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Beijing time, April 10 news, according to foreign media reports, scientists at Stanford University in the United States are actively exploring whether gene editing technology can be used to fight epidemics, but so far, they have only solved the mystery As part of a small trial, the university's Department of Bioengineering conducted a trial using genetically manipulated Crispr technology to combat the novel coronavirus.
We may be entering an era of "new weapons" based on Crispr technology to fight against deadly viruses such as influenza and coronavirus. The researchers noted that PAC-MAN technology could be a rapidly implemented pan-coronavirus strategy to deal with emerging pandemic strains.
Stanley Qi Laboratory masters the core Crispr technology for interfering with cancer cells and treating diseases. It uses "PAC-MAN" to attack viral cells through "guided Crispr torpedoes". This method can destroy the genetic makeup of the virus. , penetrates human cells and then uses cellular machinery to replicate itself.
In this particular experiment, the lab's Crispr technology system was used to hunt for and destroy the new coronavirus, placing it in a solution containing inert synthetic fragments of the virus, like all Crispr technology systems , the system consists of two parts: an enzyme and "guide RNA." The RNA guides an enzyme called "Cas-13d" to attach to specific points on the new coronavirus genome, and then performs a series of cuts. One can think of Crispr as a pair of scissors, cutting out just the coronavirus.
The results show that Crispr therapy targeting the new coronavirus can reduce the number of viruses in the solution by 90%. The researchers believe that if the program can be effectively implemented, the sterilization rate is enough to prevent humans from being infected with the new coronavirus.
Objectively speaking, the latest research report of the Stanford University research team is a blueprint, or a proof of concept, without actual clinical drug treatment in animals or human bodies. The project still has some important unknowns. Factors including that they did not test PAC-MAN on actual coronavirus patients. They haven't developed a system to implant into human cells yet, and even if the method works, it's still a long way from finally reaching clinical testing, which frankly wouldn't be in human trials for the next 4-6 months. The possibility is zero. This is equivalent to building a space rocket that can reach escape velocity if we were trying to reach the moon and return safely.
Laurie Zoloth, senior consultant on social ethics at the University of Chicago, said: "In the history of human development, every major scientific research breakthrough has surpassed the science and technology of the time, such as: the isolation and quarantine developed in the 13th century. Technology, 17th-century medical innovation, 18th-century vaccination technology. Crispr is a new technology that has not yet been proven in human disease, but it is logical that it should work. ”
The gene-editing capabilities of Crispr technology will increasingly be used to treat diseases, initially only for genetic diseases, but in recent years, it has been used to treat infectious diseases, including the new coronavirus currently raging around the world. Crispr technology solutions that can truly prevent or treat the new coronavirus are also used in projects to treat influenza and other infectious viruses. In 2018, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Agency began a four-year "preparatory plan". According to the content of the proposed plan, Use genetic approaches to generate new medical countermeasures for the treatment of human patients. It is reported that Stanley Qi Laboratory is one of the research groups engaged in the design of Crispr solutions. In April 2019, they began to study an influenza treatment method based on Crispr technology. With the outbreak of the new coronavirus at the beginning of this year, researchers from the laboratory noticed This, and in late January shifted the focus of research to viruses that change the way people live their lives.
There are huge challenges in dealing with this special virus. The new coronavirus has 30,000 nucleotides, and Crispr technology guides RNA to cut only a 22-nucleotide region. In order to locate the best attack location, requiring extensive bioinformatics calculations and experiments.
The treatment itself is a dual genetic attack that directly affects the targeted virus, the researchers said. The first effect is to reduce the concentration of viral genomes in human cells, and the second effect is to prevent the production of viral proteins, thereby preventing the virus from replicating itself and destroying the human body's defense system.
The biggest problem so far is that researchers are not actually using the new coronavirus in their trials because they have no access to samples of the virus and no government authorization. The Stanley Qi laboratory has created a synthetic, non-replicating virus that has the gene expression characteristics of the new coronavirus and is used to replace the real new coronavirus.
The Stanford University research team believes that even if they have not tested the real new coronavirus, their research results are very important. The experimental results show that we can target certain areas of the virus to intervene, which will not only stop at Concept phase, culminating in a rapid development of a treatment plan.
But other researchers say that in order to prove that humans can eliminate the new coronavirus, experiments must be conducted using real virus samples. Another problem: There are currently no Crispr-based viral delivery systems. An ongoing problem in Crispr medical solutions is how to apply medical treatments to the appropriate cells. The lungs are a particularly troublesome target for the new coronavirus. battlefield—relatively inaccessible for drugs and filled with mucus that can interfere with targeted therapies.
Researchers say that although there are many potential treatment options, so far no one has found a way to use PAC-MAN technology to cause RNA to be transferred to the virus. Perhaps someone has found a way to solve this problem, and they may have an efficient Medication Delivery Methods.
Professor San Angelo leads a Georgia Tech research team that has established partnerships with multiple universities. They believe that a nebulizer therapy can be used, which is an atomized inhalation device that patients can use based on Crispr. Techniques for breathing. Currently, they are testing the nebulizer/Crispr combination therapy on mice.
Ultimately, the research report points to the use of Crispr technology as a "preventive strategy" to treat the new coronavirus, which means that the treatment can keep uninfected people away from the virus, but Crispr is newer Regarding medical technology, there are only three human trials of Crispr approved by the US Drug Administration in the United States. Although the treatment was not found to cause health harm to patients, researchers are wary that early trials of introducing genetically modified cells into the body resulted in malignant inflammation and, in some cases, death of patients. That's one of the things that needs to be addressed, if your immune system doesn't accept the protein, maybe using it as a treatment to better balance the risks and rewards.
Ultimately, like any new treatment, Crispr prevention therapies for viral infections will still need to be tested on animals and humans before passing the FDA's rigorous review process.
Nevertheless, this paper may one day be viewed as a landmark event, and the ultimate hope of Crispr-based technology systems is that once a new viral genetic target is identified, it is possible to change the previous treatment method. A simpler process that can be implemented quickly. Maybe in the future our system will not know which virus to deal with at all. All you have to do is change a simple part, and then you can truly resist this new virus. But currently The FDA still needs to approve any new uses of the therapy. This latest research suggests that perhaps when the next viral pandemic arrives, we will have more weapons to fight it than the current vaccines and drugs.
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