CRISPR-Cas9 used successfully in the laboratory against HIV-related virus

HTLV-1 triggers aggressive forms of leukemia or an incurable spinal cord disease that leads to paralysis: the virus is the often ignored but no less insidious sibling of the HIV virus that causes AIDS and also belongs to the family of retroviruses. A group of researchers from TU Dresden, the company PROVIREX Genome Editing Therapies and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have now provided initial proof of concept for a potential therapeutic approach.