New breakthrough in molecular therapy Zhang Feng's team developed a new mRNA delivery platform

Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, August 22 (intern reporter Zhang Jiaxin) RNA therapy is believed to be able to solve all protein-level diseases

"The biomedical community has been developing powerful RNA molecular therapies, but delivering them to cells in a precise and efficient manner is challenging

The core of SEND is a protein called "PEG10" that naturally exists in the human body.

In order to develop the SEND technology, the research team determined the molecular sequence in the mRNA of PEG10, which is the "signal" that PEG10 recognizes and uses to package its mRNA

Then, the researchers modified PEG10 with two different proteins that promote cell fusion, so that PEG10 "encapsulated" can target specific types of cells, tissues or organs, and achieve RNA delivery in cell experiments

Using the SEND system, the researchers successfully delivered the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system to mouse and human cells to edit target genes

Zhang Feng said: "By mixing and matching different elements in the SEND system, we believe it will provide a modular platform for the development of treatments for different diseases

Since the SEND system is composed of proteins naturally produced in the human body, compared with other RNA drug delivery methods, SEND can work efficiently in test cells, and theoretically it will not trigger unnecessary immune responses

Next, the research team will test the delivery efficiency of the SEND system in animals and further explore more human proteins that can be used in the system

Editor-in-chief

When the concept of precision medicine first appeared, some people thought that it was just a bluffing gimmick, and some people were questioned because of it