Genetic "flash drive"
Scientists have improved the genome editing system
Scientists of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) together with colleagues from Belgium have improved the technology of genome editing. They learned how to deliver genetic material of different sizes and structures to organs and tissues in order to eliminate DNA defects and treat patients.
The results of the study are presented in a scientific article in the journal Particle & Particle Systems Characterization (Tarakanchikova et al., Layer‐by‐Layer‐Assembled Capsule Size Affects the Efficiency of Packaging and Delivery of Different Genetic Cargo).
An international scientific group with the participation of SPbPU employees has developed a polymer carrier with a number of unique properties. Genetic material of various sizes and structures can be loaded into the "universal containers" of its structure: from small interfering RNAs to large matrix RNAs. Scientists have demonstrated the effectiveness of such delivery on human stem cells.
Now most of the vaccines, including those from COVID-19, are made on the basis of mRNA, said Alexander Timin, head of the Laboratory of Microcapsulation and Controlled Delivery of Biologically Active Compounds of SPbPU.
"It is in some way a flash drive with information that, when ingested, causes cells to perform certain actions, for example, to train the immune system to fight "enemy" virus proteins. Usually, carriers are used for medical purposes to deliver specific genetic materials, but we have proven that we are able to deliver genetic materials of different sizes. This technology opens up new horizons for the development of non–viral delivery systems," Timin said.
Capsules with genetic material can be delivered by systemic administration or locally directly to the tumor site, for oncological diseases, said Igor Radchenko, director of the RASA-Polytech Scientific Center of SPbPU.
"The R. M. Gorbacheva Research Institute of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Transplantology (SRI DOGiT) provided mesanchymal stem cells of patients for experiments – cells from which various organs and tissues are built. We used them to study the effectiveness of the delivery of genetic material in polymer capsules. In the future, we plan to conduct experiments on laboratory animals with oncological diseases to find out how the genetic material delivered to the tumor will behave," he said.
According to him, the R. M. Gorbacheva DOGiT Research Institute is very interested in the early implementation of these developments to obtain specific solutions and create medical protocols that will be implemented in medical practice.
The project is being implemented within the framework of an RNF grant under the guidance of Professor Gleb Sukhorukov.
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