CRISPR reprograms immune cells inside the body to fight cancer

Researchers at UC San Francisco developed a CRISPR-based method that reprograms T cells into CAR-T cells directly inside the body, skipping cell extraction and lab manufacturing. In mice with humanized immune systems, the approach eliminated leukemia, multiple myeloma and a solid tumor, with engineered cells reaching up to 40% of the immune population in some organs.

• First time a large DNA stretch was inserted at a precise genomic site in human T cells without removing them
• CAR-T therapy costs $400,000–500,000 and takes weeks; in vivo manufacturing could remove that barrier
• A single injection cleared detectable cancer in nearly all mice within two weeks
• Cells engineered inside the body performed better than those made in the lab