CRISPR/Cas9-Based Therapeutics as a Promising Strategy for Management of Alzheimer's Disease: Progress and Prospects

Mohamad Sultan Khan ¹ Nousheen Qureshi ² Rehan Khan ³ Youngok Son ^4* Tariq Maqbool ^1,5*

• ¹ Laboratory of Nanotherapeutics & Regenerative Medicine, Department of Nanotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-190006, India
• ² Department of Higher Education, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir, Srinagar-190005, India
• ³ Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Knowledge City, Sector-81, S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali, Punjab-140306, India
• ⁴ Department of Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology, College of Applied Life Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju-63243, Republic of Korea
• ⁵ University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India

CRISPR/Cas9 technology has revolutionized genetic and biomedical research in recent years. It enables editing and modulation of gene function with an unparalleled precision and effectiveness. Among the various applications and prospects of this technology, the opportunities it offers in unravelling the molecular underpinnings of a myriad of central nervous system diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, psychiatric conditions, and developmental abnormalities, are unprecedented. In this review, we highlight the applications of CRISPR/Cas9-based therapeutics as a promising strategy for management of Alzheimer's disease and transformative impact of this technology on AD research. Further, we emphasize the role of CRISPR/Cas9 in generating accurate AD models for identification of novel therapeutic targets, besides the role of CRISPR-based therapies aimed at correcting AD-associated mutations and modulating the neurodegenerative processes. Furthermore, various delivery systems are reviewed and potential of the non-viral nanotechnologybased carriers for overcoming the critical limitations of effective delivery systems for CRISPR/Cas9 is discussed. Overall, this review highlights the promise and prospects of CRISPR/Cas9 technology for unravelling the intricate molecular processes underlying the development of AD, discusses its limitations, ethical concerns and several challenges including efficient delivery across the BBB, ensuring specificity, avoiding off-target effects. This article can be helpful in better understanding the applications of CRISPR/Cas9 based therapeutic approaches and the way forward utilizing enormous potential of this technology in targeted, gene-specific treatments that could change the trajectory of this debilitating and incurable illness.