Potent and targeted activation of HIV-1 using the CRISPR/Cas9 activator Complex

ABSTRACT: Integration of the HIV-1 provirus in the host genome ensures a persistent supply of latently infected cells. This latent reservoir is recalcitrant to antiretroviral therapy (ART) making lifelong treatment the only option for patients. The â??shock and killâ?? strategy aims to eradicate latent HIV by reactivating proviral gene expression followed by ART treatment. Gene specific transcriptional activation can be achieved using the RNA-guided CRISPR-Cas9 system comprising small guide RNAs (sgRNAs) with a nuclease deficient Cas9 mutant (dCas9) fused to the VP64 transactivation domain (dCas9-VP64).  We engineered this system to target 23 sites within the LTR promoter of HIV-1 and identified a â??hotspotâ?? for activation. We studied the functionality of activating sgRNAs to transcriptionally m

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: Jonathan Hart 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-72259 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress