AI combined with the Crispr-Cas9 gene scissors should enable precise gene modification. (symbolic image)
Keystone
A research team led by the University of Zurich has combined genetic engineering with artificial intelligence. According to the university, this gives scientists new possibilities for the development of effective and safe gene therapies.
The research team presented the new method, called “Pythia”, in a study published on Tuesday in the journal “Nature Biotechnology”. The researchers have improved the well-known Crispr-Cas9 gene scissors for this purpose. The gene scissors can cut the two strands of DNA at a desired location.
After the cut, the cell wants to repair the break immediately. This allows researchers to insert new DNA segments into the DNA. Although these repairs follow predictable patterns, they can lead to undesirable results, such as the destruction of surrounding genes, as the University of Zurich explained in a press release on the study.
Researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH), together with researchers from the University of Ghent in Belgium and ETH Zurich, have now used artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a tool that predicts how cells repair their DNA after it has been cut by gene scissors.
Tested on cell cultures and in the mouse brain
“Just as meteorologists use AI to predict the weather, we use it to predict how cells will react to genetic interventions,” study leader Soeren Lienkamp, Professor at the Institute of Anatomy at UZH, was quoted as saying in the press release. This predictive ability is essential for safe, reliable and clinically useful gene editing.
In addition to modifying individual letters of the genetic code or integrating a gene introduced from outside, the University of Zurich’s method can also be used to fluorescently label certain proteins.
The researchers tested the new tool on cell cultures with human cells, on a tropical frog and on living mice, in which the researchers altered DNA in brain cells, according to the study.