Last year, Chinese scientist He Jiankui shocked the world with the revelation that the first gene babies would be born. He believed that mutation of the CCR5 gene would protect the twin girls from HIV. But a massive genome study by two University of California, Berkeley scientists has found that this CRISPR gene change may be linked to a shortened lifespan.
One of the many controversies surrounding the project was the fact that it was unclear what further consequences the gene modification would have. Previous studies had found that while this particular CCR5 mutation can prevent HIV infection, it also appears to increase people's susceptibility to influenza and West Nile virus infections.
To better understand the broader implications of this particular CCR5 mutation, population geneticist Rasmus Nielsen and lead author Xinzhu Wei researched the DNA and death certificates of 400,000 volunteers in a large British genetic database. The results showed that people with two mutated copies of the CCR5 gene were 21 percent more likely to die before age 76 than people with only one or no copies.
In February, variations of the same gene were linked to memory restoration after astrokeimplicated, meaning it could also play a role in altering brain function.
“Apart from the many ethical problems associated with gene babies, based on current knowledge, it is still very dangerous to introduce mutations without knowing the full effect of these mutations,” adds Nielsen. Nielsen and Wei believe that the CCR5 mutation has little benefit and can cause multiple potential harms.
The research was conducted in EnglishNature Medicine journalpublished on June 3rd.
