforth, Z mutation is a suitable target for genetic edition using CRISPR/Cas9 in order to develop a gene therapy to treat AA…
Legionella pneumophila pangenome reveals strain-specific virulence factors
2010
Abstract Background Legionella pneumophila subsp. pneumophila is a gram-negative γ-Proteobacterium and the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, a form of epidemic pneumonia. It has a water-related life cycle. In industrialized cities L. pneumophila is commonly encountered in refrigeration towers and water pipes. Infection is always via infected aerosols to humans. Although many efforts have been made to eradicate Legionella from buildings, it still contaminates the water systems. The town of Alcoy (Valencian Region, Spain) has had recurrent outbreaks since 1999. The strain "Alcoy 2300/99" is a particularly persistent and recurrent strain that was isolated during one of the most signifi…
Modificazioni germinali del patrimonio genetico e biodiritto. I paradossi della de-differenziazione tra bioetica e biodiritto
2021
Il presente lavoro, incominciato nel novembre del 2017, è partito con l'ambizione di ricostruire la risposta che il sistema giuridico fornisce innanzi alle nuove tecniche di ingegneria genetica che, a fronte della loro applicabilità sugli esseri umani, hanno prodotto, negli ultimi anni, il sorgere di nuovi stakeholders e, ancor prima, di nuovi interessi meritevoli di tutela. Se fino a qualche anno fa pareva impensabile modificare il genoma umano e, men che meno, farlo in maniera precisa, efficiente ed economica, oggi grazie al sistema di modificazione genetica CRISPR/Cas9 è possibile, intervenendo sulla linea germinale degli embrioni umani, prevenire la contrazione di odiose malattie geneti…
Translational adaptation to heat stress is mediated by RNA 5‐methylcytosine in Caenorhabditis elegans
2021
Abstract Methylation of carbon‐5 of cytosines (m5C) is a post‐transcriptional nucleotide modification of RNA found in all kingdoms of life. While individual m5C‐methyltransferases have been studied, the impact of the global cytosine‐5 methylome on development, homeostasis and stress remains unknown. Here, using Caenorhabditis elegans, we generated the first organism devoid of m5C in RNA, demonstrating that this modification is non‐essential. Using this genetic tool, we determine the localisation and enzymatic specificity of m5C sites in the RNome in vivo. We find that NSUN‐4 acts as a dual rRNA and tRNA methyltransferase in C. elegans mitochondria. In agreement with leucine and proline bein…
Biochemical and Immunological implications of Lutein and Zeaxanthin
2021
Throughout history, nature has been acknowledged for being a primordial source of various bioactive molecules in which human macular carotenoids are gaining significant attention. Among 750 natural carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin and their oxidative metabolites are selectively accumulated in the macular region of living beings. Due to their vast applications in food, feed, pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals industries, the global market of lutein and zeaxanthin is continuously expanding but chemical synthesis, extraction and purification of these compounds from their natural repertoire e.g., plants, is somewhat costly and technically challenging. In this regard microbial as well as microalga…
Targeting PCSK9 for therapeutic gains: Have we addressed all the concerns?
2016
Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) regulates the expression of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-receptors, through reducing their recycling by binding to the receptor along with LDL and targeting it for lysosomal destruction. PCSK9 also enhances the degradation of very-low-density-lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) and lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP-1) in a LDL-receptor independent manner. This role in lipid homeostasis presents PCSK9 as an attractive target for the therapeutic management of familial hypercholesterolemia as well as other refractory dyslipidaemias. However, PCSK9 mediates multifarious functions independent of its role in lipid homeostasis, which can be…
Lysosomal Signaling Licenses Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation via Inactivation of Tfe3
2019
International audience; Self-renewal and differentiation of pluripotent murine embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is regulated by extrinsic signaling pathways. It is less clear whether cellular metabolism instructs developmental progression. In an unbiased genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen, we identified components of a conserved amino-acid-sensing pathway as critical drivers of ESC differentiation. Functional analysis revealed that lysosome activity, the Ragulator protein complex, and the tumor-suppressor protein Folliculin enable the Rag GTPases C and D to bind and seclude the bHLH transcription factor Tfe3 in the cytoplasm. In contrast, ectopic nuclear Tfe3 represses specific developmental and met…
Between a rock and a soft place: the role of viruses in lithification of modern microbial mats.
2021
10 pages; International audience; Stromatolites are geobiological systems formed by complex microbial communities, and fossilized stromatolites provide a record of some of the oldest life on Earth. Microbial mats are precursors of extant stromatolites; however, the mechanisms of transition from mat to stromatolite are controversial and are still not well understood. To fully recognize the profound impact that these ecosystems have had on the evolution of the biosphere requires an understanding of modern lithification mechanisms and how they relate to the geological record. We propose here viral mechanisms in carbonate precipitation, leading to stromatolite formation, whereby viruses directl…
Beta-Lactam Sensitive Bacteria Can Acquire ESBL-Resistance via Conjugation after Long-Term Exposure to Lethal Antibiotic Concentration
2020
Beta-lactams are commonly used antibiotics that prevent cell-wall biosynthesis. Beta-lactam sensitive bacteria can acquire conjugative resistance elements and hence become resistant even after being exposed to lethal (above minimum inhibitory) antibiotic concentrations. Here we show that neither the length of antibiotic exposure (1 to 16 h) nor the beta-lactam type (penam or cephem) have a major impact on the rescue of sensitive bacteria. We demonstrate that an evolutionary rescue can occur between different clinically relevant bacterial species (Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli) by plasmids that are commonly associated with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) positive hospita…