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Scientists have made an early but important development in the fight against HIV.。

For the first time, a team of researchers has shown that they can remove HIV type 1 (HIV-1) from infected mouse cells using a powerful gene-editing tool. By removing DNA of the deadly virus in rodents, they also stopped the virus from replicating. 。

While a permanent cure for HIV in humans remains a ways off, the new study is a major step toward achieving that goal, according to scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine.。

SEE ALSO:Scientists see early progress on potential HIV cure 。 The journal。 Molecular Therapy。

published the team's findings on Wednesday.
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Credit: molecular therapy 。

For their study, researchers used CRISPR/Cas9, a tool that enables scientists to edit parts of the genome -- our full genetic material -- by removing, adding, or altering sections of the DNA sequence. 。

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The new work builds on an earlier proof-of-concept study that involved genetically modified, or "transgenic," mice and rats. After incorporating the DNA of HIV-1 into the genome of every tissue of the animals' bodies, the team found it could delete targeted fragments of HIV-1 from the genome in most tissues. 。

In the first model, researchers again used transgenic mice to confirm their previous findings. The team genetically inactivated HIV-1 in the mice, thus reducing the RNA expression of viral genes by 60 to 95 percent. That means they stopped RNA, which act as a genetic messenger, from relaying the toxic information.。

A scientist in China worker performs an HIV test at a lab in Shanghai.Credit: china photos/Getty Images。

For the two other models, scientists studied mice with actively replicating HIV infections and mice with latent infections that lie dormant within the cells.
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Mice with active infections had EcoHIV, the mouse equivalent of human HIV-1. Using CRISPR/Cas9, researchers were able to block replication of the virus and show they could potentially prevent systemic infection -- marking the first evidence that this method can eradicate the virus. 。

For the latent infections, the team studied "humanized" mice that had been engrafted with human immune cells, including T cells. (People with HIV/AIDS have a devastatingly low number of a particular type of T cell.) The mice were also infected with latent HIV-1. 。

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