RNA-Triggered Cell Killing with CRISPR–Cas12a2

RNA-triggered cell killing with CRISPR–Cas12a2

Selectively eradicating target cells on the basis of their genetic or transcriptional identity remains important in basic research, medicine, biotechnology and agriculture1–3. For applications involving bacteria, CRISPR nucleases offer promising options due to their ability to enact RNA-guided counterselection4–7; however, using these same nucleases for counterselection in eukaryotes has proven much more restrictive8–14. Here we show that Cas12a…

Breakthrough CRISPR Discovery Enables Selective Destruction of Cancerous Cells

Among the challenges in treating disease, including cancer, is wiping out malignancies, infection, contaminants or other pathologies, without destroying healthy tissue.

CRISPR tool targets cancer and virus-infected cells precisely

A CRISPR-based tool called Cas12a2 can selectively eliminate cancer and virus-infected cells based on their RNA signature – with high precision and no off-target effects.

New kind of CRISPR could treat viral infection and cancer by shredding sick cells' DNA

New CRISPR tool shreds targeted cells instead of editing genes, showing promise for killing diseased cells while sparing healthy ones.

RNA-Triggered Cell Killing with CRISPR-Cas12a2

Researchers showed that Cas12a2, a recently discovered type V CRISPR nuclease, exhibits RNA-triggered DNA shredding15,16, and enables programmable and sequence-specific elimination of yeast and human cells expressing a target transcript. [Nature] Full Article