Chinese Scientists Make Breakthrough in Genetic Engineering with RNA-mediated Technology
TapTechNews July 11th news, according to the official news of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the retrovirus-mediated genetic engineering new technology developed by the team of researcher Li Wei and researcher Zhou Qi of the institute has for the first time achieved precise gene writing with ribonucleic acid (RNA) as the medium, which is expected to bring a more efficient, safer and lower-cost new treatment method for the treatment of genetic diseases, tumors and other diseases. The relevant research results have been published online in the international academic journal Cell.
It is introduced that genomic DNA is the blueprint of life, and the realization of precise operation of genomic DNA at any scale represents the underlying ability to modify and draw the blueprint of life, which is the core of the development of genetic engineering technology. Technological progress represented by CRISPR gene editing technology has achieved precise editing at the single-base and short-sequence scale of the genome, basically solving the challenge of precise genome editing. However, how to achieve efficient and precise integration of large-fragment DNA in the genome according to the needs of application scenarios is still a difficult problem that the entire field of genetic engineering urgently needs to break through.
This technological breakthrough means that it is possible to intervene in diseases such as single-gene genetic defects caused by mutations at multiple different loci through the precise writing of exogenous functional genes, thereby developing a more universal gene and cell therapy, and has broad application prospects.
On July 8, 2024, the Cell magazine published online in the form of a long article the research paper titled All-RNA-mediated Targeted Gene Integration in Mammalian Cells with Rationally Engineered R2 Retrotransposons completed by the team of researcher Li Wei and researcher Zhou Qi of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences / Beijing Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine.
Combined with means such as genome data mining and macromolecular engineering transformation, this research has developed an R2 retrovirus tool for precise writing of large-fragment genes using RNA donors, which can achieve efficient and precise integration of large-fragment genes (> 1.5 kb) in a variety of mammalian cell lines and primary cells with the highest efficiency exceeding 60%, successfully achieving the precise writing of all-RNA-mediated functional genes (DNA) in the genomes of various mammals, providing the basis for the development of a new generation of innovative gene therapies.
This research was completed in cooperation between the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Beijing Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. Postdoctoral Chen Yangcan, doctoral student Luo Shengqiu, postdoctoral Hu Yanping, doctoral student Mao Bangwei, Wang Xinge and Lu Zongbao of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences are the co-first authors of this study, and researcher Li Wei and researcher Zhou Qi of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences are the co- corresponding authors. This research work is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Beijing Natural Science Foundation, etc.
TapTechNews attached paper link:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.06.020