scholarly journals Application of the CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing technique in basic research, diagnosis, and therapy of cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huimin Zhang ◽  
Chunhong Qin ◽  
Changming An ◽  
Xiwang Zheng ◽  
Shuxin Wen ◽  
...  

AbstractThe 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for the development of the Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated nuclease9 (CRISPR/Cas9) gene editing technology that provided new tools for precise gene editing. It is possible to target any genomic locus virtually using only a complex nuclease protein with short RNA as a site-specific endonuclease. Since cancer is caused by genomic changes in tumor cells, CRISPR/Cas9 can be used in the field of cancer research to edit genomes for exploration of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis and development. In recent years, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been increasingly used in cancer research and treatment and remarkable results have been achieved. In this review, we introduced the mechanism and development of the CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing system. Furthermore, we summarized current applications of this technique for basic research, diagnosis and therapy of cancer. Moreover, the potential applications of CRISPR/Cas9 in new emerging hotspots of oncology research were discussed, and the challenges and future directions were highlighted.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-533
Author(s):  
Kui Wan ◽  
Xuelian Gou ◽  
Zhiguang Guo

AbstractWith the explosive growth of the world’s population and the rapid increase in industrial water consumption, the world’s water supply has fallen into crisis. The shortage of fresh water resources has become a global problem, especially in arid regions. In nature, many organisms can collect water from foggy water under harsh conditions, which provides us with inspiration for the development of new functional fog harvesting materials. A large number of bionic special wettable synthetic surfaces are synthesized for water mist collection. In this review, we introduce some water collection phenomena in nature, outline the basic theories of biological water harvesting, and summarize six mechanisms of biological water collection: increased surface wettability, increased water transmission area, long-distance water delivery, water accumulation and storage, condensation promotion, and gravity-driven. Then, the water collection mechanisms of three typical organisms and their synthesis are discussed. And their function, water collection efficiency, new developments in their biomimetic materials are narrated, which are cactus, spider and desert beetles. The study of multiple bionics was inspired by the discovery of Nepenthes’ moist and smooth peristome. The excellent characteristics of a variety of biological water collection structures, combined with each other, are far superior to other single synthetic surfaces. Furthermore, the main problems in the preparation and application of biomimetic fog harvesting materials and the future development trend of materials fog harvesting are prospected.



Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 493
Author(s):  
Riccardo Di Fiore ◽  
Sherif Suleiman ◽  
Bridget Ellul ◽  
Sharon A. O’Toole ◽  
Charles Savona-Ventura ◽  
...  

More than 50% of all gynecologic tumors can be classified as rare (defined as an incidence of ≤6 per 100,000 women) and usually have a poor prognosis owing to delayed diagnosis and treatment. In contrast to almost all other common solid tumors, the treatment of rare gynecologic tumors (RGT) is often based on expert opinion, retrospective studies, or extrapolation from other tumor sites with similar histology, leading to difficulty in developing guidelines for clinical practice. Currently, gynecologic cancer research, due to distinct scientific and technological challenges, is lagging behind. Moreover, the overall efforts for addressing these challenges are fragmented across different European countries and indeed, worldwide. The GYNOCARE, COST Action CA18117 (European Network for Gynecological Rare Cancer Research) programme aims to address these challenges through the creation of a unique network between key stakeholders covering distinct domains from concept to cure: basic research on RGT, biobanking, bridging with industry, and setting up the legal and regulatory requirements for international innovative clinical trials. On this basis, members of this COST Action, (Working Group 1, “Basic and Translational Research on Rare Gynecological Cancer”) have decided to focus their future efforts on the development of new approaches to improve the diagnosis and treatment of RGT. Here, we provide a brief overview of the current state-of-the-art and describe the goals of this COST Action and its future challenges with the aim to stimulate discussion and promote synergy across scientists engaged in the fight against this rare cancer worldwide.



1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 810-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Diller ◽  
T. P. Ryan

This paper presents an overview of the field of bioheat transfer. Topics covered include factors that distinguish heat transfer in living systems from inanimate systems, application areas in basic research and in clinical diagnosis and therapy, and our projection of where the field is headed and what are likely to be the most fertile opportunities for contributions by members of the heat transfer community.



2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1125-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kejia Cai ◽  
Adam Shore ◽  
Anup Singh ◽  
Mohammad Haris ◽  
Teruyuki Hiraki ◽  
...  


2021 ◽  
pp. 826-832
Author(s):  
Jay G. Ronquillo ◽  
William T. Lester

PURPOSE Cloud computing has led to dramatic growth in the volume, variety, and velocity of cancer data. However, cloud platforms and services present new challenges for cancer research, particularly in understanding the practical tradeoffs between cloud performance, cost, and complexity. The goal of this study was to describe the practical challenges when using a cloud-based service to improve the cancer clinical trial matching process. METHODS We collected information for all interventional cancer clinical trials from ClinicalTrials.gov and used the Google Cloud Healthcare Natural Language Application Programming Interface (API) to analyze clinical trial Title and Eligibility Criteria text. An informatics pipeline leveraging interoperability standards summarized the distribution of cancer clinical trials, genes, laboratory tests, and medications extracted from cloud-based entity analysis. RESULTS There were a total of 38,851 cancer-related clinical trials found in this study, with the distribution of cancer categories extracted from Title text significantly different than in ClinicalTrials.gov ( P < .001). Cloud-based entity analysis of clinical trial criteria identified a total of 949 genes, 1,782 laboratory tests, 2,086 medications, and 4,902 National Cancer Institute Thesaurus terms, with estimated detection accuracies ranging from 12.8% to 89.9%. A total of 77,702 API calls processed an estimated 167,179 text records, which took a total of 1,979 processing-minutes (33.0 processing-hours), or approximately 1.5 seconds per API call. CONCLUSION Current general-purpose cloud health care tools—like the Google service in this study—should not be used for automated clinical trial matching unless they can perform effective extraction and classification of the clinical, genetic, and medication concepts central to precision oncology research. A strong understanding of the practical aspects of cloud computing will help researchers effectively navigate the vast data ecosystems in cancer research.



2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 313-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Martin Cox ◽  
Stephen Pinfield ◽  
Sophie Rutter

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise the issues of alignment for changing academic libraries by using and extending McKinsey’s 7S model. Design/methodology/approach Theoretical work was conducted to consider and extend the 7S model for the situation of academic libraries. Empirical data were then used to confirm the value of these extensions and suggest further changes. The data to support the analysis were drawn from 33 interviews with librarians, library and non-library academics and experts, and a survey of UK library staff. Findings In the academic library context, the 7S model can be usefully extended to include three library functions (stuff, space and services) and users. It can also include institutional influences and stakeholders, and aspects of the external environment or situation, including suppliers and allies. The revised model then provides a useful framework within which data about library change can be analysed. Perceived barriers to successful performance fit the model and enable the identification of seven challenges of alignment. Research limitations/implications The resulting model has potential applications such as in the structuring analysis of academic library performance, mapping future directions of development and for exploring variations across the sector and internationally. Practical implications The revised model can be used by practitioners to think through their own strategic position and to act to shape their future, in the light of seven major areas of alignment. Originality/value The paper extends a well-known model used in strategy, to produce a more comprehensive, sector-specific analytic tool.



2008 ◽  
pp. 429-436
Author(s):  
Jacob Peedicayil


Diagnostics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 660
Author(s):  
Anca Onaciu ◽  
Raluca Munteanu ◽  
Vlad Cristian Munteanu ◽  
Diana Gulei ◽  
Lajos Raduly ◽  
...  

Considering the complexity of the current framework in oncology, the relevance of animal models in biomedical research is critical in light of the capacity to produce valuable data with clinical translation. The laboratory mouse is the most common animal model used in cancer research due to its high adaptation to different environments, genetic variability, and physiological similarities with humans. Beginning with spontaneous mutations arising in mice colonies that allow for pursuing studies of specific pathological conditions, this area of in vivo research has significantly evolved, now capable of generating humanized mice models encompassing the human immune system in biological correlation with human tumor xenografts. Moreover, the era of genetic engineering, especially of the hijacking CRISPR/Cas9 technique, offers powerful tools in designing and developing various mouse strains. Within this article, we will cover the principal mouse models used in oncology research, beginning with behavioral science of animals vs. humans, and continuing on with genetically engineered mice, microsurgical-induced cancer models, and avatar mouse models for personalized cancer therapy. Moreover, the area of spontaneous large animal models for cancer research will be briefly presented.



OSEANA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Ita Wulandari ◽  
Dede Falahudin

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been identified as representing a serious threat to the marine environment and received formal attention by nations worldwide including Indonesia as one of the signatories and ratified countries for the Stockholm Convention.  Due to their emerging issues, the study of POPs at all aspects is needed. Therefore, this paper attempts to review characteristics and toxicological properties of POPs, the current status of POPs National Implementation Plans (NIPs) in Indonesia, and propose future directions of POPs study in Indonesia from basic research such as monitoring of POPs distribution in Indonesian seas to applied research for example study of POPs alternative compounds.



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