Cellectis publishes results paving the way for new therapeutic approaches against cancer and genetic diseases

Paris, France, October 2nd, 2012 - Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS), the French genome engineering specialist, announces in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, one of the most respected scientific journals in the world, the publication of a new approach regarding the targeted modification of DNA (2).

The scientific journal JBC publishes a first study on TALENs^TM , the high-potential, therapeutic and biotechnological DNA scissors

 

The manuscript unmasks novel perspectives and broadens the scope of TALENs^TM technology to new therapeutic approaches to fight against cancer and genetic diseases. Until now, TALENsTM, the molecular scissors created by Cellectis Group, were only able to target certain parts of the genome. A team of the Group’s researchers, led by Julien Valton and Philippe Duchateau, was able to overcome this constraint, opening the way to a wider range of applications, especially in the therapeutic field.

This study, the first to be published on TALENsTM, was awarded by the selection committee of the JBC as “Paper of the Week”.

Since their identification in 2009, “TALEs” have quickly emerged as the new generation of DNA-binding domain with programmable specificity and have been successfully used to generate the molecular scissors known as TALENs^TM. However, their sensitivity to methylation, a ubiquitous modification of DNA, represents a major bottleneck for their widespread utilization in the genome engineering and therapeutic fields. Using a combination of biochemical, structural and cellular approaches, the R&D department of Cellectis was able to identify the basis of such sensitivity and more importantly, to propose an efficient and universal method to overcome it.

“These results are proof of the scientific creativity and quality of our research teams, as well as the power of our genome engineering tools. This new publication strengthens the relevance of our investment in TALEs technology, and confirms our strategy within the therapeutic field” declared André Choulika, Chief Executive Officer of Cellectis Group.

 

2) Overcoming TALE DNA Binding Domain Sensitivity to Cytosine Methylation Julien Valton, Aurelie Dupuy, Fayza Daboussi, Severine Thomas, Alan Marechal, Rachel Macmaster, Kevin Melliand, Alexandre Juillerat and Philippe Duchateau J. Biol. Chem. jbc.C112.408864. First Published on September 26, 2012, doi:10.1074/jbc.C112.408864