CRISPR-Cas Gene Editing Help Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

Despite rising global antimicrobial resistance (AMR), researchers highlight CRISPR/Cas systems' potential in antimicrobial agent development.

CRISPR-Cas, the Nobel Prize-winning gene-editing tech, could target resistance genes, restoring bacteria's sensitivity to first-line antibiotics ().

Precision Genome Editing with CRISPR-Cas

CRISPR-Cas, which functions like molecular "scissors", allows for precise alterations to the genomes of living organisms. This revolutionary technique, which brought its inventors, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020, can cut the DNA at designated spots -- deleting unwanted genes or introducing new genetic material into an organism's cells, paving the way for advanced therapies.

CRISPR
CRISPR is a gene editing tool that is revolutionizing medical care with prospective cure for genetic diseases like cancer, diabetes, DMD, eye diseases, obesity.

‘Despite the global increase in #antimicrobialresistance, researchers have observed that CRISPR/Cas systems can be utilized to develop antimicrobial agents. #AMR #CRISPR #NobelPrize’

It can effectively and selectively kill target bacterial populations, they noted in the study, presented at the ongoing ESCMID Global Congress in Barcelona.

Dr Rodrigo Ibarra-Chavez, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, said that CRISPR-Cas systems (a bacterial immunity system) work by inducing "bacterial cell death or interfering with antibiotic resistance expression".

However, bacteria have ways to fight back as they also possess built-in anti-CRISPR systems that can repair any damage caused by CRISPR-Cas systems.

Drug Resistance - Antibiotic Resistance
Drug resistance is often a problem in malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and hospital acquired diseases. Judicious use of antibiotics can control the problem.

Their research proposes creating guided systems against AMR genes that could treat infections and prevent the dissemination of resistance genes via mobile genetic elements (MGEs). MGEs are parts of the bacterial genome that can move to other host cells or also transfer to another species.

Dr Ibarra-Chavez noted that repurposing MGEs and choosing the delivery mechanism involved in the antimicrobial strategy is important for reaching the target bacterium. The method removes bacteria's resistance power and makes "them vulnerable again to first-line antibiotics", the study said.

Test Your Knowledge on CRISPR
CRISPR/CAS Technology - Potential Cure For All Diseases CRISPR/Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology is a revolutionary gene cutting tool and has innumerable uses in medicine such as removing ...

Reference:

Experts developing way to harness Nobel Prize winning CRISPR technology to deal with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) - (https://www.escmid.org/fileadmin/escmid/media/pdf/press_releases/2024/2024-q2/Press_release_nobel_prize_winning_20240427.pdf)

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