Designer nucleases: Gene-editing therapies using CCR5 as an emerging target in HIV.

Designer nucleases: Gene-editing therapies using CCR5 as an emerging target in HIV. Curr HIV Res. 2019 Oct 25;: Authors: Almeida MJ, Matos A Abstract Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), caused by Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is a life-threatening disorder that persists worldwide as a severe health problem. Since it was connected with HIV attachment process, the Chemokine receptor CCR5 has been at the development leading edge of several gene-based therapies. Given the shortcomings of the current anti-retroviral treatment procedure and the non-availability of a licensed vaccine, the aptitude to modify complex genomes with Designer Nucleases has had a noteworthy impact on biotechnology. Over the last years, ZFN, TALEN and CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology has appeared as a promising solution that mimics the natural occurring CCR5/Δ32 mutation and then permanently guarantees the absence of CCR5-expression on HIV target-cells surface, leading to a continuous resistance to the virus entry and, ultimately, proving that cellular immunization from infection could be, in fact, a conceivable therapeutic approach to finally achieve the long-awaited HIV functional cure. PMID: 31652113 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current HIV Research - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Curr HIV Res Source Type: research