A team of biologists in the UK hope they will soon get the go-ahead to perform gene-editing in human embryos. If so, Kathy Niakan of the Francis Crick Institute in London and her team could be the first researchers outside of China to try the technique. New Scientist takes a look at their plans and how the work could improve fertility treatments.
Have human embryos been gene-edited before?
Yes. At least four teams in China have done this using the CRISPR method of gene-editing. As far as we know, the point of these experiments was simply to see how well CRISPR works in human embryos.
What is Niakan’s team proposing, and what would this tell us?
They want to use CRISPR to unpick which genes control early development in humans. Ultimately, this research could reduce the number of miscarriages and improve fertility treatments. Only half of all IVF embryos develop sufficiently to be implanted in women, and less than half of those are carried to term. Why these rates are so low is something that the proposed research could help us understand.
What will the study involve?
During the first week of embryonic development, cells start to take on different roles. Some go on to form the placenta and yolk sac, others to form the child itself. Biologists think they have identified some of the genes that determine which cells take on which role, but the only way to be sure is to disable those genes and see what happens.
Niakan wants to use the CRISPR technique to disable genes in single-cell embryos, just a day old. After about seven days the team will kill the embryos and analyse their structure to see what, if any, disruption there has been to the embryos’ ability to organise. They want to try this with three or four genes, first and foremost one called OCT4.
A team of biologists in the UK hope they will soon get the go-ahead to perform gene-editing in human embryos. If so, Kathy Niakan of the Francis Crick Institute in London and her team could be the first researchers outside of China to try the technique. New Scientist takes a look at their plans and how the work could improve fertility treatments.Have human embryos been gene-edited before?Yes. At least four teams in China have done this using the CRISPR method of gene-editing. As far as we know, the point of these experiments was simply to see how well CRISPR works in human embryos.What is Niakan’s team proposing, and what would this tell us?They want to use CRISPR to unpick which genes control early development in humans. Ultimately, this research could reduce the number of miscarriages and improve fertility treatments. Only half of all IVF embryos develop sufficiently to be implanted in women, and less than half of those are carried to term. Why these rates are so low is something that the proposed research could help us understand.What will the study involve?During the first week of embryonic development, cells start to take on different roles. Some go on to form the placenta and yolk sac, others to form the child itself. Biologists think they have identified some of the genes that determine which cells take on which role, but the only way to be sure is to disable those genes and see what happens.Niakan wants to use the CRISPR technique to disable genes in single-cell embryos, just a day old. After about seven days the team will kill the embryos and analyse their structure to see what, if any, disruption there has been to the embryos’ ability to organise. They want to try this with three or four genes, first and foremost one called OCT4.
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