4 ms·

.. In mice. It is unknown if it will work in humans. In addition, what are the long term consequences of causing multiple DNA cuts in nerve cells that the DNA

.. In mice. It is unknown if it will work in humans. In addition, what are the long term consequences of causing multiple DNA cuts in nerve cells that the DNA repair mechanism cannot repair? There is still a very long, long way to go.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
wnevets 6y ago
>DNA cuts in nerve cells that the DNA repair mechanism cannot repair If I read the article correctly the "cuts" are made to the DNA of the virus, not the nerve cell itself. [1] [1] The hidden herpes viruses are disabled by an injection that tracks down infected nerve cells and induces them to make special gene-cutting enzymes, which work like a molecular scissors, to slash viral genes in specific places. Much of the team’s meticulous work of the past five years has involved finding better ways to target infected clusters of nerve cells and to thwart the virus’s ability to quickly repair the cuts to its genes.
- mrtesthah 6y ago
  >If I read the article correctly the "cuts" are made to the DNA of the virus, not the nerve cell itself. [1] To further clarify, the herpes virus leaves DNA plasmids inside the cell nucleus; the virus' DNA is NOT incorporated into the cell's genome (like HIV) and the meganuclease delivered by the AAV cuts apart those plasmids -- not the cell's own DNA -- and in this version actually leaves behind its own plasmid that acts as a sentinel making more meganucleases to guard against future HSV infections in that cell. The researchers are investigating ways to remove those AAV plasmids when the job is done for added safety.
- inglor_cz 6y ago
  Basically, you want the cuts to only happen where they should. Without so-called "off target" edits, undesirable changes elsewhere. We are becoming better with the molecular scissors, but 100 percent accuracy is AFAIK not there yet.
hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
I am baffled why you are being downvoted. While this research is very promising, it's also not hard for me to imagine a scenario where these targeted molecular "DNA scissors" do something unexpected. And while the risks of gene editing seems worth it for fatal or debilitating diseases, I don't think I'd want to be on a trial for this for a disease that is primarily an annoyance. Again, I think the research and techniques are really cool, but your comment seems quite valid to me.
- bsder 6y ago
  > I don't think I'd want to be on a trial for this for a disease that is primarily an annoyance. You can go blind, lose your sense of smell permanently, and get encephalitis from bad herpes outbreaks. It isn't just an inconvenience to those people. And because herpes infects practically the entirety of the population, these problems are more common than you would expect. And that's before we start chewing through all the viral data were going to get due to everybody actually paying attention to symptoms due to Covid. I suspect that the "viral hypothesis" people are going to have a field day for the next 10 years.
  - hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
    Thanks for your response, I wasn't really aware of the prevalence of herpes-related blindness and encephalitis.
- kar5pt 6y ago
  I think the social stigma attached to Herpes is more than "an annoyance".
  - hinkley 6y ago
    We are still trying to figure out if some neurodegenerative diseases are caused by herpes viruses. Having a vaccine is probably about the slowest way to figure that out, but if it turns out to be true then the problem is already solved.
  - 6y ago
jackmodern 6y ago
in mice.. your comment is so helpful man. in mice is surprisingly useful and comments like yours make anything studied "in mice" out to be useless. please, get out of threads on the cutting edge of medical information, you aren't useful with your unwarranted cynicism and skepticism. please. LEAVE.
__s 6y ago
To rephrase the other (dead) "in mice" response with civility: ".. in mice" meme is more about studies where you have to read past the headline to know the study was on mice. In this case, "Mouse studies" opens the headline

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

wnevets 6y ago

>DNA cuts in nerve cells that the DNA repair mechanism cannot repair If I read the article correctly the "cuts" are made to the DNA of the virus, not the nerve cell itself. [1] [1] The hidden herpes viruses are disabled by an injection that tracks down infected nerve cells and induces them to make special gene-cutting enzymes, which work like a molecular scissors, to slash viral genes in specific places. Much of the team’s meticulous work of the past five years has involved finding better ways to target infected clusters of nerve cells and to thwart the virus’s ability to quickly repair the cuts to its genes.

mrtesthah 6y ago
>If I read the article correctly the "cuts" are made to the DNA of the virus, not the nerve cell itself. [1] To further clarify, the herpes virus leaves DNA plasmids inside the cell nucleus; the virus' DNA is NOT incorporated into the cell's genome (like HIV) and the meganuclease delivered by the AAV cuts apart those plasmids -- not the cell's own DNA -- and in this version actually leaves behind its own plasmid that acts as a sentinel making more meganucleases to guard against future HSV infections in that cell. The researchers are investigating ways to remove those AAV plasmids when the job is done for added safety.
inglor_cz 6y ago
Basically, you want the cuts to only happen where they should. Without so-called "off target" edits, undesirable changes elsewhere. We are becoming better with the molecular scissors, but 100 percent accuracy is AFAIK not there yet.

hn_throwaway_99 6y ago

I am baffled why you are being downvoted. While this research is very promising, it's also not hard for me to imagine a scenario where these targeted molecular "DNA scissors" do something unexpected. And while the risks of gene editing seems worth it for fatal or debilitating diseases, I don't think I'd want to be on a trial for this for a disease that is primarily an annoyance. Again, I think the research and techniques are really cool, but your comment seems quite valid to me.

bsder 6y ago
> I don't think I'd want to be on a trial for this for a disease that is primarily an annoyance. You can go blind, lose your sense of smell permanently, and get encephalitis from bad herpes outbreaks. It isn't just an inconvenience to those people. And because herpes infects practically the entirety of the population, these problems are more common than you would expect. And that's before we start chewing through all the viral data were going to get due to everybody actually paying attention to symptoms due to Covid. I suspect that the "viral hypothesis" people are going to have a field day for the next 10 years.
- hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
  Thanks for your response, I wasn't really aware of the prevalence of herpes-related blindness and encephalitis.
kar5pt 6y ago
I think the social stigma attached to Herpes is more than "an annoyance".
- hinkley 6y ago
  We are still trying to figure out if some neurodegenerative diseases are caused by herpes viruses. Having a vaccine is probably about the slowest way to figure that out, but if it turns out to be true then the problem is already solved.
- 6y ago

jackmodern 6y ago

in mice.. your comment is so helpful man. in mice is surprisingly useful and comments like yours make anything studied "in mice" out to be useless. please, get out of threads on the cutting edge of medical information, you aren't useful with your unwarranted cynicism and skepticism. please. LEAVE.

__s 6y ago

To rephrase the other (dead) "in mice" response with civility: ".. in mice" meme is more about studies where you have to read past the headline to know the study was on mice. In this case, "Mouse studies" opens the headline