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The paper
L. Jubair et al., “Systemic delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 targeting HPV oncogenes is effective at eliminating established tumors,” Mol Ther, 27:2091–99, 2019.
When the human papillomavirus enters a cervix, it doesn’t lyse cells or cause inflammation. While some strains can cause genital warts, in most cases the body clears the virus without much fuss. But “in an unfortunate number of people, the virus gets stuck,” says Nigel McMillan, a cancer researcher at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. Even 15 or 20 years after infection with certain human pap-illomavirus (HPV) strains, cervical and other cancers can develop as a result.
Looking for a new way to treat these cancers, McMillan focused on two oncogenes, E6 and E7, that HPV delivers to host cells. If E6 and E7 are turned off, cancer cells will not survive—a phenomenon known as oncogene addiction. In the early 2000s, McMillan and ...
