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Kreissig S, Windisch R, Wichmann C. Deciphering Acute Myeloid Leukemia Associated Transcription Factors in Human Primary CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells. Cells 2023; 13:78. [PMID: 38201282 PMCID: PMC10777941 DOI: 10.3390/cells13010078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Hemato-oncological diseases account for nearly 10% of all malignancies and can be classified into leukemia, lymphoma, myeloproliferative diseases, and myelodysplastic syndromes. The causes and prognosis of these disease entities are highly variable. Most entities are not permanently controllable and ultimately lead to the patient's death. At the molecular level, recurrent mutations including chromosomal translocations initiate the transformation from normal stem-/progenitor cells into malignant blasts finally floating the patient's bone marrow and blood system. In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the so-called master transcription factors such as RUNX1, KMT2A, and HOX are frequently disrupted by chromosomal translocations, resulting in neomorphic oncogenic fusion genes. Triggering ex vivo expansion of primary human CD34+ stem/progenitor cells represents a distinct characteristic of such chimeric AML transcription factors. Regarding oncogenic mechanisms of AML, most studies focus on murine models. However, due to biological differences between mice and humans, findings are only partly transferable. This review focuses on the genetic manipulation of human CD34+ primary hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells derived from healthy donors to model acute myeloid leukemia cell growth. Analysis of defined single- or multi-hit human cellular AML models will elucidate molecular mechanisms of the development, maintenance, and potential molecular intervention strategies to counteract malignant human AML blast cell growth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Christian Wichmann
- Division of Transfusion Medicine, Cell Therapeutics and Haemostaseology, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany; (S.K.)
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Batalha S, Gomes CM, Brito C. Immune microenvironment dynamics of HER2 overexpressing breast cancer under dual anti-HER2 blockade. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1267621. [PMID: 38022643 PMCID: PMC10643871 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1267621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The clinical prognosis of the HER2-overexpressing (HER2-OE) subtype of breast cancer (BC) is influenced by the immune infiltrate of the tumor. Specifically, monocytic cells, which are promoters of pro-tumoral immunosuppression, and NK cells, whose basal cytotoxic function may be enhanced with therapeutic antibodies. One of the standards of care for HER2+ BC patients includes the combination of the anti-HER2 antibodies trastuzumab and pertuzumab. This dual combination was a breakthrough against trastuzumab resistance; however, this regimen does not yield complete clinical benefit for a large fraction of patients. Further therapy refinement is still hampered by the lack of knowledge on the immune mechanism of action of this antibody-based dual HER2 blockade. Methods To explore how the dual antibody challenge influences the phenotype and function of immune cells infiltrating the HER2-OE BC microenvironment, we developed in vitro 3D heterotypic cell models of this subtype. The models comprised aggregates of HER2+ BC cell lines and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Cells were co-encapsulated in a chemically inert alginate hydrogel and maintained in agitation-based culture system for up to 7 days. Results The 3D models of the HER2-OE immune microenvironment retained original BC molecular features; the preservation of the NK cell compartment was achieved upon optimization of culture time and cytokine supplementation. Challenging the models with the standard-of-care combination of trastuzumab and pertuzumab resulted in enhanced immune cytotoxicity compared with trastuzumab alone. Features of the response to therapy within the immune tumor microenvironment were recapitulated, including induction of an immune effector state with NK cell activation, enhanced cell apoptosis and decline of immunosuppressive PD-L1+ immune cells. Conclusions This work presents a unique human 3D model for the study of immune effects of anti-HER2 biologicals, which can be used to test novel therapy regimens and improve anti-tumor immune function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Batalha
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Catarina Monteiro Gomes
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Catarina Brito
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
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Khaleafi R, Zeleznjak J, Cordela S, Drucker S, Rovis TL, Jonjic S, Bar-On Y. Reovirus infection of tumor cells reduces the expression of NKG2D ligands, leading to impaired NK-cell cytotoxicity and functionality. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1231782. [PMID: 37753084 PMCID: PMC10518469 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1231782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, reoviruses have been of major interest in immunotherapy because of their oncolytic properties. Preclinical and clinical trials, in which reovirus was used for the treatment of melanoma and glioblastoma, have paved the way for future clinical use of reovirus. However, little is known about how reovirus infection affects the tumor microenvironment and immune response towards infected tumor cells. Studies have shown that reovirus can directly stimulate natural killer (NK) cells, but how reovirus affects cellular ligands on tumor cells, which are ultimately key to tumor recognition and elimination by NK cells, has not been investigated. We tested how reovirus infection affects the binding of the NK Group-2 member D (NKG2D) receptor, which is a dominant mediator of NK cell anti-tumor activity. Using models of human-derived melanoma and glioblastoma tumors, we demonstrated that NKG2D ligands are downregulated in tumor cells post-reovirus-infection due to the impaired translation of these ligands in reovirus-infected cells. Moreover, we showed that downregulation of NKG2D ligands significantly impaired the binding of NKG2D to infected tumor cells. We further demonstrated that reduced recognition of NKG2D ligands significantly alters NK cell anti-tumor cytotoxicity in human primary NK cells and in the NK cell line NK-92. Thus, this study provides novel insights into reovirus-host interactions and could lead to the development of novel reovirus-based therapeutics that enhance the anti-tumor immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raghad Khaleafi
- Department of Immunology, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Jelena Zeleznjak
- Department of Histology and Embryology/Center for Proteomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Sapir Cordela
- Department of Immunology, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Shani Drucker
- Department of Immunology, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tihana Lenac Rovis
- Department of Histology and Embryology/Center for Proteomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Stipan Jonjic
- Department of Histology and Embryology/Center for Proteomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Yotam Bar-On
- Department of Immunology, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
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Reddin IG, Fenton TR, Wass MN, Michaelis M. Large inherent variability in data derived from highly standardised cell culture experiments. Pharmacol Res 2023; 188:106671. [PMID: 36681368 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Cancer drug development is hindered by high clinical attrition rates, which are blamed on weak predictive power by preclinical models and limited replicability of preclinical findings. However, the technically feasible level of replicability remains unknown. To fill this gap, we conducted an analysis of data from the NCI60 cancer cell line screen (2.8 million compound/cell line experiments), which is to our knowledge the largest depository of experiments that have been repeatedly performed over decades. The findings revealed profound intra-laboratory data variability, although all experiments were executed following highly standardised protocols that avoid all known confounders of data quality. All compound/ cell line combinations with > 100 independent biological replicates displayed maximum GI50 (50% growth inhibition) fold changes (highest/ lowest GI50) > 5% and 70.5% displayed maximum fold changes > 1000. The highest maximum fold change was 3.16 × 1010 (lowest GI50: 7.93 ×10-10 µM, highest GI50: 25.0 µM). FDA-approved drugs and experimental agents displayed similar variation. Variability remained high after outlier removal, when only considering experiments that tested drugs at the same concentration range, and when only considering NCI60-provided quality-controlled data. In conclusion, high variability is an intrinsic feature of anti-cancer drug testing, even among standardised experiments in a world-leading research environment. Awareness of this inherent variability will support realistic data interpretation and inspire research to improve data robustness. Further research will have to show whether the inclusion of a wider variety of model systems, such as animal and/ or patient-derived models, may improve data robustness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian G Reddin
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; Cancer Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Tim R Fenton
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; Cancer Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Mark N Wass
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
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Novel 1,3,4-oxadiazole chalcogen analogues: Synthesis and cytotoxic activity. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 238:114440. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Li YR, Yu Y, Kramer A, Hon R, Wilson M, Brown J, Yang L. An Ex Vivo 3D Tumor Microenvironment-Mimicry Culture to Study TAM Modulation of Cancer Immunotherapy. Cells 2022; 11:cells11091583. [PMID: 35563889 PMCID: PMC9101510 DOI: 10.3390/cells11091583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) accumulate in the solid tumor microenvironment (TME) and have been shown to promote tumor growth and dampen antitumor immune responses. TAM-mediated suppression of T-cell antitumor reactivity is considered to be a major obstacle for many immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint blockade and adoptive T/CAR-T-cell therapies. An ex vivo culture system closely mimicking the TME can greatly facilitate the study of cancer immunotherapies. Here, we report the development of a 3D TME-mimicry culture that is comprised of the three major components of a human TME, including human tumor cells, TAMs, and tumor antigen-specific T cells. This TME-mimicry culture can readout the TAM-mediated suppression of T-cell antitumor reactivity, and therefore can be used to study TAM modulation of T-cell-based cancer immunotherapy. As a proof-of-principle, the studies of a PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapy and a MAO-A blockade therapy were performed and validated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Ruide Li
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; (Y.-R.L.); (Y.Y.); (A.K.); (R.H.); (M.W.); (J.B.)
| | - Yanqi Yu
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; (Y.-R.L.); (Y.Y.); (A.K.); (R.H.); (M.W.); (J.B.)
| | - Adam Kramer
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; (Y.-R.L.); (Y.Y.); (A.K.); (R.H.); (M.W.); (J.B.)
| | - Ryan Hon
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; (Y.-R.L.); (Y.Y.); (A.K.); (R.H.); (M.W.); (J.B.)
| | - Matthew Wilson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; (Y.-R.L.); (Y.Y.); (A.K.); (R.H.); (M.W.); (J.B.)
| | - James Brown
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; (Y.-R.L.); (Y.Y.); (A.K.); (R.H.); (M.W.); (J.B.)
| | - Lili Yang
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; (Y.-R.L.); (Y.Y.); (A.K.); (R.H.); (M.W.); (J.B.)
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-310-825-8609
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Batalha S, Ferreira S, Brito C. The Peripheral Immune Landscape of Breast Cancer: Clinical Findings and In Vitro Models for Biomarker Discovery. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:1305. [PMID: 33804027 PMCID: PMC8001103 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13061305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the deadliest female malignancy worldwide and, while much is known about phenotype and function of infiltrating immune cells, the same attention has not been paid to the peripheral immune compartment of breast cancer patients. To obtain faster, cheaper, and more precise monitoring of patients' status, it is crucial to define and analyze circulating immune profiles. This review compiles and summarizes the disperse knowledge on the peripheral immune profile of breast cancer patients, how it departs from healthy individuals and how it changes with disease progression. We propose this data to be used as a starting point for validation of clinically relevant biomarkers of disease progression and therapy response, which warrants more thorough investigation in patient cohorts of specific breast cancer subtypes. Relevant clinical findings may also be explored experimentally using advanced 3D cellular models of human cancer-immune system interactions, which are under intensive development. We review the latest findings and discuss the strengths and limitations of such models, as well as the future perspectives. Together, the scientific advancement of peripheral biomarker discovery and cancer-immune crosstalk in breast cancer will be instrumental to uncover molecular mechanisms and putative biomarkers and drug targets in an all-human setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Batalha
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (iBET), Apartado 12, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal;
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, University Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Sofia Ferreira
- Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, Rua Prof Lima Basto, 1099-023 Lisboa, Portugal;
| | - Catarina Brito
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (iBET), Apartado 12, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal;
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, University Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
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Laranga R, Duchi S, Ibrahim T, Guerrieri AN, Donati DM, Lucarelli E. Trends in Bone Metastasis Modeling. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:E2315. [PMID: 32824479 PMCID: PMC7464021 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12082315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Bone is one of the most common sites for cancer metastasis. Bone tissue is composed by different kinds of cells that coexist in a coordinated balance. Due to the complexity of bone, it is impossible to capture the intricate interactions between cells under either physiological or pathological conditions. Hence, a variety of in vivo and in vitro approaches have been developed. Various models of tumor-bone diseases are routinely used to provide valuable information on the relationship between metastatic cancer cells and the bone tissue. Ideally, when modeling the metastasis of human cancers to bone, models would replicate the intra-tumor heterogeneity, as well as the genetic and phenotypic changes that occur with human cancers; such models would be scalable and reproducible to allow high-throughput investigation. Despite the continuous progress, there is still a lack of solid, amenable, and affordable models that are able to fully recapitulate the biological processes happening in vivo, permitting a correct interpretation of results. In the last decades, researchers have demonstrated that three-dimensional (3D) methods could be an innovative approach that lies between bi-dimensional (2D) models and animal models. Scientific evidence supports that the tumor microenvironment can be better reproduced in a 3D system than a 2D cell culture, and the 3D systems can be scaled up for drug screening in the same way as the 2D systems thanks to the current technologies developed. However, 3D models cannot completely recapitulate the inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity found in patients. In contrast, ex vivo cultures of fragments of bone preserve key cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions and allow the study of bone cells in their natural 3D environment. Moreover, ex vivo bone organ cultures could be a better model to resemble the human pathogenic metastasis condition and useful tools to predict in vivo response to therapies. The aim of our review is to provide an overview of the current trends in bone metastasis modeling. By showing the existing in vitro and ex vivo systems, we aspire to contribute to broaden the knowledge on bone metastasis models and make these tools more appealing for further translational studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Laranga
- Unit of Orthopaedic Pathology and Osteoarticular Tissue Regeneration, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136 Bologna, Italy; (R.L.); (D.M.D.); (E.L.)
| | - Serena Duchi
- BioFab3D@ACMD, St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3065, Australia;
- Department of Surgery, St Vincent’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3065, Australia
| | - Toni Ibrahim
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, 47014 Meldola, Italy;
| | - Ania Naila Guerrieri
- Unit of Orthopaedic Pathology and Osteoarticular Tissue Regeneration, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136 Bologna, Italy; (R.L.); (D.M.D.); (E.L.)
| | - Davide Maria Donati
- Unit of Orthopaedic Pathology and Osteoarticular Tissue Regeneration, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136 Bologna, Italy; (R.L.); (D.M.D.); (E.L.)
- Rizzoli Laboratory Unit, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136 Bologna, Italy
- 3rd Orthopaedic and Traumatologic Clinic Prevalently Oncologic, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via Pupilli 1, 40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Enrico Lucarelli
- Unit of Orthopaedic Pathology and Osteoarticular Tissue Regeneration, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136 Bologna, Italy; (R.L.); (D.M.D.); (E.L.)
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Yip BH. Recent Advances in CRISPR/Cas9 Delivery Strategies. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10060839. [PMID: 32486234 PMCID: PMC7356196 DOI: 10.3390/biom10060839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2020] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system has revolutionized the field of gene editing. Continuous efforts in developing this technology have enabled efficient in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo gene editing through a variety of delivery strategies. Viral vectors are commonly used in in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo delivery systems, but they can cause insertional mutagenesis, have limited cloning capacity, and/or elicit immunologic responses. Physical delivery methods are largely restricted to in vitro and ex vivo systems, whereas chemical delivery methods require extensive optimization to improve their efficiency for in vivo gene editing. Achieving a safe and efficient in vivo delivery system for CRISPR/Cas9 remains the most challenging aspect of gene editing. Recently, extracellular vesicle-based systems were reported in various studies to deliver Cas9 in vitro and in vivo. In comparison with other methods, extracellular vesicles offer a safe, transient, and cost-effective yet efficient platform for delivery, indicating their potential for Cas9 delivery in clinical trials. In this review, we first discuss the pros and cons of different Cas9 delivery strategies. We then specifically review the development of extracellular vesicle-mediated gene editing and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bon Ham Yip
- Vector Development and Production Laboratory, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
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