The technique of the genetic cutter does not stop surprising us. Now, a team of scientists from the Oregon Health and Science University (USA) has used the CRISPR technique to manipulate human embryos and eliminate genes that cause inherited diseases . This scientific milestone represents an important step towards the birth of the first genetically modified humans.
And is that one day CRISPR could allow us to erase genes to eradicate genetic diseases , add new genes to improve various biological functions, or even genetically modify human embryos to create a totally new class of … superhumans?
What the experts have achieved is the first attempt to create genetically modified human embryos: “As far as I know this is the first documented study in the US,” said Jun Wu, a collaborator at the Salk Institute and part of the draft.
The publication MIT Technology Review (of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has been the one that has revealed the CRISPR gene editing experiment to manipulate human embryos by this group of experts from Portland. The work has been led by the researcher Shoukhrat Mitalipov and, although the details are scarce at this time, since the results have not yet been officially published, scientists close to the research have assured that they have successfully manipulated the DNA of a considerable number of embryos.
If it is finally confirmed, we would be facing a giant leap in the possible use of this technique to treat hereditary diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy or cystic fibrosis. And this would be just the beginning.
Regarding Mitalipov, he is the first researcher to have conclusively shown that faulty genes that cause inherited diseases can be safely and efficiently corrected.
In this sense, Mitalipov’s work takes us further on the path of understanding exactly how CRISPR works in humans, and reveals that somatic mosaicism (in which different cells in the same person have different genetic makeup) is possible to avoid. and the ‘off-target’ effect , that is, genetic changes in places other than the desired places.
Human embryos have been fertilized in the laboratory with sperm that carry hereditary diseases, but they have not yet disclosed what kind of ailments they are.
Importantly, the scientists have not allowed any of the embryos in the study to develop for more than a few days, and they never had any intention of implanting them into a uterus. However, it seems that this is mainly due to legal issues, and not obstacles with the technology itself.
In the United States, all efforts to convert edited embryos into a baby – to bring the embryo to full term – have been blocked by Congress. However, the potential of the CRISPR-Cas9 system as a gene editing technology is undeniable, which is why this new work adds to the promise of everything that CRISPR can revolutionize medicine, and represents an important step towards the birth of the first genetically modified humans.
Referencia: First Human Embryos Edited in U.S. MIT Technology Review 2017
