https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2017.493

Editing genetico: nuova questione bioetica? / Gene editing: a new issue for Bioethics?

V. 66 N. 3 (2017)
Ricevuto: luglio 6, 2017
Accettato: luglio 6, 2017
Pubblicato: luglio 3, 2017
CRISPR-Cas9, editing genetico, ingegneria genetica / CRISPR-Cas9, gene editing, genetic engineering
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Autori

Pietro Refolo
pietro.refolo@unicatt.it
Istituto di Bioetica e Medical Humanities, Facoltà di Medicina e chirurgia "A. Gemelli", Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy.
Vincenzo L. Pascali
Istituto di Sanità Pubblica, Facoltà di Medicina e chirurgia "A. Gemelli", Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy.
Antonio G. Spagnolo
Istituto di Bioetica e Medical Humanities, Facoltà di Medicina e chirurgia "A. Gemelli", Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy.
Modificazioni controllate nel genoma sono possibili, tramite svariate tecniche, sin dagli anni '70. Nucleasi a dito di zinco, nucleasi TALE, ma soprattutto CRISPR-Cas9 sono tecniche di editing genetico che hanno reso più semplice effettuarle. Il sistema CRISPR-Cas9, in particolare, si sta dimostrando estremamente vantaggioso in termini di accessibilità, efficienza e versatilità. Gli obiettivi del presente contributo consistono nel: 1. ricostruire i "fatti" salienti che hanno determinato l'emergere del topic dell'"editing genetico"; 2. provare a dar risposta a un primo fondamentale interrogativo circa l'originalità dei dilemmi etici da esso sollevato con particolare riferimento al CRISPR-Cas9. La conclusione è che, allo stato attuale, l'impiego di queste nuove tecniche non solleva questioni etiche nuove. L'unica eccezione sembrerebbe essere data dal particolare tipo di mutazioni indotte da queste tecniche, indistinguibili a lungo termine da quelle prodotte dalla natura, fatto che sta già determinando qualche difficoltà nella classificazione degli OGM ottenuti tramite queste tecniche.
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Controlled genome mutations are made possible through several techniques since the '70s. Zinc finger nucleases, TALE nucleases and above all CRISPR-Cas9 system are "gene editing" techniques which have made mutations easier. Particularly, CRISPR-Cas9 system seems to be extremely profitable in terms of accessibility, efficiency and versatility. The aims of the present article are: 1. to reconstruct the main "facts" about the birth of the topic on "gene editing"; to seek to answer a first question about the novelty of issues raised by this topic. Our conclusion is that, from an ethical point of view, using these techniques does not raise new ethical questions. Perhaps, the only exception refers to the specific mutations produced through these techniques which cannot be distinguished from natural mutations and makes GMO classification more difficult.

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Refolo, P., Pascali, V. L., & Spagnolo, A. G. (2017). Editing genetico: nuova questione bioetica? / Gene editing: a new issue for Bioethics?. Medicina E Morale, 66(3), 291–304. https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2017.493

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