CBS News : reported that CRISPR gene editing eliminates HIV infection in mice, researchers say

"Gene editing is a potent and still rather new tool in HIV research and many other areas as well," he wrote. In late 2015, the amfAR Institute for HIV Cure Research set the ambitious goal of developing a basis for cure for HIV by the end of 2020. A Temple University-led team hopes so, by using a gene editing technique to successfully remove HIV infection from lab mice. The gene-editing tool called CRISPR — which allows scientists to basically cut out and insert specific portions of DNA — was used to excise HIV DNA from the mice. This was the first time CRISPR has been used to shut down HIV replication and eliminate the virus from animal cells.

Powerful gene-editing tool can eliminate HIV infection in mice

For the first time, a team of researchers has shown that they can remove HIV type 1 (HIV-1) from infected mouse cells using a powerful gene-editing tool. After just one CRISPR/Cas9 treatment, researchers successfully removed viral fragments of the infected human cells embedded in mouse tissues and organs. For the latent infections, the team studied "humanized" mice that had been engrafted with human immune cells, including T cells. Image: china photos/Getty ImagesFor the two other models, scientists studied mice with actively replicating HIV infections and mice with latent infections that lie dormant within the cells. Mice with active infections had EcoHIV, the mouse equivalent of human HIV-1.

A new gene-editing technique has eliminated acute HIV infection in living animals

The technique has been demonstrated in animals with both acute and latent HIV, and was successful in human immune cells transplanted into mice. That's why patients have to remain on medication for their entire lives - latent HIV can activate within weeks if treatment stops. In a third animal model, the researchers transplanted human immune cells into mice before infecting them with a latent HIV-1 virus. "We also show that the strategy is effective in two additional mouse models, one representing acute infection in mouse cells and the other representing chronic, or latent, infection in human cells." For the first time, researchers have used gene-editing to eliminate HIV DNA from the genomes of three different animal models to ensure that replication of the virus was completely shut down.


collected by :Lucy William
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