Abans d’endinsar-nos en aquestes temàtiques, comentar que una nova aplicació del CRISPR/Cas que està prenent molta importància és l’edició de l’ARN enlloc de l’ADN. Amb aquest nou ús, possiblement ens podrem estalviar alguns dels problemes que comentarem a continuació, sobretot ètics.
Figure 1. Promoting Safety in Genome Editing. Enabling safe CRISPR use in all of its applications is essential. Technical constraints and technologies are one of the primary ways we can improve upon CRISPR systems to deliver precise and effective genomic edits. Surveillance will allow CRISPR, for both gene drives and human health, to be carefully managed and the sequences to be monitored for stability and bar erroneous genomic changes. Containment of these systems is also crucial to ensure that premature release of systems does not occur and that they cannot be used as a bioterror tool. For example, engineering genetic circuits that kill and destroy delivered CRISPR can terminate its function, should bioterror or safety concerns arise. If undesirable consequences occur, systems must be put in place to reverse the effect the CRISPR edits created to bring the biological system to a normal state. Steps to protect humanity and the environment, that can only occur though policy, governance, and foresight, must be put in place; CRISPR is a relatively new tool and must have safeguards. Abbreviation: gRNA, guide RNA.
Font: “Safe CRISPR: Challenges and possible Solutions”, de Pineda M L, Lear A, Collins JP, Kiani S, 2019, Trends in Biotechnology 37(4) p.389-401. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.09.010.