Peptide and Aptamer Decorated Delivery System for Targeting Delivery of Cas9/sgRNA Plasmid To Mediate Antitumor Genome Editing

The potential of genome editing to create novel alleles of resistance genes in rice

Rice, a staple food for a significant portion of the global population, faces persistent threats from various pathogens and pests, necessitating the development of resilient crop varieties. Deployment of resistance genes in rice is the best practice to manage diseases and reduce environmental damage by reducing the application of agro-chemicals. Genome editing technologies, such as CRISPR-Cas, have revolutionized the field of molecular biology, offering precise and efficient tools for targeted modifications within the rice genome. This study delves into the application of these tools to engineer novel alleles of resistance genes in rice, aiming to enhance the plant's innate ability to combat evolving threats. By harnessing the power of genome editing, researchers can introduce tailored genetic modifications that bolster the plant's defense mechanisms without compromising its essential characteristics. In this study, we synthesize recent advancements in genome editing methodologies applicable to rice and discuss the ethical considerations and regulatory frameworks surrounding the creation of genetically modified crops. Additionally, it explores potential challenges and future prospects for deploying edited rice varieties in agricultural landscapes. In summary, this study highlights the promise of genome editing in reshaping the genetic landscape of rice to confront emerging challenges, contributing to global food security and sustainable agriculture practices.

Lipid-, Inorganic-, Polymer-, and DNA-Based Nanocarriers for Delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 system

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system has been widely explored for the precise manipulation of target DNA and has enabled efficient genomic editing in cells. Recently, CRISPR/Cas9 has shown promising potential in biomedical applications, including disease treatment, transcriptional regulation and genome-wide screening. Despite these exciting achievements, efficient and controlled delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 system has remained a critical obstacle to its further application. Herein, we elaborate on the three delivery forms of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, and discuss the composition, advantages and limitations of these forms. Then we provide a comprehensive overview of the carriers of the system, and focus on the nonviral nanocarriers in chemical methods that facilitate efficient and controlled delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Finally, we discuss the challenges and prospects of the delivery methods of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in depth, and propose strategies to address the intracellular and extracellular barriers to delivery in clinical applications.

Recent advances in the delivery and applications of nonviral CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing

The CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 genome editing system has been a major technological breakthrough that has brought revolutionary changes to genome editing for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes and precision medicine. With the advent of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, one of the critical limiting factors has been the safe and efficient delivery of this system to cells or tissues of interest. Several approaches have been investigated to find delivery systems that can attain tissue-targeted delivery, lowering the chances of off-target editing. While viral vectors have shown promise for in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo delivery of CRISPR/Cas9, their further clinical applications have been restricted due to shortcomings including limited cargo packaging capacity, difficulties with large-scale production, immunogenicity and insertional mutagenesis. Rapid progress in nonviral delivery vectors, including the use of lipid, polymer, peptides, and inorganic nanoparticle-based delivery systems, has established nonviral delivery approaches as a viable alternative to viral vectors. This review will introduce the molecular mechanisms of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system, current strategies for delivering CRISPR/Cas9-based tools, an overview of strategies for overcoming off-target genome editing, and approaches for improving genome targeting and tissue targeting. We will also highlight current developments and recent clinical trials for the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9. Finally, future directions for overcoming the limitations and adaptation of this technology for clinical trials will be discussed.

Application of Peptides in Construction of Nonviral Vectors for Gene Delivery

Gene therapy, which aims to cure diseases by knocking out, editing, correcting or compensating abnormal genes, provides new strategies for the treatment of tumors, genetic diseases and other diseases that are closely related to human gene abnormalities. In order to deliver genes efficiently to abnormal sites in vivo to achieve therapeutic effects, a variety of gene vectors have been designed. Among them, peptide-based vectors show superior advantages because of their ease of design, perfect biocompatibility and safety. Rationally designed peptides can carry nucleic acids into cells to perform therapeutic effects by overcoming a series of biological barriers including cellular uptake, endosomal escape, nuclear entrance and so on. Moreover, peptides can also be incorporated into other delivery systems as functional segments. In this review, we referred to the biological barriers for gene delivery in vivo and discussed several kinds of peptide-based nonviral gene vectors developed for overcoming these barriers. These vectors can deliver different types of genetic materials into targeted cells/tissues individually or in combination by having specific structure-function relationships. Based on the general review of peptide-based gene delivery systems, the current challenges and future perspectives in development of peptidic nonviral vectors for clinical applications were also put forward, with the aim of providing guidance towards the rational design and development of such systems.

Aptamer-Based Cancer Cell Analysis and Treatment

Aptamers are a class of single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotides that can exclusively bind to various targets with high affinity and selectivity. Regarded as "chemical antibodies", aptamers possess several intrinsic advantages, including easy synthesis, convenient modification, high programmability, and good biocompatibility. In recent decades, many studies have demonstrated the superiority of aptamers as molecular tools for various biological applications, particularly in the area of cancer theranostics. In this review, we focus on recent progress in developing aptamer-based strategies for the precise analysis and treatment of cancer cells.

Development of non-viral vectors for neuronal-targeted delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 RNA-proteins as a therapeutic strategy for neurological disorders

The aging population contributes to an increase in the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Due to the progressive nature of these diseases and an incomplete understanding of their pathophysiology, current drugs are inefficient, with a limited efficacy and major side effects. In this study, CRISPR-Cas9 RNA-proteins (RNP) composed of a Cas9 nuclease and single-guide RNA were delivered with a non-viral targeted delivery system to rescue the PD-associated phenotype in neuronal cells. Here, we fused the cell-penetrating amphipathic peptide, PepFect14 (PF14), with a short fragment of the rabies virus glycoprotein (C2) previously shown to have an affinity towards nicotinic acetylcholine receptors expressed on neuronal cells and on the blood-brain barrier. The resultant peptide, C2-PF14, was used to complex with and deliver RNPs to neuronal cells. We observed that RNP/C2-PF14 complexes formed nanosized, monodispersed, and nontoxic nanoparticles that led to a specific delivery into neuronal cells. α-Synuclein (α-syn) plays a major role in the pathology of PD and is considered to be a target for therapy. We demonstrated that CRISPR/Cas9 RNP delivered by C2-PF14 achieved α-syn gene (SNCA) editing in neuronal cells as determined by T7EI assay and western blotting. Furthermore, RNP/C2-PF14 relieved PD-associated toxicity in neuronal cells in vitro. This is a proof-of-concept towards simple and safe targeted genome-editing for treating PD and other neurological disorders.

Non-viral delivery of the CRISPR/Cas system: DNA versus RNA versus RNP

Since its discovery, the CRISPR/Cas technology has rapidly become an essential tool in modern biomedical research. The opportunities to specifically modify and correct genomic DNA has also raised big hope...

Engineering Cas9 for human genome editing

Since the initial reports describing CRISPR-Cas9, labs across the globe have leveraged this valuable gene editing tool to alter the genomes of living cells. With the goal of generating more precise and efficient genome changes, scientists and engineers have mutated, evolved, and covalently altered Cas9 in order to predictably edit the genetic code. Here, we highlight recent advancements and contributions to the growing field of Cas9 engineering. We present key aspects of Cas9 engineering efforts focused on sgRNA manipulation, PAM-recognition, specificity, deaminase fusions, reverse-transcriptase fusions, and structural rearrangements of this important gene-modifying tool.

Recent Progress in Aptamer Discoveries and Modifications for Therapeutic Applications

Aptamers are oligonucleotide sequences with a length of about 25-80 bases which have abilities to bind to specific target molecules that rival those of monoclonal antibodies. They are attracting great attention in diverse clinical translations on account of their various advantages, including prolonged storage life, little batch-to-batch differences, very low immunogenicity, and feasibility of chemical modifications for enhancing stability, prolonging the half-life in serum, and targeted delivery. In this Review, we demonstrate the emerging aptamer discovery technologies in developing advanced techniques for producing aptamers with high performance consistently and efficiently as well as requiring less cost and resources but offering a great chance of success. Further, the diverse modifications of aptamers for therapeutic applications including therapeutic agents, aptamer-drug conjugates, and targeted delivery materials are comprehensively summarized.

Tissue-Specific Delivery of CRISPR Therapeutics: Strategies and Mechanisms of Non-Viral Vectors

The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) genome editing system has been the focus of intense research in the last decade due to its superior ability to desirably target and edit DNA sequences. The applicability of the CRISPR-Cas system to in vivo genome editing has acquired substantial credit for a future in vivo gene-based therapeutic. Challenges such as targeting the wrong tissue, undesirable genetic mutations, or immunogenic responses, need to be tackled before CRISPR-Cas systems can be translated for clinical use. Hence, there is an evident gap in the field for a strategy to enhance the specificity of delivery of CRISPR-Cas gene editing systems for in vivo applications. Current approaches using viral vectors do not address these main challenges and, therefore, strategies to develop non-viral delivery systems are being explored. Peptide-based systems represent an attractive approach to developing gene-based therapeutics due to their specificity of targeting, scale-up potential, lack of an immunogenic response and resistance to proteolysis. In this review, we discuss the most recent efforts towards novel non-viral delivery systems, focusing on strategies and mechanisms of peptide-based delivery systems, that can specifically deliver CRISPR components to different cell types for therapeutic and research purposes.