New CRISPR system can stop cancer in its tracks – BGR

• Scientists have developed a new system using the CRISPR genome editing system to attack and kill cancer cells.
• The system targets the canceled cells directly and, like “scissors”, cuts their DNA, killing them.
• More trials and tests are needed, but the promising new system could potentially be used to fight cancer in humans.

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The fight against cancer has been going on since, well, pretty much since human doctors realized it was deadly. There have been many advances in the fight against the disease, although a real cure has always seemed out of reach. Tel Aviv University researchers believe they are making progress towards this incredible goal with the help of the CRISPR genome editing system.

As scientists explain in a new article published in Scientific advances, the tool that was developed in the hope of correcting potentially harmful genetic quirks could prove to be the ultimate tool to destroy deadly cancers. The team’s research found that by using what they describe as a “novel, nanoparticle-based delivery system,” they can specifically target cancer cells and effectively kill them without any chance of reactivating them.

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The description of how the system works to attack cancer cells sounds absolutely amazing. The scientists used the nanoparticles to send a message to the CRISPR Cas9 enzyme to target cancer cells and act “like molecular scissors” to slice the cell’s DNA, killing it.

The researchers sought to prove that the system works by targeting glioblastoma and metastatic ovarian cancer, which are two of the cancers with the highest death rate. They are notoriously aggressive cancers and claim huge numbers of victims each year. When targeting these cancers in mice, a single treatment with the new CRISPR system doubled the survival rate of the animals. It’s after just one round of treatment, which is pretty amazing.

“This is the first study in the world to prove that the CRISPR genome editing system can be used to effectively treat cancer in a living animal,” said Professor Dan Peer, co-author of the research, in a press release. “It should be noted that this is not chemotherapy. There are no side effects and a cancer cell treated in this way will never become active again. The molecular scissors of Cas9 cut the DNA of the cancer cell, thus neutralizing it and permanently preventing replication. “

In the future, researchers want to try fighting other types of disease, including blood cancers and genetic diseases, to see how much of a difference the gene-editing system can make. If the trials prove to be promising, we may soon see CRISPR being used for a variety of ailments, and perhaps even as a promising tool for eliminating many types of cancer.