Restoration of dystrophin expression and correction of Duchenne muscular dystrophy by genome editing.

: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive neuromuscular disorder that affects approximately one in 3500-5000 male births. Patients experience muscle degeneration, loss of ambulation, and eventual death from cardiac or respiratory failure in early adulthood due to a lack of functional dystrophin protein, which is required to maintain the integrity of muscle cell membranes. Out-of-frame mutations in the gene generally lead to no dystrophin protein expression and a more severe phenotype (DMD). Conversely, in-frame mutations are often associated with milder Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) with a truncated dystrophin expression.: Genome editing via the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system can induce permanent corrections of the gene, thus becoming an increasingly popular potential therapeutic method. In this review, we outline recent developments in CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing for the correction of DMD, both and , as well as novel delivery methods.: Despite recent advances, many limitations to CRISPR/Cas9 therapy are still prevalent such as off-target editing and immunogenicity. Specifically, for DMD, intervention time and efficient delivery to cardiac and skeletal muscles also present inherent challenges. Research needs to focus on the therapeutic safety and efficacy of this approach.