Gene-edited beagles could lead to allergy-friendly dogs
▼ Summary
– Scientists used CRISPR to edit a gene in beagles Alfie and Bailey, removing a key allergy-causing protein from their saliva and hair, allowing allergic researcher Matt Walker to interact with them without symptoms.
– The pups were created by editing dog skin cells, transferring the genetic code into eggs, and implanting them in a surrogate, with allergy tests showing Walker reacted to poodles but not the beagles.
– Commercial availability is years away due to needed long-term health monitoring and cost reduction, and experts warn it may discourage adoption of shelter and rescue dogs.
– Previous attempts using cloning produced sicker pups, and a 2023 CRISPR cat experiment remains unproven for safety in other animals.
– The edited gene occurs naturally in some dogs, suggesting minimal health risks, but future studies must test the dogs on a wider range of allergic people and monitor the pups’ health.
For millions of people, the love of dogs comes with a frustrating trade-off: sneezing, itchy eyes, and skin rashes. But a new scientific breakthrough might change that. Researchers have successfully used CRISPR gene editing to create a hypoallergenic beagle, potentially paving the way for allergy-friendly pets in the future.
Matt Walker could never pet a dog without sneezing, a lifelong limitation for a self-described dog lover. That changed when he and his team used the Nobel Prize-winning gene editing tool to create Bailey, a beagle whose saliva and hair no longer contain a key allergy-causing protein. Now, Walker can feed Bailey peanut butter from a spoon while she rests on his lap, or play fetch with her in New York’s Central Park, all without suffering an allergic reaction.
“The feeling right now is sort of a mix of relief and awe and gratitude that it worked,” said Walker, a geneticist and founder of Kindred Companion Sciences, the company behind Bailey and her twin sister, Alfie.
While the achievement is significant, it will be years before allergy sufferers can simply walk into a pet store and buy a gene-edited pup. Scientists must first monitor the long-term health of these animals and find a way to commercialize the process affordably. There are also ethical considerations; experts caution that such innovations could discourage people from adopting shelter dogs and strays.
“It opens the door to a lot more people being able to own pets. On the negative side, it may discourage people from trying to use strays and unwanted animals that are not engineered to be allergy-free,” said Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Previous attempts at creating hypoallergenic pets relied on cloning, which often produced sickly animals with limited genetic diversity. Two years ago, CRISPR was used to reduce allergy-causing proteins in a cat named Alsik, but its safety has not yet been confirmed for broader use. Even breeds commonly marketed as hypoallergenic, like poodles, still produce allergens in their saliva, hair, and dander.
To create Alfie and Bailey, researchers edited the genetic code inside dog skin cells, effectively switching off the primary gene responsible for producing the allergen. They then transferred the edited code into eggs implanted in a beagle surrogate, which gave birth to two healthy female pups in September 2024. Tests on the puppies’ saliva and fur showed no signs of the target protein, and a skin prick test on Walker confirmed he reacted to samples from a poodle and a goldendoodle, but not to samples from the gene-edited beagles.
The findings, published Wednesday in the CRISPR Journal, mark the first successful use of this approach in dogs. Walker notes that all dogs carry the same allergy-causing gene that was disabled in Alfie and Bailey, raising the possibility of breeding an allergy-free line across various breeds, including service animals.
Dr. Jeff SoRelle, a pathologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center who was not involved in the study, says future research should test these dogs on a wider range of people with pet allergies. Since the edited gene is the main, but not the only, allergen source, he cautions that “we don’t exactly know just how effective or broadly useful this could be for stopping dog allergy in humans.”
The gene modification that Bailey and Alfie carry is rare but does occur naturally in some dogs, so Walker believes it is unlikely to harm the pups. Still, they will be closely monitored during routine veterinary visits. Bailey now lives with Walker in New York, while Alfie resides in Florida with another scientist from the company.
Walker, who grew up unable to keep dogs due to his allergies, says Bailey has become a cherished member of the family. Even his family’s goldendoodle, a breed often considered more allergy-friendly, gave him painful rashes and itchy eyes. Now, he and Bailey enjoy tug-of-war in his living room, and she curls up at his feet to comfort him when he’s unwell.
“It feels just amazing to get to have a dog,” Walker said.
(Source: Associated Press)