11 September 2025
Cutting Edge Gene Editing in Primary Human Hepatocytes
Gene editing promises cures for a wide range of diseases. Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) were developed as the first programmable editors in the early 2000s, followed by TALENs (Transcription Activator Like Effector Nucleases) about a decade later[1]. However, it was the discovery and application of easy to use CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing methods, that sparked a flurry of new activity since 2013. New gene editing methods that build on this platform continue to be a hot area of research, with the goal of developing techniques that increase specificity and circumvent the need for double-stranded breaks (DBSs) in order to reduce off-target effects and minimize safety concerns[2]. Moreover, increasing the size of sequences that can be modified, and improving editing efficiency in non-dividing cells are also areas of great interest.
