A gentle squeeze that quadruples gene editing's reach

Some genes are folded away so tightly that gene-editing tools cannot reach them. A team led by UCLA bioengineer Song Li found a mechanical key: squeeze the cells. Passing mouse fibroblasts — ordinary connective-tissue cells — through a tiny channel briefly loosened their tightly folded DNA, letting CRISPR activation tools switch on genes that were previously out of reach. The strategy, named MECA and published in Matter, reprogrammed about 40% of the fibroblasts into neurons, against about 10% for CRISPR activation alone. Activating a gene called Oct4 in cells from aged mice even made the cells score younger on epigenetic clocks — the molecular estimates of biological age. It is early, laboratory-stage work, but it suggests the barrier to reprogramming cells is sometimes physical, not chemical.

SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: tech innovation