Scientists Use CRISPR Tool in Attempt to Cure HIV

FRIDAY, Sept. 13, 2019 — The first attempt to use the gene-editing tool CRISPR to cure HIV infection was unsuccessful but the approach does show promise.

Chinese researchers used the tool to give a patient blood cells that were altered to resist the AIDS-causing virus, the Associated Press reported.

The study was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

It’s the first published report of trying to use CRISPR to treat a disease in an adult, according to the AP.

Even though CRISPR did not cure the patient’s HIV infection, the gene-editing tool appears precise and safe in the patient and appears to hold promise, said Dr. Carl June, a University of Pennsylvania genetics expert who wrote an accompanying commentary in the journal.

“That’s really good for the field,” June told the AP.