For the first time in history, the scientists used technique for gene-editing CRISPR-Cas9 to attack the center of cancer development in an organism. The study was done on mice, and the new method prolonged survival rate and stopped the growth of tumor.
The study was published in Nature Biotechnology, and team from Pittsburgh University aimed to separate two genes that become hybrid and enable tumor development.
How does CRISPR work?
CRISPR-Cas9 enables scientists to cut out a certain part of DNA and to replace it.
CRISPR is a natural mechanism that many bacteria use to defend from viruses. This was called „clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats“ – CRISPR. Research showed that CRISPR contains segments of genetic code of enemy viruses that bacteria met before,a and it represents an important part of its defense. Based on that code, bacteria recognize an intruder and starts an efficient attack against it.
CRISPR-associated proteins represent another part of that system. Parts of enemy virus will be copied in short messages RNK and they will be joined by Cas enzymes. Those weapons will multiply and patrol the cell. When it encounters the same code in virus, Cas will cut it and prevent further multiplication.
Such functioning of CRISPR-Cas9 enables creation of RNK sequence that along with Cas9 can respond to problematic gene in DNA. In such a way, CRISPR-Cas9 that can cut, delete and replace mutated or dysfunctional genes can be made.
