Although there are different methods of nuclear gene editing, there are still no effective treatments against mitochondrial disorders due to genetic alterations. Now, a group of researchers at Precision Biosciences Inc. and the University of Miami (UM) has developed a genetic edition platform that targets mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to delete its mutations.

“The ARCUS technology that we use is based on an enzyme found in nature called I-CreI. It is an enzyme that recognizes a 22 base pair DNA sequence within a species of green algae. And when it finds that DNA sequence, it will generate double-strand breaks,” first author Wendy Shoop, a scientist at Precision Biosciences, told BioWorld.

Previous studies with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1) inhibitors have demonstrated their potential as antitumor agents across several tumor models when administered alone or in combination with standard treatments.

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and Scenic Biotech BV presented promising preclinical data on SC-2882, a first-in-class specific glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase-like (QPCTL) inhibitor that induces secondary proteolytic degradation of the monocyte chemo attractants CCL2 and CCL7 and inactivation of the “don’t-eat-me” signal CD47, as a novel therapeutic for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).