The double life of CRISPR-Cas13

Since the discovery of RNA-programmable nucleases from the proteins have seen rapid and widespread adoption for biotechnological and clinical research. A recently discovered system, CRISPR???Cas13, uses CRISPR RNA guides to target RNA. Interestingly, RNA targeting by Cas13 results in cleavage of both target RNA and bystander RNA. This feature has been used to develop innovative diagnostic tools for the detection of specific RNAs. Unlike in vitro detection of RNA using collateral RNA cleavage, however, initial studies of mammalian cells only revealed highly specific target RNA-knockdown activity. Although these findings have been confirmed subsequently, several recent publications do report Cas13-mediated toxicity and collateral RNA cleavage when using Cas13 in eukaryotes. Here, we review these conflicting observations and discuss its potential molecular basis.

Automated summary

The use of CRISPR-Cas13 system for targeted RNA cleavage has shown promising applications in biotechnology and clinical research. However, recent studies have reported potential toxicity and collateral RNA cleavage in eukaryotes. The conflicting observations regarding this phenomenon require further investigation to understand its molecular basis.