An overview: CRISPR/Cas-based gene editing for viral vaccine development

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Gene-editing technology revolutionized vaccine manufacturing and offers a variety of benefits over traditional vaccinations, such as improved immune response, higher production rate, stability, precise immunogenic activity, and fewer adverse effects. The more recently discovered Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/associated protein 9 (Cas9) system has become the most widely utilized technology based on its efficiency, utility, flexibility, versatility, ease of use, and cheaper compared to other gene-editing techniques. Considering its wider scope for genomic modification, CRISPR/Cas9-based technology’s potential is explored for vaccine development.

Areas covered

In this review, we will address the recent advances in the CRISPR/Cas system for the development of vaccines and viral vectors for delivery. In addition, we will discuss strategies for the development of the vaccine, as well as the limitations and future prospects of the CRISPR/Cas system.

Expert opinion

Human and animal viruses have been exposed to antiviral CRISPR/Cas9-based engineering to prevent infection, which uses knockout, knock-in, gene activation/deactivation, RNA targeting, and editing cell lines strategies for gene editing of viruses. Because of that CRISPR/Cas system is used to boost the vaccine production yield by removing unwanted genes that cause disease or are required for viral infection.

KEYWORDS:

• CRISPR/Cas
• gene editing
• viruses
• vaccine
• vaccine development
• viral vector delivery

Article highlights

• Background knowledge about CRISPR/Cas technology.

• CRISPR/Cas as a gene-editing tool for viruses.

• Application of CRISPR/Cas system in the vaccine development for viruses utilizing strategies like, knockout, knock-in, gene activation/deactivation, RNA targeting, and editing cell lines.

• viral vector delivery using AAV, AV, LV based on CRISPR.

• Limitations of CRISPR technology like off-target effects, PAM limitations, and delivery challenges.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Author contribution

All authors contributed to the conception and design of the review article and the interpretation of the relevant literature. All authors have reviewed and approved the final article.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.