Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 for therapeutic genome editing

Revolutionizing Lung Cancer Treatment: Innovative CRISPR-Cas9 Delivery Strategies

Lung carcinoma, including both non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), remains a significant global health challenge due to its high morbidity and mortality rates. The objsective of this review is to meticulously examine the current advancements and strategies in the delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology for the treatment of lung carcinoma. This technology heralds a new era in molecular biology, offering unprecedented precision in genomic modifications. However, its therapeutic potential is contingent upon the development of effective delivery mechanisms that ensure the efficient and specific transport of gene-editing tools to tumor cells. We explore a variety of delivery approaches, such as viral vectors, lipid-based nanoparticles, and physical methods, highlighting their respective advantages, limitations, and recent breakthroughs. This review also delves into the translational and clinical significance of these strategies, discussing preclinical and clinical studies that investigate the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of CRISPR-Cas9 delivery for lung carcinoma. By scrutinizing the landscape of ongoing clinical trials and offering translational perspectives, we aim to elucidate the current state and future directions of this rapidly evolving field. The review is structured to first introduce the problem and significance of lung carcinoma, followed by an overview of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, a detailed examination of delivery strategies, and an analysis of clinical applications and regulatory considerations. Our discussion concludes with future perspectives and challenges, such as optimizing delivery strategies, enhancing specificity, mitigating immunogenicity concerns, and addressing regulatory issues. This comprehensive overview seeks to provide insights into the potential of CRISPR-Cas9 as a revolutionary approach for targeted therapies and personalized medicine in lung carcinoma, emphasizing the importance of delivery strategy development in realizing the full potential of this groundbreaking technology.

Detection of sgRNA via SHERLOCK as Potential CRISPR Related Gene Doping Control Strategy

Apprehensions about gene doping have grown consistently due to advancements in gene engineering techniques, particularly with the emergence of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated (CRISPR/Cas)-based tools. These tools not only provide unprecedented possibilities for illicit performance enhancement by athletes but also offer new avenues for the detection of gene doping through biosensing of nucleic acids. Hence, pursuing on a previous study, an analytical method based on reverse transcriptase-recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) and subsequent qualitative nucleic acid detection by means of Specific High Sensitive Enzymatic Reporter UnLOCKing (SHERLOCK) was optimized for the direct detection of sgRNA associated with Streptococcus pyogenes in serum. Detection device, assay parameters, and sample handling were adjusted, to overcome previously determined assay limitations. The conducted method characterization confirmed the methods' specificity and increased detection sensitivity from 100 pM to 1 fM sgRNA in 100 μL of serum. Furthermore, reanalysis of in vivo mouse administration samples collected in a previous proof-of-concept study was conducted with successful identification of sgRNA in all anticipated postadministration samples within the 24-h collection period. Those findings support the applicability of the refined analytical procedure for the detection of illegal doping attempts via ribonucleoprotein-based CRISPR/Cas application through sgRNA identification, offering a new potential doping control strategy for CRISPR related gene doping.

Application and perspective of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology in human diseases modeling and gene therapy

The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR) mediated Cas9 nuclease system has been extensively used for genome editing and gene modification in eukaryotic cells. CRISPR/Cas9 technology holds great potential for various applications, including the correction of genetic defects or mutations within the human genome. The application of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system in human disease research is anticipated to solve a multitude of intricate molecular biology challenges encountered in life science research. Here, we review the fundamental principles underlying CRISPR/Cas9 technology and its recent application in neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune related diseases, and cancer, focusing on the disease modeling and gene therapy potential of CRISPR/Cas9 in these diseases. Finally, we provide an overview of the limitations and future prospects associated with employing CRISPR/Cas9 technology for diseases study and treatment.

Role and application of CRISPR-Cas9 in the management of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a serious health issue that has a significant social and economic impact worldwide. One of the key aetiological signs of the disease is a gradual reduction in cognitive function and irreversible neuronal death. According to a 2019 global report, more than 5.8 million people in the United States (USA) alone have received an AD diagnosis, with 45% of those people falling into the 75-84 years age range. According to the predictions, there will be 15 million affected people in the USA by 2050 due to the disease's steadily rising patient population. Cognitive function and memory formation steadily decline as a result of an irreversible neuron loss in AD, a chronic neurodegenerative illness. Amyloid-beta and phosphorylated Tau are produced and accumulate in large amounts, and glial cells are overactive. Additionally, weakened neurotrophin signalling and decreased synapse function are crucial aspects of AD. Memory loss, apathy, depression, and irritability are among the primary symptoms. The aetiology, pathophysiology, and causes of both cognitive decline and synaptic dysfunction are poorly understood despite extensive investigation. CRISPR/Cas9 is a promising gene-editing technique since it can fix certain gene sequences and has a lot of potential for treating AD and other human disorders. Regardless of hereditary considerations, an altered Aβ metabolism is frequently seen in familial and sporadic AD. Therefore, since mutations in the PSEN-1, PSEN-2 and APP genes are a contributing factor to familial AD, CRISPR/Cas9 technology could address excessive Aβ production or mutations in these genes. Overall, the potential of CRISPR-Cas9 technology outweighs it as currently the greatest gene-editing tool available for researching neurodegenerative diseases like AD.

Nucleic Acid-Based Approaches to Tackle KRAS Mutant Cancers

Activating mutations in KRAS are highly relevant to various cancers, driving persistent efforts toward the development of drugs that can effectively inhibit KRAS activity. Previously, KRAS was considered 'undruggable'; however, the recent advances in our understanding of RNA and nucleic acid chemistry and delivery formulations have sparked a paradigm shift in the approach to KRAS inhibition. We are currently witnessing a large wave of next-generation drugs for KRAS mutant cancers-nucleic acid-based therapeutics. In this review, we discuss the current progress in targeting KRAS mutant tumors and outline significant developments in nucleic acid-based strategies. We delve into their mechanisms of action, address existing challenges, and offer insights into the current clinical trial status of these approaches. We aim to provide a thorough understanding of the potential of nucleic acid-based strategies in the field of KRAS mutant cancer therapeutics.

Amphipathic Cell-Penetrating Peptide-Aided Delivery of Cas9 RNP for In Vitro Gene Editing and Correction

The therapeutic potential of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system in treating numerous genetic disorders is immense. To fully realize this potential, it is crucial to achieve safe and efficient delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 components into the nuclei of target cells. In this study, we investigated the applicability of the amphipathic cell-penetrating peptide LAH5, previously employed for DNA delivery, in the intracellular delivery of spCas9:sgRNA ribonucleoprotein (RNP) and the RNP/single-stranded homology-directed repair (HDR) template. Our findings reveal that the LAH5 peptide effectively formed nanocomplexes with both RNP and RNP/HDR cargo, and these nanocomplexes demonstrated successful cellular uptake and cargo delivery. The loading of all RNP/HDR components into LAH5 nanocomplexes was confirmed using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Functional screening of various ratios of peptide/RNP nanocomplexes was performed on fluorescent reporter cell lines to assess gene editing and HDR-mediated gene correction. Moreover, targeted gene editing of the CCR5 gene was successfully demonstrated across diverse cell lines. This LAH5-based delivery strategy represents a significant advancement toward the development of therapeutic delivery systems for CRISPR-Cas-based genetic engineering in in vitro and ex vivo applications.

Unraveling the potential of 3D bioprinted immunomodulatory materials for regulating macrophage polarization: State-of-the-art in bone and associated tissue regeneration

Macrophage-assisted immunomodulation is an alternative strategy in tissue engineering, wherein the interplay between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory macrophage cells and body cells determines the fate of healing or inflammation. Although several reports have demonstrated that tissue regeneration depends on spatial and temporal regulation of the biophysical or biochemical microenvironment of the biomaterial, the underlying molecular mechanism behind immunomodulation is still under consideration for developing immunomodulatory scaffolds. Currently, most fabricated immunomodulatory platforms reported in the literature show regenerative capabilities of a particular tissue, for example, endogenous tissue (e.g., bone, muscle, heart, kidney, and lungs) or exogenous tissue (e.g., skin and eye). In this review, we briefly introduced the necessity of the 3D immunomodulatory scaffolds and nanomaterials, focusing on material properties and their interaction with macrophages for general readers. This review also provides a comprehensive summary of macrophage origin and taxonomy, their diverse functions, and various signal transduction pathways during biomaterial-macrophage interaction, which is particularly helpful for material scientists and clinicians for developing next-generation immunomodulatory scaffolds. From a clinical standpoint, we briefly discussed the role of 3D biomaterial scaffolds and/or nanomaterial composites for macrophage-assisted tissue engineering with a special focus on bone and associated tissues. Finally, a summary with expert opinion is presented to address the challenges and future necessity of 3D bioprinted immunomodulatory materials for tissue engineering.

The use of plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles as a delivery system of CRISPR/Cas9-based therapeutics for editing long non-coding RNAs in cancer colon cells

Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer in the United States. Colon cancer develops from the many gene mutations found in the genomes of colon cancer cells. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can cause the development and progression of many cancers, including colon cancer. LncRNAs have been and could be corrected through the gene-editing technology of the clustered repeats of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated nuclease 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system to reduce the proliferation of cancer cells in the colon. However, many current delivery systems for transporting CRISPR/Cas9-based therapeutics in vivo need more safety and efficiency. CRISPR/Cas9-based therapeutics require a safe and effective delivery system to more directly and specifically target cancer cells present in the colon. This review will present pertinent evidence for the increased efficiency and safety of using plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles as nanocarriers for delivering CRISPR/Cas9-based therapeutics to target colon cancer cells directly.

Plant breeding advancements with "CRISPR-Cas" genome editing technologies will assist future food security

Genome editing techniques are being used to modify plant breeding, which might increase food production sustainably by 2050. A product made feasible by genome editing is becoming better known, because of looser regulation and widespread acceptance. The world's population and food supply would never have increased proportionally under current farming practices. The development of plants and food production has been greatly impacted by global warming and climate change. Therefore, minimizing these effects is crucial for agricultural production that is sustainable. Crops are becoming more resilient to abiotic stress because of sophisticated agricultural practices and a better understanding of the abiotic stress response mechanism. Both conventional and molecular breeding techniques have been used to create viable crop types both processes are time-consuming. Recently, plant breeders have shown an interest in genome editing approaches for genetic manipulation that use clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR/Cas9). To ensure the security of the food supply in the future, plant kinds with desired traits must be developed. A completely new era in plant breeding has begun because of the revolution in genome editing techniques based on the CRISPR/CRISPR-associated nuclease (Cas9) systems. All plants may effectively target a particular gene or group of loci using Cas9 and single-guide RNA (sgRNA). CRISPR/Cas9 can thereby save time and labor compared to conventional breeding methods. An easy, quick, and efficient method for directly altering the genetic sequences in cells is with the CRISPR and Cas9 systems. The CRISPR-Cas9 system, which was developed from components of the earliest known bacterial immune system, allows for targeted gene breakage and gene editing in a variety of cells/RNA sequences to guide endonuclease cleavage specificity in the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Editing can be directed to practically any genomic site by altering the guide RNA (gRNA) sequence and delivering it to a target cell along with the Cas9 endonuclease. We summarize recent CRISPR/Cas9 plant research findings, investigate potential applications in plant breeding, and make predictions about likely future breakthroughs and approaches to food security through 2050.

CRISPR/Cas9 in the era of nanomedicine and synthetic biology

The CRISPR/Cas system was first discovered as a defense mechanism in bacteria and is now used as a tool for precise gene-editing applications. Rapidly evolving, it is increasingly applied in therapeutics. However, concerns about safety, specificity, and delivery still limit its potential. In this context, we introduce the concept of nanogenetics and speculate how the rational engineering of the CRISPR/Cas machinery could advance the biomedical field. In nanogenetics, the advantages of traditional approaches of synthetic biology could be expanded by nanotechnology approaches, enabling the design of a new generation of intrinsically safe and specific genome-editing platforms.

Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 Plasmid DNA by Hyperbranched Polymeric Nanoparticles Enables Efficient Gene Editing

Gene editing nucleases such as CRISPR/Cas9 have enabled efficient and precise gene editing in vitro and hold promise of eventually achieving in vivo gene editing based therapy. However, a major challenge for their use is the lack of a safe and effective virus-free system to deliver gene editing nuclease elements. Polymers are a promising class of delivery vehicle due to their higher safety compared to currently used viral vectors, but polymers suffer from lower transfection efficiency. Polymeric vectors have been used for small nucleotide delivery but have yet to be used successfully with plasmid DNA (pDNA), which is often several hundred times larger than small nucleotides, presenting an engineering challenge. To address this, we extended our previously reported hyperbranched polymer (HP) delivery system for pDNA delivery by synthesizing several variants of HPs: HP-800, HP-1.8K, HP-10K, HP-25K. We demonstrate that all HPs have low toxicity in various cultured cells, with HP-25K being the most efficient at packaging and delivering pDNA. Importantly, HP-25K mediated delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 pDNA resulted in higher gene-editing rates than all other HPs and Lipofectamine at several clinically significant loci in different cell types. Consistently, HP-25K also led to more robust base editing when delivering the CRISPR base editor "BE4-max" pDNA to cells compared with Lipofectamine. The present work demonstrates that HP nanoparticles represent a promising class of vehicle for the non-viral delivery of pDNA towards the clinical application of gene-editing therapy.

CRISPR-Cas in Diagnostics and Therapy of Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases are a major threat to the global health. The rise in antimicrobial-resistant organisms, incurable chronic infections, and an increasing demand for rapid accurate diagnostics have prompted researchers to experiment with new approaches. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) is a naturally occurring adaptive immune system in bacteria that has been developed as a tool for performing genomic alterations in any genome of interest, including humans and microbes. Accordingly, several studies have been conducted to investigate how the technology can be utilized in infectious diseases to improve diagnostics, disrupt antimicrobial resistance, and cure chronic infections. This review provides an overview of the CRISPR-Cas system and how it has been applied in studies on infectious diseases. The review also investigates the current challenges of the technology and the improvements that are needed for the platform to be adopted for clinical use in patients.

Exosome-mediated delivery of Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complexes for tissue-specific gene therapy of liver diseases

CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing has emerged as a powerful therapeutic technology, but the lack of safe and efficient in vivo delivery systems, especially for tissue-specific vectors, limits its broad clinical applications. Delivery of Cas9 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) owns competitive advantages over other options; however, the large size of RNPs exceeds the loading capacity of currently available delivery vectors. Here, we report a previously unidentified genome editing delivery system, named exosome^RNP, in which Cas9 RNPs were loaded into purified exosomes isolated from hepatic stellate cells through electroporation. Exosome^RNP facilitated effective cytosolic delivery of RNP in vitro while specifically accumulated in the liver tissue in vivo. Exosome^RNP showed vigorous therapeutic potential in acute liver injury, chronic liver fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma mouse models via targeting p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA), cyclin E1 (CcnE1), and K (lysine) acetyltransferase 5 (KAT5), respectively. The developed exosome^RNP provides a feasible platform for precise and tissue-specific gene therapies of liver diseases.

Stimuli-responsive nanoformulations for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing

The CRISPR-Cas9 technology has changed the landscape of genome editing and has demonstrated extraordinary potential for treating otherwise incurable diseases. Engineering strategies to enable efficient intracellular delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 components has been a central theme for broadening the impact of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Various non-viral delivery systems for CRISPR-Cas9 have been investigated given their favorable safety profiles over viral systems. Many recent efforts have been focused on the development of stimuli-responsive non-viral CRISPR-Cas9 delivery systems, with the goal of achieving efficient and precise genome editing. Stimuli-responsive nanoplatforms are capable of sensing and responding to particular triggers, such as innate biological cues and external stimuli, for controlled CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. In this Review, we overview the recent advances in stimuli-responsive nanoformulations for CRISPR-Cas9 delivery, highlight the rationale of stimuli and formulation designs, and summarize their biomedical applications.

Characterizing genes associated with cancer using the CRISPR/Cas9 system: A systematic review of genes and methodological approaches

The CRISPR/Cas9 system enables a versatile set of genomes editing and genetic-based disease modeling tools due to its high specificity, efficiency, and accessible design and implementation. In cancer, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been used to characterize genes and explore different mechanisms implicated in tumorigenesis. Different experimental strategies have been proposed in recent years, showing dependency on various intrinsic factors such as cancer type, gene function, mutation type, and technical approaches such as cell line, Cas9 expression, and transfection options. However, the successful methodological approaches, genes, and other experimental factors have not been analyzed. We, therefore, initially considered more than 1,300 research articles related to CRISPR/Cas9 in cancer to finally examine more than 400 full-text research publications. We summarize findings regarding target genes, RNA guide designs, cloning, Cas9 delivery systems, cell enrichment, and experimental validations. This analysis provides valuable information and guidance for future cancer gene validation experiments.

Gene Editing to Tackle Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) is a skeletal muscle disease caused by the aberrant expression of the DUX4 gene in the muscle tissue. To date, different therapeutic approaches have been proposed, targeting DUX4 at the DNA, RNA or protein levels. The recent development of the clustered regularly interspaced short-palindromic repeat (CRISPR) based technology opened new avenues of research, and FSHD is no exception. For the first time, a cure for genetic muscular diseases can be considered. Here, we describe CRISPR-based strategies that are currently being investigated for FSHD. The different approaches include the epigenome editing targeting the DUX4 gene and its promoter, gene editing targeting the polyadenylation of DUX4 using TALEN, CRISPR/cas9 or adenine base editing and the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing for SMCHD1. We also discuss challenges facing the development of these gene editing based therapeutics.

Gene-Modified Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Injury: a Promising Better Alternative Therapy

Stem cell therapy holds great promise for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI), which can reverse neurodegeneration and promote tissue regeneration via its pluripotency and ability to secrete neurotrophic factors. Although various stem cell-based approaches have shown certain therapeutic effects when applied to the treatment of SCI, their clinical efficacies have been disappointing. Thus, it is an urgent need to further enhance the neurological benefits of stem cells through bioengineering strategies including genetic engineering. In this review, we summarize the progress of stem cell therapy for SCI and the prospect of genetically modified stem cells, focusing on the genome editing tools and functional molecules involved in SCI repair, trying to provide a deeper understanding of genetically modified stem cell therapy and more applicable clinical strategies for SCI repair.

CRISPR/Cas9 application in cancer therapy: a pioneering genome editing tool

The progress of genetic engineering in the 1970s brought about a paradigm shift in genome editing technology. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system is a flexible means to target and modify particular DNA sequences in the genome. Several applications of CRISPR/Cas9 are presently being studied in cancer biology and oncology to provide vigorous site-specific gene editing to enhance its biological and clinical uses. CRISPR's flexibility and ease of use have enabled the prompt achievement of almost any preferred alteration with greater efficiency and lower cost than preceding modalities. Also, CRISPR/Cas9 technology has recently been applied to improve the safety and efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies and defeat tumor cell resistance to conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The current review summarizes the application of CRISPR/Cas9 in cancer therapy. We also discuss the present obstacles and contemplate future possibilities in this context.

Carrier strategies boost the application of CRISPR/Cas system in gene therapy

Emerging clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) genome editing technology shows great potential in gene therapy. However, proteins and nucleic acids suffer from enzymatic degradation in the physiological environment and low permeability into cells. Exploiting carriers to protect the CRISPR system from degradation, enhance its targeting of specific tissues and cells, and reduce its immunogenicity is essential to stimulate its clinical applications. Here, the authors review the state-of-the-art CRISPR delivery systems and their applications, and describe strategies to improve the safety and efficacy of CRISPR mediated genome editing, categorized by three types of cargo formats, that is, Cas: single-guide RNA ribonucleoprotein, Cas mRNA and single-guide RNA, and Cas plasmid expressing CRISPR/Cas systems. The authors hope this review will help develop safe and efficient nanomaterial-based carriers for CRISPR tools.

Delivery of CRISPR-Cas tools for in vivo genome editing therapy: Trends and challenges

The discovery of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) genome editing technology opened the door to provide a versatile approach for treating multiple diseases. Promising results have been shown in numerous pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. However, a safe and effective method to deliver genome-editing components is still a key challenge for in vivo genome editing therapy. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is one of the most commonly used vector systems to date, but immunogenicity against capsid, liver toxicity at high dose, and potential genotoxicity caused by off-target mutagenesis and genomic integration remain unsolved. Recently developed transient delivery systems, such as virus-like particle (VLP) and lipid nanoparticle (LNP), may solve some of the issues. This review summarizes existing in vivo delivery systems and possible solutions to overcome their limitations. Also, we highlight the ongoing clinical trials for in vivo genome editing therapy and recently developed genome editing tools for their potential applications.

Targeting Cancer with CRISPR/Cas9-Based Therapy

Cancer is a devastating condition characterised by the uncontrolled division of cells with many forms remaining resistant to current treatment. A hallmark of cancer is the gradual accumulation of somatic mutations which drive tumorigenesis in cancerous cells, creating a mutation landscape distinctive to a cancer type, an individual patient or even a single tumour lesion. Gene editing with CRISPR/Cas9-based tools now enables the precise and permanent targeting of mutations and offers an opportunity to harness this technology to target oncogenic mutations. However, the development of safe and effective gene editing therapies for cancer relies on careful design to spare normal cells and avoid introducing other mutations. This article aims to describe recent advancements in cancer-selective treatments based on the CRISPR/Cas9 system, especially focusing on strategies for targeted delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 machinery to affected cells, controlling Cas9 expression in tissues of interest and disrupting cancer-specific genes to result in selective death of malignant cells.

Enhanced High Mutation Rate and Natural Selection to Produce Attenuated Viral Vaccine with CRISPR Toolkit in RNA Viruses especially SARS-CoV-2

The best and most effective way to combat pandemics is to use effective vaccines and live attenuated vaccines are among the most effective vaccines. However, one of the major problems is the length of time it takes to get the attenuated vaccines. Today, the CRISPR toolkit (Clustered Regularly Inerspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) has made it possible to make changes with high efficiency and speed. Using this toolkit to make point mutations on the RNA virus's genome in a coculture of permissive and nonpermissive cells and under controlled conditions can accelerate changes in the genome and accelerate natural selection to obtain live attenuated vaccines.

Exploring nano-enabled CRISPR-Cas-powered strategies for efficient diagnostics and treatment of infectious diseases

Biomedical researchers have subsequently been inspired the development of new approaches for precisely changing an organism's genomic DNA in order to investigate customized diagnostics and therapeutics utilizing genetic engineering techniques. Clustered Regulatory Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) is one such technique that has emerged as a safe, targeted, and effective pharmaceutical treatment against a wide range of disease-causing organisms, including bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses, as well as genetic abnormalities. The recent discovery of very flexible engineered nucleic acid binding proteins has changed the scientific area of genome editing in a revolutionary way. Since current genetic engineering technique relies on viral vectors, issues about immunogenicity, insertional oncogenesis, retention, and targeted delivery remain unanswered. The use of nanotechnology has the potential to improve the safety and efficacy of CRISPR/Cas9 component distribution by employing tailored polymeric nanoparticles. The combination of two (CRISPR/Cas9 and nanotechnology) offers the potential to open new therapeutic paths. Considering the benefits, demand, and constraints, the goal of this research is to acquire more about the biology of CRISPR technology, as well as aspects of selective and effective diagnostics and therapies for infectious illnesses and other metabolic disorders. This review advocated combining nanomedicine (nanomedicine) with a CRISPR/Cas enabled sensing system to perform early-stage diagnostics and selective therapy of specific infectious disorders. Such a Nano-CRISPR-powered nanomedicine and sensing system would allow for successful infectious illness control, even on a personal level. This comprehensive study also discusses the current obstacles and potential of the predicted technology.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40097-022-00472-7.

Efficient CRISPR-Cas9-based knockdown of RUNX2 to induce chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 system recognizes and deletes specific nucleotide sequences in cells for gene editing. This study aimed to edit and knockdown the RUNX2 gene, a key transcription factor that is directly involved in all stages of stem cell differentiation into osteoblasts. The RUNX2 gene was depleted using the CRISPR-Cas9 system to inhibit osteoblast differentiation of stem cells. shRNA vectors targeting RUNX2 were used as a control. The surface of nanoparticles (NPs) was coated with the cationic polymer linear polyethyleneimine. Thereafter, negatively charged CRISPR-Cas9 and shRNA vectors were complexed with positively charged NPs via ionic interactions. Several analytical methods were used to determine the size, surface charge, and morphology of NPs and to characterize the complexed genes. NPs complexed with CRISPR-Cas9 and shRNA vectors were delivered into human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) via endocytosis. The mRNA and protein expression patterns of various genes in hMSCs were measured over time following internalization of NPs complexed with CRISPR-Cas9 and shRNA vectors in two- and three-dimensional culture systems. Knockdown of the RUNX2 gene decreased osteogenic differentiation and increased chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs. As a result of investigating the efficiency of NPs complexed with CRISPR-Cas9 (CASP-NPs), Runx2 effectively knocked down in mesenchymal stem cells to enhance differentiation into chondrocytes, therefore CASP-NPs proved to be an effective gene carrier in hMSCs.

CRISPR/Cas-based Diagnostics and Gene Therapy

Abstract Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology, an easy, rapid, cost-effective, and precise gene-editing technique, has revolutionized diagnostics and gene therapy. Fast and accurate diagnosis of diseases is essential for point-of-care-testing (POCT) and specialized medical institutes. The CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins system shed light on the new diagnostics methods at point-of-care (POC) owning to its advantages. In addition, CRISPR/Cas-based gene-editing technology has led to various breakthroughs in gene therapy. It has been employed in clinical trials for a variety of untreatable diseases, including cancer, blood disorders, and other syndromes. Currently, the clinical application of CRISPR/Cas has been mainly focused on ex vivo therapies. Recently, tremendous efforts have been made in the development of ex vivo gene therapy based on CRISPR-Cas9. Despite these efforts, in vivo CRISPR/Cas gene therapy is only in its initial stage. Here, we review the milestones of CRISPR/Cas technologies that advanced the field of diagnostics and gene therapy. We also highlight the recent advances of diagnostics and gene therapy based on CRISPR/Cas technology. In the last section, we discuss the strength and significant challenges of the CRISPR/Cas technology for its future clinical usage in diagnosis and gene therapy.

In vivo somatic cell base editing and prime editing

Recent advances in genome editing technologies have magnified the prospect of single-dose cures for many genetic diseases. For most genetic disorders, precise DNA correction is anticipated to best treat patients. To install desired DNA changes with high precision, our laboratory developed base editors (BEs), which can correct the four most common single-base substitutions, and prime editors, which can install any substitution, insertion, and/or deletion over a stretch of dozens of base pairs. Compared to nuclease-dependent editing approaches that involve double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs) and often result in a large percentage of uncontrolled editing outcomes, such as mixtures of insertions and deletions (indels), larger deletions, and chromosomal rearrangements, base editors and prime editors often offer greater efficiency with fewer byproducts in slowly dividing or non-dividing cells, such as those that make up most of the cells in adult animals. Both viral and non-viral in vivo delivery methods have now been used to deliver base editors and prime editors in animal models, establishing that base editors and prime editors can serve as effective agents for in vivo therapeutic genome editing in animals. This review summarizes examples of in vivo somatic cell (post-natal) base editing and prime editing and prospects for future development.

Get ready for the CRISPR/Cas system: A beginner's guide to the engineering and design of guide RNAs

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system is a state-of-the-art tool for versatile genome editing that has advanced basic research dramatically, with great potential for clinic applications. The system consists of two key molecules: a CRISPR-associated (Cas) effector nuclease and a single guide RNA. The simplicity of the system has enabled the development of a wide spectrum of derivative methods. Almost any laboratory can utilize these methods, although new users may initially be confused when faced with the potentially overwhelming abundance of choices. Cas nucleases and their engineering have been systematically reviewed previously. In the present review, we discuss single guide RNA engineering and design strategies that facilitate more efficient, more specific and safer gene editing.

Stimulus-Responsive Smart Nanoparticles-Based CRISPR-Cas Delivery for Therapeutic Genome Editing

The innovative research in genome editing domains such as CRISPR-Cas technology has enabled genetic engineers to manipulate the genomes of living organisms effectively in order to develop the next generation of therapeutic tools. This technique has started the new era of "genome surgery". Despite these advances, the barriers of CRISPR-Cas9 techniques in clinical applications include efficient delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 and risk of off-target effects. Various types of viral and non-viral vectors are designed to deliver the CRISPR/Cas9 machinery into the desired cell. These methods still suffer difficulties such as immune response, lack of specificity, and efficiency. The extracellular and intracellular environments of cells and tissues differ in pH, redox species, enzyme activity, and light sensitivity. Recently, smart nanoparticles have been synthesized for CRISPR/Cas9 delivery to cells based on endogenous (pH, enzyme, redox specie, ATP) and exogenous (magnetic, ultrasound, temperature, light) stimulus signals. These methodologies can leverage genome editing through biological signals found within disease cells with less off-target effects. Here, we review the recent advances in stimulus-based smart nanoparticles to deliver the CRISPR/Cas9 machinery into the desired cell. This review article will provide extensive information to cautiously utilize smart nanoparticles for basic biomedical applications and therapeutic genome editing.

CMBs carrying PTX and CRISPR/Cas9 targeting C‑erbB‑2 plasmids interfere with endometrial cancer cells

Development of combination therapy to decrease side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs and increase their utilization rate in combination with gene editing is a key research topic in tumor treatment. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of cationic microbubbles (CMBs) carrying paclitaxel (PTX) and C-erbB-2 knockout plasmid on the endometrial cancer cell line HEC-1A and to determine how C-erbB-2 regulates the function of endometrial cancer cells. Cells were treated with CMB, PTX, PTX-CMBs, cationic plasmid-carrying or cationic PTX-carrying plasmid groups. After verifying the most effective combination of PTX-CMBs and plasmids, HEC-1A cells were transfected. Reverse transcription-quantitative (RT-q)PCR and western blotting were used to measure C-erbB-2 and protein expression. After verifying C-erbB-2 knockout, invasion, healing, clone formation and proliferation of HEC-1A cells were assessed. Simultaneously, expression levels of the genes for P21, P27, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and Bcl-2 associated death promoter (Bad) were measured by RT-qPCR. Compared with the PTX group, CMBs significantly enhanced the absorption efficiency of PTX by HEC-1A cells. C-erbB-2 knockout had an inhibitory effect on the proliferation, migration and invasion of HEC-1A cells; cell proliferation and invasion of the group carrying PTX and plasmids simultaneously were significantly weakened. The C-erbB-2-knockout group exhibited increased expression of P21 and P27. Simultaneously loading PTX and plasmid may be novel combination therapy with great potential. C-erbB-2 may regulate the proliferation of HEC-1A cells by downregulating expression of P21 and P27.

Genetical engineering for NK and T cell immunotherapy with CRISPR/Cas9 technology: Implications and challenges

Immunotherapy has become one of the most promising strategies in cancer therapies. Among the therapeutic alternatives, genetically engineered NK/T cell therapies have emerged as powerful and innovative therapeutic modalities for cancer patients with precise targeting and impressive efficacy. Nonetheless, this approach still faces multiple challenges, such as immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, exhaustion of immune effector cells in tumors, off-target effects manufacturing complexity, and poor infiltration of effector cells, all of which need to be overcome for further utilization to cancers. Recently, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology, with the goal of enhancing the efficacy and increasing the availability of engineered effector cell therapies, has shown considerable potential in the novel strategies and options to overcome these limitations. Here we review the current progress of the applications of CRISPR in cancer immunotherapy. Furthermore, we discuss issues related to the NK/T cell applications, gene delivery methods, efficiency, challenges, and implications of CRISPR/Cas9.

Nanotechnology-based delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 for cancer treatment

CRISPR/Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-associated protein 9) is a potent technology for gene-editing. Owing to its high specificity and efficiency, CRISPR/Cas9 is extensity used for human diseases treatment, especially for cancer, which involves multiple genetic alterations. Different concepts of cancer treatment by CRISPR/Cas9 are established. However, significant challenges remain for its clinical applications. The greatest challenge for CRISPR/Cas9 therapy is how to safely and efficiently deliver it to target sites in vivo. Nanotechnology has greatly contributed to cancer drug delivery. Here, we present the action mechanisms of CRISPR/Cas9, its application in cancer therapy and especially focus on the nanotechnology-based delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 for cancer gene editing and immunotherapy to pave the way for its clinical translation. We detail the difficult barriers for CRISIR/Cas9 delivery in vivo and discuss the relative solutions for encapsulation, target delivery, controlled release, cellular internalization, and endosomal escape.

Recent Advances and Challenges in Gene Delivery Mediated by Polyester-Based Nanoparticles

Gene therapy is a promising approach for the treatment of several diseases, such as chronic or viral infections, inherited disorders, and cancer. The cellular internalization of exogenous nucleic acids (NA) requires efficient delivery vehicles to overcome their inherent pharmacokinetic drawbacks, e.g. electrostatic repulsions, enzymatic degradation, limited cellular uptake, fast clearance, etc. Nanotechnological advancements have enabled the use of polymer-based nanostructured biomaterials as safe and effective gene delivery systems, in addition to viral vector delivery methods. Among the plethora of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), this review will provide a comprehensive and in-depth summary of the polyester-based nanovehicles, including poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and polylactic acid (PLA) NPs, used to deliver a variety of foreign NA, e.g. short interfering RNA (siRNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), and plasmid DNA (pDNA). The article will review the versatility of polyester-based nanocarriers including their recent application in the delivery of the clustered, regularly-interspaced, short palindromic repeats/Cas (CRISPR/Cas) genome editing system for treating gene-related diseases. The remaining challenges and future trend of the targeted delivery of this revolutionary genome-editing system will be discussed. Special attention will be given to the pivotal role of nanotechnology in tackling emerging infections such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): ground-breaking mRNA vaccines delivered by NPs are currently used worldwide to fight the pandemic, pushing the boundaries of gene therapy.

Mechanism and Applications of CRISPR/Cas-9-Mediated Genome Editing

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) and their associated protein (Cas-9) is the most effective, efficient, and accurate method of genome editing tool in all living cells and utilized in many applied disciplines. Guide RNA (gRNA) and CRISPR-associated (Cas-9) proteins are the two essential components in CRISPR/Cas-9 system. The mechanism of CRISPR/Cas-9 genome editing contains three steps, recognition, cleavage, and repair. The designed sgRNA recognizes the target sequence in the gene of interest through a complementary base pair. While the Cas-9 nuclease makes double-stranded breaks at a site 3 base pair upstream to protospacer adjacent motif, then the double-stranded break is repaired by either non-homologous end joining or homology-directed repair cellular mechanisms. The CRISPR/Cas-9 genome-editing tool has a wide number of applications in many areas including medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. In agriculture, it could help in the design of new grains to improve their nutritional value. In medicine, it is being investigated for cancers, HIV, and gene therapy such as sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The technology is also being utilized in the regulation of specific genes through the advanced modification of Cas-9 protein. However, immunogenicity, effective delivery systems, off-target effect, and ethical issues have been the major barriers to extend the technology in clinical applications. Although CRISPR/Cas-9 becomes a new era in molecular biology and has countless roles ranging from basic molecular researches to clinical applications, there are still challenges to rub in the practical applications and various improvements are needed to overcome obstacles.

Applications and explorations of CRISPR/Cas9 in CAR T-cell therapy

Chimeric antigen receptor(CAR) T-cell therapy has shown remarkable effects and promising prospects in patients with refractory or relapsed malignancies, pending further progress in the next-generation CAR T cells with more optimized structure, enhanced efficacy and reduced toxicities. The clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) technology holds immense promise for advancing the field owing to its flexibility, simplicity, high efficiency and multiplexing in precise genome editing. Herein, we review the applications and explorations of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in constructing allogenic universal CAR T cells, disrupting inhibitory signaling to enhance potency and exploration of safer and more controllable novel CAR T cells.

CRISPR: History and perspectives to the future

This review summarizes the information about the history and future of the CRISPR/Cas9 method. Genome editing can be perceived as a group of technologies that allow scientists to change the DNA of an organism. These technologies involve the deletion, insertion, or modification of the genome at a specific site in a DNA sequence. Gene therapy in humans has a perspective to be used to eliminate the gene responsible for a particular genetic disorder. The review focuses on the key elements of this promising method and the possibility of its application in the treatment of cancer and genetic diseases.

Exosome/Liposome-like Nanoparticles: New Carriers for CRISPR Genome Editing in Plants

Rapid developments in the field of plant genome editing using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) systems necessitate more detailed consideration of the delivery of the CRISPR system into plants. Successful and safe editing of plant genomes is partly based on efficient delivery of the CRISPR system. Along with the use of plasmids and viral vectors as cargo material for genome editing, non-viral vectors have also been considered for delivery purposes. These non-viral vectors can be made of a variety of materials, including inorganic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, liposomes, and protein- and peptide-based nanoparticles, as well as nanoscale polymeric materials. They have a decreased immune response, an advantage over viral vectors, and offer additional flexibility in their design, allowing them to be functionalized and targeted to specific sites in a biological system with low cytotoxicity. This review is dedicated to describing the delivery methods of CRISPR system into plants with emphasis on the use of non-viral vectors.

Strengthening the CAR-T cell therapeutic application using CRISPR/Cas9 technology

Adoptive cell immunotherapy with chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell has brought a revolutionary means of treatment for aggressive diseases such as hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Over the last decade, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved five types of CAR-T cell therapies for hematologic malignancies, including Idecabtagene vicleucel (Abecma), Lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi), Brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus), Tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah), and Axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta). Despite outstanding results gained from different clinical trials, CAR-T cell therapy is not free from side effects and toxicities, and needs careful investigations and improvements. Gene-editing technology, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system, has emerged as a promising tool to address some of the CAR-T therapy hurdles. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, CAR expression as well as other cellular pathways can be modified in various ways to enhance CAR-T cells antitumor function and persistence in immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. CRISPR/Cas9 technology can also be used to decrease CAR-T cell toxicities and side effects. Hereby, we discussed the practical challenges and hurdles related to the accuracy, efficiency, efficacy, safety, and delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 technology to the genetically engineered-T cells. Combining of these two state-of-the-art technologies, CRISPR/Cas9 and CAR-T cells, the field of oncology has an extraordinary opportunity to enter a new era of immunotherapy, which offers novel therapeutic options for different types of tumors.

Programmable Unlocking Nano-Matryoshka-CRISPR Precisely Reverses Immunosuppression to Unleash Cascade Amplified Adaptive Immune Response

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is an attractive option in cancer therapy, but its efficacy is still less than expected due to the transient and incomplete blocking and the low responsiveness. Herein, an unprecedented programmable unlocking nano-matryoshka-CRISPR system (PUN) targeting programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and protein tyrosine phosphatase N2 (PTPN2) is fabricated for permanent and complete and highly responsive immunotherapy. While PUN is inert at normal physiological conditions, enzyme-abundant tumor microenvironment and preternatural intracellular oxidative stress sequentially trigger programmable unlocking of PUN to realize a nano-matryoshka-like release of CRISPR/Cas9. The successful nucleus localization of CRISPR/Cas9 ensures the highly efficient disruption of PD-L1 and PTPN2 to unleash cascade amplified adaptive immune response via revoking the immune checkpoint effect. PD-L1 downregulation in tumor cells not only disrupts PD-1/PD-L1 interaction to attenuate the immunosurveillance evasion but also spurs potent immune T cell responses to enhance adaptive immunity. Synchronously, inhibition of JAK/STAT pathway is relieved by deleting PTPN2, which promotes tumor susceptibility to CD8+ T cells depending on IFN-γ, thus further amplifying adaptive immune responses. Combining these advances together, PUN exhibits optimal antitumor efficiency and long-term immune memory with negligible toxicity, which provides a promising alternative to current ICB therapy.

Spatiotemporal control of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) gene editing technology, as a revolutionary breakthrough in genetic engineering, offers a promising platform to improve the treatment of various genetic and infectious diseases because of its simple design and powerful ability to edit different loci simultaneously. However, failure to conduct precise gene editing in specific tissues or cells within a certain time may result in undesirable consequences, such as serious off-target effects, representing a critical challenge for the clinical translation of the technology. Recently, some emerging strategies using genetic regulation, chemical and physical strategies to regulate the activity of CRISPR/Cas9 have shown promising results in the improvement of spatiotemporal controllability. Herein, in this review, we first summarize the latest progress of these advanced strategies involving cell-specific promoters, small-molecule activation and inhibition, bioresponsive delivery carriers, and optical/thermal/ultrasonic/magnetic activation. Next, we highlight the advantages and disadvantages of various strategies and discuss their obstacles and limitations in clinical translation. Finally, we propose viewpoints on directions that can be explored to further improve the spatiotemporal operability of CRISPR/Cas9.

Efficient CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing of β-globin gene on erythroid cells from homozygous β039-thalassemia patients

Gene editing by the CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease system technology can be considered among the most promising strategies to correct hereditary mutations in a variety of monogenic diseases. In this paper, we present for the first time the correction, by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, of the β039-thalassemia mutation, one of the most frequent in the Mediterranean area. The results obtained demonstrated the presence of normal β-globin genes after CRISPR-Cas9 correction of the β039-thalassemia mutation performed on erythroid precursor cells from homozygous β039-thalassemia patients. This was demonstrated by allele-specific PCR and sequencing. Accumulation of corrected β-globin mRNA and relevant "de novo" production of β-globin and adult hemoglobin (HbA) were found with high efficiency. The CRISPR-Cas9-forced HbA production levels were associated with a significant reduction of the excess of free α-globin chains. Genomic toxicity of the editing procedure (low indels and no off-targeting) was analyzed. The protocol might be the starting point for the development of an efficient editing of CD34+ cells derived from β039 patients and for the design of combined treatments using, together with the CRISPR-Cas9 editing of the β-globin gene, other therapeutic approaches, such as, for instance, induction of HbA and/or fetal hemoglobin (HbF) using chemical inducers.

Therapeutic Genome Editing and In Vivo Delivery

Improvements in the understanding of human genetics and its roles in disease development and prevention have led to an increased interest in therapeutic genome editing via the use of engineered nucleases. Various approaches have been explored in the past focusing on the development of an effective and safe system for sequence-specific editing. Compared to earlier nucleases such as zinc finger nuclease and transcription activator-like effector nuclease, the relatively low cost and ease of producing clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) systems have made therapeutic genome editing significantly more feasible. CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing has shown great potential to correct genetic mutations implicated in monogenic diseases and to eradicate latent or chronic viral infections in preclinical studies. Several CRISPR/Cas9-based therapeutics have reached the clinical stage, including treatments for inherited red blood cell disorders and Leber Congenital Amaurosis 10, as well as CRISPR/Cas9-edited T cells designed to target and destroy cancer cells. Further advances in therapeutic genome editing will rely on a safe and more efficient method of in vivo CRISPR/Cas9 delivery and improved efficiency of homology-directed repair for site-specific gene insertion or replacement. While other reviews have focused on one or two aspects of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, this review aims to provide a summary of the mechanisms of genome editing, the reasons for the emerging interest in CRISPR/Cas9 compared to other engineered nucleases, the current progress in developing CRISPR/Cas9 delivery systems, and the current preclinical and clinical applications of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing.

Escaping the endosome: assessing cellular trafficking mechanisms of non-viral vehicles

Non-viral vehicles hold therapeutic promise in advancing the delivery of a variety of cargos in vitro and in vivo, including small molecule drugs, biologics, and especially nucleic acids. However, their efficacy at the cellular level is limited by several delivery barriers, with endolysosomal degradation being most significant. The entrapment of vehicles and their cargo in the acidified endosome prevents access to the cytosol, nucleus, and other subcellular compartments. Understanding the factors that contribute to uptake and intracellular trafficking, especially endosomal entrapment and release, is key to overcoming delivery obstacles within cells. In this review, we summarize and compare experimental techniques for assessing the extent of endosomal escape of a variety of non-viral vehicles and describe proposed escape mechanisms for different classes of lipid-, polymer-, and peptide-based delivery agents. Based on this evaluation, we present forward-looking strategies utilizing information gained from mechanistic studies to inform the rational design of efficient delivery vehicles.

CRISPR: The Multidrug Resistance Endgame?

The flexibility of microbes to undergo or adapt to the changes in their physiology and genotypical traits has enabled the microbes acquiring resistance to latest or recently discovered drugs which have consequently led to the menace of multidrug resistance (MDR). There is a surge in the discovery of novel antibiotics to counter the rising MDR phenomena, and in such a quest, for investigating an efficient alternative mechanism or compound to combat MDR, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) has piqued the interests of the researchers across the globe. CRISPR-Cas9 technology is a genome-editing tool with successful widespread applications in cell lines, plants, animals, and even in human clinical trials, and it is seriously being considered as a potential candidate for countering MDR. This review encompasses the broad scope of CRISPR-Cas9 along with its various variations, underlying principles, mechanisms, as well as applications. Furthermore, the implications of recent advancements in various disciplines are highlighted to enhance the applicability of this technique. Consequently, its research gaps and challenges are also identified so that they can be addressed in the possible future thereby further expanding the lore of CRISPR-Cas9 technique.

Twenty Years of Research on Cyclodextrin Conjugates with PAMAM Dendrimers

Recently, the number of gene and oligonucleotide drugs are increasing. Of various drug delivery systems (DDSs) for gene and oligonucleotide drugs, few examples of the clinical application of polymer as drug carriers are known, despite development of the novel polymers has been progressing. Cyclodextrin (CD) conjugates with starburst polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer (CDEs), as a new type of polymer-based carriers, were first published in 2001. After that, galactose-, lactose-, mannose-, fucose-, folate-, and polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-appended CDEs have been prepared for passive and active targeting for gene, oligonucleotide, and low-molecular-weight drugs. PEG-appended CDE formed polypsuedorotaxanes with α-CD and γ-CD, which are useful for a sustained release system of gene and oligonucleotide drugs. Interestingly, CDEs were found to have anti-inflammatory effects and anti-amyloid effects themselves, which have potential as active pharmaceutical ingredients. Most recently, CDE is reported to be a useful Cas9-RNA ribonucleoproteins (Cas9 RNP) carrier that induces genome editing in the neuron and brain. In this review, the history and progression of CDEs are overviewed.

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockin of human factor IX into swine factor IX locus effectively alleviates bleeding in hemophilia B pigs

Hemophilia B is an X-linked recessive bleeding disorder caused by abnormalities in the coagulation factor IX gene. Without prophylactic treatment, patients experience frequent spontaneous bleeding episodes. Well-characterized animal models are valuable for determining the pathobiology of the disease and for testing novel therapeutic innovations. Here, we generated a porcine model of hemophilia B (HB) using a combination of CRISPR/Cas9 and somatic cell nuclear transfer. We also tested the possibility of HB therapy by gene insertion. Frequent spontaneous joint bleeding episodes that occurred in HB pigs allowed a thorough investigation of the pathological process of hemophilic arthropathy. In contrast to the HB pigs, which showed a severe bleeding tendency and joint damage, the transgenic pigs carrying human coagulation factor IX exhibited a partial improvement in bleeding. In summary, this study not only offers a translational HB model for exploring the pathological process of hemophilic arthropathy, but also provides a possibility for the permanent correction of hemophilia in the future by genome editing in situ.