{"id":4754,"date":"2024-03-20T04:20:48","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T04:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/20\/hopes-of-hiv-cure-after-breakthrough-using-gene-editing-scissors\/"},"modified":"2024-03-20T04:20:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T04:20:48","slug":"hopes-of-hiv-cure-after-breakthrough-using-gene-editing-scissors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/20\/hopes-of-hiv-cure-after-breakthrough-using-gene-editing-scissors\/","title":{"rendered":"Hopes of HIV cure after breakthrough using gene-editing ‘scissors’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hopes<\/div>\n
\n

A cure for HIV could be on the horizon after scientists eliminated the virus from cells in a laboratory.<\/p>\n

Using a gene-editing tool known as Crispr-Cas, researchers were able to target HIV<\/strong><\/a> DNA and remove all traces of the virus from infected cells.<\/p>\n

Working essentially as scissors, the Nobel Prize-winning technology can cut DNA at certain points, allowing unwanted genes to be deleted or new genetic material to be introduced into cells.<\/p>\n

The study authors said their aim is to develop a robust and safe Crispr-Cas regimen, “striving for an inclusive ‘HIV cure for all’ that can inactivate diverse HIV strains across various cellular contexts”.<\/p>\n

The scientists at Amsterdam University Medical Centre in the Netherlands said they have developed an efficient attack on the virus in various cells and where it may be hiding.<\/p>\n

“These findings represent a pivotal advancement towards designing a cure strategy,” they added.<\/p>\n

HIV can infect different types of cells and tissues in the body, so the researchers are looking for a way to target the virus wherever it appears.<\/p>\n

In the study, presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, the researchers focused on parts of the virus that stay the same across all known HIV strains.<\/p>\n

They said the approach aims to provide a broad-spectrum therapy capable of combating multiple HIV variants effectively.<\/p>\n

Read more:
Charities say government ‘must go further’ to eradicate HIV cases by 2030<\/a>
How cost of living crisis is preventing the eradication of new HIV transmissions<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the researchers their work represents proof of concept and the next steps involve optimising the delivery route to target the majority of the HIV reservoir cells.<\/p>\n

The hope is to devise a strategy to make this system as safe as possible for future clinical applications and achieve the right balance between efficacy and safety.<\/p>\n

“Only then can we consider clinical trials of ‘cure’ in humans to disable the HIV reservoir,” the researchers said.<\/p>\n

“While these preliminary findings are very encouraging, it is premature to declare that there is a functional HIV cure on the horizon.”<\/p>\n

In the UK, HIV testing rates among heterosexual men and women are down by a quarter compared to before the COVID<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>pandemic, according to the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).<\/p>\n

The number of new HIV <\/strong>cases recorded among heterosexuals passed those in gay and bisexual men for the first time in a decade in 2020, and has continued to be higher each year since.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A cure for HIV could be on the horizon after scientists eliminated the virus from cells in a laboratory. Using a gene-editing tool known as Crispr-Cas, researchers were able to target HIV DNA and remove all traces of the virus from infected cells. Working essentially as scissors, the Nobel Prize-winning technology can cut DNA at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/22\/02\/70x70\/skynews-hiv-1-micropsope_5675263.jpg?20220216094930","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[607],"tags":[3588,8096,8097,7145,5791,8098],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4756,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4754\/revisions\/4756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}