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exileonmainst t1_j4rdqcu wrote

so how does the edit actually happen? like how do you edit the DNA of all the heart cells (or enough of them) to fix this?

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LitLitten t1_j4rh2kh wrote

If it’s like other forms, typically through a viral vector. The carrier molecule drops a specific piece of DNA to a gene and overwrite/replacing it with a correct copy.

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Evianicecubes t1_j4t09mz wrote

I’m too lazy to look it up, is this applied intravenously and changes all cells it encounters, or just injected directly into the target tissue?

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Luziferatus42 t1_j4ulgyd wrote

Simple answer. It can be made to target specific cell types. But like in nature, there is probability distribution, a small chance for errors is always present.

But again, if the change happens in the wrong cell type, it can perhaps be neglected, because the changed gene sequence is not "used" in this type of cell.

Life is a very complex systems, wich is ultimately build on the sequence of just four molecules. This sequence is the "memory" (in the therm of computer science) of life. Like we use 0/1 for digital memory of informations.

I find it fascinating. Wish you well.

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GamemasterAI t1_j4tmcgj wrote

Probbaly targeting mesenchymal stem cells, the pluripotent precursor to cardiovacular cells.

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ArandomFluffy t1_j4v02y5 wrote

from the article: >We packaged the ABE components in adeno-associated virus serotype-9 (AAV9) using a split-intein trans-splicing system to accommodate the large size of ABE8e and sgRNA6. AAV9 was chosen as the delivery system because it effectively infects the hearts of mice and large mammals (2, 4). To ensure cardiac specificity, we used the cardiac troponin T (cTnT) promoter to drive ABE8e expression.

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Kakkoister t1_j4ty77d wrote

As other have mentioned, virally at the target location (heart cells last a lifetime). But also, you don't need to replace all the DNA. Just a decent majority to quell the expression of those genes.

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