Since the development of the base and prime editing technique by David Liu at the Broad Institute, their applications in biomedicine have continued to grow, reaching 17 clinical trials for base editing and one clinical assay for prime editing. The 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) marked a historic milestone this year by presenting the first case of treatment with base editors of a baby with a deadly metabolic disease.
Abnormal fusion of the FGFR2 gene, encoding the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2, occurs in several types of cancer, including in up to 15% of cases of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
The new gene therapy aims to address the root cause of prion disease by using the CHARM epigenetic editing platform from the Whitehead Institute to target and silence the gene that codes for the disease-causing protein.
Having 35 copies of the CAG triplet in the gene that causes Huntington’s disease is not a problem. Inheriting 40 could be a sign that goes unnoticed for decades, until reaching 80. From there, the process accelerates and neural death occurs when reaching 150 repeats. Huntington’s disease neurodegeneration is not determined by what, but by how much, according to a study conducted at the Broad Institute.
CTNNB1 syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by intellectual disability, global developmental delay, microcephaly and motor disabilities, among others, caused by pathogenic loss-of-function variants in the CTNNB1 gene, which encodes β-catenin. This syndrome has no treatment option, with only supportive care available. To address this unmet medical need, researchers from the Broad Institute and Tufts University School of Biomedical Sciences have developed a Ctnnb1 germline heterozygote murine model that mimics the human CTNNB1 syndrome.
Researchers from Broad Institute and Harvard University presented the discovery of all-in-one virus-like particles (VLPs) designed to deliver prime editor (PE) ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes into mammalian cells.
It is well known that mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene are causative of cystic fibrosis, a lethal autosomal recessive Mendelian disorder. Several studies have also pointed to an association between CFTR mutations and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Current therapies based on immune checkpoint blockade are effective and offer a valid option for treatment, but many patients develop either primary or acquired resistance to treatment. Previous research has shown that the deletion of protein tyrosine phosphatases PTPN2 and PTPN1 results in an increase in the sensitization of tumor cells and the promotion of antitumor immunity.
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has announced a new research alliance with Novo Nordisk A/S in diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases. The collaboration will focus on advancing three programs over the next 3 years.
