Revolutionary Bacterial Syringe Delivers Programmable Protein and Gene Therapy to Human Cells.

Researchers have developed a technique that uses a molecular 'syringe' to deliver potentially therapeutic proteins into human cells grown in the laboratory. The technique could offer a new way to administer protein-based drugs and could also be useful for delivering the components needed for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. The system was unable to transport the mRNA guide needed for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, but the team is developing ways to do this. The molecular syringe is used by some bacteria to infect their hosts and transport proteins through the perforation and into the cell.