a whole load of letters: CRISPR/Cas9 and HIV

There's a powerful new weapon in the fight against HIV.
You guessed it.
It's CRISPR/Cas9.
Researchers at UCSF used the technique to create an array of CRISPR/Cas9 screens to variably knock out 45 specific genes in human T-cells in order to determine which of those hindered HIV infection. Genes that were determined as affecting the establishment of viral infection were involved in viral entry (the coreceptors for the CD4 receptor HIV exploits for entry, CCR5 and CXCR), and in the course of the viral life cycle after entry (the genes LEDGF and NUP153). The genes which relate to entry were found to have the greatest effect on infection.
Beyond the value these findings bring to the world of HIV research, they reinforce the use of CRISPR/Cas9 as a means to investigate host factors upon which viral courses of infection are dependent.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/crispr-identifies-potential-gene-targets-to-hobble-hiv-infection/?WT.mc_id=SA_TW_HLTH_NEWS
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124716313365

-Muzz Shittu