CRISPR/Cas9 Technology for Modifying Immune Checkpoint in CAR-T Cell Therapy for Hematopoietic Malignancies

Hematologic malignancies, which arise from dysregulation of hematopoiesis, are a group of cancers originating in cells with diminished capacity to differentiate into mature progeny and accumulating immature cells in blood-forming tissues such as lymph nodes and bone marrow. Immune-targeted therapies, such as Immune Checkpoint Blockade (ICB), chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy, and the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) system, a precise, popular, and versatile genome engineering tool, has opened new avenues for the treatment of malignancies. Targeting immune checkpoints has revolutionized FDA approval in cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), PD-1 (programmed death-1), and PDL1. According to the ICB and CAR techniques, the production of efficient CAR-T cells depends on the successful genetic modification of T cells, making them less susceptible to immune escape and suppression by cancer cells, which results in reduced off-target toxicity. Therefore, CRISPR/Cas9 has revolutionized the immune checkpoint-based approach for CAR-T cell therapy of hematologic malignancy. Continued research and clinical trials will undoubtedly pave the way for further advances in this field, ultimately benefiting patients and improving outcomes.