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New CRISPR technology could help repair damaged neurons

Stanford researchers have developed a technology that delivers RNA to damaged neurons and stimulates regrowth – paving the way for potential treatments targeting neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and spinal muscular atrophy.

Their work, supported by the National Institutes of Health, forms the foundation for a new class of therapeutics that the researchers are calling “spatial RNA medicine,” which they hope will lead to treatments for neurological diseases as well as traumatic injuries. “For the first time, we’ve harnessed the power of CRISPR technology to create a precise spatial ‘zip code’ that delivers RNA molecules exactly where they’re needed within cells,” said Stanley Qi, an associate professor of bioengineering and senior author on the paper published May 21 in Nature. Additional Stanford co-authors of this research include postdoctoral scholars Yanyu Zhu, Alexander A. Choi, Emmy Li, Leanne Miles, and Yitong Ma; and graduate students Maylin L. Fu, Jon Bezney, and Sa Cai.

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