WIKIMEDIA, CHAOS
Using the CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing system to mutate the gene regions encoding particular protein domains could result in a new and more efficient method to screen for druggable protein targets critical to the survival of cancer cells, according to a study published this week (May 11) in Nature Biotechnology.
Current CRISPR-based screens often mutate the beginning of a gene, which sometimes results in the expression of a functional protein variant. To circumvent this problem, researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) designed CRISPR guide RNAs that would mutate the portion of a gene encoding a domain on the surface of the protein where a small molecule could bind to alter the protein’s function. The team had previously identified such a binding pocket on the protein BRD4, ...
