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REVIEW article

Front. Med.

Sec. Gene and Cell Therapy

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1613722

This article is part of the Research TopicGene Editing in Cancer Gene TherapyView all articles

Precision Scalpels for the Epigenome: Next-Gen Editing Tools in Targeted Therapies

Provisionally accepted
Ruiming ZhangRuiming Zhang1Tianqi YaoTianqi Yao1Meiyin FanMeiyin Fan2Xiaoying JiangXiaoying Jiang2Keshan WangKeshan Wang3Min CuiMin Cui4*Kaijian BingKaijian Bing5*Xiaotian XiaXiaotian Xia6,7*
  • 1Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
  • 2Health Management center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
  • 3Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
  • 4Department of Orthopaedics, Wuhan Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • 5Department of surgical education research, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
  • 6Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • 7Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China

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This article reviews the fundamental concepts of epigenetics and its related mechanisms, and discusses recent advances in epigenetic gene editors and their applications in disease treatment. First, the article introduces the concept of epigenetic inheritance and the four main epigenetic mechanisms. Then, after briefly outlining traditional gene editing, it presents epigenetic gene editors, their associated tools, and the historical context of their development. Subsequently, the article describes the working principles and advantages of epigenetic editing tools such as KRAB and DNMT. Addressing the current bottlenecks in the field, the article provides an in-depth analysis of editing efficiency and specificity, long-term safety, and the complexity of clinical applications.In addition, it discusses optimization strategies for delivery systems, minimization of off-target effects, and therapeutic approaches for multigene disorders. Finally, the article outlines the progress of epigenetic editors in both neoplastic and non-neoplastic disease research. In summary, this article offers a comprehensive review of the theoretical foundations of epigenetics, the evolution of gene editing tools, and the latest advances in epigenetic editors for disease treatment, providing a valuable reference for future research and clinical application.

Keywords: gene editing, Epigenetic editors, Cancer target therapy, metabolic disease, Neurological Diseases

Received: 17 Apr 2025; Accepted: 27 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Yao, Fan, Jiang, Wang, Cui, Bing and Xia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Min Cui, Department of Orthopaedics, Wuhan Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei Province, China
Kaijian Bing, Department of surgical education research, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Xiaotian Xia, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei Province, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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