2026.04.20
Efficient gene disruption with CRISPR–Cas3 in human T cells
A joint research group including Professor Koji Tamada of Yamaguchi University, Professor Tomoji Mashimo of The University of Tokyo, and RIKEN has developed a novel genome editing technology for human T cells using the CRISPR-Cas3 system.
Conventional Cas9 technology often faces challenges such as incomplete gene disruption and the risk of “off-target” effects, where unintended DNA sequences are cut. In this study, the team leveraged the unique ability of Cas3 to continuously degrade DNA, succeeding in highly efficient gene disruption without any detectable off-target effects.
Furthermore, the study demonstrated that CAR-T cells produced with this technology maintain potent tumor-killing activity. This method is expected to serve as a safe and advanced foundational technology that will accelerate the development of next-generation cancer immunotherapies.
These research findings were published in the online edition of the British scientific journal NAR Cancer on April 21, 2026.
- Division of Advanced Cell Therapy
- Koji Tamada, M.D., Ph.D. (Immunology)
- Yukimi Sakoda, Ph.D. (Immunology)
- Journal: NAR Cancer
- Title: Efficient gene disruption with CRISPR-Cas3 in human T cells
- Authors: Tomoaki Fujii, Yukimi Sakoda, Kazuto Yoshimi, Kohei Takeshita, Shoji Watanabe, Ryuya Iida, Tsubasa Obo, Kazumasa Yokoyama, Koji Tamada, and Tomoji Mashimo* (*Corresponding Author)
- DOI: 10.1093/narcan/zcag009
- URL: https://academic.oup.com/narcancer/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/narcan/zcag009
- ＜Research Inquiries＞
- Koji Tamada, M.D., Ph.D.
- Professor, Department of Immunology
- Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University
- Research Institute for Cell Design Medical Sciences
- E-mail: immunol@ ( followed by yamaguchi-u.ac.jp)
- ＜Regarding public relations＞
- Yamaguchi University Research Institute for Cell Design Medical Science (Life Science Support Section, Academic Research Division)
- TEL: 0836-85-3065
- E-mail: sh088@ ( followed by yamaguchi-u.ac.jp)