It seems like everything is going wireless these days. That now includes efforts to reprogram the human genome.
DNA and brain illustration (stock image).
Credit: © Giovanni Cancemi / Adobe Stock
A new University at Buffalo-led study describes how researchers
wirelessly controlled FGFR1 -- a gene that plays a key role in how
humans grow from embryos to adults -- in lab-grown brain tissue.
The ability to manipulate the gene, the study's authors say, could
lead to new cancer treatments, and ways to prevent and treat mental
disorders such as schizophrenia.
The work -- spearheaded by UB researchers Josep M. Jornet, Michal K.
Stachowiak, Yongho Bae and Ewa K. Stachowiak -- was reported in the June
edition of the Proceedings of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
It represents a step forward toward genetic manipulation technology
that could upend the treatment of cancer, as well as the prevention and
treatment of schizophrenia and other neurological illnesses. It centers
on the creation of a new subfield of research the study's authors are
calling "optogenomics," or controlling the human genome through laser
light and nanotechnology.
"The potential of optogenomic interfaces is enormous," says co-author
Josep M. Jornet, PhD, associate professor in the Department of
Electrical Engineering in the UB School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences. "It could drastically reduce the need for medicinal drugs and
other therapies for certain illnesses. It could also change how humans
interact with machines."
From "optogenetics" to "optogenomics"
For the past 20 years, scientists have been combining optics and
genetics -- the field of optogenetics -- with a goal of employing light
to control how cells interact with each other.
By doing this, one could potentially develop new treatments for
diseases by correcting the miscommunications that occur between cells.
While promising, this research does not directly address malfunctions in
genetic blueprints that guide human growth and underlie many diseases.
The new research begins to tackle this issue because FGFR1 -- it
stands for Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1 -- holds sway over
roughly 4,500 other genes, about one-fifth of the human genome, as
estimated by the Human Genome Project, says study co-author Michal K.
Stachowiak.
"In some respects, it's like a boss gene," says Stachowiak, PhD,
professor in the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences in the
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. "By controlling
FGFR1, one can theoretically prevent widespread gene dysregulations in
schizophrenia or in breast cancer and other types of cancer."
Light-activated toggle switches
The research team was able to manipulate FGFR1 by creating tiny
photonic brain implants. These wireless devices include nano-lasers and
nano-antennas and, in the future, nano-detectors.
Researchers inserted the implants into the brain tissue, which was
grown from induced pluripotent stem cells and enhanced with
light-activated molecular toggle switches. They then triggered different
laser lights -- common blue laser, red laser and far-red laser -- onto
the tissue.
The interaction allowed researchers to activate and deactivate FGFR1
and its associated cellular functions -- essentially hacking the gene.
The work may eventually enable doctors to manipulate patients' genomic
structure, providing a way to prevent and correct gene abnormalities,
says Stachowiak, who also holds an appointment in UB's Department of
Biomedical Engineering, a joint program between the Jacobs School and
UB's engineering school.
Next steps
The development is far from entering the doctor's office or hospital,
but the research team is excited about next steps, which include
testing in 3D "mini-brains" and cancerous tissue. Additional study
authors include Pei Miao and Amit Sangwan of the UB Department of
Electrical Engineering; Brandon Decker, Aesha Desai, Christopher
Handelmann of the UB Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences;
Liang Feng, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania; and Anna Balcerak of
the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of
Oncology in Poland.
The work was supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Journal Reference:
- Josep Miquel Jornet, Yongho Bae, Christopher Raymond Handelmann, Brandon Decker, Anna Balcerak, Amit Sangwan, Pei Miao, Aesha Desai, Liang Feng, Ewa K. Stachowiak, Michal K. Stachowiak. Optogenomic Interfaces: Bridging Biological Networks With the Electronic Digital World. Proceedings of the IEEE, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1109/JPROC.2019.2916055
Courtesy: ScienceDaily
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