Israeli researchers have successfully tested a new technology that could pave the way for a one-time treatment for patients with HIV.
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For the first time in the world, the scientists were able to engineer type B white blood cells inside the body so that the patient could secrete anti-HIV antibodies.
The study from Tel Aviv University was published in the journal Nature. Other researchers from Israel and the United States collaborated.
The animals tested in the study all had high quantities in their blood of the antibody that neutralizes HIV after being administered the treatment.
"Until now, only a few scientists, and we among them, had been able to engineer B cells outside of the body, and in this study we were the first to do this in the body and to make these cells generate desired antibodies," said one of the study's lead authors, Dr. Adi Barzel.
The HIV virus causes the disease called AIDS by attacking and weakening the immune system.
The genetic editing was done with a technology called CRISPR.
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"We developed an innovative treatment that may defeat the virus with a one-time injection, with the potential of bringing about tremendous improvement in the patients' condition," Barzel said.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
