CRISPR treating Cancer

When we could utilize CRISPR to attack cancerous tissue and healthy cells from harm, it only enters cancer cells. Because of the CRISPR-huge Cas9’s size and poor penetration, existing targeting techniques used to administer chemotherapy to cancer cells are unable to reach enough of the targeted cancer cells.

Lipid nanoparticles were the answer they came up with. Clinically approved nonviral nucleic acid delivery methods with such potentially huge payloads are lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). The essential element of LNPs that enables effective nucleic acid encapsulation, cellular distribution, and endosomal release is cationic ionizable lipids. To transfer a bigger molecule and enable the delivery of the payload into numerous tissue types, they had to modify the LNPs. The CRISPR system itself targets genes involved in tumor survival. The cancer cell should stop reproducing after these genes are disrupted, and ultimately die and undergo apoptosis. They research ovarian and glioblastoma in mice to examine their innovative LNP delivery technology with CRISPR-Cas9 targeting tumor survival genes. They discovered some very positive information.

The most aggressive type of brain cancer, glioblastoma, has a typical survival time of about 15 months. Because of the way that they penetrate the brain, this cancer has proven to be extremely resistant to treatments with chemotherapy and radiation and cannot be surgically removed. For this reason, the researchers selected glioblastoma specifically. The LNPs with the CRISPR-Cas9 payload were injected into the brains of animals with glioblastoma just once. They discovered that up to 70% of in vivo gene editing led to the death of up to 50% of tumor cells and increased survival by 30%. That would be a remarkable outcome if it applied to people. Although it is not a cure, as is the case with all new anti-cancer therapies, this would greatly increase the continuously rising survival rate of cancer patients.

The researchers further stress that neither the type of cancer nor the malignancy itself is exclusive to this system of LNPs delivering CRISPR-Cas9. Other cell types can use the basic technology once it has been refined. For instance, it might be used to target contagious pathogens. 

In summary, this is a new method of treating cancer that shows incredible possibilities, even for the most dangerous solid tumors, which now have a poor prognosis. But we need to remember that there is a lot of clinical research on the usage of this prospective medication on actual patients in the clinic and the hype. In the best-case scenario, it will be years before these treatments are approved. However, I do believe there is a good chance that this or similar treatment will one day be utilized to treat cancer. It is a novel therapeutic approach that will supplement current therapies and has the potential to considerably increase cancer survival in a variety of cancer types.

CRISPR is a technology that enables gene editing, and as such, it has the potential to transform society. Finding a specific DNA sequence inside a cell is simple with CRISPR. After that, the section of DNA is usually modified in CRISPR gene editing. The CRISPR system has been modified to perform additional tasks as well, including turning genes on or off without changing their sequence.

Before the CRISPR technique was introduced in 2012, it was possible to change the genomes of some plants and animals, but it took years and hundreds of thousands of dollars. CRISPR has made it simple and affordable. In the future, many of the plants and animals in our farms, gardens, and homes may have to be modified with CRISPR, which is already widely employed in scientific studies. CRISPR food is already being consumed by some humans. Additionally, CRISPR technology has the potential to revolutionize medicine by allowing us to both treat and prevent a wide range of diseases. We might even choose to utilize it to alter the genes of our offspring. Although a Chinese attempt to do this has been criticized as premature and unethical, other people believe it could eventually be advantageous for kids. Other uses for CRISPR include gene drives and the control of evolution, as well as the fingerprinting of cells and recording of internal events.