1
|
Vasconcelos Komninakis S, Domingues W, Saeed Sanabani S, Angelo Folgosi V, Neves Barbosa I, Casseb J. CRISPR/CAS as a Powerful Tool for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Cure: A Review. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2024; 40:363-375. [PMID: 38164106 DOI: 10.1089/aid.2022.0148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite care and the availability of effective antiretroviral treatment, some human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals suffer from neurocognitive disorders associated with HIV (HAND) that significantly affect their quality of life. The different types of HAND can be divided into asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment, mild neurocognitive disorder, and the most severe form known as HIV-associated dementia. Little is known about the mechanisms of HAND, but it is thought to be related to infection of astrocytes, microglial cells, and macrophages in the human brain. The formation of a viral reservoir that lies dormant as a provirus in resting CD4+ T lymphocytes and in refuge tissues such as the brain contributes significantly to HIV eradication. In recent years, a new set of tools have emerged: the gene editing based on the clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system, which can alter genome segments by insertion, deletion, and replacement and has great therapeutic potential. This technology has been used in research to treat HIV and appears to offer hope for a possible cure for HIV infection and perhaps prevention of HAND. This approach has the potential to directly impact the quality of life of HIV-infected individuals, which is a very important topic to be known and discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shirley Vasconcelos Komninakis
- Laboratory of Medical Investigation (LIM56) of the School of Medicine/Institute de Tropical Medicine, Department of Dermatology, São Paulo University, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Wilson Domingues
- Laboratory of Medical Investigation (LIM56) of the School of Medicine/Institute de Tropical Medicine, Department of Dermatology, São Paulo University, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sabri Saeed Sanabani
- Laboratory of Medical Investigation (LIM56) of the School of Medicine/Institute de Tropical Medicine, Department of Dermatology, São Paulo University, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Victor Angelo Folgosi
- Laboratory of Medical Investigation (LIM56) of the School of Medicine/Institute de Tropical Medicine, Department of Dermatology, São Paulo University, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Igor Neves Barbosa
- Institute of Genetic Biology at the Biological Institute of São Paulo University, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jorge Casseb
- Laboratory of Medical Investigation (LIM56) of the School of Medicine/Institute de Tropical Medicine, Department of Dermatology, São Paulo University, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Dimapasoc M, Moran JA, Cole SW, Ranjan A, Hourani R, Kim JT, Wender PA, Marsden MD, Zack JA. Defining the Effects of PKC Modulator HIV Latency-Reversing Agents on Natural Killer Cells. Pathog Immun 2024; 9:108-137. [PMID: 38765786 PMCID: PMC11101012 DOI: 10.20411/pai.v9i1.673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Latency reversing agents (LRAs) such as protein kinase C (PKC) modulators can reduce rebound-competent HIV reservoirs in small animal models. Furthermore, administration of natural killer (NK) cells following LRA treatment improves this reservoir reduction. It is currently unknown why the combination of a PKC modulator and NK cells is so potent and whether exposure to PKC modulators may augment NK cell function in some way. Methods Primary human NK cells were treated with PKC modulators (bryostatin-1, prostratin, or the designed, synthetic bryostatin-1 analog SUW133), and evaluated by examining expression of activation markers by flow cytometry, analyzing transcriptomic profiles by RNA sequencing, measuring cytotoxicity by co-culturing with K562 cells, assessing cytokine production by Luminex assay, and examining the ability of cytokines and secreted factors to independently reverse HIV latency by co-culturing with Jurkat-Latency (J-Lat) cells. Results PKC modulators increased expression of proteins involved in NK cell activation. Transcriptomic profiles from PKC-treated NK cells displayed signatures of cellular activation and enrichment of genes associated with the NFκB pathway. NK cell cytotoxicity was unaffected by prostratin but significantly decreased by bryostatin-1 and SUW133. Cytokines from PKC-stimulated NK cells did not induce latency reversal in J-Lat cell lines. Conclusions Although PKC modulators have some significant effects on NK cells, their contribution in "kick and kill" strategies is likely due to upregulating HIV expression in CD4+ T cells, not directly enhancing the effector functions of NK cells. This suggests that PKC modulators are primarily augmenting the "kick" rather than the "kill" arm of this HIV cure approach.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Dimapasoc
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jose A. Moran
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, California
| | - Steve W. Cole
- UCLA Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Alok Ranjan
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Rami Hourani
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Jocelyn T. Kim
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Paul A. Wender
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Matthew D. Marsden
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, California
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Jerome A. Zack
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Li K, Zhang Q. Eliminating the HIV tissue reservoir: current strategies and challenges. Infect Dis (Lond) 2024; 56:165-182. [PMID: 38149977 DOI: 10.1080/23744235.2023.2298450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is still one of the most widespread and harmful infectious diseases in the world. The presence of reservoirs housing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) represents a significant impediment to the development of clinically applicable treatments on a large scale. The viral load in the blood can be effectively reduced to undetectable levels through antiretroviral therapy (ART), and a higher concentration of HIV is sequestered in various tissues throughout the body, forming the tissue reservoir - the source of viremia after interruption treatment. METHODS We take the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) as a guideline for this review. In June 2023, we used the Pubmed, Embase, and Scopus databases to search the relevant literature published in the last decade. RESULTS Here we review the current strategies and treatments for eliminating the HIV tissue reservoirs: early and intensive therapy, gene therapy (including ribozyme, RNA interference, RNA aptamer, zinc finger enzyme, transcriptional activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/associated nuclease 9 (CRISPR/Cas9)), 'Shock and Kill', 'Block and lock', immunotherapy (including therapeutic vaccines, broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs), chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapy (CAR-T)), and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). CONCLUSION The existence of an HIV reservoir is the main obstacle to the complete cure of AIDS. Choosing the appropriate strategy to deplete the HIV reservoir and achieve a functional cure for AIDS is the focus and difficulty of current research. So far, there has been a lot of research and progress in reducing the HIV reservoir, but in general, the current research is still very preliminary. Much research is still needed to properly assess the reliability, effectiveness, and necessity of these strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kangpeng Li
- National Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Qiang Zhang
- National Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
McLaurin KA, Li H, Khalili K, Mactutus CF, Booze RM. HIV-1 mRNA knockdown with CRISPR/CAS9 enhances neurocognitive function. J Neurovirol 2024; 30:71-85. [PMID: 38355914 PMCID: PMC11035469 DOI: 10.1007/s13365-024-01193-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Mixed glia are infiltrated with HIV-1 virus early in the course of infection leading to the development of a persistent viral reservoir in the central nervous system. Modification of the HIV-1 genome using gene editing techniques, including CRISPR/Cas9, has shown great promise towards eliminating HIV-1 viral reservoirs; whether these techniques are capable of removing HIV-1 viral proteins from mixed glia, however, has not been systematically evaluated. Herein, the efficacy of adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9)-CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing for eliminating HIV-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) from cortical mixed glia was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, a within-subjects experimental design was utilized to treat mixed glia isolated from neonatal HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) rats with varying doses (0, 0.9, 1.8, 2.7, 3.6, 4.5, or 5.4 µL corresponding to a physical titer of 0, 4.23 × 109, 8.46 × 109, 1.269 × 1010, 1.692 × 1010, 2.115 × 1010, and 2.538 × 1010 gc/µL) of CRISPR/Cas9 for 72 h. Dose-dependent decreases in the number of HIV-1 mRNA, quantified using an innovative in situ hybridization technique, were observed in a subset (i.e., n = 5 out of 8) of primary mixed glia. In vivo, HIV-1 Tg rats were retro-orbitally inoculated with CRISPR/Cas9 for two weeks, whereby treatment resulted in profound excision (i.e., approximately 53.2%) of HIV-1 mRNA from the medial prefrontal cortex. Given incomplete excision of the HIV-1 viral genome, the clinical relevance of HIV-1 mRNA knockdown for eliminating neurocognitive impairments was evaluated via examination of temporal processing, a putative neurobehavioral mechanism underlying HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Indeed, treatment with CRISPR/Cas9 protractedly, albeit not permanently, restored the developmental trajectory of temporal processing. Proof-of-concept studies, therefore, support the susceptibility of mixed glia to gene editing and the potential of CRISPR/Cas9 to serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for HAND, even in the absence of full viral eradication.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristen A McLaurin
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, Barnwell College, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 S Limestone Street, Lexington, KY, 40508, USA
| | - Hailong Li
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, Barnwell College, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
| | - Kamel Khalili
- Center for Neurovirology and Gene Editing, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Inflammation, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, 3500 N. Broad Street, 7th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA
| | - Charles F Mactutus
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, Barnwell College, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
| | - Rosemarie M Booze
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, Barnwell College, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
- Department of Psychology, Carolina Trustees Professor and Bicentennial Endowed Chair of Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Lyons DE, Kumar P, Roan NR, Defechereux PA, Feschotte C, Lange UC, Murthy N, Sameshima P, Verdin E, Ake JA, Parsons MS, Nath A, Gianella S, Smith DM, Kallas EG, Villa TJ, Strange R, Mwesigwa B, Furler O’Brien RL, Nixon DF, Ndhlovu LC, Valente ST, Ott M. HIV-1 Remission: Accelerating the Path to Permanent HIV-1 Silencing. Viruses 2023; 15:2171. [PMID: 38005849 PMCID: PMC10674359 DOI: 10.3390/v15112171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite remarkable progress, a cure for HIV-1 infection remains elusive. Rebound competent latent and transcriptionally active reservoir cells persevere despite antiretroviral therapy and rekindle infection due to inefficient proviral silencing. We propose a novel "block-lock-stop" approach, entailing long term durable silencing of viral expression towards an irreversible transcriptionally inactive latent provirus to achieve long term antiretroviral free control of the virus. A graded transformation of remnant HIV-1 in PLWH from persistent into silent to permanently defective proviruses is proposed, emulating and accelerating the natural path that human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) take over millions of years. This hypothesis was based on research into delineating the mechanisms of HIV-1 latency, lessons from latency reversing agents and advances of Tat inhibitors, as well as expertise in the biology of HERVs. Insights from elite controllers and the availability of advanced genome engineering technologies for the direct excision of remnant virus set the stage for a rapid path to an HIV-1 cure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danielle E. Lyons
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Priti Kumar
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA;
| | - Nadia R. Roan
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Patricia A. Defechereux
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Cedric Feschotte
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | | | - Niren Murthy
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;
- Innovative Genomics Institute, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Pauline Sameshima
- Faculty of Education, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada;
| | - Eric Verdin
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945, USA
| | - Julie A. Ake
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA (M.S.P.)
| | - Matthew S. Parsons
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA (M.S.P.)
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA
- Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
| | - Avindra Nath
- Section of Infections of the Nervous System, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20824, USA;
| | - Sara Gianella
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Davey M. Smith
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Esper G. Kallas
- Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo 04023-900, Brazil
| | - Thomas J. Villa
- HOPE Martin Delaney Collaboratory for HIV Cure Research Community Engagement Ambassador, Washinton, DC 20004, USA (R.S.)
- National HIV & Aging Advocacy Network, Washington, DC 20004, USA
| | - Richard Strange
- HOPE Martin Delaney Collaboratory for HIV Cure Research Community Engagement Ambassador, Washinton, DC 20004, USA (R.S.)
| | - Betty Mwesigwa
- Research Department, Makerere University Walter Reed Project, Kampala P.O Box 7062, Uganda
| | - Robert L. Furler O’Brien
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Douglas F. Nixon
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Lishomwa C. Ndhlovu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Susana T. Valente
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Melanie Ott
- Gladstone Institute of Virology, Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
McLaurin KA, Li H, Khalili K, Mactutus CF, Booze RM. HIV-1 mRNA Knockdown with CRISPR/Cas9 Enhances Neurocognitive Function. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3266933. [PMID: 37886577 PMCID: PMC10602171 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3266933/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Mixed glia are infiltrated with HIV-1 virus early in the course of infection leading to the development of a persistent viral reservoir in the central nervous system. Modification of the HIV-1 genome using gene editing techniques, including CRISPR/Cas9, has shown great promise towards eliminating HIV-1 viral reservoirs; whether these techniques are capable of removing HIV-1 viral proteins from mixed glia, however, has not been systematically evaluated. Herein, the efficacy of adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9)-CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing for eliminating HIV-1 mRNA from cortical mixed glia was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, a within-subjects experimental design was utilized to treat mixed glia isolated from neonatal HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) rats with varying doses (0, 0.9, 1.8, 2.7, 3.6, 4.5, or 5.4 μL) of CRISPR/Cas9 for 72 hours. Dose-dependent decreases in the number of HIV-1 mRNA, quantified using an innovative in situ hybridization technique, were observed in a subset (i.e., n=5 out of 8) of primary mixed glia. In vivo, HIV-1 Tg rats were retro-orbitally inoculated with CRISPR/Cas9 for two weeks, whereby treatment resulted in profound excision (i.e., approximately 53.2%) of HIV-1 mRNA from the mPFC. Given incomplete excision of the HIV-1 viral genome, the clinical relevance of HIV-1 mRNA knockdown for eliminating neurocognitive impairments was evaluated via examination of temporal processing, a putative neurobehavioral mechanism underlying HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Indeed, treatment with CRISPR/Cas9 partially restored the developmental trajectory of temporal processing. Proof-of-concept studies, therefore, support the susceptibility of mixed glia to gene editing and the potential of CRISPR/Cas9 to serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for HAND, even in the absence of full viral eradication.
Collapse
|
7
|
Rojo-Romanos T, Karpinski J, Millen S, Beschorner N, Simon F, Paszkowski-Rogacz M, Lansing F, Schneider PM, Sonntag J, Hauber J, Thoma-Kress AK, Buchholz F. Precise excision of HTLV-1 provirus with a designer-recombinase. Mol Ther 2023; 31:2266-2285. [PMID: 36934299 PMCID: PMC10362392 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2023.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a pathogenic retrovirus that persists as a provirus in the genome of infected cells and can lead to adult T cell leukemia (ATL). Worldwide, more than 10 million people are infected and approximately 5% of these individuals will develop ATL, a highly aggressive cancer that is currently incurable. In the last years, genome editing tools have emerged as promising antiviral agents. In this proof-of-concept study, we use substrate-linked directed evolution (SLiDE) to engineer Cre-derived site-specific recombinases to excise the HTLV-1 proviral genome from infected cells. We identified a conserved loxP-like sequence (loxHTLV) present in the long terminal repeats of the majority of virus isolates. After 181 cycles of SLiDE, we isolated a designer-recombinase (designated RecHTLV), which efficiently recombines the loxHTLV sequence in bacteria and human cells with high specificity. Expression of RecHTLV in human Jurkat T cells resulted in antiviral activity when challenged with an HTLV-1 infection. Moreover, expression of RecHTLV in chronically infected SP cells led to the excision of HTLV-1 proviral DNA. Our data suggest that recombinase-mediated excision of the HTLV-1 provirus represents a promising approach to reduce proviral load in HTLV-1-infected individuals, potentially preventing the development of HTLV-1-associated diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Rojo-Romanos
- Medical Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Janet Karpinski
- Medical Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Sebastian Millen
- Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Niklas Beschorner
- PROVIREX Genome Editing Therapies GmbH, Luruper Hauptstrasse 1, 22547 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Florian Simon
- Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Maciej Paszkowski-Rogacz
- Medical Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Felix Lansing
- Medical Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Paul Martin Schneider
- Medical Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Jan Sonntag
- Medical Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Joachim Hauber
- PROVIREX Genome Editing Therapies GmbH, Luruper Hauptstrasse 1, 22547 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andrea K Thoma-Kress
- Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Frank Buchholz
- Medical Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ramirez PW, Pantoja C, Beliakova-Bethell N. An Evaluation on the Role of Non-Coding RNA in HIV Transcription and Latency: A Review. HIV AIDS (Auckl) 2023; 15:115-134. [PMID: 36942082 PMCID: PMC10024501 DOI: 10.2147/hiv.s383347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The existence of latent cellular reservoirs is recognized as the major barrier to an HIV cure. Reactivating and eliminating "shock and kill" or permanently silencing "block and lock" the latent HIV reservoir, as well as gene editing, remain promising approaches, but so far have proven to be only partially successful. Moreover, using latency reversing agents or "block and lock" drugs pose additional considerations, including the ability to cause cellular toxicity, a potential lack of specificity for HIV, or low potency when each agent is used alone. RNA molecules, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are becoming increasingly recognized as important regulators of gene expression. RNA-based approaches for combatting HIV latency represent a promising strategy since both miRNAs and lncRNAs are more cell-type and tissue specific than protein coding genes. Thus, a higher specificity of targeting the latent HIV reservoir with less overall cellular toxicity can likely be achieved. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about HIV gene expression regulation by miRNAs and lncRNAs encoded in the human genome, as well as regulatory molecules encoded in the HIV genome. We discuss both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of HIV gene expression to align with the current definition of latency, and describe RNA molecules that either promote HIV latency or have anti-latency properties. Finally, we provide perspectives on using each class of RNAs as potential targets for combatting HIV latency, and describe the complexity of the interactions between different RNA molecules, their protein targets, and HIV.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter W Ramirez
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA
| | - Christina Pantoja
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA
| | - Nadejda Beliakova-Bethell
- VA San Diego Healthcare System and Veterans Medical Research Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Yan J, Nie DH, Bai CS, Rehman A, Yang A, Mou XL, Zhang YQ, Xu YQ, Xiang QQ, Ren YT, Xu JL, Wang MR, Feng Y, Chen XP, Xiong Y, Hu HT, Xiong HR, Hou W. Fentanyl enhances HIV infection in vitro. Virology 2022; 577:43-50. [PMID: 36279602 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2022.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has a high tendency among illicit drug abusers. Recently, it is reported that abuse of fentanyl, a potent synthetic μ receptor-stimulating opioid, is an independent risk factor for HIV-1 infection. However, the mechanism of action in augmenting HIV-1 infection still remains elusive. In this study, we found that fentanyl enhanced infection of HIV-1 in MT2 cells, primary macrophages and Jurkat C11 cells. Fentanyl up-regulated CXCR4 and CCR5 receptor expression, which facilitated the entry of virion into host cells. In addition, it down-regulated interferon-β (IFN-β) and interferon-stimulated genes (APOBEC3F, APOBEC3G and MxB) expression in MT2 cells. Our findings identify an essential role of fentanyl in the positive regulation of HIV-1 infection via the upregulation of co-receptors (CXCR4/CCR5) and downregulation of IFN-β and ISGs, and it may have an important role in HIV-1 immunopathogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Dong-Hang Nie
- Blood Center of Wuhan, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei Province, China
| | - Cheng-Si Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Abdul Rehman
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - An Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xiao-Li Mou
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Yu-Qing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Ying-Qi Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Qing-Qing Xiang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Yu-Ting Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Jia-le Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Mei-Rong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Yong Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xiao-Ping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Yong Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China
| | - Hai-Tao Hu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, 77555, USA
| | - Hai-Rong Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China.
| | - Wei Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Virology/ Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences/Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, China; Wuhan University Shenzhen Research Institute, South Keyuan Road, Scien&Tech Garden, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
McLaurin KA, Cranston MN, Li H, Mactutus CF, Harrod SB, Booze RM. Synaptic dysfunction is associated with alterations in the initiation of goal-directed behaviors: Implications for HIV-1-associated apathy. Exp Neurol 2022; 357:114174. [PMID: 35863502 PMCID: PMC9990912 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Individuals living with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) exhibit an increased prevalence of neuropsychiatric comorbities (e.g., apathy) relative to their seronegative counterparts. Given the profound functional consequences associated with apathy, characterizing the multidimensional neuropsychiatric syndrome, and associated neural mechanisms, following chronic HIV-1 viral protein exposure remains a critical need. HIV-1-associated apathy was examined by quantifying goal-directed behaviors, indexed using voluntary wheel running, during the diurnal and nocturnal cycle. Apathetic behaviors in the HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) rat were characterized by a profound decrease in the number of running bouts during both the diurnal and nocturnal cycle, supporting a prominent deficit in the self-initiation of spontaneous behaviors. Additionally, HIV-1 Tg animals exhibited a decreased reinforcing efficacy of voluntary wheel running during the nocturnal cycle. Following the completion of voluntary wheel running, synaptic dysfunction in medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the nucleus accumbens core (NAcc) was examined as a potential neural mechanism underlying HIV-1-associated apathy. HIV-1 Tg animals displayed prominent synaptic dysfunction in MSNs of the NAcc, characterized by enhanced dendritic branching complexity and a population shift towards an immature dendritic spine phenotype relative to control animals. Synaptic dysfunction, which accounted for 42.0% to 68.5% of the variance in the number of running bouts, was strongly associated with the self-initiation of spontaneous behaviors. Establishment of the relationship between synaptic dysfunction and apathy affords a key target for the development of novel therapeutics and cure strategies for affective alterations associated with HIV-1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristen A McLaurin
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States of America
| | - Michael N Cranston
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States of America
| | - Hailong Li
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States of America
| | - Charles F Mactutus
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States of America
| | - Steven B Harrod
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States of America
| | - Rosemarie M Booze
- Cognitive and Neural Science Program, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States of America.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Yang X, Zhao X, Zhu Y, Xun J, Wen Q, Pan H, Yang J, Wang J, Liang Z, Shen X, Liang Y, Lin Q, Liang H, Li M, Chen J, Jiang S, Xu J, Lu H, Zhu H. FBXO34 promotes latent HIV-1 activation by post-transcriptional modulation. Emerg Microbes Infect 2022; 11:2785-2799. [PMID: 36285453 PMCID: PMC9665091 DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2022.2140605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cannot be completely cured, mainly due to the existence of a latent HIV-1 reservoir. However, our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of HIV-1 latent reservoir is not comprehensive. Here, using a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 activation library screening, we identified E3 ubiquitin ligase F-box protein 34 (FBXO34) and the substrate of FBXO34, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (hnRNP U) was identified by affinity purification mass spectrometry, as new host factors related to HIV-1 latent maintenance. Overexpression of FBXO34 or knockout of hnRNP U can activate latent HIV-1 in multiple latent cell lines. FBXO34 mainly promotes hnRNP U ubiquitination, which leads to hnRNP U degradation and abolishment of the interaction between hnRNP U and HIV-1 mRNA. In a latently infected cell line, hnRNP U interacts with the ReV region of HIV-1 mRNA through amino acids 1-339 to hinder HIV-1 translation, thereby, promoting HIV-1 latency. Importantly, we confirmed the role of the FBXO34/hnRNP U axis in the primary CD4+ T lymphocyte model, and detected differences in hnRNP U expression levels in samples from patients treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) and healthy people, which further suggests that the FBXO34/hnRNP U axis is a new pathway involved in HIV-1 latency. These results provide mechanistic insights into the critical role of ubiquitination and hnRNP U in HIV-1 latency. This novel FBXO34/hnRNP U axis in HIV transcription may be directly targeted to control HIV reservoirs in patients in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xinyi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Xiaying Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Yuqi Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jingna Xun
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
- Scientific Research Center, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qin Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Hanyu Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jinlong Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Zhimin Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Xiaoting Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Yue Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Qinru Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Huitong Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Min Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jun Chen
- Scientific Research Center, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shibo Jiang
- Department of Infectious Disease, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianqing Xu
- Department of Infectious Disease, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongzhou Lu
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Huanzhang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Kim TH, Lee SW. Therapeutic Application of Genome Editing Technologies in Viral Diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:5399. [PMID: 35628210 PMCID: PMC9140762 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23105399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Viral infections can be fatal and consequently, they are a serious threat to human health. Therefore, the development of vaccines and appropriate antiviral therapeutic agents is essential. Depending on the virus, it can cause an acute or a chronic infection. The characteristics of viruses can act as inhibiting factors for the development of appropriate treatment methods. Genome editing technology, including the use of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins, zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), is a technology that can directly target and modify genomic sequences in almost all eukaryotic cells. The development of this technology has greatly expanded its applicability in life science research and gene therapy development. Research on the use of this technology to develop therapeutics for viral diseases is being conducted for various purposes, such as eliminating latent infections or providing resistance to new infections. In this review, we will look at the current status of the development of viral therapeutic agents using genome editing technology and discuss how this technology can be used as a new treatment approach for viral diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tae Hyeong Kim
- Department of Molecular Biology, Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, Korea;
| | - Seong-Wook Lee
- Department of Bioconvergence Engineering, Research Institute of Advanced Omics, Dankook University, Yongin 16890, Korea
- R&D Center, Rznomics Inc., Seongnam 13486, Korea
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Magro G, Calistri A, Parolin C. Targeting and Understanding HIV Latency: The CRISPR System against the Provirus. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10101257. [PMID: 34684206 PMCID: PMC8539363 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10101257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence of latently infected cells and reservoirs in HIV-1 infected patients constitutes a significant obstacle to achieve a definitive cure. Despite the efforts dedicated to solve these issues, the mechanisms underlying viral latency are still under study. Thus, on the one hand, new strategies are needed to elucidate which factors are involved in latency establishment and maintenance. On the other hand, innovative therapeutic approaches aimed at eradicating HIV infection are explored. In this context, advances of the versatile CRISPR-Cas gene editing technology are extremely promising, by providing, among other advantages, the possibility to target the HIV-1 genome once integrated into cellular DNA (provirus) and/or host-specific genes involved in virus infection/latency. This system, up to now, has been employed with success in numerous in vitro and in vivo studies, highlighting its increasing significance in the field. In this review, we focus on the progresses made in the use of different CRISPR-Cas strategies to target the HIV-1 provirus, and we then discuss recent advancements in the use of CRISPR screens to elucidate the role of host-specific factors in viral latency.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Arianna Calistri
- Correspondence: (A.C.); (C.P.); Tel.: +39-049-827-2341 (A.C.); +39-049-827-2365 (C.P.)
| | - Cristina Parolin
- Correspondence: (A.C.); (C.P.); Tel.: +39-049-827-2341 (A.C.); +39-049-827-2365 (C.P.)
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
FKBP3 Induces Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Latency by Recruiting Histone Deacetylase 1/2 to the Viral Long Terminal Repeat. mBio 2021; 12:e0079521. [PMID: 34281390 PMCID: PMC8406261 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00795-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) cannot be completely eliminated because of existence of the latent HIV-1 reservoir. However, the facts of HIV-1 latency, including its establishment and maintenance, are incomplete. FKBP3, encoded by the FKBP3 gene, belongs to the immunophilin family of proteins and is involved in immunoregulation and such cellular processes as protein folding. In a previous study, we found that FKBP3 may be related to HIV-1 latency using CRISPR screening. In this study, we knocked out the FKBP3 gene in multiple latently infected cell lines to promote latent HIV-1 activation. We found that FKBP3 could indirectly bind to the HIV-1 long terminal repeat through interaction with YY1, thereby recruiting histone deacetylase 1/2 to it. This promotes histone deacetylation and induces HIV-1 latency. Finally, in a primary latent cell model, we confirmed the effect of FKBP3 knockout on the latent activation of HIV-1. Our results suggest a new mechanism for the epigenetic regulation of HIV-1 latency and a new potential target for activating latent HIV-1.
Collapse
|
15
|
Lungu C, Banga R, Gruters RA, Procopio FA. Inducible HIV-1 Reservoir Quantification: Clinical Relevance, Applications and Advancements of TILDA. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:686690. [PMID: 34211450 PMCID: PMC8239294 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.686690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The presence of a stable HIV-1 reservoir persisting over time despite effective antiretroviral suppression therapy precludes a cure for HIV-1. Characterizing and quantifying this residual reservoir is considered an essential prerequisite to develop and validate curative strategies. However, a sensitive, reproducible, cost-effective, and easily executable test is still needed. The quantitative viral outgrowth assay is considered the gold standard approach to quantify the reservoir in HIV-1-infected patients on suppressive ART, but it has several limitations. An alternative method to quantify the viral reservoir following the reactivation of latent HIV-1 provirus detects multiply-spliced tat/rev RNA (msRNA) molecules by real-time PCR [tat/rev induced limiting dilution assay (TILDA)]. This article provides a perspective overview of the clinical relevance, various applications, recent advancements of TILDA, and how the assay has contributed to our understanding of the HIV-1 reservoir.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia Lungu
- Department of Viroscience, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Riddhima Banga
- Department of Immunology and Allergy, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Rob A. Gruters
- Department of Viroscience, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Francesco A. Procopio
- Department of Immunology and Allergy, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland,*Correspondence: Francesco A. Procopio,
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Abeynaike S, Paust S. Humanized Mice for the Evaluation of Novel HIV-1 Therapies. Front Immunol 2021; 12:636775. [PMID: 33868262 PMCID: PMC8047330 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.636775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
With the discovery of antiretroviral therapy, HIV-1 infection has transitioned into a manageable but chronic illness, which requires lifelong treatment. Nevertheless, complete eradication of the virus has still eluded us. This is partly due to the virus’s ability to remain in a dormant state in tissue reservoirs, ‘hidden’ from the host’s immune system. Also, the high mutation rate of HIV-1 results in escape mutations in response to many therapeutics. Regardless, the development of novel cures for HIV-1 continues to move forward with a range of approaches from immunotherapy to gene editing. However, to evaluate in vivo pathogenesis and the efficacy and safety of therapeutic approaches, a suitable animal model is necessary. To this end, the humanized mouse was developed by McCune in 1988 and has continued to be improved on over the past 30 years. Here, we review the variety of humanized mouse models that have been utilized through the years and describe their specific contribution in translating HIV-1 cure strategies to the clinic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shawn Abeynaike
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States.,The Skaggs Graduate Program in Chemical and Biological Sciences, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Silke Paust
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States.,The Skaggs Graduate Program in Chemical and Biological Sciences, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Could gene therapy cure HIV? Life Sci 2021; 277:119451. [PMID: 33811896 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed almost 33 million lives so far. According to the recent report of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019, about 38 million people are living with AIDS. Hence, finding a solution to overcome this life-threatening virus can save millions of lives. Scientists and medical doctors have prescribed HIV patients with specific drugs for many years. Methods such antiretroviral therapy (ART) or latency-reversing agents (LRAs) have been used for a while to treat HIV patients, however they have some side effects and drawbacks causing their application to be not quite successful. Instead, the application of gene therapy which refers to the utilization of the therapeutic delivery of nucleic acids into a patient's cells as a drug to treat disease has shown promising results to control HIV infection. Therefore, in this review, we will summarize recent advances in gene therapy approach against HIV.
Collapse
|
18
|
Scott TA, O’Meally D, Grepo NA, Soemardy C, Lazar DC, Zheng Y, Weinberg MS, Planelles V, Morris KV. Broadly active zinc finger protein-guided transcriptional activation of HIV-1. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2021; 20:18-29. [PMID: 33335944 PMCID: PMC7726486 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2020.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) causes a persistent viral infection resulting in the demise of immune regulatory cells. Clearance of HIV-1 infection results in integration of proviral DNA into the genome of host cells, which provides a means for evasion and long-term persistence. A therapeutic compound that specifically targets and sustainably activates a latent HIV-1 provirus could be transformative and is the goal for the "shock-and-kill" approach to a functional cure for HIV-1. Substantial progress has been made toward the development of recombinant proteins that target specific genomic loci for gene activation, repression, or inactivation by directed mutations. However, most of these modalities are too large or too complex for efficient therapeutic application. We describe here the development and testing of a novel recombinant zinc finger protein transactivator, ZFP-362-VPR, which specifically and potently enhances proviral HIV-1 transcription both in established latency models and activity across different viral clades. Additionally, ZFP-362-VPR-activated HIV-1 reporter gene expression in a well-established primary human CD4+ T cell latency model and off-target pathways were determined by transcriptome analyses. This study provides clear proof of concept for the application of a novel, therapeutically relevant, protein transactivator to purge cellular reservoirs of HIV-1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tristan A. Scott
- Center for Gene Therapy, City of Hope, Beckman Research Institute and Hematological Malignancy and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute at the City of Hope, 1500 E. Duarte Rd., Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Denis O’Meally
- Center for Gene Therapy, City of Hope, Beckman Research Institute and Hematological Malignancy and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute at the City of Hope, 1500 E. Duarte Rd., Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Nicole Anne Grepo
- Center for Gene Therapy, City of Hope, Beckman Research Institute and Hematological Malignancy and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute at the City of Hope, 1500 E. Duarte Rd., Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Citradewi Soemardy
- Center for Gene Therapy, City of Hope, Beckman Research Institute and Hematological Malignancy and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute at the City of Hope, 1500 E. Duarte Rd., Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Daniel C. Lazar
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Yue Zheng
- University of Utah School of Medicine, Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, Salt Lake City, UT 92037, USA
| | - Marc S. Weinberg
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Wits-SAMRC Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit, Department of Molecular Medicine & Hematology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- HIV Pathogenesis Research Unit, Department of Molecular Medicine and Haematology, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Vicente Planelles
- University of Utah School of Medicine, Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, Salt Lake City, UT 92037, USA
| | - Kevin V. Morris
- Center for Gene Therapy, City of Hope, Beckman Research Institute and Hematological Malignancy and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute at the City of Hope, 1500 E. Duarte Rd., Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Cornu TI, Mussolino C, Müller MC, Wehr C, Kern WV, Cathomen T. HIV Gene Therapy: An Update. Hum Gene Ther 2021; 32:52-65. [PMID: 33349126 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2020.159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Progress in antiretroviral therapy has considerably reduced mortality and notably improved the quality of life of individuals infected with HIV since the pandemic began some 40 years ago. However, drug resistance, treatment-associated toxicity, adherence to medication, and the need for lifelong therapy have remained major challenges. While the development of an HIV vaccine has remained elusive, considerable progress in developing innovative cell and gene therapies to treat HIV infection has been made. This includes immune cell therapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cells to target HIV infected cells, as well as gene therapies and genome editing strategies to render the patient's immune system resistant to HIV. Nonetheless, all of these attempts to achieve a functional cure in HIV patients have failed thus far. This review introduces the clinical as well as the technical challenges of treating HIV infection, and summarizes the most promising cell and gene therapy concepts that have aspired to bring about functional cure for people living with HIV. It further discusses socioeconomic aspects as well as future directions for developing cell and gene therapies with a potential to be an effective one-time treatment with minimal toxicity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tatjana I Cornu
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Claudio Mussolino
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Matthias C Müller
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine II, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Department of Infection Medicine, Medical Care Center, MVZ Clotten, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Wehr
- Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Department of Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Winfried V Kern
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine II, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Toni Cathomen
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Hazafa A, Mumtaz M, Farooq MF, Bilal S, Chaudhry SN, Firdous M, Naeem H, Ullah MO, Yameen M, Mukhtiar MS, Zafar F. CRISPR/Cas9: A powerful genome editing technique for the treatment of cancer cells with present challenges and future directions. Life Sci 2020; 263:118525. [PMID: 33031826 PMCID: PMC7533657 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.118525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Cancer is one of the most leading causes of death and a major public health problem, universally. According to accumulated data, annually, approximately 8.5 million people died because of the lethality of cancer. Recently, a novel RNA domain-containing endonuclease-based genome engineering technology, namely the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated protein-9 (Cas9) have been proved as a powerful technique in the treatment of cancer cells due to its multifunctional properties including high specificity, accuracy, time reducing and cost-effective strategies with minimum off-target effects. The present review investigates the overview of recent studies on the newly developed genome-editing strategy, CRISPR/Cas9, as an excellent pre-clinical therapeutic option in the reduction and identification of new tumor target genes in the solid tumors. Based on accumulated data, we revealed that CRISPR/Cas9 significantly inhibited the robust tumor cell growth (breast, lung, liver, colorectal, and prostate) by targeting the oncogenes, tumor-suppressive genes, genes associated to therapies by inhibitors, genes associated to chemotherapies drug resistance, and suggested that CRISPR/Cas9 could be a potential therapeutic target in inhibiting the tumor cell growth by suppressing the cell-proliferation, metastasis, invasion and inducing the apoptosis during the treatment of malignancies in the near future. The present review also discussed the current challenges and barriers, and proposed future recommendations for a better understanding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abu Hazafa
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
| | - Muhammad Mumtaz
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Fras Farooq
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Shahid Bilal
- Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Sundas Nasir Chaudhry
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Musfira Firdous
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Huma Naeem
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Obaid Ullah
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Yameen
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
| | - Muhammad Shahid Mukhtiar
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Fatima Zafar
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Aristocratic human papillomavirus drove cervical cancer: a study of the therapeutic potential of the combination of interferon with zinc. Mol Cell Biochem 2020; 476:757-765. [PMID: 33099745 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-020-03941-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is related to cancer growth of vaginal, cervical, vulva, penile, anogenital, and non-genital oropharyngeal sites. HPV, as a sexually transmitted virus, infects all sexes similarly but with more significant pathological risks in women. This accounts for high mortality due to late detection and poor prognosis. The initial development and eventual progress of this cancer type depend entirely on three main oncogenes E5, E6 and E7, constitutively expressed to lead to carcinogenesis. Despite an opportunity for pharmacological therapy, there is still a shortage of medical treatment that may remove HPV from infected lesions. This study offers a concise summary of the nature of the issue and the current status of work on potential lead molecules and therapeutic approaches that show the capacity of HPV therapies to counteract the roles of deregulation of E5, E6, and E7.
Collapse
|
22
|
Yang X, Wang Y, Lu P, Shen Y, Zhao X, Zhu Y, Jiang Z, Yang H, Pan H, Zhao L, Zhong Y, Wang J, Liang Z, Shen X, Lu D, Jiang S, Xu J, Wu H, Lu H, Jiang G, Zhu H. PEBP1 suppresses HIV transcription and induces latency by inactivating MAPK/NF-κB signaling. EMBO Rep 2020; 21:e49305. [PMID: 32924251 PMCID: PMC7645261 DOI: 10.15252/embr.201949305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The latent HIV‐1 reservoir is a major barrier to viral eradication. However, our understanding of how HIV‐1 establishes latency is incomplete. Here, by performing a genome‐wide CRISPR‐Cas9 knockout library screen, we identify phosphatidylethanolamine‐binding protein 1 (PEBP1), also known as Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP), as a novel gene inducing HIV latency. Depletion of PEBP1 leads to the reactivation of HIV‐1 in multiple models of latency. Mechanistically, PEBP1 de‐phosphorylates Raf1/ERK/IκB and IKK/IκB signaling pathways to sequestrate NF‐κB in the cytoplasm, which transcriptionally inactivates HIV‐1 to induce latency. Importantly, the induction of PEBP1 expression by the green tea compound epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG) prevents latency reversal by inhibiting nuclear translocation of NF‐κB, thereby suppressing HIV‐1 transcription in primary CD4+ T cells isolated from patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). These results suggest a critical role for PEBP1 in the regulation of upstream NF‐κB signaling pathways governing HIV transcription. Targeting of this pathway could be an option to control HIV reservoirs in patients in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xinyi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yanan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Panpan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yinzhong Shen
- Department of Infectious Disease, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaying Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuqi Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhengtao Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - He Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hanyu Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lin Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yangcheng Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhiming Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoting Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Daru Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shibo Jiang
- Department of Infectious Disease, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianqing Xu
- Department of Infectious Disease, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hao Wu
- Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing You'an Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Hongzhou Lu
- Department of Infectious Disease, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guochun Jiang
- UNC HIV Cure Center, Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases & Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Huanzhang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Perdigão PR, Cunha-Santos C, Barbas CF, Santa-Marta M, Goncalves J. Protein Delivery of Cell-Penetrating Zinc-Finger Activators Stimulates Latent HIV-1-Infected Cells. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2020; 18:145-158. [PMID: 32637446 PMCID: PMC7317221 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2020.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite efforts to develop effective treatments for eradicating HIV-1, a cure has not yet been achieved. Whereas antiretroviral drugs target an actively replicating virus, latent, nonreplicative forms persist during treatment. Pharmacological strategies that reactivate latent HIV-1 and expose cellular reservoirs to antiretroviral therapy and the host immune system have, so far, been unsuccessful, often triggering severe side effects, mainly due to systemic immune activation. Here, we present an alternative approach for stimulating latent HIV-1 expression via direct protein delivery of cell-penetrating zinc-finger activators (ZFAs). Cys2-His2 zinc-fingers, fused to a transcription activation domain, were engineered to recognize the HIV-1 promoter and induce targeted viral transcription. Following conjugation with multiple positively charged nuclear localization signal (NLS) repeats, protein delivery of a single ZFA (3NLS-PBS1-VP64) efficiently internalized HIV-1 latently infected T-lymphocytes and specifically stimulated viral expression. We show that short-term treatment with this ZFA protein induces higher levels of viral reactivation in cell line models of HIV-1 latency than those observed with gene delivery. Our work establishes protein delivery of ZFA as a novel and safe approach toward eradication of HIV-1 reservoirs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pedro R.L. Perdigão
- Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Department, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- Department of Chemistry, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Catarina Cunha-Santos
- Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Department, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Carlos F. Barbas
- Department of Chemistry, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Mariana Santa-Marta
- Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Department, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Joao Goncalves
- Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Department, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Reddy P, Vilella F, Izpisua Belmonte JC, Simón C. Use of Customizable Nucleases for Gene Editing and Other Novel Applications. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E976. [PMID: 32842577 PMCID: PMC7565838 DOI: 10.3390/genes11090976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2020] [Revised: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of novel genome editing tools has unlocked new opportunities that were not previously possible in basic and biomedical research. During the last two decades, several new genome editing methods have been developed that can be customized to modify specific regions of the genome. However, in the past couple of years, many newer and more exciting genome editing techniques have been developed that are more efficient, precise, and easier to use. These genome editing tools have helped to improve our understanding of genetic disorders by modeling them in cells and animal models, in addition to correcting the disease-causing mutations. Among the genome editing tools, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) system has proven to be the most popular one due to its versatility and has been successfully used in a wide variety of laboratory animal models and plants. In this review, we summarize the customizable nucleases currently used for genome editing and their uses beyond the modification of genome. We also discuss the potential future applications of gene editing tools for both basic research and clinical purposes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pradeep Reddy
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA;
| | - Felipe Vilella
- Igenomix Foundation, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital Clínico (INCLIVA), 46010 Valencia, Spain; (F.V.); (C.S.)
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, BIDMC, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | | | - Carlos Simón
- Igenomix Foundation, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital Clínico (INCLIVA), 46010 Valencia, Spain; (F.V.); (C.S.)
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, BIDMC, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Holder KA, Grant MD. TIGIT Blockade: A Multipronged Approach to Target the HIV Reservoir. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10:175. [PMID: 32432050 PMCID: PMC7214612 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
During chronic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, upregulation of inhibitory molecules contributes to effector cell dysfunction and exhaustion. This, in combination with the ability of HIV-1 to reside dormant in cellular reservoirs and escape immune recognition, makes the pathway to HIV-1 cure particularly challenging. An idealized strategy to achieve HIV-1 cure proposes combined viral and immune activation by "shock"ing HIV-1 out of latency and into an immunologically visible state to be recognized and "kill"ed by immune effector cells. Here we outline the potential for blockade of the inhibitory immune checkpoint T cell immunoreceptor with immunoglobulin and ITIM domains (TIGIT) to overcome natural killer (NK) cell and T cell inhibition associated with HIV-1 infection and invigorate antiviral effector cell responses against HIV-1 reactivated from the latent cellular reservoir.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kayla A Holder
- Immunology and Infectious Diseases Program, Division of BioMedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Michael D Grant
- Immunology and Infectious Diseases Program, Division of BioMedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
An RNA-Directed Gene Editing Strategy for Attenuating the Infectious Potential of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Cells: A Proof of Concept. Viruses 2020; 12:v12050511. [PMID: 32380756 PMCID: PMC7291242 DOI: 10.3390/v12050511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern antiretroviral therapy for immunodeficiency viruses, although remarkably effective in controlling viral transcription, and overt virus-associated morbidity, has failed to absolutely eradicate retroviruses from their infected hosts as a result of proviral integration in long-lived reservoir cells. Immunodeficiency virus-infected patients are therefore consigned to lifelong antiviral therapy as a means to control viremia, viral transmission, and infection-associated morbidity. Unfortunately, lifelong antiviral therapies can be difficult for patients to continuously maintain and may be associated with therapy-specific morbidities. Patient advocates have argued for new methods to achieve retroviral eradication. As a proof-of-concept study, a lentivirus-delivered RNA-directed gene editing strategy was utilized in a series of in vitro experiments in an attempt to attenuate the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) proviral load, viral transcription, and production of infectious virions. We found that a feline T lymphocyte cell line (MCH5-4) treated with an FIV-specific clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (Cas9) gene editing tool resulted in a reduction of cell-free viral RNA relative to control cells. Decreased infectious potential was demonstrated in a two-step FIV infection study-naïve MCH5-4 cells infected with cell-free FIV harvested from FIV-infected and CRISPR lentivirus-treated cells had less integrated proviral DNA than control cells. This study represents the initial steps towards the development of an effective method of proviral eradication in an immunodeficiency virus-infected host.
Collapse
|
27
|
X-Linked RNA-Binding Motif Protein Modulates HIV-1 Infection of CD4 + T Cells by Maintaining the Trimethylation of Histone H3 Lysine 9 at the Downstream Region of the 5' Long Terminal Repeat of HIV Proviral DNA. mBio 2020; 11:mBio.03424-19. [PMID: 32317327 PMCID: PMC7175097 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03424-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 latency featuring silence of transcription from HIV-1 proviral DNA represents a major obstacle for HIV-1 eradication. Reversible repression of HIV-1 5′-LTR-mediated transcription represents the main mechanism for HIV-1 to maintain latency. The 5′-LTR-driven HIV gene transcription can be modulated by multiple host factors and mechanisms. The hnRNPs are known to regulate gene expression. A member of the hnRNP family, RBMX, has been identified in this study as a novel HIV-1 restriction factor that modulates HIV-1 5′-LTR-driven transcription of viral genome in CD4+ T cells and maintains viral latency. These findings provide a new understanding of how host factors modulate HIV-1 infection and latency and suggest a potential new target for the development of HIV-1 therapies. Reversible repression of HIV-1 5′ long terminal repeat (5′-LTR)-mediated transcription represents the main mechanism for HIV-1 to maintain latency. Identification of host factors that modulate LTR activity and viral latency may help develop new antiretroviral therapies. The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) are known to regulate gene expression and possess multiple physiological functions. hnRNP family members have recently been identified as the sensors for viral nucleic acids to induce antiviral responses, highlighting the crucial roles of hnRNPs in regulating viral infection. A member of the hnRNP family, X-linked RNA-binding motif protein (RBMX), has been identified in this study as a novel HIV-1 restriction factor that modulates HIV-1 5′-LTR-driven transcription of viral genome in CD4+ T cells. Mechanistically, RBMX binds to HIV-1 proviral DNA at the LTR downstream region and maintains the repressive trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9me3), leading to a blockage of the recruitment of the positive transcription factor phosphorylated RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) and consequential impediment of transcription elongation. This RBMX-mediated modulation of HIV-1 transcription maintains viral latency by inhibiting viral reactivation from an integrated proviral DNA. Our findings provide a new understanding of how host factors modulate HIV-1 infection and latency and suggest a potential new target for the development of HIV-1 therapies.
Collapse
|
28
|
Marsden MD. Benefits and limitations of humanized mice in HIV persistence studies. Retrovirology 2020; 17:7. [PMID: 32252791 PMCID: PMC7137310 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-020-00516-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Significant advances in the treatment of HIV infection have been made in the last three decades. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is now potent enough to prevent virus replication and stop disease progression. However, ART alone does not cure the infection, primarily because HIV can persist in stable long-term reservoir cells including latently-infected CD4 + T cells. A central goal of the HIV research field is to devise strategies to eliminate these reservoirs and thereby develop a cure for HIV. This requires robust in vivo model systems to facilitate both the further characterization of persistent HIV reservoirs and evaluation of methods for eliminating latent virus. Humanized mice have proven to be versatile experimental models for studying many basic aspects of HIV biology. These models consist of immunodeficient mice transplanted with human cells or tissues, which allows development of a human immune system that supports robust infection with HIV. There are many potential applications for new generations of humanized mouse models in investigating HIV reservoirs and latency, but these models also involve caveats that are important to consider in experimental design and interpretation. This review briefly discusses some of the key strengths and limitations of humanized mouse models in HIV persistence studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D Marsden
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and Department of Medicine (Division of Infectious Diseases), School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Schwarzer R, Gramatica A, Greene WC. Reduce and Control: A Combinatorial Strategy for Achieving Sustained HIV Remissions in the Absence of Antiretroviral Therapy. Viruses 2020; 12:v12020188. [PMID: 32046251 PMCID: PMC7077203 DOI: 10.3390/v12020188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) indefinitely persists, despite effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), within a small pool of latently infected cells. These cells often display markers of immunologic memory and harbor both replication-competent and -incompetent proviruses at approximately a 1:100 ratio. Although complete HIV eradication is a highly desirable goal, this likely represents a bridge too far for our current and foreseeable technologies. A more tractable goal involves engineering a sustained viral remission in the absence of ART––a “functional cure.” In this setting, HIV remains detectable during remission, but the size of the reservoir is small and the residual virus is effectively controlled by an engineered immune response or other intervention. Biological precedence for such an approach is found in the post-treatment controllers (PTCs), a rare group of HIV-infected individuals who, following ART withdrawal, do not experience viral rebound. PTCs are characterized by a small reservoir, greatly reduced inflammation, and the presence of a poorly understood immune response that limits viral rebound. Our goal is to devise a safe and effective means for replicating durable post-treatment control on a global scale. This requires devising methods to reduce the size of the reservoir and to control replication of this residual virus. In the following sections, we will review many of the approaches and tools that likely will be important for implementing such a “reduce and control” strategy and for achieving a PTC-like sustained HIV remission in the absence of ART.
Collapse
|
30
|
Pal A, Kundu R. Human Papillomavirus E6 and E7: The Cervical Cancer Hallmarks and Targets for Therapy. Front Microbiol 2020; 10:3116. [PMID: 32038557 PMCID: PMC6985034 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.03116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 223] [Impact Index Per Article: 55.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 12/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced cervical cancer is a major health issue among women from the poorly/under-developed sectors of the world. It accounts for a high-mortality rate because of its late diagnosis and poor prognosis. Initial establishment and subsequent progression of this form of cancer are completely dependent on two major oncogenes E6 and E7, which are expressed constitutively leading to tumorigenesis. Thus, manipulation of these genes represents the most successful form of cervical cancer therapy. In the present article, information on structural, functional, and clinical dimensions of E6 and E7 activity has been reviewed. The genome organization and protein structure of E6 and E7 have been discussed followed by their mechanism to establish the six major cancer hallmarks in cervical tissues for tumor propagation. The later section of this review article deals with the different modes of therapeutics, which functions by deregulating E6 and E7 activity. Since E6 and E7 are the biomarkers of a cervical cancer cell and are the ones driving the cancer progression, therapeutic approaches targeting E6 and E7 have been proved to be highly efficient in terms of focused removal of abnormally propagating malignant cells. Therapeutics including different forms of vaccines to advanced genome editing techniques, which suppress E6 and E7 activity, have been found to successfully bring down the population of cervical cancer cells infected with HPV. T-cell mediated immunotherapy is another upcoming successful form of treatment to eradicate HPV-infected tumorigenic cells. Additionally, therapeutics using natural compounds from plants or other natural repositories, i.e., phytotherapeutic approaches have also been reviewed here, which prove their anticancer potential through E6 and E7 inhibitory effects. Thus, E6 and E7 repression through any of these methods is a significant approach toward cervical cancer therapy, described in details in this review along with an insight into the signaling pathways and molecular mechanistic of E6 and E7 action.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Rita Kundu
- Cell Biology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Centre of Advanced Studies, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Trimidal SG, Benjamin R, Bae JE, Han MV, Kong E, Singer A, Williams TS, Yang B, Schiller MR. Can Designer Indels Be Tailored by Gene Editing?: Can Indels Be Customized? Bioessays 2019; 41:e1900126. [PMID: 31693213 PMCID: PMC7202862 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201900126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Genome editing with engineered nucleases (GEENs) introduce site-specific DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and repairs DSBs via nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathways that eventually create indels (insertions/deletions) in a genome. Whether the features of indels resulting from gene editing could be customized is asked. A review of the literature reveals how gene editing technologies via NHEJ pathways impact gene editing. The survey consolidates a body of literature that suggests that the type (insertion, deletion, and complex) and the approximate length of indel edits can be somewhat customized with different GEENs and by manipulating the expression of key NHEJ genes. Structural data suggest that binding of GEENs to DNA may interfere with binding of key components of DNA repair complexes, favoring either classical- or alternative-NHEJ. The hypotheses have some limitations, but if validated, will enable scientists to better control indel makeup, holding promise for basic science and clinical applications of gene editing. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/vTkJtUsLi3w.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara G Trimidal
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
| | - Ronald Benjamin
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
| | - Ji Eun Bae
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
| | - Mira V Han
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
| | - Elizabeth Kong
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
| | - Aaron Singer
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
| | - Tyler S Williams
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
| | - Bing Yang
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - Martin R Schiller
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Qu D, Sun WW, Li L, Ma L, Sun L, Jin X, Li T, Hou W, Wang JH. Long noncoding RNA MALAT1 releases epigenetic silencing of HIV-1 replication by displacing the polycomb repressive complex 2 from binding to the LTR promoter. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:3013-3027. [PMID: 30788509 PMCID: PMC6451131 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 02/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) may either repress or activate HIV-1 replication and latency; however, specific mechanisms for their action are not always clear. In HIV-1 infected CD4+ T cells, we performed RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis and discovered an up-regulation of MALAT1 (metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1), an lncRNA previously described in cancer cells that associate with cancer pathogenesis. Moreover, we found that MALAT1 promoted HIV-1 transcription and infection, as its knockdown by CRISPR/Cas9 markedly reduced the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR)-driven gene transcription and viral replication. Mechanistically, through an association with chromatin modulator polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), MALAT1 detached the core component enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) from binding with HIV-1 LTR promoter, and thus removed PRC2 complex-mediated methylation of histone H3 on lysine 27 (H3K27me3) and relieved epigenetic silencing of HIV-1 transcription. Moreover, the reactivation of HIV-1 stimulated with latency reversal agents (LRAs) induced MALAT1 expression in latently infected cells. Successful combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) was accompanied by significantly diminished MALAT1 expression in patients, suggesting a positive correlation of MALAT1 expression with HIV-1 replication. Our data have identified MALAT1 as a promoter of HIV-1 transcription, and suggested that MALAT1 may be targeted for the development of new therapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Di Qu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
| | - Wei-Wei Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
| | - Li Li
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.,State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Li Ma
- CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Li Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Xia Jin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Taisheng Li
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Wei Hou
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.,State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Jian-Hua Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Sadowski I, Hashemi FB. Strategies to eradicate HIV from infected patients: elimination of latent provirus reservoirs. Cell Mol Life Sci 2019; 76:3583-3600. [PMID: 31129856 PMCID: PMC6697715 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-019-03156-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Revised: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
35 years since identification of HIV as the causative agent of AIDS, and 35 million deaths associated with this disease, significant effort is now directed towards the development of potential cures. Current anti-retroviral (ART) therapies for HIV/AIDS can suppress virus replication to undetectable levels, and infected individuals can live symptom free so long as treatment is maintained. However, removal of therapy allows rapid re-emergence of virus from a highly stable reservoir of latently infected cells that exist as a barrier to elimination of the infection with current ART. Prospects of a cure for HIV infection are significantly encouraged by two serendipitous cases where individuals have entered remission following stem cell transplantation from compatible HIV-resistant donors. However, development of a routine cure that could become available to millions of infected individuals will require a means of specifically purging cells harboring latent HIV, preventing replication of latent provirus, or destruction of provirus genomes by gene editing. Elimination of latently infected cells will require a means of exposing this population, which may involve identification of a natural specific biomarker or therapeutic intervention to force their exposure by reactivation of virus expression. Accordingly, the proposed "Shock and Kill" strategy involves treatment with latency-reversing agents (LRA) to induce HIV provirus expression thus exposing these cells to killing by cellular immunity or apoptosis. Current efforts to enable this strategy are directed at developing improved combinations of LRA to produce broad and robust induction of HIV provirus and enhancing the elimination of cells where replication has been reactivated by targeted immune modulation. Alternative strategies may involve preventing re-emergence virus from latently infected cells by "Lock and Block" intervention, where transcription of provirus is inhibited to prevent virus spread or disruption of the HIV provirus genome by genome editing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Sadowski
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
| | - Farhad B Hashemi
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Abstract
The integrated proviral genome is the major barrier to a cure for HIV-1 infection. Genome editing technologies, such as CRISPR/Cas9, may disable or remove the HIV-1 provirus by introducing DNA double strand breaks at sequence specific sites in the viral genome. Host DNA repair by the error-prone non-homologous end joining pathway generates mutagenic insertions or deletions at the break. CRISPR/Cas9 editing has been shown to reduce replication competent viral genomes in cell culture, but only a minority of possible genome editing targets have been assayed. Currently there is no map of double strand break genetic fitness for HIV-1 to inform the choice of editing targets. However, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing makes it possible to target double strand breaks along the length of the provirus to generate a double strand break genetic fitness map. We identified all possible HIV-1 targets with different bacterial species of CRISPR/Cas9. This library of guide RNAs was evaluated for GC content and potential off-target sites in the human genome. Complexity of the library was reduced by eliminating duplicate guide RNA targets in the HIV-1 long terminal repeats and targets in the env gene. Although the HIV-1 genome is AT-rich, the S. pyogenes CRISPR/Cas9 with the proto-spacer adjacent motif NGG offers the most HIV-1 guide RNAs. This library of HIV-1 guide RNAs may be used to generate a double strand break genetic fragility map to be further applied to any genome editing technology designed for the HIV-1 provirus. Keywords: HIV-1; genome editing; CRISPR; genetic fitness; guide RNAs.
Collapse
|
35
|
Yang H, Li X, Yang X, Lu P, Wang Y, Jiang Z, Pan H, Zhao L, Zhu Y, Khan IU, Shen Y, Lu H, Zhang T, Jiang G, Ma Z, Wu H, Zhu H. Dual effects of the novel ingenol derivatives on the acute and latent HIV-1 infections. Antiviral Res 2019; 169:104555. [PMID: 31295520 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2019.104555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2019] [Revised: 07/07/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The latent reservoir of HIV-1 in resting memory CD4+ T cells serves as a major barrier to curing HIV-1 infection. Reactivation of latent HIV-1 is proposed as a promising strategy for the clearance of the viral reservoirs. Because of the limitations of current latency reversal agents (LRAs), identification of new LRAs is urgently required. Here, we analyzed Euphorbia kansui extracts and obtained three ingenol derivative compounds named EK-1A, EK-5A and EK-15A. We found that ingenol derivatives can effectively reactivate latent HIV-1 at very low (nanomolar) concentrations in HIV latency model in vitro. Furthermore, ingenol derivatives exhibited synergy with other LRAs in reactivating latent HIV-1. We verified that EK-15A can promote latent HIV-1 reactivation in the ex vivo resting CD4+ T cells isolated from the peripheral blood of HIV-infected individuals on suppressive antiretroviral therapy. In addition, ingenol derivatives down-regulated the expression of cell surface HIV co-receptors CCR5 and CXCR4, therefore potentially preventing new infection of HIV-1. Our results indicated that the ingenol derivatives extracted from Euphorbia kansui have dual functions: reactivation of latent HIV-1 and inhibition of HIV-1 infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- He Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Xian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Xinyi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Panpan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Yanan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Zhengtao Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Hanyu Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Lin Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Yuqi Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Inam Ullah Khan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Yinzhong Shen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongzhou Lu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministry of Education/Health, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing You'an Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China
| | - Guochun Jiang
- UNC HIV Cure Center, IGHID, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Zhongjun Ma
- Institute of Marine Biology, Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
| | - Hao Wu
- Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing You'an Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China.
| | - Huanzhang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Humanized Mouse Model of HIV-1 Latency with Enrichment of Latent Virus in PD-1 + and TIGIT + CD4 T Cells. J Virol 2019; 93:JVI.02086-18. [PMID: 30842333 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02086-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Combination anti-retroviral drug therapy (ART) potently suppresses HIV-1 replication but does not result in virus eradication or a cure. A major contributing factor is the long-term persistence of a reservoir of latently infected cells. To study this reservoir, we established a humanized mouse model of HIV-1 infection and ART suppression based on an oral ART regimen. Similar to humans, HIV-1 levels in the blood of ART-treated animals were frequently suppressed below the limits of detection. However, the limited timeframe of the mouse model and the small volume of available samples makes it a challenging model with which to achieve full viral suppression and to investigate the latent reservoir. We therefore used an ex vivo latency reactivation assay that allows a semiquantitative measure of the latent reservoir that establishes in individual animals, regardless of whether they are treated with ART. Using this assay, we found that latently infected human CD4 T cells can be readily detected in mouse lymphoid tissues and that latent HIV-1 was enriched in populations expressing markers of T cell exhaustion, PD-1 and TIGIT. In addition, we were able to use the ex vivo latency reactivation assay to demonstrate that HIV-specific TALENs can reduce the fraction of reactivatable virus in the latently infected cell population that establishes in vivo, supporting the use of targeted nuclease-based approaches for an HIV-1 cure.IMPORTANCE HIV-1 can establish latent infections that are not cleared by current antiretroviral drugs or the body's immune responses and therefore represent a major barrier to curing HIV-infected individuals. However, the lack of expression of viral antigens on latently infected cells makes them difficult to identify or study. Here, we describe a humanized mouse model that can be used to detect latent but reactivatable HIV-1 in both untreated mice and those on ART and therefore provides a simple system with which to study the latent HIV-1 reservoir and the impact of interventions aimed at reducing it.
Collapse
|
37
|
Cao S, Woodrow KA. Nanotechnology approaches to eradicating HIV reservoirs. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2019; 138:48-63. [PMID: 29879528 PMCID: PMC6279622 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2018.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Revised: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 06/02/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has transformed HIV-1 infection into a controllable chronic disease, but these therapies are incapable of eradicating the virus to bring about an HIV cure. Multiple strategies have been proposed and investigated to eradicate latent viral reservoirs from various biological sanctuaries. However, due to the complexity of HIV infection and latency maintenance, a single drug is unlikely to eliminate all HIV reservoirs and novel strategies may be needed to achieve better efficacy while limiting systemic toxicity. In this review, we describe HIV latency in cellular and anatomical reservoirs, and present an overview of current strategies for HIV cure with a focus on their challenges for clinical translation. Then we provide a summary of nanotechnology solutions that have been used to address challenges in HIV cure by delivering physicochemically diverse agents for combination therapy or targeting HIV reservoir sites. We also review nanocarrier-based gene delivery and immunotherapy used in cancer treatment but may have potential applications in HIV cure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shijie Cao
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Kim A Woodrow
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Emerging CRISPR/Cas9 applications for T-cell gene editing. Emerg Top Life Sci 2019; 3:261-275. [PMID: 33523139 DOI: 10.1042/etls20180144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Gene editing tools are being rapidly developed, accelerating many areas of cell and gene therapy research. Each successive gene editing technology promises increased efficacy, improved specificity, reduced manufacturing cost and design complexity; all of which are currently epitomised by the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated protein (Cas9) platform. Since its conceptualisation, CRISPR-based gene editing has been applied to existing methodologies and has further allowed the exploration of novel avenues of research. Implementation of CRISPR/Cas9 has been instrumental to recent progress in the treatment of cancer, primary immunodeficiency, and infectious diseases. To this end, T-cell therapies have attempted to harness and redirect antigen recognition function, and through gene editing, broaden T-cell targeting capabilities and enhance their potency. The purpose of this review is to provide insights into emerging applications of CRISPR/Cas9 in T-cell therapies, to briefly address concerns surrounding CRISPR-mediated indel formation, and to introduce CRISPR/Cas9 base editing technologies that hold vast potential for future research and clinical translation.
Collapse
|
39
|
Xiao Q, Guo D, Chen S. Application of CRISPR/Cas9-Based Gene Editing in HIV-1/AIDS Therapy. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:69. [PMID: 30968001 PMCID: PMC6439341 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the fact that great efforts have been made in the prevention and therapy of HIV-1 infection, HIV-1/AIDS remains a major threat to global human health. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can suppress virus replication, but it cannot eradicate latent viral reservoirs in HIV-1/AIDS patients. Recently, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated nuclease 9 (Cas9) system has been engineered as an effective gene-editing technology with the potential to treat HIV-1/AIDS. It can be used to target cellular co-factors or HIV-1 genome to reduce HIV-1 infection and clear the provirus, as well as to induce transcriptional activation of latent virus in latent viral reservoirs for elimination. This versatile gene editing technology has been successfully applied to HIV-1/AIDS prevention and reduction in human cells and animal models. Here, we update the rapid progress of CRISPR/Cas9-based HIV-1/AIDS therapy research in recent years and discuss the limitations and future perspectives of its application.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoqiao Xiao
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Medical Virology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.,Laboratory of Medical Virology, School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Deyin Guo
- Laboratory of Medical Virology, School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shuliang Chen
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Institute of Medical Virology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.,Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Center for Retrovirus Research, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Yang Y, Wang Q, Li Q, Men K, He Z, Deng H, Ji W, Wei Y. Recent Advances in Therapeutic Genome Editing in China. Hum Gene Ther 2019; 29:136-145. [PMID: 29446996 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2017.210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Editing of the genome to correct disease-causing mutations is a promising approach for the treatment of human diseases. Recent advances in the development of programmable nuclease-based genome editing tools have substantially improved the ability to make precise changes in the human genome. Genome editing technologies are already being used to correct genetic mutations in affected tissues and cells to treat diseases that are refractory to traditional gene therapies. Chinese scientists have made remarkable breakthroughs in the field of therapeutic genome editing, particularly with the first clinical trial involving the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-caspase 9 system that began in China. Herein, current progress toward developing programmable nuclease-based gene therapies is introduced, as well as future prospects and challenges in China.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- 1 State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center , Chengdu, China
| | - Qingnan Wang
- 1 State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center , Chengdu, China
| | - Qian Li
- 1 State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center , Chengdu, China
| | - Ke Men
- 1 State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center , Chengdu, China
| | - Zhiyao He
- 2 Department of Pharmacy, and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center , Chengdu, China
| | - Hongxin Deng
- 1 State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center , Chengdu, China
| | - Weizhi Ji
- 3 Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedicine Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology , Kunming, China
| | - Yuquan Wei
- 1 State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center , Chengdu, China
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Saha SK, Saikot FK, Rahman MS, Jamal MAHM, Rahman SMK, Islam SMR, Kim KH. Programmable Molecular Scissors: Applications of a New Tool for Genome Editing in Biotech. MOLECULAR THERAPY. NUCLEIC ACIDS 2019; 14:212-238. [PMID: 30641475 PMCID: PMC6330515 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2018.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2018] [Revised: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Targeted genome editing is an advanced technique that enables precise modification of the nucleic acid sequences in a genome. Genome editing is typically performed using tools, such as molecular scissors, to cut a defined location in a specific gene. Genome editing has impacted various fields of biotechnology, such as agriculture; biopharmaceutical production; studies on the structure, regulation, and function of the genome; and the creation of transgenic organisms and cell lines. Although genome editing is used frequently, it has several limitations. Here, we provide an overview of well-studied genome-editing nucleases, including single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides (ssODNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), and CRISPR-Cas9 RNA-guided nucleases (CRISPR-Cas9). To this end, we describe the progress toward editable nuclease-based therapies and discuss the minimization of off-target mutagenesis. Future prospects of this challenging scientific field are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Subbroto Kumar Saha
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biotechnology, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-Ro, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
| | - Forhad Karim Saikot
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore 7408, Bangladesh
| | - Md Shahedur Rahman
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore 7408, Bangladesh
| | | | - S M Khaledur Rahman
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore 7408, Bangladesh
| | - S M Riazul Islam
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, South Korea
| | - Ki-Hyun Kim
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Marsden MD, Zack JA. HIV cure strategies: a complex approach for a complicated viral reservoir? Future Virol 2019. [DOI: 10.2217/fvl-2018-0205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D Marsden
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology, The David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Jerome A Zack
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology, The David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Panfil AR, London JA, Green PL, Yoder KE. CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing to Disable the Latent HIV-1 Provirus. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:3107. [PMID: 30619186 PMCID: PMC6302043 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.03107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 infection can be successfully controlled with anti-retroviral therapy (ART), but is not cured. A reservoir of cells harboring transcriptionally silent integrated provirus is able to reestablish replicating infection if ART is stopped. Latently HIV-1 infected cells are rare, but may persist for decades. Several novel strategies have been proposed to reduce the latent reservoir, including DNA sequence targeted CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing of the HIV-1 provirus. A significant challenge to genome editing is the sequence diversity of HIV-1 quasispecies present in patients. The high level of quasispecies diversity will require targeting of multiple sites in the viral genome and personalized engineering of a CRISPR/Cas9 regimen. The challenges of CRISPR/Cas9 delivery to the rare latently infected cells and quasispecies sequence diversity suggest that effective genome editing of every provirus is unlikely. However, recent evidence from post-treatment controllers, patients with controlled HIV-1 viral burden following interruption of ART, suggests a correlation between a reduced number of intact proviral sequences and control of the virus. The possibility of reducing the intact proviral sequences in patients by a genome editing technology remains intriguing, but requires significant advances in delivery to infected cells and identification of effective target sites.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda R. Panfil
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
- Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - James A. London
- Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Patrick L. Green
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
- Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Kristine E. Yoder
- Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
- Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Shankar S, Sreekumar A, Prasad D, Das AV, Pillai MR. Genome editing of oncogenes with ZFNs and TALENs: caveats in nuclease design. Cancer Cell Int 2018; 18:169. [PMID: 30386178 PMCID: PMC6198504 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-018-0666-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Gene knockout technologies involving programmable nucleases have been used to create knockouts in several applications. Gene editing using Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), Transcription activator like effectors (TALEs) and CRISPR/Cas systems has been used to create changes in the genome in order to make it non-functional. In the present study, we have looked into the possibility of using six fingered CompoZr ZFN pair to target the E6 gene of HPV 16 genome. Methods HPV 16+ve cell lines; SiHa and CaSki were used for experiments. CompoZr ZFNs targeting E6 gene were designed and constructed by Sigma-Aldrich. TALENs targeting E6 and E7 genes were made using TALEN assembly kit. Gene editing was monitored by T7E1 mismatch nuclease and Nuclease resistance assays. Levels of E6 and E7 were further analyzed by RT-PCR, western blot as well as immunoflourescence analyses. To check if there is any interference due to methylation, cell lines were treated with sodium butyrate, and Nocodazole. Results Although ZFN editing activity in yeast based MEL-I assay was high, it yielded very low activity in tumor cell lines; only 6% editing in CaSki and negligible activity in SiHa cell lines. Though editing efficiency was better in CaSki, no significant reduction in E6 protein levels was observed in immunocytochemical analysis. Further, in silico analysis of DNA binding prediction revealed that some of the ZFN modules bound to sequence that did not match the target sequence. Hence, alternate ZFN pairs for E6 and E7 were not synthesized since no further active sites could be identified by in silico analyses. Then we designed TALENs to target E6 and E7 gene. TALENs designed to target E7 gene led to reduction of E7 levels in CaSki and SiHa cervical cancer cell lines. However, TALEN designed to target E6 gene did not yield any editing activity. Conclusions Our study highlights that designed nucleases intended to obtain bulk effect should have a reasonable editing activity which reflects phenotypically as well. Nucleases with low editing efficiency, intended for generation of knockout cell lines nucleases could be obtained by single cell cloning. This could serve as a criterion for designing ZFNs and TALENs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12935-018-0666-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sumitra Shankar
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
| | - Ahalya Sreekumar
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
| | - Deepti Prasad
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
| | - Ani V Das
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
| | | |
Collapse
|
45
|
Deng Q, Chen Z, Shi L, Lin H. Developmental progress of CRISPR/Cas9 and its therapeutic applications for HIV-1 infection. Rev Med Virol 2018; 28:e1998. [PMID: 30024073 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.1998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Revised: 06/10/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been developed as a powerful tool for targeted gene editing. As a result of technical enhancements in recent years, this technology has become the method of choice for efficiently modifying targeted HIV-1 genome efficiently as part of HIV therapy. CRISPR can be modified to target specific sequences that Cas9 then cuts. In this article, we outline the development of the CRISPR/Cas9 system. We also show how this technology can be used for the prevention and treatment of HIV-1 infection. Optimistically, this technology promises to make a significant impact on the fight against HIV-1 in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiudi Deng
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zisheng Chen
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The sixth affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Qingyuan, China
| | - Lei Shi
- Department of Food Safety and Nutrition Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Huafeng Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Department of Food Safety and Nutrition Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Roychoudhury P, De Silva Feelixge H, Reeves D, Mayer BT, Stone D, Schiffer JT, Jerome KR. Viral diversity is an obligate consideration in CRISPR/Cas9 designs for targeting the HIV reservoir. BMC Biol 2018; 16:75. [PMID: 29996827 PMCID: PMC6040082 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-018-0544-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND RNA-guided CRISPR/Cas9 systems can be designed to mutate or excise the integrated HIV genome from latently infected cells and have therefore been proposed as a curative approach for HIV. However, most studies to date have focused on molecular clones with ideal target site recognition and do not account for target site variability observed within and between patients. For clinical success and broad applicability, guide RNA (gRNA) selection must account for circulating strain diversity and incorporate the within-host diversity of HIV. RESULTS We identified a set of gRNAs targeting HIV LTR, gag, and pol using publicly available sequences for these genes and ranked gRNAs according to global conservation across HIV-1 group M and within subtypes A-C. By considering paired and triplet combinations of gRNAs, we found triplet sets of target sites such that at least one of the gRNAs in the set was present in over 98% of all globally available sequences. We then selected 59 gRNAs from our list of highly conserved LTR target sites and evaluated in vitro activity using a loss-of-function LTR-GFP fusion reporter. We achieved efficient GFP knockdown with multiple gRNAs and found clustering of highly active gRNA target sites near the middle of the LTR. Using published deep-sequence data from HIV-infected patients, we found that globally conserved sites also had greater within-host target conservation. Lastly, we developed a mathematical model based on varying distributions of within-host HIV sequence diversity and enzyme efficacy. We used the model to estimate the number of doses required to deplete the latent reservoir and achieve functional cure thresholds. Our modeling results highlight the importance of within-host target site conservation. While increased doses may overcome low target cleavage efficiency, inadequate targeting of rare strains is predicted to lead to rebound upon cART cessation even with many doses. CONCLUSIONS Target site selection must account for global and within host viral genetic diversity. Globally conserved target sites are good starting points for design, but multiplexing is essential for depleting quasispecies and preventing viral load rebound upon therapy cessation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Daniel Reeves
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA
| | - Bryan T Mayer
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA
| | - Daniel Stone
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA
| | - Joshua T Schiffer
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA
- Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Keith R Jerome
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of miR-146a enhances antiviral response in HIV-1 infected cells. Genes Immun 2018; 20:327-337. [PMID: 29961753 DOI: 10.1038/s41435-018-0036-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2018] [Revised: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) causes persistent infection in human and induces miR-146a expression in infected cells. miR-146a represses the innate immune response by inhibiting the expression of TRAF6 and IRAK1 genes, thus negatively controls the NF-κB-related cytokines and interferon stimulated genes. Here we reported that lentiviral CRISPR/Cas9 system was highly efficient in introducing mutations in the precursor miR-146a genomic sequences, resulting in a loss of miR-146a expression and function. miR-146a ablation led to increasing cytokines production in LPS-stimulated A549 cells. Moreover, miR-146a knockout in HIV-1 infected MT2 cells markedly increased the expression of cytokines and HIV-1 restriction factors and reversed T cell exhaustion markers expression, thus influencing HIV-1 replication. Our study indicates that lentiviral CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing is an effective approach to abrogate miR-146a expression, which consequently inhibits HIV-1 replication as well as proviral reactivation by enhancing the expression of cytokines and HIV-1 restriction factors.
Collapse
|
48
|
Ma L, Sun L, Jin X, Xiong SD, Wang JH. Scaffold attachment factor B suppresses HIV-1 infection of CD4 + T cells by preventing binding of RNA polymerase II to HIV-1's long terminal repeat. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:12177-12185. [PMID: 29887524 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.002018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2018] [Revised: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The 5' end of the HIV, type 1 (HIV-1) long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter plays an essential role in driving viral transcription and productive infection. Multiple host and viral factors regulate LTR activity and modulate HIV-1 latency. Manipulation of the HIV-1 LTR provides a potential therapeutic strategy for combating HIV-1 persistence. In this study, we identified an RNA/DNA-binding protein, scaffold attachment factor B (SAFB1), as a host cell factor that represses HIV-1 transcription. We found that SAFB1 bound to the HIV-1 5' LTR and significantly repressed 5' LTR-driven viral transcription and HIV-1 infection of CD4+ T cells. Mechanistically, SAFB1-mediated repression of HIV-1 transcription and infection was independent of its RNA- and DNA-binding capacities. Instead, by binding to phosphorylated RNA polymerase II, SAFB1 blocked its recruitment to the HIV-1 LTR. Of note, SAFB1-mediated repression of HIV-1 transcription from proviral DNA maintained HIV-1 latency in CD4+ T cells. In summary, our findings reveal that SAFB1 binds to the HIV-1 LTR and physically interacts with phosphorylated RNA polymerase II, repressing HIV-1 transcription initiation and elongation. Our findings improve our understanding of host modulation of HIV-1 transcription and latency and provide a new host cell target for improved anti-HIV-1 therapies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Li Ma
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Li Sun
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Xia Jin
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Si-Dong Xiong
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
| | - Jian-Hua Wang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Zinc-Finger Nucleases Induced by HIV-1 Tat Excise HIV-1 from the Host Genome in Infected and Latently Infected Cells. MOLECULAR THERAPY-NUCLEIC ACIDS 2018; 12:67-74. [PMID: 30195798 PMCID: PMC6023959 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2018.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 04/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) cannot clear infected cells harboring HIV-1 proviral DNA from HIV-1-infected patients. We previously demonstrated that zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) can specifically and efficiently excise HIV-1 proviral DNA from latently infected human T cells by targeting long terminal repeats (LTRs), a novel and alternative antiretroviral strategy for eradicating HIV-1 infection. To prevent unwanted off-target effects from constantly expressed ZFNs, in this study, we engineered the expression of ZFNs under the control of HIV-1 LTR, by which ZFN expression can be activated by the HIV-1 (Trans-Activator of Transcription) Tat protein. Our results show that functional expression of ZFNs induced by Tat excise the integrated proviral DNA of HIV-NL4-3-eGFP in approximately 30% of the population of HIV-1-infected cells. The results from HIV-1-infected human primary T cells and latently infected T cells treated with the inducible ZFNs further validated that proviral DNA can be excised. Taken together, positively regulated expression of ZFNs in the presence of HIV-1 Tat may provide a safer and novel implementation of genome-editing technology for eradicating HIV-1 proviral DNA from infected host cells.
Collapse
|
50
|
Wang Q, Liu S, Liu Z, Ke Z, Li C, Yu X, Chen S, Guo D. Genome scale screening identification of SaCas9/gRNAs for targeting HIV-1 provirus and suppression of HIV-1 infection. Virus Res 2018; 250:21-30. [PMID: 29625148 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2017] [Revised: 04/02/2018] [Accepted: 04/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing approach has been widely used in anti-HIV-1 gene therapy research. However, the major challenges facing the therapeutic application of CRISPR/Cas9 are the precise genome cleavage efficacy and efficient delivery of Cas9/gRNA specifically to the HIV-infected cells. Recently, a small size Cas9 from Staphylococcus aureus (SaCas9) has shown promise in genome editing in eukaryotic cells, suggesting a potential usage in blocking HIV-1 infection by targeting the HIV-1 genome. Here, we designed 43 guide RNAs (gRNAs) against the HIV-1 genome, thereby identifying 8 gRNAs that efficiently and specifically disrupt the target DNA by SaCas9. In addition, we found the selected gRNAs induce SaCas9 to disrupt the latent HIV-1 provirus and suppress HIV-1 proviral reactivation in latently infected Jurkat C11 cells. We further confirmed that the dual or triple gRNAs in an all-in-one lentiviral vector could reduce viral production in TZM-bl cells as well as in Jurkat T cells. Moreover, we did not detect any off-target cleavages in the predicted sites, suggesting that through all-in-one lentiviral vector-mediated HIV-1 genome editing, the selected SaCas9/gRNAs can provide an alternative and flexible strategy for anti-HIV gene therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiankun Wang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, PR China.
| | - Shuai Liu
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, PR China.
| | - Zhepeng Liu
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, PR China.
| | - Zunhui Ke
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, PR China.
| | - Chunmei Li
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, PR China; School of Medicine (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, PR China.
| | - Xiao Yu
- Institute of health inspection and testing, Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhuodaoquan North Road 6, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, PR China.
| | - Shuliang Chen
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, PR China; Center for Retrovirus Research, Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, 1900 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
| | - Deyin Guo
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, PR China; School of Medicine (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|