The definitive guide to gene editing.
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The CRISPR Atlas

Genes

The specific stretches of DNA that editing programmes aim at, and what each one does in the body.

19 genes in the Atlas.

19 shown

SymbolFull nameChromosome What it does
HBB Haemoglobin subunit beta 11p15.4 Encodes the beta chain of adult haemoglobin; a single-letter change in it causes sickle cell disease, and…
BCL11A BAF chromatin remodelling complex subunit BCL11A 2p16.1 The switch that turns off fetal haemoglobin after birth — and the actual target of the world's first approved…
PCSK9 Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 1p32.3 A liver gene that controls how much LDL cholesterol stays in the blood — and the target of the first attempt…
TTR Transthyretin 18q12.1 Encodes a liver protein that carries thyroid hormone and vitamin A — and which, when it misfolds, forms the…
CFTR Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator 7q31.2 Encodes a chloride channel in cell membranes; when it fails, secretions across the body become abnormally…
DMD Dystrophin Xp21.2-p21.1 The largest gene in the human genome, encoding dystrophin — the shock absorber that keeps muscle fibres…
CCR5 C-C chemokine receptor type 5 3p21.31 An immune cell surface receptor that HIV uses as a doorway — and the gene at the centre of the field's worst…
SERPINA1 Serpin family A member 1 14q32.13 Encodes alpha-1 antitrypsin, the protein that protects lung tissue from being digested by the body's own…
KLKB1 Kallikrein B1 4q35.2 Encodes prekallikrein, an upstream component of the pathway that produces the swelling of hereditary…
HTT Huntingtin 4p16.3 Encodes huntingtin; an expanded CAG repeat in it causes Huntington's disease through a toxic gain of function.
NCF1 Neutrophil cytosolic factor 1 7q11.23 Encodes p47phox, part of the enzyme complex white blood cells use to kill bacteria — and the first gene…
BRCA1 BRCA1 DNA repair associated 17q21.31 A DNA repair gene whose loss substantially raises the risk of breast and ovarian cancer — important to gene…
BRCA2 BRCA2 DNA repair associated 13q13.1 The second major hereditary breast and ovarian cancer gene, also central to repairing double-strand DNA…
LDLR Low-density lipoprotein receptor 19p13.2 The receptor liver cells use to clear LDL cholesterol from the blood; faults in it are the commonest cause of…
CEP290 Centrosomal protein 290 12q21.32 A large gene required for the function of the connecting cilium in photoreceptors; one deep intronic variant…
APOE Apolipoprotein E 19q13.32 A lipid-transport gene whose ε4 variant is the strongest common genetic risk factor for late-onset…
TRAC T cell receptor alpha constant 14q11.2 The T-cell receptor gene that must be removed to make donor immune cells safe to give to an unrelated patient.
B2M Beta-2 microglobulin 15q21.1 A required component of MHC class I; removing it hides transplanted cells from the recipient's killer T cells.
PDCD1 Programmed cell death 1 2q37.3 Encodes PD-1, the brake tumours press to switch off attacking T cells — removed by editing so engineered…

Gene symbols follow HGNC nomenclature; cytogenetic locations are as published by NCBI Gene and Ensembl.