preview

Essay On Angiogenesis

Decent Essays

CRISPR-Cas9: These scissors can save lives one snip at a time!
CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene editing of VEGFR2 exhibits the potential to mitigate angiogenesis-related diseases
Angiogenesis—a fundamental physiological process entailing the creation of new blood vessels—is implicated in diseases such as cancer, retinopathy, and macular degeneration. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) plays an important role in angiogenesis as it implements microvascular permeability and neovascularization in response to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) binding to it. Inactivation of the receptor serves as a viable treatment for angiogenesis-related illnesses. Current treatment plans include VEGF antibodies and/or VEGFR2 …show more content…

The study corroborates the ability of genome-editing to abrogate angiogenesis, however, some caveats must be addressed before considering this treatment for clinical use in humans. Safety remains a primary concern because genome editing is irreversible and any detrimental off-target mutations could impair cell function. Further, the viral delivery system could be threatening to the public, therefore, a non-viral platform can be developed to progress its clinical application. Nonetheless, the study’s findings tackle other safety aspects to support its clinical use. For example, the study reported that CRISPR/Cas9 treatment did not affect any off-target sequences. Optical examinations of the mice used in the study revealed that the intravitreal injection did not modify retinal structure and function.
Even though the CRISPR/Cas9 system is not a new phenomenon, the novelty of this research lies in the intervention of gene-editing in intraocular pathological angiogenesis. Abnormal angiogenesis is characteristic of diseases associated with blindness affecting millions of people of all ages. Since CRISPR/Cas9 technology produces a permanent genetic alteration, it

Get Access