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Synthetic introns enable highly specific targeting of cancer cells

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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Fig. 1: Synthetic introns enable mutation-dependent splicing and tumor targeting.

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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