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Hereditas(Beijing) ›› 2020, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (12): 1168-1177.doi: 10.16288/j.yczz.20-069

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Advances in precise regulation of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology

Junxia Cao1, Youliang Wang2, Zhengxu Wang1,3()   

  1. 1. Biotherapy Center, the Seventh Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100700, China
    2. Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, 20 Dongdajie, Beijing 100071, China
    3. The Faculty of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
  • Received:2020-03-13 Revised:2020-11-02 Online:2020-12-17 Published:2020-11-25
  • Contact: Wang Zhengxu E-mail:zhxuwang@qq.com
  • Supported by:
    Supported by the 13th Five Year Research Project No(19LBJ1029C)

Abstract:

Gene editing is a genetic engineering technology that can modify, delete, or insert a small piece of DNA at a specific point in the genome of cells and organisms. Gene editing technology holds great promises in the fields of disease treatment, gene function regulation, gene detection, drug research and development, and crop breeding. However, side effects, such as off-target editing, genotoxicity and other issues, have gradually emerged in the application. In the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) system, the Cas9 nuclease can specifically recognize the target DNA by the base pairing of a guide RNA (gRNA) with the target DNA. Upon target recognition, the two DNA strands are cleaved by distinct domains of the Cas9 nuclease. Since both Cas9 nuclease and gRNA possess different characteristics in their own activities, recognition sites and binding ability to specific target, it is essential to precisely regulate the activity of Cas9 nuclease and gRNA in both time and space manners, thus preventing the risk of side effects and enhancing the precise regulation of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. In this review, we summarize the advances in the precise control of gene editing, especially CRISPR/cas9 over several dimensions using fusion Cas9 proteins regulated by light, temperature and drugs, exploiting and screening anti-CRISPRs proteins, synthesizing and identifying small molecules- inhibitors, and developing other therapeutic agents, thereby providing a reference and research ideas for human disease treatment, crop and livestock improvement and prevention of biotechnology misuse.

Key words: gene editing, control of gene editing, anti-CRISPR protein, small molecular inhibitors