The novel CRISPR-dCas9 based DNA demethylation system

Abstract

Many significant progresses have been made in the field of Ten-eleven translocation (TET) protein induced target DNA demethylation. Highly precise demethylation process is required for the efficient DNA transcription upregulation which can benefit gene expression manipulation and potential treatment for hypermethylated tumor suppressor induced cancer. Beside the pioneering TALE repeat fused TET1 and two different DNA binding zinc fingers (ZFs) fused TET2, Xu et. al introduced a more precise and easy-to-implement method to demethylate target genes by combining popular clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas with TET1 catalytic domain (TET1-CD). Here we introduce the basic description and discussion of the The novel CRISPR-dCas9 based DNA demethylation system. The determination of the best binding site for optimal transcription upregulation still remains a challenge. Natronobacterium gregoryi Argonaute (NgAgo) introduced by Gao et. Al can also be applied for better binding specificity and therefore elevating the efficiency of DNA demethylation system.