CRISPR gene therapy: Applications, limitations, and implications for the future Review


Authors: Uddin, F.; Rudin, C. M.; Sen, T.
Review Title: CRISPR gene therapy: Applications, limitations, and implications for the future
Abstract: A series of recent discoveries harnessing the adaptive immune system of prokaryotes to perform targeted genome editing is having a transformative influence across the biological sciences. The discovery of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins has expanded the applications of genetic research in thousands of laboratories across the globe and is redefining our approach to gene therapy. Traditional gene therapy has raised some concerns, as its reliance on viral vector delivery of therapeutic transgenes can cause both insertional oncogenesis and immunogenic toxicity. While viral vectors remain a key delivery vehicle, CRISPR technology provides a relatively simple and efficient alternative for site-specific gene editing, obliviating some concerns raised by traditional gene therapy. Although it has apparent advantages, CRISPR/Cas9 brings its own set of limitations which must be addressed for safe and efficient clinical translation. This review focuses on the evolution of gene therapy and the role of CRISPR in shifting the gene therapy paradigm. We review the emerging data of recent gene therapy trials and consider the best strategy to move forward with this powerful but still relatively new technology. © Copyright © 2020 Uddin, Rudin and Sen.
Keywords: clinical trial; gene therapy; ethics; non-homologous end joining (nhej); crispr/cas9; homology-directed repair (hdr)
Journal Title: Frontiers in Oncology
Volume: 10
ISSN: 2234-943X
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.  
Date Published: 2020-08-07
Start Page: 1387
Language: English
DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.01387
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC7427626
PUBMED: 32850447
DOI/URL:
Notes: Review -- Export Date: 1 October 2020 -- Source: Scopus
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  1. Charles Rudin
    489 Rudin
  2. Triparna Sen
    56 Sen
  3. Fathema Zannath Uddin
    22 Uddin