The world of gene editing has been revolutionized by the development of CRISPR technology, which has opened up new opportunities in various fields of biomedicine. The CRISPR-Cas9 system, discovered in prokaryotes, has led to a revolution in genomic manipulations, enabling new possibilities in molecular diagnostics, DNA vaccines, and the cultivation of brain-like organelles carrying different variants of important genes. The potential of CRISPR-Cas9 technology has been recognized by the scientific community, with extensive discussions on its safety and ethical implications.
In a groundbreaking trial, Editas Medicine has become the first to inject a person with cells containing genes edited using the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 technique. The trial received ethical approval in July and began in August, with the researchers removing immune cells from the recipient’s blood, disabling a gene that codes for the protein PD-1 using CRISPR-Cas9, and then culturing and amplifying the edited cells before injecting them back into the patient. The success of this trial has significant implications for the future of gene editing and cancer treatment. The use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in editing immune cells has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach cancer treatment, offering a new and effective way to target and defeat the disease.