2020 iGEM Team NJU-China intends to use RNA interference technology to treat lung cancer this year. The use of lentivirus vector enables liver cells to secrete exosomes targeting lung cancer cells.
The small interfering RNA (siRNA) contained in the exosomes will mediate the degradation of mRNA of KRAS, CD-47, and PD-L1 by forming RNA-induced silencing complexes, making it difficult for tumor cells to avoid the attack of the immune system.
In addition, to ensure that the whole system is safe and controllable, we added tetracycline-induced regulatory expression elements and the Cre-loxP-lox2272 recombinant enzyme system for regulation.
NJU-china fully understands the importance of safety work and attaches great importance to safety-related issues in the design and implementation of the project.
Working Safely
We all know about living Modified organisms which require exceptional care in handling. We follow the lab safety rules such as using super-clean bench and wear golves when operating microbial and they will be killed after experiment to prevent spreading. And all of our operations will be held in biosafety cabinet.
When conducting cell experiments or other experiments, we will carry out in a super clean bench, and pay special attention to the safety of the experiment. During the COVID-19 epidemic, we also paid special attention to personal protection and wore masks throughout the experiment.
Figure 1. Super Clean Bench
Safety Form and Check-in Form
As the iGEM officials are concerned, we completed the Safety form and the check-in form one month before the start of the experiment, and made full preparations and discussions on relevant Safety issues.This year, instead of using AAV or LV, we plan to select the appropriate option next year based on the results obtained in Human Practices.
At the same time, we only verified our experimental design and effect at the cell level, strictly followed the relevant safety regulations, and achieved success.
Bioethics
Because our project involves gene editing of liver cells, there are many bioethics problems.We had a thorough discussion with professors and doctors, which helped to avoid ethical issues in future projects.
At the same time, when we conducted Human Practices, we also received the guidance of a philosophy professor, who helped us to review our questionnaire and believed that it was feasible and did not violate personal privacy.
When we conducted interviews with professors and doctors, we signed informed consent in strict accordance with the official requirements of iGEM.And inform them during the meeting that their personal information will be used for editing the wiki or related content.
Figure 2. Everyone in the meeting being told that the content will be used in the wiki
Informed Consent
The content below is the informed consent of the professor and the doctor interviewed.We got their consent before the interview.
Click to see the informed consent from Liu Rui.
Click to see the informed consent.from Wang Tingting.