SKIN cells taken from children with the premature ageing syndrome Hutchinson-Gilford progeria have been restored to normal. The work proves it is possible to compensate for the genetic defect that causes this cruel disease, but finding ways to do this in the entire body remains a big challenge.
Hutchinson-Gilford progeria is caused by a mutation in the gene coding for lamin A, an important structural protein in the cell nucleus. The mutation causes an extra chunk to be cut out of the RNA copy of the lamin A gene while it is being “edited” into the blueprint for making the…
