A team of Boise State faculty and students recently published an article on “Emerging Gene-Editing Modalities for Osteoarthritis” in the open-access journal International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Co-authors include: lead author and biology professor Julia Oxford; assistant professor of biomedical and mechanical engineering Clare Fitzpatrick; Capital High School junior student Alekya Tanikella; biomolecular doctoral students Stephanie Frahs and Makenna Hardy; biomedical and mechanical engineering research assistant Aidan Cormier; and doctoral computing student Kalin Gibbons.
An excerpt from the article reads:
“Osteoarthritis (OA) is a pathological degenerative condition of the joints that is widely prevalent worldwide, resulting in significant pain, disability, and impaired quality of life. The diverse etiology and pathogenesis of OA can explain the paucity of viable preventive and disease-modifying strategies to counter it. Advances in genome-editing techniques may improve disease-modifying solutions by addressing inherited predisposing risk factors and the activity of inflammatory modulators. […] The purpose of this literature review was to concisely summarize the genome-editing options against chronic degenerative joint conditions such as OA with a focus on the more recently emerging modalities, especially CRISPR/Cas9. Future advancements in novel genome-editing therapies may improve the efficacy of such targeted treatments.”