Chinese scientists apparently are embarking on the first human trials with the CRISPR gene-editing tool, the latest effort by the country's researchers to master a technology that might someday be a potent tool in developing therapies worldwide.
The group, led by Lu You, an oncologist at the southwestern Sichuan University West China Hospital, has recruited the first patient for a 10-person clinical trial that will activate immune cells using CRISPR and infuse them back into patients to fight lung cancer. Due to potential risks in using the treatment for humans, the team has decided to treat the first group of three patients one at a time.
Formally called CRISPR-Cas9, the tool acts like a pair of precise molecular scissors that can cut out unwanted sections of DNA and insert desired ones. The team is using it to remove a gene that encodes a protein named PD-1, which normally keeps immune cells in check but is also used by cancer cells to hide from the immune system.