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Genetic research

Gene Therapy Breakthrough: Researchers Discover New Method for Amplifying Genetic Traits

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Researchers at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have made a significant breakthrough in gene therapy, discovering a new method for amplifying genetic traits in hematopoietic stem cells. The study found that the introduction of extracellular double-stranded DNA into bone marrow cells can lead to an increase in telomeric DNA, a crucial indicator of genetic repair and recombination events. This discovery has the potential to revolutionize the field of gene therapy, enabling the amplification of new genetic traits and paving the way for novel treatments for various diseases.

Key Takeaways:

  • Researchers at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a new method for amplifying genetic traits in hematopoietic stem cells using extracellular double-stranded DNA.
  • The study found that the introduction of extracellular double-stranded DNA into bone marrow cells leads to an increase in telomeric DNA, a crucial indicator of genetic repair and recombination events.
  • The researchers discovered that angiogenin, a protein known to promote cell growth, also increases the amount of telomeric DNA in colony cells.
  • Unlike angiogenin, the increase in telomeric DNA following treatment with human DNA fragments (hDNAgr) has a fundamentally different origin.
  • Western blot analysis and real-time PCR revealed that the increase in the amount of telomeric DNA following treatment with double-stranded DNA preparation does not correlate with the activity of endogenous/exogenous telomerase.
  • The study concluded that the amplification of a new genetic trait that came into hematopoietic stem cells with extracellular double-stranded DNA material and was fixed in the recipient genome or was transitively present in the cell as new genetic information is possible.

Statistics:

  • 29(4):479-495, the journal article "Analysis of changes in the amount of telomeric DNA in colony cells as a new amplified feature that arose during the processing of hematopoietic bone marrow stem cells" was published in Vavilovskij zurnal genetiki i selekcii in 2025.
  • The study involved the use of mouse and rat model organisms as well as human bone marrow cells.
  • The researchers found a significant increase in the amount of telomeric DNA in the cells of grown colonies following treatment with human DNA fragments (hDNAgr).
  • A comparison of the type of colonies with the intensity of hybridization (i.e. the amount of telomeric DNA in the sample) suggested that the increase in the amount of detectable telomeric DNA following treatment with angiogenin and hDNAgr has a fundamentally different origin.

Sources:

  • Vavilovskij zurnal genetiki i selekcii, 2025,29(4):479-495. (Vavilovskij zurnal genetiki i selekcii - http://vavilov.elpub.ru/)
  • NewsRx. Study Findings on Gene Therapy Detailed by Researchers at Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Concept of natural genome reconstruction. Part 3. Analysis of changes in the amount of ...). Hematology Week. August 4, 2025; p 132.

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