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Conservatism is intrinsic to safety of emerging biotechnologies. Fear of unintended consequences, misuse, and bioterror are rightfully essential in our discussions of novel innovations. Clustered regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) and its associated proteins are no exception. This review will characterize environmental and health-related risks of CRISPR-applications and expound upon mechanisms that are or can be used to minimize risk. CRISPR is broadening access and simplifying genomic and transcriptomic editing leading to wide-range usage in all of biology. Utilization in gene therapies, gene drives, and agriculture could all be universally impactful applications that need their own safety technologies and guidelines. The initial ethical guidelines and recommendations, that will guide these technologies, are being steadily developed. However, technical advances are required to facilitate safe usage. Since the advent of CRISPR gene editing in 2012 advances to limit off-target edits (both cellular and genomic) have been developed. Delivery systems that use viral or nanoparticle packaging incorporate safety mechanisms to guard against undesirable side effects are being produced and rigorously tested. Besides its applications in basic biology and potential as a gene therapy, CRISPR had humbler beginnings. Industrially it was, albeit unknowingly, used to fend off infection in productions of yogurt batches. This was one of the earliest applications of CRISPR, however with the knowledge we now have ecological and industrial uses of CRISPR have multiplied. Gene drives have the power to spread genetic mutations throughout populations and agricultural uses to better crop genomes are also of interest. These uses have struck a chord with interest groups (environmentalists, anti-GMO groups, etc) who imagine how this technology can drastically alter species with unforeseen evolutionary changes that could reshape present-day ecosystems. This review will describe existing technologies that will safeguard humanity and its interests while fully employing CRISPRs far-reaching potentiality.
ContributorsPineda, Michael (Author) / Kiani, Samira (Thesis director) / Ebrahimkhani, Mo (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a form of pancreatic cancer that affects the exocrine function of the pancreas. PDAC is often hard to diagnose and has shown to also be as difficult to treat. Xeroderma pigmentosum type B (XPB), is a protein can be found in Transcription Factor II Human (TFIIH). It is known to have ATP-ase and helicase activities. The ATP-ase activities could be used to regulate the transcription within super enhancer (SE) networks. Knocking out the ATP-ase activity in XPB in the same way that triptolide does would offer a more individualized therapeutic regiment. A loss of function mutation was tested to identify whether or not the mutation was present within the strand of DNA. In order to explore the role of XPB in pancreatic cancer, a knockout clone was made through the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology to induce a clone in exon 2 of XPB using a plasmid with Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) selection marker. Once the clones were successfully made, they underwent testing through the use of a Surveyor Mutation Detection Kit for standard electrophoresis. The confirmation of a functional clone lead to GFP, which contained the mutation, being chosen for further testing be compared to the wild type GFP. After the GFP D54H mutation was chosen for further testing, it was then cultured from bacteria and wild type GFP and GFP D54H underwent a restriction enzyme digest. The digest resulted in showing that GFP and GFP D54H were the same on a larger level, and that one of the only ways to prove that the mutation was present was through amplification and analysis using the mutation detection kit.
ContributorsDelgado, Priscilla (Author) / Kiani, Samira (Thesis director) / Noel, Pawan (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Cholangiocytes, the epithelial cells of the bile duct, are the origin of cholangiopathies which often necessitate liver transplants. Current progress in generating functional biliary organoids show potential for modelling cholangiopathies and validating therapeutic drugs. Organoids by groups Ogawa et al. and Sampaziotis et al. utilize soluble molecule induction, OP9 co-culture, and three-dimensional culture to achieve self-organizing tissues which express mature cholangiocyte markers and show cholangiocyte functionality. This thesis describes our efforts to establish a standard for functional PSC-derived bile duct tissues. By directing cell fate and patterning through external cues alone, we were able to produce CK19+ALB+ hepatoblast-like cells. These soluble molecule-induced cells also expressed EpCAM and CEBPA, suggesting the presence of early liver epithelial cells. However, inconsistent results and high levels of cell death with soluble molecule induction in early stages of differentiation prompted the development of a combinatory differentiation method which utilized multiple differentiation tools. We opted to combine transcription-factor triggered differentiation with soluble molecule-mediated differentiation to produce early biliary cells with the potential to develop into mature cholangiocytes. By combining genetic engineering through the activation of doxycycline-inducible GATA6 switch and microbead-mediated CXCR4 separation, we generated patterned tissues which expressed early biliary markers, CD146, CK19, and SOX9. In the future, three-dimensional cell culture and OP9 co-culture could improve our current results by facilitating 3D cellular self-organization and promoting NOTCH signaling for cholangiocyte maturation. Next steps for this research include optimizing media formulations, tracking gene expression over time, and testing the functionality of generated tissues.
ContributorsGo, Suyen Chantal (Author) / Ebrahimkhani, Mohammad (Thesis director) / Kiani, Samira (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The process of spermatogenesis, the differentiation of sperm stem cells into spermatozoa, produces a diverse array of descendent cells which express varied morphological and genetic traits throughout their maturation. Beginning with primordial germ cells, these sperm progenitors experience twelve stages of differentiation before maturation into their final stage. During their differentiation, these cells reside in the seminiferous tubules within the testes. These tubules are surrounded by somatic cells, primarily Sertoli, Leydig, myoid, and epithelial cells. These cells provide the germ cells with necessary signaling proteins for their progression as well as protection from exterior toxins through the formation of the blood-testis barrier (BTB). However, their close association with germ cells makes extracting these sperm progenitors difficult. Here, I convey the results for an initial trial of harvesting germ cells from two mice. Due to inconclusive qRT-PCR amplification data from the first experiment, future iterations of this harvest will explore other previously published methods. These will include Magnetic-Activated Cell Sorting which will target individual sperm progenitor populations using cell-surface receptors such as GFRα-1 and THY1 to obtain sperm stem cells. Additionally, Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting may be useful for obtaining multiple groups of meiotic cell types from a heterogenous cell suspension harvested from the seminiferous tubules through the use of Hoechst 33342 staining. Finally, extraction of spermatozoa from the Cauda Epididymis, a storage site for these mature sperm, can be performed either in conjunction with testes collection during necropsy or as an in vivo technique intended for serial sampling of sperm cells over time. Regardless, it is necessary for these methods to produce populations from spermatogonia to spermatozoa with high purity in order to produce representative qRT-PCR results downstream, indicating either presence or lack of genetic mutation enacted by future CRISPR-Cas9 experiments.
ContributorsDelgado, Elizabeth Ashley (Author) / Kiani, Samira (Thesis director) / Ebrahimkhani, Mo (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Pinpoint control over endogenous gene expression in vivo has long been a fevered dream for clinicians and researchers alike. With the recent repurposing of programmable, RNA-guided DNA endonucleases from the CRISPR bacterial immune system, this dream is becoming a powerful reality. Engineered CRISPR based transcriptional regulators have enabled researchers to perturb endogenous gene expression in vivo, allowing for the therapeutic reprogramming of cell and tissue behavior. However, for this technology to be of maximal use, a variety of technological hurdles still need to be addressed. Here, we discuss recent advances and integrative strategies that can help pave the way towards a new class of transcriptional therapeutics.
ContributorsPandelakis, Matthew (Author) / Ebrahimkhani, Mohammad (Thesis director) / Kiani, Samira (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05