Genome Surgery for Ophthalmic Disorders

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In the current era of personalized medicine, we have identified a large number of genetic variants in patients with various diseases using next generation sequencing. Recent advances in genetic engineering, genotyping, high-resolution imaging, and biomarker testing have made it easier to deliver the right treatments to the right patients at the right time. This article collection presents an overview of gene editing strategies including variants of CRISPR and Cas proteins, guide RNA (gRNA) selection and synthesis, gene editing, RNA editing, delivery to cell/tissue, and off-target analysis. These theoretical principles will be supplemented with the practical and clinical applications of genome engineering in eye and vision science.

Many basic- and clinician-scientists already have a general background of and appreciation for the CRISPR/Cas9 system due to its increasing popularity in scientific literature. This system, however, constitutes only one aspect of the larger field of gene editing. A deeper understanding of the technical and theoretical details of gene editing, in turn, may benefit researchers in designing and executing their own experiments. Given the rapid changes within this field, a comprehensive overview must invariably include a summary of recent developments and innovative techniques. As such, this collection will also address the updates that have emerged and their translational applications. To that end, we will describe how these cutting-edge techniques have facilitated new therapeutic avenues to ultimately treat retinal and other ophthalmic diseases.

 

The cognitive psychology of perception and decision-making is at a cross-road. Most studies still employ categorical designs, a priori classified stimuli and perform statistical evaluations across subjects. However, a shift has been observed in recent years towards parametric designs in which the information content of stimuli is systematically manipulated to study the single-trial dynamics of behaviour (reaction times, eye movements) and brain activity (EEG, MEG, fMRI). By using the information contained in the variance of individual trials, the single-trial approach goes beyond the activity of the average brain: it reveals the specificity of information processing in individual subjects, across tasks and stimulus space, revealing both inter-individual commonalties and differences. This Research Topic provides theoretical and empirical support for the study of single-trial data.

Topics of particular interest include:

1. description of the richness of information in single-trials and how it can be successfully extracted;
2. statistical issues related to measures of central tendency, control for multiple comparisons, multivariate approaches, hierarchical modelling and characterization of individual differences;
3. how manipulation of the stimulus space can allow for a direct mapping of stimulus properties onto brain activity to infer dynamics of information processing and information content of brain states;
4. how results from different brain imaging techniques can be integrated at the single-trial level.

Media contact:

 

William Andrews

Managging Editor

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology

Mail ID: opthalmology@peerjournal.org

WhatsApp no: + 1-504-608-2390