An international team of scientists has corrected in embryos the mutation of the gene that causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a hereditary disease that affects one in 500 people and is the most common cause of sudden death in athletes.
The technique used (CRISPR-Cas9) has managed to correct the error in the earliest stage of embryonic development, which would prevent its transmission to future generations.
Scientists, however, stress that while these are promising results, they are preliminary and much more research is needed to ensure that no undesirable effects occur.
In this case, to carry out the experiments healthy embryos were generated, with sperm from a donor carrying a mutation that causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and with a 50% chance of transmitting it to their children.
Another of the novelties used responds to the technique that allows cutting the genome where it is wanted to later repair it.
Not only were a high percentage of embryonic cells repaired, but the correction did not induce other mutations or instability in the genome: 72% of the embryos had two healthy copies of the gene, according to a note from the Korean center.