5 ms·

This is very interesting, is it maybe that CRISPR resembles attacks we faced from viruses and the likes during our evolution as a species, that we have such hig

This is very interesting, is it maybe that CRISPR resembles attacks we faced from viruses and the likes during our evolution as a species, that we have such high rates of immunity to it?

jonwachob91 8y ago
Per the article > "Michael Schmueck-Henneresse of Charité University Medicine Berlin, who led today’s study, said that he was initially surprised by the 96% finding. “But it made sense because the Streptococcus pyogenes bacterium is one of the most common causes for bacterial infections in humans and we have all been through multiple infections and potentially even been colonized by it,” "
- wernercd 8y ago
  > we have all been through multiple infections Does that mean it could be used when young, before the immune system is primed?
virusduck 8y ago
The enzyme commonly used for gene editing is from a bacteria that is a common human pathogen. Bits of these bacteria (including their Cas9 protein) are recognized as foreign. Unfortunately, when gene-edited cells are expressing the Cas9 protein, bits of every protein in the cell, including Cas9, naturally get processed and presented on the surface of the cell. There are immune cells (T cells) that monitor for non-self protein bits on the surface of cells, and when non-self is detected, they kill that cell they perceive as infected. There's a bit more nuance than this, but this makes it significantly more difficult to pull off gene editing in a human.
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
  Could this be a potential cancer therapy?
  - mjevans 8y ago
    I like your silver-lining take on this. It wouldn't be bad low-hanging fruit to look at if someone hasn't already done that study.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
  - virusduck 8y ago
    In a way, sure. A major roll of the immune system (especially T cells) is to monitor for unusual cells. Some pre-cancerous cells display unusual markers that are recognized and killed by T cells. Those that evade T cell recognition go on to be a problem. The major problem is still how do you target cancer cells? If you can find something that makes them unique, say a cell surface receptor, or an unusual metabolic process, there are lots of ways to target them for removal. It's just hard to uniquely identify cancer cells. Right now, most chemotherapy drugs target the phenotype of "fast replication" which really isn't too selective.
    - amelius 8y ago
      > It's just hard to uniquely identify cancer cells. How about performing whole-genome sequencing on a tumor, and then targeting the differences with the patient's natural genome?
      - bottled_poe 8y ago
        That sounds way more complicated (expensive) than using a minimalist signature to identify cancerous cells.
        dogma1138 8y ago
        With desktop gene sequencers becoming a near commodity product I’m not so sure. There are a companies that currently focus on this area specifically by leveraging the ever dropping costs and capabilities of gene sequencing by developing targeted immunotherapy solutions that can target the specific genetic makeup of a tumor from a biopsy.

This is very interesting, is it maybe that CRISPR resembles attacks we faced from viruses and the likes during our evolution as a species, that we have such high rates of immunity to it?

jonwachob91 8y ago

Per the article > "Michael Schmueck-Henneresse of Charité University Medicine Berlin, who led today’s study, said that he was initially surprised by the 96% finding. “But it made sense because the Streptococcus pyogenes bacterium is one of the most common causes for bacterial infections in humans and we have all been through multiple infections and potentially even been colonized by it,” "

wernercd 8y ago
> we have all been through multiple infections Does that mean it could be used when young, before the immune system is primed?

virusduck 8y ago

The enzyme commonly used for gene editing is from a bacteria that is a common human pathogen. Bits of these bacteria (including their Cas9 protein) are recognized as foreign. Unfortunately, when gene-edited cells are expressing the Cas9 protein, bits of every protein in the cell, including Cas9, naturally get processed and presented on the surface of the cell. There are immune cells (T cells) that monitor for non-self protein bits on the surface of cells, and when non-self is detected, they kill that cell they perceive as infected. There's a bit more nuance than this, but this makes it significantly more difficult to pull off gene editing in a human.

TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
Could this be a potential cancer therapy?
- mjevans 8y ago
  I like your silver-lining take on this. It wouldn't be bad low-hanging fruit to look at if someone hasn't already done that study.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- virusduck 8y ago
  In a way, sure. A major roll of the immune system (especially T cells) is to monitor for unusual cells. Some pre-cancerous cells display unusual markers that are recognized and killed by T cells. Those that evade T cell recognition go on to be a problem. The major problem is still how do you target cancer cells? If you can find something that makes them unique, say a cell surface receptor, or an unusual metabolic process, there are lots of ways to target them for removal. It's just hard to uniquely identify cancer cells. Right now, most chemotherapy drugs target the phenotype of "fast replication" which really isn't too selective.
  - amelius 8y ago
    > It's just hard to uniquely identify cancer cells. How about performing whole-genome sequencing on a tumor, and then targeting the differences with the patient's natural genome?
    - bottled_poe 8y ago
      That sounds way more complicated (expensive) than using a minimalist signature to identify cancerous cells.
      - dogma1138 8y ago
        With desktop gene sequencers becoming a near commodity product I’m not so sure. There are a companies that currently focus on this area specifically by leveraging the ever dropping costs and capabilities of gene sequencing by developing targeted immunotherapy solutions that can target the specific genetic makeup of a tumor from a biopsy.