Using Genetic Engineering to Vaccinate HIV
The Vaccine
Currently, CRISPR/Cas9 technology may be only be used on model organisms, but we are confident that the scientific community will soon allow human genome modification to cure diseases and illnesses. In fact, The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) just permitted British researchers to begin genetically modifying human embryos on February 1st, 2016.
We envision a creating a “vaccine” to use against HIV by encoding the CCR5-Δ32 deletion mutation in the DNA of every single CD4+ cell in the host body. This can be achieved by encoding the mutation onto the guidance RNA, so that the CRISPR/Cas9 can use its endonuclease to cut out the CCR5 gene sequence and render the CD4+ cells immune to HIV infection.
Once perfected, our genetically engineered vaccine would serve as a vanguard in the advance towards using these same tactics to cure or inoculate other seemingly terminal diseases.
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