Peer Reviewed Electronic ISSN: 3079-2959

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Showing matching articles 1 - 4 of 4 items
Open Access Pages: 1-7

CRISPR in Cancer Biology and Bovine Viral Diarrhea Therapy: Precision Genome Editing at the Frontier of Oncology and Viral Pathogenesis

Jindong Gao, Mengdi Zhang, Linjia Gao, Lei Kuang, Tuniyazi Maimaiti, Ling Zhao, Qinghua Shang, Changmin Hu
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.

Open Access Pages: 13-28

Transforming Cancer Care by Transitioning from Traditional Chemotherapy to Advanced CAR-T Cell Immunotherapy

Zeeshan Ahmad Bhutta, Ayesha Kanwal, Tahreem Kanwal
Abstract

The treatment for cancer has undergone a paradigm shift in recent years due to the introduction of cellular-based targeted therapies and immunotherapy, particularly Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T Cell Therapy. This narrative review examines the biology of how CARs function, along with the advances made in the development of CAR construct design over the last 3 decades. These advances include the addition of co-stimulatory signals such as CD28 and 4-1BB in the new generation CARs that improved T Cell proliferation and longevity. There have been multiple different Cancer types that have demonstrated a high degree of effectiveness using CAR-T Cell therapy, and the US FDA has approved the use of CAR-T Cell therapies for treatment of certain hematological malignancies, specifically B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma. However, there remains a significant limitation for the use of CAR-T Cell therapies for solid tumor therapies. Three major limitations preventing CAR-T Cell therapies from being used as an effective treatment for solid tumors include the existence of an immune suppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), the physical barriers preventing T Cells from migrating to tumor sites, as well as tumor antigen heterogeneity preventing treatment efficacy. This review discusses potential emerging modalities for overcoming some of these limitations, including the development of "armored" CAR-T Cells, the use of multi-antigen targeting strategies to prevent antigen escape, and the development of combinatorial approaches to modulate the TME. Lastly, this review discusses future opportunities in the development of CAR-T Cell therapies, including the development of "off-the-shelf" allogeneic CAR-T Cells, in vivo gene delivery systems to create CAR-T Cells, and gene editing via CRISPR/Cas9 systems to increase the safety profile of CAR-T Cells and expand their therapeutic application beyond blood cancers.

Open Access Pages: 1-17

From probiotics to fermentation: A review of microbes in food and supplements

Ijaz Usman Ali, Sibgha Tul Fatima, Hina Naz, Ahmad Waheed
Abstract

Microorganisms have a crucial role in processing food and preservation, as well as enhancing the nutritional and sensory qualities of food products. Microorganisms are utilized as additives for altering the nature of a substance and have a significant role in fermentation. Molds (e.g., Penicillium roqueforti and Geotrichum candidum), yeasts (e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and lactic acid bacteria are used to increase the shelf life of foodstuffs and the nutritional quality of processed foods in the fermentation process. Acetic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria are used in applied microbiology to increase the flavor of different manufactured foods. Further, bacteria, in the form of probiotics, are involved in the processing of food. Various strains of different bacteria are used as probiotics to increase the quality and preservation of foodstuffs. Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus are used to produce prebiotics and postbiotics as well. This article discusses the many ways that microorganisms may be added to food and supplements such as probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and symbiotics in order to fulfill the world's food demand and make up for the scarcity of arable land. It also discusses the future prospects and challenges of this field.