Application of CRISPR-Cas9 Functional Genetic Screens in Liver Cancer

CAO Ying^#, QIAN Ruolan^#, YANG Chen, WANG Cun, QIN Wenxin*

(State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China)

Abstract:

Liver cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Lack of effective therapeutic targets and improvement for the efficacy of current therapies for advanced liver cancer are the key scientific issues to be solved in liver cancer research. CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated protein 9) functional genetic screens have contributed to the advancement of liver cancer biology. Many novel target genes involved in tumorigenesis and cancer progression have been uncovered by CRISPR-Cas9 screen technology. In addition, unbiased CRISPR-Cas9 functional genetic screens provide opportunities for exploring drug resistance mechanisms and identifying potential new therapeutic targets. This review systematically describes progresses and breakthroughs in high-throughput CRISPR-Cas9 functional genetic screens, which can help to deepen understanding of liver cancer and identify novel therapeutic strategies for liver cancer.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2022.04.0013