Abstract
Clinical management of pancreatic cancer (PC) remains severely limited, primarily due to the complex tumor microenvironment. Emerging DNA damage–targeted strategies have demonstrated considerable therapeutic potential in PC. In this issue of the JCI, Teh et al. employed cancer-specific multitarget sgRNAs to induce DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), resulting in lethal effects in PC cells. Integrative bioinformatic and cytogenetic analyses revealed that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated DSBs provoked persistent chromosomal instability, ultimately leading to chromosome catastrophe and cell death. Compared with equivalent radiation-induced DSBs, these sgRNAs exhibited superior cytotoxicity and were able to eliminate cells resistant to a specific sgRNA via subsequent targeting at distinct genomic sites, highlighting a promising and innovative precision therapeutic approach for clinical treatment of PC.
Authors
Li-Chan Chang, Christine E. Eyler, Chang-Lung Lee
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ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)