CRISPR, Prime Editing, Optogenetics, and DREADDs: New Therapeutic Approaches Provided by Emerging Technologies in the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury

Author(s)

Paschon, Vera ^[1] ; Correia, Felipe Fernandes ^[1] ; Morena, Beatriz Cintra ^[1] ; da Silva, Victor Allisson ^[1] ; dos Santos, Gustavo Bispo ^[2] ; da Silva, Maria Cristina Carlan ^[3] ; Cristante, Alexandre Fogaca ^[2] ; Willerth, Stephanie Michelle ^{[4, 5]} ; Perrin, Florence Evelyne ^[6] ; Kihara, Alexandre Hiroaki ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed ABC, Ctr Matemat Comp & Cognicao, Sao Bernardo Do Campo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Inst Ortopedia & Traumatol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed ABC, Ctr Ciencias Nat & Humanas, Sao Bernardo Do Campo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Victoria, Dept Mech Engn, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2 - Canada

^[5] Univ Victoria, Div Med Sci, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2 - Canada

^[6] Univ Montpellier, U1198, INSERM, EPHE, F-34095 Montpellier - France

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Molecular Neurobiology; v. 57, n. 4, p. 2085-2100, APR 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes temporary disabilities or permanent effects including neuropathic pain and spastiscity. The damage often results from , which in turn triggers the neuroinflammatory process. Neuroinflammation plays essential roles in the structural, biochemical, and cellular changes that take place in the spinal cord after the injury. Indeed, SCI activates many different signaling pathways that coordinate the resulting cellular responses. While neuroinflammation serves as a physiological reaction to harmful stimuli, it is clear that long-lasting inflammatory response leads to aggravation of the neurodegenerative processes, becoming detrimental to recovery post-injury. In this context, we present some possible therapeutic targets in these activated signaling pathways and provide new perspectives for SCI treatment based on recently developed technologies, including clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based methods (including prime editing), optogenetics, and designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs). We critically analyze the recent advances in the deployment of these methods focusing on the control of the initial neuroinflammatory response. We then propose alternatives and provide new avenues for SCI treatment based on these emerging technologies. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/26439-0 - An interdisciplnary approach on the role of gap junctions and miRNAs in the development and degeneration of the nervous system
• Grantee: Alexandre Hiroaki Kihara
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants