{"id":202863,"date":"2024-08-29T11:24:33","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T21:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=202863"},"modified":"2024-08-29T11:24:33","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T21:24:33","slug":"uh-gene-editing-breakthrough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/08\/29\/uh-gene-editing-breakthrough\/","title":{"rendered":"ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½<\/abbr> gene editing technique offers safer, efficient disease treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"research
JABSOM<\/abbr> researchers Jesse Owens, Ryuei Sato, Sabranth Gupta and Brian Hew<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a> (JABSOM<\/abbr>) have achieved a breakthrough in gene editing that could revolutionize the treatment of genetic diseases such as hemophilia. The new technique enables a faster, safer and more efficient delivery of healthy genes into the body, potentially addressing hundreds of genetic conditions.<\/p>\n

This research was published in Nucleic Acids Research<\/a><\/em>. The research team is led by Jesse Owens, along with Brian Hew, Ryuei Sato and Sabranth Gupta, from JABSOM<\/abbr>‘s Institute for Biogenesis Research<\/a> and Cell and Molecular Biology Department.<\/p>\n

Traditional gene-editing methods, while promising, often struggle with unintended DNA<\/abbr> damage because of difficulties in inserting large genetic material, such as whole genes. However, the research team\u2019s method overcomes these challenges by utilizing a specially engineered “super-active integrase” (nucleic acid processing enzyme) that can insert therapeutic genes into the genome with precision and efficiency\u2014achieving success rates of up to 96%.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s like having a ‘paste’ function for the human genome,” said Owens. This advancement allows for the careful insertion of healthy genes without causing DNA<\/abbr> breaks, offering hope for more effective and affordable treatments for genetic disorders.<\/p>\n

“This could lead to faster and more affordable treatments for a wide range of diseases, potentially impacting hundreds of conditions with a single faulty gene,” added Owens.<\/p>\n

Accelerating advanced medical treatment<\/h2>\n

Beyond gene therapy, this new technique has broader implications for medicine. It can significantly speed up the development of cell lines used in producing therapeutic proteins, which traditionally involves a time-consuming process of randomly inserting genes and then searching for cells that produce the desired proteins. <\/p>\n

Owens’ method streamlines the process, delivering genes directly to the desired location in the genome, making the development of biologics and advanced therapies, such as antibodies, more efficient.<\/p>\n

“JABSOM takes pride in nurturing talented researchers like Jesse Owens, whose work has the power to create a global impact,” said Sam Shomaker, JABSOM<\/abbr> dean. “This research, conducted in our lab in the middle of the Pacific, has the potential to significantly improve the way we treat genetic diseases.” <\/p>\n

The JABSOM<\/abbr> team continues to explore how this technique can accelerate the development and manufacture of life-saving therapeutics. Owens founded Hawaii Advanced Genetic Medicine Foundation<\/a>, a 501c3 nonprofit aimed at supporting local research in genetic engineering in Hawaiʻi<\/span>. <\/p>\n

Read more at JABSOM<\/abbr>.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The technique offers hope for more effective and affordable treatments for various genetic disorders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[910,454,31,1363,158,9],"class_list":["post-202863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-cell-and-molecular-biology","tag-institute-for-biogenesis-research","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-manoa-research","tag-publication","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202863"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202876,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202863\/revisions\/202876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}