• Question: Is there a way in which you can induce segregation chromosome 21 at early stages to control down syndrome

    Asked by 242pink33 to Silvia on 23 May 2018.
    • Photo: Silvia Situma

      Silvia Situma answered on 23 May 2018:


      Conventionally Downs syndrome has been deemed irremediable. However recently some researchers have aimed to develop ‘chromosome therapy’ for Downs Syndrome.
      This has been done by:
      1) inserting a TK-NEO marker that can be selected against in order to eliminate one copy of chromosome 21
      2) inactivating one of the copies of chromosome 21 by inserting into it a copy of the XIST gene that normally inactivates one of the two X chromosomes in female cells.
      Even though these procedures have provided proof of principle, they have not been applied to due to their requirement of elaborate and cumbersome multi-step genetic engineering.

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