CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing Approaches for Psychiatric Research.

Currently, genome editing technologies, such as the Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR/Cas9), are predominantly used to model genetic diseases. This genome editing system can correct point or frameshift mutations of risk genes. Here, we analyze and discuss the genome editing advantages, current applications, and the feasibility of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in psychiatric disorders research. These disorders produce cognitive and behavioral alterations. Besides, their etiology is associated with polygenetic and environmental factors. CRISPR/Cas9 may allow the understanding of the biological mechanisms of psychiatric disorders at a basic research level. We propose that the knowledge of these post-editing mechanisms in the psychiatric field may ease the translation of a suitable clinical approach in genetic diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders. Currently, the diagnosis and treatment in psychiatry are not fully established because of the limited understanding of the heterogeneity and polygenicity of these disorders. Here, we discussed the challenges and ethical issues that could lead to the CRISPR/Cas9 application as a diagnosis or gene therapy tool in the future.