CRISPR screen maps neutrophil gene function
Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cells in the human body. They survive for only hours to days. That short lifespan has made them nearly impossible to study in the laboratory.
Researchers have developed a solution. They created a cell model in which neutrophil progenitors (cells that have not yet matured into neutrophils) can be kept in stable culture. By equipping these progenitors with the Cas9 protein, they can then run a genome-wide CRISPR screen. That means systematically disabling every gene in the cell and observing what happens to neutrophil maturation and function.
The study describes how this model was used to identify genes involved in neutrophil differentiation (the process by which progenitor cells mature into functional immune cells). It produces a large dataset of genes with roles in immune function.
Why this matters for ageing
The immune system changes fundamentally with age. In older individuals, neutrophils become less effective at detecting and clearing pathogens. They also contribute to low-grade chronic inflammation, a state that accelerates ageing and is associated with nearly all age-related diseases.
To understand why neutrophils function less well in older people, you first need to know which genes govern their activity. That is precisely what this kind of genomic tooling makes possible.
From cell model to clinical knowledge
The cell model is also useful for drug screening. Researchers can now far more efficiently test which compounds affect neutrophil maturation or activity. That is relevant for autoimmune disease, infections, and chronic inflammation.
Direct translation into a treatment is still a long way off. But the tools to gather that knowledge are now in place.