CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing: A new therapeutic approach in the treatment of infection and autoimmunity

Abstract

CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/ CRISPR-associated protein9) may be viewed as an adaptive bacterial immune system. When a virus infects a bacterium, a fragment of the virus genome is inserted into the CRISPR sequence of the bacterial genome as a memory.When the bacterium becomes infected again with the same virus, an RNA molecule that is a transcript of the memory sequence, directs Cas9, an endonuclease, to the complementary region of the virus genome, and Cas9 disables the virus by a double-strand break. In recent years, studies have shown that by designing synthetic RNA molecules and delivering them along with Cas9 into eukaryotic cells, different regions of the cell's genome can be targeted and manipulated. These findings have drawn much attention to this new technology and it has been shown that CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing can be used to treat some human diseases. These include infectious diseases and autoimmune diseases. In this review article, in addition to a brief overview of the biology of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, we collected the most recent findings on the applications of CRISPR/Cas9 technology for better investigation of the pathogenesis and treatment of viral infections (human immunodeficiency virus infection, hepatitis virus infections, and onco-virus infections), non-viral infections (parasitic, fungal, and bacterial infections), and autoimmune diseases.

Zinc and Respiratory Viral Infections: Important Trace Element in Anti-viral Response and Immune Regulation

“…In fact, a combination of innate immunity, antibody production, and cytotoxic function of TCD8 + cells is involved in anti-viral defense in the respiratory tract, and effector CD4 + T cells play an indirect but important role in anti-viral defense by leading these events. In HIV infection, where T CD4 + cells are targeted as the main target, the immune system is significantly weakened, indicating the high importance of these cells in the immune system [ 25 ]. Figure 1 summarizes the above-mentioned events.…”

Evaluation of L-fucose and Sialic Acid Levels in Patients With Colorectal Cancer and Control Subject

“…Furthermore, researchers suggest that the regulatory functions of circular RNAs and targeting the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling are effective in cancer therapy [23,24]. Also, much evidence supports the CRISPR/Cas9 technology and it can be used to better understand the pathogenesis of diseases [25]. The relative abundance of seven IgG glycans, fucose, sialic acid, galactose, and bisecting change during tumor growth in CRC [26].…”

Applications and challenges of CRISPR-Cas gene-editing to disease treatment in clinics

“…In addition to the treatment of monogenic diseases, CRISPR-Cas systems have been utilized to treat infectious diseases, such as viral infections (human immunodeficiency virus infection, hepatitis virus infections, and oncogenic virus infections), nonviral infections (bacterial, fungal, and parasite infections), and the potential efficacy has been observed in a number of occasions. 56 Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is still one of the world's most serious public health challenges. 57 Yin et al reported that the CRISPR-Cas9 tool could inhibit multiple steps of HIV-1 infection, 58 and several research labs have made excellent efforts to improve the use of CRISPR-Cas9 for treating HIV infection.…”