CRISPR gene editing was safe and moderately effective in introducing stem cells that lacked the CCR5 receptor and were immune to HIV infection after chemotherapy eradicated the immune system of a man with HIV and acute lymphocytic leukaemia, Chinese researchers report in The New England Journal of Medicine this week.

The CCR5 receptor on human cells is used by HIV to gain entry to the cell. When the CCR5 receptor is not present on the cell surface, HIV cannot gain entry to the cell unless it has evolved to use another receptor, CCR4. Most viruses are not adapted to use CCR4. A genetic mutation called CCR5-delta 32 prevents HIV infection entirely if a person inherits the mutation from both parents. Around 1% of people of northern European descent are CCR5-delta 32 homozygous, meaning they have inherited the mutation from both parents.

http://www.aidsmap.com/news/sep-2019/crispr-gene-editing-can-create-cells-immune-hiv