Technology promises to completely eradicate the HIV/AIDS pandemic

American scientists successfully eliminated the HIV virus in mice using CRISPR gene editing technology.

CRISPR gene editing technology could be a potential cure for HIV. Photo: iStock.

Researchers at Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh, USA, used CRISPR gene editing technology to successfully remove HIV virus DNA from the genetic code of mice, helping the animals recover from the disease, according to Cnet. The research results were published in the journal Molecular Therapy on May 3.

These latest discoveries offer hope for finding a cure for HIV, a virus that is notoriously difficult to eradicate completely from the body. Many anti-HIV drugs are used to stop the virus from replicating. But when patients stop taking the drugs, the virus can grow back.

The team's next step is to use CRISPR gene editing technology to eliminate HIV in primates.

“Our ultimate goal is to conduct clinical trials in human patients,” said Kamel Khalili, a researcher at Temple University.

This is the first study to use CRISPR gene editing technology to stop HIV from replicating and render it inactive in animal cells. CRISPR technology is still relatively new, and it has rarely been used to edit human genes.

Many scientists see CRISPR as a revolutionary and potentially powerful medical tool. But caution is needed when moving forward with human clinical trials.

In 2015, Jennifer Doudna, co-creator of the CRISPR gene-editing technology, explained in a TED talk why she and her colleagues called for a “global moratorium” on the use of CRISPR in clinical applications. CRISPR should only be used once a number of ethical questions surrounding human gene editing have been adequately answered.

In 2016, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia received preliminary approval from a federal advisory panel to use CRISPR to modify immune cells to fight cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also approved the trial.

According to VNE