CRISPR Reprograms CAR T-Cells to Improve Cancer Treatments

Figure 1. A two-vector system is applied for in vivo CAR T-cell production, delivering CRISPR-Cas9 components that enable the engineered T-cells to target and destroy cancer cells.


     CRISPR, a gene-editing tool, has improved cancer immunotherapy by amplifying an immune cell’s ability to recognize tumors, effectively preventing them from further developing. With the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, T-cells (white blood cells produced in the thymus) were engineered to produce Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) -T cells, which target cancer cells. Usually, CAR-T therapy is performed in a laboratory setting, requiring immune cells to be removed from a patient, genetically modified, and then reinfused. Consequently, the therapy is time-consuming and expensive. However, researchers have found a way to genetically reprogram T-cells in vivo, allowing for direct immune cell modification within the patient to be done.

     A two-vector system was developed to “deliver CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins and a DNA donor template via enveloped delivery transporters and adeno-associated viruses” (Nyberg et al., 2026). By incorporating a CAR transgene into a particular locus receptive towards T cells, therapeutic levels of CAR T-cells were produced in vivo. This procedure was tested with humanized mouse models of B-cell aplasia, carrying blood and solid tumors. The engineered T-cells successfully attacked both the blood and solid tumors in the mouse models. Ultimately, the articles revealed the possibility of faster and more accessible CAR-T cancer treatments through CRISPR gene editing.



Links:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10235-x
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13096480/

From Diagnosis to Defense: The Body Fights Back

A new cancer treatment called CAR T-cell therapy has been introduced to Chris Vogelsang, a 70-year-old man with an aggressive lymphoma, searching for a cure. This new cutting-edge therapy is a treatment to advance gene therapy and train the human body to target and destroy the cancer cells; a treatment that two-thirds of Americans are unaware of. This therapy consists of doctors extracting killer immune cells, also known as T-cells, from blood, which are genetically engineered to target the cancer cells. The T-cells are then transferred back into the immune system via IV. According to the article, leukemia treated with the therapy has a 90% remission rate. Vogelsang underwent this CAT T-cell treatment, and since March of 2023, he has shown no signs of cancer on his scans. This therapy is only approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for specific types of blood cancers.

I found this article fascinating, and I had no idea that there were any types of treatment besides chemoradiation to treat cancer. Even though this therapy only treats certain kinds of blood cancers, it is still very impressive that this is an option for people like Chris Vogelsang and others out there who doubted their ability to get better. CAR T-cell therapy is generally covered by insurance, but insurance can vary and possibly not be covered in each case. I hope in the future that more gene therapies are developed and implemented into society to better the welfare of all affected by cancer.