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Scientists first used Nobel Prize-winning technology to kill cancer cells in mice.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel have used the CRISPR / Cas9 system to treat aggressive cancers and believe their success marks another bold step in the fight against the disease.
CRISPR / Cas9 is a gene editing tool that gives scientists genetic scissors to squeeze out things they don’t want. In addition to removing, geneticists can also add or edit sections of the DNA sequence to see if that helps.
It has already been used by researchers trying to rule out conditions in embryos, but other scientists have looked to see if the CRISPR / Cas9 system can be used for adult adults.
The Precision Nanomedicine Lab at the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research uses it to treat cancer in mice and has made an astonishing discovery.
In a study published in Science Daily, the team claims to have “developed a new delivery system based on lipid nanoparticles that specifically targets cancer cells and destroys them by genetic manipulation.”
Professor Dan Peer said: “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.
“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 DNA from the cancer cell, thus neutralizing it and permanently preventing replication. ”
They decided to use two of the more aggressive forms of cancer in their study, glioblastoma (one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer) and metastatic ovarian cancer.
After just one treatment of CRISPR-LNP, the team found that the life expectancy of mice with glioblastoma doubled and their overall survival rate increased by about 30%. Success was similar in mice with ovarian cancer, with an 80% improvement in overall survival rate after CRISPR-LNP treatment.
3 months ago“CRISPR genome editing technology, able to identify and modify any genetic segment, has revolutionized our ability to disrupt, repair or even replace genes in a personalized way,” said Prof. Peer.
“Despite its extensive use in research, clinical implementation is still in its infancy because an efficient delivery system is required to safely and accurately deliver CRISPR to its target cells. The delivery system we have developed targets the DNA responsible for the survival of cancer cells.
“This is an innovative treatment for aggressive cancers that have no effective treatments today.”
The Tel Aviv University team is now looking to blood cancers and muscular dystrophy to see if CRISPR-Cas9 can be just as effective. They stressed that the research is still in its infancy and that it will still be some time before trials can begin in humans.
Either way, it’s a brilliant and exciting new development.
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