The CRISPR-CaS9 system called “genetic scissors” is still reserved for research. But two tests carried out on laboratory animals show that this technique could make it possible to block the spread of cancer cells.
-1606993838.jpg "Genetic scissors will be able to cure cancers")
- Thanks to genetic scissors, it has been possible to improve the chances of survival of mice facing aggressive cancers.
- The chances of survival from glioblastoma and metastatic ovarian cancer treated with CRISPR are 30% and 80% respectively.
The advent of genetic scissors was a big step forward for the research world. This genetic editing technique makes it possible to cut out certain sequences from a genome to replace it with another. This tool, invented by the French Emmanuelle Charpentier and the American Jennifer Doudna, even received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020. And a new effective system for treating metastatic cancers using genetic scissors has been discovered by researchers at Tel Aviv University (Israel). The results of this study were published on November 18, 2020 in the journal Science Advances.
Cutting out the cancerous part before it replicates
The idea behind their discovery is to remove the cancerous part of a cell to prevent it from spreading. “This is the first study in the world that proves that the CRISPR genome editing system can be used to effectively treat cancer in a living animalsays Dan Peer, head of the Precision Nanomedicine Laboratory at Taiwan University’s Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research. It should be emphasized that this is not chemotherapy. There are no side effects, and a cancer cell treated in this way will never become active again. Cas9’s molecular scissors cut the cancer cell’s DNA, neutralizing it and permanently preventing its replication.”
The study led researchers to focus on the two deadliest cancers, namely glioblastoma and metastatic ovarian cancer. Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, with a life expectancy of 15 months after diagnosis and a five-year survival rate of just 3%. Through treatment with CRISPR and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) contained in Cas9, the CRISPR-LNP combination doubled the average life expectancy of mice with glioblastomas, improving their overall survival rate by approximately 30%.
Much higher survival rates
In metastatic ovarian cancer, which is a leading cause of death in women and the deadliest cancer of the female reproductive system, treatment with CRISPR-LNP in mice with metastatic ovarian cancer increased their survival rate overall 80%.
“CRISPR genome-editing technology, capable of identifying and modifying any genetic segment, has revolutionized our ability to disrupt, repair or even replace genes in personalized waysemphasizes Dan Peer. Despite its extensive use in research, clinical implementation is still in its infancy because an efficient delivery system is needed to deliver CRISPR safely and precisely to its target cells. The delivery system we have developed targets the DNA responsible for cancer cell survival. It is an innovative treatment for aggressive cancers that currently have no effective treatment.”
According to the researchers, if conclusive results have been obtained on two particularly aggressive cancers, new possibilities could emerge soon. Thanks to genetic scissors, it will soon be possible to treat other types of cancer as well as rare genetic diseases and chronic viral diseases such as AIDS.
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