The HIV/AIDS cure latest news update seemed to very promising. The reason? A team of researchers recently discovered that gene editing could lead them to the development of a possible treatment for the disease.
Based on a recent research conducted by the scientists at Temple University in Philadelphia, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology could successfully eliminate HIV-1 DNA from T cell genomes in human lab cultures. And once these edited genetic code were exposed to the virus again, they were no longer affected by reinfection, Ecumenical News noted.
"Antiretroviral drugs are very good at controlling HIV infection," lead researcher Dr. Kamel Khalili stated, as per Temple Health. "But patients on antiretroviral therapy who stop taking the drugs suffer a rapid rebound in HIV replication."
The CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology, which was first developed in 2012, allows scientists to rewrite genetic code by cutting out HIV-1 out of the genome, Inhabitat reported. Scientists will then cut-and-paste parts of the DNA to twist its function, allowing the defective versions of a gene to be changed into a healthier one.
So, what is CRISPR? Just to give a short overview, CRISPR is DNA's specific repeating sequence that is extracted from a single-celled organism called prokaryote. It will then pair up with an RNA-guided enzyme called Cas9.
Even though gene editing has been successful before, the major breakthrough in the new study, which was published in Scientific Reports, is that edited cells are not reinfected when exposed to HIV. And when HIV-1 is edited out, the quantity of HIV in a person's blood actually decreases.
Furthermore, the researchers also discovered that the cells grew and behaved as they should. Thus, the editing process is not toxic for the human body.
"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," Khalili explained. "They show that the system can protect cells from reinfection and that the technology is safe for the cells, with no toxic effects."
Meanwhile, the latest news update on HIV/AIDS cure can be a huge leap towards the goal of finding the ultimate antidote for the disease that have killed more than 25 million people since the '80s. While treatment has come a long way over the past several years, scientists stressed that antiretroviral drugs are not a permanent solution.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
