Researchers Make Progress, Using Crispr To Remove HIV From Affected Cells

Using the Nobel Prize-winning Crispr gene-editing technique, a group of researchers from the University of Amsterdam claimed to have effectively eradicated HIV from infected cells.

At the molecular level, the Crispr gene-editing tool functions similarly to a scissor. In order to eliminate or deactivate the “bad” portion, it chops the DNA, the BBC said.

The researchers expressed optimism that they may eventually be able to completely eradicate the virus from the body, but they also noted that additional work is required to guarantee efficacy and safety. HIV patients are treated with medications that halt the virus but do not completely eradicate it.

This week at a medical conference, the University of Amsterdam summarized their preliminary results. They made it very clear that their research is still just “proof of concept” and won’t lead to an HIV cure anytime soon.

“Much more research will be required to show that outcomes from these cell tests may occur across the body in order to develop a future treatment. Before this may benefit people living with HIV, a lot more research and development would be required, according to Dr. James Dixon, an associate professor of stem-cell and gene-therapy technologies at the University of Nottingham, who was reported by the BBC.

A number of scientists are attempting to combat HIV using Crispr. Three HIV-positive volunteers had no significant negative effects, according to Excision BioTherapeutics, which informed the BBC.

Speaking to the UK broadcaster, Dr. Jonathan Stoye, a virus researcher at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said that eradicating HIV from all possible host cells in the body presented formidable hurdles.

He voiced worries about the treatment’s prospective negative effects in the long run as well as its possible off-target consequences. Additionally, even if proved successful, he noted that it would probably take many years for Crispr-based treatment for HIV to become standard.

HIV targets immune cells and uses their machinery to multiply; even in response to therapy, some cells retain HIV DNA in a latent form.

Antiretroviral medication must be used for the rest of a person’s life in order to control HIV in the majority of cases. Stopping these drugs may cause the latent virus to reactivate and the disease’s related health problems to resurface.

Although there have been a few isolated instances when people were ostensibly “cured” after rigorous cancer treatments that unintentionally targeted certain HIV-positive cells, such a course of action would never be recommended for HIV treatment alone.