CRISPR Epigenome Editing Controls Inflammation and Tumor Growth in Leukemia Cells

Overview

• The study published July 17 in Science Advances shows that CRISPR-Cas9–based tools can add or remove methyl groups at the IL1RN promoter in human leukemia cells to toggle gene activity.
• Editing IL1RN methylation altered the production of inflammatory cells and reshaped cytokine profiles, enabling suppression of cancer cell proliferation in vitro.
• This represents the first experimental proof that targeted DNA methylation editing of an immune regulator can directly influence disease-related cellular functions.
• Led by Dr. Gemma Valcárcel with Dr. Esteban Ballestar’s collaboration, the research was conducted at the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute in Catalonia.
• The authors propose that this epigenome-editing strategy could form the basis of new treatments for leukemia subtypes and other conditions driven by immune system dysregulation.