New Combinatorial Appoach, Including Antiretroviral Drug Therapy and Dual CRISPR Gene-Editing Targeting of HIV-1 and CCR5, Cures Humanized Mice of HIV Infection; Achievement Termed “Spectacular”

Combinations of long-acting antiretroviral and gene-editing therapies have effectively eliminated HIV-1 (see larger image at end) in experimental animals, with the former providing long-lasting viral suppression and the latter targeting both HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, and CCR5, the co-receptor that helps the virus get into cells. The new research from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, which was published online May 1, in PNAS, is the first to use these unique combinatorial therapies to cure live, humanized HIV-infected mice of viral infection. The open-access article is titled “CRISPR Editing of CCR5 and HIV-1 Facilitates Viral Elimination in Antiretroviral Drug-Suppressed Virus-Infected Humanized Mice.”