Correction of aberrant imprinting by allele-specific epigenome editing

Abstract

Imprinting disorders are caused by the loss of the normal allele-specific DNA methylation at imprinting centers. Epigenetic editing is a promising approach to alter DNA methylation at defined genomic target regions. The novel development of CRISPR-Cas9-based DNA binding domains may allow for an allele-specific editing of DNA methylation at imprinted loci, for the first time offering a rational approach for correction of the molecular defects in imprinting disorders.