A new method uses synthetic introns to express therapeutic proteins selectively in cells bearing cancer-initiating mutations affecting RNA splicing factors, while healthy cells remain unaffected. This approach enabled the eradication of human leukemia, breast cancer and uveal melanoma cells in mouse models and significantly prolonged host survival.
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References
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This is a summary of: North, K., Benbarche, S. et al. Synthetic introns enable mutation-dependent targeting of cancer cells. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-022-01224-2 (2022).
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Synthetic introns enable highly specific targeting of cancer cells. Nat Biotechnol 40, 1009–1010 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-022-01235-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-022-01235-z