New Gene-Editing Tool, SATI, Focuses On Non-Coding Regions Of The Genome

CRISPR gene editing has promised to revolutionize genetics and medicine. But it has limitations. Researchers with the Salk Institute developed a new type of gene editing called SATI that may provide the option of editing numerous gene mutation diseases like Huntington’s disease and the rare premature aging syndrome, progeria.

SATI stands for intercellular linearized Single homology Arm donor mediated intron-Targeting Integration. It is an advanced form of another type of gene editing tool called HITI (homology-independent targeted integration).

CRISPR is typically most effective in dividing cells, like those found in the skin or gut, because it leverages the cells’ DNA repair mechanisms. Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory, had previously developed HITI, which is a modification of CRISPR, that could target both dividing and non-dividing cells.

There are, broadly, two types of regions in the genome—protein-coding regions, where the DNA codes specifically for proteins, and non-protein-coding regions, which regulate many cellular activities, turning genes on and off. The non-coding regions actually make up about 98% of the genome. – Bio Space