CRISPR Can Cause Hundreds of Unintended Mutations

[kristopher]

CRISPR Can Cause Hundreds of Unintended Mutations
Wed, 05/31/2017 - 8:05am
by Columbia University Medical Center

As CRISPR-Cas9 starts to move into clinical trials, a new study published in Nature Methods has found that the gene-editing technology can introduce hundreds of unintended mutations into the genome.

"We feel it's critical that the scientific community consider the potential hazards of all off-target mutations caused by CRISPR, including single nucleotide mutations and mutations in non-coding regions of the genome," says co-author Stephen Tsang, MD, PhD, the Laszlo T. Bito Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and associate professor of pathology and cell biology at Columbia University Medical Center and in Columbia's Institute of Genomic Medicine and the Institute of Human Nutrition.

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The researchers determined that CRISPR had successfully corrected a gene that causes blindness, but Kellie Schaefer, a PhD student in the lab of Vinit Mahajan, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University, and co-author of the study, found that the genomes of two independent gene therapy recipients had sustained more than 1,500 single-nucleotide mutations and more than 100 larger deletions and insertions. None of these DNA mutations were predicted by computer algorithms that are widely used by researchers to look for off-target effects.

"Researchers who aren't using whole genome sequencing to find off-target effects may be missing potentially important mutations," Dr. Tsang says. "Even a single nucleotide change can have a huge impact."

More at https://www.biosciencetechnology.com/news/2017/05/crispr-can-cause-hundreds-unintended-mutations

[LonePirate]

1. We need to spend far more time reviewing, researching and testing these gene-editing technologies.

The potential - both positive and negative - is tremendous. Extreme caution is needed.

[longship]

2. I want to see peer review on this.

In spite of the promise, and the screaming meamies, science will sort this out. It's like stem cell research, much promise but stem cells can also promote tumor growth. Regardless, that is where the cutting edge advancements happen.

CRISPR is the most promising basic biological advancement in my lifetime, which goes back to the 1940's. Base science is where things happen. There is no question as to the value here. There will be a Nobel Prize here.