SCIENTISTS
SAY they have succeeded in removing the HIV virus from infected cells, using
the Nobel Prize-winning Crisper gene editing technology.
It
works like scissors, but at the molecular level, it cuts the DNA so that the
"bad" cells can be removed or turned off.
The
hope is to eventually be able to completely eliminate the virus from the body,
although more work is needed to see if it will be safe and effective.
Existing
HIV drugs can prevent the virus but not eliminate it.
The
University of Amsterdam team, presenting a summary of their early results at a
clinical meeting this week, insists that their work remains only a "proof
of concept" and will not be an HIV cure any time soon.
And
Dr James Dixon, assistant professor of stem cell technology and gene therapy at
the University of Nottingham, agrees, saying the full implications still need
to be explored.
"Further
work will be needed to show the results in these cell experiments can be
replicated throughout the body for future therapy," he said.
"There
will be more progress needed before it has an impact on those with HIV."
'Great
challenge'
Other
scientists are also trying to use Crispr against HIV.
And
Excision BioTherapeutics says after 48 weeks, three HIV-positive volunteers had
no serious side effects.
But
Dr Jonathan Stoye, a virologist at the Francis Crick Institute, in London, said
removing HIV from all the cells that could harbor it in the body was a
"huge challenge".
"Off-target
effects of treatment, as well as possible long-term effects, remain a
concern," he said.
"So
it seems likely that it will be many years before a therapy like Crispr becomes
commonplace, even if it can be shown to be effective."
Most
people with HIV need long-term antiretroviral therapy. If they stop taking
these drugs, the dormant virus can reawaken and cause problems again.
A
few have been found to be "cured", after aggressive cancer treatment
has wiped out some of their infected cells, but this alone cannot be
recommended to treat HIV.