A team of researchers from the Rare Disease Research Institute (IIER) of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) has achieved eliminate mutations in a gene associated with granulosa cell tumorsunusual guyn ovarian cancer and which can be difficult to treat, thanks to the CRISPR gene editing technique.
In depth
This cancer represents less than five percent of ovarian cancers diagnosedpredominates in women under 30 years of age and is associated with the ‘FOXL2 c.402C>G’ gene mutation in 97 percent of adult cases, suggesting that This modification is responsible for most of these.
The results of the study, published in the journal ‘Molecular Oncology‘, have shown that deletion of the gene ‘FOXL2‘ causes granulosa cells to exhibit a reduced malignant phenotype, reducing cell proliferation and invasion.
“Our findings demonstrate the potential of the technology CRISPR for the specific targeting and elimination of a mutation that causes germ cell tumors, which highlights its therapeutic potential for the treatment of this rare ovarian cancer,” stated the research team in the study, coordinated by Ignacio Perez de Castrofrom the IIER.
Likewise, it makes these modified cells more susceptible to previously used drugsand, like the dasatinib or ketoconazole, so this gene editing technique”open the door“in the search for possible therapies against this type of rare ovarian tumors.
More details
In fact, they have pointed out that the elimination of this mutation induces antitumor properties, increases sensitivity to certain therapeutic agents, and allows attacking “selectively“the mutant allele without affecting the corresponding wild-type allele, something”especially relevant“, since the indiscriminate destruction of both alleles could cause side effects.
Scientists have highlighted that the presence of this mutation makes CRIPSR technology a tool “ideal” to investigate the impact of removing this mutation, which may lead to new therapeutic strategies aimed at improving “potentially“the survival of their patients and health outcomes.
It should be noted that the analyzes carried out have provided “valuable information” on the underlying mechanisms involved in the development and progression of adult granulosa cell tumors, and proposes new therapeutic strategies for their treatment, which usually involves surgery initially, since the majority of cases are diagnosed in stage I, mainly due to the slow growth of these tumors. More advanced stages reduce the ten-year survival rate and increase the risk of relapse.
To take into account
However, they have recognized that the main limitation of this work is the fact that the experiments have been carried out using a single cell line, the ‘KNG‘, something “inevitable“because it is the only one available in this type of tumor cells.
For mitigate this limitation, the research team has used multiple clones that have been subjected to this processresulting clones that have maintained their original state or lost the aforementioned mutation.
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