CRISPR-dCas9 in Cancer Epigenetic Therapy Progress

Abstract

Cancer appears and develops not only related to genes but also takes an important role in epigenetic regulation. In recent years, CRISPR-dCas9 as a new precision gene-editing tool has aroused much attention because it can combine with epigenetic effectors to regulate cancer-related genes specifically. It shows great prospects for treating a wide variety of diseases, particularly for epigenetic modifications of cancer. This article reviews the biochemistry of CRISPR-dCas9 systems and their use in epigenetic modification of cancer, focusing on how DNA methylation, histone modification, etc., affect tumorigenesis. In addition, the recent progress, challenges, and prospects of CRISPR-dCas9 mediated epigenetic editing technology for cancer gene therapy are also presented. By analyzing the current problems encountered in the clinical translation of CRISPR-dCas9 technology, this article has shown that CRISPR-dCas9 technology has the potential to become a targeted cancer treatment, which can also provide references for future medical research.