Introduction: The advent of CRISPR-Cas systems has revolutionized precise gene targeting for a wide range of applications, including research, agriculture, biotechnology, and human disease treatment. This technology offers numerous advantages such as ease of design, low cost, high precision, and efficiency.
CRISPR enables precise gene addition or deletion in various organisms and cells, allowing for highly accurate genome editing. While these systems have dramatically advanced medical research and gene therapy, it is crucial to address their limitations and potential challenges.
Methods: For this review article, the Google Scholar database was utilized. Articles published from 2019 onwards were included to investigate the applications of CRISPR technology in disease treatment.
Results: The applications and mechanisms of CRISPR technology encompass the development of suitable clinical therapies for a wide range of cancers, such as breast, lung, and colorectal cancer, as well as the discovery of anticancer drugs, the combatting of oncogenic infections, the diagnosis and treatment of genetic blood disorders like sickle cell anemia, the diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2, and the treatment of mitochondrial disorders, blindness, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and neurological diseases. Additionally, its applications extend to agricultural engineering for crop improvement, along with its promising future prospects.
Conclusion: Despite rapid advancements in basic research and clinical trials, CRISPR-Cas systems, as a powerful gene editing approach, face significant challenges including editing efficiency, off-target effects, immunogenicity, and more. Addressing the limitations of this technology is crucial to realizing its full potential.