Herpes simplex virusCDC, ERSKINE PALMER
The CRISPR/Cas9 system can be adapted to target herpesviruses lurking inside mammalian cells, researchers reported last week (June 30) in PLOS Pathogens.
Scientists from the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands tested the gene-editing technique on three viruses, which not only infect humans, but can remain dormant between bouts of active replication: the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), which can cause of cold sores; human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which can cause birth defects; and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which can cause Burkitt’s lymphoma.
Using guide RNAs, the researchers directed CRISPR/Cas9 to cut viral DNA—whether actively replicating or latent in the host genome—at one or more sites. Because DNA repair of the incisions was likely to introduce mutations, the team hypothesized that a virus would be ...
