BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Author: englandiffusion

CRISPR Technology leads the way for potential breakthrough in cancer treatment

According to The American Cancer Society, scientists can alter the structure of a particular white blood cell known as the T-cell.  This method, known as CAR T-cell therapy, has long been established as a potential weapon against cancer, altering T-cells to best fight cancer based on the patient’s own characteristics.  According to an article in Forbes, the genetic editing procedure that has been used to facilitate this technology has relied upon “Viral Vectors,” which according to Beckman Coulter, viral vectors are modified viruses “that can be used to deliver nucleic acids into the genetic makeup of cells.”  While useful, Forbes asserts that the usage of Viral Vectors can be time-consuming and “can cost up to $50,000 per dose.”  For these reasons, scientists have looked towards a new technology, known as CRISPR technology to facilitate the editing of T-cells.CRISPR logo

 

According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, “CRISPR (short for “clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats”) is a technology that research scientists use to selectively modify the DNA of living organisms.”  According to Forbes, this technology differs from viral vector technology in that it involves the synthesis of “RNA guides,” which allow the scientists to break a DNA sequence at a targeted point, allowing for a change, as would be required to facilitate CAR T-cell therapy.  Furthermore, the article asserts that “synthesizing an RNA guide is cheaper and more efficient than cultivating retroviral vectors,” potentially allowing for the treatment to be more widespread.  As stated in the Forbes article by William A. Haseltine, former professor at Harvard University, “there is potential to propel CAR T design forward by integrating contemporary innovations such as CRISPR/Cas9 technology.”  It is therefore clear that the usage of CRISPR technology for CAR T-cell therapy could revolutionize cancer treatment

 

 

Many of the concepts referenced in this post involve concepts we have learned in AP bio class.  For example, in the immune system section of the cell communication unit, we learned about the various types of T-cells.  For example, we learned how T-killer cells kill infected cells, such as cancer cells, T-memory cells retain information to prevent further infection, and T-helper cells stimulate other T-cells.  From here, we learned how T-cells, more specifically T-killer cells, can be used to fight cancer, which connects to CAR T-cell therapy’s usage of the cells for gene editing. 

 

While CRISPR technology’s use in CAR T-cell therapy is exciting, according to Haseltine, it “still has room for improvement.”  This technology is not fully developed, and will probably need years to be widespread.  But still, the complete implementation of CRISPR technology in CAR T-cell therapy remains an exciting prospect.

Back from the dead? Tech Startup attempts to bring back the Dodo bird.

Perhaps the most widely known animal extinction is the famous Dodo Bird.  According to Brittanica, the dodo became extinct after European settlers disrupted its native Mauritius.  Extinction, as defined by National Geographic, is “the complete disappearance of a species from Earth.”  However, as reported by US News, new technological innovations hope to reverse extinction and bring back the dodo bird.

According to the article, a tech startup Colossal Biosciences hopes to use gene editing technology to bring back extinct species, such as the dodo bird.  According to MedlinePlus, “genome editing (also called gene editing) is a group of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organism’s DNA.”  According to Beth Shapiro, A biologist at the company stated that the company intends to edit the genes of the non-extinct Nicobar Pigeon, a close relative of the dodo, to recreate the dodo, hundreds of years after its extinction.  

Dodo 1

Despite these promising advancements, because researchers intend to use the genes of a different species, and the conditions on the island are not the same as they are today, it will be nearly impossible to revive the dodo bird exactly.  For example, as reported by US News, Shapiro stated “it’s not possible to recreate a 100% identical copy of something that’s gone.”  

While these advancements are exciting, as US News stated, there could be significant drawbacks to bringing back extinct speeches.  As stated by ecologist Stuart Pimm of Duke University “There’s a real hazard in saying that if we destroy nature, we can just put it back together again – because we can’t.”  As stated earlier, it was colonists and mistreatment of the environment that caused the extinction of the dodo bird in the 1600s, so perhaps, as reported by US News and stated by Boris Worm of the Univerity  of Dahlhousie in Halifax, Nova Scotia “Preventing species from going extinct in the first place should be our priority.”  Perhaps we can achieve this goal by taking better care of the environment, for according to Columbia Climate School, “The main modern causes of extinction are the loss and degradation of habitat (mainly deforestation), over exploitation, (hunting, overfishing), invasive species, climate change, and nitrogen pollution.  Many of these ideas connect to what we have studied in biology class, such as the effects of genes.  According to Brittanica, Gene editing technology uses enzymes to influence genetic sequences; these enzymes are called Restriction Enzymes.  Additionally, according to the University of Illinois, “Restriction enzymes are essential tools for recombinant DNA technology.”  As we learned in the Mitosis/Meiosis, and cellular respiration unit, recombinants are the chromosomes that occur when chromosomes “cross over” during Prophase I of meiosis, essentially creating a blend of different traits.  This phenomenon is similar to what occurs in gene editing technology, where enzymes snip DNA, adding different traits, to create a sort of “mix” of traits.

 Therefore, while these new technologies in gene editing are exciting, we shouldn’t be 100% convinced of their effectiveness, and we should continuously question the ethics of such practices.

A new evolution in cancer metastasis research

 

Perhaps the greatest fear of any cancer patient is metastasis.  According to Cancer.Net, metastasis is the process by which cancers spread throughout the body.  Furthermore, according to Cancer.gov, “Metastatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, and it accounts for most cancer deaths.” However, a new study in Nature, as outlined in an article in The Scientist, unearths new truths about how cancer cells metastasize that could perhaps spark a new wave of research.  

As stated in The Scientist, “Previous studies have shown how, counterintuitively, cells pick up the pace as they move through thicker solutions.”  Recent studies have elaborated on this accepted facet of cancer reaction, and have discovered that Cancer cells have the ability to detect, and even memorize the viscosity of their environments.  Researchers noticed that cancer cells initially exposed to viscous environments retained their speedy movement even after they were moved to watery environments, at a level not represented in those constantly in watery solutions, thus indicating a sort of memory of environment in cancer cells.  This phenomenon of “cell memory” is similar to the memorization features seen in T-memory cells we discussed in class during the unit on the immune response.

Breast cancer cell (2)

Later, that same team of scientists released study that aimed to determine how cancer cells are able to move quickly through viscous substances.  According to an article in The Scientist, “cancer cells move by taking up water at the front of the cell and squirting it out the back, propelling themselves like octopuses through narrow spaces.”  Some researchers believe that new drug research could aim to target the ion channel that causes this transportation: TRPV4, but others are not so convinced.  According to Miguel Valverde of Pompeu Fabra University, “Animal knockouts for the TRPV4 channels develop normally,” indicating that the newly discovered transportation mechanism may not be as essential as researchers may believe.

Still, the discovery of a new transportation method for cancer cells explaining its peculiar preference for viscosity is an important breakthrough, that will undoubtedly guide future research in cancer metastasis. 

A New Hope? Promising new research finds a way to treat COVID-19

Despite the recent decline in COVID-19 cases, researchers and public health officials struggle to treat and prevent new cases of the disease.  A 2022 article in the Washington post outlined the recent efforts by researchers to treat and prevent COVID-19, particularly examining monoclonal antibody treatment, a treatment that utilizes human-made antibodies to aid in the Body’s natural response.

However, according to researchers, new mutations are quickly arising which undermine the effectiveness of these treatments, making it difficult for the medical world to keep up with the virus, so biologists are turning to more novel methods.  One Quebec-based company, Sherbrooke, thinks they’ve found the solution, “We saw a sharp decline in viral loads,” says the company’s chief medical officer Bruno Maranda.

Traditional monoclonal antibody treatment has had trouble inhibiting the binding between the spike protein of the virus SARS-CoV-2 and human cells because the binding location of the spike protein is mutating quicker than researchers can adjust antibody treatment.  According to Andrés Finzi, associate professor at the University of Montréal, “there is a huge immune pressure on the virus,” indicating that it will likely continue to mutate in this way.  

 

Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein (49583626473)

 

 

However, scientists have noticed that certain areas of spike protein have remained rigid as the virus mutates; one such area is the stem helix.  Because of its lack of mutation, scientists believe that this area is essential to SARS-CoV-2 and if disrupted can limit its ability to mutate and cause harm to our bodies.  

Although the new drug from Sherbrooke uses 2 antibodies that attack the spike protein in a more conventional way, the new third antibody attacking the more rigid areas of the protein has proven effective in all trials that have been undertaken.

Another recent paper has also attempted to amend antibody treatment to target more stable sections of the spike protein: the fusion peptide.  According to the chief of the Antibody Biology unit of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, this structure “acts like a grappling hook and inserts into the human cell membrane, pulling the membrane closer to the virus membrane.”  Researchers hope to use these rigid structures to help develop more reliable treatments and preventions for COVID-19.

This system of antibodies protecting our bodies from illness is similar to what we are currently learning in Biology class.  In class, we learned that in the body’s humoral response to pathogens, B-plasma cells secrete antibodies that bind to pathogens, thereby neutralizing them, allowing them to be quickly engulfed by macrophages and destroyed.  Monoclonal antibody treatment leverages this function of antibodies, creating artificial antibodies to facilitate this interaction more strongly.

While these new developments in COVID-19 treatment are exciting, Finzi warned that “we shouldn’t underestimate the capacity of a coronavirus to mutate.”  Other scientists, including Harvard professor of pediatrics Bing Chen, believe that antibody treatment research should not take the place of other disease-fighting tactics; according to Chen “we need much more effective vaccines, for sure.”  But one thing remains true, and that is that SARS-CoV-2 continues to mutate, and will continue to be a serious problem if we fail or adequately treat and prevent it, and while the number of cases is decreasing, it still remains strikingly high for us to write off the disease as harmless.

One Generation’s Trash is Another Generation’s Treasure: How a selected mutation during the Black Death causes dangerous illness today

The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly changed millions of lives forever, but many scientists wonder how the pandemic could affect the human genome.  In a 2022 article in US news, researchers studied the Black Death, the 14th-century pandemic that wiped out nearly 25 million Europeans, and in particular, how it affected our bodies.

According to researchers, the Black Death led our bodies to select for certain genetic traits which at the time decreased their risk of infection.  These specific genes increased the activity of the immune system to better help fight the plague, however, today these mutations are having dangerous consequences.  Researchers have noticed a connection between such genes and the risk of numerous conditions, such as Crohn’s Disease, Lupus, and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  These illnesses are known as Autoimmune Diseases, a class of illnesses that occurs when the body tricks itself into attacking its own cells.

These specific genes increased the activity of the immune system to better help fight the plague, however, today these mutations are having dangerous consequences

According to LibreTexts, this phenomenon occurs when certain pathogens have a very similar molecular structure to the antigens that our bodies produce.  Therefore, our bodies are tricked into attacking their own cells thinking that they are pathogens.  This destroys important structures in our bodies, the absence of which causes illness, such as Crohn’s disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

According to Dutch biologist Henrik Poinar of McMaster University, “A hyperactive immune system may have been great in the past.” This hyperactivity may have led to an increase in activity against the plague, which in turn could have increased survival rates.  This groundbreaking research suggests that even the shortest event of monumental importance can forever change our bodies.  As stated by senior researcher Luis Bareirro, “Our genome today is a reflection of our whole evolutionary history.

The obvious question here is: will our current Covid-19 pandemic affect our bodies and are our bodies evolving? Researchers say no.  According to Barreiro, Covid’s low fatality rate makes it unlikely to cause any significant genetic change.   However, Covid’s mutations are difficult to predict, and we have no way of knowing how future mutations will affect our bodies.  Furthermore, in a recent study from Stanford Medical school, researchers identified 1,000 genes linked to severe Covid infection.  It is theoretically possible for these genes to be selected for as we evolve, and it is unclear how that could affect our ancestors.

Covid’s low fatality rate makes it unlikely to cause any significant genetic change

This selection is similar to the selection we are performing on fast-growing flowers in Biology class.  Like the removal of flowers without hairs, certain human genetic traits (probably not hairs) perform more favorably in a pandemic environment and may prevail due to natural selection.

While it is impossible to know what the future will hold, it is interesting to analyze how major historical events, like the Black Death, have affected our bodies.  While there isn’t consensus around how the current pandemic will affect our ancestors, scientists agree that these events are clearly linked to our evolution as a species.  According to Barreiro, “It’s not going to stop. It’s going to keep going for sure.”

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