The TAU study proposes a novel treatment for AIDS that could develop into a vaccine or a one-time HIV treatment.
The research examined at how type B white blood cells can be altered so that they can respond to the HIV infection by producing anti-HIV antibodies. B cells are a kind of WBC that produces antibodies that are effective against bacteria, viruses, and other diseases. B lymphocytes are formed in the bone marrow. During maturation, B cells move into the blood and lymphatic system before moving to different parts of the body.
The study was conducted by Dr. Adi Barzel and the Ph.D. student Alessio Nehmad, both from the school of neurobiology, biochemistry, and biophysics at the George S. Wise Faculty of life sciences and the Dotan Center for Advanced Therapies in the collaboration with the Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov).Additional researchers from Israel and the US collaborated on the study’s execution. The study was published in the renowned Journal Nature.
Only a few scientists, including them, according to Dr. Barzel, had been able to create B cells outside of the body. They were the first to achieve this within the body and make those cells to generate the desired antibodies. The genetic engineering is conducted using viral carriers derived from viruses that were also engineered. They did this in order to avoid any damages and solely bring the gene coded for the antibody into the B cells in the body.
Genetic modification was carried out using CRISPR(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats). This technology is based on the bacterial immune system against viruses. Bacteria use the CRISPR systems as a kind of molecular “search engine” to find and deactivate viral sequences.
“Genetic engineering is done with viral carriers derived from viruses that were engineered so as not to cause damage but only to bring the gene coded for the antibody into the B cells in the body.
“Additionally, in this case, we have been able to accurately introduce the antibodies into a desired site in the B cell genome. All model animals who had been administered the treatment responded and had high quantities of the desired antibody in their blood. We produced the antibody from the blood and made sure it was actually effective in neutralizing the HIV virus in the lab dish.”
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, two biochemists who had figured out the complex defence mechanism, were able to reroute for the cleavage of any DNA of choice. Since then, the technology has been used to either repair and introduce desired genes or inhibit undesirable genes. When Doudna and Charpentier won the chemistry Nobel Prize in 2020, they gained recognition on a global scale.
Alessio Nehmad, a Ph.D. student, explains how CRISPR is used:“We incorporate the capability of a CRISPR to direct the introduction of genes into desired sites along with the capabilities of viral carriers to bring desired genes to desired cells. Thus, we are able to engineer the B cells inside the patient’s body.
The researchers point out that there are many opportunities for research because there is currently no genetic cure for AIDS. “We have developed a novel medication that may eliminate the virus with a single injection and has the potential to significantly improve the patient’s condition,” says Dr. Barzel in his conclusion. When modified B cells come into contact with the virus, the virus stimulates and urges them to divide; hence, we are employing the disease’s fundamental cause to attack it. Additionally, if the virus evolves, so will the B cells in order to resist it. We have therefore developed the first drug that can evolve in the body, and defeat viruses in the ‘arms race’.
The researchers also believe that in the next few years they will be able to produce drugs to treat AIDS, other infectious disorders, and some cancers caused by viruses, such as cervical cancer, head and neck cancer, and others.