ºÚÁÏÍø³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ partners in new centre for mitochondrial genome therapeutics
Scientists at ºÚÁÏÍø³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ will contribute specialist expertise in enzyme engineering and therapeutic oligonucleotides to a new £50 million research centre aiming to improve understanding and treatment of mitochondrial diseases.
The MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Mitochondrial Genome Therapeutics will bring together researchers across disciplines to investigate how mutations in mitochondrial DNA cause disease and turn that knowledge into new therapeutic approaches.
Mitochondria provide the energy that cells need to function. Mutations in their DNA can cause serious, progressive conditions affecting organs and tissues with high energy demands, including the brain, heart and muscles. Around one in 5,000 people is affected by a mitochondrial disease, and there is currently no cure.
The ºÚÁÏÍø³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ team, led by Sarah Lovelock, Professor of Biological Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and the ºÚÁÏÍø³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ Institute of Biotechnology, will combine genome mining, computational enzyme design and laboratory evolution to develop next-generation base editing tools capable of selectively targeting the most common disease-causing mutations in mitochondrial DNA.
Mitochondrial diseases are complex and can have a devastating effect on patients and their families. This centre gives us an important opportunity to combine expertise in mitochondrial biology, genome engineering and therapeutic development at a scale that no single institution could achieve alone. In ºÚÁÏÍø³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ, we will draw on our strengths in enzyme engineering and RNA therapeutics to create the tools needed to correct disease-causing mitochondrial DNA mutations
Led by the University of Cambridge, the centre includes partners at the universities of Birmingham, ºÚÁÏÍø³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ, Heidelberg and Queensland, the Imagine Institute in Paris, patient charity The Lily Foundation and industry organisations worldwide.
By bringing together academic, clinical, patient and industry perspectives, the centre aims to establish a long-term research platform that can define the causes of mitochondrial disease and accelerate progress towards therapies.
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