Treating rheumatoid arthritis CRISPR edits "smart cells" to show therapeutic potential

Biological products are increasingly used to treat inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

Recently, scientists have used CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology to transform induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)

▲The paper was published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances (Image source: screenshot of the paper page)

Generally targeted biological products and the passage of several inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1 and -6 (IL-1 and IL-6), tumor necrosis factor -α (TNF-α) and the like

A research team from Washington University School of Medicine in St.

▲The principle of the treatment plan (picture source: reference [1])

Professor Farshid Guilak, the corresponding author of the paper, explained, “We used CRISPR technology to re-edit the genes in the stem cells, and then by seeding the cells on the braided scaffold, we created a small cartilage implant and placed it on Under the skin of mice

Interestingly, although IL-1Ra has been proven to improve symptoms in animal models, it is not often used to treat rheumatoid arthritis because of its short half-life and average efficacy

Moreover, when using radioactive imaging technology to observe bones, the drug inhibits bone damage commonly seen in rheumatoid arthritis and completely eliminates bone erosion

Even better, researchers can also use CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to create different types of drugs

Researchers are continuing to experiment with CRISPR-Cas9 and stem cells, hoping to create cells loaded with more than one drug to respond to different triggers of inflammation and treat a variety of chronic diseases and tissue types

Reference materials:

[1] Choi, YR, et, al.

[2] CRISPR-Engineered Cells Release Drug in Response to Inflammation When Implanted into Mice.