End of HIV? Researchers eliminate virus from DNA of infected mice

In a remarkable achievement, researches have managed to eliminate the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from infected mice, a significant landmark which could go a long way in helping find a cure for a disease that was a death sentence a two decades ago.

 

Currently, it’s believed 37 million people across the globe live with the virus. The study – published in Nature Communications by researchers from Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine and University Nebraska Medical Centre (UNMC) coupled genome editing technology with a slow-release virus subscription drug to eliminate HIV cells entirely.
Researchers have successfully eliminated HIV from the DNA of infected mice, a promising step toward a cure for the nearly 37 million people living with the virus.

Currently, there’s no cure for the virus but ART or antiretroviral therapy can stall the virus’ spread and end transmission of HIV between partners.

The tests were carried out on ‘humanised mice’ (rodents which produce human T cells susceptible to HIV). Researchers administered a treatment called LASER ART to suppress the HIV cells from replicating.

The process allowed the teams to ‘clean segments of the genome’ and remove HIV chromosome, co-author Kamel Khalili told news channel CNN. The study saw researchers completely eliminate HIV from nine out of 23 mice.