Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco have created modified white cells with HIV resistance by editing genomes of stem cells which replicates the CCR5 delta 32 mutation found in small number of people in Europe.

Modified White Cells with HIV Resistance

Yuet Wai Kan and his team at the University of California in San Francisco have created white cells that feature the unique ability to resist HIV infection. The research team edited the genomes of induced pluripotent stem cells and inserted the genes with a mutation that resists HIV.

However, these white blood cells bearing the resistance against HIV are not the CD+4 T-cell type which was the original concept on creating HIV-resistant cells. According to MedicalXpress, Kan and his team preferred a solution on recreating the effects of CCR5 delta 32 mutation in pluripotent stem cells which may lead to the possibility of engineering HIV resistance on every cell type.

How Did They Do It?

The new method utilised a system called CRISPR-Cas9 that edits the genes of the iPSCs. It is a bacterial immune system that works by splicing DNA from invading pathogens such as viruses into the bacteria's own DNA.

Using Cas9, a protein can be derived from bacteria to enable introduction of a double strand break at the genome then incorporated with a virus part into the genome. As an effect, it acts as a warning signal to other cells.

Possible Downsides

Since one of the effects of the research is to replicate CCR5 delta 32 mutation found in a limited number of people Europe, certain risks must be considered. People carrying the mutation are usually healthy and the research team didn't expect any problems that can be caused by the new strategy.

But as a part of the medical world, doctors do not desire to inflict dangerous side effects as part of the stem cell treatment against HIV. Mutation risks other than CCR5 delta 32 is not yet confirmed at this time as the research continues to develop. Fortunately, the new technique caught the attention of other research groups on modifying genes easily.

"This is an old idea with an extensive literature that is being updated in this paper with the use of the new CRISPR technology which makes it much easier to modify human genes," statement of Louis Picker of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at Oregon Health and Science University to Wired.co.uk.

Timothy Ray Brown's miraculous cure from bone marrow transplant donor carrying CCR5 delta 32 is not an applicable option to the masses due to its high cost and life-threatening method. Kan and his research team may succeed to enable stem cell therapy as a possible effective HIV treatment by allowing the body to supply its own HIV-resistance cells.