Advanced Research on Retina: Recent Development of Genome Editing Strategies Aimed at Treating Inherited Retinal Diseases

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cell and Gene Therapy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2024) | Viewed by 272

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Genetic Engineering Core, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Interests: germline genetic engineer; cellular reprogramming; iPSC; mES; mircoRNAs; CRISPR; DNA double strand break repair

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Cells focuses on inherited retinal diseases, a genetically diverse group of blinding disorders primarily characterized by photoreceptor neurodegeneration. Affecting approximately 1 in 3,000 individuals globally, these conditions significantly impair patients' quality of life. Over 270 causative genes have been identified, driving intense interest in gene therapy utilizing adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) to deliver wildtype copies and counteract loss-of-function mutations. However, this approach faces challenges such as unmet physiological demand from exogenously expressed complementing genes, transgene silencing within AAV vectors, and persistent stress from unrepaired mutant alleles.

Recent advancements in genome editing offer promising avenues to address the root causes of genetic disorders. Clinical trials employing CRISPR-Cas-based technologies are already underway, including for inherited retinal diseases. This Special Issue aims to present an encompassing view of genome editing efforts targeting inherited retinal diseases. It emphasizes the creation of animal models that validate proof-of-concept strategies and explores DNA damage repair pathways implicated in genome editing across distinct eye tissue compartments. By highlighting these aspects, the issue contributes to advancing our understanding and therapeutic approaches for inherited retinal diseases.

Dr. Lijin Dong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • retina
  • RPE
  • neurodegeneration
  • retina neurodegeneration
  • retinitis pigmentosa
  • genome editing
  • CRISPR
  • DNA double strand break
  • DNA repair
  • homologous recombination
  • indel

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers

There is no accepted submissions to this special issue at this moment.
Back to TopTop