CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing for curing sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common monogenic blood disorder marked by severe pain, end-organ damage, and early mortality. Treatment options for SCD remain very limited. There are only four FDA approved drugs to reduce acute complications. The only curative therapy for SCD is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, typically from a matched, related donor. Ex vivo engineering of autologous hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells followed by transplantation of genetically modified cells potentially provides a permanent cure applicable to all patients regardless of the availability of suitable donors and graft-vs-host disease. In this review, we focus on the use of CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing for curing SCD, including the curative correction of SCD mutation in β-globin (HBB) and the induction of fetal hemoglobin to reverse sickling. We summarize the major achievements and challenges, aiming to provide a clearer perspective on the potential of gene-editing based approaches in curing SCD.