A University of Helsinki research states that scientists used genetic scissors and stem cells to cure argininosuccinic aciduria (ACLD), a genetic liver ailment.
The condition known as arginanosuccinate lyase deficiency (ASLD) has a strong genetic legacy from Finland. In this instance, the body doesn’t metabolize proteins normally, which results in an excess of argininosuccinic acid and ammonia, which are components of the waste product known as the “urea cycle.”
As an illustration, one of the study subjects “was diagnosed at 10 months old when presenting hyperammonemic symptoms: lethargy and vomiting.” The individual had displayed symptoms of a motor developmental delay prior to then. Research indicates that excessive ammonia specifically damages the nervous system.
In most cases, the illness manifests from birth. Therefore, in Finland, babies are usually checked for it.
A genetic condition that is incurable and primarily affects the people of Finland is called ASLD. Other diseases could be inherited by cultures with comparable profiles.
Up until today, the only available treatments were a harsh diet devoid of protein for the rest of one’s life and, in extreme circumstances, liver transplantation. But researchers from Helsinki University were able to fix the gene flaw linked to the illness by using stem cells and a novel method called “gene scissors.”
How Do “Genetic Scissors” Work?
The tracrRNA molecule was first discovered by Emmanuelle Charpentier, whose research resulted in the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. It uses a mechanism called CRISPR to assist bacteria in “fighting off viruses by cleaving viral DNA.” This further demonstrates the need to investigate bacteria because they are involved in all known metabolic processes.
Meanwhile, Jennifer A. Doudna was “was mapping out the cas proteins, a series of enzymes associated with CRISPR that snip apart DNA at specific spots.”
Using their combined abilities, they created “genetic scissors.” These days, they are employed in pharmacology, medicine, and agriculture. In order to combat cancer, scientists can boost immune system defenses and “remove the HIV-virus when it has integrated itself into the human genome.”
How ASLD Was Treated by Scientists
Cells that have the ability to develop into several types of cells are called stem cells. They assist the body in healing itself. Researchers extracted a sample of skin cells from research participants. The genetic abnormalities in the stem cells were then “reprogrammed using CRISPR-Cas9 technique or gene scissors.”
The mRNA, a messenger molecule that enters a cell through a bubble called a lipid nanoparticle, is what allowed them to get the gene scissors inside the cultured, or lab-grown, cells. After entering, mRNA instructs the cells to produce a protein. The precise site of the malfunction was identified by scientists.
“We demonstrated for the first time that the gene defect causing ASLD can be corrected with gene scissors without any adverse effects visible in the cells,” says University of Helsinki medical genetics expert Kirmo Wartiovaara. She goes on, “were also metabolically improved.”
Put another way, they successfully guided healthy stem cells to develop into liver cells.
