Inducible gene editing using CRISPR/Cas Technology

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) isolated from adult tissue resemble embryonic stem cells in that they can undergo unlimited self-renewal while being able to differentiate into various cell types. iPSC can serve as a renewable source for generating a variety of functional cells for research and therapy. 

Genetic studies using human ECs or iPSCs usually encounter technical difficulties in gene manipulation such as gene ablation or gene activation. Moreover, lineage tracing and cell type-specificc isolation during stem cell differentiation require precise knocking of a reporter gene to the locus of linage market. The emerge of CRISPR/Cas9 technology is an efficient genetic editing tool that allows precise guiding of Cas9 endonuclease to a specific genomic region by a guide RNA.

The group hopes to develop genetic engineered iPSC and ESC lines to gain further insight into the regulatory mechanism and better tracking of specific lineages, gene editing and tagging.