CRISPR in Cancer Biology and Bovine Viral Diarrhea Therapy: Precision Genome Editing at the Frontier of Oncology and Viral Pathogenesis
Abstract
CRISPR has become a revolutionary tool for cancer biology and therapy with unprecedented precision for genome editing. Besides cancer, CRISPR is also under research for possible use in the treatment of viral diseases, such as Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV), a serious livestock problem. Through enabling gene modifications to be made to individual genes, CRISPR is used in identifying oncogenic drivers, characterizing tumor suppressor networks, and designing innovative therapeutics. This review focuses on the various uses of CRISPR for cancer studies with special attention to methods like gene knockout, gene activation, and base editing that each has a great potential for correcting oncogenic mutations and restoring tumor suppressor activity. Moreover, CRISPR's capacity to regulate viral replication, as that of BVDV, signifies its dual role in oncology as well as in viral pathogenesis. Interventions based on CRISPR such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy and synthetic lethality are essentially revolutionizing cancer therapy by improving immune responses and capitalizing on the specificity that is characteristic of cancer cells. However, off-target effects, tumor heterogeneity, and ethical dilemmas remain onerous challenges for clinical application. CRISPR delivery systems, despite playing a central role in advancing cancer therapies, also have prospects in optimizing the effectiveness of treatment against viral pathogens like BVDV. Advances in delivery systems using nanoparticles and viral vectors are mitigating against these challenges and improving efficacy and specificity of CRISPR reagent in vivo. In addition to this, continued progress in new technologies such as prime editing and base editing is predicted to improve precision and efficacy of CRISPR-based therapy. Since CRISPR technology is continuously developing, CRISPR's potential to treat both cancer and viral infections, like BVDV, simultaneously will be instrumental in precision medicine. This review highlights the revolutionary potential of CRISPR to revolutionize cancer treatment paradigms and brings hope for more effective and individualized therapy. With potential developments to emergent and potentiated CRISPR tools and reagents, it is predicted that they will play a center stage role in precision oncology and promote better patient results.