Gene surgery’ could treat AMD

Researchers from the Institute of Basic Science at the Center for Genome Engineering (CGE) are experimenting with third generation gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 on the layer of tissue in test mice that supports the retina.{{quote-A:R-W:450-I:2-Q: The injections tackle the effects, but not the main cause of the probl. By editing the VEGF gene, we can achieve a longer-term cure, -WHO:Dr Kim Jin-Soo, Director of the CGE}}The purpose is to alter the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene, which grows abnormally in people with AMD and causes irreversible damage to the macula.The most common treatment used to treat AMD are anti-VEGF injections administered over a period of several months to limit the VEGF which is continuously over expressed by the cells of the damaged retinal pigment epithelium.“The injections tackle the effects, but not the main cause of the probl. By editing the VEGF gene, we can achieve a longer-term cure,” study author Dr Kim Jin-Soo, director of the CGE, explained.The study, published in the journal Genome Research, revealed that CRISPR-Cas9 can precisely correct DNA at the specific site in the genome, the same way that it can cut through the VEGF gene.The team was able to successfully inject pre-assbled CRISPR-Cas9 complex into the eyes of test mice with wet AMD and locally modified the VEGF gene. The complex disappeared after 72 hours.{{image3-a:l-w:350}}The team also tracked the progression of the disease through choroidal neovascularisation (CNV), the creation of new blood vessels between the retina and the sclera, which is a common symptom of wet AMD, and found that the affected area reduced by 58%.“We envision that, in the future, surgeons will be able to cut and paste disease-causing genetic elents in patients,” Kim said.