CRISPR: The Newest Approach to Fighting COVID-19
By Asmita Narayanan
This article was originally published on November 30th, 2020.
Recently, a group of bioengineers at Stanford has discovered a possible approach for fighting COVID-19. They have cultivated a system that uses CRISPR, a gene editing technology, to prohibit 90% of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which is the root source of the virus responsible for the current pandemic.
The Power of CRISPR
Now, some people may wonder, what is CRISPR? CRISPR stands for “clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.¨ It has a different name, which is ¨CRISPR- Cas9,¨ where Cas9 is a type of protein. Cas9 is a (virus-killing) enzyme that acts as a snipping mechanism, adept of cutting strands of DNA. The ‘repeat’ in CRISPR stands for repeated patterns of nucleotides that are the building blocks of DNA. Another distinct characteristic are the spacers, which are the slivers of DNA that are infused among these repeated series of elements. In the scenario of bacterial cells, spacers serve as a collection of memories where the bacteria can identify the invading viruses and control future attacks.
The Brains Behind PAC-MAN
The new method that the Stanford bioengineers have created is another version of CRISPR known as prophylactic antiviral CRISPR in human cells, also known as PAC-MAN. This device merges a guide of RNA with the virus-killing enzyme Cas13. The RNA orders Cas13 to eradicate particular nucleotide sequences in the SARS-Cov-2 genome, productively subduing it. However, the Stanford researchers needed an efficient plan in transporting it to the lung, the most vulnerable body part that needs to be protected whenever COVID-19 attacks. As a result, they teamed up with the Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry which have been working on lipitoids which are synthetic particles that can transport DNA and RNA into cells. Fortunately, after loading their COVID-targeting PAC-MAN with lipitoids, the instrument was able to limit more than 90% SARS-Cov-2 from attacking the lungs. Michael Connolly, a principal scientific associate at Berkeley Lab, once said that it “…could enable a very powerful strategy for fighting viral diseases…possibly against new viral strains with pandemic potential.”
CRISPR’s Potential Ability to Create a COVID-19 Vaccine
Due to the fact that CRISPR is based on a pure gene editing system, it has a greater ability to battle viruses than other man-made technologies. However, the process in finding a vaccine is lengthy. To begin with, common vaccines actually contain an inactive strand of a certain virus that is meant to immunize patients from the stronger strands of the virus. When forming a vaccine, the producer must choose viral strands, which are eventually matured and incubated into hen eggs or cells. CRISPR may be used to eradicate the vigorous viral strands, therefore salvaging the number of eggs or cells. Also, it can devise B cells, white blood cells that develop antibodies which transform into virus-repelling pathogens. Unfortunately, this prevention process can only occur for a very short period. On the bright side, the European Parliament has initiated a management proposing a temporary derogation using gene-editing technologies for clinical experiments on vaccines for COVID-19.
As you can see, CRISPR’s effectiveness has been expressed through many different operations for fighting COVID-19. Many also believe that because of COVID-19, CRISPR will become a convenient therapeutic solution. Thanks to the Stanford scientists and other workers who have increasingly found light during this pandemic, hope is what is keeping us on our feet.
Sources
https://www.livescience.com/58790-crispr-explained.html
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/research/stanford-team-deploys-crispr-gene-editing-to-fight-covid-19
https://www.brinknews.com/crispr-and-the-fight-against-covid-19/
