CRISPR/Cas9 technology in disease research and therapy: a review / 生物工程学报

Genome editing is a genetic manipulation technique that can modify DNA sequences at the genome level, including insertion, knockout, replacement and point mutation of specific DNA fragments. The ultimate principle of genome editing technology relying on engineered nucleases is to generate double-stranded DNA breaks at specific locations in genome and then repair them through non-homologous end joining or homologous recombination. With the intensive study of these nucleases, genome editing technology develops rapidly. The most used nucleases include meganucleases, zinc finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated Cas proteins. Based on introducing the development and principles of above mentioned genome editing technologies, we review the research progress of CRISPR/Cas9 system in the application fields of identification of gene function, establishment of disease model, gene therapy, immunotherapy and its prospect.

An update on the tools for creating transgenic animal models of human diseases - focus on atherosclerosis

Animal models of diseases are invaluable tools of modern medicine. More than forty years have passed since the first successful experiments and the spectrum of available models, as well as the list of methods for creating them, have expanded dramatically. The major step forward in creating specific disease models was the development of gene editing techniques, which allowed for targeted modification of the animal's genome. In this review, we discuss the available tools for creating transgenic animal models, such as transgenesis methods, recombinases, and nucleases, including zinc finger nuclease (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN), and CRISPR/Cas9 systems. We then focus specifically on the models of atherosclerosis, especially mouse models that greatly contributed to improving our understanding of the disease pathogenesis and we outline their characteristics and limitations.