Recent research from the University of Utah Health could lead to a new treatment pathway for cancer and other infections, according to an announcement.
The treatment involves a recently uncovered type of CRISPR that attacks disease cells, Cas12a2. While this CRISPR will continuously cut DNA once its target is identified, the researchers assure that they “can easily target the molecule to be activated by RNA sequences that are specific to cancer cells or dangerous viruses.”
The scientists tested the non-editing method on KRAS in a dish. They found that Cas12a2 cut human lung cancer cell growth by half without targeting healthy KRAS. Additionally, this method was effective with human papillomavirus. “Collaborators at Akribion Therapeutics found that Cas12a2 reduced the growth of infected cells in a dish by more than 90% without harming healthy cells.” The authors are hopeful that Cas12a2 will be able to treat HIV.
While these findings are promising, the researchers warn that additional research is still needed before Cas12a2 can be used on humans. One of the co-senior authors of the paper, Yang Liu, PhD, told U of U that next steps for this study include, “Curing the incurables.”
