Rohn treats anxiety in mice with gene editing

Troy Rohn

Troy Rohn, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, and two coauthors from cognigenics used the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool to modify the serotonin receptor 5HT-2A in mice. 5HT-2A plays a role in anxiety and depression in humans.

Mice that received treatment showed less behavior associated with anxiety. This research may lead to new treatments for anxiety and depression in human patients.

Rohn and his team also were the first researchers to successfully bypass the blood-brain barrier with CRISPR/Cas9. They demonstrated that noninvasive CRISPR/Cas9 delivery is feasible for gene editing in the brain.

Rohn published the results in his article "Genetic modulation of the HTR2A gene reduces anxiety-related behavior in mice," which appeared in the journal PNAS Nexus. Since its publication last year, the article has received over 7,000 views.

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