Gene editing: a near future for the treatment of genetic kidney diseases

The study by Chen et al. is the first to apply the revolutionary genetic engineering tool, base editing, in a rat model for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria type 1, a disease that originates in the liver but in which the kidney is the main organ affected. This commentary contextualizes and describes the gene-editing technology applied by the authors, provides an interpretation and opinion of their results, and indicates possible future applications.