Elimination of HIV from DNA raises hope for AIDS cure

Eliminating the HIV virus after it has become integrated into CD4+ T-cells, the cells primarily infected with the virus, has proven difficult. Recent attempts have focused on intentionally reactivating HIV, aiming to stimulate a robust immune response capable of eradicating the virus. However, none of these "shock and kill" approaches has been successful.

Researchers targeted HIV-1 proviral DNA (the integrated viral genome) using uniquely tailored gene editing technology. Their system includes a guide RNA that specifically locates HIV-1 DNA in the T-cell genome, and a nuclease enzyme, which cuts the strands of T-cell DNA. Once the nuclease has edited out the HIV-1 DNA sequence, the loose ends of the genome are reunited by the cel''s own DNA repair machinery.

Researchers focused on infected CD4+ T cells to show that the technology eliminates the virus from cells and also its persistent presence in HIV-1-eradicated cells protects them against reinfection.

The researchers carried their work over to ex vivo experiments, in which T-cells from patients infected with HIV were grown in cell culture, showing that treatment with the gene editing system can suppress viral replication and reduce viral load in patient cells.