"Gene scissors" refers to CRISPR gene editing technology, which can accurately find the position of a string of codes in the genome and delete or modify them just like editing an article on a computer.
The gladstone Institute recently released a press release saying that its researchers found that skin cells can be reprogrammed and transformed into stem cells by modifying the genome with "gene scissors". Related papers were published in the new issue of the American magazine Cell-Stem Cells.
Each cell has a complete organism genome, and its specific identity and function depend on which genes are at work. In skin cells, genes related to skin function are turned on and other genes are turned off. To turn it into stem cells, it is necessary to turn off skin-related genes and turn on stem cell function-related genes.
In previous studies, people generally used several protein called transcription factors to regulate the reading process of genome code and change the working state of each gene. Another method is to stimulate cells with chemicals. This is the first time to directly modify the genome to cultivate stem cells.