Overview of CRISPR/Cas Gene Editing System and Its Carrier System

Abstract

The CRISPR/Cas9 system, which is currently extensively employed in gene editing-related engineering, is a flexible immune system in bacteria and archaea that reacts to viruses, bacteriophages, and foreign DNA. Cas proteins can cut foreign DNA into small molecule fragments, which are then integrated into CRISPR arrays; When the relevant DNA invades again, it can be accurately identified and cut off. The discovery of the CRISPR system is a major breakthrough in biology because it operates more efficiently and concisely than the previous two generations of technology, providing a powerful tool for gene therapy and diagnosis, as well as fine medicine. With the iteration and evolution of CRISPR/Cas systems, the first problem today is not only a better system, but also how to accurately and efficiently deliver this system to the target cell or tissue. Today's mature carrier technology is roughly divided into viral and non-viral vectors, viral vectors are more easily absorbed and accepted by cells due to viral characteristics, but their problems are limited viral capacity, difficult large-scale production, immunogenicity and random insertion mutations. Non-viral vectors are now developing extremely rapidly, using a variety of materials including lipids, polymers, peptides and inorganic nanoparticles. This article mainly introduces the molecular mechanism of today's CRISPR/Cas system, introduces today's mainstream gene vector technology and proposes some improvement measures, and finally discusses the current limitations of this technology and the future development direction.