HIV-AIDS cure underway? Israeli experts develop new vaccine by gene editing for patients

Bio-engineers from Israel’s Tel Aviv University (TAU) have demonstrated a new technology that can be used to treat patients infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV, as we know it, attacks the immune system following which the person develops the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). In their paper published in the journal Nature, the experts revealed that their technology involves a gene-editing technique through which they can manipulate cells of the immune system to produce HIV-neutralizing antibodies. 

Using this technique, the experts are now planning to develop a one-time vaccine for HIV treatment. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV first emerged in Chimpanzees in Central Africa and jumped onto humans in the late 1800s. Two centuries later, there still is no cure for AIDS, however, the TAU experts are confident about producing medication for the disease. 

How does the new technique work?

Explaining their method of treatment, the experts revealed that by engineering type-B white blood cells, they can activate the immune system to produce antibodies against HIV.

"When the engineered B cells encounter the virus, the virus stimulates and encourages them to divide, so we are utilizing the very cause of the disease to combat it. Furthermore, if the virus changes, the B cells will also change accordingly in order to combat it, so we have created the first medication ever that can evolve in the body and defeat viruses in the 'arms race", Dr. Adi Barzel, lead author of the study said in a statement.

These B cells are a type of white blood cells that are mainly formed in the bone marrow and produce antibodies and produce antibodies against viruses and bacteria. Once produced, these B cells move into the blood and lymphatic system and eventually to the entire body after maturing. According to Dr. Barzel, this was the first time ever when the B cells were engineered inside the body and made to produce the desired antibodies. "We did this to avoid causing any damage, and solely bring the gene coded for the antibody into the B cells in the body", he said. 

While it was just a trial, Dr. Barzel believes that this study would pave the way for HIV treatment along with other infectious diseases such as cervical cancer, head and neck cancer and more.