Cell reprogramming and transdifferentiation mean changing the identity and
function of cells. In the thesis we reviewed the literature and examined the
possibilities for reprogramming and transdifferentiation of cells using activators
bound to the Cas enzyme that is part of the CRISPR / Cas ribonucleoprotein
complex. The CRISPR / Cas system is a very popular tool for gene editing. It is
based on the establishment of ribonucleoprotein complex, consisting of RNA
(sgRNA) which determines the target region, and the Cas protein. With certain
modifications, the system can also be used for different applicative uses. One such
modification is replacement of a Cas9 protein with a mutated form that lacks
endonuclease activity ("dead" Cas9-dCas9). It has been shown that fusion of
transactivation domains to dCas9, upon binding to target sites in the genome,
induces the expression of target genes, which may be used for cell reprogramming
or cell the aim of achieving reprogramming of cells in a pluripotent state or
differentiation into the desired cell type. Literature mining revealed that the
technology has been successfully used fort his purpose and could be useful in future
regenerative medicine and biotechnology applications.
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