Aug 2026· Human Gene Therapy· pp.
10430342261463565
· 0 citations· 38 references
Medicine
TL;DR
The combination knockout of CCR5, MOGS, and viral sequences profoundly reduces HIV-1 replication in an ex vivo cellular model, that is, HIV-1-infected peripheral blood mononuclear human cells, thus offering a pathway to launch further preclinical studies.
Abstract
Total elimination of replication-competent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) remains a major clinical challenge, in part due to random integration of the proviral DNA into host cell chromosomes, which enables lifelong persistence and production of progeny. Although antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) suppress viral replication, they cannot eliminate integrated proviral DNA, which remains a fundamental obstacle to achieving a cure. To overcome this problem, we developed a combinatorial clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-Cas9 gene editing strategy to disrupt viral replication and inactivate host factors essential for HIV-1 entry and spread. This approach targets C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5), a chemokine receptor central to HIV-1 host cell entry, and mannosyl-oligosaccharide glucosidase (MOGS), a key enzyme in glycoprotein processing that modifies the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120, facilitating receptor engagement, viral entry, and morphogenesis of infectious virion. We demonstrate that our strategy, which includes editing of the integrated proviral DNA, in concert with two cellular genes whose products facilitate viral entry, results in robust suppression of viral replication in vitro and in ex vivo-infected cells. Using transmission electron microscopy, HIV-1 p24 ELISA, and GFP-based viral infection assays, we show that the combination knockout of CCR5, MOGS, and viral sequences profoundly reduces HIV-1 replication in an ex vivo cellular model, that is, HIV-1-infected peripheral blood mononuclear human cells, thus offering a pathway to launch further preclinical studies.
HIV-SCRIBE is developed, a CRISPR-based molecular recorder in which a self-targeting guide RNA locus is placed under a Tat-responsive minimal HIV-1 5'LTR promoter, coupling Cas9-mediated cleavage and error-prone repair to Tat-driven transcriptional activation to generate a durable molecular record of HIV-1 reactivation and, more broadly, of cell-type-specific CRISPR editing dynamics.
Nahia Urturi Ortiz, M. Nonnemacher, Brian Wigdahl· 0 citations
A proof-of-concept study supports the promise of CD4-NBs as a minimally invasive, CD4⁺ cell-targeted gene editing strategy for HIV therapy and reduces viremia in ART-pretreated humanized mice.
Jolien Van Cleemput, Maaike De Cock, R. Verbeek et al.· EMBO Molecular Medicine· 0 citations
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an enveloped virus with a remarkable capacity for genetic diversification, enabling rapid escape from host immune responses and therapeutic interventions. Despite extensive global efforts, the development of an effective vaccine has remained elusive owing to the virus’s high genetic variability and antigenic diversity. Consequently, considerable effort has been directed toward the development of therapeutic agents targeting viral entry, reverse transcriptase, integrase, protease, and more recently, capsid. Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains the cornerstone of HIV treatment, it is associated with challenges including drug resistance, adverse side effects, and limitations in access and affordability. Targeting viral entry offers distinct advantages by blocking infection at the earliest stage of the viral life cycle and enabling the neutralization of free virions, as well as Fc-mediated elimination of HIV-infected cells in some cases. This review highlights promising protein-based HIV entry inhibitors that have demonstrated efficacy in preclinical studies, and discusses ongoing efforts to optimize their valency, avidity, specificity, serum half-life, effector functions, and production platforms to improve their therapeutic potential and economic feasibility.
Rashmi Kumariya, Carole A. Bewley· Biomolecules· 0 citations
It is proposed that defective HIV proviruses contribute to chronic inflammation in PWH through an MDA5-dependent induction of type I interferon pathways.
Jonathan Kilroy, Aparna Deokar, Samantha Patalano et al.· Journal of Virology· 0 citations
D10 is the first Tat activator available and the first LRA that targets an HIV protein, and induces strong HIV production by latent cell lines and latent cells from people living with HIV-1.
P. Tong, Laetitia Marty, Nawel Chekrit et al.· bioRxiv· 0 citations
The efficiency of cell culture-based vaccine production is fundamentally constrained by the antiviral defenses of host cells, creating a major bottleneck for rapid and large-scale vaccine manufacturing. Key antiviral proteins-such as RNase L, PKR, and JAK1 act as intrinsic brakes on viral replication, limiting efficient propagation of many clinically relevant viruses. To overcome this challenge, we generated HEK293T, Vero, and MDCK cell lines with targeted knockouts of multiple antiviral genes. Notably, these engineered cells maintained normal growth and viability while supporting markedly increased viral yields. Multi-gene deletions enhance the replication of both enveloped viruses, including influenza A virus, pseudotyped lentivirus, and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), and non-enveloped viruses such as coxsackievirus. The magnitude of enhancement scaled proportionally with the number of genes disrupted. By systematically removing host restriction factors, this platform provides a versatile and powerful strategy for accelerating viral propagation, offering a strong foundation for more efficient development and large-scale production of cell culture-based anti-viral vaccines.
Zhengmei Xu, Jaemyeong Jeon, Jinsoo Oh et al.· Frontiers in Bioengineering...· 0 citations
