Gene Deserts May Hold An Oasis — A Cure For HIV

In human cells infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), virus particles can leave behind part of their genetic material, which gets incorporated into the cellular DNA. Known as provirus, this genetic material can persist indefinitely in infected human cells and can lead to resurgence of the disease.

Using cutting-edge gene-sequencing technology to analyze HIV genetic material from people on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART), researchers observed that the virus hides its DNA in remote stretches of the human genome known as “gene deserts.” Continued analysis of these gene deserts may help researchers develop a strategy to permanently stop the virus.

The new research, published in Cell in January, analyzed proviral material from six people with HIV who had been on treatment for at least nine years. The research team was led by spouses Xu Yu and Mathias Lichterfeld at the Ragon Institute, a collaboration between Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Massachusetts General Hospital. They reported that the proviruses that endure the longest tend to stay trapped in largely inactive stretches of human DNA. This entrapment could be preventing new viruses from being produced.