In the new study, the researchers set out to build on that work to create a library of synthetic biological parts that would allow them to deliver a transgene - a gene not normally expressed by the cell - and precisely control its expression. In 2013, researchers in Lu’s lab developed a CRISPR-based transcription factor that allowed them to more easily control transcription of naturally occurring genes in mammalian and yeast cells. However, zinc fingers and most other types of synthetic transcription factors have to be redesigned for each gene that they target, making them challenging and time-consuming to develop. In previous work, scientists have designed synthetic transcription factors, including proteins called zinc fingers, to help activate target genes. In all mammalian cells, genes have a promoter region that binds to transcription factors - proteins that initiate the transcription of the gene into messenger RNA. To do so, the researchers targeted the promoters of the genes they wanted to upregulate. on a project to develop synthetic biology tools that could be used to boost the production of these useful proteins. Several years ago, researchers in MIT’s Synthetic Biology Center, including Lu’s lab, began working with Pfizer Inc. Many therapeutic proteins, including monoclonal antibodies, are produced in large bioreactors containing mammalian cells that are engineered to generate the desired protein. Senior author Timothy Lu led the research as an MIT associate professor of biological engineering and of electrical engineering and computer science. “It’s a very tunable system and suitable for many different biomedical applications in different cell types.”Ĭhen, who is now an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the University of South Dakota, is one of the lead authors of the new study, along with former MIT Research Scientist Leonid Gaidukov and postdoc Yong Lai. “It’s a highly predictable system that we can design up front and then get the expected outcome,” says William C.W. The paper describing the results was published recently in the journal Nature Communications. In their new study, the researchers showed that this system can work in a variety of mammalian cells, with very consistent results. It could also precisely calibrate other aspects of cellular behavior. This technique could be used to precisely tune the production of useful proteins, including the monoclonal antibodies used to treat cancer and other diseases. MIT researchers have developed a new way to precisely control the amount of a particular protein that is produced in mammalian cells using an approach based on CRISPR proteins. Credit: Matthew Daniels, edited by MIT NewsĪ technique has been developed by researchers that could help fine-tune the production of monoclonal antibodies and other useful proteins. Using an approach based on the CRISPR gene-editing system, MIT researchers have developed a new way to precisely control the amount of a particular protein that is produced in mammalian cells.
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