• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

New CRISPR tech targets human genome’s complex code

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
February 9, 2021
in Health
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Rice’s programmable CRISPR/Cas9-based kinase offers insights into, control over regulatory histone proteins

IMAGE

Credit: Hilton Lab/Rice University

HOUSTON – (Feb. 9, 2021) – Finding a needle in a haystack is hard enough. But try finding a specific molecule on the needle.

Rice University researchers have achieved something of the sort with a new genome editing tool that targets the supporting players in a cell’s nucleus that package DNA and aid gene expression. Their work opens the door to new therapies for cancer and other diseases.

Rice bioengineer Isaac Hilton, postdoctoral researcher and lead author Jing Li and their colleagues programmed a modified CRISPR/Cas9 complex to target specific histones, ubiquitous epigenetic proteins that keep DNA in order, with pinpoint accuracy.

The open-access research appears in Nature Communications.

Histones help regulate many cellular processes. There are four in each nucleosome (the basic “beads on a string” in DNA) that help control the structure and function of our genomes by exposing genes for activation.

“Nucleosomes serve as architectural substrates to fit our DNA inside of our cells, and can also control access to key parts of our genomes,” Hilton said.

Like other proteins, histones can be triggered by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphoryl group that can control protein-protein or protein-DNA interactions.

“Histones can display an exquisitely diverse spectrum of chemical modifications that serve as beacons or regulatory markers and tell which genes to turn on, and when, and how much to do so,” Hilton said. “One of these mysterious modifications is phosphorylation, and we aimed to better illuminate the mechanism by which it can rapidly turn human genes on and off.”

No other epigenome editing technique has enabled site-specific control over histone phosphorylation, he said. The programmable Rice tool, called dCas9-dMSK1, fuses a deactivated “dCas9” protein and a “hyperactive” human histone kinase, an enzyme that catalyzes phosphorylation.

CRISPR/Cas9 typically employs guide RNAs and Cas9 “scissors” to target and cut sequences in DNA. The new tool programs deactivated dCas9 to target without cutting sequences, instead using the recruited dMSK1 enzyme to phosphorylate the targeted histone and turn on nearby genes.

The researchers used dCas9-dMSK1 to uncover novel genes and pathways that are pivotal for drug resistance. Li used it to identify three genes previously linked to melanoma drug resistance. “And then she identified seven new genes linked to melanoma resistance,” Hilton said. “It’s an exciting finding that we are following up on.

“Histone proteins that wrap up DNA can have all sorts of chemical marks and combinations on them,” he said. “This results in what has been dubbed a histone code, and one of our goals is to work to decipher it.”

Li’s tool also confirms how specific histone marks communicate with one another. “It tells us that chemical modifications on histones talk to each other, and we can show it happening at specific spots in the human genome,” Li said. “And that’s linked to a gene turning on, so this allows us to synthetically control them.”

Li said a long-term goal is to target a range of other histone marks. “It’s a complicated story,” she said. “There are a lot of different positions and features of histones that we want to study.”

“Getting these technologies into patients is a long process,” Hilton added. “But tools like this are the first step and can pave the way towards understanding how normal cellular processes unfortunately go awry in human diseases.”

###

Co-authors of the paper are Rice postdoctoral researcher Barun Mahata, graduate students Mario Escobar, Jacob Goell and Kaiyuan Wang and undergraduate Pranav Khemka. Hilton is an assistant professor of bioengineering and biosciences.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas supported the research.

-30-

Read the paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21188-2.

This news release can be found online at https://news.rice.edu/2021/02/09/new-crispr-tech-targets-human-genomes-complex-code/

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Additional Contact:
Mike Williams

713-348-6728

[email protected]

Related materials:

CPRIT grant brings epigenetics researcher to Rice:
http://news.rice.edu/2017/05/22/cprit-grant-brings-epigenetics-researcher-to-rice-2/

Rice lab gives structure to histone discovery:
http://news.rice.edu/2017/12/06/rice-lab-gives-structure-to-histone-discovery/

Chromosome organization emerges from 1D patterns:
http://news.rice.edu/2017/10/31/chromosome-organization-emerges-from-1-d-patterns-2/

Hilton Lab:
https://hiltonlab.rice.edu

Rice Department of Bioengineering:
https://bioengineering.rice.edu

Rice Department of BioSciences:
https://biosciences.rice.edu

Images for download:

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/02/0215_HISTONE-1-WEB.jpg

Rice University scientists built a new tool to engineer and understand how human genes are turned on. The team created a synthetic two-part protein based on dCas9 and a modified enzyme called dMSK1 to deliver chemical payloads at precise spots near human genes. The tool causes pinpoint changes to histone marks and with the help of other proteins, the activation of silent human genes.
(Credit: Hilton Lab/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/02/0215_HISTONE-2-WEB.jpg

CAPTION: Isaac Hilton.
(Credit: Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/02/0215_HISTONE-3-WEB.jpg

CAPTION: Jing Li.
(Credit: Rice University)

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,978 undergraduates and 3,192 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

Media Contact
Jeff Falk
[email protected]

Original Source

https://news.rice.edu/2021/02/09/new-crispr-tech-targets-human-genomes-complex-code/

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21188-2

Tags: BiologyBiomechanics/BiophysicscancerCell BiologyGenesGenetics
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Assessing Demirjian Method Reliability Among Forensic Experts

August 5, 2025
blank

Real-Time Risk Model Predicts Pediatric Kidney Injury

August 5, 2025

Social Factors and Traits Affect Young Adults’ Suicidal Thoughts

August 5, 2025

Cancer Stem Cells Toggle Molecular Switch to Evade Immune Response; Dual-Target Therapy Offers New Hope for Colorectal Cancer

August 5, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    72 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    61 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Predicting Colorectal Cancer Using Lifestyle Factors

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    47 shares
    Share 19 Tweet 12

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Stability and Refolding of Zika Virus EDIII Protein

Assessing Demirjian Method Reliability Among Forensic Experts

Malaria Rapid Test Accuracy in Young Burkina Faso Children

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.