Researchers have effectively targeted and destroyed disease-causing RNA. 

A team at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre have made significant strides towards rapid, personalised cancer treatments by leveraging CRISPR technology to tackle cancer-causing genes.

Study leader Dr Mohamed Fareh says the technology could pave the way for bespoke treatments tailored to individual patients. 

“DNA is the blueprint for every cell in the body, but RNA acts as a messenger, carrying information from DNA to produce proteins essential for healthy cells, cancer cells, or pathogenic viruses,” Dr Fareh says.

Cancer is often driven by abnormal RNA, and targeting these harmful RNAs could disrupt the cancer’s supply chain. 

The challenge, however, has been finding tools that could precisely and effectively target pathogenic RNA. 

“In the future, we hope to build on this knowledge to create successful, personalised cancer treatments,” Dr Fareh said.

The study focused on Cas13b, a CRISPR protein that cuts RNA with high precision, leaving DNA unharmed. 

This differs from the traditional Cas9 protein, which can inadvertently cut healthy DNA, limiting its medical use. 

Over five years, the Peter Mac researchers have re-engineered Cas13b to enhance its precision and efficacy. 

This upgraded Cas13b design can now eliminate any RNA, including cancer RNA, with high precision. 

“We are excited about this research because we have solved the problem of how to make this technology precise and efficient at finding and eliminating abnormal RNA without cutting any healthy RNA in the human cell,” Dr Fareh said.

To broaden the accessibility of this technology, the researchers created an online tool that accurately predicts the correct RNA sequences to target. 

This tool aims to enable the scientific and medical communities to target a wide range of disease-causing RNA, including cancer.

The research is part of RNA's renewed role in biology and medicine, particularly following the success of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. 

More details are accessible here.