CRISPR/Cas9 is a new biological mechanism used to edit the genetic information of an organism. This can be done by insertion of a new gene into the genome, deletion of a gene, or performing what is called a base pair substitution, which involves switching out a nucleotide (A, T, C, or G) within the DNA with another nucleotide. Cas9 is the enzyme that mediates this editing, by cutting both strands of DNA in a specific place on the genome. Cas9 is directed to the correct site on the genome using a strand of RNA called sgRNA, or single-guide RNA. This piece of RNA is complementary to the DNA at a very specific location on the genome and guides the Cas9 enzyme to cut in that location, where the insertion, deletion, or editing of a gene can occur. This genetic modification technique is a hot topic within the scientific community because of its potential applications. The high specificity and efficiency of this mechanism is favorable and has been proposed as a treatment for various genetic diseases and conditions, like cancer. By using CRISPR/Cas9, oncogenic genes can be edited or deleted, having suppressive effects on cancerous cells/tumors. It can also insert genes that may be absent in other genetic conditions, or may treat a condition when the products of the gene are expressed. Furthermore, there have been some concerns about using this technology on humans to give someone more “advantageous” traits, later down the line when the technology is further developed.
Hazafa A, Mumtaz M, Farooq MF, et al. CRISPR/Cas9: A powerful genome editing technique for the treatment of cancer cells with present challenges and future directions. Life Sci. 2020;263:118525. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2020.118525
