Marwan Alsarraj*, Biopharma Segment Manager, Digital Biology Group
Using CRISPR and transposons for CAR T cell production CAR T cells are most often manufactured using viruses, but new research is exploring the benefits of using alternative gene editing systems for this purpose.
O
ver the last decade, the CRISPR/
Cas (CRISPR) system has emerged as a cutting-edge tool for gene editing; however, CRISPR’s molecular origins are anything but new. These constructs are evolutionarily related to a long line of small but mighty DNA constructs called transposons that have been practising the technique of jumping into a host cell’s genetic material and rewriting it for hundreds of millions of years. Transposons have been part of our ecosystem for so long that their genetic code is intermingled with that of all life on Earth. To date, scientists have uncovered a mind-boggling array of different types of transposons that follow diverse, but sometimes
that researchers carefully weigh options and choose
and its distant relatives to understand the options
overlapping, mechanisms of action. And in some
the system that best meets their needs. No matter
researchers must weigh.
cases, organisms from bacteria to humans have
what method is used for cell manufacturing, the
CRISPR
managed to usurp these genetic acrobats for their
product must be confirmed to be both safe and
CRISPR-Cas systems are reprogrammable DNA
own benefit.
effective before it is delivered to a patient.
segments that code for an endonuclease and
Even now, researchers are leveraging the
guide RNA. The construct originally served as a bacterial immune system to target viral
based constructs to develop faster, safer and cheaper
Comparing and contrasting gene editing options
ways to manufacture CAR T cells. Each system has
What are the major gene editing constructs
guide RNA to target CRISPR to specific sites in
its own benefits and drawbacks, so it is important
available? Let’s take a quick look at CRISPR/Cas9
the genome of any cell. When combined with
unique qualities of CRISPR and other transposon-
6 | LAB+LIFE SCIENTIST - Feb/Mar 2022
infections. Now, researchers can engineer the
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