Aug 2026· Journal of Visualized Experiments· Vol 234· 0 citations
Medicine
TL;DR
This protocol presents methods for fabricating and characterising two distinct verteporfin (VP)-integrated lipid nanoparticle formulations and demonstrates knockout of up to approximately 326 slow-muscle fibres per zebrafish embryo via light activation and significant tumour growth suppression via X-ray-triggered doxorubicin release.
Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) exploits photosensitizer activation to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), principally singlet oxygen. Beyond direct cytotoxicity, this photochemistry can be repurposed for on-demand cargo release from lipid nanocarrier systems, enabling spatiotemporal control over therapeutic delivery that is not achievable with conventional lipid nanoparticles. This protocol presents methods for fabricating and characterising two distinct verteporfin (VP)-integrated lipid nanoparticle formulations: (1) light-triggered liposomes composed of DOTAP, DOPE, cholesterol, and VP for delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes; and (2) X-ray-triggered liposomes composed of DOTAP, DOPC, VP, and gold nanoparticles for controlled chemotherapy drug release. Upon activation at 690 nm (visible light) or by clinical X-ray radiation (6 MeV), VP generates singlet oxygen that oxidises unsaturated lipid components, destabilising the nanoparticle membrane and releasing encapsulated cargos. Protocols are provided for liposome formulation by thin-film hydration and membrane extrusion, physicochemical characterisation, light- and X-ray-triggered cargo release assessment, in vitro gene knockout in human cells, and in vivo validation using a quantitative zebrafish visual reporter system and a mouse xenograft tumour model. Representative results demonstrate knockout of up to approximately 326 slow-muscle fibres per zebrafish embryo via light activation and significant tumour growth suppression via X-ray-triggered doxorubicin release.The clinical precedent for 689-690 nm verteporfin activation in the eye motivates evaluation of this platform for ophthalmic delivery, although retinal biodistribution, pharmacokinetics, and large-animal safety remain to be established. These methods provide an experimental approach with translational potential for externally controlled therapeutic cargo release.
It is concluded that bridging the gap between foundational CRISPR research and its real-world applications is imperative and future efforts should focus on democratizing tools via open-source platforms, advancing delivery systems, and fostering sustainable innovation through synthetic biology integration to fully realize the transformative potential of genome editing in organisms beyond model organisms.
S. Sarsaiya, Archana Jain, Jishuang Chen et al.· Biotechnology Advances· 2 citations
It is argued that formation of a tumour-intrinsic niche is a prerequisite for BRAF-mutant CRC seeding to distant organs and that interference with niche formation may help avoid metastatic relapse.
J. Bugter, L. El Bouazzaoui, E. Küçükköse et al.· bioRxiv· 2 citations
This review summarizes emerging therapeutic strategies for EOC, their mechanisms of action, and their potential to overcome treatment resistance, and covers molecularly targeted therapies, immunotherapies, metabolic and epigenetic approaches, cellular and gene therapies, targeted drug-delivery systems, and locoregional and physical modalities.
Zofia Pietrasik, Mikołaj Kapała, Joanna Pietrasik et al.· Cancers· 0 citations
Genetic engineering (GE) and gene editing may endow traits to trees such as increased biomass and the production of novel biomaterials. Long-lived organisms such as trees might be subject to biotechnology-related risks that could be different than those of annual row crops. Those risks could be relevant to production in engineered plantations and beyond plantations to natural forests. Therefore, appropriate risk regulation is important to assure biosafety of commercialized engineered trees. In addition to gene flow via sexual reproduction, vegetative reproduction might play an additional role in environmental "exposure" risk relative to transgene dispersal in GE tree plantations. While vegetative reproduction is beneficial for preserving desired genetic traits during tree propagation, it may lead to proximal clonal spread in the field. Although the environmental risks associated with vegetative reproduction of GE trees are recognized in commercial forestry, there are few field-based environmental risk assessment (ERA) studies on dispersal risks of self-propagated GE trees. GE or gene editing of target genes involved in the vegetative propagation processes may be useful to mitigate environmental risks of clonal spread through vegetative reproduction. This review provides updates for recent field test results of GE and gene edited trees. Gene candidates related to vegetative reproduction including adventitious shooting (AS) and adventitious rooting (AR) are discussed herein as a means to mitigate unintended clonal spread from GE tree plantations.
Findings establish Cas7-11 as a precise and efficient RNA knockdown tool for functional studies in embryonic development and stem cell biology, providing a versatile alternative to DNA-based gene-editing approaches.
Huan Yan, Imtiaz Ul Hassan, Kai Yan et al.· Cell & Bioscience· 0 citations
A new method for surgically removing training examples from a model reveals that as datasets grow, the link between what a model learns and what it produces dissolves.
MIT News · Artificial Intelligence· news.mit.eduAug 17, 2026