Researchers of Amsterdam University Medical Centre claimed that they were able to cut HIV virus from infected cells with the help of Nobel Prize-winning Crispr gene-editing technology.
Crispr, co-discovered by Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, is a technology to edit genomes by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence with precision and efficiency.
The study noted that when people initially contract HIV, the virus inserts its DNA into the host’s immune cells and stays dormant as long as the person takes medication.
In case, the infected person stops taking medicines, the virus re-activates and spreads through the immune system again.
The research team led by Elena Herrera-Carillo stated, “Our aim is to develop a robust and safe combinatorial Crispr-Cas regimen, striving for an inclusive ‘HIV cure for all’ that can inactivate diverse HIV strains across various cellular contexts.”
The proof-of-concept study found that the latest Crispr technology was able to eliminate all traces of the HIV virus from infected cells in the laboratory, marking a significant breakthrough in the scientific field.
The authors commented, “Our next steps involve optimizing the delivery route to target the majority of the HIV reservoir cells. We will combine the Crispr therapeutics and receptor-targeting reagents and move to pre-clinical models to study in detail the efficacy and safety aspects of a combined cure strategy”.
The team explained, “This will be instrumental to achieve preferential Crispr-Cas delivery to the reservoir cells and avoiding delivery into non-reservoir cells. This strategy is to make this system as safe as possible for future clinical applications. We hope to achieve the right balance between efficacy and safety of this CURE strategy. Only then can we consider clinical trials of ‘cure’ in humans to disable the HIV reservoir.”
The findings will be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases to be held in Barcelona.
Earlier, a California-based company, Excision BioTherapeutics, had used the Crispr technology to cut the dormant viruses in monkey infected with a virus similar to HIV.
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