Christopher Kelly
HIV-1 genomes eliminated from T cells
Scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia have designed a gene-editing system that may hold the answer for an eventual cure for people living with HIV. The study — published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports — explains how researchers have eradicated the virus from human cell DNA.
“The findings are important on multiple levels,” said senior investigator, Dr Khalil. “They demonstrate the effectiveness of our gene-editing system in eliminating HIV from the DNA of CD4 T-cells and, by introducing mutations into the viral genome, permanently inactivating its replication. Further, they show that the system can protect cells from reinfection and that the technology is safe for the cells, with no toxic effects.”
Until now, eliminating the virus after it has incorporated itself into the immune system’s CD4 cells has proved challenging. Attempts to kick-start HIV so as to stimulate an immune response that destroys the virus (known as the “shock and kill” approach) has, so far, been unsuccessful. Here, however, Lewis Katz researchers have specifically targeted HIV-1 pro-viral DNA.
“These experiments had not been performed previously to this extent,” said Khalil. “But the questions they address are critical, and the results allow us to move ahead with this [gene-editing] technology.”
Read more at Scientific Reports.
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