Biotech Updates

Advantages and Challenges of Using CRISPR-Cas to Target miRNA in Cancer

July 19, 2023

Researchers from various universities in Iraq analyzed the different benefits and challenges of using CRISPR-Cas to target miRNA in Cancer. They also offered advanced strategies that can be used to overcome potential issues.

CRISPR-Cas can be used to insert permanent mutations in the genome that can be transferred to the next generation of cells. Other benefits of this technique include higher accuracy and specificity compared to other methods, as well as the targeting of several loci in the miRNA gene. CRISPR-Cas approach for miRNA gene knockdown also reaches a high success rate of 75%-99% with minimal off-target activity.

The challenges of CRISPR-Cas miRNA targeting that need to be addressed include Cas9 PAM deficiency in miRNA sequence, the short sequence of miRNA, off-target outcomes in CRISPR-Cas-mediated miRNA editing, and delivery issues of the CRISPR-Cas system. The researchers provided different strategies to help resolve these issues.

Read the journal article at Military Medical Research for more information.


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