Using CRISPR/Cas9 to model human liver disease

Summary CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing has revolutionized biomedical research. The ease of design has allowed many groups to apply this technology for disease modeling in animals. While the mouse is still the most commonly used organism for embryonic editing, CRISPR is now increasingly performed with high efficiency in other species. The liver is also amenable to somatic genome editing, and some delivery methods already allow for efficient editing in the whole liver. In this review, we describe CRISPR-edited animals developed for modeling a broad range of human liver disorders, such as acquired and inherited hepatic metabolic diseases and liver cancers. CRISPR has greatly expanded the repertoire of animal models for the study of human liver disease, advancing our understanding of their pathophysiology and providing new opportunities to develop novel therapeutic approaches.