Category Archives: CRISPR/Cas9

CRISPR/Cas9, CRISPR, Hair System

Lulu and Nana and Scott

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Please note that the original version of this post on CRISPR babies Lulu and Nana was written in 2018. It can be read below this update. Also see the wiki on the “He Jiankui Affair“. Our interest in CRISPR gene editing is focused on its potential use to cure hair loss.

Update: February 5, 2023 — Scientist who edited babies’ genes says he acted too quickly. And his ghost is still haunting geneticists at conferences.

Update: February 1, 2023

Dr. He Jiankui is out of Prison

Dr. He Jiankui joined Twitter a few months ago after coming out of prison. He just gave an encouraging update on Lulu and Nana that I have embedded below. I hope this is not a fake account! So far, it sounds legitimate. Mr. Jiankui wants to resume experimenting in the lab. Also, whatever happened to Scott (see bottom half of this post)?

https://twitter.com/Jiankui_He/status/1616964325234839552

— Happy New Year from his family.

November 26, 2018

Lulu and Nana

Huge news from China, where scientists claim to have used CRISPR/Cas9 to genetically modify human babies for the first time in history. The two female babies are named Lulu and Nana. Not sure what to think about the ethics of all this as yet, but I like what Dr. Jiankui He has to say about genes not defining you:

“Our DNA does not predetermine our purpose or what we could achieve. We flourish from our own hard work, nutrition, and support from society and our loved ones. Whatever our genes may be, we are equal in dignity and potential.”

In this particular case, the volunteer fathers all have HIV and they want to make sure that their progeny do not suffer from the terrible disease of AIDS. One article on this tory is titled: Chinese scientists are creating CRISPR babies. The scientists plan is to eliminate a gene called CCR5, so as to ensure that the human offspring are then resistant to HIV (as well as smallpox and cholera).

Note that some media reports are placing doubt on the accuracy of these claims and the methodology used.

Update: Dr. George Church seems to think that this is for real:

“I have been in contact with the Shenzhen team and have seen the data. The sequencing assays used are generally unambiguous, especially when done in multiple cell types at different developmental stages and in two children. Is the genie really out of the bottle? Yes.”

First Gene Edited Babies Claimed in China

The below video (and associated story) from the He Lab’s YouTube channel has caused much global controversy.

November 24, 2018

Scott Tries a New Hair System

I was thinking of adding Scott’s latest video about his new hair system to my original lengthy post on his hair system. However, there are already three other videos on there, including a before one. So I am adding it below. I like this hair system better than the first one.

CRISPR/Cas9, Dermal Sheath, Elaine Fuchs, Lymphatic System, Michael Rendl

Dermal Sheath Contraction, Lymphatic System and Hair Loss

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There were three important developments in the world of hair loss in December 2019 that I did not cover in separate posts. This is becasue all of them entail findings that are yet to translate into any kind of clinical trials.

Dermal Sheath Contraction and Hair Loss

Dr. Michael Rendl and his team at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York discovered that preventing the dermal sheath smooth muscle from contracting could stop hair loss. In future, a drug could prevent such muscle contraction and one would never shed hair.

The best way to avoid androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is to stop hair from falling out in the first place. This treatment of blocking contraction of the sheath muscle has the potential to do just that in the future. Actual study here. The scientists discovered that the dermal sheath’s function is to contract and push up the hair shaft and pull up the dermal papilla cells (towards the stem cells).

Lymphatic System Involved in Hair Loss

Another renowned hair loss researcher from New York that I have covered in the past is Dr. Elaine Fuchs. In December, her team at Rockefeller University found that the lymphatic system plays a key role in hair regeneration.

Hair follicle stem cells control the behavior of lymphatic capillaries. This discovery can lead to new therapeutic targets for lymph-related conditions, including wound-healing defects and hair loss. Actual study here.

CRISPR/Cas9 Delivery System for AGA

Also in December 2019, South Korean scientists published an important paper on using CRISPR/Cas9 to treat androgenetic alopecia. They used ultrasound delivery and activation of nanoliposomal particles. The researchers successfully transferred protein constructs into hair follicle dermal papilla cells.

There are very few studies on the use of CRISPR and gene therapy (or gene modification) to treat hair loss. Hopefully, this will start to change in the near future. Most scientists are interested in using CRISPR to treat medical problems rather than cosmetic ones. It will always be easier to get government approval for the former rather than the latter.