Sun Wujin, Lee Junmin, Zhang Shiming, Benyshek Cole, Dokmeci Mehmet R, Khademhosseini Ali
Department of Bioengineering University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles CA 90095 USA.
Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT) California NanoSystems Institute University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles CA 90095 USA.
Adv Sci (Weinh). 2018 Oct 25;6(1):1801039. doi: 10.1002/advs.201801039. eCollection 2019 Jan 9.
Advances in genomic sequencing and bioinformatics have led to the prospect of precision medicine where therapeutics can be advised by the genetic background of individuals. For example, mapping cancer genomics has revealed numerous genes that affect the therapeutic outcome of a drug. Through materials and cell engineering, many opportunities exist for engineers to contribute to precision medicine, such as engineering biosensors for diagnosis and health status monitoring, developing smart formulations for the controlled release of drugs, programming immune cells for targeted cancer therapy, differentiating pluripotent stem cells into desired lineages, fabricating bioscaffolds that support cell growth, or constructing "organs-on-chips" that can screen the effects of drugs. Collective engineering efforts will help transform precision medicine into a more personalized and effective healthcare approach. As continuous progress is made in engineering techniques, more tools will be available to fully realize precision medicine's potential.
基因组测序和生物信息学的进展带来了精准医学的前景，即可以根据个体的遗传背景来推荐治疗方法。例如，绘制癌症基因组图谱已经揭示了许多影响药物治疗效果的基因。通过材料和细胞工程，工程师有很多机会为精准医学做出贡献，比如设计用于诊断和健康状况监测的生物传感器、开发用于药物控释的智能制剂、对免疫细胞进行编程以实现靶向癌症治疗、将多能干细胞分化为所需的细胞谱系、制造支持细胞生长的生物支架，或者构建能够筛选药物效果的“芯片器官”。集体工程努力将有助于把精准医学转变为一种更加个性化和有效的医疗保健方法。随着工程技术的不断进步，将有更多工具可用于充分实现精准医学的潜力。
