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| HIV tests show negative and positive results in Medecins Sans Frontieres-Holland (AZG)'s clinic in Yangon (Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) |
HIV
particles could soon be harnessed in a new way to treat hereditary diseases and
the virus itself. Researchers have succeeded in altering HIV particles to
repair human genomes in a process known as the “hit-and-run” technique.
The new
technology being developed by Aarhus University in Denmark works by “cutting
and sticking” in the human genome using modified HIV particles. The altered
particles are effectively transformed into vessels to carry "scissors” -
to cut out the faulty part of a genome, and biological material - to patch the
hole.
The
potential applications of such a technique could be used to treat hereditary
diseases, as well as HIV itself, writes Aarhus University in a press release on
their website.
"Now
we can simultaneously cut out the part of the genome that is broken in sick
cells, and patch the gap that arises in the genetic information which we have
removed from the genome,” says associate professor in genetics, Jacob Giehm
Mikkelsen, of Aarhus University.
He said the
new technology equips the HIV particles with both the “scissors and the patch
in a fashion that no one else has done before."
Previous
research in HIV has shown that HIV particles can be transformed into vessels
for genetic data, but the new technique has refined this process and made it
safer.
"In
the past, the gene for the scissors has been [sic] transferred to the cells,
which is dangerous because the cell keeps on producing scissors which can start
cutting uncontrollably,” said Mikkelsen. The new “hit-and-run” process uses
scissors made from a form of protein, which only function for a couple of hours
before dissipating.
"We
call this a 'hit-and-run' technique because the process is fast and leaves no
traces,” said Mikkelsen.
The process
could also be employed in the fight against HIV, researchers say. The
“hit-and-run” technique could be used to modify cells to make them resistant to
the HIV infection.
"So in
this way HIV can in time become a tool in the fight against HIV," says
postdoc and PhD Yujia Cai of the research team.
Researchers
have made headway this year in the search for HIV treatment. In January, the
Immunity Project announced it was developing a vaccine for HIV based on the
cells of rare “controllers” who are naturally immune to the virus.
It uses a
machine-learning algorithm to examine the cells of these individuals and then
to recreate the same resistance in others.
The
project’s creators say that a working vaccine could be made available to the
public by 2016.
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