Researchers from Sechenov University have developed a way to activate the human body’s defenses against viruses using the CRISPR/Cas genetic scissors. The scientists’ work was published in the journal Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids.
Evolution in the cell has included antiviral programs that fight the virus when an infection occurs. However, the latter have learned to bypass them, suppress them, and in some cases hide from the immune response.
Russian scientists decided to act directly on the antiviral gene by changing its activity using genetic scissors – the CRISPR/Cas system. In this case, the tool does not “cut”, but pulls the activation factors to a particular antiviral gene. To determine the level of activation that is necessary and not sufficiently toxic, the researchers used the help of a neural network.
The researchers tested their method on a hepatitis B virus model. Intracellular immune-related APOBEC/AID factors suppressed its growth by 90-99%. In addition, the scientists identified a number of factors that would be much more effective at removing viruses from cells compared to APOBEC/AID. According to the researchers, their method will allow the development of a group of immunostimulating drugs against various viruses.
Source: Ferra
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