Swiss researchers find unwanted CRISPR side effects
Repair with gene scissors can lead to new genetic defects
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss researchers find unwanted CRISPR side effects
Under certain circumstances, the targeted correction of faulty sections in the genome can trigger new genetic defects. This was reported by a team from the University of Zurich (UZH) in the case of the rare hereditary disease chronic granulomatosis.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Reparatur mit Genschere kann zu neuen Gendefekten führen
Original
This affects around one in 120,000 people, the University of Zurich announced on Wednesday. The disease impairs the immune system and makes those affected susceptible to serious and life-threatening illnesses. Two letters are missing in the DNA sequence of a gene, which means that an enzyme complex that plays an important role in the defense against bacteria is not produced.
In an experiment on a cell culture of immune cells with the same defects as humans, the researchers succeeded in inserting the missing letters at the correct position in the gene using the CRISPR system. However, entire sections of the chromosome in which the repair took place were missing, as the UZH wrote.
The gene scissors occasionally cut the DNA strand in several places on the chromosome. When these cuts are rejoined, entire sections may be incorrectly arranged or missing. This could have unforeseeable medical consequences and, in the worst case, could also contribute to the development of blood cancer.
The research team tested a number of alternative approaches, but was unable to completely prevent the undesirable side effects with any of these measures.
More
Debate
Hosted by:
Jessica Davis Plüss
What are your views on genome editing our food?
Genome editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas9 are being tabled as a way to feed the planet. What do you think about the idea?
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Free trade remains ‘core’ Swiss value despite Trump tariffs
This content was published on
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter says Switzerland remains committed to free trade despite a new 31% tariff on Swiss exports to the United States.
This content was published on
The new regulation targets plants developed through new breeding technologies that don’t include transgenic genetic material.
WHO faces $1.8 billion budget shortfall amid US withdrawal
This content was published on
The 2026-2027 budget for the Geneva-based organisation has been reduced to $4.2 billion, on top of this year’s $600 million shortfall.
Swiss government proposes lifting nuclear power ban
This content was published on
While the centre-right and the energy sector are welcoming the Swiss government’s counter-proposal, the Greens are threatening to call a referendum.
Switzerland provisionally signs agreement on EU programmes
This content was published on
The agreement on EU programmes covers Switzerland’s involvement in initiatives like Horizon Europe, Euratom, ITER, Digital Europe, Erasmus+, and EU4Health.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.