Nanoblades: innovative shuttles for genome editing

Ecofect researchers based at the International Center for Research on Infectious Diseases (Inserm, CNRS, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and ENS Lyon) have developed Nanoblades, particles that can deliver the CRISPR / Cas9 machinery into many cell types, including human cells. They were tested on mice and patented in 2016 by Inserm-Transfert.
The scientists came up with the idea of ​​encapsulating the CRISPR / Cas9 system in structures that are very similar to viruses and thus ensure its delivery within a target cell, by fusion with the cell membrane. To design these Nanoblades, researchers exploited the properties of the retroviral GAG protein, which has the ability to produce non-infectious viral particles because they lack a genome. The research team fused the GAG ​​protein of a mouse retrovirus with the CAS9 protein - the CRISPR system scissors. This new protein called "fusion" is the originality of the Nanoblades.

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Original press release [in french]

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