A consortium of Chinese scientists will spearhead clinical trials on the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology next month. Scientists intend to test cells in people with lung cancer, which was reported in the journal Nature. The trial was green-lit from the ethics board at Sichuan University’s West China Hospital in Chengdu on July 6.
CRISPR is a revolutionary biotechnology that gives scientists the capability to edit or extract genetic mutations that influence chronic and incurable diseases. Trials will observe test subjects with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that have not seen results with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other treatments.
“Treatment options are very limited,” Lu You, an oncologist leading the research team, told Nature. “This technique is of great promise in bringing benefits to patients, especially the cancer patients whom we treat every day.” Scientists ran clinical trials on other gene-editing techniques.
Researchers stateside are also arranging a human clinical trial to leverage CRISPR-Cas9 against cancer. Nature reported that The National Institutes of Health endorsed the initiative last month. But the examination still needs the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a university review board.
With the potential to alter DNA, scientists could possibly remove mutations from diseases such as cystic fibrosis, HIV, and particular forms of cancer. CRISPR is already applied to crops, insects and more. Now, instead of tweaking DNA, scientists have used CRISPR to revise RNA, which is involved in coding, decoding, regulation, and the expression of genes.
Current methods for modifying RNA are ineffectual and don’t allow the same control of CRISPR. Scientists can target specific elements of RNA and then snip them out. Eventually, certain drug treatments could be substituted with CRISPR RNA-based therapies applied with less regularity.
Source: Time.com