Eliminating HIV-1 from the Genome of Human T-Cells

From: Temple Now, by Meaghan Bixby

A team at Temple University has successfully eliminated HIV-1 from human T-cells employing CRSIPR/Cas9 technology. Previously, the team, led by Kamel Khalili, had shown the HIV-1 could be 'snipped' from normal human cells. Expanding on their earlier work, the team utilized CRISPR/Cas9 to remove HIV-1 from latently and productively infected CD4+ T-cells. Further analysis by ultra-deep whole-genome sequencing showed that there were no off-target effects and that the targeted T-Cells functioned normally after HIV-1 was removed.