CRISPR-based rapid tests for heart attack & cancer
23.08.2022 15:12
A CRISPR-based rapid test called “CrisprZyme” could help family doctors diagnose heart attacks and differentiate between types of prostate cancer. An international team - including Michael Kaminski - reports in "Nature Nanotechnology" that no separate laboratory is necessary for this.
Almost everyone has been familiar with rapid antigen tests since the pandemic. If viral protein fragments are contained in a swab, antibodies bind them to a test strip and a band is formed. If, on the other hand, typical genetic components (RNA or DNA) are to be detected, more complex procedures such as PCR are necessary. The genetic material must first be prepared and reproduced. Such tests take longer and are only possible in an appropriate laboratory.
The situation has been similar so far with CRISPR-based diagnostics, in which Cas enzymes are programmed to detect pieces of DNA or RNA. The technology can use a test strip to detect very small segments of an RNA sequence (biomarker) in samples such as urine or blood that are typical of a disease or infection. But first you usually have to amplify the RNA under controlled conditions and with expensive equipment so that the signal is strong enough. It is then no longer possible to determine how much biomarker was in the sample. However, this information is crucial for doctors who monitor the progression of diseases such as cancer or heart disease.
A new method called “CrisprZyme” now offers this signal amplification for CRISPR-based diagnostics, reports an international research team from Imperial College London, MIT in Boston and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) as well as the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in the specialist magazine “Nature Nanotechnology”. With the rapid test, doctors could in the future quickly detect biomarkers for acute heart attacks and distinguish between certain types of prostate cancer without their own laboratory. The method is therefore particularly relevant for general practitioners or poorly equipped clinics in the global south.
“The test is easy to use and works even at room temperature. The result can be read with the naked eye or on a strip of paper,” says Dr. Michael Kaminski, one of the first authors and leader of an Emmy Noether junior research group at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and at the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) of the MDC. “If we simplify diagnostic tests, doctors can do them right in their practice – without making new appointments for follow-up analyzes and blood tests,” adds lead author Dr. Marta Broto from Imperial College London.
“The procedure can tell us exactly how much biomarker is present. “So not only does it help us diagnose, but we can also use it to monitor the progression of a disease over time and the response to treatment,” says lead author Professor Molly Stevens from Imperial College London.
“CrisprZyme” does not currently make all steps unnecessary. The sample must be treated with chemicals before testing to extract the desired biomarker. “But we are working on making the process even faster and more user-friendly,” says Kaminski. The team also still needs to carefully validate how sensitive and how reliably the test detects various biomarkers in patients. However, the scientists believe that the potential is great. You already have an eye on the next clinical pictures.