Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are widely used in cancer research to edit specific genes and study their functions. This applies both to in vitro and in vivo studies where CRISPR technology has accelerated the generation of specific loss- or gain-of-function mutations. This review focuses on CRISPR for generating in vivo models of cancer by editing somatic cells in specific organs. The delivery of CRISPR/Cas to designated tissues and specific cell compartments is discussed with a focus on different methods and their advantages. One advantage of CRISPR/Cas is the possibility to target multiple genes simultaneously in the same cell and therefore generate complex mutation profiles. This complexity challenges the interpretation of results and different methods to analyze the samples discussed herein. CRISPR-induced tumors are also different from classical tumors in pre-clinical models. Especially the clonal evolution of CRISPR-induced tumors adds new insight into cancer biology. Finally, the review discusses future perspectives for CRISPR technology in pre-clinical models with a focus on in vivo screening, CRISPR activation/inhibition, and the development of prime/ base-editing for the introduction of specific gene editing.
Keywords: CRISPR; CRISPR screening; CRISPRa; CRISPRi; base editing; gene delivery; indel; mouse models; pre-clinical models; prime editing.