Gains seen in cure for HIV: docs

Researchers say they have removed HIV from the DNA of mice, an achievement the scientists say could be an early step toward an elusive cure for humans.

The breakthrough, detailed this month in a study credited to more than 30 scientists from Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, was made possible by an antiviral drug in combination with the tool called CRISPR t hat can edit genes. The researchers eliminated HIV in nine of 23 mice that were modified so their immune systems better mimicked those of humans.

Clinical trials for the geneediting component of the cure could start as early as next year if the Food and Drug Administration approves them, said Kamel Khalili, one of the study’s senior investigators. But he and other HIV experts emphasized that there is a big leap from promising results in mice to success in humans.

“We knew what we needed to do, but the technology was unavailable,” Khalili told The Washington Post, saying he and his team had been awaiting a tool like CRISPR to combat a virus that “becomes part of the fabric of our chromosomes.”

With gene editing a reality, he said, “the outcome was amazing.”

Once deadly, HIV can now be managed with a treatment called antiretroviral therapy. The therapy keeps the virus in check; without constant medication, the virus will quickly decimate a patient’s ability to fight off sickness. HIV infects 37 million people worldwide, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization, and only about 22 million of those people receive antiretroviral therapy. Nearly 1 million people died of HIV-related issues in 2017, according to WHO.

Previously, Khalili’s team at Temple had found a way to remove significant amounts of HIV DNA from rats and mice. But the technique could not remove the infection. So Khalili’s lab joined forces with a University of Nebraska Medical Center lab attacking the problem in a different way.