title: Activating human genes with zinc finger proteins, transcription activator-like effectors and CRISPR/Cas9 for gene therapy and regenerative medicine.
abstract: New technologies have recently been developed to control the expression of human genes in their native genomic context by engineering synthetic transcription factors that can be targeted to any DNA sequence. The ability to precisely regulate any gene as it occurs naturally in the genome provides a means to address a variety of diseases and disorders. This approach also circumvents some of the traditional challenges of gene therapy. In this editorial, we review the technologies that have enabled targeted human gene activation, including the engineering of transcription factors based on zinc finger proteins, transcription activator-like effectors and the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Additionally, we highlight examples in which these methods have been developed for therapeutic applications and discuss challenges and opportunities.
authors.affiliation: Duke University, Department of Biomedical Engineering , Room 136 Hudson Hall, Box 90281, Durham, NC 27708-0281 , USA +1 919 613 2147 ; +1 919 668 0795 ; charles.gersbach@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Gersbach
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perez-Pinera
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D064112:Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: CRISPR; Cas9; gene editing; gene regulation; gene therapy; genetic reprogramming; protein engineering; transcription activator-like effector; transcription factor; zinc finger