Ultrasound-Activated Particles as CRISPR/Cas9 Delivery System for Androgenic Alopecia Therapy

February 2020 in “ Biomaterials ”

Jee Hoon Ryu, Eun Jeong Won, Han Chu Lee, Jin-Soo Kim, Emmanuel Hui, Hojoong Kim, Tae-Jong Yoon

ultrasound-activated particles CRISPR/Cas9 androgenic alopecia SRD5A2 gene VEGF protein gene editing hair regeneration hair loss hair growth

TLDR Scientists have created a new hair loss treatment using ultrasound to deliver gene-editing particles, which resulted in up to 90% hair regrowth in mice.

In 2020, researchers developed a novel method for treating androgenic alopecia (hair loss) using ultrasound-activated particles to deliver the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system. The particles were designed to target and edit the SRD5A2 gene, a major contributor to hair loss. The study involved 10 mice and the treatment led to a decrease in SRD5A2 mRNA and protein levels, and an increase in VEGF protein level, which stimulates hair growth. The results showed high efficiency in gene editing and up to 90% hair regeneration in the treated mice by the 7th week. However, further study was needed due to observed off-target effects of less than 3% each.