Editorial: Application of gene editing in pathology dissection of neurodegenerative diseases

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Sen Yan, Jinan University; Xingshun Xu, Soochow University; Fangfang Qi, Sun Yat-sen University; Xing Guo, Nanjing Medical University; Junhong Luo, Jinan University; Yujing Li, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-01-05
• Publisher: FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 Yan, Xu, Qi, Guo, Luo and Li.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.1092176
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
• Volume: 16
• Start Page: 1092176
• End Page: 1092176
• Keywords: Science & Technology; editing; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; neurodegeneration; CRISPR; physiology; animal models; gene; pathogenesis; Neurosciences; Neurosciences & Neurology; cell model
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) refer to a subset of neurological diseases prevalent among the aging population. NDs are mainly characterized by progressive neuronal loss in the central nervous system (CNS) and include diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Huntington's disease (HD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and so on. Patients with such disorders suffer from devitalizing memory loss and impaired motor coordination. Although the real cause of NDs remains largely to be discovered, it is fully appreciated that both environmental and genetic/epigenetic factors contribute to the pathophysiology of these disorders. Indeed, significant discoveries have been made in unveiling the cellular and genetic mysteries behind the physiopathology of NDs in the recent decade thanks to the application of state-of-the-art biotechnology-based approaches, including single-cell sequencing, and the CRISPR-CAS based genome editing technology. Given that animal and in vitro cell models contribute significantly to the pathophysiological study of human diseases, genome editing based generation of specific ND animal and organoids models usher in a new era to investigate the pathogenesis of NDs and, ultimately, clinical therapy.